HE WAS A TRAMP

It was the height of the Great Depression. Men left home by the hundreds of thousands to travel to far places to get work and send money home. Seldom did it work out very well, and they had to keep traveling to survive. They were not vagrants. Like homeless people today, they were out of work, "down on my luck," and they would work at any job for a little money.

The tramp came to the door of my Grandmother's home and knocked. My Dad, a young boy, was nearby and watched his mother do what she had done for many tramps. The man said, "Mame, I wonder if you could spare a cup of tea for a traveling man?"

My grandmother told him to have a seat on the porch steps, and she went inside and made him a cup of tea and a sandwich. After she gave it to the man, he turned to my Dad, smiled, and told him, "Ask for a little, and you might get more."

My Dad told his brothers and sisters what happened, and that line got to be a well used line in my Dad's family. Dad brought it to our family also.

Modern advertising has hammered the message home that what you have is not enough. You deserve more. The whole culture is flaming with discontent as two or three generations of Americans now demand to have more. What we have is never enough. And, if we don't get it now, we take out a loan at the bank and go up to our nostrils in debt in order to have more stuff.

It was not always so:

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Not all your WANT, but all you NEED. We who follow the carpenter of Nazareth must soon learn to be content with our needs being provided for by God. In the end, he often give us more than we need, but it is rude to demand more than we need from God.

Let us be content with enough.

Ask for a little, and you might get more. 

 HOW TO RECOGNIZE A REAL BIBLE SCHOLAR

First, the faux Bible scholar:

He is full of himself. He listens as well as a door knob listens to you. When he speaks you can tell he was not paying attention to the person he was talking to because he goes right off topic and dives into his favorite hobby horse fixation. When in a group, he is the final authority on any topic brought up, even if he has virtually no experience in the area of discussion.

The faux intellectual will use big theological terms that you don't know, and when you ask what such a word means, he will show you deep pity only because you are a dumb hick burp unable to rise to the heavenlies with him. He will also invent a few buzz words himself because he is just that wise. The English language is simply not developed well enough to satisfy his level of intellect.

Some of these faux scholars will not demand to be addressed as "Doctor," but many Fundamental Baptist scholars will boldly demand to be given any titles they imagine they have earned. I say "earned" with tongue in cheek. Most of these Fundamentalist Doctors got their doctorate from Pioneer Seminary which operates out of the basement of another "Doctor" in Colorado. Pay the $25 fees and tuition, and get a doctoral diploma next week. Full credit is given for "life experience," which may be that you know how to change the oil in your car, and you caught a record bass in a fishing contest in Bimidji, Minnesota.

Now, the real Bible scholar:

This man is pushing no agenda. He only speaks with authority on topics which he has seriously studied and researched. When you talk to him he keeps eye contact and listens intently. When he speaks, he answers your question, even if it is not his favorite topic. If you ask a question he has not studied, he will tell you so and ask to be allowed to not answer. He will then tell you of a real scholar who can answer your question.

The real Bible scholar wants to serve, and when you leave him, you feel you were indeed served. He never makes a large statement without backing it up with Bible references, and he is much more comfortable quoting the Apostle Paul than some guru from a Baptist Seminary.

If your five year old asks, "Daddy, what does the hypostatic union mean?" you can send Johnny to the real scholar, and he will explain this complicated doctrine to him at the level your five year old can understand. Real scholars do not ask to be delivered from dealing with children..... they love them.

The real Bible scholar has not jumped on anyone's band wagon, he does not beat drums on behalf of any denomination or Bible College, and he rejects any effort to make a cult leader of him. He is content to teach, and he rejects any efforts to make him the leader of any movement.

Finally, when you leave a session with a real Bible scholar, you will feel like God sent you a friend who left you thinking clearer thoughts about the Word of God. He will not cause you to long to be as wise and erudite as he is. He will leave you wanting to be more like Jesus.

When you introduce a real Bible scholar before he speaks, do not make the mistake of flattering him. He may get up and totally reject everything you said about him. You will end up with egg on your face. I have seen this, and the poor diddle head who did it looked like a fool.

The Bible scholar's life verses are:

Psalms 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

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