What do you do with the lemons?

Good afternoon!

I pray all is well. I am finally back from vacation and we appreciate the prayers while we were gone. We had a wonderful time as a family, but it is always good to be home. However, I am struggling a bit getting back into a "normal" routine. When you have 11 days off, new habits start to form. It's all good, though!

I don't know how many of you enjoy comedy, but I really enjoy listening to and watching comedians perform their craft. I find it such a wonderful gift that God has created in these individuals to bring laughter and joy to the people around them. I especially enjoy improvisational comedy and am in awe of those who do it so brilliantly.

One of the things that makes for a good comic (in my view) is the ability to surprise you by looking at a situation or event differently. To do this, the delivery has to be perfect, but when done with perfection, it can have you rolling on the floor. As I was surfing the internet this week in search of something else, I came across the beginning of a well known phrase. See if you can finish it for me: "When life gives you lemons..."

I am sure that many of you finished the phrase with, "...make lemonade". I did the same. But, on this particular occasion, I was suprised by the comedic ending that was in front of me. The whole phrase said this: "When life gives you lemons, give them away and drink a Dr. Pepper!" I loved it! It had me laughing! Not only because it mentions Dr. Pepper as the ONLY soft drink that can effectively take away the sourness of life, but because I didn't expect it and it had me thinking of that phrase in a different way.

After laughing and making sure I printed out the quote to put on the wall in my office, I got to thinking of its deeper significance. I thought about the lemons in my life. The annoyances. The distractions. The sins. The open wounds. The scars. I wondered, "What do you do with the lemons?"

The old adage of "making lemonade" is still good advice. Take the difficult situations of life and difficult experiences and turn them into something good...something that honors God. We are reminded in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

But sometimes I think that the lemons in my life are too sour, too rotten to turn into lemonade. I think there isn't enough sugar in the world to make that lemonade taste good. What do I do with those kinds of lemons?

Luke 5:37-38 tells us, "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins." 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a NEW creation, the old has GONE, and the new has COME!" (emphasis added)

There are times in which I need to discard completely the sour lemons in my life in order to experience the newness Christ wants to see in me. The new life cannot live with the old one, nor the old with the new. As the new adage says, I need to get rid of the lemons and "taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Psalm 34:8)

So, do you have some lemons in your life? If so, you may be wondering what to do with them. You may be able to make them into lemonade, or you may have to discard them completely. But, one thing I know for sure, when you give them to God you won't have to worry about them any more!

Precious Lord, there are lemons in my life. I have been sour in my attitude, my thinking, my speaking, and my living. I have wounds that will not heal and a heart that tends to be acidic at times. Save me from the lemons in my life. Take them from me and create within me a new heart, a new mind, and a new life. Restore me and reconcile me to Your will and purpose so that I may share the sweetness of living life with You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Take Care & God Bless,

Pastor Don