La Porte

Like lots of Packers fans on Sunday, my wife and I were watching the Vikings-Lions game which preceded our big game. The Lions have a tight end on their team named Laporta.

"Laporta?" I said to myself. "Why does that sound familiar?" Welcome to High school French class.

Back then, after we were all seated in our desks, our teacher would say, "Fermez la porte," which means "Close the door."

Why do I even remember that? I was 15 years old! That was 55 years ago!! Yet I knew, today, that "la porte" means 'the door.'

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9

Jesus told us that HE is the door. And what is a door? Is it not a means of entry through a wall? A barrier where there is no other means of access? Jesus is la porte into heaven.

But why did I remember that? It is because I heard it everyday in my French class for an entire semester. Repetition is how we train ourselves to remember things.

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates," - Deuteronomy 11:18-20

God commanded us to memorize scripture. How are we doing with that?

We're like, "I don't have enough time in my day to sit down and memorize a bunch of verses."

"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?" - Luke 6:46

"Fermez la porte et mettez-vous au travail."

Spiritual Anemia

I went to the doctor last week with symptoms of low energy and dizziness. They took some of my blood and called me later that day with the results.

"You're anemic," the nurse said. "We need you to take 325mg of iron each day and we'll check you again in four weeks."

Hmm. Low iron level. Maybe I should chew on some nails or eat more steak?

That got me thinking. What do they do to concrete to make it stronger? They add steel (iron) to it. Rebar we call it, in the construction industry.

How do we add "rebar" to our walk with Jesus? How do we add strength to our faith?

Read God's Word, the Bible. Study it. Memorize it. Having scripture at the ready can strengthen us when we feel spiritually weak. 

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17

Do you have a friend who keeps you sharp, spiritually? Do you talk about God together? Do you share one another's burdens? Do you pray together?

May God provide you with such a person if you have a need.

I started taking an iron supplement and now I am starting to feel better. If we supplement our faith by reading God's Word we will be spiritually stronger in no time.

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." - Isaiah 40:29