Written by Rev Fred Parker

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. KJV

Several years ago while our family was beginning a new work in Winslow, Arizona we were met with a problem with our vehicle. When I tried to start it one morning it would only click. I immediately got out and raised the hood hoping to see something that would indicate what might be wrong. I looked at the battery cables and jiggled the cables on the starter but nothing happened. I self-diagnosed the problem as a burnt up starter. I knew that a starter would be somewhat expensive so I began to try to come up with some sort of alternative to my dilemma. Because we were in an extremely tight financial condition I simply took a deep breath and came up with a solution for starting my truck. There was a slight (very slight) incline down my driveway so I could let my truck coast downhill and pop the clutch thus engaging the engine and it would start. What genius! For over a year I parked my truck on inclines so that I could let it roll until I could pop the clutch and start it. On some rare occasions when I had to park where there was no incline one of my children or my wife would step out of the vehicle and push until I could pop the clutch and start it again.

Such was the life of a Home Missionary who was determined to build a church for the Kingdom of God. One day a new convert came over after watching us as we pushed our truck to start it. He wasn’t a mechanic but he was used to working on things to get them running. He had no expertise but the Lord sent him our way to provide a solution to our problem. He asked, "Brother Parker, have you ever tried cleaning your battery cables? I replied, "No. I raised the hood and looked at them and they looked O.K. so I didn’t ever take them loose and clean them." He then asked, "Do you mind if I clean them and see if that will fix your problem?" I must tell you I thought this guy was just going to go through the process of cleaning the battery terminals and the problem would still be the same. I watched uninterested as he pulled the cables loose from the battery terminals and scraped them, put grease on them and reconnected them. When he had finished I thought the time had come for me to gloat in my mechanical savvy. He slowly turned and asked me to try to start it…well I don’t need to tell you…the engine turned over and the truck started without a push for the first time in over a year.

What an idiot I had been! I knew that the battery connection was a very important element in the proper functioning of the starter. Why had I not checked it when all of this started? Then as if looking at his chagrin expression was not enough, my wife stood with both hands on her hips looking at me with sheer disdain. She and the kids had been push starting my truck for over a year because I failed to thoroughly check the connections. I have to tell you my male ego suffered tremendously that day.

I learned an extremely valuable lesson through this experience. I learned that regardless of how clean someone looks on the outside if they are not connected to the power they are dead. I can try to push them and may even succeed in getting them started but eventually they must find a proper connection in order for the power to thrust them into action. I must ask you today, "Is your soul cleaned and properly connected to the source of God’s power?" If you don’t feel the surge of his Spirit as you read this maybe you should clean some of your connections and tighten your grip on Jesus Christ. Only after the Spirit of God is connected to your soul will you be all that you can be for the Kingdom of God. Let’s check the connections in our lives and make sure the Lord’s power is flowing properly. Just remember, "A bad connection causes poor performance."