The best addition to any of the dozen different RVs I've owned has been a solar panel. The one pictured above is my favorite. It is 100 watt folding panel with a built in controller. If you aren't familiar with solar the controller keeps the battery you are charging from being overcharged. This panel can be found on Amazon for $183. And is now 120 watt.
My current Motor home is a 22 ft 1995 Fleetwood Jamboree Sport and is designed very well in most every way with the exception of the coach battery that runs all the 12 volt systems; water pump, lights, inverter, etc. The battery is pathetically small: a 24 series deep cycle. About the smallest deep cycle available. For some reason Fleetwood could not find a place for a bigger battery. It is so wimpy that running anything in the RV will run it down to nothing very quickly. The solar panel solves the problem very well. On a sunny day or even partly cloudy it allows me to operate a 21" tv, water pump, charge my phone, laptop no problem. At the end of the day the battery still has enough charge to run things for several hours. On a cloudy day or later after dark I plug the RV shore power cord into a small 2000 watt inverter generator for 2 or three hours. The newer inverter generators are super quiet and just sip the gasoline. I was using a 1000 watt "Sportsman" up until just a week ago. It cost around $200. Three years ago and has been very reliable with over a 1000 hours on it. The only reason for the upgrade to a 2000 watt"Wen" generator was to be able to run the microwave oven. The Wen gets some of the best reviews and was only $428. From Home Depot. The "gas mileage" with this is amazing! On the initial testing it ran 10 hours on a 1 gallon tank of gas. The motor home has a 4000 watt Onan generator built in but it really sucks the gas at about 3/4 gallon an hour. I reserve it strictly for running the air conditioner when needed.
So what is the analogy between the "Son" and the"sun" you are wondering? I was thinking how great it is to have this free power from the sun that keeps my pathetic little battery fully functioning. Without some external power input it is unable to do the job demanded of it.
In the spiritual realm if we try to live up to the demands of the Christian life without relying on the indwelling power of Christ through the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to produce this.
Consider just a couple bible passages From Jesus and the Apostle Paul:
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING (emphasis mine). John 15:5
What is the "fruit"? According to Galations 5:22,23 It is love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self control.
Anyone claiming to produce these traits himself at the level God requires is deceived!
Paul makes it very clear in Romans 6-8 that we are completely helpless in our "flesh" or natural human nature.
In Pauls letter to the Galations he said "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer l who live, but Christ who lives in me; the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me". Gal. 2:20
In the same letter Paul chastised these people. They were trying to live the Christian life in their own strength. After receiving salvation by faith alone in Christ alone without any works of their own, they now were depending on their own works .
All thru the new testament it is clear that life in Christ is lived by faith alone. Faith first of all in the finished work of Christ's cross to save us from the punishment we deserve granting us eternal life; then continued faith in the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower our life now.
How much the error of the Galation believers has crept into our churches!
How often do you ever hear a sermon on these truths? Not very often in my experience!
The sermon video "Key to the Christian life" by Charles Stanley linked to the right is a good example. All the links for Christian living are about the "grace" life as I like to call it.
MARANATHA
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