2016

Cow Patty World

hqdefaultOne of my favorite movies is the spy flick, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. In the movie, the characters are discussing foreign intelligence, when one of them says that the intelligence has been gold. Another character disagrees and says, “It’s just enough glitter amongst the chicken feed”. In other words, it was just good enough to convince them that it was good intelligence, when it was actually bad intelligence.

I believe that the preceding paragraph is a pretty good analogy for the world, but I have a better one. If I sprinkled gold glitter in a cow patty, that’s equivalent to the world. The world is full of death, disease, famine, and suffering. That’s a cow patty, my friend. The cow patty is sprinkled with money, fame, and power. That’s glitter. And the Bad Guy uses the glitter to his advantage. Firstly, he uses the glitter to keep us from focusing on the patty. If we chase money, fame, and power, we’re not interesting in doing anything about death, disease, famine, and suffering. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, if we chase glitter, it keeps us from building a relationship with God.

The Bible is very specific. The following are just a few verses that further explain the cow patty and the glitter:

Luke 4:5-6  The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he (Devil) said to him (Jesus), “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me (because of sin), and I can give it to anyone I want to. Hence, why the world is a cow patty.

Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Hence, money and wealth are just glitter.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Hence, again, money is just glitter.

Matthew 23:12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Hence, power and fame are glitter as well.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Hence, don’t conform to the cow patty, but seek God’s will.

There is hope, however. Jesus came and died so that we could ultimately be saved from death, disease, famine, and suffering. There is also hope in Revelations 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything (including heaven and earth) new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” In other words, NO MORE COW PATTY.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

 

 

What Could Go Wrong?

untitled-spiderOur church is going through a re-structuring process. It’s been called a merger. It’s been called an adoption.  What it’s not been called is “easy”. Without going into all the details, there will be a vote among the congregation to confirm whether we will merge with another church. Many people, including myself, have woulda-coulda-shoulda-ed the situation to death. As a result, there’s a dark cloud over the church. And that really sucks because church had been my safe place, a place where the normal rules of the world don’t apply, a drama-free zone. I guess that I was being naive in my thoughts because we are sinners, being led by sinners, in a sinful, fallen world. Under those circumstances, one of my friends asked, “What could go wrong?”

 

It’s times like this when I’m inspired by Ecclesiastes 3, 1-8.

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

I’m also inspired when I realize that Jesus is still on the throne. While we have to deal with sin, he’s the reason we don’t have to live under its power. When we seek his will, not our own wills, things work out for the best. It all belongs to Jesus anyway.

In a Different Light

help picAfter I wrote my last blog, I started thinking about how that dog made me want to rescue him. I thought how helpless and hungry he looked. Then I started wondering why I don’t feel the same way about homeless beggars…..

Everyone has seen that guy or girl, holding a sign and begging for money. Why doesn’t it strike the same feelings as a lost, hungry dog? Well, I’l be the first to admit it. The situation is complex. For instance, we don’t know if it’s a scam. Frankly, I’ve seen my share of them. I once saw a guy at the entrance of a shopping center with a nearby McDonalds. He was holding a sign that read, “Help, hungry”. Beside him was a power pole with a large concrete base. Behind the concrete base he had hidden 4 or 5 bags of McDonalds food. Apparently, some wise people had decided to buy him food instead of giving him money. However, undaunted, he had hidden the food and was still trying to coax cash out of people.

We’re called to be charitable, but we’re not called to throw money away either. Yet, we’re called to serve; we’re not called to judge. As I said before, it’s a complex issue. However, I think the most important issue for me is viewing the person in a different light.  When I look at a beggar, I should see a fellow human being. I should see a person created in God’s image just like me. I should remember that God loves that person just as much as he loves me. If I view the person in that light, then the answers become clearer. It still might not mean that I give the person money. It may mean that I refer him to church. It may mean that I take him to a shelter. It may mean that I help him find a job. It may mean I that find him some drug treatment. It may mean many different things, but it’ll mean more if I view him in a different light.

Everything New

untitledI’m tired. I’m tired of seeing bad things happen. And I bet that I’m not the only one. Anyone who has a tv or a computer knows that bad things happen. It’s all over the news: a shooting here, a disaster there. I think sometimes we become numb to bad news. It’s so commonplace that I don’t even give it much thought at times. However, something happened to me a few days ago that got my attention. It got my attention in the simple and prefect way that only God can.

I was travelling down a road that runs parallel to I-75 when I noticed something in my peripheral. In the small patch of grass that separated my road from the interstate was small, beagle pup. By the size of his skinny frame, he was no doubt searching for some food in the few bags of garbage that people had littered from their cars. Now, I’m from the country. I am not proud to say that I’m quite accustomed to seeing stray dogs. Furthermore, I generally don’t have a bleeding heart for dogs. However, this time was different. This was a pup, and he was starving. I could see that by his protruding bones. I could also see that he’d never make across six lanes of I-75. If decided to cross my road, his chances weren’t much better. The road I was on lead to a shopping center…..and it was Christmastime.

So, the only place I could park is a church on the other side of the road from the dog. I crossed four lanes of Christmastime traffic to save the dog. Oh yeah, it was raining too. However, when I got close enough to call him, he took off like Clark Griswold’s sled. After being thoroughly out-ran by a beagle pup, I had to cross the same four lanes of traffic back to my truck. I then drove to the interstate where I met him on the exit ramp. However, there was no room to pull off and several vehicles were behind me. I had to leave him, and by the time I circled back, he was gone. I made a couple of passes to look for him, but there was no sign of him: alive or dead.

I’m somewhat bummed. I still have no idea what happened to the little guy. But two things come to mind. One is 1 Corinthians 13:13  “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”. This verse applies to more than just lost dogs. It applies to all of the bad things that happen in this world. 

The second thing that comes to mind is the song lyric by the band Crowder: “Earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t cure”. It too applies to all of the bad things that happen in this world. We understand that bad things happen, and we should be righteously angry when they happen. But we also understand that God is making everything flawless, just, and NEW, …..so, someday we won’t have to put up with this crap.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.