Raining Cats and Dogs

I love real stories from the people I know. I would like to share a story from a family at Southern Hills Church that has blessed us. Below is a conversation with a three-and ½ year-old boy and his mother as told by her.

In the middle of a store during a very loud thunderstorm…
Cash: "Who makes it rain?"
Mom: "God"
Cash: "Why's him do that for?"
Mom: "The grass needs the water to grow and it cleans the streets off!"
Cash: "It shouldn't clean the streets too good, the lines will come off."
(Cash’s dad has a commercial line striping business.)
Mom: "It'll be OK."
Later while driving home from Bloomington we are stopped at a traffic light. Right next to us is a pickup truck with a dog hanging out of the passenger window. He had managed to get his entire top half, including front legs, out this window. The rain was still pouring down and soaking this funny mutt!
I pointed it out to Cash...................
Cash: "Why's that dog hanging out that window? He's gettin' all wet!"
Mom: "I know, but look how much fun he's having. He's loving it!"
The light turns green and the truck gets ahead of us.
From the backseat I hear.........
Cash: "That dog sure loves God."
Mom: "Why is that?"
Cash: "He's gettin' clean!"

Out of the mouth of babes . . . and it got me to thinking about how much do I really love God. Look what he has done for me. Look what he continues to do for me. Look at what he promises to do for me in the future. Do I thank God that I am clean? It makes you think, doesn’t it.

We should be like Saul of Tarsus when Ananias told him, What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord. Saul got up, was baptized and then spent his life telling the world that he loved God because he was clean.

Let the world know that you love God because we are getting clean.

Susan Boyle

Have you ever been prejudged? Pigeonholed? Stereotyped? It happens. Whether it is because of race, color, attractiveness, gender, nationality or even a different part of your own nation (I’m southern, go figure). It is not pleasant when people treat you differently. Many have fallen victim of preconceived abilities, talents or intelligence and not been who God wanted them to be.
That is why I like the video that I have provided a link at the bottom of this page. I had tears as I watched it. It is a banner for all who have felt the treatment. It is a flag that all of us can rally around for those who never get a chance because of the way they look or where they come from.
As I watched the video I thought of the sense of humor God has. He gives tremendous ability to the least suspecting. He gives talent to those who most of us would not think could have it. I believe he laughs at our surprise. He chuckles at our foolishness. But he is saddened by our continued limited thinking of his power and the blessing that many could bring us if only we would look.
Don’t judge! Be open to God working in the most unusual person. Just look what he did with Susan Boyle.
Enjoy – God did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4

Encouragement

I borrowed this from Mike Benson. He writes a email a lot like mine. I hope you don’t mind reading something borrowed. This was too good to not share.

MARY KAY ASH encouraged her employees at Mary Kay with a an attitude of celebration and blessing...

She signed hundreds of birthday cards offering free lunch and a free movie. She commemorated employees' "blessed events" such as weddings and babies with personal gifts. She put flowers and white tablecloths in the company cafeteria, and perfume and makeup (Mary Kay brand, of course) in the rest rooms. A sign outside her office read "Department of Sunshine and Rainbows." Her credo was "Appreciation is the oil that makes things run." Ash realized that constant verbal and physical demonstrations of encouragement are necessary for the achievement of ambitious goals and to make employees feel truly valued.

THOUGHT: Moses knew the encouraging power of encouragement. When the desert sands seemed unending, when food became scarce, and when internal dissidents threatened to undermine the organization's purpose ("Let's return to Egypt!), Moses reminded the Israelites of their goal, a "land of milk and honey" that truly existed, even if they had never seen it.

Sid

Who Cares?

I grew up in a time when churches cared. We cared about what version of the Bible you read. We cared about whether you had a kitchen in the building. We cared whether you let women participate in the worship service. We cared about your eschatology (the body of religious doctrines concerning the human soul in its relation to death, judgment, heaven, and hell). we cared about whether you were a liberal or a conservative religiously. We cared about which church you attended. Maybe caring is not the right word, but it mattered to us.

Today things are different. We don’t care which translation you read. We don’t care if you have a kitchen. We don’t care if women are involved. We don’t care if your are Premillennial, Amillennial, or Post-millennial. We don’t care if you are a liberal or conservative. And most of all we don’t care which church you attend. Again, caring may not be the right word.

In today’s world we just want you to care about God. I wonder if we have become so accepting of our diversities that we have forgotten to care about what we should care about? It just seems to me that we are to be concerned about what God is concerned about. Novel idea! Scripture seems to be more concerned about impactful worship, holiness, self-denial, service, maturity, and faithfulness. Those are some of the things that we need to be concerned with.

Sectarianism has led us down a path where now we accept almost anything. We need to be accepting of people, but challenge, encourage, and spur them on to be like Jesus. To live for God like they have never lived. Pray, study, and be people of discipline. We need to care. Oh, we need to care. But we need to not make our list, but have God’s list. Help us Father to seek you for we know that you care about us.

Jesus Is The Answer

I see license plates, bumper stickers and sign which state. "Jesus is the Answer." I believe this. But I think that the world may not be coming to Jesus because they are asking a question that does not lead them to Christ.

They are asking, "what is right for me?" At first glance that seems like Jesus is still the answer, but i see this as a question that runs from sacrifice, commitment, discipline, selflessness, servanthood and holiness. All of these characteristics demand a different question - "what would Jesus do?" or "what is right to God?"

Maybe one of the purposes of the church is to get the world to ask the right question. Jesus is the answer. He gives purpose to life. He gives purpose for living. He gives hope for the future. He is the answer. Serve Him!

Sid

A Rod and Situation Ethics

Another giant from baseball has admitted that he broke the rules. Alex Rodriquez admitted this week to taking performance-enhancing drugs during 2001-2003. He said that the pressure of being the highest paid player in baseball as his reason for breaking the rules. Rodriguez joins Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte among All-Star players who have confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs. Many other players have denied any use.

Here is what A Rod said,
“Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid," Rodriguez said.
"I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth, you know — and being
one of the greatest players of all time."

What is often neglected in a discussion like this is why does the culture determine the rightness of something? Does right and wrong
change from one year to the next? Does the situation determine the ethics?

We could go on, but before we get too hard on A Rod let’s remember that many times we do the same thing. A casual observation would show that it is very hard sometimes to see the difference between the church and the world. It appears that we have put on the world in our language, values, priorities, lifestyle and dreams.

May the church adopt as our banner the words of Paul

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer 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.

God bless!

GPS and God

I made a recent trip to Detroit to assist our new youth minister, Steve Corp, move to Salem. A member of our congregation accompanied me on the trip. He is a truck driver by trade. That was great for me because he liked to drive. It was not so good for my GPS that I brought along.
Truck drivers have their own way of getting from point A to point B and that might not be interstate or even a well travelled road. It may be quicker or even safer, but the GPS has its way of going and when you get off the “approved” path the GPS lets you know by saying, “recalculating.”
To say the least the GPS and my truck driving member were at odds the entire trip. I expected at any time to lose a GPS or a driver.
Aren’t we like that? God has given us a direction that he wants us to travel, but we know better. We have a better way. We know a shortcut.
God seems to be recalculating all the time. Not that he changes his will, but that he is always recalculating the direction because of the decisions we make. It is not that he doesn’t know. It is not because we surprise him. But he wants us to be on the right path. His word gives us the road to travel. It is not travelled by many, but may we learn to hear his voice and turn where he tells us to.