"for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45, NRSV)
On April 17th of this year, I decided to take my Boston terrier, Buddy, on a walk. We both rejoiced in the beautiful sky and cool temperatures. We had walked this way many times before with no problems. In fact, I had walked that exact route the day before with my Lab, Squirt.
Buddy and I were obeying all the laws. We were walking north on the southbound side of the road, Buddy was on a leash, and we were pulling over to the side for oncoming traffic. We were in complete obedience.
Then the unthinkable happened. Two dogs, one a collie mix and the other a pit bull, came running at us from behind a house on the other side of the street. The pit bull was dragging a tie out cable. Buddy and I continued to be obedient to our training and we did not run. We stood still and I tried to keep Buddy behind me on the leash.
But the dogs had another idea. All three dogs sniffed each other in greeting and then the pit bull growled. I grabbed his cable and attempted to pull him away from Buddy. We wrestled across the street until we all fell into a drainage ditch on the other side.
The pack attack was on! The collie mix pulled at Buddy's legs and the pit bull shook him by the scruff of his neck while I covered him with my body to try to protect his vital organs. Buddy suffered not only MANY bites but also a torn ACL in his right hind leg and I suffered bites to both arms.
The terror and the pain of that attack has affected both Buddy and I for many weeks. And I was haunted by the question, "Why, when we were doing everything right and nothing wrong, did we get so viciously attacked?"
Matthew 5:45 tells me why. We as Christians, no matter how "right" things are, are going to suffer trials. As a matter of fact, it is my opinion, that the more obedient we are, the more our old nature tries to knock us off track to damage our witness.
God does not spare us pain and suffering just because we are His children. Job tells us, "1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man
was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." Job was obedient. He followed all the rules. Yet, God allowed Satan to cause Job to suffer and as a result, Job's faith was made stronger.
It took a pit bull to remind me that even though I follow all the rules, God may still allow me to suffer. Not because He hates me but because He loves me and wants me to mature in Him.
He took a pit bull to remind me that what I do for God, whether it is attending church every Sunday, teach a Sunday School class or singing in th choir, will not keep me from suffering in this world. For this I praise Him. Not for the suffering, I'm not to the place where I "can call it joy," but for bringing me one step closer to the goal where I CAN call it all joy. Thank you God!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Names of God
I found this while viewing another video on the names of God. To sing something is a great way to learn anything. This song and video was put together for New Life church in Germantown. I think this is not only an appropriate start to our study on the names of God, but also a good way to map out how we will approach each name- as a form of worship. Next week we will start at the beginning with Elohim, the first of God's many names in the Bible.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Pecans From Heaven
"The sons of Israel said to them,'Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out to this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.' Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.'" Exodus 16: 3-4 NAS
Have you ever found yourself wondering about some of the things the Bible is silent about like personal reactions to the things that happened? I found myself in that position yesterday morning as I picked up the pecans that had fallen from our tree during a horrible windstorm Sunday night. Let me explain,
When my husband and I moved into this house, we inherited a very large, very old pecan tree that stands beside the carport. We didn't nurture it or raise it. It was just there as a blessing from God. And every year we have harvested the pecans from that tree both in good years and bad years. So you could say that the pecans are our manna from God.
Well, all the people around here that had pecan trees were convinced that this was going to be a bad year. There was a drought this summer and many windstorms that caused the green pecans to fall from the tree. Then two early snows in November and we all "knew" by Thanksgiving that this was going to be a bad year for pecans.
Then a funny thing happened. We had a milder than normal winter with plenty of rain allowing what was still on the tree to ripen and fall. God has really helped out in the falling department. There have been several windstorms throughout the winter due to the warmer than normal temperatures. So God made possible the perfect conditions for the pecans that were left (and there were LOTS of them) to ripen and fall to the ground. Like the manna fell to the ground every morning for the Israelites.
Yesterday morning I went out to pick up pecans. The wind had been so bad that I had to get all the pecans off the porch before I could pick them up on the driveway and in the yard! After about an hour and a half of bending over to pick up pecans and discovering I was not even CLOSE to being done, I began to grumble. That's right. I started to complain to God about picking up all these pecans. Many times I thought about stopping and letting my extremely healthy fox squirrel and his buddies have themselves a party and just go back into the house. But I knew there were people who were counting on me so I picked, complained, picked, complained.
Then I started to wonder if the children of Israel ever complained about having to bend over and pick up the manna. Did they do like I did and complain about their legs hurting or their back hurting. Did they ever complain about their head hurting or their feet being tired as they harvested what God had so graciously given them? The manna cost them nothing, just like my pecans, yet did they complain about the work it took to harvest it?
It's an humbling thought. How often do I complain about having to work for something that has cost me nothing. How many times do I complain about doing what is required of me for God's blessings? Were the Israelites as ungrateful as I was being?
We all want God's blessings...our manna from heaven. But can we pass the test and follow His instructions?
After God planted those thoughts in my mind, I quit complaining. I kept hearing in my head the phrase I was taught as a kid, "Waste not, want not." Then it dawned on me that I would ask the people I give these pecans to, to give me a one gallon-sized plastic bag of the nuts for all the work I did picking them up all winter so they could have them. After all, it took me 3 hours and filled two paper grocery sack full of nuts.
So lookout family (that's who I have been providing nuts to all winter), this time I am going to ask nicely to be "reimbursed" for my labor.
Doesn't the Bible say somewhere that a laborer is worthy of his hire?? I wonder if that is with complaining or without?
Have you ever found yourself wondering about some of the things the Bible is silent about like personal reactions to the things that happened? I found myself in that position yesterday morning as I picked up the pecans that had fallen from our tree during a horrible windstorm Sunday night. Let me explain,
When my husband and I moved into this house, we inherited a very large, very old pecan tree that stands beside the carport. We didn't nurture it or raise it. It was just there as a blessing from God. And every year we have harvested the pecans from that tree both in good years and bad years. So you could say that the pecans are our manna from God.
Well, all the people around here that had pecan trees were convinced that this was going to be a bad year. There was a drought this summer and many windstorms that caused the green pecans to fall from the tree. Then two early snows in November and we all "knew" by Thanksgiving that this was going to be a bad year for pecans.
Then a funny thing happened. We had a milder than normal winter with plenty of rain allowing what was still on the tree to ripen and fall. God has really helped out in the falling department. There have been several windstorms throughout the winter due to the warmer than normal temperatures. So God made possible the perfect conditions for the pecans that were left (and there were LOTS of them) to ripen and fall to the ground. Like the manna fell to the ground every morning for the Israelites.
Yesterday morning I went out to pick up pecans. The wind had been so bad that I had to get all the pecans off the porch before I could pick them up on the driveway and in the yard! After about an hour and a half of bending over to pick up pecans and discovering I was not even CLOSE to being done, I began to grumble. That's right. I started to complain to God about picking up all these pecans. Many times I thought about stopping and letting my extremely healthy fox squirrel and his buddies have themselves a party and just go back into the house. But I knew there were people who were counting on me so I picked, complained, picked, complained.
Then I started to wonder if the children of Israel ever complained about having to bend over and pick up the manna. Did they do like I did and complain about their legs hurting or their back hurting. Did they ever complain about their head hurting or their feet being tired as they harvested what God had so graciously given them? The manna cost them nothing, just like my pecans, yet did they complain about the work it took to harvest it?
It's an humbling thought. How often do I complain about having to work for something that has cost me nothing. How many times do I complain about doing what is required of me for God's blessings? Were the Israelites as ungrateful as I was being?
We all want God's blessings...our manna from heaven. But can we pass the test and follow His instructions?
After God planted those thoughts in my mind, I quit complaining. I kept hearing in my head the phrase I was taught as a kid, "Waste not, want not." Then it dawned on me that I would ask the people I give these pecans to, to give me a one gallon-sized plastic bag of the nuts for all the work I did picking them up all winter so they could have them. After all, it took me 3 hours and filled two paper grocery sack full of nuts.
So lookout family (that's who I have been providing nuts to all winter), this time I am going to ask nicely to be "reimbursed" for my labor.
Doesn't the Bible say somewhere that a laborer is worthy of his hire?? I wonder if that is with complaining or without?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
But I Didn't Mean To!
"Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, then come and present your offering." (Matthew 5: 23-24, NAS)
Yesterday, we once again put electronic collars on both our dogs. Now before all you dog lovers crucify me, we only use the vibrate and tone. Never the shock! We put them on because since the death of our other Boston Terrier, there has been some real confusion as to who was in charge of the pack. Both dogs were wrestling, going out the door first by shoving past us, and wandering off while not responding to our calls to "come". Since we live in a rural area with most roads posted at 55 mph and people are hunting all year round, the latter was VERY dangerous. So the decision was made to invest once again in electronic collars.
When we placed the first collar on our Lab, it was set at "0". It took some fiddling around, but we soon found a vibration that she could feel and responded too. Since the first one was set on "0", my husband assumed that the one we put on our Boston Terrier was also set on "0".
Our Boston needed to go out to handle his "business" so I took him out with the assumption that my husband had adjusted his collar while I was out with the Lab. The Boston began to wander away into the field above our house and refused to come back so I "buzzed" him. Unbeknowst to both me and my husband was that the second collar was set at "100"!
The poor little guy was scared to death by the teeth-rattling vibration that exploded around his neck. He crawled all the way back to me with his head low and ears back just looking up at me with those big, sad brown eyes. Truthfully, I wanted to cry. Not in a million years would I have intentionally done that to my little Buddy.
For most of the afternoon, he stayed away from me and stayed under my husband's feet. He actually wanted to be protected from me! And no matter where he went in the house, he crawled or slunk to get there in an attempt to be invisible to me.
At first I tried to tell myself I didn't care. After all, I did MEAN to hurt his spirit. It was just an accident and accidents happen even in the human world. He could just get over it. (sound familiar?)
Then I sat down to write yesterday's blog. I had serious writer's block as I watched my poor little Buddy crawl around the den trying to be invisible. I HAD to make this right.
I called him over and began to pet him beneath his chin at the same time raising his head up at about 2:00 pm. Slowly he began to move past what had happened at noon yesterday. I kept on "apologizing" by raising up his head while petting him but it was 7:00 pm before all was forgiven and he climbed up in his usual spot next to me in my recliner.
Once I stopped focusing on how I had not deliberately done anything wrong and placed my focus on the little dog that I had hurt, the words started to come to me to write my blog. I had left my "offering" at the altar and been reconciled to my doggie "brother".
The same goes for people. While my Dad was dying with cancer, we had a HORRIBLE fight on the phone on a Saturday night. Even though it was my belief that Dad had started it, the ugly words I had spoken bothered me all night. I kept telling myself it wasn't my fault and he should apologize to ME!
Sunday came and I got ready for church with this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, You know the one, when God is really convicting you of a sin. I made it through Sunday School and then told my husband that I just couldn't sit through church. I had to go home and make things right. And I did. We apologized to each other and never fought again.
See, God didn't want my "offering" of praise and worship in church. He wanted me to be obedient to His Word in Matthew 5 and be reconciled. Sunday night, with a clear conscience, I was once again able to offer God my praise and worship.
We all hurt people without meaning to. And we can generally see the results, if we will just allow ourselves to really look at the other person. They may be like me and my Boston Terrier, slinking around trying to avoid you. Or like my Dad and just not speaking to you. Either way, God says it doesn't matter if you "meant to". All that matters is that your brother (or dog) has something against you and you- yes, YOU- need to make it right before you can offer yourself to the Lord.
When conflicts happen- and they always do- someone has to be first to say "I'm sorry." God says that person needs to be you.
Yesterday, we once again put electronic collars on both our dogs. Now before all you dog lovers crucify me, we only use the vibrate and tone. Never the shock! We put them on because since the death of our other Boston Terrier, there has been some real confusion as to who was in charge of the pack. Both dogs were wrestling, going out the door first by shoving past us, and wandering off while not responding to our calls to "come". Since we live in a rural area with most roads posted at 55 mph and people are hunting all year round, the latter was VERY dangerous. So the decision was made to invest once again in electronic collars.
When we placed the first collar on our Lab, it was set at "0". It took some fiddling around, but we soon found a vibration that she could feel and responded too. Since the first one was set on "0", my husband assumed that the one we put on our Boston Terrier was also set on "0".
Our Boston needed to go out to handle his "business" so I took him out with the assumption that my husband had adjusted his collar while I was out with the Lab. The Boston began to wander away into the field above our house and refused to come back so I "buzzed" him. Unbeknowst to both me and my husband was that the second collar was set at "100"!
The poor little guy was scared to death by the teeth-rattling vibration that exploded around his neck. He crawled all the way back to me with his head low and ears back just looking up at me with those big, sad brown eyes. Truthfully, I wanted to cry. Not in a million years would I have intentionally done that to my little Buddy.
For most of the afternoon, he stayed away from me and stayed under my husband's feet. He actually wanted to be protected from me! And no matter where he went in the house, he crawled or slunk to get there in an attempt to be invisible to me.
At first I tried to tell myself I didn't care. After all, I did MEAN to hurt his spirit. It was just an accident and accidents happen even in the human world. He could just get over it. (sound familiar?)
Then I sat down to write yesterday's blog. I had serious writer's block as I watched my poor little Buddy crawl around the den trying to be invisible. I HAD to make this right.
I called him over and began to pet him beneath his chin at the same time raising his head up at about 2:00 pm. Slowly he began to move past what had happened at noon yesterday. I kept on "apologizing" by raising up his head while petting him but it was 7:00 pm before all was forgiven and he climbed up in his usual spot next to me in my recliner.
Once I stopped focusing on how I had not deliberately done anything wrong and placed my focus on the little dog that I had hurt, the words started to come to me to write my blog. I had left my "offering" at the altar and been reconciled to my doggie "brother".
The same goes for people. While my Dad was dying with cancer, we had a HORRIBLE fight on the phone on a Saturday night. Even though it was my belief that Dad had started it, the ugly words I had spoken bothered me all night. I kept telling myself it wasn't my fault and he should apologize to ME!
Sunday came and I got ready for church with this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, You know the one, when God is really convicting you of a sin. I made it through Sunday School and then told my husband that I just couldn't sit through church. I had to go home and make things right. And I did. We apologized to each other and never fought again.
See, God didn't want my "offering" of praise and worship in church. He wanted me to be obedient to His Word in Matthew 5 and be reconciled. Sunday night, with a clear conscience, I was once again able to offer God my praise and worship.
We all hurt people without meaning to. And we can generally see the results, if we will just allow ourselves to really look at the other person. They may be like me and my Boston Terrier, slinking around trying to avoid you. Or like my Dad and just not speaking to you. Either way, God says it doesn't matter if you "meant to". All that matters is that your brother (or dog) has something against you and you- yes, YOU- need to make it right before you can offer yourself to the Lord.
When conflicts happen- and they always do- someone has to be first to say "I'm sorry." God says that person needs to be you.
Monday, January 16, 2012
What's In A Name?
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet?" - Shakespeare
If we believe this much quoted line by Shakespeare, names are really not important. So is a name really important? Well, it is to me!
My name is Susan. Not Suzie, Suzie Q, or Sue. If you call me a nickname, I will correct you once and then I will pretend not to hear you. Think that's a bit harsh? No more harsh than when a child tells you,"Someone called me out of my name!"
We are all particular about what we are called. If there were no names, then we would not know who wants us. And most people still think it is rude for someone to scream, "Hey, you!"
Now I think we have established names are important in a worldly sense, let's see what God thinks. II Chronicles 7: 13-15, "If I [God] shut up heaven so no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, If My people who are called by MY NAME , shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place." (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine)
God takes His name pretty seriously. So seriously that the only way to improve things is for the people who are called by His name can effectively change the world we now live in.
So which name is He talking about? Even though most of us would answer that question, "Well, 'God'of course!", we are not aware that the entity we call "God" has many names and each name reveals a different aspect of His character.
So I am going to once a week (starting next week) talk a little about some of the names of God. This is by no means an academic or complete study. It will be more of a devotional study of each name and its application to our lives.
My favorite professors always told us that when you don't feel the presence of God, you hold on to what you know of God as revealed in Scripture. This in one way you and I can come to know better the One who sacrificed His only Son because He loves you so much.
The rest of the week I will write about what I have always written about, where and when I see God in my everyday life. So let's pack our bags and get ready to travel to places where we have never been before or to revisit a place that has become dear to our heart.
By any other name would smell as sweet?" - Shakespeare
If we believe this much quoted line by Shakespeare, names are really not important. So is a name really important? Well, it is to me!
My name is Susan. Not Suzie, Suzie Q, or Sue. If you call me a nickname, I will correct you once and then I will pretend not to hear you. Think that's a bit harsh? No more harsh than when a child tells you,"Someone called me out of my name!"
We are all particular about what we are called. If there were no names, then we would not know who wants us. And most people still think it is rude for someone to scream, "Hey, you!"
Now I think we have established names are important in a worldly sense, let's see what God thinks. II Chronicles 7: 13-15, "If I [God] shut up heaven so no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, If My people who are called by MY NAME , shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place." (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine)
God takes His name pretty seriously. So seriously that the only way to improve things is for the people who are called by His name can effectively change the world we now live in.
So which name is He talking about? Even though most of us would answer that question, "Well, 'God'of course!", we are not aware that the entity we call "God" has many names and each name reveals a different aspect of His character.
So I am going to once a week (starting next week) talk a little about some of the names of God. This is by no means an academic or complete study. It will be more of a devotional study of each name and its application to our lives.
My favorite professors always told us that when you don't feel the presence of God, you hold on to what you know of God as revealed in Scripture. This in one way you and I can come to know better the One who sacrificed His only Son because He loves you so much.
The rest of the week I will write about what I have always written about, where and when I see God in my everyday life. So let's pack our bags and get ready to travel to places where we have never been before or to revisit a place that has become dear to our heart.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Swingin' On A Star?
"But Jesus said, "Let the children alone and do not hinder them from coming to me; for the kindom of heaven belongs to such as these." (NASV)
I was in church last Sunday and found myself offended by the children's message. It was presented by one of our older saints who is always complaining about how the children behave in church. The following was the text of her lesson:
Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a mule?
A mule is an animal with long funny ears
Kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule
Oh would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Would you rather be a pig?
A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig
Oh would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Would you rather be a fish?
A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish
A new kind of jumped-up slippery fish
And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see it's all up to you
You can be better than you are
You could be swingin' on a star
Her point was that they could choose to be a mule, a pig, a fish, or a monkey OR you could choose to swing on a star. WHAT?!
Jesus loved the children and had patience with their childlike behavior ( like pushing their way up front so they could talk to Jesus). Jesus' disciples were like this lady. They wanted the children to "behave" and stay away from the Master.
Children will behave like children. They are not trying to desecrate the church. They are just being children. Do they need to be taught how to "act" in church? Sure they do. But if their parent is a new Christian or a Christian that has never been discipled, then don't expect the parents to know how to guide them.
In Ephesians Paul writes, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you."
Last Sunday's children's sermon was ANYTHING but kind and tender-hearted. We are to value our children as Christ valued them and not call them mules, pigs, fish or monkeys! If you see a child running through the church, in love and kindness, correct their behavior and show them a better way. As a teacher, it has been my experience that children respond to correction given in love.
My recommendations for this elderly saint: Next time use the Bible instead of something written by the world. You will stand a better chance of making your point. Try using Phillipians 3: 13b-14, "forgetting what lies behind, and reaching toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You could still have discussed making new choices. And oh...I almost forgot...apologize to the children.
I was in church last Sunday and found myself offended by the children's message. It was presented by one of our older saints who is always complaining about how the children behave in church. The following was the text of her lesson:
Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a mule?
A mule is an animal with long funny ears
Kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule
Oh would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Would you rather be a pig?
A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig
Oh would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Would you rather be a fish?
A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish
A new kind of jumped-up slippery fish
And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see it's all up to you
You can be better than you are
You could be swingin' on a star
Her point was that they could choose to be a mule, a pig, a fish, or a monkey OR you could choose to swing on a star. WHAT?!
Jesus loved the children and had patience with their childlike behavior ( like pushing their way up front so they could talk to Jesus). Jesus' disciples were like this lady. They wanted the children to "behave" and stay away from the Master.
Children will behave like children. They are not trying to desecrate the church. They are just being children. Do they need to be taught how to "act" in church? Sure they do. But if their parent is a new Christian or a Christian that has never been discipled, then don't expect the parents to know how to guide them.
In Ephesians Paul writes, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you."
Last Sunday's children's sermon was ANYTHING but kind and tender-hearted. We are to value our children as Christ valued them and not call them mules, pigs, fish or monkeys! If you see a child running through the church, in love and kindness, correct their behavior and show them a better way. As a teacher, it has been my experience that children respond to correction given in love.
My recommendations for this elderly saint: Next time use the Bible instead of something written by the world. You will stand a better chance of making your point. Try using Phillipians 3: 13b-14, "forgetting what lies behind, and reaching toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You could still have discussed making new choices. And oh...I almost forgot...apologize to the children.
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