With The Determination Of A Weed

Lawn season is pretty much over in my part of the country – thank goodness. I had a pretty good Summer with a lot of help from my oldest son in mowing the yard. As I stare out over my relatively small yard today, there are patches of tan – dying grass mixed among the still green Bermuda. Again, I love this time of year. However, all is not well in my lawn, as I have already started to see cold-hardy weeds cropping up. They will not last long though. Just long enough to flower, and set seed, and then die. Ever thought about it? Ever notice how quick those Spring-time Dandelions go from cute little Yellow flowers to those beautiful complex “Puff-balls” that every kid finds irresistible? Days. Just days. In no time at all a lawn can be filled with Dandelions and other weeds that seem to crop up over night, spreading their seeds around so that they can do it all over again the following year. The bible talks some about the longevity of plants of the field in Isaiah 40:8, Psalms 103:15, and Psalms 103:16.

What I find amazing about these troublesome plants is their purpose and the time it takes them to perform it. If you remember way back in the Garden of Eden, God cursed the ground and made things more difficult for man as a means of punishment for disobedience. Genesis 3:17, Genesis 3:18. So possibly we have weeds today, in part as a result of Adam’s sin in the Garden. Also, to make us work a little harder out in our gardens and lawns. But still, the weeds themselves are an amazing part of creation. They sprout up from seeds that had been dispersed mostly from the year before. Weeds can quickly take over any piece of ground, because they are very hardy plants. Weeds grow fast, spread quickly, are often able to live in harsh conditions, and are usually very disease resistant. They make flowers very rapidly so that they can be pollinated and start producing seeds. Weeds often produce seeds in great quantities, which are often able to survive long periods of drought or even cold weather. Weed seeds are often able to be transferred by various methods such as through the wind, in water, by sticking to animals, or carried by animals which have eaten the seeds.

My point to all of this explanation on the lowly weed is this:

• They sprout up and mature quickly.
• They are very resistant to negative influences.
• They perform their function of reproducing themselves very quickly.

Despite the negative connotation that comes from the mention of weeds, you have to admit that they are very efficient. How well do I measure up?

Have I matured as quickly as I should? Or do I still struggle with elementary ideas? 1 Corinthians 3:1, 1 Corinthians 3:2, 1 Corinthians 3:3.

How do I compare when it comes to negative criticism or discouragement from others? Do I take it too personal and allow it to quench the Holy Spirit that resides within me? 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 6:16.

Am I serving God in the way and for the purpose that He has created me? Or do I find myself distracted in serving my own personal needs first. Do I spread His word to others so that it might be reproduced and continue to spread? Ephesians 2:10, 2 Timothy 4:2.

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

Beware Of The Dog!

The other morning as I was sitting on my back porch drinking some coffee, I noticed my neighbor’s dog chained up in their back yard. The chain was attached to the corner of their shed, and the dog paced back and forth in an arc from one side of the shed to the other. I’d seen this same image before growing up. I too had a dog I had to tie up because no matter what, she would manage to dig out of the yard and send me on a wild dog chase. At the end of her rope all along the farthest point she could walk, was a well worn path -- the proof of her presence, the limit of her reach. For the outsider, it was a line that shouldn’t be crossed. For me, it was a limit of how close I could get to her, without her jumping up on me and getting my clothes muddy. Occasionally, I would cross the line – the mud worn path and enter into her world to offer her contact, touch, & companionship.

The neighbor’s dog reminded me of that old Looney Tunes cartoon where the big, obnoxious rooster – Foghorn Leghorn would constantly harass the tied-up Barnyard Dog. The rooster would even measure at times, the extent of the dog’s rope, to know just how far or how close he could get without getting chewed on. At some times, the conniving dog would lengthen his rope and catch the unsuspecting rooster and really give him what for.

I started thinking about this story and relating it to another story that’s found in the bible. The 20th chapter of Revelation (a book with which I hesitantly mention because it has so much symbolism, and I am such a novice with its interpretation) also tells us a story about a dog that’s chained up. Well, it’s more accurately described as a dragon, or that old serpent – the Devil.

Just briefly, the story as first read in Revelation 12:9 implies that the Devil was cast out of heaven and given roam over the earth. The Devil no longer pestered God with accusations of His people, but moved through His people on earth and entering into whomever allowed him to. The story again is picked up in Revelation 20:2 in how the Devil was bound by a chain for a time. This chain again implies that the Devil was not destroyed, but was limited to a certain area – kind of like my neighbor’s dog. As long as I stayed away, he could not get to me. But, if I chose to stroll on into his domain, he’d have much to do with me.

The simple point I’d like to offer is this: How easy it is to see a vicious dog on a chain, see the worn path, and know it’s limitations of how far it can move and decide to stay away. It doesn’t take a real bright person to know to stay away from this threat. We know the consequences of stepping across the line. Even an innocent excuse as needing to get a ball that rolled over into this area, and suddenly find ourselves trapped doesn’t diminish the consequences of stepping over into the area.

Sin is the same way. If we think about it, we don’t purposely look at a temptation face to face – eye to eye and say, “I’m going to go in there, grab a coke, be out the door, and be on my way.” It’s a crazy, risky idea and one that needs to be thrown out as quick as possible. In fact, the brightest thing I could think to do, would be to see how far away I could stay away from the threat.

James 4:7

1 Corinthians 10:13

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

Church is like a Box of Donuts

The other day, my wife had bought a box of glazed donuts from the store. Ahhh… Now if there were ever a weakness to tempt me – this would be it. I cannot help but love the fresh hot gooey goodness that comes from a card-board box. Well, there are donuts, and then there’s pizza too. By the time I got to the donuts later that same day, I had a chuckle as I opened the box. It reminded me of that little child-hood song where you clasp your hands together, interlocking your fingers and say, “This is the church. This is the steeple. Open the door and see all the people.” And as I open up my hands, I wiggle all of my fingers showing the “people”.

Yes folks, I got a laugh out of that because as soon as I opened the box, even though some donuts were already missing, in my mind I could see a church full of people in those luscious donuts. Everyone dressed the same, looked the same, all the same size, all in their pews where they should be, nice and neat – the perfect church. Needless to say, that church let out quick, ‘cause all them people disappeared in a hurry.

As I thought about that box of perfect church going donuts over the next few days, I started to realize that maybe that church was… well… too perfect. In fact, when was the last time I’d ever seen a church so perfect. Well, never. As much as I try to dress the part, I often time manage to bring a “dent” or maybe I’m missing part of my icing, of maybe my top half is wrinkled. Truth is, when I look closer at that box of perfect glazed donuts, each one is different. From a distance they all look the same, but upon closer examination every donut has its flaws. Every donut is unique, slightly different shape, size, and weight. The characteristics that make the box of glazed donuts seem like a real church to me, is the fact they are all in the “box” for the specific purpose of:

• Serving God, and each other.
• Encouraging each other.
• Singing to God, and to each other.
• Communing with God, and with each other.
• Praying to God, with each other.
• Studying with each other and allowing God to fill them with His Spirit.

Upon more consideration, I determined that what would represent the church that I read about in the NT, specifically as found in Acts chapter 2, was a church that was made up of practically, every nation! How different can that be? [ Acts 2:9, Acts 2:10, & Acts 2:11 ] Is the church made up of people who are exactly alike in every way? [ Romans 12:4, Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 1 Corinthians 12:14, 1 Corinthians 12:18, 1 Corinthians 12:20, 1 Corinthians 12:26, 1 Corinthians 12:27 ] Or does God call all? [ 1 Timothy 2:4 ] And, who am I to “screen” this or that person to see if they “fit the mold”. How hard is it to try and squeeze a perfect donut into a square shape? I don’t believe God calls us to be Bakers or any other artist responsible for making something into something else. That is God’s job. [ Acts 10:42, Acts 10:43, Romans 2:16, Romans 14:4, 2 Timothy 4:1 ] God calls us to teach, and leave the rest up to God. [ Acts 4:19, Acts 4:20 ]

Please read over these few verses to see the example of the first NT church.

[ Acts 2:1, Acts 2:5, Acts 2:14, Acts 2:37, Acts 2:38, Acts 2:39, Acts 2:41, Acts 2:42, Acts 2:43, Acts 2:44, Acts 2:45, Acts 2:46, Acts 2:47, Acts 11:26, Acts 14:23, Acts 14:27, Romans 16:1, Romans 16:5, Romans 16:23, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 5:27 ]

I'd love to hear your comments about what Church means to you, or if you'd simply like to comment on what flavor or donut you like. :)

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

Dad, I wish there weren’t any flies.

This is my favorite time of year. Actually, this is the start of my favorite time of year. I just love the cooler weather, the cooler days and nights. My area of the country doesn’t get just freezing cold. And, at this time of year, we're still dealing with flies and mosquitos. But, if it’s not raining, then most evenings I’m out on my back porch staring up at the stars and watching my breath in the air. Ahhh…. I love the Fall and Winter.

This past weekend, I was working on a little home improvement project around the house. My youngest son was helping me, and he was really doing a good job too. It helped make my job much easier that day. As the day went on, It was soon time for lunch. My wife fixed sandwiches and chips for us, and we ate lunch on the back porch. It was a real nice day. As we ate, my son soon realized that he was fanning flies away from his lunch to the point that he was getting pretty frustrated. “Dad, I wish there weren’t any flies around.” He said. I chuckled in agreement, but soon realized that I had a perfect opportunity to remind him of our God. “You know” I said, “Pharaoh, King of Egypt said the same thing.” I gave him a few seconds to let him remember the story which he did and he began recalling the story to me in great detail – with emphasis on the gross, green frogs, the nasty blood in the river, hail, lightning, boils, locust, and more.

I was very proud that he remembered the story. So I continued the story where he left off and made the comment to my son that Pharaoh, King of Egypt did not listen to God. God told Moses to tell Aaron to "Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me."'" Exodus 9:1 I explained that Pharaoh was stubborn, and would not listen to Aaron, Moses, or God. Pharaoh would not learn or believe despite the outrageous plagues that God sent his way. Pharaoh started to change his mind when things got real bad, but as soon as each plague was removed, Pharaoh changed his mind back to being the wicked ruler he was – time and time again. Exodus 8:15

I told my son that whenever we see flies bugging us, we need to remember this story, and remember how God used His creation to help teach us a lesson. God said, "I will multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt... and will use my powerful hand against Egypt. When I judge them with mighty acts, I will bring my people Israel out like an army on the march. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." Exodus 7:2-5

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

A Sower Went to Sow. Part II

Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times. - Mark 4:3-8

Again, my Sunday A.M. bible class talked about this great story as read in the book of Mark. And it’s interesting sometimes to read beyond “what’s in between the lines”. Again, I’ve heard this story before, and I have a pretty good handle on the basic meaning of the scripture. But from time to time, things just pop into my head, or rather, His word is revealed to me in greater understanding. But, the glaring question that I had this morning in class is this; Out of all the soil types that are mentioned in this story, how did the “good” soil become “good”? It’s obvious that the rocky soil that received the seed was rocky because no one bothered to pick up those rocks and move them. It’s also obvious that the path that received the seed was packed down from years of walking back and forth upon it. It was a functional piece of land allowing passage from one area to another. Also, the thorny land that received the seed was thorny because no one had bothered to take the time to remove the thorns and make that piece of land useable for crops. I’ve done just a bit of farming or gardening rather, enough to know that it’s not an easy job. During most of the growing season around in my area, it’s also a hot job too. Matter of fact, there’s not much I’d rather not do, than to pull weeds out of my flower beds. And if you’ve ever seen them, you would have to agree. I give my flowers a good head-start in the spring, but after that, they’re pretty much on their own. So, with a little thought, one could see that this “good” soil that is talked about in Jesus’ story possibly didn’t just happen that way. [Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not reading something into Jesus’ story that is somehow different. I’m not changing the story to mean something else than what Jesus was teaching. I’m simply making an observation that the “good” soil more than likely took some work to make it good.]

I’m suggesting that my life or Christian walk is sometimes filled with things that make it hard for me to grow or produce as I should. I’m also suggesting that the stones and thorns that “crop-up” over time will have to be dealt with. I can either ignore the weeds, letting them continue to grow and spring up and take over my field or my life, or I can take the time to remove them. I’m also suggesting that IF I were to ever succeed in removing all the stones and thorns from my field, or life, that it would not remain that way without working hard to keep it that way. In fact, I’m also suggesting that from time to time, I’ve been known to carry a few large stones around and drop them into my field. How dumb is that? Then, I’ve been known to realize my mistake, and haul them off again. Some rocks I’m sure I don’t even notice any more, even if I happen to trip over them. I’ve realized that I’ve done that before. To trip over the same rock, and just keep on moving, never being bothered by its presence. Sigh.

My whole point to this is; I have control over my life, rather than someone else being responsible for my life. Whether I choose to act correctly or not, it is up to me how my life is tended and cared for. If I’m going to go through the season, barely getting by, sowing and reaping around all the rocks that happen to be just lying around and be less productive. Or, if I’m going to stay vigilant, and stay on top of those weeds and thorns and rocks this year, and not let anything defile my life – and reap a bountiful harvest. The choice is only mine. However, I realize that I cannot do it on my own. I need the help that comes from God, who watches over me and helps me when I can't stand on my own. Without God's help, all my efforts are in vain. But without my efforts, I'm doomed to fail, despite the help that God has already given me.

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

The Best Substitute for Me

Duck tape is a great substitute for Glue or Nails. Tofu is a great substitute for Meat. Olive Oil is a great substitute for Butter. A healthy smoothie is a great substitute for a traditional fatty meal. Yogurt is a great substitute for cream. Pasta is a great substitute for Rice. There are substitutes for Sugar, Milk, Eggs, Fish, Stone, Wood, Glass, and Fiber. There are substitutes for practically most anything. What used to be the real thing, is now a cheaper, healthier, more efficient counterfeit.

However, I want to remind myself that there is one substitute that can be replaced by nothing else. There is no one else or nothing else that can save me - except Jesus Christ my Lord. When it comes time to stand in judgment before God Almighty, I will not be able to stand there, had it not been for the One who took my place. In my place, Jesus was scorned, was rejected, was filled with sorrow, and was caused to suffer. For my sake, He was alienated, looked down upon, and shown no respect. He went through and suffered things that I should have suffered because of my sin. He bore the pain and agony that was meant for me. He was beaten, mocked, and crucified because I had sinned. He was punished because of what I had done. He carried my judgment and condemnation, so that I wouldn't have to. Because of this great substitute, I am redeemed and forgiven. I am cleansed and healed and made whole again. Not only did Jesus take on my sins, He took on the sins of the world - for everyone! He has made many people Holy because of what He went through. He was punished for our sins. Because Jesus took on the sins of everyone, because He was willing to stand there, in place of me and of you, He will be rewarded. And the good news for me and for you is that because the price has already been paid on our behalf, we will also be rewarded if we are faithful. [paraphrased from Isaiah 53]

I must make no mistake, that this sacrifice – this pain and suffering that was made on my behalf is a "free pass" that allows me to live as I choose. Not at all! This sacrifice was offered to me, if I believe and have faith that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that He alone can save me. I do not want to change the topic, but to say that we must have faith.

Romans 1:16-18
Romans 5:1-2

Am I Listening To What God Is Saying In His Word?

Your comments about your own experiences are welcome.

Be With Me Lord

From time to time, I find myself struggling with making a right or wrong choice. Okay, that may sound like I only have an occasional problem. Actually, every day - throughout the day, I find myself struggling with making the right or wrong decision. I pray to God to help me make the right choices. I pray to God to help keep me strong.

The thought re-occurred to me today and as soon as I had the thought, a chill ran down my back. I wonder if after I just finished praying, if the devil just asked God if he can tempt me. Because as I sit here feeling all energized from my prayer, I suddenly remembered a few quotes in the bible about this sort of thing....

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me." - Luke 22:31-34

And also this one...

One day, angels came to the Lord. Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered, "From traveling all around the earth. I've been going from one end of it to the other." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you thought about my servant Job? There isn't anyone on earth like him. He is honest. He does what is right. He has respect for me and avoids evil." "You always give Job everything he needs," Satan replied. "That's why he has respect for you. Haven't you guarded him and his family? Haven't you taken care of everything he has? You have blessed everything he does. His flocks and herds are spread all through the land. "But reach out your hand and strike down everything he has. Then I'm sure he will speak evil things against you. In fact, he'll do it right in front of you." The Lord said to Satan, "All right. I am handing everything he has over to you. But do not touch the man himself." Then Satan left the Lord and went on his way. - Job 1:6-12

Now Job was a great man. Of course I remember what most of Job was all about. But in the end, Job remained faithful and never "cursed God and died". He had the attitude, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." - Job 13:15

How do I compare? Lord, Increase My Faith! Lord, I pray that you will watch over me. That you will be there for me when I face decisions. That you will hold my hand, lift me up, turn my head - my face - my body, lead me, carry me - bless me. Lord, thank you for your blessings. You have given me so much - so much more than many others. Physically, You've blessed me with Godly parents, a Godly wife, with children, with a home, with a job, with a car, with food, with clothes, with health, with protection, and with so much more. Spiritually, You've blessed me with forgiveness, mercy, love, grace, faithful examples found in Your word, with many Christian friends to help support me, and with so much more. Thank you for hearing my prayers. Thank you for watching over me. Amen.

Do I Hear What God Is Saying In His Word?