You Can Keep It Simple

I have my hands on my head. My eyes are closed. I'm sitting at the computer trying to write this deep thought that would bring about some spiritual sense to people and to myself. I'm suffering from writers block. Nothing is clicking. No deep thoughts come to mind. So I stand up, walk around, fiddle on Facebook, take a deep breath, anything to bring some deep thought to mind. But nothing...or is it something.
Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to have the deepest thought about our faith or try to share some sort of words that would sink deep into the hearts and minds of people. We try to use big words or make statements that sound "intelligent". We dig deep into the spiritual meaning of things, when all we need is something simple. Simple works. Everyone is at a different spiritual walk in life. To some, deep and intense thinking is what they are longing for, but for some, simple is best. Jesus did this. He spoke deep to those who thought they were the smartest or were higher than others. He spoke deep to make a point, then, for those who were trying to understand, it was simple. So as I was pounding my head for a great concept to write about, God was showing me that sometimes the simple message is just as important and makes a great impact. You can share God's love through the simple things. It just might be the way to bring others to see His love also.

Thunderstorms

I attended a meeting for the National Youth Gathering over this past weekend. The meeting was good. I learned a lot and the gathering is taking shape. Sunday was a travel home day for us. I left the hotel and headed to the airport unaware the Atlanta was getting hit by a major thunderstorm. This storm delayed my flight and canceled my connection home. When we finally landed in Atlanta, the airline had already rebooked me to the last possible flight into Flint. But there were 3 flights coming into Flint before that "last flight". So I talked with the airline and tried to get onboard an earlier flight. The lady I spoke with wasn't happy about working, in fact, didn't seem happy about anything. Everyone was in the same boat. Everyone wasn't happy. Everyone just needed to stop and relook at things. A day that was supposed to be smooth turned into a "thunderstorm".

There are so many days that "thunderstorms" play havoc with our lives. We expect life to be smooth. We expect everything to just go as we plan, but God has other plans. Tough situations come upon us and we must deal with them in a way that shows our faith in Christ. There were people yelling at the lady behind the counter to get their flight rebooked. I even caught myself getting frustrated with her, but I never raised my voice. It wasn't her fault, she didn't cause the storm. God's plan didn't really help with our perfectly smooth plan for the day. He had a plan for me to be involved in this. Maybe it was just to say "thank you" to the lady behind the counter as I got my seat on standby? Maybe it was show a calm voice to those who were yelling at her. I don't know why it happened, but it did, all to His glory. I got home, a little later than expected, but safe. Praise God for the "thunderstorm". It makes you stop and think of His power.

Serve (1 Peter 4:10)

I was mowing the lawn when it hit me. I was given the school year theme of Serve One Another in Love from 1 Peter 4:10. So I started working on a theme song that would best fit the school year and bring out the theme. So I went out to mow the lawn. I do a lot of thinking while mowing. It is my private time. No one bothers me. I get no phone calls or emails. I can just push the mower and allow my mind to think. So I'm thinking and it comes to me and I had to stop mowing before I forgot.

Serve (1 Peter 4:10)

Serve one another in love
Serve the Father above
Serve with a servant heart
Serve, do your part


Serve with gladness everyone.
Praise the Father, Spirit, Son.
We all have gifts God provides,
To share His love, Him glorified.


Reach out to others with a loving heart.
Don't complain about doing your part.
It is God's grace that we share.
So take God's love everywhere.

So serve the Lord with a servant heart.
So share His word. Do Your part!



Special thanks to members of the music ministry team who helped with musical ideas and with the recording of this song! You can check out the song by going to the church website at http://www.livword.net/. Scroll down and click on the church link. There is a link to the song on the music ministry page.

Guests

Just recently I had to make a quick stop at Kroger to pick up a few items. As I was walking through the store, there stood a young lady who looked very familiar. I thought nothing of it until she happened into the same aisle I was in. So I asked if I knew her from somewhere. She mentioned that we had talked before at Living Word one Sunday morning. I asked her how she was doing. She explained that she came to Living Word twice. Both times, she didn't feel welcomed at all. The people sitting next to her didn't talk with her, even during sharing the peace. She didn't attend communion because she just didn't feel like she was part of this church family. When the service was over, she told me that not one person ever said anything to her, except myself on her first visit. She mentioned that I was busy on her second visit. But she didn't feel welcomed by people. I apologized for this and invited her back. She hasn't come back yet.

We all have our friends in our church. We feel comfortable talking with them and at times, seek them out to visit with. Our ministry is also in this building. We tend to talk about sharing the Word with those out in the community, but what about in our own building. We need to step outside of our normal group and welcome those around. We need to share the love and peace of God with those who step into our building to worship. We say that everyone is welcome, so we, as a church, need to practice this. We have been having many visitors in the past months. It is a blessing to have them worship with us. We should thank them and welcome them. The church isn't just our members, the church is everyone. Each person should feel a part of the family of God.

Are You Ready for Some Football

I will have the honor of watching the Indianapolis Colts play the Minnesota Vikings in Indianapolis this week. I love watching football and love seeing the strategy that goes into playing the game. Now this game is only a pre-season game and the first one for both teams, so I know that I won't be watching much of the starting lineups. I'll see the backup players as they try to do the things to impress the coach so they can make the team. These players might not have the household names, but they have the talent and the ability to play the game. You never know watching these games, you might be watching the next NFL pro-bowler or hall of famer.

There are times in our lives when we feel that we are working to impress our coach, God. We do many things to show that we are Christian, but the problem is, we are doing things to show we are Christians. It has nothing to do with what is right or what God has commanded, it is all about ourselves. We walk around trying to build ourselves up so much that we forget about who we are serving. We work so hard to impress God, to make Him see us, that we forget that we don't have to impress Him at all, only serve. We don't need to work to make the team, we are already on it. All we have to do is follow the play that He has set before us. All we have to do is serve Him.

Garage Sales

My wife and I enjoy finding garage sales. She is what her family calls a "garage sale expert". She can find deals and things for next to nothing. She found curtain valances for our family room. She has found curtains for the dining room and living room. She found a laptop computer that really works and a basketball goal. All for next to nothing (in some cases, nothing). We search the newspapers for garage sales and watch for signs. It is something we enjoy doing and has turned into a challenging adventure.
Thank goodness God didn't search for a deal to save us. He knew the price He had to pay for us and that was full price...the life of His only Son. There was no picking around piles to find us. There wasn't any bargaining or leaving us behind because He thought we weren't worth the price. He was willing to pay for us in full...no strings attached. God looked at us and knew that we were something He wanted and He was willing to give it all for us. He didn't see junk, only something special. What a precious thing we are.

A Little Pinch

I am currently working on installing a fountain in the flower bed in the front of our house. I found the pond base at a garage sale and have always wanted to add a water feature to our home. We went out and purchased a small pump and a large flower pot that I am going to push the water up into. Everything was going well. I dug the hole and leveled it. Then I added the pump, the tubing, and the river rock. Finally, I got to place the flower pot on top of the rocks. Then the moment of truth. I added the water and watched it flow. Problem...the tubing was pinched so the pressure was cut off and the water wasn't flowing like it was intended. So I had to remove part of the fountain and fix the pinch tubing. Amazing how many problems a little pinch in the tubing caused the fountain.

It is the same way in our Christian walk. We work hard to walk the walk, talk the talk, but the moment there is a little pressure to either share our faith vocally or by action, that little pinch stops us from being the witness that we are called to be. The pinch effects who we are and doesn't allow God to shine through us. Thank goodness that God see our troubles and rebuilds us through word and sacrament. He fixes the pinch so that when the opportunity arises again, the message of God will flow freely.