My Sin
A couple of “blogs” ago I confessed that I had a sin that I was battling, and that I would make a full confession in an upcoming blog.
So here it is.
I’m a glutton.
There’s something about that word that just makes me want to squirm. If I say, I am fat, well, we know lots of fat people don’t we? Fat, while not a compliment, doesn't carry the same weight (no pun intended) that the word “glutton” does.
The problem is that most of us think of gluttony as a problem with eating too much, or being overweight, but gluttony like all sins, is not a physical problem. It is a spiritual problem, a heart problem. I am a glutton at heart
I recently heard a message from The Village Church by Paul Matthes, where he confesses his sin of gluttony. He has a great definition of the sin of gluttony. Here it is:
“Commonly seen in eating, gluttony is a lack of a faith in God that expresses itself through excess, and expects total satisfaction from some idol of choice, at the expense of community, responsibility and trusting worship of God”
I am a glutton.
Since this is a forum where I “let my hair down”,I am going to ask you, my brothers and sisters to help me battle this sin. It does show itself in my weight,without a doubt, but I don't need a new fangled diet book, or a new type of workout (you have to have an old type of workout before you can get a new one), no, what I need to do is repent of my sin of gluttony.
Take a look at Ezekiel 16:49 from The Message: "The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy."
I don't know about you, but this is not the kind of company that I want to keep.
So on Friday, my day off from the county, I am going to seek out a gym. On Saturday, I am going to the gym. I am going to begin to address this sin of gluttony…..from the outside and from the inside.
I ask you my brothers and sisters, to love me enough to hold me accountable. If I worship with you Sunday, ask me how the workout is going...ask me how I’m doing at saying "no” to food and “things” that are part of this sin called gluttony. If you are reading this blog and we don’t have contact, then email me with suggestions, prayer or encouragement.
We were not meant to walk this road alone. I ask for your love, encouragement and grace, as I battle this sin.
Oh, and if anyone wants a copy of the message that has inspired and uplifted me on this subject, (and I believe that even “skinny” people can be gluttons so you might need it too), then email me, and I will be glad to burn you a cd of the message and get it to you.
Yes, I have been a glutton.
But God is calling me out of my gluttonous sin, to live a life according to his Word, according to His plan, according to His mercy and His grace.
I have been a glutton, but I will live like a child of the King, to be a glutton no more.
Ok, so there’s that.
Pastor Dave
Thoughts on Scripture and life, from a small church pastor. Exploring what it means, that everyone needs the Good Shepherd.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Prayer Needed
Just a quick post for now. I would like anyone who is reading this blog to pray for me today. I feel the spiritual battle more than ever before this morning. I don't know what is up, but I feel the presence of the enemy very strongly. This is truly one of those moments for me to "let my hair down". I don't know what I will be facing today at work, at home or in the spiritual realm, but I know the One who will walk me through it, and if needed, carry me through it.
Pastor Dave
Pastor Dave
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Who Would You Go To Hell For?
Reading in Romans 9 & 10 today, I came across a verse that I have read many times before, and each time find it an almost unbeliveable statment, and today was no different.
The verse I'm talking about is Romans 9:3 where Paul writes, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race." In essence, what Paul is saying here, is that he loves his fellow Jews so much, that if it would "buy" their salvation, he would give himself up to be seperated from Christ, literally, that he would be willing to go to hell if it meant their salvation.
To me, this is a huge, huge statement, and it shows the depths of the love that Paul had for people. Paul often gets a bad rap as being hard and stiff, but this verse shows a love that I don't have, and that I don't know that I have seen anyone have.
Who would you got to hell for? Would you go for your children? Before you say yes, think about what it really means. I love my kids. I would give my life for my kids in a heartbeat. But to be honest, I don't think I would give my relationship with Christ for my kids.
This verse makes me examine my life, my heart and my motives for serving God. Do I really serve God out of love, or because it is just what I do? What sacrifices am I willing to make? What am I willing to give up? How deep is my love of Jesus? How deep is my love of the lost? Do I really care that people I work with will die and wind up in hell? If I do care, why don't I do more about it?
As usual, when I take a good look at the scriptures I walk away with more questions, than answers.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
The verse I'm talking about is Romans 9:3 where Paul writes, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race." In essence, what Paul is saying here, is that he loves his fellow Jews so much, that if it would "buy" their salvation, he would give himself up to be seperated from Christ, literally, that he would be willing to go to hell if it meant their salvation.
To me, this is a huge, huge statement, and it shows the depths of the love that Paul had for people. Paul often gets a bad rap as being hard and stiff, but this verse shows a love that I don't have, and that I don't know that I have seen anyone have.
Who would you got to hell for? Would you go for your children? Before you say yes, think about what it really means. I love my kids. I would give my life for my kids in a heartbeat. But to be honest, I don't think I would give my relationship with Christ for my kids.
This verse makes me examine my life, my heart and my motives for serving God. Do I really serve God out of love, or because it is just what I do? What sacrifices am I willing to make? What am I willing to give up? How deep is my love of Jesus? How deep is my love of the lost? Do I really care that people I work with will die and wind up in hell? If I do care, why don't I do more about it?
As usual, when I take a good look at the scriptures I walk away with more questions, than answers.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Help!
Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.
Most people who know me, know that I am a big fan of the music of the Beatles. A lot of their songs are just silly combinations of words that when put to music, well, they just seem to work (Hello, Goodbye; I Am The Walrus; Hey Bulldog, just to name a few), while others are really thoughtful, and more than once in my life the lyrics spoke to me right where I was at the time (What You're Doing; In My Life; Yesterday), and the song that started todays blog: Help! I'll bring it back around to that in just a minute.
Yesterday I read the chapters in Joshua and I noticed a trend. The Israelites had been told to completely remove the people living in the land of Canaan . For some reason, they didn’t do that. Instead, we see this scenario repeated several times: Joshua 15:63 “ Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites…to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah .” Joshua 16:10 : They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.” Joshua 17:13 “…they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them completely out.” (this was in a different area than the previous verse).
They were told to remove all of the Canaanites, but they didn’t. In some cases they decided to make them their slaves.
The problem was that years later, the Israelites were hounded, harassed and enslaved themselves by the decendants of the Canaanites they let stay in the land.
God had said they had to deal with them in drastic ways for a good reason. He knew they would later influence the Israelites and try to destroy them.
I see a huge parallel here between the Israelites and the Canaanites and us and sin.
Jesus told us in Matthew that if our eye causes us to sin it would be better for us to pluck it out! That is very drastic isn’t it? I don’t for a minute believe that Jesus wanted us to be gouging our eyes out….but he was trying to tell us that dealing with sin requires drastic measures. Too often like the Israelites making slaves to those they were supposed to get rid of, we try to manage sin. We try to justify it, micro-manage it, and just learn to live with it. It’s no wonder that we continue to struggle with things when we won’t make the hard choices necessary to deal with sin.
Of course, when we boil it all down, it comes down to a matter of the heart. Sin is a heart issue. If we really want be serious about our relationship with Jesus, then we will seriously deal with sin. I think sometimes we love sin more than we want to admit.
It’s time to be honest with ourselves and with each other. And that is where we fail far too often. We neglect to seek help and support from brothers & sisters around us.
Let's jump back to the Israelites again for just a moment. If they had acted as one, instead of individual tribes, they would have & could have driven the Canaanites out of the land and saved themselves a ton of problems down the road. But they didn't. They tried to tackle the problem by themselves & failed. Who knows why it happened. Maybe they were ashamed, maybe the other Israelites got too wrapped up in their own lives, maybe they did seek help, but instead got osctracized because they weren't stronger, or any number of reasons.
We suffer from the same thing. We try and fight the sin without our brothers and sisters, because when we have been vulnerable-instead of being helped-we were kicked. Instead of being helped-we were laughed at. Instead of being helped-we were shunned. And so, next time, we struggled alone. We fought alone. We fell, all alone.
It's time for the church to stop shooting their wounded, but instead help to bind each others wounds with love, kindness, mercy, grace and accountability.
When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.
And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before
Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.
I cannot, you cannot, we cannot fight this battle all by ourselves.
Pray for me. Walk with me.
Later on I plan on getting more specific about a particular sin that I have been dealing with for a long time. I know I will be taking a huge step making this public, but I beleive it is neccesary in order for me to overcome this.
Now, before the rumour mill gets to going full speed, let me say this: What I will be revealing is something that you will find in every church, without exception. In fact you will find it taking place at church functions. Some may not even think of it as sin, but I do. At least now I do.
How's that for a cliffhanger?
Pastor Dave
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.
Most people who know me, know that I am a big fan of the music of the Beatles. A lot of their songs are just silly combinations of words that when put to music, well, they just seem to work (Hello, Goodbye; I Am The Walrus; Hey Bulldog, just to name a few), while others are really thoughtful, and more than once in my life the lyrics spoke to me right where I was at the time (What You're Doing; In My Life; Yesterday), and the song that started todays blog: Help! I'll bring it back around to that in just a minute.
Yesterday I read the chapters in Joshua and I noticed a trend. The Israelites had been told to completely remove the people living in the land of Canaan . For some reason, they didn’t do that. Instead, we see this scenario repeated several times: Joshua 15:63 “ Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites…to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah .” Joshua 16:10 : They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.” Joshua 17:13 “…they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them completely out.” (this was in a different area than the previous verse).
They were told to remove all of the Canaanites, but they didn’t. In some cases they decided to make them their slaves.
The problem was that years later, the Israelites were hounded, harassed and enslaved themselves by the decendants of the Canaanites they let stay in the land.
God had said they had to deal with them in drastic ways for a good reason. He knew they would later influence the Israelites and try to destroy them.
I see a huge parallel here between the Israelites and the Canaanites and us and sin.
Jesus told us in Matthew that if our eye causes us to sin it would be better for us to pluck it out! That is very drastic isn’t it? I don’t for a minute believe that Jesus wanted us to be gouging our eyes out….but he was trying to tell us that dealing with sin requires drastic measures. Too often like the Israelites making slaves to those they were supposed to get rid of, we try to manage sin. We try to justify it, micro-manage it, and just learn to live with it. It’s no wonder that we continue to struggle with things when we won’t make the hard choices necessary to deal with sin.
Of course, when we boil it all down, it comes down to a matter of the heart. Sin is a heart issue. If we really want be serious about our relationship with Jesus, then we will seriously deal with sin. I think sometimes we love sin more than we want to admit.
It’s time to be honest with ourselves and with each other. And that is where we fail far too often. We neglect to seek help and support from brothers & sisters around us.
Let's jump back to the Israelites again for just a moment. If they had acted as one, instead of individual tribes, they would have & could have driven the Canaanites out of the land and saved themselves a ton of problems down the road. But they didn't. They tried to tackle the problem by themselves & failed. Who knows why it happened. Maybe they were ashamed, maybe the other Israelites got too wrapped up in their own lives, maybe they did seek help, but instead got osctracized because they weren't stronger, or any number of reasons.
We suffer from the same thing. We try and fight the sin without our brothers and sisters, because when we have been vulnerable-instead of being helped-we were kicked. Instead of being helped-we were laughed at. Instead of being helped-we were shunned. And so, next time, we struggled alone. We fought alone. We fell, all alone.
It's time for the church to stop shooting their wounded, but instead help to bind each others wounds with love, kindness, mercy, grace and accountability.
When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.
And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before
Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.
I cannot, you cannot, we cannot fight this battle all by ourselves.
Pray for me. Walk with me.
Later on I plan on getting more specific about a particular sin that I have been dealing with for a long time. I know I will be taking a huge step making this public, but I beleive it is neccesary in order for me to overcome this.
Now, before the rumour mill gets to going full speed, let me say this: What I will be revealing is something that you will find in every church, without exception. In fact you will find it taking place at church functions. Some may not even think of it as sin, but I do. At least now I do.
How's that for a cliffhanger?
Pastor Dave
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Go!
How many of us have heard the saying, “God loves you just the way you are!”
It sounds nice. It sounds spiritual. The problem is that it is only a half-truth.
Let’s examine it a bit closer.
Think of the following people:
Adolf Hitler
Charles Manson
Idi Amin
Osama Ben Laden
Now, say the above statement, “God loves you just the way you are!”….with one little bitty change. Insert any of the above names in place of the word “you”. Doesn’t sound so nice does it?
I thought of this when reading the scripture for yesterday.
In Genesis 12:1 it says, “The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”
You see, when God is your Lord, when you accept Jesus as your Savior he has plans for you. He has “places for you to go, people for you to meet”. He has work for you to do. He has changes in you He wants to make.
One thing I have learned is this: you cannot go with God and yet, stay where you are.
God will always call you to somewhere else in your life…either a new place physically, or financially, or emotionally, or spiritually, but He does not just want us to stay where we were when we first became one of His.
So what does all this have to do with the little phrase, “God loves you just the way you are.”?
As I said at the start of this blog, it is only a half-truth. It is not a complete statement.
The full truth is this, “God loves you just as you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are.”
When He called Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel, and the father of the faithful, He told Abe to go. He didn’t leave Him where he was, but pushed Him out of his comfort zone into a place where Abe had never been before. He loved Abe just as he was, but He loved him way, way, way too much to let him stay there and miss out on all that He (God) had in store for him (Abraham).
So what about you and me. What are we missing out on because we want to stay comfortable? What are we missing out on because we want to stay safe? What are we missing out on because we want to stay in our nice little place in life? My friend Bob has a blog called “On the Road to Ruin”. We don’t think of the gospel that way, but in reality, the change that the gospel makes should ruin our lives of complacency! It should ruin our comfortable cozy Christian club! It should move us from the comfort zone into the battle zone!
So whadda we sittin’ around for!
Let’s go!
And remember,
The first three letters in Satan is “sat”.
The first two letters in God are “go”
Ok, so there’s that.
Pastor Dave
It sounds nice. It sounds spiritual. The problem is that it is only a half-truth.
Let’s examine it a bit closer.
Think of the following people:
Adolf Hitler
Charles Manson
Idi Amin
Osama Ben Laden
Now, say the above statement, “God loves you just the way you are!”….with one little bitty change. Insert any of the above names in place of the word “you”. Doesn’t sound so nice does it?
I thought of this when reading the scripture for yesterday.
In Genesis 12:1 it says, “The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”
You see, when God is your Lord, when you accept Jesus as your Savior he has plans for you. He has “places for you to go, people for you to meet”. He has work for you to do. He has changes in you He wants to make.
One thing I have learned is this: you cannot go with God and yet, stay where you are.
God will always call you to somewhere else in your life…either a new place physically, or financially, or emotionally, or spiritually, but He does not just want us to stay where we were when we first became one of His.
So what does all this have to do with the little phrase, “God loves you just the way you are.”?
As I said at the start of this blog, it is only a half-truth. It is not a complete statement.
The full truth is this, “God loves you just as you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are.”
When He called Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel, and the father of the faithful, He told Abe to go. He didn’t leave Him where he was, but pushed Him out of his comfort zone into a place where Abe had never been before. He loved Abe just as he was, but He loved him way, way, way too much to let him stay there and miss out on all that He (God) had in store for him (Abraham).
So what about you and me. What are we missing out on because we want to stay comfortable? What are we missing out on because we want to stay safe? What are we missing out on because we want to stay in our nice little place in life? My friend Bob has a blog called “On the Road to Ruin”. We don’t think of the gospel that way, but in reality, the change that the gospel makes should ruin our lives of complacency! It should ruin our comfortable cozy Christian club! It should move us from the comfort zone into the battle zone!
So whadda we sittin’ around for!
Let’s go!
And remember,
The first three letters in Satan is “sat”.
The first two letters in God are “go”
Ok, so there’s that.
Pastor Dave
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Heart Of The Matter
Several years ago Don Henley had a song called "The Heart Of The Matter". Part of the lyrics went like this:
"Ive been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter...
...But I think its about forgiveness
Forgiveness".
Mr. Henley had come to the point in his life where he knew that the heart is what really matters in relationships. He talks about forgiveness, no matter what, which of course is true forgiveness. Anyone can say "I forgive you", but to really mean it, you have to get down to the heart of the matter, and say, and mean, "I forgive you, no matter what."
I thought of this while reading todays scripture: Matthew, chapters 5 thru 7.
In this portion of scripture, commonly refered to as the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus addresses some well known laws of his day, but takes them further than just outward obedience. He gets down to the heart of the matter.
He says in verses 21-22 of chapter 5, that being angry with someone is equal to murder in your heart. Ouch!
In verses 27 thru 28 (in chapter 5) He tells us that if you lust after someone, you have committed adultery in your heart! Every guy I know (and every woman too....I think) is guilty of that one!
In verses 29 thru 30 of the same chapter He instructs us that sin is serious business and we need to take drastic measures to deal with it.
He continues to cut through the layers of outward appearances and plastic religon again and again. He addresses divorce, swearing oaths, revenge, how to treat your enemies, the needy, prayer, fasting, stress & worry, and judging others....and with each one he tears away layer after layer of the piety and falseness that the teachers of the law and religion of His day had built up.
Today we are not any different. We look at people and judge them by their outward appearances. We compare ourselves to people that we feel are "badder" than us, so that we can feel good about ourselves. But the problem is that if we look past the nice clothes and perfect skin, hair & teeth, we will find that our hearts are cold, hard and black. When we stop comparing ourselves to those around us and compare ourselves to God, we come up short every way, every time.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?"
Taking a good look at our heart requires careful examination. Our heart wants to trick us, and it will lie to us. When we do get an honest look, we know exactly who and what we are, and we don't like it. So we go back to playing church. We go back to living the plastic Jesus life. And all along the heart continues to decieve us.
What can we do?
Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We have to realize that we are saved (born-again) by the grace of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, and I know that as evangelical christians, we KNOW this in our HEADS, but we don't always live it in our lives. It's not about how good I can be, but about how good (perfect) HE is! Too often as believers we will acknowledge that we are saved by grace, and then we try and live the christian life by works! Whatever good we do for Jesus in this life, we can only do by the grace of God.
It's time for God's people to take a good look at their hearts.
To see what is really there.
To see who is really there.
Is Jesus on the throne of your heart, or have you pulled a "fast-one" and pushed Him off the throne, and set yourself up in His rightful place?
I know that I have to constantly check my heart, my motives, my life. It doesn't take much for my heart to shift gears and decieve me, and the next thing you know, I've got thoughts I wish I didn't have, feelings that betray me, and motivation that is less than honorable.
The heart of the matter.
Thank you for the great lyric Mr. Henley.
I think it's time to go take a look at my heart again.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
"Ive been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter...
...But I think its about forgiveness
Forgiveness".
Mr. Henley had come to the point in his life where he knew that the heart is what really matters in relationships. He talks about forgiveness, no matter what, which of course is true forgiveness. Anyone can say "I forgive you", but to really mean it, you have to get down to the heart of the matter, and say, and mean, "I forgive you, no matter what."
I thought of this while reading todays scripture: Matthew, chapters 5 thru 7.
In this portion of scripture, commonly refered to as the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus addresses some well known laws of his day, but takes them further than just outward obedience. He gets down to the heart of the matter.
He says in verses 21-22 of chapter 5, that being angry with someone is equal to murder in your heart. Ouch!
In verses 27 thru 28 (in chapter 5) He tells us that if you lust after someone, you have committed adultery in your heart! Every guy I know (and every woman too....I think) is guilty of that one!
In verses 29 thru 30 of the same chapter He instructs us that sin is serious business and we need to take drastic measures to deal with it.
He continues to cut through the layers of outward appearances and plastic religon again and again. He addresses divorce, swearing oaths, revenge, how to treat your enemies, the needy, prayer, fasting, stress & worry, and judging others....and with each one he tears away layer after layer of the piety and falseness that the teachers of the law and religion of His day had built up.
Today we are not any different. We look at people and judge them by their outward appearances. We compare ourselves to people that we feel are "badder" than us, so that we can feel good about ourselves. But the problem is that if we look past the nice clothes and perfect skin, hair & teeth, we will find that our hearts are cold, hard and black. When we stop comparing ourselves to those around us and compare ourselves to God, we come up short every way, every time.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?"
Taking a good look at our heart requires careful examination. Our heart wants to trick us, and it will lie to us. When we do get an honest look, we know exactly who and what we are, and we don't like it. So we go back to playing church. We go back to living the plastic Jesus life. And all along the heart continues to decieve us.
What can we do?
Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We have to realize that we are saved (born-again) by the grace of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, and I know that as evangelical christians, we KNOW this in our HEADS, but we don't always live it in our lives. It's not about how good I can be, but about how good (perfect) HE is! Too often as believers we will acknowledge that we are saved by grace, and then we try and live the christian life by works! Whatever good we do for Jesus in this life, we can only do by the grace of God.
It's time for God's people to take a good look at their hearts.
To see what is really there.
To see who is really there.
Is Jesus on the throne of your heart, or have you pulled a "fast-one" and pushed Him off the throne, and set yourself up in His rightful place?
I know that I have to constantly check my heart, my motives, my life. It doesn't take much for my heart to shift gears and decieve me, and the next thing you know, I've got thoughts I wish I didn't have, feelings that betray me, and motivation that is less than honorable.
The heart of the matter.
Thank you for the great lyric Mr. Henley.
I think it's time to go take a look at my heart again.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
Friday, January 19, 2007
Refuge
Twenty something years ago I worked at a newspaper and met a guy who became a very close friend of mine. When we first met we hit it off right away with our love of music and comedy. He was a constant comedian. He could do different voices, lines from movies, facial expressions and his own comedy routines. No matter how bad work got, we could always count on him to cheer us up.
His wife also worked with us. She was a complete opposite from him. She was harsh, hard and mean. Nobody, and I mean, NOBODY wanted to work with her or be with her. None of us could imagine what might have brought them together. Within just a few months after meeting my new friend, he called me up one day and told me that his wife had left him.
Fast forward several years, and now he had remarried and life is good. I finally asked him one day, "How did you handle it with her (his ex-wife)? She was nothing like you...and she was harsh!" He looked at me, smiled, and I will never forget what he said.
He said, "I would get up every morning and at 7:00 on channel 4 they would play the Stooges for half an hour (that's The Three Stooges for the uninformed), and after a half hour of Larry, Moe & Curly, I'm good to go for the day, no matter what!"
You may think I'm making this up, but it is the truth....a dose of the Stooges was what he used to make it through the day.
I thought of my friend and what he said when I read this scripture the other day:
"Oh Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, for they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me."
Psalm 7:1
We don't use that word refuge much these days. The dictionary says defines refuge as:
1. shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2. a place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.
For my friend, watching the Stooges was where he went to for aid, relief, escape, and for shelter. It might seem odd, but it worked for him, for awhile. Eventually there was pain, suffering and sorrow from the divorce that was too big for him to find refuge in Larry, Moe or Curly.
Too often we seek refuge in things that at best, will only numb the pain or help us ignore the problems we are going through, and at worst, will eventually destroy us.
We turn to alcohol, drugs, eating, pornography, work, relationships, or any number of things that will deaden what we are going through, all the time feeling as though we have a place of shelter protection, aid and relief, when in reality we are only putting off the inevitable, always needing more.
In this Psalm, David tells us that the Lord is his refuge. It has taken me a long time to get to this place, but I have finally reached the place in my life where the Lord truly is my refuge. As a pastor this is extremely important. There is no way I can please all the people that I serve all the time. I must be true to God and His Word and His direction...ans sometimes, in the process, people get their feelings hurt, or some people just don't understand and get angry. During these times I have learned to lean on God, to let Him be my refuge. I literally run to Him in my heart, and on my knees.
Don't get me wrong. I don't always run to God for my refuge. Sometimes I still fall back into bad habits and addictions for my refuge, but it's getting better.
Today, no matter what you face, the Lord can and will be your refuge. You just need to call out to Him. Jesus told a religious leader in the gospel of John, "You must be born again." This persons knowledge of scripture wouldn't cut it, his standing in the community didn't make the grade, his position in his church (synagogue) didn't add up to much in the eyes of Jesus. He needed to be born into the family of God in order to have a relationship with God. Sometime between that discussion with Jesus, and the death of Jesus on the cross, it appears that he did just that.
What about you.
Where do you go for refuge?
I reccomend the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
It sure beats Larry, Moe and Curly any day.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
His wife also worked with us. She was a complete opposite from him. She was harsh, hard and mean. Nobody, and I mean, NOBODY wanted to work with her or be with her. None of us could imagine what might have brought them together. Within just a few months after meeting my new friend, he called me up one day and told me that his wife had left him.
Fast forward several years, and now he had remarried and life is good. I finally asked him one day, "How did you handle it with her (his ex-wife)? She was nothing like you...and she was harsh!" He looked at me, smiled, and I will never forget what he said.
He said, "I would get up every morning and at 7:00 on channel 4 they would play the Stooges for half an hour (that's The Three Stooges for the uninformed), and after a half hour of Larry, Moe & Curly, I'm good to go for the day, no matter what!"
You may think I'm making this up, but it is the truth....a dose of the Stooges was what he used to make it through the day.
I thought of my friend and what he said when I read this scripture the other day:
"Oh Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, for they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me."
Psalm 7:1
We don't use that word refuge much these days. The dictionary says defines refuge as:
1. shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2. a place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.
For my friend, watching the Stooges was where he went to for aid, relief, escape, and for shelter. It might seem odd, but it worked for him, for awhile. Eventually there was pain, suffering and sorrow from the divorce that was too big for him to find refuge in Larry, Moe or Curly.
Too often we seek refuge in things that at best, will only numb the pain or help us ignore the problems we are going through, and at worst, will eventually destroy us.
We turn to alcohol, drugs, eating, pornography, work, relationships, or any number of things that will deaden what we are going through, all the time feeling as though we have a place of shelter protection, aid and relief, when in reality we are only putting off the inevitable, always needing more.
In this Psalm, David tells us that the Lord is his refuge. It has taken me a long time to get to this place, but I have finally reached the place in my life where the Lord truly is my refuge. As a pastor this is extremely important. There is no way I can please all the people that I serve all the time. I must be true to God and His Word and His direction...ans sometimes, in the process, people get their feelings hurt, or some people just don't understand and get angry. During these times I have learned to lean on God, to let Him be my refuge. I literally run to Him in my heart, and on my knees.
Don't get me wrong. I don't always run to God for my refuge. Sometimes I still fall back into bad habits and addictions for my refuge, but it's getting better.
Today, no matter what you face, the Lord can and will be your refuge. You just need to call out to Him. Jesus told a religious leader in the gospel of John, "You must be born again." This persons knowledge of scripture wouldn't cut it, his standing in the community didn't make the grade, his position in his church (synagogue) didn't add up to much in the eyes of Jesus. He needed to be born into the family of God in order to have a relationship with God. Sometime between that discussion with Jesus, and the death of Jesus on the cross, it appears that he did just that.
What about you.
Where do you go for refuge?
I reccomend the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
It sure beats Larry, Moe and Curly any day.
Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave
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