Easter

Easter!  This is a special day throughout the Christian world, a day that many celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This has always been a special day as we look at it through the eyes of a world that has walked away from the truth the Bible speaks of.  So many in our world have not taken time to honor God with a true understanding of what Easter is supposed to be about.  To many it is a time of gathering eggs and candy for children.  For others, it is one of the only days that they attend worship to thank God for the blessings they have received in their lives.

I am not sure why the world hasn’t gotten the grasp of what the resurrection celebration is supposed to be about.  When Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb after His death, God raised His body up three days later from a cold and lonely grave.  Jesus came back to life and we have called that day Easter.  We are able to calculate, according to the days and weeks of the Jewish calendar, when that Easter day, that resurrection morning occurred. But that isn’t the main point of why this day is special.  It is a special day because the people of the world stop and recognize, for the most part, that Jesus actually did come back to life.  It was a first day of the week.  It was a Sunday!  But what makes the celebrating even better is that we serve a risen Savior.  We don’t serve a dead God!

For me, I celebrate this wonderful and blessed day each and every Sunday as I come together with my family and worship God thanking Him for the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The reason we are to come together is to remember His Death, His Burial, and His resurrection from the dead.  We partake of communion each and every week to remember that sacrifice and the blood that was shed for our forgiveness of sin.

No, I never get into a rut when I partake every first day of the week.  This is my focus!  This is my sign to God that my heart is His each and every week as I come to worship, praise and thank Him for all He has done in forgiving my sins and giving me the opportunity to join Him in heaven.  It is not something to be taken lightly, but thought out, remembered, and practiced as often as we come together.  I am proud that I am a Christian and proud to have Him as my Savior.  I am proud to remember Him, not only today, but every time I come into His presence and into the presence of my spiritual family.  I love Him and want to remember Him all my life.

                                                                                                                                       

Sometimes I Wonder!

I had a terrible experience this morning.  I really feel badly about it, but it just really got under my skin.  I know I shouldn't get angry with folks, but when they basically call you a liar without a reason, it makes me wonder!

I was at a local eating establishment, McDonald's, to order Lisa and I some breakfast items. I order off the dollar menu because if you get the meal deal they charge you more.  I placed my order for two sausage burritos, two cinamon melts, and two large diet cokes.  (I order this twice a week most weeks, but today was a little different.)  When my order was ready, I looked at what was given to me and it was two burritos, two cinamon melts and two small diet cokes. 

I politely told the "guy behind the counter" that I had ordered two large drinks.  He began to argue with me that I had ordered small drinks with my meals.  I tried to tell him that I never order the meal deals because they are higher in cost than the dollar menu for the same amount of items and that way I could order "large drinks" and not have to pay the extra for the meal deal up charge.

Well, that went over like a lead baloon! 

I left upset because the guy made me feel guilty (or I felt guilt for getting him upset, which made me upset).  I hate confrentation.  I love people and most of you who know me that I usually try to be nice to everyone I meet.

Sometimes I wonder why the devil has so much influence on the people I come in contact with.  He puts me in some very procarious situations in life at times, where anything I do can be manipulated into someone being upset with me or what I have done.

Sometimes I wonder about how many times I have stood "behind the counter" and allowed an "upset person" to be right?  I just know what I asked for, and wouldn't be so concerned if it had been someone who just acknowledged that they had misunderstood what I ordered and calmly changed my order without making it into his mission of the day to make me feel guilty.  I do!  He won!  I feel bad! 

Sometimes I wonder.

I'll see you later.

Fun Isn't it?

This week I preached a sermon on fellowship and worship from Hebrews 10:19-25.  It is hard to believe that we, for years, have understood that the reason we should come to worship God is to be right.  I don't believe that.  I believe that when we come to worship God as a church family it to bring Him glory and honor.  It is about us doing something that glorifies God, not about what we get out of being in worship.  Worship is not about me but about what I bring to our Father as a time of thanks and love.

God asks us to come together and praise Him.  I don't hear or read anything that says worship and fellowship times are to benefit us.

Now, I am not saying that I don't receive a blessing from being in worship, but I am saying that it is about me bringing something to God.  I do receive a blessing from being with my brothers and sisters. There is nothing I enjoy more than being in worship and remembering what God has done for me. 

What God wants is my heart, not my attendance without it.

I'll see you later.

Time was...!

Time was when you could walk down the street and be greeted by everyone who walked by.  Now, if you even get a glance from some you feel like you have accomplished a monumental feat of social elitism.  People just don't want to be bothered with the menial things in life.  Some don't even want to be recognized as those who walk among the living.

That is why I am so glad that I still speak and greet most of the people I come into eye contact with.  Today as I drove away from dropping my wife off, a lady was taking her morning walk down the street and as I stopped at the signal to wait I caught her eye and nodded "Good Morning" and she smiled and waved.  It broke me into a smile and the thought that not everyone was raised on dill pickles and some even don't mind sharing a smile and a warm greeting now and then.

How can I as a Christian do better?  I believe it is possible if I will just keep smiling and greeting.  It reminds me to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  It still works!

I'll see you later.

Happy Faces

I am amazed at the use of Happy Faces. :)  Still!  They aren't old to me yet.  How long have they been around?

I don't know about you but somethings never change. I can still remember when I took a quarter to pay for lunch with an extra milk.  Oh well.

I am getting old but that is okay.  I am enjoying it with Happy Faces. 

I'll see you later.

The Time is Now

How often have you found yourself wondering when you will be able to get the things done that need to be done?  This has been a fascinating year for me, simply because I am striving to re-invent myself to a point.  There have been many times in my past where I have procrastinated getting the things done around the house that need to be done and waiting till the last minute.  Silly to many of you I know, but to me, it just took too much of my time to think about what to do and how to get it done.

I am not saying that I have conquered the desire to put things off completely yet, but I do believe I am getting better.  Last year at C.T.C.C., the church camp I direct, our theme was, "It's Time!"  I was convicted of needing change in my life as well as needing to see others do the same.  It is time for us to do what we know we should!  We need to stop putting off the things, even though they may not be as important to us as to someone else.  It's time we started thinking about others first and making sure we let them know how much they are loved and appreciated by the things we do, not just the words we say.

There!  I said it and I meant it.  Does it mean I have done it perfectly?  NO!  But I am working on it.  Why?  Because the time is now!

I'll see you later.

Tebo Mania

Why is it that so many have been critical of the way Tim Tebo plays football? Why is there is there so much discussion on Sports radio talk shows about his inabilities to perform at a level consistent with "True NFL quarterbacks"?

I can only relate as an onlooker that, no, he isn't a prolific passer and he doesn't have the greatest arm. He doesn't seem to see the field, at this point of his career, as well as some of the other quarterbacks in the league. He has been called a "Rookie" quarterback, even though he is in his second season.

On and on we could go discussing Tim's inabilities. They are many on the field and in his life he is just a man.

I was watching a program that was made that showed him all the way from his senior year in High School to the present. Somewhere in that time period he became cognizant of having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. I noticed how much he enjoyed praying and praising God while he played. He is not the greatest singer in the world, but he sings and uses his spiritual emotion out in the open no matter the situation. I appreciate the way he takes time, because of his position in life, to spend money and time offering himself as an encouragement to seriously ill children. I love Tim Tebo and his openly showing his apparent love for Jesus Christ our Lord.

But that isn't what I am most curious about. The thing I am most curious about is why is it that so many misunderstand the place God has in this situation.

God doesn't care who wins an NFL football game. The blessings of ability that Tim Tebo has is no more or less important than anyone else in our world. I am just as impressed when someone goes out and strives to honor God when they share with someone less fortunate.

No matter where we are in life, we, as God's children, need to be just as open with our relationship with God and his Son. We need to use the opportunity we find ourselves in to honor and praise our God. There are Christians in the NFL. More of us are not in the NFL or in the limelight that brings us into the public spotlight like Tim Tebo, but are you any less blessed to perform in your life with the talents you have been given, and have we sometimes forgotten to honor God during those times.

May God bless us as we are all blessed to use our abilities to honor him and not as an opportunity to accept the accolades that come with the limelight. Honoring God is not a fad, it is a lifestyle and many times it is misused. Some misuse it by making it a show and others misuse it by not showing it at all.

Where are you in your openness to honor God?

I'll see you later.