It is trux that thxrx arx forty-onx kxys that function wxll xnough, but just onx kxy not working makxs thx diffxrxncx.
Somxtimxs it sxxms to mx that our church is somxthing likx my typxwritxr — not all thx kxy pxoplx arx working propxrly.

As onx of thxm, you may say to yoursxlf, “Wxll, I am only onx pxrson, I don’t makx or brxak thx church.”

But it doxs makx a big diffxrxncx, bxcasx a church, to bx xffxctivx, nxxds thx activx participation of xvxry pxrson.

So, thx nxxt timx your xfforts arx not nxxdxd vxry much,
rxmxmbxr my typxwritxr and say to yoursxlf, “I am a kxy pxrson in thx congrxgation and I am nxxdxd vxry much.”

This is what happxns to thx wholx church, and multiply this by many timxs — thx whole thing just doxs not makx sxnsx!

So, don’t be a broken key – be a useful one.

~Author Unknown

Most of the time I’m the runner that is getting passed, but the other day I actually passed someone.  To be fair to the other person I passed, he was pushing a stroller that was loaded with rain gear, diapers, wipes, snacks, a few toys and many more things I couldn’t make out, but I definitely also saw a little boy in the stroller as well.

It was near the end of the run so while I was stretching near my car, I saw the dad who I passed with his little boy in stroller get in their car that was parked next to mine.  The difference between the dad and his son was like night and day.  The dad just rand the twelve mile loop that ended with this big hill, and he was sweaty, out-breath, and was ready to collapse.  His son was wide-eyed, fresh, and ready to go again.  Of course, his son didn’t do any of the work, and his dad did all of the work by carrying him the whole way.

The scene reminded me of a passage from Deuteronomy 1 that reads, “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them.  The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,  and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” (verses 29-32, ESV).

I see so many people every day that are of breath, out of strength, and not sure of they keep going, and every time I tell them that they don’t have to do it alone.  We all have a Father in Heaven that wants to carry them up whatever hill they have in front of them.  His arms are open and waiting to carry us to greater heights that only He can take us to!   It is my prayer and heart’s desire that we might all jump in them this day!

Okay, to be clear, that’s all meant as facetious. However, is it really too far from the mark? I can tell you that I personally have come up with some very innovative reasons not to attend church. It’s too hot, it’s too cold, I have a headache, my wife has a headache and so on and so on.

Jesus walked this earth a little over 30 years. Let’s all take a moment to “Thank Him” for not being distracted as He set about saving all humanity over all time!! We can’t ever be like Him. We could try, but we’d fall short…if you’re at all like me you’d fall short on the first day, maybe within the first hour. However, I still want to try.

Nonetheless, I think we ought to seriously consider using Jesus as our Model. Today we lead busy and hopefully fruitful lives and in the final analysis have very little time left over for ourselves or our families. I have come to believe that in my old neighborhood that people were so busy the only time they had left in their busy schedules to cut their yards was obviously on Sunday Morning.

I write not a single word herein to bring about feelings of guilt. If that were the case I’d be at the head of the line. Rather, I write them simply for our own personal and respective reflection. The question I hope we’ll all be considering is something like, “Can I spend an hour or two a week in God’s house and working to bring disciples to Him?” 100 hours out of a year. To ask you if Jesus is worth that sacrifice is an insult to the reader and it’s rhetorical. Of course He’s worth it, everyone of us knows that!!

Instead, let’s change the entire perspective. Why are we here on this orb flying through space? Despite popular opinion it’s not to ‘be all we can be’. It’s not to be the smartest person around. It’s not to be the best employee or business owner. It’s not to be a great parent or child. It’s certainly not to accrue wealth! (although, those things aren’t inherently so bad). It’s not for any of the things that we spend most of our time perfecting and doing. Again, I appeal to your sense of reason and know that you already know all those things don’t count for much in the big scheme of things.

We are here for one main and simple purpose. To worship God.

That’s all this meandering post is about. Getting back to the basics. Please don’t give up Golf or whatever…that was never the point. The point was overwhelmingly simple…to remember why we’re here and for each of us to ask ourselves, “Am I happy with myself in that regard, and if not, what can I do differently”.

I know so many of you…and you all such Wonderful People!! I know of no one who needs to change the core of their being…but I think it does us all good from time to time to remember the big picture and keep our eye on the prize (I was going to say, keep our eyes on the ball…but then it’s back to sports).

God Bless and MCL to all,

Al

 The text from the youth read, “Pastor Matt, my grandmother died.” On my way out of the church office I thought I should tell her what I told everyone in that church countless times, “Lots of love” but to save money I abbreviated it to “lol.”

When I got to the house of the grieving family, the youth’s father met me in the driveway with steam in his ears. He told me that his wife and him didn’t go to church because of people like me and I should not expect to see the youth in our congregation again. Before we cleared up the misunderstanding that “lol” was an abbreviation for “lots of love” and not “laugh out loud”, he asked a rhetorical question, “What would happen if Christians acted like Christ?”

Maybe the Paul had a similar thought in his head when he wrote to the Colossians, “Whatsover ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”(3:17). St. Francis of Assisi often credited with saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words only if necessary” (loose paraphrase of Chapter XVII of his Rule). I pray that we might share His love in both word and deed in all that we do.

I pray that we might preach the Gospel at all times and use words when necessary. I pray that all Christians might act like Christ.

Men, Sunday is Valentine’s day and the special woman in your life wants you to do something special for them. This special thing will make their heart feel warm and fuzzy and gushy. Just in case that special woman in your life is reading this I will not give much direction on what to give her, other than to say you need communicate how you value and appreciate her. (although it is my calling to make marriages stronger is if you need help, email me).

Why should we show our appreciation for the special women in our wives?  I’m glad you asked.  God tells us in Proverbs that a virtuous woman’s “price is far above rubies.”  (Proverbs 31:10)

This verse came alive for me recently when I had to watch our children for a few hours one night.  I became, for just a few hours, their primary caregiver, which meant I “made” them a pizza from Dominos and we watched cartoons all night.  My wife came home to a wreck of a house and asked me, “What would you do without me?”  I don’t even want to think about it.  There is no amount of money that could replace her in our lives.  There is no gadget, or gizmo, or widget that would even come close to filling any of the void that would in my family’s life if she were not there.

So on Valentine’s Day, I want to show my wife how much I value her.  And I pray, that I don’t just communicate this to her on Valentine’s Day alone, but everyday that I am blessed to have her in my life.  And it’s my hope that everyone who has a special someone in their lives, but let them always know that their value “is far above rubies.”

In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, ‘We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.’

So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, ‘I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.

Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it.

Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

The conductor said, ‘Dr Einstein, I know who you are.

We all know who you are I’m sure you bought a ticket.

Don’t worry about it.’

Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor rushed back and said, ‘Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.’

Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am.  What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

Having said that Billy Graham continued, ‘See the suit I’m wearing? It’s a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion.

You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried. But when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want you to immediately remember the suit I’m wearing. I want you to remember this:

I not only know who I am ……. I also know where I’m going.’

I was in the process of scrubbing the carpet a second time when I noticed the spot started to move. Like an idiot, I kept scrubbing the spot and after about another 2 minutes of scrubbing I finally realized that the red spot was a ray of sun coming through the blinds. I felt stupid, but I didn’t feel bad about it until my guest showed up and talked about how beautiful and rare the “red sunset” was that day.

I missed out on a beautiful sunset because I was busy paying attention to the wrong things. During this Christmas season, I’m even more embarrassed to admit the times I miss out on God’s Son. I can get so caught up in making sure I have bought all the right presents, preparing for company, parties, and food that I sometimes miss out on what the season is really about-the birth of Jesus into this world.

In the midst of whatever business you find yourself in, I pray that you might not miss out on the celebrating the birth of our Savior, the birth of God’s Son!

Let me posit this sin-o-meter concept and get your feedback. Your feedback can be almost anything as long as it’s clean and on topic.

The question is: How do you think God rates our sin? For instance, does He get really upset if we hold up a convenience store at gun point and perhaps a little less concerned when we over indulge with food? Maybe you think He doesn’t care one way or the other, as in, maybe you believe that God considers all sin detestable and that’s okay too, just let me know.

Consider the 10 commandments of the Old Testament. Are they the most detestable sins and if so, are they also in the order Moses Brought them down from the mountain. What about the New testament? Jesus was asked about this and only indicated 2 things. Do you remember that and if so are they more relevant since they are part of the New Testament?

Lastly, what about that pesky little unforgivable sin? What is that? does it still exist? Is it possible that God would not grant us forgiveness when requested if we violated the unforgivable?

So, what do you say? can we kick this can down the road a bit? Tell me what you think. Ask me if you have some questions. Let’s be interactive and fruitful. In truth the overall answer may be considered simple, simple, simple. However, along the way and if given ample thought it may indeed prove a bit perplexing.

MCL,

Al

We don’t go all out for Christmas, but if the one thing my son wanted was a $30 wooden train station I was determined to do everything I could to make sure he got that. We looked in big toy stores, smaller local boutiques, museums and hobby shops. We drove to cities and towns all over looking for this wooden train station. We got outbid at the last moment over a dozen times on eBay. It was a frantic search. We finally found a store in England that was willing to ship us the very train station our son wanted for a price that was over three times the $30 price tag that it was originally sold for. He opened it Christmas day and played with it right away. It was great to see him so happy.

The next day he didn’t play with it at all.

Nor the next.

Nor the day after that.

After a couple of weeks it was hidden in the bottom of his closet.

By February he put it in the Goodwill box in our garage to be given away the next time we were out.

The gift he wanted so bad. The gift we spent many hours searching for. Already a “has-been” after 6 weeks.

I rescued the station from the Goodwill box in our garage and I put the train station right next to the Christmas decorations so I can be reminded every Christmas season since that the presents my kids so desperately want will soon be given away. I need to be reminded that the presents I give is just stuff. And I don’t want my kid’s Christmas to be defined by stuff.

It’s my prayer that none of us have a Christmas this year that is defined by toys and trinkets, but by the celebration of the greatest gift we can ever receive-Christ Jesus, our Savior!

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.”

“I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can think of to do about it. Surely someone else will step in to help.”

The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, “Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?” So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.