The Dog at the Gate

We have a small Bichon Frieze dog that spends most of her time in the house. Occasionally she explores the parameter of our backyard within the safe confines of the fence. I was doing some gardening a couple of weeks ago and was traveling between the front and back yards. The gate is a little sticky and I decided to leave it open. I glanced towards the gate and saw our little dog with her feet just at the edge of the line of where the gate usually is, instinctively knowing where the line of the gate would fall. We don’t let our dog out into the front yard unattended. The front yard is filled with unseen dangers. The street slopes sharply and a driver of a car might be hard pressed to see a little dog in the road. The danger is compounded by the fact that our little dog is now deaf and would not hear a car coming. Our dog also has a bad sense of direction and can be completely lost, just by making her way around the corner. But to our little dog, who is unaware of these dangers, the front yard can be a place of new smells, new places to explore and as the picture shows, can be enticing to her. I was struck by the parallel to our own lives. We read in God’s word that there are things of which we should abstain. These things are seemingly innocent and/or fun to us and yet hold great danger, both spiritually and physically. These things can pull us further away from God in terms of our relationship with him. Instead, we should “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8 NIV by seeking to please him with our lives.

Presidents' Day

There’s been a lot of debate lately regarding whether or not some of our nations greatest presidents were Christian or not and if they supported Christian beliefs. This is an interesting topic and I ran across a website that discusses George Washington’s faith, which you can read here, George Washington, a Christian?

However today, I’d like to look at how divided our nation as become. You may be at odds with the current administration, or you may not have support the previous administration. Possibly you haven’t been happy with any presidential administration since Herbert Hoover. As a nation, we seem to be aligning more strongly to our political parties, and less along the lines that we are all Americans. After the last elections, there were a few very vocal people who said they planned on leaving the country as the results of the election. We’ve seen these divisions throughout our past. In June 16, 1858 Abraham Lincoln warned against an even deeper division between the people of the United States, over slavery. As the Republican Senate candidate for Illinois, Mr. Lincoln gave his famous House Divided speech where he states, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Where can people of opposing views rally together?

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV Paul urges us to pray for our leaders and in Romans 13:1 NIV he writes, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Another way stated, God is in control and no one is placed in a position of authority without him/her being placed there by God. This must have come as quite a shock to the Christians of the time since, they were being severely persecuted by government and religious leaders a like. If we must submit the authority, would it not be in our best interest to pray for the authorities that have been placed over us? The website Presidential Prayer Team offers ideas on how we can pray for our president. Be sure to add all of our leaders, political, spiritual, bosses, and others, to your prayer list.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day, a holiday that celebrates love. And yet what is love?

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 NIV


May you love and be loved.

Pittsburgh wins Superbowl XL 21-10 over Seattle

Pittsburgh wins Superbowl XL 21-10 over Seattle: Headlines similar to this one screamed the news this morning. Those of us who were rooting for the Seattle Seahawks found this recap of the Seahawks defeat no less easy to take than watching it first hand last night. I wonder of Paul might not have been a sports fan himself. Paul would often times use sports analogies to convey the meaning of his spiritual messages in the letters he wrote to the followers of Christ. In particular, Paul made the connection of running a race to living out a Christian life. In one of his letters Paul writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV . For those who had failed in some aspect of their Christian race, he encouraged them by writing that they like him they should “forget what is behind” and “Press on towards the goal.” Philippians 3:13-14 NIV . Another way stated, he wasn’t going to focus on his past defeats, but instead he would look forward to the goal of finishing the work God had given him and then go on to heaven. It is likely that from this point on, the Seahawks will not be focusing on the defeat they’ve just suffered, but instead will be focusing on reaching the Superbowl next year. We should follow this example by not looking back at our past failures, but instead looking forward to the spiritual work God has given us to complete.