Wanted - People Who Follow the Rules
Let me set the context for you.
There's a mailing list I'm on locally, that does a great service in letting people share their blessings and needs with one another. If you need an item, you post that need. If you have an item to give away, you post that.
Great idea. Very loving and caring.
But far too loose for some.
I got this email today and I had to share it immediately.
By the way, she wrote the subject in big capital letters, the internet equivalent of shouting at the top of your lungs.
Pay close attention to her email signature.
Please put either WANTED OFFER TAKEN etc. in the subject header.
It is frustrating for those of us on individual e-mails to have to read each one because the title is not written correctly! PLEASE!
Love,
xxxxx (name withheld)
Just another person on this list!
It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.
~Mother Teresa~
Uh huh. Anyone else notice the irony creep in when we weren't looking?
Matthew 15:1-3 (Msg)
After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, [2] "Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?"
[3] But Jesus put it right back on them. "Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God's commands?
That's why the person with a living relationship with Christ won't be remembered as one who keeps the rules, but as one who cares.
Faith is love in action. Now go and practice. :)
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
The Wait
Frank and his wife were cleaning out the attic one day when he came across a ticket from the local shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed that it was over eleven years old. They both laughed and tried to remember which of them might have forgotten to pick up a pair of shoes over a decade ago.
"Do you think the shoes will still be in the shop?" Frank asked.
"Not very likely," his wife said.
"It's worth a try," Frank said, pocketing the ticket. He went downstairs,hopped into the car, and drove to the store.
With a straight face, he handed the ticket to the man behind the counter. With a face just as straight, the man said, "Just a minute. I'll have to look for these." He disappeared into a dark corner at the back of the shop.
Two minutes later, the man called out, "Here they are!"
"No kidding?" Frank called back. "That's terrific! Who would have thought they'd still be here after all this time."
The man came back to the counter, empty-handed.
"They'll be ready Thursday," he said calmly.
Do you think Frank was happy with that? I'm guessing not. I'm fairly sure he was expecting the shoes to be ready if they were there at all. The show repairman found a way to turn an amazing discovery into a doubled discouragement. Some people just have a knack for that. They've been known to turn up at church on occasion. :)
Once when I was teaching a group of 1st graders on Sunday nights, I was trying to explain about the people who didn't like what Jesus was doing. No sooner had the word Sadducee come out of my mouth when one little girl shouted (my class control skills weren't the best) "I know one!"
"You know one?"
"I sure do. Mr. Hank* is a Sadducee. He never smiles." *(not his real name)
I did.
Hank was a man who accepted Christ and was serious about his faith, and everything else. Though he was blessed, you'd never have known it. There were times I thought I saw a little black cloud following him around.
Friends, if you're alive when you read this, you've been blessed. If you are eating on a regular basis, you've been blessed. If you have family and friends, you've been blessed. I'd go on but you're saying "I know that."
Great. Now tell your face!
Proverbs 17:22 (Msg)
A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.
If you are finding it hard to make it these days, maybe you are in need of an attitude adjustment. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (and Lord knows they were a mess) and said:
2 Cor. 13:11 (Msg)
And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.
There's a lot to be said for counting your blessings. It always makes me feel better to remember you as I write these devotionals. You are a blessing, now be one! Don't wait.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Frank and his wife were cleaning out the attic one day when he came across a ticket from the local shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed that it was over eleven years old. They both laughed and tried to remember which of them might have forgotten to pick up a pair of shoes over a decade ago.
"Do you think the shoes will still be in the shop?" Frank asked.
"Not very likely," his wife said.
"It's worth a try," Frank said, pocketing the ticket. He went downstairs,hopped into the car, and drove to the store.
With a straight face, he handed the ticket to the man behind the counter. With a face just as straight, the man said, "Just a minute. I'll have to look for these." He disappeared into a dark corner at the back of the shop.
Two minutes later, the man called out, "Here they are!"
"No kidding?" Frank called back. "That's terrific! Who would have thought they'd still be here after all this time."
The man came back to the counter, empty-handed.
"They'll be ready Thursday," he said calmly.
Do you think Frank was happy with that? I'm guessing not. I'm fairly sure he was expecting the shoes to be ready if they were there at all. The show repairman found a way to turn an amazing discovery into a doubled discouragement. Some people just have a knack for that. They've been known to turn up at church on occasion. :)
Once when I was teaching a group of 1st graders on Sunday nights, I was trying to explain about the people who didn't like what Jesus was doing. No sooner had the word Sadducee come out of my mouth when one little girl shouted (my class control skills weren't the best) "I know one!"
"You know one?"
"I sure do. Mr. Hank* is a Sadducee. He never smiles." *(not his real name)
I did.
Hank was a man who accepted Christ and was serious about his faith, and everything else. Though he was blessed, you'd never have known it. There were times I thought I saw a little black cloud following him around.
Friends, if you're alive when you read this, you've been blessed. If you are eating on a regular basis, you've been blessed. If you have family and friends, you've been blessed. I'd go on but you're saying "I know that."
Great. Now tell your face!
Proverbs 17:22 (Msg)
A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.
If you are finding it hard to make it these days, maybe you are in need of an attitude adjustment. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (and Lord knows they were a mess) and said:
2 Cor. 13:11 (Msg)
And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.
There's a lot to be said for counting your blessings. It always makes me feel better to remember you as I write these devotionals. You are a blessing, now be one! Don't wait.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
No, But I Saw His Tracks
Sunday was our big VBS celebration extravaganza here, and it was something else! Picture if you will bunches of grinning, hopping, spinning, singing kids, aided and abetted by lots of New Hope's adults. Watch as confetti is shot into the air. Be spellbound as the youth do a skit that was both funny and serious at the same time. And pay careful attention to that guy at the end in the Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes, after all, he's the pastor.
We had quite a few visitors here, and one pair took all the happenings in and replied in answer to a question of "How did you like New Hope?" with "It sure is different. I can see why our granddaughter loves to come here."
It was different.
You could look at the service and point out that we didn't sing a hymn until the very end, when an extended invitation that began with "Grace Flows Down" morphed into "Amazing Grace."
You could point out that the offering wasn't collected, but placed into a box.
You could say that the style was too exuberant, too casual, that you couldn't see Jesus doing that. Granted, I'd have a hard time picturing Jesus singing the "Na, na, na, na" song, but that doesn't mean He wasn't present.
I saw His tracks.
First, there was the chalk outlines of little hands and feet on the sidewalk, with a drawing of a rainbow. I knew someone had told little ones about God's grace.
Then as I was walking to the office this morning, I saw a scrap of paper. That's normal, with the amount of kids we have, I sometimes find scraps of paper out front. Unfolding it though, I saw scribbling words like a little boy or girl would write. It said "Jesus Loves Me!" and had a heart beside it.
Yes, He does, and yes, He was here - I saw His tracks.
Tonight as we cleaned up the glitter, and removed the last traces of VBS 2004, I had to pop in and remind you of how God furnishes His house.
Matthew 21:16 (Msg) "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, 'From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?"
New Hope was a place of praise on Sunday, as Jesus saw His children celebrate His name. Did I see Him? No, but I saw His tracks.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
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