Most of us would agree with the statement that “obedience is the key to the Christian life.”  The idea of doing the right thing is important to us as followers of Christ.  But let me ask you something.  Is just doing the right thing more important that the reason we do it?  Are we to obey just for obedience sake?

This concept implies that we obey because it's the right thing to do, and that God will bless our efforts regardless of the motivation for our obedience.   I don’t believe that this is exactly true!  Our Christian obedience involves a relationship between God and us.  We learn what he wants for us, then we respond.  Obedience for obedience sake is not Biblical.  Deuteronomy 5:33 says to “walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days.”  God wants us to do the right thing so that we will grow in our faith and understanding.   Obedience should be our response to our relationship with God.  He wants us to choose to obey out of love, not fear.  This type of obedience then leads us to growth and responsibility.

God doesn’t want an army of puppets, he’s looking for those who choose to follow him.  What about you?  What motivates you to do what you do? 

During the summer, I spend time planning for the fall.  According to the Office of US Personnel Management, "Planning" means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving organizational objectives.  It also includes the measures that will be used to determine whether expectations and goals are being met.  That’s just a fancy way to say that during the summer I spend some intentional time preparing for the fall. 

I’d like to share with you some of what’s coming up later in the year. Beginning September 7, I will be teaching the Wednesday afternoon and evening Bible study on the Shelter of God’s Promises.   God is the only promise maker who is always a promise keeper.  For 10 weeks we will explore the scriptures uncovering what God has promised us. 

Starting Sunday, September 11, Confirmation Class will meet in the office conference room at 9:45 am.  The members of the class will be confirmed on Sunday, October 16^th during the 10:55 am Worship Service. This class is for those that are in 6th grade or higher and have never been through the class.

This fall in Soul-utions, we will be looking at the spiritual treatment plan for the chronic life.  For those of us who find ourselves in the grips of unhealthy, chronic patterns, this plan will provide us with the opportunity to begin our recovery.  

I have high expectations for a fall filled with spiritual growth and fellowship with other believers.  So what is your plan for the rest of this year????  I pray that by sharing my plans with you it may help you start planning for your fall. 

Aim HIGH!

How To Tell the Truth?

Before you tell the truth, it is often wise to consider what you hope to accomplish by doing so.

Are you trying to hurt someone or make your relationship stronger (see, should I tell)?

And it helps to keep in mind, that both telling the truth AND using deception are important in a close relationship. Whether we like to admit it or not, both are required to make a close relationship work (see, pros and cons of lying).

But, if you ultimately decide to tell the truth, what is the best way to do it?

This was the beginning of an article I found online when I googled “telling the truth.”  The source is a website called Truth About Deception: Advice about lying, infidelity, love and romance.  This really bothers me.  When the Bible states in the 9^th commandment, “Thou shall not lie,” my understanding is that lying is always wrong.   The message of scripture is that we are to tell the truth.  I find it offensive that this article believes that deception is an important aspect of a close relationship.  No wonder the divorce rate is so high and we find it hard to trust people.  I don’t need an article or anyone telling me how to tell the truth.  It should be very simple.  Every word that comes out of my mouth should be the truth!  If I say something, those around me shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not it is fact or fiction.  Every healthy relationship has a solid foundation of truth.  What about your relationships?   Are you telling the truth?  Just remember, God knows the difference!

When Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote the book When Bad Things Happen to Good People in 1981, I believed that he was writing to me.   You see, this book was the product of a personal tragedy in his life that made him re-examine his beliefs about God and the ways of God.   I too was living in the midst of a personal tragedy. 

My son, Mathew was born in March, 1980 with profound brain damage, cerebral palsy, and a seizure disorder.   Like the author, I too believed that I was living a more religiously committed life than many other people I knew with healthy children.   So questions started to creep up.  How could this loving God I had faith in allow this to happen?  Why should my son be subjected to physical and psychological pain everyday of his life? 

One of the ways we try to make sense of suffering is to assume that we get what we deserve, or somehow our adversities are a punishment.  Yet I came to understand through prayer, consultation, and scripture that God is a loving God and does not cause these things to happen. 

Life happens!  It has nothing to do with deserving or not deserving things, nor is it a form of punishment for things we have done.  God wants us to know that his son, Jesus, died for our sins and that when life dishes out hardships, He is there to walk with us through the valleys.  God is our comfort and strength in the midst of the pain – not the cause of it.

I pray that if you are walking through the valley, you know that God is there with you, ready and willing to help, if you just ask!  I am also here to help.

May God bless your steps through life.

A friend of mine sent this to me and I wanted to share it with you!

Shirley & Marcy

A mother was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school.  He didn't want his mother to walk with him.  She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it.

She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance so he probably wouldn't notice her.  The neighbor is up early with her toddler anyway, and thought it would be a good way to get some exercise, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew.  She did this for the whole week.

As Timmy and his friend walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady following them every day all week.  Finally she said to Timmy, "Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?   Do you know her?"

Timmy nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I know who she is."

The little girl said, "Well, who is she?"

"That's just Shirley Goodnest," Timmy replied, "and her daughter Marcy."

"Shirley Goodnest?  Who the heck is she and why is she following us?"

"Well," Timmy explained, "every night my Mum makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much.  And in the Psalm it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!"

Take comfort in knowing that God cares this much for us!

What comes to your mind in response to the following questions: Who has hurt you?  Who has offended you?  Who has lied about you?  Who has betrayed you?"   How quickly can you make a short list of people who have caused you pain?  And who were these people who hurt you?  Family members?  Your wife?  Your husband?  One of your parents?  Your children?  Or was it a person at work?  Or a friend from church? (perhaps better labeled "a former friend.)  How many friendships have been shattered because cruel words or actions left you feeling betrayed?

Hollywood makes blockbuster movies with a simple story line-the hero of the movie is hurt or is a victim of injustice, and throughout the movie seeks to be justified.  And then, toward the end of the movie, we cheer for the hero's revenge, "All right, go for it, that evil person deserves it!"

But how does God want us to respond to people who hurt us?  Whether that person is a family member or an enemy, how should we react?  Is this what God would want?

Don't just think about it.  Let 'em know what's on your mind!

Have you always wanted to tell someone something, but didn't know how to do it?  Well, this is the perfect site for you.  Read on. . .

ThePayback.com is your home for all of your revenge needs. So you never had a chance to get revenge on your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend? Your current spouse lied to you when he said that he would never cheat on you?

Well, you know the saying "Don't get mad, get even".

Get Revenge On People Who Have Done You Wrong!

This is the opening paragraph of a web site called thepayback.com that really caught my attention.   This is not the way God would want us to handle the pain we cause one another in the midst of our relationships.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you is what we are told to do in Ephesians 4:32.    God also instructs us in Matthew 5:44, But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.    But maybe most importantly, God tells us very clearly in Romans 12:19, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

The worldly response to someone hurting us is to get back at them; to seek revenge.  But God has a plan for us to love those that hurt us and work toward forgiveness and reconciliation.  Two wrongs have never made a right!  How are you going to respond the next time you get hurt?  GOD’S WAY or the world’s way?

In Daniel Patrick Moynihan's memorable phrase, deviance has been dumbed down. “Everybody has a deviance they need to open up, and the rest of us are supposed to be a 'support group' for their deviance. Is there anybody out there who doesn't have a support group?”

"Healthy" and "sick" have replaced "good" and "evil."
Dennis Prager tells of one day playing in the park with his 2-year-old son. A 5-year-old boy walked over to him, threw him onto the concrete. The 5-year-old's mother rushed over to her son and demanded: "Honey, what's troubling you?"

Where is the reprimand? Where is the sense of wrongness to throw another human being to the ground, or away?

Self-esteem is now deemed more important to teach our children than self-control. In fact, in a recent book called Evil: Inside Human Cruelty and Violence (New York: W. H. Freeman, 1997), Roy Baumeister has found four "root characteristics" of the most violent criminals. One of them is "high" self-esteem. Parents that focus all their rearing on building "high self-esteem" are increasing the likelihood of creating a criminal child.

What do you think?  The Bible gives us guidelines to help us raise our children.  Some of those passages include:

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Heb 12:6) “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Pr 22:15) “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” (Pr 29:15) And “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Pr 13:24)

Discipline is as much an integral part of childrearing as love is!  May we love our children enough to discipline them when needed.