Loading ...Thanks, But No Thanks
A couple of weeks ago I heard a story about a wife who went shopping only to find her husband rummaging through the cabinets when she returned. She curiously asked him what he was doing. He replied with a little sarcasm “I am looking for a snack!” She smiled…well smirked not being pleased with his attitude, she reached into a shopping bag and pulled out some Oreos, but they weren’t any old Oreos they were the “Double Stuffed Oreos”. Now, Listen she didn’t buy these Oreos for him because of something he did, was doing or something he was going to do, she gave them to him out of love. He quickly lost his attitude, hugged her and kissed her and off to the fridge he went for a glass of milk. He ripped open the bag quickly to get to those great black and white morsels of satisfaction and soon he had dunked and consumed a row and a half of them. He thanked his wife once again for the gift and put the remaining row and a half up for later.
Well he soon forgot about those Oreos and went about his life, a life filled with Doctors, therapists, facebook, work, church and family you get the idea, I’m sure. And soon that snack craving hit him again and once again his wife found him rummaging through their cabinets. She asked curiously what ya looking for? He responded a snack! She asked what happened to the Oreos I bought you. Without thinking he replied “I forgot all about them” and instantly he could see the disappointment in her eyes. He had taken a gift that was given to him with love and just forgotten all about it. Later, he found the Oreos and once again he went to the fridge and grabbed some milk to get his dunk on, but when he put them up a week earlier he used little care and didn’t seal the bag. He bit into a mushy, tasteless mess. He took an awesome gift/snack and with careless thought ruined it and with his actions he told his wife in essence Thanks, but no thanks.
Your eyes are saying how can he be preaching on something as insignificant as Oreos? Well, isn’t that how we sometimes think about the gifts that God gives us? We think and treat them with less thought and honor then we do Oreos, a new video game, girlfriend or a job. You see this is the point that Paul was making in 2 Corinthians 6:1 when he pleaded “Begged” with the Corinthians not to accept the Grace of God in vain.
Now what does this mean receiving Gods grace in vain? It means to receive the goodness and favor of God, but not to fully surrender and allow it to work in our lives. Grace is given freely, but how we receive it, care for it and use it will determine how effective the gift of grace will be…Kind of like those Oreos.
We want enough to be saved from sin, but not enough to keep us from sinning. We want enough to help us through difficult times, but not enough to disrupt our lives. We want enough to be called Christian, but not enough so that we can’t talk about others. God doesn’t want us to receive His grace and become “pew puppets” He wants to partner with us, He wants us to trust Him, rely on Him and then go out and do the work of and for His Kingdom and that is how we see the work of God get accomplished. And if we choose just to accept His gift of grace and nothing more, we soon become mushy, tasteless and a mess.
Something that helps me keep all that Christ did and is doing for us in perspective is (Holy Communion). We remember His sacrifice He sacrificed Himself not for our excuses, convenience or satisfaction, but for our sanctification and our salvation. The bread broken His Body, the wine poured out His Blood, but I ask you have you ever thought where your name was written that day the day He died for you, was it written on a shackle, was it written in a grain of wood, or a grain of sand in His mouth when He stumbled, did it dance on the words of the angry mob, was it in a bruise, a bead of sweat, was it floating in a pool of His blood, was it on a single hair ripped from His head, was it written on a piercing thorn from His crown, was it a deep wound in His flesh, was it written on the cat of nine tails, was it on a nail, in hammer blow, was it written on the sponge, was it in the vinegar, was it on the spear, was it running out of His side or was it in His last shallow sigh?
Now, I ask you should we accept His grace or anything from Him in vain, could you look Him in the eyes and tell Him Thanks, but no thanks.
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A Letter from Dad
A Letter from Dad
The lines on the page were bold and fine.
Soon they became blotted and blurred from his tears.
As he wrote his daughter for the very first time.
He wanted to give her something that would last for years.
She was turning thirteen that day, going on twenty- three some would say.
He gathered his thoughts on the past nine years and where he’s been.
You see he couldn’t be home every day, his job kept him away.
He missed most of her special moments it seems for a ribbon and pin.
He covered his eyes as the hot sand blew down the collar of his shirt.
He could feel every grain as it seemed to cover his heart.
He could see visions of her at an old farmhouse playing in the dirt.
He’s trying to reach out and hold her, though they’re thousands of miles apart.
He wants her to know how proud he is of her and how honored he is to be her dad.
He finally realizes there is more to life than chasing his own dreams.
He prays for her in his letter and tells her to hold close to Jesus like he had.
He wrote: “When it seems you can’t give thanks, read Psalm 107 it has silenced my screams.”
He finished his letter to her with: “Love you kid I’ll be home soon.”
He folded the paper and passed it off to be mailed.
He quickly thanked his Chaplain for the idea as he ran to catch up with his platoon.
The mortars rained down that day; the insurgents’ goal to take their lives has failed.
After the dust settled and the threat was gone, he noticed the red sand all around.
They tended to his wounds and weeks later he returned stateside.
As his daughter reads him Psalm 107, he gives thanks for this new relationship they’ve found.
He can’t change what happened that day and he can no longer write, but now in Christ they both abide.
This is a letter from dad…
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The Drive Thru Sermon
While Keith was attending Lay Speaker Training he was required to prepare a short sermon. Keith recalled an evening when he and his wife were waiting for their meal at a drive-thru restaurant. While waiting he kept thinking that today people seem to be focused on the here and now and what they want life to give them. He felt we are basically a self-centered society. Keith then decided that is what his sermon would be about, “You Can’t Have It Your Way.” But, because he had such a short time to write the sermon, Keith felt it would be appropriate to also call it, “The Drive-Thru Sermon”. ~P. Murphy
THE DRIVE-THRU SERMON:
WELCOME TO CHRISTIANITY, YOU CAN’T HAVE IT YOUR WAY!©
By Keith Z. Yezdanian
The other day I found myself waiting in line at a drive-thru restaurant with my wife. As I stared at all the choices of food from the single items, combos to the “I’m not going to be able to get out of my car when I’m finished ‘Super Size Option’” I realized that our society has been totally tailored around satisfying me. And not only do I expect to have my food my way, but I expect to have everything in life my way.
Does this sound familiar Christians? I think I may have ruined someone’s lunch plans. OK, I will make an adjustment so you won’t starve later today.
We as a society have become accustomed to an almost limitless supply of stuff. We go about our lives with the attitude (I want what I want, when I want it and I will do what I have to do, to get it). We have come to believe that we are our own boss and that no one is in charge of us. I think that you would agree that not only have we become our own boss, but we are now viewing ourselves as the boss of others. We have come to expect others to serve us.
Still sound familiar Christians? Maybe you recall hearing it differently, let’s read from Galatians 5:13, “For you are called to freedom, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love”.
Do you see it now Christians? We mustn’t expect others to serve us, but we must serve others! God has given all of us gifts and these gifts are not for our own selfish fulfillment, but they are given to us so we may go out and serve others (1Peter 4:10). Christians we must realize that we can’t have it our way and we must be willing to make adjustments.
Christians, what does the word Christian mean? The word Christian means to be “Like -Christ or Christ- Like”. You see we can go to church, we can study our Bibles and we can put a fish sticker on our car, but that does not make us Christians! In order for us to become Like-Christ we must allow Christ to live within us. In order for this to happen we must make adjustments in our physical lives and our spiritual lives as well. We must decrease in order for Christ to increase within us. Christ understands that we have to live within the world, but He also tells us not to be of the world.
We can’t go around foolishly gossiping about others or going about selfishly indulging ourselves while our neighbors starve. Christians we must stop merely talking like Christ on Sunday and start walking and talking like Christ EVERYDAY! In fact we need to stop whatever it is that is hindering the Holy Spirit from fully abiding within us.
Why do we think that we are so much better than everyone else, when God Himself chose to come to us in the flesh as a mere man? You know: Him the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. God didn’t send Him to condemn us, but He sent Him to save us (John 3:17)! In fact He didn’t dress Himself in gold and fine garments; He is our Shepherd and still chooses to be the gate;: He chose to live as a humble servant…WHAT my Savior a servant? Doesn’t He know the world is His? Doesn’t He know He could have it His way? Doesn’t He know He’s the Boss and everyone is supposed to serve Him? Doesn’t He know He’s the Christ and is better than everyone? NO, Christian that is what we made being “Christ-Like” or Christian look like to the world! Welcome to Christianity you can’t have it your way!!!
You see while we are busy complaining about how hard the pews are, how long it took to get that burger and fries from the drive-thru or how in the world someone could clip that many coupons as we wait behind them in the check-out line, our Savior is busy granting a thief to abide with Him in Paradise (Luke 23:43) He is healing a new born baby, He is cutting a young mom out of a car, He is hugging a person forgotten by society, He is giving His last piece of bread to a widow. He is busy being a SERVANT!
So I ask you as you go about your lives this week, take some time to stare at life’s menu and make a choice to serve someone, whether it is the single mom, the family with a combo of problems or the super-sized life threatening illness someone is dealing with. And remember being a Christian you can’t have it your way, but you can have it Christ’s way! AMEN
“The Drive-Thru Sermon!” was written 8 May 2010
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Planting Seeds
Just recently my two daughters had stayed with a friend of ours while my wife and I were out of town for my wife’s health care. Our children are homeschooled and our friend was kind enough to continue with their education so my children could keep up with their schedule. Not only did our friend keep up with their exhausting amount of work, but she also added some additional classes or electives. One of these electives happened to be Melissa’s Future Farmers of America (MFFA). I didn’t realize that she had done this until I picked up my girls and noticed a 2×3 class schedule hanging on her wall with (MFFA) written on the bottom. I collected my kids and their belongings and headed home not thinking much of their two weeks of schooling, but more about the amount of time it me to get home.
After arriving home and after the hugs, kisses and tears we began to collectively discuss our time apart. As you can imagine our children had just a few questions about our time in the hospital and they were eager to share with us their school experience at Mellissa’s house. With my girls wide age range of seven years they surprisingly shared equal enthusiasm with baking and (MFFA). After making a mental list of the ingredients needed to make cupcakes, I inquired about what was written on the 2×3 board. As they excitedly ran down the list I squeezed in my question about (MFFA). My five year old informed me that it was the time they got to play in the dirt and my twelve year old explained that this time was spent learning how to make a garden and that (MFFA) stood for Melissa’s Future Farmers of America. As I drifted off thinking about multi-colored sprinkles my five year old slipped in the question of making a garden here at home and I replied without much thought “sure we can”.
Now as the days passed by I began to realize that I have no idea on how to make a garden. Here I am with no background in agriculture, anything I ever planted died and I don’t even have the tools to begin with. My children were far too helpful with a list of tools that I needed to begin their garden they told me I would need a tiller, metal rakes and so on. So here I am trying to avoid a five year old and twelve year olds daddies to do list. The days turned into weeks and I thought they had forgotten about the garden, when on this sunny day my twelve year old daughter remembered she had seeds she bought from a book sale five years ago. Now I must act or my girls will always remember while buying tomatoes from the store the day daddy said no. So off we went to make a garden and plant some really old seeds that I have no faith in and seeds that my girls are sure will grow. With a shovel and a metal rake we picked a spot and tried to make the ground look like the fields we pass by every day. My five year old made little holes with her finger and dropped the seeds in and twice a day she goes out to water them. What I put off for weeks and had no faith in and also made excuses for only took minutes but sparked something in my children’s hearts that keeps them smiling and longing to see something breaking through the ground… a new life.
Yesterday while driving I was taking notice of all the green trees and wild flowers sprouting up along the roadside and it made me think of planting the seeds with my children. My girls haven’t talked much about the plants growing or about what they will produce instead, my girls just go and water the garden and are just happy they had the chance to plant the seeds. I admit I check the garden and what I want to see is something green sticking out the ground and when I don’t see anything I kind of get discouraged. We as people can do all we can to insure that our garden grows, we can enhance the soil, we can water the ground and yet it is what the plant from the seed is searching for that causes it to bust through the ground and that is simply the light. Now as a Christian I often hear people talking about planting seeds or mostly saying they don’t have the tools to work a garden or that someone they know is too old to change. Now the latter might be true in some circumstances but that is not for us to decide and Christ much like my children just asks that we just try and rely on Faith. Christ doesn’t ask us to go out and buy new equipment or formulate a plan, He just asks us to plant the seed in the ground that He has worked and He will water it and after a time the seeds planted will produce a plant and if that plant really wants to grow it will do all that it can to break through the depths of darkness and flourish into new life. We may get discouraged when we have planted seeds and haven’t seen any growth, but we must remember that it may not grow over night and it may have a long way to travel through the depths to finally break through into a new life. We may not see the new growth, but we can just go on being happy that we just had an opportunity to plant the seeds.
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