Topic: Obedience...

During my current trek through the Bible, I find myself in the Old Testament again...each time I read through the Bible - I have done it several times now - something new shows up...or maybe I should say that something appears new to me...the latest thing that I have discovered revolves around obedience...to be more specific, it revolves around the phrase, "...just as the Lord commanded," or something similar...Noah did everything just as God had commanded him regarding the building of the ark...Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded regarding speaking to Pharaoh...at the first Passover, the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron...David did as the Lord commanded him and he beat down the Philistines...you get the picture...

As I read through these passages, I have to ask myself, "At the end of my life, when they write my biography (because they will, you know :-) ), will they write, 'Mike did everything just as God commanded him'?"...I don't see it happening...I try to live my life by God's guidelines, but at the end of each day, I know how unsuccessful I have been...add all those days up, and you have a whole lot of falling short...thank God that my relationship wih Him is not dependent upon my doing everything just as He commands me...is that my goal, what I strive for, what should be my aim?...certainly...but fortunately, God recognizes that I am human and that I will fall short...however, I will keep trying...man, it sure would be cool though to hear those words at my funeral...if I weren't dead and all...

TOPIC: Youth ministry - how fun...

Over the last two days, I have had three students come to me with significant problems in their lives, and a fourth is coming in shortly...apparently I have been here long enough for them to feel comfortable sharing with me their concerns, issues, and heartaches...that is great, because that is part of what I do and part of growing up in Christ...and it would be fine if I didn't have such a feeling-type personality...it would be nice to be able to analyze it and to not get caught up in the emotion of it, but that's just not me...it weighs heavily on me...it would be much easier if it happened maybe once a week, but four in two days is a little overwhelming...I'll get though it, with God's help...pray...

TOPIC: Why do we say that?...

I have something that I need to get off my chest...I have a new pet peeve, for lack of a better descriptor...it's a small, two-word phrase that many people I know use, including myself...but lately I have decided that I would, if I had the power, wipe it from the face of the linguistic earth...the phrase is, "real quick"...it's used as a part of a larger phrase such as, "I need to go to the bathroom real quick," or "I have a story to tell you real quick"...the phrase is grammatically incorrect, but that is not my problem with it...my problem is that it makes me wonder if we are really that busy that others have to give the disclaimer that what they are doing, they will do it quickly so as not to inconvenience us...sure, I have a lot of things going on, but my life needs to be about people, not about my time...Jesus was about people, not time...He didn't wonder if this healing or that personal contact was going to interfere or make Him late for His committee meeting with the Rabbis...He knew that He came to be with people...and I am supposed to imitate Him, not be wrapped up in how busy I am or the ministry is...I need to be about people...so the next time you are with me and you have to go to the bathroom or tell me a story, take your time...I've got it to give...
 

TOPIC: Professional athletes...

Yet another reason to hate professional athletes...if you've watched or listened to any sports broadcasts today, you've heard the story of Frankie Francisco, a relief pitcher with the Texas Rangers...late in the game against the Oakland A's, a fracas erupted, but it wasn't between the Rangers and the A's...it was between the Rangers and the fans of the A's...apparently there were some fans mouthing off to the pitchers that were in the bullpen, and one of the pitchers lost it...he and some of the other pitchers started to go after the fans...and then, out of nowhere, Frankie launches a chair into the stands and hits a lady in the face, breaking her nose...now I know, fans can be idiots...I've witnessed some of them, especially since I watched games from the old Dawg Pound in Cleveland...but couldn't other measures have been taken, like having security remove the fans or simply ignoring them...but no, the athletes think they have certain rights and are above the law...I was glad to hear that he was arrested and not just suspended...not only is this another reason to hate pro athletes...it's also another reason why the new Commissioner of Major League Baseball should be my cousin's husband, Cleveland attorney Stephan Schlegelmilch, Esq...if there is one person that can fix baseball's problems, it's him...Schleg for Commish...

Just thought you might like to meet my new puppy, Attie...although she is a girl, she is named for Atticus Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'...she is absolutely adorable, except when she whines and barks all night long...she's still cute then, too, but also quite annoying...but we still love her...they tell me that this will be good practice for having kids...we'll see... 

TOPIC: The body and the blood...

This past weekend, I got to serve Communion at my church...now this is something I have done countless times, both here and during my time at seminary...there have been times in my life that I have dealt emotionally with the idea of Jesus Christ, the God-man, giving up his life in such a brutal, inhuman way, so it generally doesn't affect me the same way any more...some may call that callousness, I don't know...but something different happened this time...the juice dripped on my hand...maybe it has happened before and I just didn't notice it, but it felt like a new experience...and then it happened again...and again...then one man, as he was taking the juice-soaked bread to his lips, splattered it on his shirt...after I served, I sat down and looked at my hands...there were stains from the juice and small morsels of bread...my mind immediately raced to the soldiers that whipped and beat my Lord to death...I thought of Pontius Pilate and how he metaphorically washed his hands of Christ's blood...I considered those who removed his lifeless body from the cross...how all of them must have been covered in the blood of Jesus, either literally or figuratively...then I thought of myself...I thought of the times I have turned my back on God, the times I knew the right and did the wrong, the times I rebelled against the only one worthy of my entire loyalty...and I thought, "It's not enough."...this small amount of juice and bread was simply not enough to cover for the sins in my life...but fortunately, that wasn't all...it was only a small shadow of what Jesus did when he laid his life down on that cross, when he shed his blood and allowed his body to be broken for me...for me...what a strange thought...he did it for me...Jesus, thanks doesn't cut it...but thanks just the same...