Monday, June 30, 2008

Ministry with Personal Agenda

The worst thing you can put on a salad is oil and vinegar. Look at the bottle. You have to shake it up! I’ll bet that no long after you shake it up and pour it on the lettuce that it separates into oil and vinegar again. YUK!

Even worse is when someone engages in “ministry” to advance a personal agenda. There are lots of newsworthy things to put in a newsletter without having to beat up other Christians. They guys on TV who mix ministry and personal agenda are pretty easy to spot. I just wish everyone doing ministry would leave her personal agenda out of the discussion.

Freedom

We celebrate our freedom this month. People talk about their freedom to do this or do that. Things like putting obscene bumper stickers on their cars or treating their spouses any way they like is not what the settlers had in mind, I don’t think. They wanted freedom from oppressive government and freedom to worship God as they saw fit. I admire that a lot more than I admire what some folks today want to claim as “freedom.”

 

In reality, we all live freely within boundaries. That sounds strange but it’s true. You are free to pursue any career you like as long as it is legal. See what I mean? Freedom within boundaries. For most of us, that’s no problem, but for some…well, you can spot them, can’t you?

 

The Bible says that all things were created and established by God. Even government is God’s idea. When a country operates according to God’s standards, the people are free to live and enjoy life and worship him. When these things are suppressed, the government is no longer operating according to God’s standards.

 

Some people think that living according to God’s standards binds or enslaves them. But just the opposite is true. That’s because freedom is a five-letter word: Jesus. Only in Christ can we truly be free.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

"My Stray Dogs"

Maybe I’m missing something, but aren’t stray dogs homeless? Ownerless? Thank you, I thought I was right about that.

 

So this lady pulls into the church parking lot and stops. A deacon goes to her to see if he can help her and she says, “Oh no, I’m just feeding my stray dogs.”

 

First, if they are yours, please take them home with you rather than feeding them in our parking lot. By nature, “stray” dogs “stay” where they find food. We are a church and we love all God’s creation but we don’t need dogs, dog food and its by-product in our parking lot.

 

Second, if they are yours, please take them home with you rather than feeding them in our parking lot. What caring dog owner would feed her pets in the parking lot at a busy intersection? She’s inviting these animals she claims as her own to die. They will eventually become road kill because they have learned to come running every time a car that looks like hers slows down.

 

It is virtually impossible to get rid of unwanted dogs in Saline county yet all across the county, state, and country unwanted babies are aborted for convenience or to avoid embarrassment or some other insufficient reason.

 

Why can’t people put their compassion to work in an arena that really matters?