Sandy would be a good church member

I'm looking out the dining room window watching my dog Sandy play in the front yard. She's scratching a flea. She's rolling in the grass. She's playing with some trash she found in the ditch.

Now, what does this have to do with church membership? Let me explain before you jump to conclusions. To start with, Sandy recognizes that something is wrong and she does what she can to correct it. She has a flea (or something) and it bothers her, so she scrathes and bites at it. Good church members will be sensitive to things in their lives that are wrong and they will do something about it.

Next, Sandy is rolling in the grass. She's happy and content with where she is. The front yard is not very big and a lot of people just drive right on by. Reminds me of our church. And just like the front yard is home to Sandy, our church is home to us. So let's be happy and content with where we are. Sure, our church will grow and change from time to time, but we shouldn't be looking for another church.

Finally, Sandy drug something into the yard that I wouldn't really put there. But she's having a ball playing with it. And it won't take long before I won't be able to recognize what it was because Sandy will have changed it. Her "marks" will be all over it. There are people in our community that some members might not want in church but we should bring them in and put our "marks" all over them so that they are changed. Unfortunately, many church folks would never think of inviting someone from the fringe of society (the side of the road) to come to church.

I've learned a lot from my dog this morning.

Dog Days

It’s August and the heat is here. Fortunately, we are blessed with a few days of sub-100 degree temps. A friend of mine was excited about the forecasted high temp of 92! Perspective is everything, isn’t it? In April, 92 would be unimaginably hot. We would all jump on the Global Warming bandwagon. Rumors of Armageddon would flood email inbox. But in mid-August when you have 100+ temps for several days…

We like to view our closeness to God by comparing ourselves with others. We think that in relation to how bad other people live their lives, we are pretty good! I don’t drink, I don’t cheat, I don’t steal…

If we think like that, our perspective is all wrong. We don’t compare ourselves to each other. Our standard of righteousness is Jesus Christ. Yikes! I don’t look so good. I would rather compare myself to you. And you would rather compare yourself to me. But we won’t be judged based on who lived better than who. We will be judged based on our obedience to biblical principles.

Perspective is everything. And if you think the dog days of August are hot, those who reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will face a destination much worse. Praise God for the blessed hope of salvation in Jesus Christ.

If you would like to know more about Jesus, please contact me at 501-821-3078 or pastor@crbclr.org.