A Rant...

Okay, so there I was the other day sitting in my office working on my sermon for Sunday, when in walked a gentleman. After he introduced himself he immediately went on to start asking questions regarding our church. By the nature of his questions and of course his southern drawl I quickly concluded that this was a man from the southern U.S. who was part of a non-instrumental Church of Christ. For those of you who don't know, there is a "split" mostly in the states between the Christian churches and churches of Christ that is differentiated by the fact that the churches of Christ don't believe that "real" Christians should use musical instruments in their worship services. Their reasoning behind this is based on the notion that the New Testament makes no mention of using them to worship God (which in it of itself is wrong...but I don't want to chase that rabbit!). Now if they grew up in that environment and that's what you prefer, fine...fill yer boots! I can respect that as long as you respect my thoughts on the matter too. However it was clear that this chap did not. In fact he stated flat out that it was all right for me to worship with him at HIS church...but it wouldn't be okay for him to worship at mine. At that point I wanted to say, "Um...think about that dude," but I held back. I am never surprised by people anymore and their arrogant attitudes about being right and holding so tightly to the dumbest non-scriptural issues. But...I was saddened by the lack of desire for this man to associate himself with me simply because I held an opinion regarding a non-issue in the Bible a little different than he. I could call him a brother, but I don't think he would have referred to me as one. He even said that his churches needed to work harder in their evangelistic efforts "up here." Apparently we are not reaching anyone for Jesus because we play guitars... Sigh, oh well. I wonder what this brother in Christ thinks about Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 9:22: "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

Sing Church!

Gotta Love That Beaker!

Traditions...

Some say that the church today is trying to "remove the great traditions of the faith." To those I say this: read Mark 7 and see what Jesus had to say about this subject. I can guarantee you that we would never remove any tradition given to us by God in the Bible. So we don't do an altar call, don't wear suits, don't sing the doxology before the offering. But where did the church get those traditions? Men. Not God. And doesn't Jesus say here that we don't have to continue in the traditions of men. In fact, isn't He implying that it's dangerous to continue in the traditions of men, because we can easily allow them to supersede the word of God? And so, if a church is "non-traditional" doesn't it make that church more Biblical?

"Cetus Take the Reel" (this is for you Rob!)

I GOT WAVED AT WITH ONLY ONE FINGER!

Has there been a new law passed on PEI? One that allows drivers who are in a rush to completely bypass all the usual laws? I was waiting at the lights at the new Peter Pan intersection to drive straight through. My light turned green and I cautiously started heading through the intersection. (If you live and drive on PEI you know what I mean - you never assume that you can drive through a green light!) As I was going through, several cars to my right kept trying to squeeze through and turn right on the red ahead of me. That was fine, but when I got to the other side of the intersection I just assumed that they were going to realize that I had the green light and would stop. I need to stop assuming when driving. There was one car left who REALLY wanted to get through before me. I, however, did not let him (since stopping in the middle of intersection when you have a green light to let someone else break the law is illegal...). I guess this guy was in a rush or having a bad day maybe, because he came up on my rear so close and fast I thought he was going to ram me. He then proceeded to tailgate me (like I drive slow or something!) until he had a free lane to pass me at a very high speed. It must be nice to be allowed to drive your DADDY'S car like that. Then he got stuck at the next red light turning left (ha ha!) and I pulled up beside him just as the light turned green. I smiled. He didn't. Instead he waved at me out his window. Awfully nice of him to wave, I thought, till I realized that he only had one finger sticking up... :)
Why are people like this? I mean, if I had cut him off and he was wronged in some way, I would half understand. I hate being cut off. But he was ticked off at me because I didn't let him break the law and blow through a red light. I know I am FAR from perfect when it comes to driving, but come on! This goes beyond road rage. This was pure stupidity! And buddy who gave me the finger, if you are reading this, I hope you are having an okay day and nothing bad has happened to make you act like this. But if that is the way you act towards people all the time, you need to chill out and learn to respect people and the laws of the land. Sheesh!

Quite the guy...

Here are a couple of pictures of the Superman bubble bath that I received for my birthday from Harley. Each week after Bible study I find him in a different position (the bubble bath - not Harley). Toilet paper... strung up by the blind. What'll be next? Stuffed into the toilet tank? Shoot, probably just gave him an idea...

Can Man Live Without Microwaves?

We lost a member of our family. For the past 10 years or so a small white microwave has sat in the corner of our kitchen, giving warmth and happiness to our household. But the other day it started going on the fritz. It was making a funny sound for a while, and then it just started making this huge "BWAAAA!!!" sound that sounded more like it was blending metal than nuking supper. Then we could smell this horrific odor like burning flesh and plastic. Needless to say we have not been using our beloved microwave. It's days of heating up frozen dinners and popping extra buttery microwave popcorn are over. Today we will go out to Wal-Mart to pick out a new (cheap) one, but the last couple of days have been hard. It's amazing how much we take for granted one little device in our kitchen. But when it stops working, all of a sudden there are all these problems. You have no idea how hard it is to heat up instant oatmeal on the stove! And leftovers just haven't been the same.
Do you ever take God for granted? Maybe you believe he's out there, somewhere, but you don't really give it much thought. You get up everyday, get ready, go to work or school, come home, watch TV for a bit, have a snack and go to bed. Everyday blends together. But there is no spark, no joy, no passion in your life. Sure you may have your hobbies and the things you like to do, but would you categorize them as joyful or passionate? Well God wants to be a part of your life and he wants you to have that joy in your life. His Son Jesus said the reason he came was to give us that spark. "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10b)
Things like microwaves may make our lives easier (and make good popcorn!), but they will never let us live life the way God wants us to. If you feel like you are missing out on that fullness, God wants to fill that hole. Pick up your Bible and start reading about the exciting new life in Christ that he offers. Trust me, it is way better than reheated leftovers.