Monthly Archives: July 2011

What’s Your Sign?

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A few weeks ago my cousin posted a very disturbing link about a family who was protesting homosexuality. It showed a little girl holding a sign that read, “GOD HATES FAGS”. I was completely repulsed by the image. Here was a little girl, not just being taught hate, but also being encouraged to demonstrate hate. All in the name of Christianity.

Let me go ahead and get this out-of-the-way for all you religious folks. I am very well aware of what both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible say about homosexuality. It is what it is. This is not about homosexuality. It’s about a lying spirit that has convinced way too many that God and Christians are haters.

If God hates “fags” then what about the rest of us? None of us is without sin. Sure, as Christians, our sin is covered by the blood of Christ; but I haven’t found a “good” one yet. And what does that say of the Gospel Message, aka. Good News? God hating people isn’t exactly good news to me! The One True God demonstrated His love while we were yet still sinners.

How can one say that God hates anyone and then believe that God so loved the world…?

Why not signs that read, “GOD HATES GOSSIPS”, “GOD HATES LIARS”, “GOD HATES FORNICATORS”, “GOD HATES HYPOCRITES”, “GOD HATES DRUNKARDS”? I’ll tell you why…too many church people are those people! Well I’ve got news for you. There are homosexuals in churches too. These people are no different than you or me. They too are seeking Jesus.

We as Christians are to be firm in our faith and to turn away from sin – our own sin. We need to work on our own beams and planks. How are we to demonstrate and tell of a perfect love that produces forgiveness, mercy, and grace if we condemn the very people Christ Jesus died to save?

Look within yourself. What’s your sign? How would you feel if someone was harassing you with a giant sign that exposed your sin and lied about your loving Father?

Love, grace, and mercy are the keys to sharing the Good News. Hate is never the answer. Love wins.

Please pray for those who are lost in sin. Pray also for those who think they are not lost in sin but act otherwise.

There is only one type of person God will turn away. That is the one who denies His Son as Savior.

Now, put down your hateful sign.
John 3:16 & 17, Matthew 22:36-40, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 3:7-21
Matthew 7:3-5

Modern-Day Stones

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She sits in the pew crying. The message from the eighth chapter of John was so compelling. She knew this was the moment that she would surrender everything to the Lord. She slowly stood up and made her way forward. The stares from all the “perfect” people made her so nervous and uncomfortable. As she walked toward the altar she remembered how many times she wanted to make this journey but sat frozen in fear because Sunday after Sunday the pastor stood before his congregation, alone, silently praying for the souls of those who came to church that day but never came forward. Time after time she thought to herself, “I can’t be the only one. Can I? Does everyone here have it all together but me?” But this day was different. This day she had a sense of urgency and boldness that propelled her forward. She knew that she had been caught in sin by the One who sees everything and the only One who could forgive her.

Can you imagine how the woman “caught in the very act of adultery” in John chapter eight must have felt that day? She was ripped out of bed, dragged before Jesus, thrown down at his feet, and waiting to be stoned in front of the entire community. This woman was completely exposed and so was her sin.

Each of her accusers had one or more stones in hand ready to pelt her unto death. Our youngest son zinged me with a rock to the shin one day. Once the shock of the hit wore off I fell to the ground grabbing my leg and I cried like a baby. Not fun. I could not possibly imagine being hit all over my body by rocks flung by grown men before they finally gave way to “mercy” and moved up to my head to finish the job. She must have been in a great amount of fear.

In the midst of all this, Jesus bends down to write in the sand. What he writes no one knows but, apparently, the fact that he did was important enough to have the event forever etched in Scripture. That must have freaked the accusers out. After all, when I go to our oldest son’s baseball games and I see him on the field bent down playing in the dirt; I get the feeling that he is totally oblivious to what is going on around him. Perhaps Jesus was writing their names or their hidden sins in the dirt, or maybe he was just playing tic-tac-toe with himself.

My best guess is that he was doodling while he was kneeling to pray to the Father about how best to handle this very delicate situation. You see, the woman wasn’t the real target that day. Jesus was. The accusers wanted to see how Jesus would judge this woman. Instead, he asked that the “sinless one among you” be the judge. They all dropped their stones and walked away.

Now, I know most of you have heard this story told in sermons many times but this is my take on it.

The enemy of our soul, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), has a bunch of stones in his hands. (He is so full of pride that he doesn’t even recognize that he is not without sin). Satan does not throw the igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic kinds either but ones of much more painful consequences. He throws modern-day stones.

The enemy’s the modern-day stones are pride, greed, jealousy, hatred, judgment, self-pity, depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, gossip, slander, adultery, envy, unforgiveness, loneliness, grief, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, sickness, and many, many more.

How does he throw them? He uses everyday folks like you and me – Christian or otherwise – to throw these very powerful stones. They come from a mighty weapon that can actually create life or death. (Proverbs 18:21) It is so small that it fits in a person’s mouth and is used more frequently than any other weapon on earth. It is the tongue. (James Chapter 3:1-10)

Back to the woman walking towards the altar to surrender her life to Jesus. She is much like the woman caught in adultery except rather than being forced before Jesus she is choosing to go before Jesus. She too has her accusers ready to throw stones as she walks the isle to freedom. “How could she? Who does she think she is? I heard she….She’ll never…”

Jesus set the perfect kingdom example of grace and it is the only way we should follow. When he asked, “Woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one here to condemn you?” She answers, “No Lord.” And Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” That is the picture of heaven for Christians on judgment day right there! Hallelujah!

I have chills right now and my eyes are tearing up with joy! This is awesome! Can you grasp how exciting this is? It is so simple and so plain!

When we are covered by his blood and in his presence we are not condemned and we have no sin! Come on!! That’s awesome news!

The world is watching us just as the accusers that day were watching Jesus. How shall we respond? I pray with the same grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now, drop those modern-day stones.

“How Can I Serve You?”

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We have new T-shirts at church that read, “How Can I Serve You?” The idea is to outwardly show people in the church and community that we are here, ready, and willing to serve the needs of God’s children and those He is drawing to Himself. Service is one of my “gifts” so, naturally, I got one of the T-shirts for myself – plus they look really cool.

Last Sunday, a sister in our church was seeking volunteers for the nursery. She walked up to people holding a clipboard and kindly asked various sisters to volunteer. I was one of them. Now, I’m not really the greatest candidate for this particular ministry opportunity so I declined. I work best with teens and women, not children.

At the end of the service, I was convicted as our Associate Pastor’s wife made the announcements. One of the announcements was a request by the youth director for volunteers to teach the elementary age children on Wednesday nights. This time I was the one seeking volunteers.

After the service ended, I walked up to my sister seeking nursery assistance and told her that I would help when I returned from my mission trip next month. Most likely she had the same conviction as she quickly volunteered to teach a class on an upcoming Wednesday night and quite possibly at least one Wednesday night a month thereafter.

Later that day I was reflecting on what had happened when the T-shirts came to mind. I thought about how many people bought the T-shirts and proudly wore them. I got a little “miffed” at the idea that people were willing to wear T-shirts asking the question, “How Can I Serve You?” but when opportunities to serve presented themselves few – if any – volunteers stepped up.

Another thought came to mind; “We shouldn’t be chasing folks down with clipboards begging for help. People should be chasing us down!”

I realize people are busy with jobs, families, and other ministries and activities. I know I am. I am also aware that many people come to church to hear a message and that is all. And then there are those who “did their time” with their own kids and grandkids and feel they are no longer “obligated” to help with children’s ministries. Some, like myself, understand that there are some areas of service best left to others.

When “Five percent of the people are doing 95% of the work” as my Senior Pastor’s wife commented yesterday (she too is needing volunteers in her area of children’s ministry), then we have a problem. After all, if “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve” what then shall we as the church do? And especially when it comes to children’s ministry.(Matthew 19:14)

Still not convinced to actually walk the T-shirt message? How about this…What if the one thing holding you back from obtaining your true ministry calling is your unwillingness to serve in another ministry or under another’s leadership?

I wonder how many great female pastors and teachers never came to be because serving in a nursery or teaching children was “beneath” their calling. How many pastors never step up to a pulpit because they were unwilling to sit under another’s teaching? How many great evangelists never went out because they never served within? (Zechariah 4:10)

So many people say “I’m just here to serve” and never do more than what they WANT to do. Though there is reward in that; can you imagine how much more reward for those who serve where there is a NEED? Too many want a title, official position of authority, and/or recognition to serve.

I encourage you to read Matthew Chapters 18 and 19. What Jesus says is much more important and trustworthy than the opinion of this sister. Please allow me to also encourage you to serve. Even if it’s behind the scenes where only God can see. Even if no one ever says, “Thank you” or “Good job”. If serving was good enough for our Savior then it is better than good enough for us.

Now, “How Can I Serve You?”

My Quest for Coca-Cola

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Around 4:00 am this morning I woke up and found myself very thirsty. But my bed felt so good and the room temperature was near perfect so I stayed put. A few minutes later my husband crawled out of bed and headed to the kitchen. I listened as he opened the refrigerator door and no doubt take a swig from the opened Powerade bottle. Then he returned to bed and quickly fell back to sleep. I on the other hand could not go back to sleep. I really, really wanted a drink! And not just anything, I wanted Coca-Cola.

The next hour was not completely wasted as I used this time to pray for everyone and everything that came to my mind. I even asked God to be with others who were struggling with the last few hours of darkness.Finally, I gave up and made my way to the kitchen.

As I walked toward the kitchen I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want to disturb my husband so I went to the hall bathroom. There I found a stopped-up, smelly toilet in need of a good cleaning. Apparently the kids didn’t think I needed to know about this during the day! So, I un-stopped the toilet in between moments of dry heaves and then got the comet out and cleaned the nasty thing. After I finished, I did my “business” and proceeded back to my quest for Coca-Cola.

Upon entering the kitchen I noticed lots of sticky spots on the floor so I turned on the light to find what had to be the worst attempt at cleaning up cherry Kool-Aid ever. I grabbed the cleaner and mop, filled up the sink with water, and mopped the entire floor. I then noticed the gummy red stains on the counter tops so I cleaned them as well. Just when I was satisfied with my efforts, I noticed the front of the cabinets, dishwasher, and oven were covered with red spatters. “What in the world goes on after I go to bed?” I wondered amusingly.

Once I finished cleaning the spatters I went to the laundry room to put away my rag and noticed I had enough dark clothes in the basket to run a load of laundry. So, I did. Then I headed back to my room, got in to bed, and went to sle….wait…I didn’t get my Coca-Cola!

I turned to my water bottle which had been there all along and I took a drink. It did not please my palate but it did quench my thirst.

Had I just drank the water in the first place I would have gone back to sleep sooner in peace. I would not have known about the toilet until I took one of my random visits down the hall. I would have discovered the sticky floor later in the morning when the kids were running around and in “firing range” and I would have had the laundry to catch up on. Those things would have still needed addressing either way.

Life is a lot like my early morning. We have goals that we set out to obtain and sometimes there are many obstacles in the way. Sometimes those obstacles get us completely off track and we miss our target and sometimes we never really needed to obtain the goal at all. Sometimes the obstacles lead us to better things.
We just needed to overcome the obstacles in the way to realize we had what we needed all along.

Our Christian walk is much the same. Our goal is heaven. Our obstacles are temptation, sin, health, wealth, greed, painful relationships, loss of loved ones and the list goes on. But, thankfully, our Prize is eternal life with Jesus and he has been here with us all along the journey cheering us on and waiting patiently for us to notice him and let him be the one to quench our thirst.

It’s 9:00 am on a beautiful Saturday morning in hot Louisiana. I’m sitting on the back porch recounting the events of my early morning quest for Coca-Cola. I am so thankful for this time I have. I could be cleaning up messes, but instead, I’m writing a message!

To God be the Glory – He alone satisfies my thirst!
Matthew 5, John 4, John 7, 1 Corinthians 9, Hebrews 12

Why Daisies and Daffodils?

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So why in the world would I give my blog site the title daisiesndaffodils? The answer is simple and, I hope, engaging.

Just like there are many types of flowers – beautiful, bright, colorful, small, medium, large, tall, short, sweet aroma and foul, prickly, smooth, edible and poisonous – all are unique and wonderfully created by our Master-sisters are much the same. What kind of flower would remind others of you?

My favorite flowers are daisies and my sister’s are daffodils. Two different flowers for two different girls, yet very similar as they are both grown in the wild and if you are not careful you will get bitten by various forms of wildlife and insects if you try to pluck them from safe pastures.

There are many types of sisters in the world. I have one sister from my Mom and Dad, a sister-in-law I adore, two best-friends I call sisters-my children refer to as “aunts” – other friends, and a whole bunch of Christian women who are my sisters by faith in Jehovah God. As different as we all are, we still have much in common.

Like Martha and Mary of Luke Chapter 10:38-42 and John Chapter 11:17-40, all of us sisters have different perceptions on how we see others and what they do. The most important perception, however, is our own self perception. When we get our own self perceptions in line with God’s Word, we will find that our perceptions of others will change dramatically. The peace that follows that change is satisfying and freeing.

Obviously, sisters are very important in my life. Therefore, I wanted my blog site to reflect something with significance, hence, the title, “daisiesndaffodils”. My goal is to encourage all my sisters to love themselves and one another.

Since I’ve never seen thorns on daisies, I will do my best to be nice.