I hate dancing!

 1 Thessalonians 4 (The Message)

 ^1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.

This weekend Stephanie and I attended a great wedding.  My secretary's daughter got married.  The wedding and reception was a lot of fun.  Now, when I attend a reception, I really enjoy talking with people you don't get to see very often.  I love just having fun with friends and watching all the people Kickin' up their heals and having fun.  One thing I don't do is DANCE! I really hate dancing.  I am not sure why, but it has been true my whole life.  I love music, but I can't dance. I'm not very light on my feet. I'm more of a plodder.

Even though I'm a plodder when it comes to dancing, I don't like the thought that I'm a plodder when it comes to life.  I really get annoyed by those people who seem to be plodding along in life.  I view them kind of like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. Everything is "Whoa is me!" Life can be so exciting and so adventurous.  It is fun to see what kind of excitement is around the corner.  I do have my moments when I feel like I'm plodding along. Sometimes these moments can last for several days.  But, something always seems to happen to get me out of my "Funk" and I can feel more like life is a spirited dance. Life as a follower of Christ is not meant to be boring or a "dogged religious plod".  Life is meant to be really lived and really savored and really enjoyed.  All of this can be done even following the guidelines set by God.  We can remain pure, or "live a pure life" and still enjoy life to  it's fullest.  A lot of people would think those two things are opposites of each other.  When I was at the wedding reception I had a lot of fun and I did it well within the guidelines laid out by Jesus. Life as a Christian can really be fun. It's not all about becoming a monk. It can be full of laughter, fun, and celebrations. It can be just like a Dance! (I think!)

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for providing excitement in my life.  Thank you for the adventure we call life. Help me to Dance more often than I plod through my daily life.  Help me to share that dance with the people I see every day.  May my life have meaning and be fun at the same time through you and your presence. Amen!

Tough Talk!

Ephesians 5 (The Message)

 ^6-7Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.

Wow! This is some pretty tough talk.  What I like about the Bible -- it does not pull punches.  It is equally tough on Christians and Non-christians.  Just when I start thinking a little highly of myself, I read something like this and I start to shrink back to size.  Christians always make it all seem so easy and life is anything but easy as a christian.  If someone tells you that you need to devote your life to Christ and your life will be perfect, are giving you a BIG SALES JOB!  Ok, not too many people will tell you your life will be perfect, but even if they don't say it directly, they certainly leave you with that impression. How can you tell if you are getting a SNOW JOB?  Well, it's not always obvious!  As a matter of fact, if you don't work at building a relationship with God, it can be nearly impossible to tell the Smooth talking religious sales person from an honest God fearing Christian.  By building a relationship I mean by praying, reading the bible, hearing the word of God preached, and confiding in trustworthy Christian friends.  God talks to us through all of these ways.  The more you seek him, the better you are at discerning the truth and gaining wisdom. Also, if someone tells you they have that perfect life, or even if they lead you to believe it, they are lying.  God wants us to hear the truth and gets upset when we are deceived, especially by Wolves in Sheep's clothing.  Trust God alone!

Dear Lord, grant me discernment.  Help me to gain your wisdom in everything I do.  I know that life is not always perfect. But, I also know you are with me no matter what comes my way.  You want me to rely on you in the good and the bad.  Please Lord, give me the strength to Trust you and you alone! Amen.

The K.I.S.S. Principle

Galatians 2 (The Message)

 ^15-16 We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! 

When our students start school on Thursday, teachers and administrators will spend a lot of time talking about the rules for students during the school year.  I have a special athletic parent meeting tomorrow night to go over the Athletic Code which is a set of rules to be followed by our athletes.  We have quite an extensive set of rules with an equally complicated set of consequences.  Our assistant principal spends the majority of his time disciplining students for school rule violations (usually dress code violations). For the vast majority of our students you wouldn't even have to mention the rules.  They know, because they have been raised properly, how to act and how to dress in public.  The best set of rules I have ever heard came from one of my coaches.  It was pretty simple really.  Don't do anything to embarrass yourself, your team, or your parents? I always thought the simpler the rule, the more likely students would follow it. I like the K.I.S.S. principle. Keep It Simple Stupid!

Really God's rules are just as simple. Love God with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) That's it! Thats all there is to it! Paul finally understood that having a lengthy  set of rules describing in detail what you could and could not do, with an equally set of consequences, was ridiculous.  He knew first hand as a Pharisee how tough it was to follow the complex rules of the day and even harder to enforce the rules. We can't earn our place in eternity by following a lengthy set of rules.  We can wear jeans to church.  We don't have to pray a certain way. We don't have to  worship all the same way. We can be a sinner (all of us are) and still build a relationship with the creator of the universe.  Don't waste your time trying to follow the rules.  Instead, follow Christ with all your Heart,and Love your neighbor as yourself! Simple isn't it!