More thoughts to chew on...

Afternoon, y'all ::


Apparantly, someone is trying to get a message to me.  Yesterday, I had several events come together (actually, collide might be a better word!) that gave me some insight on a quote from Mother Teresa:

"I know that God won't give me more trouble than I can handle...
but sometimes I wish he wouldn't trust me so much."

So, I did a little typing, and came up with yesterday's blog posting, focusing on how God never gives you more than you can handle, and when you think he does, a few ways to find out that you have more than just your plate at the buffet line.


Pulling into church this morning, I saw on the marquee the sermon text for this morning's message.  Immediately, I could tell that we'd be hearing about Jesus and the feeding of the 5000. (For those who'd like a refresher on the story, head here to BibleGateway.com and read up.)  Aside from the Resurrection, it's one of the few (if not the only) miracle performed by Jesus that appears in all four gospels (others may appear in one or two, but rarely in all four.)


The focus on the sermon wasn't on how God takes care of us, and provides our needs, exactly.  The disciples get it wrong at the outset, just like we do from time to time.  "There's no way I can do it.  It's only me.  I'm not enough." Note the words in bold -- they focus in on me.  Head back to yesterday's blog posting, more specifically, the second tactic on how to keep your plate from getting too full:

2.  Get a second plate.
If "many hands make light work," having a "wing man" help out in carrying a drink or (if you really, really trust her) your dessert can be invaluable.  Even better, getting a helping hand in carrying a second plate full of food the two of you can share is worth the food's weight in gold.  So, if you need some help in handling what life is scooping on your plate, go to a trusted friend or advisor, and get some help!  Of course, turning to God and asking for a little help is a great start.  But don't forget those friendships and fellowships that you've been blessed to be a part of.

The right answer was hidden in that one line: Give Jesus what you have, and let Him deal with the solution.  In this parable, God's purpose wasn't to feed people with fish and bread.  He looks for opportunites to test our faith.  In this context, "test" doesn't mean to prove, but more to strengthen and temper.  From Hebrews 11:6 (Message paraphrase)

It's impossible to please God apart from faith.  And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.

Hudson Taylor said, "Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith." We have to go beyond knowing.  If you look at any ancient map of the seas, there'd be a point where no explorer had gone yet.  There, a phrase that would often be written would be "Beyond this point there be dragons."  It's also where our knowledge and understanding ends and where our faith in God lies.  We have to go beyond knowing how much we can do by ourselves, because God never intends for us to go solo on this!  God does give us more than we can handle, but He never gives us more than the two of us (God and I) can't handle.  God doesn't ask us to do anything that He's not ready to help us out with.  In the Feeding of the 5000, Jesus asked His disciples to be HIS PARTNERS in ministry.  Today, He asks us to partner with him in doing great and (seemingly) impossible things!


If you're interested in hearing the sermon, head right here to download an audio version of the sermon.  If you'd like some notes to fill in, head here.


Take care! :: Greg

Thoughts from Mother Teresa, a car collision, and Aunt Ernie's deviled eggs...

Good morning, y'all:

"I know that God won't give me more trouble than I can handle...
but sometimes I wish he wouldn't trust me so much."

The above is a time worn quote from Mother Teresa, and about lunch time, I was thinking my plate was pretty full.  It's hot, it's humid (which means the house we live in is hot and humid, the kids were nipping at each other, Ellen and I were getting a few things done before we both headed into work for the evening, and right before I walked out the door, Ellen gave me some information that added yet a few more things to ponder and think about.

Walking into Lowe's, that Mother Teresa quote ran through my mind.  My first thought after that was: What do I do when I run out of room on my plate?  Second thought -- get a bigger plate!

Since then, what was a full day turned into an ugly day.  I had just gotten home for lunch, when I get a phone call from Ellen.  She's been involved in a three-car accident right in front of the mall.  The next couple of hours were spent getting a few pictures, getting Ellen to St. Francis to be checked out, making a few phone calls making sure that the kids and Ellen's mom would be taken care of, getting prescriptions filled at 8pm on a Friday night, and (most importantly), getting the both of us dinner.  Fazoli's always tastes this good, but the breadsticks were extra yummy.

Now that all of this has stewed around for a while, here's a little insight I've picked up over the past 24 hours.  And of course, the analogy involved uses some of the best food around -- that found at a family reunion.  Or, more precisely, the plate involved.

My family reunions typically are great fun.  Cards and Rummikub are typically played, kids spend most of the day outside running around, but when the dinner bell rings, the feast is typically pretty vast.  And an informal challenge goes out -- who can best pack and stack their plate so that there's room for everything.  From fried chicken to turkey and gravy, to mostaccioli, to chicken and dumplings, AND still have room for corn, some sweet potato casserole, green beans, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, cole slaw, sweet potato casserole (trying to send a message to Ellen...).  We won't even talk about dessert.  The simple truth is that no matter how big of a plate that you have, it's just one plate.  So, what do you do when you run out of room on your plate before you get to the sweet potato cassarole?  Let me give you a few tips from a veteran of many a reunion.

1. Get picky.
   First of all, let's use a little common sense.  Do you really want THREE chicken legs?  FOUR deviled eggs?  TWO HEAPING SCOOPS of dressing?  You can either get a lot of a little, or a little of a lot.  If you go with the former, you'll find out that you're probably going to miss out on a lot of variety in life.  In the same way, be careful what you dish up for your life.  Don't let your rabid hunger for Uncle Butch's Famous Fried Chicken get in the way of the delicious seven layer salad, or cole slaw a little bit further down the road.  In the same way, don't let things you enjoy grow to the point to where you can't do the things you need to do.
   
2. Get a second plate.
   If "many hands make light work," having a "wing man" help out in carrying a drink or (if you really, really trust her) your dessert can be invaluable.  Even better, getting a helping hand in carrying a second plate full of food the two of you can share is worth the food's weight in gold.  So, if you need some help in handling what life is scooping on your plate, go to a trusted friend or advisor, and get some help!  Of course, turning to God and asking for a little help is a great start.  But don't forget those friendships and fellowships that you've been blessed to be a part of.
   
3. Be careful on who's scooping.
   Like I've mentioned before, there's plenty of choices of really good food on the buffet table, and there's more than enough to go 'round.  And when my kids grab a plate, and start dishing up their favorites, sometimes, their choices aren't the wisest.  "No, let's not take 4 scoops of Ice Cream Delight.  How 'bout some corn instead."  "Let's save some room for some baked beans!"  "Let's get some ham or turkey first, then we'll  make our way to the cookies..."  You don't think that the Devil is over there at the dessert tray, saying "Forget about that healthy stuff, here, you can have a few extra cookies.  You're big enough for a BIG piece of pumpkin pie.  You don't need any room for that ham sandwich, or that fried chicken..."  Be careful on who's putting what on your plate.  The Devil seeks to distract and divide us.  And dangling tasty treats out in of us is the basic definition of temptation.  Be sure that the person scooping the potatoes and gravy on your plate has your best interests in mind.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry for some reason.  And I think there's some leftover Fazoli's still in the fridge...

Until later :: Greg

Some thoughts on this Independence Day...

Some random thoughts from the quotation book.

I've lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth — That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, — and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages.

Benjamin Franklin,
Speech to the Constitutional Convention, 28 June 1787

Thought -- It is often said that "with God, all things are possible."  Is it also true, then, that without God, all things are impossible?  From Alexander Hamilton:

The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.

Alexander Hamilton,
The Farmer Refuted, 1775

This to me is critical.  No document grants me liberty or freedom; no man ordains me to be free.  The rights of man are given to us by God Himself; rights that no mortal has the authority to take away.  This fact was among the first that made America truly exceptional -- the fact that our founding documents prescribe exactly what our government can and can't do.  Our government is designed to be limited, not limitless as was typical of the kingdoms and empires of the day.  And to be truthful, I doubt that any entity would be successful in keeping these freedoms from us.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That is the true genius of America — a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.  

Barack Obama,
speaking at the Democratic National Convention, 27 July 2004

Who'd think I'd quote Obama in a posting on Liberty? But in all seriousness, it's this faith that enables anyone to do anything in this country.  Want proof?  Look at the 43 men who have served as President.  None enabled by title or birth.  How else could you get a collection such as that!

This just occurred to me -- in most of the historical quotes about the Declaration, or the Constitution, or in talking about our liberties -- there's a reference to God's existence.  That must drive some people absolutely mad...  (Good!)

And for those who need reminding -- this is what we're celebrating...