Isaiah 40:31

If you follow my blog you know that I have a love for dogs. Our dogs constantly remind me of my walk with God, including the fact that I'm sure there are times that God wishes I wore a choke collar! Perhaps then, when I head off in the wrong direction and God tries to redirect me, I would be a bit more responsive.

The link below was shared with me by two dear friends. It is the story of a dog named Isaiah 40:31, and shares a message about what we can learn from a dog about obedience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKohJ1k4oKA

I guess, if I obeyed as well as this dog, God wouldn't need a choke collar!

"[Jesus] relied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and
obey it."" Luke 11:28

My prayer:
God, teach me to hear your command and to follow it. Remind me that when you tell me no, it is not to be mean, but is often to protect me from thing I cannot see, but that you can see. Help me to trust you in all things and to obey your commands. Amen.

Cheers!

This week has been a bit nostalgic. Earlier this week I read that the bartender at the original "Cheers" bar, the one that the television show was based on, was laid off. Immediately, I recounted the show that brought Dennis and I many laughs. And of course, I began to sing the theme song:

Where Everybody Knows Your Name
by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo
Cheers Lyrics
"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.
You wanna go where people know, people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name..."

I can remember Dennis and I discussing how great it would be to have a place like Cheers to hang out in - where everybody did know your name and they were always glad to see you. We had a place to hang out in our college years that was a bit like Cheers (please, don't tell my mom!). I must admit it was great to walk into the room and know most everyone there. It gave us a sense of belonging. Of course, time passed and we all left college and went our different ways.

This week as I listened to the lyrics, I realized that no matter how many "Cheers" you find in your lifetime, they really never last. Even on the show things changed: Coach died; Diane left; Frasier moved on to his own show and split with Lillith. Woody and Rebecca showed up and Sam was really bald!

However, over the years I've discovered there is another place I can go where someone knows my name and is ALWAYS glad to see me - - in the presence of God. Not only does he know my name; he knows everything about me. Most importantly, he never gets cancelled or moves on to better things. He is the one thing I can always count on.

Making my way in the world today sure does take a lot!
Taking a break from all my worries should would help a lot!
Sometimes I want to go where somebody knows my name!
And He's always glad I came...

Wouldn't it be great if we chose to be there all of the time?

"... He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10:3

My prayer:
Lord God, I thank you that you know me by name and you are always joyful to have me in your presence. Help me to always seek your presence and to accept the comfort, joy and freedom from worries that you have for me there. Amen.


In case I hit your nostalgic button as well, here's a video of the theme song and clips from the show. I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6HI1pjfHlc&feature=related

Grace or Guilt?

My sweet friend Laura has a wonderful relationship with God. If you read her comment to my last post ("A Lent Perspective"), you might also know that she has a long running love affair with guilt. On Laura's behalf (and on behalf of thousands of us, who are just like her), I decided to do a little exploring about guilt.

According to my NIV Study Bible, the word guilt appears in the Bible 6 times. Conversely, the word grace appears in the Bible 130 times. Hmmm... makes you wonder doesn't it? Do you think God is trying to tell us something?

To explore this idea a little further, I pulled out my trusty bible dictionary (Unger's Concise Bible Dictionary) and looked up the words guilt and grace. Grace is defined as "the manifestation of God's love and mercy toward sinful men" (I'm pretty sure that includes women too!). Here's what Unger's has to say about guilt: "Guilt is liability for sin committed or wrong enacted. Divine grace has triumphed over sin by removing the guilt of all who trust in Jesus Christ's atoning death (Rom. 8:1)". Amazing! Grace is included in the very definition of guilt.

No wonder grace appears 124 more times than guilt; by it's very definition God's grace is greater than any guilt (self-imposed or otherwise) we can ever imagine. One of the most incredible thing about grace is that we cannot earn or buy it. In our church we have an acronym for Grace: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace doesn't come at our expense. Jesus Christ already paid the price. All we have to do is accept it. It seems that to do anything less is to deny Christ's sacrifice for us.

Christ has purchased us the gift of grace. God is holding it out in front of us offering it to us. It's an enormous gift. So, in order to receive it, we have to set aside the guilt package we are carrying and open our hands to receive God's love and mercy.

So what choice will you make? Grace or guilt? It's totally up to you.

I can promise you that grace is definitely the better choice. Of course that's easy for me to say... it only took me 24 years of wallowing in guilt and unforgiveness before I was ready to choose God's grace. I hope for your sake, you're a much quicker learner than I was.

"...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

My prayer:

Jesus, thank you for paying the price for my sin and guilt. Give me the courage and strength to let go of my own self reliance and guilt, and accept the gift of God's mercy and love through His all sufficient grace. Amen.