If only I had some courage....

The sermon today centered on deep water faith, a term which is very meaningful to me.  I have had many moments in my faith journey when I was drowning in cares.  It is part of the human condition to see one's own problems as the most desperate, the most pressing, the worst or the hardest.  Whether our problems are big or small, we are self centered, focused on the immediate, and it is easy to lose sight of the bigger problems in the world when we have our own issues to face.

Are you prepared for eternity?

It is impossible, when a natural disaster on the scale of the tornado which hit Oklahoma City occurs, to avoid thinking about the nature of our own mortality.  When this day began, 51 people got out of bed, not knowing this was their last day in this earthly realm.  They had breakfast, drank coffee, got backpacks, went to work and school - they did what everyone does on any other normal Monday, oblivious that this was not going to be a normal day for them.

Today is God's day!

From the moment we know a child is on the way, we start planning for their life.  We feel a range of emotions that we never knew were possible as we consider the possibilities.  The highs and lows of life as a parent can lift us to the mountaintop or drag us to the bottom of the deepest ocean valley.  But through it all, we have the power of the Spirit to guide us and help us, and it is enough.

Changing lives one day at a time...

Change is hard.  For most people, especially as we get older and more set in our familiar, comfortable pattern, a change in the status quo causes us to be unsettled, uncomfortable, dismayed.  It can range from mildly disconcerting to outright painful, depending on how difficult the change is.  Even positive changes, such as a new baby or an impending marriage, can cause stress and concern.

Living in Grace....

What do we answer someone who justifies their bad decision making by saying they will repent on their deathbed because they will still receive God's grace?  It is an interesting concept - sin as much as you want, knowing, without question, that God's gracious forgiveness is freely available to all who repent.  Salvation is, after all, a gift freely given, without qualification, no matter what we have done or left undone.  It is there for the taking; all we need to do is accept it.

So how do we answer the person who justifies all manner of indiscretion this way?  And, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, do we not sometimes also justify ourselves in this same way?

Transformer

Boys who grew up in the last 30 years are familiar with a toy called a transformer.  Following the original story line, by manipulating the toy, you can change it from one form, a robot, into something different, such as a vehicle or an animal.  Originally, it was a limited series, but as fads will do, it took off, and eventually transformed into something not originally imagined.  The transformer transformed itself, so to speak.