Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor
I have a problem. Not a serious one, but I still think it's an issue. A character defect, perhaps.
I want to cut people's weeds.
Let me explain. Occasionally, I like to run around the neighborhood for a little exercise. Usually, it's more of a leisurely walk though if I'm being honest. As I walk/run (slowly) I tend to notice people's yards. Some are well-kept and manicured. Others are not. And the latter are the yards I have difficulty running past. My palms start to itch and my hands start to shake as I see their weeds towering into the sky. I wonder to myself, Would they mind if I took care of this for them? Would they even notice when they came home from work tonight?
You see, I received a weedeater for Christmas a few years ago and I love using that piece of machinery. There's something about the satisfaction of swinging it back and forth and watching the vegetation fall in front of me that gladdens my heart. I don't have a green thumb and I can't grow a thing, but I sure do enjoy chopping things down!
It's kind of an irrational urge. I don't have the same feeling whenever I encounter a leaky toilet or a dirty microwave or someone's vinyl siding that has cracks. It only occurs with weeds. It might be a chemical imbalance.
The Bible mentions weeds quite a bit ("They speak words, taking false oaths while making covenants. So lawsuits break out like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field."), but it never mentions someone having a weed complex and what to do when you discover you have one. I guess it's one of those gray areas open for interpretation.
So, if you ever come home and your weeds have seemingly spontaneously disappeared from your yard, you don't have to look far for the culprit or his weedeater.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Check Out Our Missions Blog
Make sure to leave comments on the blog because the teams read those and they are a source of great encouragement!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Have You Been Re-Purposed?
Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor
Life can be hectic and the larger our family (and extended family) becomes the crazier it gets. Consequently, birthdays sneak up on you and you may find yourself occasionally having to improvise on the way to familial birthday parties. The other day we were driving and Kristi "repurposed" a birthday card. I won't mention any names. But I was intrigued about this whole "repurpose" idea and I so l looked it up in the dictionary. It literally means to convert for another purpose. To change.
We were born in the kingdom of Satan; in the domain of darkness. The Bible is clear about that awful truth. But on the Cross something happened. Something mysterious and magical and wonderful tangled up all at the same time. God worked out His Rescue Plan through the death of His Son when Jesus actually became sin for us. When the last breath left his lips and then three days later when air filled his lungs again.
So, here comes the change. The rumbling underneath your feet lets you know it's happening. The stirring of something special. Can you feel it? Like a stadium when your team is building momentum for the comeback of the century.
God rescued us and brought us into His Kingdom. We've been repurposed; again. Originally made in the image of the invisible (we're more than carbon and chemicals!) we've been converted as adopted sons and daughters of God. Called back to life. No longer do we live under the control of the prince of the power of the air, but we live instead for the glory of God. We live for the love of our Redeemer. And there's no going back to that dark pit from whence we were brought out!
Children/Communications Pastor
Life can be hectic and the larger our family (and extended family) becomes the crazier it gets. Consequently, birthdays sneak up on you and you may find yourself occasionally having to improvise on the way to familial birthday parties. The other day we were driving and Kristi "repurposed" a birthday card. I won't mention any names. But I was intrigued about this whole "repurpose" idea and I so l looked it up in the dictionary. It literally means to convert for another purpose. To change.
We were born in the kingdom of Satan; in the domain of darkness. The Bible is clear about that awful truth. But on the Cross something happened. Something mysterious and magical and wonderful tangled up all at the same time. God worked out His Rescue Plan through the death of His Son when Jesus actually became sin for us. When the last breath left his lips and then three days later when air filled his lungs again.
So, here comes the change. The rumbling underneath your feet lets you know it's happening. The stirring of something special. Can you feel it? Like a stadium when your team is building momentum for the comeback of the century.
God rescued us and brought us into His Kingdom. We've been repurposed; again. Originally made in the image of the invisible (we're more than carbon and chemicals!) we've been converted as adopted sons and daughters of God. Called back to life. No longer do we live under the control of the prince of the power of the air, but we live instead for the glory of God. We live for the love of our Redeemer. And there's no going back to that dark pit from whence we were brought out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)