my experiences

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Anyone Need Their Grass Cut?

Sometimes you start a simple task or job and it grows into something bigger. I have certainly experienced this at times in my life.

One time we had a water leak in our vacation trailer.  I decided to see if I could fix it myself.  I checked and found the problem needed to be fixed from the outside, which meant peeling off the metal shell at the front of the trailer.  I started at the bottom and noticed the problem extended a little higher so I took off the next strip, then the next, and the next.  When I had the whole front of the trailer removed, with just the wood frame left in place, I stepped back and thought, “What have I done?!”  It was way more work than I had thought.

Another time we had a leak in our basement.  I thought I would dig a hole outside and patch the foundation where the leak was.  In the end, the hole I dug was over 5 feet deep and about 12 feet long.  Again, that job got way bigger than I had first thought!

Reading about those two experiences, you might think they weren’t that bad, and that I must be a handy guy.  That’s where you would be VERY wrong!  I’m not that handy, and for all the handy work I have done, I don’t really like it.  It takes me too long; I don’t have the right tools; I make mistakes; I get frustrated; I get discouraged; I cut myself (another story).

Recently, we were at our cottage on a rainy weekend, when we happened to get a break from the rain for a few hours.  I decided I’d better take the opportunity to cut the grass since we wouldn’t be back for a few weeks.

It’s such a small piece of lawn that the job really doesn’t take much time.  But, as I was running the lawnmower over our grass, I thought about my brother’s lawn.  He had left his cottage a few hours earlier in the rain and I had noticed that his lawn needed a cut.

Since he’s up at his cottage almost every weekend and often cuts our grass (because we don’t get there all that frequently), I thought it was my chance to return the favour.  So, when I finished our lawn, I walked over to his place and started to cut his grass.

As I got close to finishing, I started to think about my brother’s neighbour who’s wife had just had surgery and was in intensive care at the hospital.  I thought, “That guy doesn’t need to be bothered with his lawn”.  So, as I finished with my brother’s lawn, I just kept going and worked on his neighbour’s.

As I walked back to my place pushing my lawnmower, I realized this was one of the few times a job that got bigger didn’t become frustrating or discouraging.  In fact, I walked with a sense of satisfaction that I had, in some small way, been a help to others.

Here’s the thing:  One of the greatest ways we can show the love of God to others is not by telling them but by showing them.  The problem is it takes time and, for many of us, time is precious.  We don’t have a lot of extra time to allow the task or job we are working on to become any bigger.  But sometimes that is exactly how we are to “love one another as I have loved you” John 13:34.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: What kind of “loving one another” acts have you done recently?

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The Doctor Is In

For the last several years I’ve been collecting watches.  I have several . . . actually I have more than several.  The watches I collect aren’t expensive or collector’s editions.  They’re not popular brand names.  They are cheap $10-$15 watches that I mostly get at a flea market.

Since I’ve been collecting these watches, I’ve been called the “Watch Doctor” by many … mostly my family and only after I told them I was the Watch Doctor.  If you say “Watch Doctor” out loud in reference to me, please pronounce it “Watch Docta”, it sounds better.

I’m not the Watch Docta just because I have a large collection of watches; it’s because I fix them too.  You see, with so many cheap, and cheaply made watches, there are always one or two needing attention.  If it’s not a battery issue, it might be the stem or the strap.  In order to fix them I need tools and I found a great little kit online.  So, if you see me with my little black bag, you’ll know I’m in “Docta” mode.

Not long ago I needed to change the battery in one of my watches.  For those of you who are laymen regarding watches, there are basically two different ways to get the back off a watch.  Some watches are the pop-off kind, and you use a special knife for that.  The other kind screws off.  There are little notches so you can apply a case opener tool to twist it off – and yes, I have that tool.

This watch had the notches so I got out my case opener for screw types and got started.  But I couldn’t get the back off. I turned the back one way and then the other way, but it would only move slightly and then tighten no matter which direction I turned.

Soon I began to get quite frustrated, and in passing, my wife Lily commented, “Why don’t you try to pop the back off?”  I gave her a look only a well-trained Watch Docta could give, as if to say “Whach you talkin’ ‘bout, fool?”  Then I kept at it.

After a while I began to get angry at the watch.  I would put the watch down for a bit and then pick it up and try again.  Nothing.  I got nowhere. Finally I got out my knife – because I didn’t care any more – and funny thing, the back of the watch just popped right off!

Those markings on the back of the watch were just decoration!  It wasn’t a screw type watch at all.

Here’s the thing:  The appearance of the watch indicated to me that I needed to take the back off a certain way.  Lily had no idea what type of watch it was.  She just threw out another possibility.  Her suggestion didn’t make sense to me because of the appearance of the watch.  But she was right.

Sometimes we get our mind set on something that we think we know about, and we don’t listen to God.  We think we don’t need His advice, that we know what to do.  But God knows better than we do.  Even when it looks like something we know, listening to God will give us the best way to proceed.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  How have you been guilty of not listening to God when you think you know the way to proceed?  Leave your comment below.

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End Well

Sometimes my wife just wears me down.  For the last sixteen years we’ve lived in Ontario, 2 ½ hours from Toronto, and Lily has said she would like to visit Casa Loma (http://www.casaloma.org).  I wouldn’t say she has insisted on going, but she’s suggested it with a really big smile, batting her eyelids and stretching out the word “please” for a long time.

It’s not like she’s never been, she just wanted to go again – together. I’ve put her off many times, but recently we were in Toronto for our anniversary and were looking for one more thing to do before we came home.

She had me at a weak moment.  I had very little options, no alternate plan, and if I wanted to keep those romantic anniversary feelings from crashing on the rocks, I needed to cave on this one.  In the end, it wasn’t a bad choice of activities.

If you know nothing of Casa Loma, it is this enormous home built at the turn of the 20th century.  It’s not a castle but it looks like it could be a castle. And if you owned it and lived in it you would feel you lived in a castle.  Now, however, it’s a great money-making tourist attraction for the city of Toronto.  The day we went they made thousands of dollars; there were people everywhere.

It has 98 rooms, secret passages, gardens, and an underground tunnel to the stables.  Still, I figured, if we went through the rooms quickly (the way I like to go through show homes when Lil gets the opportunity to drag me through them), we could be done in an hour.

But Lil wanted to get the self-guided tour with a phone-like device giving a commentary on all the features of the house – yes, all 98 rooms.  As soon as they slapped one of those devices in my hand, I knew we were going to be putting an offer in to buy the place.  This was not going to be a short in and out viewing!

What I found interesting from all the commentaries was the background on the owner, Henry Pellatt.  The commentary painted him as a generous, wealthy, kind man.  At one time he controlled one quarter of the wealth in Canada.  The home he built was supposed to cost about $500,000 but ended up costing $3.5 million, a hefty price for 1911.

Then one thing after another happened to Henry:  he lost a lot of money when the government took his electric power company from him without compensation; the stock market crashed; and he made some deals that didn’t work out.  In the end, he was bankrupt, and the city took ownership of Casa Loma due to back taxes owed to the tune of $27 million in 1933.

Henry ended up penniless.  When he died, at the age of 80, he was living in a room in the home of his former chauffeur.  His son hadn’t even taken him in.  … A magnificent house, a sad story.

Here’s the thing:  If for almost or all of your life things go your way, but you die without a saving relationship with Christ, your life ends up to be just a very sad story.  Jesus came to turn any life – good or bad – into a great story … and that’s worth checking out while you’re still living out your story.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: What kind of story will your life tell when its done? Leave your comment below

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He’s Got Your Back

When I was a kid, having a brother was great.  We played together; we always had a buddy to do something with.  On the other hand, we also fought a lot.  It was quite predicable:  one little thing like an innocent bump would lead to a push and then a harder push and a hit.  Then the fight was on.

My brother and I had some pretty classic fights growing up.  Some of our fights could have been on WWE (Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment).  People would have paid good money to see them!  On WWE they use chairs and tables on each other; we used hockey sticks and the threat of knives (just the dull ones you use at dinner).  When we got older, our poor mother would throw her arms up, and walk away saying, “You guys are going to kill each other!”

We didn’t, and we’re still great friends today.  The funny thing was, all those fights we had never lasted.  We would be playing one minute, then fighting, and then a couple minutes later playing together again.

One of the greatest things about having a brother was having someone to stick up for you.  Maybe you never had this feeling before, but having someone come to your side, and stand with you when there’s trouble is an amazing feeling.

One time when we were 10 and 12, we were with a bunch of friends when some other guys came up to us.  One of them was a couple years older, had a reputation as a fighter, and for some reason started picking on me.  My friends didn’t want anything to do with it and kind of backed away.  I’m sure they were thinking he would beat me to a pulp.

But my brother was there.  Though it’s always nice to be able to say, “I’m going to get my big brother and he’s twice your size”, my brother was two years younger and the same scrawny size as me.  It didn’t seem like a great advantage.

Still he was there and he didn’t back away like my friends did.  He got in there and basically the two of us laid a beating on that guy (I think it was all our practice that helped).  We were pretty pumped about what we did and how we felt about each other and we never had any trouble with that kid again.

Here’s the thing:  The other day I was reading Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

As I read that verse the feeling that I got was that same feeling of having a brother come to your side in a fight. The trouble is not necessarily dismissed, but I have someone fighting with me, someone helping me in my trouble.

Reading that verse, I got this amazing feeling of how much God cares for me, to battle with me.  And because He’s God, we’re going to win in the end, and walk off arm in arm victorious together.

God isn’t off somewhere helping remotely; He’s right there with you, and He’s got your back.  God is watching out for you.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  When you are in a difficult place, how do you feel about God?

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Get Out of My Way!

I’ve been known to get a little frustrated in traffic. City traffic infuriates me, but highway traffic, it infuriates AND bewilders me. I don’t understand how you can be driving at, let’s just say a little over the speed limit, on a 4 – 6 lane highway and have traffic come to a complete stop.

I understand a lane closure or an accident would cause it, but when there is nothing to block the lanes from moving freely, how can I go from traveling at 120 km/hr down to 0, and then have to putt along between 0 and 40 for what seems like forever?  There are no traffic lights on the highway, people! (If someone can explain the science of this, I’d appreciate it).

Recently, I was traveling through Toronto up to Sauble Beach.  I planned to stop at the Apple Store at Yorkdale Mall right beside the highway … but I left a little late.  I knew I would have to make good time on the road to get there before the store closed.  When I started, traffic was moving well.

By the time I was half way there, I was optimistic that I would make it to Yorkdale in time.  The traffic had been light and, let’s just say, I was making pretty good time.  Then my world caved in.  Being late Sunday afternoon, people were returning from their cottages and every route was funneling a ton of cars onto my highway.  Sure enough, seconds after passing a major on ramp, I saw brake lights and my car literally came to a stop.

I drive a standard so the constant speed up and slow down is rather annoying, especially if you have to do it for a good 40 minutes.  I kept looking at the clock and my hope of making the Apple Store was fading.  But just when I had almost written off the possibility of getting there on time, the traffic picked up.  Why?!  I have no idea, but I was ecstatic and it bugged me all at the same time (you see, I really need that explanation).

I drove as fast as I legally could – well, maybe a little faster – and kept looking between the road signs and the clock to judge my timing.  I knew it was going to be close.  But there was another hitch:  the off ramp from the highway to Yorkdale was closed.  I would have to exit off another street and negotiate my way back to the mall.  I looked again at the clock . . . I only had 10 minutes.

It was then that I had to give up and realize I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t get off at another exit, make my way along the streets, park the car and get inside the mall to the Apple store in just 10 minutes.  I kept driving.  I looked at Yorkdale from the highway as I passed by.  I was so close, if it wasn’t for that blasted traffic.

Here’s the thing:  When life throws us a roadblock, we look to blame someone and often times we look to God.  Why did God do this to me?  Blaming doesn’t help; it makes us even more angry, and it doesn’t move us to a solution.  What we should do is pour out our sorrow to God, let Him know how we feel, and seek His help.  Ask Him for strength to go through the roadblock, and/or a solution to get past it.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: Who do you blame most when you hit a roadblock in life?

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Life is a Buffet

Recently Lily and I celebrated our anniversary by going to a dinner theatre. The play was secondary; I was thinking more about the buffet and what I would be eating than what I would be watching.

The food was okay.  At a buffet it’s the volume that really matters … and there was volume!  I noticed some people piled the food on their plates as if it was their last meal.  Others went back for one or two more rounds.  Being a little conscious of what I’m eating these days, I kept my plate portions to a respectable side, but did visit the buffet more than once.

I find it amazing that if I had just ordered a plate of food, I would have been satisfied.  But because I can go back for more, something inside me says, “you’re still hungry, get back up there and get another plate”.  Or possibly it’s my wallet that speaks to me saying, “you’re paying $X for this meal; make sure the theatre isn’t making any money off of you … make them pay!”  It’s a crazy attitude to have, but somehow it pops into my head at the thought of a buffet.

A second plate wouldn’t have been that bad, but there was a dessert area that had not escaped my notice the two times I had been in the buffet line.  In fact, by the time I was ready for dessert I had already pictured what my dessert plate(s) would be filled with. Did I mention I had two runs at that line as well?

I had to visit the desserts again.  It wasn’t that I really wanted to; it was more that after my first plate I didn’t save anything to nibble on during the performance.  That, and there were still some things that I had noticed that I wasn’t able to fit on my first plate.

When I got to the line for round two, it was long.  It seemed I wasn’t the only one with an idea of having a plate full of goodies to carry me through the production (as if I might get a little peckish if I didn’t!).  I noticed some people taking dinner sized plates to put their desserts on, and I thought, “that’s not right”, but when I got close to the desserts something overtook me and I grabbed a large plate too.  It didn’t look right with just a few things on it so I had to put enough on the plate to make it look, well … uh … full.

When I got back to our table, I told Lily that some of it was for her, but she wasn’t interested in much, so it was left to me to finish.  I didn’t do a bad job; I kept at it right through the play.  And when it was all over, I waddled out of the theatre, like everyone else.  Oh, and the play was not bad either; it was a musical.

Here’s the thing:  in life we can fill our time – our daily plate – so full that when we get to the main attraction (the main reason we’re really here) that becomes secondary. You see, God has put us here to glorify Him and enjoy Him, and often we are so busy filling ourselves up with all kinds of goodies, that the production we came to be part of becomes an after thought.  I need to put more time and effort into the main thing, more focus on what I am here for.  Maybe if I did, I wouldn’t feel liking I’m waddling around in this life.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  What are you gorging yourself on that is taking way from your main purpose of glorifying God and enjoying Him?  Leave your comment below.

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Don’t Let the Sun Go Down

It is interesting to me that every night people gather at the lake to look out and watch the sun go down. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, if it’s cloudy, or even stormy.  They still show up at the beach, and gather like droids.  I know, because I’ve done it.

People line the beach with their lawn chairs, cameras, and video recorders.  They sit in the sand or just stand and stare as this orangey red ball slowly sinks below the horizon.

They’re mesmerized by a sight that happens every day.

It’s the same thing, you know – the sun always goes down.  You can count on it; it never does anything different.  It doesn’t’ go back a bit or stop and leave everyone in suspense like it did in the Bible once.  No, it does the same thing every night: it goes down and drops below the horizon.  Yet people come every night to see it happen, almost as if it wouldn’t happen if they didn’t come.

People don’t just do this at Sauble Beach (though it is pretty phenomenal there).  People do it everywhere, by oceans, lakes, mountains, even on cruise ships.  People stop and just watch, sometimes in silence, gazing at the sight.

The thing that is different, the thing that keeps people coming back each night is the sky.  On a clear night with no clouds, the sky is colourful.  But when you add a little bit of cloud – wow! – the sun does an amazing job of painting the sky in incredible colours and shades.  It’s like there’s a new canvas every night.

I personally have probably over a hundred pictures of sunsets at Sauble Beach.  I’ll take several every time because the colours, and the painting created on the canvas of the sky, changes moment by moment.  Even though there is a new picture every night, for some reason I, and many others, feel the need to capture the one we’re looking at so we can view it again and again.

Some people don’t care about capturing it.  They just take it in, are fascinated by the sky and then satisfied that it will be different and just as spectacular the next night.  Some people dream as they stare at it, while others get all romantic and want to hold hands (Lily).  Some linger and others turn and walk away, occasionally looking over their shoulder towards the sky and horizon.

Here’s the thing:  Every day we have opportunities to gaze upon what God has created, and appreciate it, think about it, dwell on it and acknowledge where it came from.  But how often do we take a moment to go beyond the beauty that we see to give a nod to God for it, to respond to Him for the million dollar painting before our eyes?  After all, the painter is the one with all the talent; the painting is just his creation.  I want to be a little more responsive to God and His paintings from now on.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: What grabs your attention, causing you to acknowledge God’s creativity in the world?  Leave your comment below.

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Home Repairs and Me Don’t Mix

Do you ever have one of those days where everything just falls into place?  Even when the odds are against you, things still happen easily without a hitch.  That doesn’t happen to me often, but it did the other day.

It all started with me having to fix the skylight on my cottage (trailer).  If you know me, you know words like “easy”, “smooth”, “without a hitch”, “cinch”, “piece of cake” would not be column headings on “Jeopardy” if I was a contestant.  These would not be categories I am an expert in.

When I have to fix something it might involve me cutting myself, throwing a tool, or shouting something unintelligible in frustration.  But not yesterday!

We had a leak around the skylight on our trailer.  Last fall we shingled the roof and when we came back in the spring we noticed some water marks by the skylight.  When I went on the roof and checked, everything looked pretty good, so I put some more caulking in a few spots and hoped that would do it.

But last week when we had some rain, I noticed it was damp around that skylight again.  I put it off a few days, saying that it was just too hot and I didn’t want to mark up the shingles by walking on the roof.  Really it was an excuse because I just didn’t want to tackle the project.

Mention the words “skylight” and “moisture” and most people will make a face, shake their heads and mutter something like “good luck”.  But that was the job and I needed to get it done.  In some ways it was a good day for the job – there was a nice breeze, it was overcast, and not hot.  But it looked like it could rain at any moment.

This was one of those projects you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting into, you just start and see where it takes you.  I took off the silicone caulking with ease, which was pretty amazing.  Then I unscrewed the screws holding the skylight to the frame without a hitch.

Then I got my brother involved and we went to the hardware store for supplies.  I went directly to the help desk (something I don’t normally do), told the guy what I needed and quickly got personal assistance finding everything on my list – it was so smooth.

We got back on the roof, placed putty around the frame and then screwed the skylight to it – it was a cinch.  The silicone would be a problem though.  I’ve worked with it before and, along with making a mess of things, I’ve been known to be peeling bits of silicone off body parts for days afterward.

But not this time!  My brother showed me a secret (I’d have to kill you if I told you) and we put that silicone on so well, mess free, and quickly – it was a piece of cake.

And then the sky that was threatening rain, never did the rest of the day – how awesome is that?

So I was wondering why this project went so well . . . Oh, did I mention my wife Lily prayed with me before I began that God would help me, that it would be an easy job for me? . . .  there’s an idea for the next project.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: At what point in a project do you find yourself praying?  Leave your comments below.

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I Want My Beach Back!

When we go to the beach it’s usually for a few hours, so I like to bring an umbrella to sit under, a beach chair that reclines, some snacks in case I get hungry, and, of course, a book to read.

We usually plunk ourselves down in the same general area.  With twelve kilometers of beach, you’d think one might move around, but no, we head for our regular spot.  And apparently, so does everyone else.  Day after day we see the same people sprawled out around us.

But this year there is a roped off area the size of a small gym right where we normally set up shop at the beach.  How dare they!  I’m sure if you dug deep enough you’d find things that belonged to us over the years to prove that’s our spot.  But it’s off limits.

The reason for the roped off area is to protect a family of birds nesting on the beach. Inside the huge roped off area is a tiny screened area for the mother bird and babies. There were four babies but apparently one is missing.

And I know where it went!  There was a flock of seagulls who weren’t obeying the roped off boundary and they were hanging around the screened area waiting patiently for a nice fluffy little morsel.  That would be their snack before their usual attack of some child carrying a box of fries back to a family … patiently waiting for a little morsel outside the roped off area.

Seeing that roped off area really bugged me.  How can a little bird command so much power?  Why does the beach have to be disrupted for a bird family of five, and why such a large area?  It made me mad that our regular spot was off limits, but there was nothing we could do about it.  So, we headed for another area and set up our stuff in a different spot.

As I put the umbrella into the sand I was still muttering to myself.  As I unfolded my beach chair and flopped into it I was still thinking evil thoughts towards those birds.  Then I started to look around.  The beach looked the same from this new spot.  The water looked the same too.  After about three minutes, I forgot I was in a different spot because it seemed just like our old spot.  I settled in to my book, and thought, “I guess the ‘Piping Plovers’ (species of bird) can stay.  With kilometers of beach all looking the same, I guess I can share a small gym sized area with them.”

So here’s the thing:  God sometimes brings things into our life to move us to another spot.  The spot He’s moving us to is closer to Him.  Once we’ve been at the new spot for a while, we get used to it and it’s like the last spot, really comfortable.  So God will bring something else to move us to yet another spot closer again to Him.  There’s lots of room, lots of spots, and at times we don’t even recognize we’re getting closer; it just seems like a disruption.  But be patient; you’ll like it from the new spot in time.  I need to be open to allow God to move me closer to Him, and to go, rather than put up a stink.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: What has God put in your path to move you closer to Him? Leave your comment below.

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Why Can’t We Be More Agreeable?

This week I attended our denominational meetings in Winnipeg. I look forward to these conferences every two years, and came with great expectation for the week.  But soon after settling into the business sessions, I remembered why I also get frustrated with these meetings.  It all comes down to decision-making … we take forever to make a decision!

There are parts of Assembly I thoroughly enjoy.  The public services always inspire and challenge me and that’s good for my soul.  It’s also great to catch up with old friends, some I haven’t seen in years.  I even met up with a few former students from when I was a youth pastor.  To see them grown up with families and established careers is fantastic.  That part of Assembly is great.

But one of the main reasons we come to Assembly is to make decisions, and that’s where we get bogged down every time.  This year a motion was put to Assembly, and when someone didn’t like it, he tried to change it.  In doing so, he actually made it into another motion and we had to temporarily divert our discussion on it before we got back to the original motion.  It was a wrong turn that wasted half an hour going down the wrong road, only to have to come back to the right road and start again.

There are also delegates who are incredibly nit picky.  Some don’t like the smallest of words, like the word “it” or “a” for instance.  I’m always amazed how long people can talk about the appropriateness of such little words and be so passionate about them.  Personally, I use the word “the” a million times a day and never think about how I’ve used it.  At Assembly, however, any word is up for debate, and a LONG debate.

Then there are those who feel they need to speak at the mic on every motion, and even after several people have already expressed the same thought.  Of course, they think they bring a new view or understanding, but it’s all a rehash of the same thoughts.  I wish we had a system where people could “like” a comment in the way one can on Facebook.  That would greatly streamline things.  When a comment is made, people could just register their “like” by hitting a button on their digital device.  We could plow through reams of legislation that way.

But whom am I kidding?  People want to have their say; they like to hear themselves talk; they’re delusional, thinking their point is going to change everyone’s mind.  So they keep coming to the mic. … and my frustration with the painful process of decision-making continues.

Here’s the thing:  God has put motions before us – actually, commands for us to follow. And, instead of agreeing with (voting for) his commands and putting them into practice, we act like Assembly delegates.  We try to change or tweak God’s commands to better agree with us.  We want to massage some nuance of the command so it is a little more palatable.   We try to make an argument for our position of not following a particular command.

I think it’s got to frustrate God like Assembly frustrates me.  If we would only vote “yes” to God’s commands, maybe life would be more enjoyable for us.  We’d dispense with much of the frustration.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  How have you tried to change or resist God’s commands? Leave your comment below.