We've Got "Spirit," Yes We Do!

Well, we've spent the last three days going to basketball games in which Adam and Collin played in. The boys both played Thursday, then Adam went on to play in two more games at the El Dorado tournament, the Bluestem Classic. There were some good teams there. Even though we (the El Dorado H.S. Wildcats) didn't win any of our three games, I'd still say that the El Dorado ball club is a good team. After all, we only lost to the tournament champion (Wichita Collegiate) in our opening game by four points. And we only lost the other two games by a deficit of two and four points. Man, we seemed good enough. We basically did all the right things. Most people were happy with the team's actions. Man people, said we appeared to have what it takes. We just couldn't seem to win the game, though.

Maybe you can already see where I'm going with this. Do the last few sentences remind you of some people's description of their "religious" lives? Unfortunately, there are still people thinking that they are going to earn their way to Heaven because they appear to have what it takes. They seem good enough and, basically, do all of the right things. Most people are happy with their actions, too.

Wow! We' been talking a lot in church lately about being in the Spirit. One of the statements that our Pastor said today was: "If we live in the Spirit, we must walk in the Spirit." Walking in the Spirit doesn't mean just coming close to winning. Coming close to eternal life is not where I want to spend eternity. My idea of "winning" in life is ending up spending eternity in Heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And in the meantime, I want to be walking in the Spirit, not just talking like I'm there and appearing to do all of the right things. It's more than that. Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace (Rom. 8:6).

It's my goal this year to live a Spirit filled life. As we're talking in Church: I'm going to be on the front line in '09.

Are We Listening?

Our Sunday School lesson last week was on listening to God. Now, if you're like me, sometimes I, not a very good listener. But when we were getting ready to leave, I asked the class to really listen to the Lord this week and come back and share their experiences. (That way we all could be encouraged and edified by the experience.)

Ex. #1: Well, I had prayed that I would be open to God's will for me and that I would obey, but you know - often we think it will probably be the other guy. It wasn't!

My supervisor and I were coming back from K.C. on the Turnpike, and we passed a car that was broke down on the side of the road. There were two girls outside of the car as we passed. I felt that we should turn around, so we did. Long story short.....the girls were headed back to school in California and the car was causing problems. We were able to get them started and followed them to a repair shop that I knew of in El Dorado where we always take our vehicles.

The girls were very grateful; I'm sure one of them was a Christian by the way she talked, which made me feel even better.

Ex. #2: I had been burdened with the sickness of an acquaintance of ours through our Church. Our S.S. class wanted to help them out in some way but we didn't know how and what the status of our "brother" was. I was able to obtain the cell phone number of the brother's wife and caught her in the grocery store. I told her that we were wondering how they were and if we could possibly help them in any way. She was so moved that I thought she was going to cry over the phone. She told me that she had been praying for help to see how she was going to handle this coming week, as our brother was needing to go to the doctor in K.C. and she was going to be tied up with her oldest daughter who just had a baby the day that I was calling her. Also, she was burdened with the fact that her grandson was receiving chemotherapy and all of the other aspects of life. (Wow!) I told her we were there for her and we would do whatever it took to help her.

If that isn't answered prayer on both sides, I'll eat my hat! But should I have been surprised? The Bible tells us when we pray to be prepared and expect answers. Yup! Awesome!

If you've got a story about hearing from the Lord, I'd like to hear it and maybe even pass it on to our S.S. class for their edification. Hey, you never know when God's going to give you that Elijah-type whisper or a little tugging at your heart! But when he does, go for it!! You and others will be blessed!

Resistant to Change? Me?

I guess I'm wondering why everybody is so resistant to change. I mean, it's really very simple - change is a necessary evil to make the world go round. But why is everyone so against it? It' not that bad of a thing! But I do have a few questions?

- Why is it so important for young people to have their cell phones on 24 hours a day, especially for texting purposes? Are they missing an important meeting or business appointment?
- Why do girls wear those furry little boots with their pants tucked in them when it's not even snowing outside?
- Why do boys not comb their hair anymore?
- Why do girls wear at least 6 or 7 shirts, making sure the bottom one is longer than the others so it sticks out farther than the others....and then, the neckline still doesn't cover most of what it should?
- Why do boys wear their hats cocked off to the sides of their heads?
- Why do girls pierce everything?
- Why do boys put major holes in the lobes of their ears with this wooden or plastic ring in there? (Do they have any idea how stupid that will look when they get older?)
- Why do young car owners put those loud "mufflers" on a four cylinder engine?
- Why do girls pay $75 for jeans with holes in the knees? (I'd do it for $10!)
- Why do middle-aged men and women try to act like they are as young as these kids in the previous questions??????

Living Water

While on my daily morning walk that last few days, my attention has been drawn to the sounds of the water flowing over the rocks in the small creek that runs near our house. The unique thing about this creek (properly pronounced "crick" where I grew up) is that it never freezes over and never quits flowing. You see, it originates from a spring back in the trees, so it gives continual water up from underground at a constant temperature (which by the way is usually the same as the mean annual air temperature: around 56 degrees in El Dorado).

I often walk in the dark, so when I walk over the little bridge, I can only hear the water. I still know it's there, though. (Just because I can't see it doesn't mean it's not there, right?)

This reminds me of the parallel between the Holy Spirit and living water. Remember the passage in John 4 & 7 where Jesus refers to His Spirit as living water? He said that it becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within you, giving you eternal life. (Is that cool, or what?)

I offer a challenge to you. When you see or hear water, meditate on these passages. If you don't know what it's like to have the living water within you, seek out a friend, Pastor, or contact me. We'd be glad to share that living water with you.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of the spring fed creek near our house. Enjoy, and have a great week!

The warm water in the creek never freezes.

Cardinal Flowers bloom in the pool of the creek fed by the spring.