Josh and Hannah both have a characteristic that neither Sonya nor I have.  They are both Pack Rats.  If you look in Josh’s room, it is full of catalogs, books and more.  He doesn’t like to throw anything away.  I don’t think it is sentimental stuff but rather a “what-if I need this again someday” attitude.

Hannah, on the other hand, doesn’t like to get rid of anything.  The other day we were cleaning out the garage and she saw some of the “stuff” I was taking to Helping Hands.  This “stuff” included her toys and old shoes.  She could not part with these things.  She had a melt-down when I told her we were giving these to someone less fortunate.  Hannah did not buy that argument, it was her stuff and everyone else could get their own.  I sent her out of the garage and loaded it up in the car.

She also has the requirement  that when she doesn’t eat her whole meal, she has to get a to go box.  She never touches the food again and we wind up throwing it away, but if we do not get a to-go box, there is a melt-down on our hands.  She is a pack rat with food and her stuff.

I am not sure where my kids got this trait, it certainly wasn’t from me!  But that got me to thinking about how we are as Christians.  We are spiritual pack rats!

We “hang on” to the gospel of Jesus Christ and refuse to give it away to the lost.  We “hang on” to the hurts that someone has caused us and refuse to forgive.  We “hang on” to the compassion of Christ and fail to show it to those who are hurting.  We “hang on” to mercy and judge others rather than showing them mercy and grace.

What are you hanging on to?

How is your life? Are you having tough times?

Job 7:7 says, "…remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again."

Job was having more than a bad day; he was having a bad life. The man who was once the wealthiest man in the land had a "quiver full" of children and one day, everything is all gone. If things were not bad enough already (ever had one of those days?), he is smitten with boils which are excruciatingly painful. So here you have the perfect, upright man who is ready to die. This chapter is a reply to his "good friend" Eliphaz’s "encouragement." What I found interesting is the contrast between chapter 6:10 and this verse in chapter seven verse seven.

Job 6:10 says, "Then I would still have this consolation-my joy in unrelenting pain-that I had not denied the words of the Holy One."

Then in the next chapter he says, "My eyes will never see happiness again." I am comforted by these words because it shows the change in human emotions. When you go through hard times, you will face the ups and downs. One moment you are happy; the next moment, crying. The ultimate victory in trials is to live with the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit in your heart and roll with the punches.

One thing we must understand is the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is a state of living; it is dependant on circumstances. Joy, however, is an attitude of the heart. It is something developed through the circumstances. When Job says, "My eyes will never see happiness again", he couldn’t see past his circumstance. If you read the end of Job; he was happy again. I bring hope to you today. Choose to have joy in your heart, and happiness will come again. Look past your circumstance and ask God to develop joy in your heart.

There’s nothing like a little friendly competition among churches. 

Saturday was the perfect day for flying a kite.  It was a cool afternoon and quite windy.  Sonya, Hannah and I went out to fly the kite Hannah has had for two years.  We dusted it off and took it outside for a flight.  When I finally remembered how to fly a kite we made a good flight of it.

There has always been within me a prejudice against cats.  In fact, I loathe them.  Perhaps it was because of my childhood cat, Sarah. She was actually a boy but we didn’t know that until we took her to get spayed and they wound up neutering her)  We called her Twisted Sister after that.  Sarah would sleep at the end of my bed and anytime I would move my feet, she would swat my toes with her claws.  Needless to say I harbor bitterness toward felines.

A couple of weeks ago, a cat showed up at the doorstep of our church.  I petted it and later that day it followed me home.  So, we have tried to adjust to our new pet.  Hannah loves it. Josh, our once cat-hater now turned cat-lover, now enjoys his lap-cat.  Sonya’s allergic and I am sorry it ever followed me home.

So, I have been trying to give her away to anyone who will take her.  How come nobody wants a cat?  Maybe there are more people that don’t like cats than those that like them:)  So I have been thinking about what to do.

The other morning, this huge black cat shows up looking for Sassy… The whole family knew what that meant…kitty was in love with a black cat.  Not just any black cat but one that looked like the cat on Bewitched.  This cat is spooky.  After an unsuccessful trip to take her to the pound, I brought her home and we let her out last night.  Spooky, the black cat, was on the back porch looking for Sassy.  We let her out and haven’t seen her since.  I am hoping she eloped!

Truly these are the greatest days to be alive!

The world seems to be falling apart around us, immorality is increasing and people are searching for answers in the wrong places. As the church, we have the answer, Jesus! We are faced with a challenge to change the world around us. We must have an influence on the world not the world on the church.

Paul said in Ephesians 5:11, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them,"

The only way for the church to expose the light is to shine the light into the darkness. We must stop hiding from the problems facing America and the church. The church was never meant to be isolated from the world but rather to be a part of changing the world. Didn’t Jesus say to go into all the world to preach the good news? We hide in our prayer closet praying and waiting for God to bring them to us. We must compel them to come in. There is no way we can bind the devil unless we invade his territory. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." The gates of Hell have prevailed against the church in America because we have stopped proclaiming the Word of God to the world. The only way to conquer the devil’s influence on the world and the church is by presenting the truth of God’s Word to a lost and dying world. Only through the Word of God and a touch from his Spirit can this world be changed. We need to pray, but we also have to step outside of the church and take the gospel to our communities. I look forward to the day when the church is what God intended it to be, as seen in the Book of Acts. That whole communities will be saved. You say those things could never happen; it already has. Acts 9:34-35 shows that Peter, through the power of God, healed a man, and when the people of the community saw it, they were changed.

"So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord." (Acts 9:35)

We all want signs and wonders, but we don’t want the price that must be paid. To see signs and wonders we have to evangelize. The major problem in the church today is that we have lost our passion for souls. We need to win the lost at any cost. I challenge you; be a light to someone in darkness.

Keith Green has a song that says:
Oh Lord Please Light the Fire
That Once Burned Bright and Clear
Replace the Lamp of My First Love
That Burns With Holy Fear

We should let this be our prayer. I propose the question to you; how is your fire? Does it burn bright and clear?

Revelation 2:4 says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

In the rigors of life, our light begins to dim. The passion and fire that once burned so intensely is now little more than a flicker. It is called the road to complacency. This is where we travel down life’s highway but fail to refuel daily. Before you know it, you are out of fuel and burned out.

Complacency is more than just not being active, it is an attitude. An Attitude of Contentment! Recently, I had to replace a light fixture in our house. The old light lit up the room very well and the new one does not put off as much light. The first couple of days, there was a noticeable difference, but now we have become used to the light. The light has not gotten any brighter, but we have adjusted to it. It is the same way in our spiritual lives. Once we have allowed complacency to set in, we no longer feel the difference because we become accustomed to it.

I challenge you today to look back over your life. See if the flame has become dim and pray as the song said, "Replace the lamp of my first love that burns with Holy Fear."