The Steak or the Burger?

By Pastor Troy

Have you ever had something to eat that absolutely “hit the spot?” I know I usually have 3+ opportunities for this to happen every day, but it seems that only on rare occasions do I get a meal that is exactly what I wanted. Notice I didn’t say needed—what I needed to eat was a salad and what I wanted to eat was a double hamburger with everything and a chocolate shake at Winstead’s. Of course, I ate what I wanted and have absolutely no regrets…yet.

I must be honest, Leigh-Ann is a great cook and I have been at some very good restaurants, however, there are certain times when the meal is ok, other times when the meal meets my expectations and then there are other times that the meal just totally “HITS THE SPOT.”

This is clearly a mystery for me: how can you spend $35 on a steak dinner, then spend $4 on a double hamburger and chocolate shake and when all is done there is a possibility that you will walk away from the $4 “heart attack on a tray” feeling totally satisfied?

There are several different angles we can use to analyze this dilemma. From a financial perspective, the $4 burger and shake always looks good. From a social perspective, some of my favorite dates with Leigh-Ann have been over a burger and preacher’s lemonade (you can make this yourself by ordering water with lemon and adding sugar at the table). From a service perspective the $35 steak dinner will win nearly every time…unless of course your server thinks he is being paid as a consultant and not a waiter (on these rare occasions, the only tip I wanted to leave was “Don’t smoke in bed.”) From an ambiance perspective, the $35 steak dinner usually wins…sitting in a thirty year old booth breathing second hand smoke is probably part of the reason for the difference in prices.

This brings us to the final angle I can use to analyze my food satisfaction dilemma—the food content perspective. I don’t even want to know what all the ingredients were to my meal, but after a little research I found that every bite included trace elements of beef (notice I said trace elements) flour, water, soybean oil, yeast, wheat gluten, calcium carbonate, sugar, spices, onion powder, corn starch, garlic powder, leaf lettuce, onion slices, pickles, distilled vinegar and salt.

If I were to sit down to eat each of the ingredients separately, I would not be raving about the great meal I had at Winstead’s. In fact, I probably would not have finished the meal and most likely would never go back.

So beyond the financial, social, service and ambiance perspective, what is most important when making a good meal? The ingredients have to be proportionate…eight ounces of onion powder and one ounce of meat could be a problem. The ingredients have to be processed…bleached flour sifted over the top of my hamburger will not satisfy my taste buds equally as the entire hamburger bun. Vinegar without the pickles would be disgusting for most of us…though there are a few twisted people (you know who you are) who actually like vinegar.

When we look closely at human beings, each of us is comprised of more ingredients than we will ever comprehend. When we are mixed into relationships with others, there are times when our traits can appear to be unprocessed or out of proportion and this nearly always leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

Jesus Christ was able to mix completely different people with completely different strengths and weaknesses into a group that changed the world. Though there are many ingredients to successful relationships, the specific ingredient we will look at from John 9:1-41 on Sunday is dependence. When we grasp the fact that we are the ingredients and there is a supernatural Chef, we will be able to fulfill our role as a part of an organism that always, “hits the spot.”

How Fast Do You Drive?

By Pastor Troy

As a result of the cooler weather recently, we have been going for more walks as a family. The other night while we were out for a nice evening stroll, we noticed an interesting factoid about our human nature as the cars sped by: when people slide behind the wheel of a car they are guilty until proven innocent and I have proof.

Our neighborhood association must have decided that people were driving too fast because the other night when we were out on our walk, we noticed they were able to get the “mobile conscience for drivers.” You know, that little trailer that has your speed in big orange numbers so when you drive by you can see how fast you are really going. I always thought this breach of privacy was pointless considering the fact that everyone has a speedometer in their own vehicle. Boy, was I wrong….every single car slowed down the instant they saw their speed published on the mobile conscience. At first it seemed coincidental, but after more than ten cars in a row doing the exact same thing, it is just as well a proven fact…every driver (except the one in front of me when I am late) in America breaks the speed limit.

Since my research findings indicate that everyone breaks the speed limit at one time or another, how does a police officer decide who to pull over? This is not to burst the officer’s bubble, but I know for a fact that they make mistakes…and here is how I know. A few years ago, I was driving on I-70 past Noland road and for some very good reason was exceeding the speed limit…(”All have Sinned…”) Those of you who have a career in law enforcement may want to stop reading here (I don’t want to get your e-mail response on this one :)). I was passing a mini-van driving in the center lane and as soon as I edged past the front bumper, I immediately noticed a police car hidden on the side of the road with a radar gun. This ranks on the level of miraculous (there is also no need to discuss theology on this issue either :)), but I immediately hit my brake and the mini-van sped on ahead of me. It was at this point that I noticed the red and blue flashing lights and was only able to breathe a sigh of relief when the police car passed by me - and then I gasped when he pulled over the mini-van.

No, I did not stop to let the police officer know he had probably clocked my car on the radar and pulled over the mini-van. I counted it as a blessing and went on the afternoon thanking the Lord for my near-ticket experience.

We all know the feeling of passing by a police car, glancing down at the speedometer and then immediately looking in the rearview mirror for the flashing blue and red lights. It is not an accident that these same blue and red lights lead funeral processions. This may sound a little crazy, but the first time I was pulled over as a teenager, I figured we could get it all out of the way at once, speeding ticket and funeral. Fortunately, my dad found it in his heart to give me a second chance. No matter how slow or fast I am driving, whenever I see those blue and red lights, I am overcome with that sick feeling that makes my heart race, my stomach drop and my breathing irregular.

This is because down deep inside, I know I have a problem....I live in a city where the speed limits are not set high enough to keep up with my pace of life. Seriously, I fall into the same category as the Jews to whom Jesus spoke in John 8:34, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” I am enslaved by an insatiable desire to break the law. Amazingly, there is an escape from this bondage that is found in John 8:36, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” This freedom extends far beyond my propensity to speed on the highway, it is a freedom that brings with it inexhaustible grace and eternal peace.

This Sunday, we will take a close look at John 8:31-59 – Please join me in praying for God to do His supernatural work in each of our lives.

Will I Trust You?

By Pastor Troy

Yesterday, we had a fatality in our household….the iron died. Leigh-Ann called in the morning to ask if I knew why it wasn’t working….Of course, I went through the obvious possibilities….
 
Is it turned on? Is it plugged in? Is the outlet working? These were my three best troubleshooting questions…. Since it still was not working, I now started to give advice…and here is how the conversation went….
 
“Try giving it a little break”, I said. (Translation: I have no idea how to fix the iron over the phone and I don’t want to deal with it now.)
 
“It’s not working….how do you give a break to something that’s not working?” 
 
“I dunno…maybe try a different outlet.” (Translation: Maybe on the way to a new outlet you will get distracted and forget you asked me how to fix the iron over the phone.)
 
“I already tried that and besides the outlet is working, because a fan is plugged into the same outlet.”
 
Now comes the manly advice, “Try hitting it! Just smack it a few times. Maybe there is a short that will miraculously stop shorting.”
 
Am I the only one that has the urge to hit something (notice I said someTHING not someONE :)) when it stops working? 
 
After listening on the phone to Leigh-Ann give the iron a thorough beating, I came to the conclusion that this iron would need more than CPR to come back to life. 
 
So last night before going to bed, I took a look at the iron with just enough optimism to think that my mechanical skills might find the problem. After checking to make sure it was turned on, plugged in and the outlet was working I realized what I had just done.
 
I had just proven that I did not trust that Leigh-Ann could turn on the iron, plug in the iron and check the electrical outlet. I did not premeditate this blatant distrust. It just happened….in fact, if I was really thinking; I would have reminded myself of the thousands of hours that Leigh-Ann has sacrificed to prove her love for me. I would have remembered that Leigh-Ann really wanted to use the iron. In fact, there is no logical reason why Leigh-Ann would not have thoroughly checked my troubleshooting suggestions.
 
Isn’t it ironic that we do this same thing with God oftentimes? He promises to supply our needs and direct our paths, yet we spend so much of our time worrying over that which He has told us He has under control.
 
This Sunday our service will focus on “Light.” In John 8:12-30, we will see that the Pharisees were given specific instructions to follow the light. There was a specific Jewish tradition that brings incredible meaning and application to the statements that Jesus made about light. We will look closely at this passage from a historical and theological perspective in order that we can continue to grow in our spirituality.
 
After spending more time with the iron, I discovered that there was a piece that had been jarred loose….If only she had not hit the iron so hard….
 
I am praying with you for God to work in all of our hearts this weekend.

Reach Out

The Sadness of Sickness

By Pastor Troy

Today is Alexa’s birthday and we had all sorts of fun planned. . . . However . . . our plan didn’t work out the way we had intended. We originally thought Alexa could pick two friends to go bowling.

Yes, bowling.

What wrong with that? I think it’s a great idea…plus we had received a coupon in the mail to play up to ten games for free. :) Now you know why I have become so excited about bowling—the same reason I get excited about anything for free.

We were going to pick up the kiddos from school and head to the bowling alley . . . that is . . . until I got a phone call this morning from Leigh-Ann.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it’s me. Sophie’s puking."

"What? What did she eat this morning?"

"Crackers."

Not Good. The only good thing at this point is that I took the right road for the rest of the conversation . . . only a few years ago, I would have said something to the affect of, “She’ll be ok - maybe we can just take her for a little while.”

After years of parenting experience under my belt, I said, “When do you need me home, and what should I pick up at the store?” [Men, take note, this type of response will buy you at least two hours of football per week.]

So after looking all over the grocery store for saltine crackers and Sierra Mist, I made it to the check-out, just in time to have someone cut right in front of me with her cart and then walk away to find a few more items. Frustration level is rising . . . she returns just in time to pay for her food . . . with a check. I know this may sound crazy, but every time someone in front of me in line pulls out the check book I blow out an extra sigh of frustration. It takes forever to write checks . . . hello, how about the debit card?

After getting into the car, I call Leigh-Ann assuring her I will be home in 5 minutes . . . that is until I find myself behind a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln, attempting to make a left turn. This could take weeks. Finally, after traffic has cleared out for at least 2 miles (maybe not quite that far), the car begins to inch forward. By now I can’t wait for the on-ramp to I-70 . . . let me take a little aggression out on the gas pedal (without speeding of course).

I finally get home and Sophie is laying on the couch in a pathetic mess . . . she is nearly asleep with an incredibly sad look on her face. For the next two hours, I was able to work on my message in between trips to the bathroom.

This is the part of the story that makes me proud . . . even more proud than watching her roll a strike at the bowling alley. . . she never missed the bucket. She was 6 for 6. If having a virus (this is not the flu contrary to common opinion) were a sport, she would be a professional. Even more incredible, she didn’t even complain. This made it even sadder to watch her every time she had an “episode.” I felt so bad for her, because I knew that she was being so good even though she hurt so much.

It was natural for me to have pity because I love her so much and I know how bad she feels. This Sunday, we will take a close look at the woman caught in adultery from John 8:1-11. True to character, Jesus astounded the religious leaders of His day with His response to their test. In the end He was able to restore an individual and leave a clear message of compassion to all who witnessed the event. There are many applications that will give us strength and courage to be “Agents of Restoration.” I hope you will be able to spend some time reviewing the passage and praying that God will teach you much through the message.

I hope you have a great day….I’m heading to the store for the second time today, so let’s hope you’re not in front of me.