Hammer and Nail

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I took my heavy canvas tool bag to church yesterday. Loaded up with various tools. A cordless drill with bits and drivers, a 2' level and his son the bullet level, pry bar, tape measure, a hammer, and even some sunflower seeds just to name a few items included.

Handing out tools illustrated my sermon, "His Heart, His Hands, His Voice," from 1 Corinthians 12.  I handed them to various church members unfortun... I mean "lucky"... enough to be sitting along one aisle.

At this point you are thinking, "I get free tools at Aaron's church?," or, "What happens next?"

To answer the former: I took the tools back once we applied the lesson to conclude the sermon.  They are tools because they are useful to me as they work together by my guidance.  That was the point.

The answer to the later.  It gets interesting.  

You know the claw on the backside of a hammer's head?  Not only can it be used for removing nails, but it is also effective for catching the mouth of tool bags and launching a hammer from a pastor's hands at unsuspecting congregants!

In one swift motion, I rocketed that hammer four foot high and four foot forward spinning toward a dear, ducking for cover sister.  A sister who was wishing she hadn't have chosen the aisle seat.

"Congregant Nailed By Pastor's Hammer In Sermon," the headlines would have read.

Would have.

Thankfully, it fell short of hitting her and landed on the carpeted aisle.  But the Onion couldn't tell it any funnier.  And surely Headlines on Leno surely would have featured that one.

It gets me to thinking.

When is the last time I was nailed by God's Word?

Am I opening myself to His Word regularly to hear from Him?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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Tech & The Body of Christ

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Here is a partial screenshoot of our newly redesigned church website.  We'd love you to come visit the new southviewbaptist.org.  Still developing & adding content, we desire our site to be simple, clean, & informative.

As an added bonus of our new site, iTunes users can now subscribe to my sermon podcast, here.

Much thanks to my talented friend, Chris De Jabet.  If you need tech or web help, Chris is a joy to work with. He can translate Techese to us regular folks & is an expert in all things Apple.  You can visit his site, the aptly named techese.net, to learn more & contact him about freelance work as you need.

Photo props for our amazing staff pix to Miss Myra McCracken.  If you live in Lincoln & need a talented photographer, Myra has quite an eye.  She even made us look good.  Find out more our her Facebook page.

For the graphic design work of our banner, we have Andria Cogley to thank.  Contact me diretly to be connected with Andria.  Thanks to the web she can assist you no matter where you live.  Her ability to take an idea & turn it into awesome is amazing.

These great folks, my Brother & Sisters in Christ - different parts of the Body of Christ working together with their tech, photo, & design skills - made this happen.

Thanks to them for giving their talents.

Thanks to God for giving us them.

Lima Beans, Bananas, & Oompa Loompas

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Lima Beans, bananas, & Oompa Loompas.

What do these three terribly random things have in common?

One evening.

At my house.

This evening.

Picking through his mixed veggies at supper, my four year old son adds to the milieu of conversation, "Lima beans will break my heart."  You can't make this stuff up.

Choosing a snack later in the eveving when offered homemade cookies, my seven year old daughter asks, "Daddy, can you get a banana for me since I had cookies in my lunch?"  What planet did she come from?

Coloring pictures & chatting at the table just before bedtime, my ten year old son hits me up with a quizzical riddle, "What do automobile dealers & Oompa Loompas have in common?"  He rescued me from answering, telling me he just made it up.

Three children.

Three random statements.

Three slices of life.

One Daddy.

One Daddy who loves these kiddos more than life itself.  So blessed to call them his.  So graced to share them with an amazing wife.  To have them on loan from God.  To be a steward of their precious souls.

Now I got one for you.

What's an Oompa Loompa got to do with Christ following parenting?

Everything.

Share a slice of your parenting life by commenting below.  And share this post with others.

Bread You Did Not Know

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He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had know, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:3.  Not an easy verse.  Not too pleasing to consider.  Might make you down-right angry.

 God did what?  To his own people?  Who He says He loves with an everlasting, covenant love?  And he did it why?  That mean, hard, inconsiderate thing?  Humbled?  Hunger?

You might be tempted to ask God, “What were you thinking?”  Or to give him a piece of your mind, “That’s not nice! How dare you? Your own people.”

Before we go off on God, let’s remember a few things: One, He is all loving, all knowing, & absolutely without flaw - no matter what we think; Two, we are NOT Him - no matter what we think.

When life doesn’t seem to be going my way.  When I have sown poor choices and begin to reap the consequences.  When I have simply fallen into unfortunate chance but still have to deal with the mess.  When I want to play the victim making it the fault of anything but me.  When I want to name someone else the villain making it their fault alone.  When in any of these scenes or more as a follower of Christ I want to doubt God’s goodness or question His plan I need to remember.  I need to remember Him.

Don’t forget.  Remember.  God is sovereign.  God does love me.  God does have a plan bigger than I can imagine.  God has created me to fill a special role in His plan.  God knows all my circumstances.  God feels all my sorrows.  And God can use everything in my life for His glory.  Will I let him?

When I am humbled.  When I am hungry.  When I am hurting in any way.  Will I turn to Him?  Knowing He has a plan and He will carry me through.

And did you notice what God did in the midst of their hunger to remind them of His love and power?  He did something no one had ever known before.  He fed them with manna.  Miraculous manna.  God used bread they did not know to teach them about a living bread - His Word - they did know.

So it is today.  It is His Word that sustains us.  Maybe you’re feeling malnourished.  If so, then this might be a good time to start a new Bible reading plan this year.  Or maybe a new daily devotional.  There are so many ways to engage God’s Word that we have no excuse.  Other than our heart and commitment.

Remember.  God uses everything in our lives.  Especially the hard things.  To show us His power, to teach us His provision, and to draw us closer to Him.  Are you humbled or hurting?  God is after your heart.  Turn to Him in faith.

Tandem is an easy, electronic way to engage God’s Word throughout your day.  With a schedule & by means you choose.  Email, text, even voicemail.  All customized to you.  All done well.  You’ll be blessed.

Leave a comment & let us know how you engage God's Word.  Or, share this post using the tools below, to encourage others.