'First' Communion

Interesting visual lesson from Daddy this morning.

Today was the first Sunday since my youngest daughter asked Jesus into her heart. She was excited about taking communion and was talking quietly as the trays were being passed. She was saying the bread is the broken body of Jesus and the juice was His blood. The trays came to our row and I began to take a cup for myself and one for her. Next thing I knew I was spilling grape juice all over her pretty white dress. There was a look a shock on her face and I was feeling terrible that I had just done this. We finished communion and then she went to her class. My wife brought me the outer, white part of her dress and I went to wash it out. The stain came out. I was relieved. As I was taking the previously stained clothing to the car it was as if God, Daddy, was saying, "How did you like the lesson? Share it with her." So after church, I showed her the dress. I told her sin is a lot like the stain, it damages us, but Jesus makes us clean by taking our sin.

Thought I would share this simple, yet profound lesson. It is one I have know for many, many years, yet today, it was if it was new. Sometimes I forget and it takes a simple lesson like spilled grape juice to remind me to not take His love and sacrifice for granted.

Ants

We have ants. Those pesky little sugar ants to be exact. I can't stand them. They arrive like the plague and it is difficult to get rid of them. Grrr... they really bug me. No pun intended.

Usually, we keep our counter pretty clean, or at least try to anyway. But Wednesday of this week we pretty much slacked off and let dishes pile up in the sink (well, ok they were over the sink). Dishes were on the counter too. I walked into the kitchen to start making lunch when I noticed them, hundreds if not thousands of ants marching to and fro across out counter. "Oh my goodness! It's an invasion!" I grabbed the bottle of Windex and started spraying. This stuff is awesome let me tell you, it pretty much kills them instantly. I then proceeded in cleaning up the large mess. And it took a good deal of time and effort. Definitely more than had we actually cleaned up the mess right away. But I got it clean and the ants have mostly disappeared, but still it was not fun.

If you think about it this is not much different than our lives. We try to keep our heart clean, yet we stumble and fall. We sin. Things get messy, and we leave it this way. Then evil begins to consume us, it covers us, it devours us. Then there is Jesus, He forgives, He cleans us up and makes us presentably to the Father. Jesus also shows us how to keep our hearts clean through the Word. We are to study and meditate on the Bible, and then to live it out. This is how we keep our hearts and lives clean and pure. Scripture tells us:

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation. Matthew 12:43-45 (NLT)

The problem is not that the house was clean and in order. The problem is the house is left unoccupied. Our spiritual lives may be cleaned up and left in order, but left unoccupied will once again be filled with the mess of sin. Protect yourself from the evil one, occupy your heart with God's word.

Photo Credit: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/ants/research.php

Happy Birthday

First of all... yeah, yeah, it's about time. It is true that I have neglected my commitment to write in this blog at least once every new moon, or something like that. But here I am, with some great news.

Today, started out well. I got up early and drove across town to have my car serviced by a good Christian friend. While waiting for my car I got a call from my wife and she stated she had something to say about our youngest daughter (4 years old). She had come to my wife and stated, "Mommy, I asked Jesus into my heart, but I didn't see Him go in." Cute. Later when I got home I sat down and talked to her. She told me she asked Jesus to live in her heart. I asked her why?

"Because I love Him."

"Why do you love Him?" I asked.

"Because He loves me."

"What did He do to show that He loves you?"

"He died on the cross for me." She responded.

"Why did He do that?" I asked.

"Because we sinned."

"What is sin?"

"It is when we are very bad."

"And sin keeps us away from God, right?"

"Yes, and Jesus wants us to be with God."

"So Jesus died for us."

"He died on the cross, and was put in the cave, and then He walked out, and then He went to heaven and is building us a house."

We talked a little more, re-enforcing that she really knows and believes Jesus died for her sins. She is a bright little girl and today is her spiritual birthday. Thought I would share this awesome little story.