The Blue Church

“The purpose of mud flaps and splash guards is to minimize the spray of water, mud, snow and rocks, therefore protecting your paintjob.”   I hope you have been infinitely blessed by that statement. I would love to end my blog right here and leave people guessing as to why I would share about mud-flaps, but of course I won’t.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12: 1-3

One of my favorite movies growing up was the original version of “The Wizard of Oz”. I loved the part where “The Great and Powerful Oz” gets exposed as being nothing more than a mere man. One of the most famous lines in the movie comes when the “Great Wizard of Oz” is being visited by some of the main characters and it becomes evident to them that the image of this larger than life, scary wizard is being controlled by a small man behind a curtain. When the man recognizes that he has been exposed, he yells in his authoritative wizard voice, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

If you have been following the news, you are aware that we had a pipe-bomb scare on Tuesday. The report was that several pipe-bombs were sent to some well know democrats. The morning after the scare, the news captured the opinion of several people as to why this happened. One person shared that such actions are the natural result for a society that is filled with hate and harsh words. Whether people are willing to embrace that explanation or not,

He is coming towards me. I have known him for fifteen years now.   He is dressed in traditional inmate attire. I am dressed in casual dress pants and a collared shirt.   He is heading towards his cell block. I am headed home.

When I was young, a toy hit the market which became an instant success. It was called the Rubik’s Cube and it provided endless puzzle solving possibilities. The toy is in the shape of a square with each side possessing many different colored squares. The objective was to twist and turn the cube until each of the sides displayed only one color. It was a daunting task and sometimes when I played it, I gave up in exasperation because just when it seemed as if I was going to solve the puzzle, I ended up with only a 90% solution. At such points,

“My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— ³ things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8   Wow! Those are some strong words written by the Apostle Paul. “Worse than an unbeliever.” Why would Paul speak in such a manner?

Hi Emma …… I miss you. I am not doing well Emma. I don’t know how to do this without you. Nothing is the same. I don’t seem to care about anything much lately. The shows we used to watch, the places we used to go. I don’t bother with them anymore. I don’t know, it just seems like they were our things and now there is only me, and they don’t fit. It is true what they say sweetheart.

Sometimes when I go to a restaurant, I tuck the tip inside a little booklet which contains the plan of salvation and the Gospel of John. Perhaps this seems foolish, as one might conclude that everyone who receives such a booklet takes the tip and deposits the booklet in the trash. Critics may say, “Rob, you are wasting your money and forcing your religion on others.”