Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Working With Wounds

If you have ever experienced a severe cut or laceration, you are painfully aware of how careful you must be to get that kind of wound to heal properly. Any foreign material must be removed and the damaged area must be carefully cleansed. Antiseptic is applied to help prevent the development of an infection. A medical professional will then use some method to draw the edges of the wound together. Sometimes, strips of adhesive material will suffice. In more serious cases, stitches or staples are employed. Pulling the edges of a wound together provides the best opportunity for complete healing and minimal scarring. A gaping wound that is not stitched or stapled together may eventually heal itself, but it would take much longer and the scars left would be much uglier. The wound is then dressed to help protect it from re-injury and the patient is counseled to refrain from any action that might aggravate the wound as it heals.

Hopefully, the parallels between physical healing and spiritual healing are obvious. When the body of Christ is wounded, gaping spiritual lacerations are often the result. If these deep cuts do not receive attention, infection can set in. And if the infection is not addressed, death can result. Individual members of a wounded congregation are called to apply the cleansing antiseptic of God’s grace to the affected area and to draw the ragged edges of any spiritual wound together with the sutures of God’s love. The mended area must then be protected with the gauze of God’s healing from any attempt to tear out the stitching and re-open the wound. Continual aggravation of a spiritual wound only prevents or delays healing and always leaves ugly scarring.

May God help us all to be the kind of disciple who promotes healing rather than further damage. It is our Heavenly Father who “…heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). May we emulate the Great Physician as we seek to heal the wounds experienced by the body of Christ.

God loves you!

Mike

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

4 down 2 to go


Lane's graduation celebration was May 18th. We shared a wonderful worshipful experience, saw a funny slideshow and shared food and fellowship. I am awesomely proud to be the mother of this young man. Thanks to one and all who came to celebrate with us.

Monday, May 12, 2008

The Perfect Man

“A panel of women debated on what they thought was a perfect man. You would have thought they would have decided upon some actor or athlete or even a wealthy tycoon. They decided that the perfect man was Mr. Potato Head. They gave four reasons: He’s tan, he’s cute, he knows the importance of accessorizing, and if he looks at another girl, you can rearrange his face” (Guy McGraw).

The search for the perfect man is a futile task (I know that is a huge blow to some readers – perhaps I should have broken the news more gently). For one thing, very few seekers can agree on the list of necessary characteristics. For some women, the perfect man must have stunning good looks; for various others, perfection is found in large muscles, sensitive emotions, impeccable manners, high I.Q., parenting skills, good work ethics, or a fat bank account. And even if you could find one man with all of these characteristics, the chances are very great that he would, at the very least, have an ego problem. Every human male has flaws. Granted, those flaws are much easier to spot in some of us than others, but the fact remains unchanged – none of us are perfect. We are all defective.

The only hope that sons of Adam have of ever reaching perfection is through Jesus Christ. It is only God who can bring us to true perfection “After you have suffered for a little while, the God off all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10). But remember this: the perfection God desires is not measured in human terms or standards. By God’s standards, the perfect man is one who has been sanctified through receiving the benefits of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10,14).

God loves you!

Mike

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Chicken update



Last weekend Mike framed in a chicken house and Lane finished it. They now have a place to roost and be out of the weather! The twins have a "play date" with them every day. Did I mention I love chickens?