I Almost Cheated

My wife and I are at our new favorite motel in Petoskey Michigan. It has free everything! Free food, free cookies, and free haircuts! That's right! This is also the place where I almost cheated.

You see, no one has cut my hair except my regular barber, Don. When my wife suggested I try the free haircut I told her no because that would almost be like cheating.

That got me thinking this morning. What does cheating on God look like? I think it's when we take some of God's glory for ourselves. It's not spending time with Him when we really should.

Relationships are very important to God. That's why we were created. To spend time with God, to worship God. But God also said, "it is not right for man to be alone" - Genesis 2:18. He also commanded us to look after the widow and the orphan. Who are they? Could they be the spiritual widow? The person who has no father as in God, The Father? And what does it mean to 'look after them'?

I think it means to love the people God places in our lives. But that love is never to take the place of our relationship with, and love for, God. Our earthly relationships are a gift from God, not something we have created ourselves to take His place. I am married, I have friends, none of them should be more important than my relationship with God. That would be like getting the free haircut at the motel outside of my relationship with my barber. My getting a haircut elsewhere would be taking food off his table.

I have people in my life that I love. Dearly. We all have cherished relationships. But they should not supplant God in our lives. That would be idolatry. That would be spiritual adultery. Instead we should praise God for everything we have been given - our relationships, everything. We must not be tempted by the greener grass on the other side of the fence. The free stuff. We were made to love God and to be loved BY God. Our earthly relationships should be patterned after that love, not take the place of it.

When I experience something my first desire is to contact my wife and tell her about it. I might contact a friend to share something with. That's all well and good if we remember to share it with God first. Thank Him first. Praise Him first. Then share. Remember God first in ALL things.

We are blessed in this country with many freedoms. Let us always remember who gave us those freedoms and continue to praise God in everything we do. Doing so fulfills the reason we were created in the first place.

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;" - Genesis 2:15-16

Made To Love - TobyMac

Consider This

My wife and I are taking a trip through the upper peninsula of Michigan. Our plan is to relax and just enjoy ourselves. That still might happen but day one was filled with challenges.

First off it rained most of the day. That's alright I guess. We were driving for most of it. But driving in the rain is not fun for me, especially when you're stuck behind a semi. I could barely see the road through all of the spray from his tires.

Finally we cam to a town and decided to stop. I was glad for that. A chance to relax and take things easy. Or so I thought. We went into an antique store. Usually I hate that but they had some old tools and old books.

However, when I looked closer at the bookshelves I found some interesting titles like the one in the picture. I considered what the label said - "Satanism: All Reasonable Offers Considered." I thought about that for a while. I believe what is says is true.

We humans love our various religions. Even atheists have their religion. There are countless denominations and faiths. Which one is right I wonder? As a Christian I believe in The Five Solas.

Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

Sola Fide - Faith Alone

Sola Gratia - Grace Alone

Solus Christus - Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria - Glory of God Alone

That's it. Anytime somebody adds something, some "consideration", we're starting to get into the area Satan wants us to get into. "All reasonable offers considered."

There is only one true church - those who have placed their faith in Christ, serve the One True God, we give Him all the glory, believe that God's Word is inerrant in its original text and that we are saved by God's amazing grace. There are no other considerations to be given.

If you are considering anything to be true other than those five things perhaps you should check which bookshelf section your Bible is in.

In Christ Alone - Owl City

Walk With Me

Just one more picture for you this morning from the wedding I shot this past weekend. Looking out into the church parking lot I saw these two good-looking gents. What an incredible reminder for us today!

The first verse that popped into my head was Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

Then, after looking at this picture for a while, another "image" came to mind. That of Jesus carrying us through all of our struggles. It reminded me of the two sets of foot prints along the beach. Then there was only one set of foot prints, then two again. The one set of footprints in our walk with Jesus represents the times He carried us through them.

So I look at these two men, one big, one small. The man doing the carrying will do so willingly until the younger man is capable of walking through life's trials on his own. And still, the older will always be willing to support the younger. Always. Why?

Love.

It's also a picture of how God used to go walking through the garden with Adam. It's the way things SHOULD be. And will be again one day.

In The Garden - Alan Jackson

How Great Thou Art

I photographed a wedding on Saturday. This is one of my favorite shots from that day. You might look at this photograph and think, "Gee, Bob, that's not very good. The groom has his eyes closed." True, but wait until you hear the story behind the picture.

These two young friends of mine had a wonderful wedding. Family and friends were all around them. Scripture readings and a message was given. At the end of the ceremony the bride and groom were introduced. Then, something interesting happened - a worship song began to play - How Great Thou Art. The couple left the stage and began to exit the sanctuary, but then they stopped half way down the aisle and began to dance, slowly. Then both of them closed their eyes and began to sing.

They were worshipping The Lord.

Now, what do you think of the picture?

How often do we close our eyes and sing when we worship God? Most of us don't do that because we have to read the words in a hymnal or on a screen. When was the last time we closed our eyes and worshipped our Creator? Ever?

Look at the groom in this picture. Not only is he worshipping God but he is also cherishing every moment with his bride. My guess is he'd like this moment to continue far longer than the duration of the song. How often do we want church to end on time or even sooner because the Packers are on at noon?

I was blessed to have witnessed the wedding of my young friends. May we too, as they did, worship in a manner worthy of our King.

An interesting side note just entered my mind. The last story I wrote (Posted before the wedding) was entitled "Oh Lord, My God!" That is the first line of How Great Thou Art. Coincidence? I don't think so. There are do coincidences with God. Only divine appointments.

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised." - Song of Solomon 8:6-7

How Great Thou Art - Carrie Underwood & Vince Gill

Oh Lord, My God!

I have often wondered what it will be like when I see Jesus for the first time. How will I react when I see Him lift His head and look at me? Will I run to Him? Will I just stare in awe? Or will I drop to the ground, not wanting to look Him in the eyes.

Stare at this picture a while and then think about how YOU would react. What would YOU do?

None of us have ever seen Jesus. Will we recognize Him? Or will we just KNOW it's Him. We'll just know! It's hard to say from our present viewpoint.

"Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” - John 20:29

Will we ever be able to take our eyes of Him? His magnificence? His majesty? I kind of think that we'll just start singing. Somehow we'll know all the words to the same worship song and we'll simply begin to sing.

Look at the picture again. I think tears of joy will begin to form in our eyes. We'll forget about all the pain and suffering we experienced in the world and we will only focus on Jesus - "the author and finisher of our faith."

"What a day, a glorious day that will be."

How Great Thou Art - Pentatonix
What A Day That Will Be - Gifted Brothers

The Bigger Threat

I was out working in the garage the other day when I noticed a dark, shadowy shape in the corner behind some boards. "What could it be?" I wondered. So I leaned in closer to take a look and . . .

It was a snake! In our garage!! What the heck was that thing doing in there? How did it get in? How was I going to get it out? All good questions. But let's take a look at the Biblical lesson to be learned here.

As you probably know, a snake or serpent, is indicative of Satan and therefore sin. Let's take a look at my questions about Mister Snake and translate them into a sin context.

What is sin doing in my life? How did sin become a part of my life? And how can I get rid of sin in my life? Again, all good questions. Digging deeper, did God, who created everything, create sin?

Sin has been a part of every humans life since just about day one. Eve, Serpent, Apple, Sin. But did God create sin? No. But God did create the OPPORTUNITY to sin. We chose to sin. God tests us but He will never tempt us. Does that make sense?

How did sin get into our lives? That's easy. I just explained most of it. We were tempted to sin by Satan. Why? Because Satan wanted God's job and when he couldn't get it he rebelled against God. Sinning is a choice. OUR choice.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” - Genesis 3:1

So, if we always have sin in our lives, how do we get it out? The answer is, we can't. None of us has led a sinless life. But Jesus has. And Jesus is the key. When Jesus died on the cross He did so as a punishment for OUR sins. By doing so, Jesus paid our debt. He paid the cost for our sins. In doing do we basically became sinless in God's eyes because our debt had been paid.

So, how did I get the snake out of the garage? I picked up a long-handled tool and removed him. If life, our instrument for defense against Satan is God's Word. The Bible describes it as "a double-edged sword." Perfect for slaying a serpent.

Did God Create Sin? - Gotquestions.org

What Do You Want?

What do Jesus and Pink Floyd have in common? More than you might think.

We had some interesting teaching in church this past Sunday. Although I have read the text several times I never really made the connection between a couple of encounters Jesus had in the Book of Mark. Here's the first.

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” - Mark 10-35-37

Two of Jesus' disciples, the guys who spent three years absorbing Christ's teaching, wanted power. They hadn't learned very much, had they?

Later Jesus had another encounter. This time with a blind man. Jesus asked the very same question.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” - Mark 10:51

The blind man just wanted to be healed. He knew who Jesus was even though he was blind. The blind man didn't want power or glory for himself. He just wanted to be made whole. And isn't that what Jesus came to do? To heal the sick and raise the dead? To sacrifice Himself on our behalf that WE might be made whole?

And the Pink Floyd connection? It's in the song at the end of this post. Here's a little taste of some of the lyrics.

Do you want my blood? Do you want my tears?
What do you want?
What do you want from me?

You can lose yourself this night
See inside there is nothing to hide
Turn and face the light
What do you want from me?

God has the power to give us what ever we want. But why should He? He is more interested in giving us what we actually need. But until we "turn and face the light" and "lose ourselves tonight" we can never get what we really need. Jesus.

What Do You Want From Me? - David Gilmore

No Answer To Prayer?

Have you ever felt like God is not answering your prayers? There's probably a reason for that.

I have heard a lot of people tell me that they don't feel like God is hearing their prayers. He's just not answering them, they say. I'm not sure they understand who God really is. He is not a magic genie - rub his belly three times and make a wish and he grants it. Read these two verses and see if you don't learn a little about God and His answering our prayer.

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." - Isaiah 59:1-2

It won't hurt to read that again. Our sin causes God not to listen. So when someone tells me God is not hearing their prayer my next question is, 'So what's going on in your life that would cause God not to answer?"

I have a friend who stresses out about many things at work. Her husband has had a series of injuries or medical conditions. She prays but things just aren't getting any better. So I ask, "How has your worship been?"

"Well, we haven't been to church for quite a while. Just can't find the right church."

"So, why would God answer your prayer then?"

Another person struggles at work too. "The people don't like me. If feels like they're ganging up on me. I pray about it but nothing improves."

"Hmm. Have you examined yourself to see if there's something God wants you to change first before He answers?"

"No. Not really."

She has never been married but has had two children and seldom goes to church. Yet, nothing seems to be wrong in this person's mind.

I'm not innocent either. I pray, but not as often as I should. Is my pitiful prayer life keeping me from receiving answers to MY prayers? I also am a great procrastinator. Maybe if I would get after the tasks God has for me my prayers would be more readily answered? Don't get me wrong. God has blessed me greatly already. But how much more awaits if I would only, completely, surrender all?

There is a great misunderstanding in many people's minds about who God is and what His character is like. God does not need us. He is the Creator of The Universe. What makes us think that He should answer OUR prayers? We should be praying for mercy and forgiveness and worshiping on bended knee! But God often proves to inconvenient for us. Still we want Him to answer our prayers. Really?

God is an amazingly loving and gracious God. He would move mountains and part oceans for His faithful children. He has done that for Israel. He has done that for present day people as well. He is still on His throne! He still works miracles!

The question we need to ask ourselves is this. Are we truly His children? Or is our "religion" a faith of convenience? Look, all are welcome into God's family. But it is to be on HIS terms that we enter in to it, not ours.

"The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught." - Isaiah 29:13

Have we truly placed our faith in Jesus? Are we walking in obedience to God's Word? Have we removed all the "idols" from our lives and placed our faith in Christ alone? Is He worthy of our worship and praise? Yes! Then let's do those things . . . first! Let us worship and praise Him. Let us seek forgiveness for our sins, FIRST. Let God see the change in us. Then let us see what God is willing to do in our lives. Open the flood gates!

In Christ Alone - Keith and Krysten Getty
Is He Worthy? - Chris Tomlin

War

I was at work when I first heard the news. Someone said the television was on in the conference room so I went to have a look. Oh my goodness.

The second plane hadn't hit yet. Everyone was thinking it was just a terrible accident that we were witnessing. Then the second plane came into view and it hit the second tower.

Okay, what is going on? It slowly began to sink in that this was intentional. And after that, all of our lives changed. We never looked at ANYTHING the same after the events of that day.

I was not a Christian back then. That would happen five years down the road. But 9/11 was the beginning of the realization that we were living in a world that was at war. A spiritual war. And we had just been attacked.

It doesn't matter where we were. It doesn't matter who the people were who attacked us. What matters is we ARE at war. Whether we want this war or not is irrelevant. We have it. The question is, how will we respond?

First, we must respond with prayer. Praying for the innocent victims of that horrible day, pray for the fire responders who, even today, are losing their lives from the carcinogens they inhaled that day. But pray also for our enemies. Jesus commanded us to do that in Matthew 5:44b. But most of all realize that we are now at war against an unseen enemy. We must stand tall in God's army. We will prevail. But only if we follow the orders handed down by our King. That we must stand and that we must love one another.

"10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:10-17

As I type this I hear thunder in the distance. That tells me a storm is coming. The events of 9/11 were the thunder of a coming storm in this country. How will we prepare?

Budweiser 9/11 Ad

S.A.D.

I wonder. Did the people who began Suicide Awareness Day realize that the acronym for it would be sad? S.A.D. Well, whether or not they realized it, it certainly is fitting.

Also, sadly, it is also the birthday of a young lady from our community named Kameron. Kam was a casualty of suicide just a handful of years ago, along with her family and friends. So today is definitely a "S.A.D." day.

Last night, ssemingly unrelated at the time, I sent out a message to all of the people in my Facebook chat window. I do that once in a while. Over the course of the evening I sent an encouraging message to 171 people. In the message I reminded each person that God loved them and, well, read it for yourself.

"Hi. Just reminding you that God loves you. He knows everything about us and still loves us anyway. That's pretty amazing! Have a super day tomorrow!"

The responses varied from none at all to this one that touched my heart:

"That honestly made me tear up ... I definitely needed that reminder today thank u Bob so much."

We never can tell what a person is really feeling behind all the tough Facebook talk and smilie faces. Social media is the great deceiver. It often places an invisible barrier between vulnerable hearts and those who desire to help.

Today is Suicide Awareness Day. Today, do NOT be afraid to tell someone that you love them and that you will always be available to listen. Suicide is always a surprise. It is never invited, it is inflicted - an unannounced robbery of our hearts - and it often takes the very people we love the most. So, how do we stop suicide from happening? I'm not exactly sure but I am sure of this. The answer, I believe, is rooted in love. A deep, sacrificial love. That love is best expressed in our living it out rather than writing about it in blogs or hearing about it in a eulogy. Love someone today like Jesus loved us.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." - John 15:12

Then The Lights

Life can seem pretty boring sometimes. We go about our daily routines. Mindless to what's happening around us. Blah, blah, blah. Then something happens to wake us up and get our attention. That's when the lights come on.

That was me this morning. I was delivering some vegetables to the local food pantry when I noticed a car approaching me rather quickly from the rear. Then the lights came on.

I began wondering what I had done. Was I speeding? Tailgating the car in front of me? I pulled over to the side of the road and waited. It wasn't long before the door to the police car opened and here came the officer.

Should I unbuckle my belt and take my wallet out? No! It might make it seem like traffic stops happen to me all the time. Patience. What did I do?!?

"Good morning sir, I noticed that your brake light was not working but then, when you, stopped, it was. You'd better get that looked at. Where are you headed?"

I told the officer I was headed to the local food pantry to drop off some food. The tomatoes on the front seat helped me convince the nice officer who sent me on my way.

Thinking about the situation from the cop's point of view, I was impressed. These days there are too many stories of police officers being gunned down after "the suspect had been pulled over for a routine traffic violation." Considering that scenario, I was extended tremendous grace.

I looked at my own behavior. When confronted with "the law" I immediately examined myself to discern what I could have been doing wrong. And isn't that just the same as when you and I are confronted with The Gospel? Yes!

The police officer was concerned for me and others by making sure my brake lights were working. Even thought I had done nothing wrong in my own eyes, I was actually breaking the law by having malfunctioning brake lights. Yet, despite my guilt, I was extended grace.

If that is not us in our sin I don't know what is.

"23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness . . ." - Romans 3:23-25

Perhaps I should check my brake lights before heading out next time. I "assumed" they were working. When was the last time we checked our faith? Is it functioning as it should? Or are we just . . . assuming?

Second Exit

Did you see the story about the fire on a dive boat in California? 34 people died. What a tragedy! Why? Why did they die? Because they couldn't get to the exit. Fire blocked their way. If only there had been another way out.

This sad tale is a grim reminder of what will happen if we fail to place our faith in Christ. We will surely die. But, in Christ, we have life. And life abundantly!

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

How differently would things have been had the people onboard this ship had another way out? Would this fire have ever been a story if everyone had escaped? Nope. What made this story so news worthy was that they were trapped and then died. Unnecessarily.

You and I are faced with the same situation. There is one way out of this life we are living. That way is death. Wouldn't it be nice if there was another way out? Well, there is. His name is Jesus.

Let's be truthful here. We ALL are going to die. The question is where are you going to be after you die? The Bible says that if we believe in God and if we surrender our hearts to Him and trust in His Son Jesus, we will be saved from eternal death.

The next time you're on a boat or a hotel room or an office building, know where your exits are in the event of a fire. In life, trust in Jesus. He is your exit! Our ever-present hope in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1)

Burn The Ships - For King and Country

Colors of An Empath

Do you know an empath? You might see them everyday but you don't really know who they are. Not really. That's because they usually keep to themselves. Until someone they love is hurting, that is. That's when they come out. That's when they first begin to appear. Almost always after a storm.

I was out for a walk today when I happened upon the heart-shaped rock in the picture. I have walked the same path numerous times but had never noticed it before. As I wondered why I had never noticed it before it suddenly clicked. The ground around the rock was wet. It had just rained the night before.

Normally the dirt is the same color as the rock so I never noticed it. But after a storm the ground gets wet and the rock becomes visible. That's how empaths work. They look like normal people until someone they care about is hurting. Then they become amazingly visible.

Do you have certain empathetic qualities. I have a few. And now that I am thinking about it, nearly all of my relationships outside of family are the result of empathetic interactions. Do you have relationships like that? Relationships built upon a shared pain or by walking through someone's struggle with them.

My closest friendships are those formed through some storm we weathered together. If you think about it, isn't our relationship with God like that? We struggle, God draws us to Himself, and we emerge on the other side of our trials closer to God.

I think Jesus was an empath. When Lazarus had died and He went to see Mary and Martha Jesus was moved to tears.

³² Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” - John 11:32-35

Jesus had compassion and felt Mary's pain when He saw her weeping. He was so moved that He gave of Himself and was moved to raise Lazarus from the dead.

The empaths we have in our lives are a valuable gift from God. They are the ones who come running in when others go running out. Hold them close. Their love desire is to love, like Christ first loved us when He sacrificed Himself for our sin.

Ten Traits of An Empath - Psychology Today

Act of God?

Why do insurance companies call storm damage "acts of God"? Did God actually cause them? Or are they just naturally occurring phenomenon resulting from warm temperatures and air formations?

Today Florida is going to get hit with a Category 5 hurricane. Wind gusts last night reached 225 MPH. In the days to come we will see news reports of hurricane damage and deaths caused by this massive storm. Did God cause this hurricane to happen?

We know from reading our Bibles that God CAN manipulate the natural environment. He parted the Red Sea, He stopped the Jordan river from flowing and then there was that time when He made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights resulting in a MASSIVE flood.

The proof already exists that God CAN create storms. The question is did He create THIS one and other storms like it? We can't really tell. But what would God's purpose be if He DID create such a storm? Punishment? A warning?

This latest storm is heading right at Florida. It is then anticipated to make a right turn and head north up the eastern coast of the U.S. causing major damage all along the way. What can we learn from this storm?

One, we humans are powerless against it. We can only prepare for it and we will even fail at that. Two, if God wanted to punish us for our disobedience (and we HAVE been disobedient as a nation) this is one way He could do just that.

So what do we do against such a powerful storm and a God that has a long history of pouring out His wrath on disobedient nations?

We must examine ourselves, repent of all our transgressions, and turn in obedience to God. You know, the very God we are taking out of our schools and our government. The One whose babies we are killing on the altar of convenience. And the One whose throne we have placed ourselves upon rather than lifting HIM up. Yeah.

^"26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." - Mark 10:26-27

Did God cause Hurricane Dorian? I don't know. Only God knows. Would God have reason to create such a thing to dole out punishment to the disobedient?

Absolutely. He's done it before. We just never learn. But we must become MORE than simply obedient. We must become disciples in addition to being His obedient children.

Hello Hurricane - Switchfoot

The Kitty Cat Gospel

My wife loves cats. All kinds of cats. But not all of them love her. The cats in our neighborhood are a perfect example of how the society of today reacts to hearing The Gospel.

We live in a subdivision out in the country. We have had lots of visitors to our bird feeder. In addition to the expected variety of birds we have also had deer, squirrels and turkeys. Our next door neighbor even had a bear! All wanting to eat the seed in our bird feeder.

We do get other visitors to our bird feeder though who aren't interested in what the birds are eating. They are interested in the birds themselves. Our neighborhood cats.

This summer we have had three cats visit out feeder - an orange kitty named Paulie (our neighbor's cat), and orange and white cat (unknown name and origin) and a scrawny black and white kitty.

Paulie, the orange cat, was our first visitor. He lets my wife pet him but he also likes to bite. The orange and white cat won't let my wife get near it - a true fraidy cat. But the black and white cat is different. He is very friendly and even purrs while you pet it.

These three cats are a prefect representation of the humans society and our reaction to hearing The Gospel. If my wife represents the truth of The Gospel here's how the cats (representing us) react to the unconditional love she offers each of them.

Some of us, like the orange cat, will listen to the Gospel but then will get very angry. They will even get violent. Others, like the orange and white cat, don't want to hear The Gospel at all and run from it, denying it totally. Thankfully there are some who, like the black and white kitty, will embrace it and thank you for sharing it.

Even though my wife offers her love to ALL of the cats, most reject it. Why? The experience of their lives has taught them not to trust anyone and to lash out at others. Still, just like God, my wife will continue to love them despite who they are. Despite who life has made them. Despite the scars on HER hands. She still loves all cats but at some point they will have to trust her in order to fully experience her love for them. And so it is with us.

The Gospel - Ryan Stevenson