This past week my wife had a number of evening appointments and so I was on "dog duty." I sure do learn a lot about myself from spending time alone with our puppy. On the one hand, they are things that I wish were not true about myself (e.g. impatient, controlling, etc.). On the other hand, they are things that I'm glad to have revealed so that I can seek by God's grace to deal with them in my life. People, situations and even pets do NOT cause us to sin. Rather, they reveal sin that's already in our hearts. When I get angry at Lewis for not listening or being too jumpy, I need to realize that my sinful attitude is not his fault, it's my own failure. Although this can become depressing as it seems to happen over and over again, I am glad that God has opened my eyes to see these areas of my life and given me the desire (and ability) to change.
In addition, having a puppy who often acts like a puppy has made me more aware of my own life in the eyes of God and His gracious, long-suffering character toward me. How often have I not done what God has told me to do and how often have I done what He told me not to do? The frustration I feel when Lewis misbehaves is nothing in comparison to what God could rightly feel about my own life. Unlike a creature who does not have the ability to know right from wrong, I do and nonetheless continue to find willful disobedience against God in my life. Furthermore, I am not Lewis' creator but God is my Creator. Whatever allegiances my puppy owes me as his owner are nothing compared to what I owe the God who made and sustains me. I have been blown away in realizing just how patient God is with sinners like me. I am more and more grateful, since having Lewis, that although I am a great sinner, Jesus is a great Savior.
Yesterday I drove down to Bismarck and got to hang out with one of the missionaries that our church supports who oversees the Campus Crusade ministry for western and central ND. He's a neat guy and I enjoyed spending time with him at Boneshakers coffee shop and getting to hear not only about his own story but also more about his work with college students in our area. Then I had lunch with the superintendent of our district. The Evangelical Free Church is split into districts and although the churches are self-governing, we are interdependent on one another and so each district has a superintendent who is a resource for those churches. We had a great lunch and I appreciate the wisdom that God has given him in helping me work through some issues. That is why I wanted to pastor in the Free Church in the first place.
Please pray for our congregation as we raised food supplies for the McLean County Resource Center this next month, for starting our "Community Group" back up after a summer lay-off in September and for beginning an evangelistic Bible study later this Fall. Pray for my wife and I to grow in seeking the Lord throughout our days, being intentional about seeking Him together and for us to both grow in wisdom and humility with respect to the work He's called us to do.
By God's Grace, Jeff
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