Monday, February 18, 2008

Some thoughts...

Tom just came by the office tonight. I had just had finished a bible study on Matthew 13:10-17. I'm using this book named "Solo" which is the Message in lectio divina format. I decided to randomly open to a page, and the first one I went to was Matthew 5. If you don't know, those are the beattitudes... which I tend to shrug off as Matthew spritualizing something which wasn't meant to be. I prefer Luke 6 which is named "the sermon on the plain" (feel free to check my old blogs for my sermon on that passage) and I feel deals with what Jesus said in a very simple manner.

But during the bible study, there was a question that said, "...what insights has God given you in recent weeks as you have interacted with his message. What have those truths led you to do?"

A few weeks ago, the answer was to give up my belt. Today, the answer was to give up my jacket. Tom has apparently been harassed by some gentleman who is trying to take what little money Tom has to buy drugs. Now, I don't know if its true or not, but the end of the story is that Tom had his coat taken from him. Wow, way to kick a man when he's down. I don't know if its wrong of me as a pastor to hope someone goes to hell, but I'm pretty sure that taking a coat from a homeless man in the middle of winter is sufficient for a one way pass.

As we drove back from McDonalds, I couldn't help but think of the strange job I am preparing for. One where in the span of 10 days, I can be in a conference in Chicago, then spend time with a family who just lost their husband/father and the mother doesn't know how to tell her 3 children (while Jeff was with the mother, I spent time with the kids. They made me valentines which I posted on my door), to being in a bible study where a woman prayed outloud for the first time other than saying the Lord's Prayer, to having dinner with a homeless man. You sure don't get that doing a regular 9-5 job.

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