Cup Half Full?

A number of years ago, I had a friend that was the eternal pessimist. The minute I ran into him he began telling me about all the bad things that were happening, what was wrong with his life, and what was wrong in the world. Actually, this person was more of an acquaintance that seemed to cling to me like a leach. The funny thing is he was also a pastor. I told Peggy that every time I was around him I felt like a vampire had sucked me dry. Thirty minutes with this guy and I was a shriveled up prune.

The problem with this pastor friend is that he was a glass half empty kind of guy. He looked at his life, his family, his ministry, and the world through a lens that only showed him the negatives. He never saw the good in anything or anyone. He only saw what was wrong and he was more than willing to share his pessimism. Now, I am a fixer at heart and wanted to help this guy to change his perspective. So I made it my mission to point out a good thing for every bad thing he mentioned. I was bound and determined to change his way of thinking. Do you know what happened? He stopped hanging around me. I guess he didn't like my optimism. 

Thanksgiving is a time to see the glass as half full. There is not a doubt in my mind that we can all come up with things to gripe about. There are plenty of bad thing in this world and in our lives that we could spend our time focusing on. But why? What good does complaining do? Do we just like to be down in the mouth? Or is it our goal to make everyone around us miserable too? It seems to me like seeing the glass as half empty is a futile and a waste of time. I have yet to see my complaining amount to any change. But my thankfulness makes a difference.

Here is what I believe. The main thing that is changed, by my seeing the glass half empty or the glass half full, is me. The world is not changed by my perspective. My complaining doesn't make the world any better. And my thankfulness doesn't make the world any worse. But my attitude does affect me. If I want to go around complaining, griping, and whining, I will just feel miserable because of my attitude. I may even make others miserable in the process. But, if I decide to be thankful in any and every situation, I will feel better and maybe improve the quality of another person's day. Hebrews 12:28 says, "Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful!" As Christians, we are going to inherit a kingdom set up by our heavenly father. And that kingdom cannot be shaken. I have a reason to be thankful. I get a heavenly home.

I wonder if we will celebrate Thanksgiving in heaven? If we did, some may still have things to complain about. "Turkey for the 1,247th year in a row! Why can't we have ham! No devil's food cake!" Hopefully not. How about this Thanksgiving we get truly thankful for what we have, who we are spending it with, and what the future holds. The glass if half full! Maybe the glass if overflowing because Jesus loves you. And I think that is more than enough reason to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Aaron

Stinky Feet

I am sitting at my desk this morning laughing about my stinky feet story yesterday. At least my shoes don't smell today. The room seems fresh and clean and my feet are still present. LOL! If you don't understand this story then you must have missed church yesterday. It was good for a laugh and hopefully a point. There are lots of people that really feel cruddy spiritually. Most of those people don't know what to do about it. We have the answer and his name is Jesus.

What will you do to clean up a stinky world this week? That was really the point yesterday. I don't have to tell anyone that this world stinks some of the time. You don't have to look very far to find smelly people doing stinky things. While watching the news this morning, I saw where a 13 year old Ohio teen was found bound and gagged in the basement of a man's home. Her three family members are still missing. Stinky! A hit and run killed five bikers and injured six others and the driver has not been found. Stinky! Resuable shopping bags found to contain lead. Bags are from China: suprised? Stinky! Stinky! Stinky! This world is pretty stinky some times. What can I do about it?

The problem with these stories is that I feel helpless and unable to make a difference. I can't make the creep that kidnapped the girl, the hit and run driver, or the company in China that made the bags change. These are big issues. So often, the stink seems so stinky that I don't feel that I can make a difference. It is as if the world is made of limberger cheese. And in these three situations maybe I can't. But let's reframe our thoughts for a minute. I may not be able to change the world but I can change the world for one person. Think about that for a minute. I may not be able to change the world but I can change the world for one person. Jesus didn't change the world when he washed the disciple's feet. He only changed the world for twelve men. Funny thing is, only one of those men even recorded the event for future generations. Jesus bowed his knee to twelve men and washed their stinky feet. In that moment, there were only twelve men who felt the cool, refreshing water. And the service those men received helped them to go out and serve others.

What will you do this week to wash someone's feet? Some of you may want to plan something. Maybe you know someone who can't afford groceries this week and you will pick them up a sack or two. It could be a single mom that needs baby sitting for one evening so she can get some work done. There are lots of opportunities at the Emmaus Center, the Salvation Army, or even with members of our congregation that could use some help. Or maybe this week you just need to walk around with your eyes open to opportunities. There are feet everywhere that need to be washed. Don't pull off a shoe but give a helping hand. Seek out an opportunity or see an opportunity and respond. Bend a knee and serve someone who has a need.

Missional Toe Jam

I was driving down the road the other day and noticed a bunch of trash along side the road. There were plastic pop bottles, papers, grocery bags, and some fast food cartons strung along the road side. First, it looked like someone cleaned out their back seat. But the farther I drove, the more trash I found. There was so much stuff that the back seat would have had to be full. I don't know what happened, but the beautiful landscape had been covered with filth. Now someone would have to help get that trash picked up or it would blow around covering more and more of God's creation. But who would pick it up? Whose job is it to solve the problem of littering along the side of the road? The street department? The police? The owner of the property? Who will remove the rubbish from the roadside and make the world a more beautiful place?

If the only problem we faced was garbage in the gutters wouldn't life be wonderful. But is seems that the struggles people face far outweigh the trash along the roadside. Let's face it, the world is a little stinky some times. Scratch that, it stinks a lot!The world can smell like feet on a hot and sweaty day. Pack a lot of garbage together and it starts to stink. All the problems this world produces creates a stink. Pack your feet into a pair of hot shoes all day and they start to stink as well. Jesus had an answer. In John 13, Jesus gets up from a meal with the disciples, takes off their shoes, and washes the feet of the men he had been training. The bible says, "Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love...Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel." I want you to think about the stink for a moment. Dirty feet, covered with the dung, dirt, and grime of 1st century roads. Feet only covered with sandals that had walked with Jesus for three years are now cleaned by the first born of all creation. Think of what the water smelled like as Jesus washed the dirt and crud off their feet.

When the event is over, Jesus tells the disciples that they should go and do likewise. Not meaning to literally wash people's feet, but to love people enough to care for their needs. It was like their mission was to help a stinky world not stink so bad. That was the mission that Jesus called the disciples and us to--To stop the stink by serving the world.

Here is a thought; is the stink this world produces the result of the Church not washing feet? Has the church of Jesus Christ grown so inward and uncaring that the world is smelling worse than ever before? I don't have an answer to the world's problems, but I do know what Jesus calls the church to do. He says, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one an other's feet." God wants us, the Church, to help stinky people not stink so bad. He wants the church to serve in a way that will make the world a better place.

On Sunday, November 14th I am beginning a new series called "Missional Toe Jam, Bowing a knee to a World that needs Christ." We are going to spend some time dealing with God's call to the church to be servants. We can't solve all the worlds stinkiness but we can do something about some of it. Jesus calls the church to serve in stinky places. Will we take up the call? Will we pick up the trash? Will we take care of some of the stink? Will we wash the world's feet?