Happy Easter! When I drove past Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Dallastown on my way to church today, I saw their sign which said, "Easter Never Ends". And that's true. So, Happy Easter!
Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a cowboy. And when I'm a cowboy, I use the wisdom of Texas Bix Bender. He said, "If you think you're a person of some influence, try to order somebody else's dog around." Did you ever try to order around one of your friend's dogs? The dogs may do what their owner tells them to do, but they won't do what other people tell them to do.
It's like a game you may have played. The leader tells you to do things, but you don't do those things unless he says a certain phrase first. [Simon Says] Let's try this:
Simon says, Raise your right hand
Simon says, Touch your nose
Simon says, Pat your head and rub your belly
Simon says, Stick out your tongue and touch your nose [the trick is that you don't need to touch your nose with your tongue]
Jump up and touch the lights
Good - nobody did that
Sometimes we do that in real life, too - we will do something or not do something only if the right person says it. Suppose you're playing in the mud, and your brother or sister says, "Don't play in the mud." You might think - or even say - "You're not the boss of me." But if your mother says, "Don't play in the mud," you stop playing in the mud.
Why do you do what your mother (or father) tells you? Because your parents take care of you. They love you. They want what's best for you.
And those are the same reasons we do what Jesus tells us to do. Jesus says, Don't steal. Jesus says, Don't tell lies. Jesus says, Honor your father and mother. Jesus says, Love your neighbor. We do all these things because Jesus tells us to, and Jesus loves us, Jesus takes care of us, Jesus wants what's best for us. We may not hear his voice, but we read about what he wants us to do in the Bible.
Let's close with a prayer...
Our Savior Jesus,
We love you and follow your teaching because you first loved us. Amen.
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2 comments:
I told my neighbor's rowdy dog to sit once, and he did. My neighbors were surprised, because I don't think the dog sits for them. The dog must have some kind of misplaced loyalties.
Dad would like me to mention that the lights are 15-feet above the kids.
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