Good morning and happy Saturday. We rejoice at the news from last night that Pastor Steve’s heart transplant went well. Praise God! Now we pray that he gets better each day and that the recovery goes well.
David Kaya, church planter and missions leader from South Sudan will be at Community Impact Church on Sunday morning. At 9:00, he will share an update on what God is doing in Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. At 10:15, he will be preaching a message from God’s Word. It is going to be a special day.
The other day I stopped by Burlington to get a cheap pair of shoes for work. After finding a deeply discounted pair of sneakers that will likely last for far too short of time, I went and stood in line. In fact, I stood there from possibly have the life expectancy of my new wheels. Waiting and waiting while the cashier explained to the lady over and over that you cannot get cash back if you don’t have a receipt. Well of course she didn’t like that answer. She didn’t want store credit, she wanted her cash. I am confident she was aware of the commercial that used the line, “It’s my money and I want it now.” Anyway, after realizing the cashier wasn’t going to give her any cash, she accepted the store credit. And then, she put the stuff she had in her cart on lay-away. I’m no genius but I think the store credit that she “didn’t want” would work nicely for those items. Meanwhile, the trainee cashier was dealing with another customer. Guess what? They wanted to return something for cash and they didn’t have a receipt. Welcome to Groundhog Day. Fortunately, the person in front of me was simply buying a couple of items so that went fairly quickly. Finally, it was my turn and I stepped up to the plate. Well, the cash register that is. Before I could say a word, the cashier said, “I will be right back” and she went to assist the trainee. Believe it or not I stood there slightly amused at all that I had been witnessing. Then, just before my new shoes were about to be worn out, the cashier came back and began to ring me up. Just then, a guy with an armload of clothes walked straight out the front doors setting off the alarm. He didn’t run or try to hide his face. He just walked out. The lead cashier looked at the trainee who was a little bewildered as to what was happening, and she told him there was nothing they could do about it. I asked her how often that happened, and she said it was quite often. Sadly, this is not the first time I have witnessed this type of theft. I have seen it happening at the Dollar General next door to the church on several occasions. Usually, it happens with a group of people but not always. They load up laundry baskets or even the shopping cart with a bunch of items and then just run out of the store. The employees try to get a picture or description of the car but that’s about all that they can do. Another time, Michelle and I were in line at Home Depot and a guy grabbed three boxes of power tools and ran out the door. He knocked over a sign and almost one of the workers that tried to stand in his way. By the time I figured out what was going on, I went outside to try to get a picture, but he was already in the get-away van and racing across the parking lot.
It is sad how often these things are happening. Some blame politics, others blame the courts. The stores are often limited to what they can do because of the potential for lawsuits and allegations ranging from assault, false imprisonment, profiling, etc. All of this really is emblematic of where we are at in our country. It is like we have devolved to society 101. Fewer and fewer have regard for right and wrong. In fact, many would say that you don’t have the right to establish such things. Who are you to tell me what I can or cannot do? Many people have become quite vocal reflecting their own opinion that they are god of their own universe. They wrongly believe that if they think it is right then it is ok. They will establish their own code of conduct; they alone choose what is moral and acceptable for themselves. It truly is a revelation of the condition of the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9 informs us that, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” We live in a time when many people can’t even recognize sin. We have become blinded to the truth and desensitized by this world.
So, what can we do? The same thing that people have done for thousands of years when they finally recognize the error of their ways – turn back to God and His Word. We read story after story of how the Israelites would go astray in the Old Testament. They would pursue false gods and the ways of the world and sin would run rampant. Often, God would do something to get their attention (famines, plagues, military defeat, poisonous snakes, disasters, etc.). It was only then that people would wise up and realize it was their fault because they turned their back on God. The question is, “What will it take for us in the United States to realize we are in trouble?” Maybe, just maybe, we have seen enough warning signs. Let’s turn back to the Lord and build our lives upon His Word.
Remember back when people actually knew the Ten Commandment? Here is a reminder from Exodus 20:
1Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
3 Do not have other gods besides me.
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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