Good morning, we have made it to another Saturday. Sadly, there are many Ukrainians that did not. If you haven’t been doing so, please be in prayer for the people of Ukraine. Pray that the Russians would stop the senseless killing and call an end to the war. Pray for the leaders here in the United States and around the world. Pray that they would have wisdom in making decisions that impact the lives of millions, if not billions, of people. Pray that Christians around the world would do what they can to help alleviate the suffering and to demonstrate the love of Christ to those in need.
On a different topic, the other day, Aki and I got done with one of our early morning jobs. Needing a dose of caffeine, we decided to stop at the golden arches to get a cup of coffee before heading out of town. We ordered our precious cups of adrenaline and pulled up to the window. I gave my card to the person working the drive thru and anxiously awaited my hot water with coffee bean flavoring. Soon, the window reopened, and she held the two cups out for me to take. So far so good. As I reached out for my coffee, I made a mental note to not get cut by her two-inch nails sticking out like daggers surrounding my coffee cup. I grabbed the precious containers of goodness near the top of the cups to avoid the talons ready for destruction. I successfully retrieved the cups and got them into my truck. That is when I heard her say, “You dropped your card.” Recognizing that I wasn’t getting it, she repeated, “YOU dropped your card.” Unbeknownst to me, she was securing my card to the back of one of the cups with one of her claws. Since I had no idea it was hiding behind the cup, I didn’t realize I needed to somehow wrest it from her thumbnail. Not wanting to spend any time trying to explain that it was a bad idea to hand the card back that way, I simply opened the door the 6 or 8 inches that was available and was able to pick my card up off of the asphalt.
Since I had a two-hour drive, I thought about that for awhile while I cruised along I-70. The thing that struck me was her immediate declaration, “YOU dropped your card.” Obviously, she didn’t think she had any responsibility in the matter. Of course, it had to be my fault. I should have used my special superpowers to look through the cup of coffee and see the card hiding back there. I guess it would have been too much work to hand the card and receipt out separately from the drinks. Anyway, the whole thing was no big deal, but it is a reminder to where we are at in society. Not many people own up to when they have made a mistake. It is so common simply to blame someone else when things go wrong. You did this. It is your fault. I know it’s not my fault. Believe me, I have made a lot of mistakes. Some have been funny like dropping the tube at the bank drive thru and watch it roll across the parking lot. I have tripped over things, fallen on the ice, sat on my eyeglasses, broken cups, and a host of other things. Others have been serious, like driving way too fast and crashing a motorcycle. The point is, we all make mistakes. We are fallible human beings. Let’s recognize that and stop blaming others for everything. Who knows, maybe the world might become a better place if we learned to say those forgotten phrases like, “Sorry about that,” “Oops, my bad,” or “Yeah, that one’s on me.”
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us intotemptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.
15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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