Our Front Door

The past week or two has seen all of the extremes of weather--very warm to very cold; very wet to very dry; calm to quite windy, but through it all, the front door of COJUMC has remained the same. The slogan goes "Open minds, Open hearts, Open doors" and we sometimes take it too much for granted. Almost every church when asked their strengths will say how friendly they are, yet, when a stranger comes through the door, they are often ignored while we are friendly with each other.

That is especially true just before worship, when everyone is scrambling to get into their seats and the start of the service. That is one of the reasons we have a greeting time early on in the service. It gives everyone an opportunity to deliberately greet someone they don't know. Hugging friends is cool. Shaking hands with a fellow church member is OK, but telling a visitor how glad you are to see them at church is the best of all.

If we mean to open our doors, we ought to expect someone to come in, and that means we need to be great hosts. The Bible says that when we extent hospitality to strangers we just might be entertaining angels without knowing it. And I, for one don't want to take any chances on missing that opportunity.

Giving Up

I just looked, and it appears that it has been more than a month since I graced the Web with some of my random thoughts. But, what with Lent upon us, and the activities of the impending end of the winter season beginning, it is a good time to stop, reflect and put something down.

My good friend Pastor Ed recently reminded us that when things aren't quite going our way we need to just STOP! and stand in the presence of God. Not run ande hide; not fall on our faces in a sudden act of penitence; just stand still and let God catch up and wash over you. He challenged each of us, during the next week to do that at least once. I hope that when the time comes I don't have to much worldly momentum to stop.

And that reminds me of how I was feeling sorry for myself when I was clearing my driveway during the last ice storm. It was really heavy, and I wondered where the guy who usually did the job was. Pity. Pity. Pity. and then I heard about the entire towns in Iowa (near where I had lived and preached before) had been without power for almost a week--whole towns. And then I diden't feel so bad for myself. I had light and heat all week, and good friends didn't.

Our prayers are for those folks, and also with the folks in the Gulf states who are now more than a year without homes. This storm was a stark reminder of their plight. As you give up something for Lent this year, think about replacing it with something for those who don't have anything to give up.