35 years and counting.....maybe I should of stopped counting at 30 years, but what good would that do. They say you get wiser the older you get....not sure if that rings true with me but I know when I talk to others I can honestly say "been there and done that." (although, I should of gotten the T-shirt). As I have written before, I believe that God gives us life experiences so that we are able to help others later on in life. I am thankful for these experiences and know that I can not go back and redo however I do know is that all I can do is move forward in a better light. Which brings me to the sermon this past week....or I should say this new sermon series "Closing Loopholes". Such a perfect title as it says it all. “How close to my Shepherd can I stay” instead of “How far from my Shepherd can I stray?”
Recently I have been tested by this...okay, okay, every day I am tested by this. The age old question is can I do it and not get caught. The things we do in which we care to deny to others as the evil doing we do serves a want at that moment in time...yet we forget that the want is really not a need. A need is something we have to have to survive and a want is a desire to form some sort of happiness. Pastor spoke of these holes in the fence and we feel that happiness lurks on the other side in the form of the wolf....that is evil and bring us to despair. I know that the times in my life that I have chosen to stray I was thinking that in time it would bring me happiness has only brought me down. At the time I didn't realize how far down it brought me but in time I knew that I was at the bottom of the pond rather than bringing me the glory of floating on the top to feel the sun upon my face.
We have these loopholes in our lives and I find it difficult at times when we need to remove these loopholes so that we can be closure to Christ. But using the questions above.....instead of asking, "How far from my Shepherd can I stray? " Truly ask yourself "How close to my Shepherd can I stay?" This now removes the temptations of what can you do to have the feel good moment and give you the feel good life. Makes me think that when we focus on the negative in our lives....we become negative beings....looking for loopholes to bring us instant gratification to drag us down. So with that being said....to celebrate my upcoming birthday I am going to focus on the positive of this past year and what is ahead.
I started to make a list of 35 things I am thankful for but I think I will keep that to myself. However I will celebrate these items and be thankful to Him. I am also going to make a list of loopholes...where are my short comings and what can I do so that I don't continually repeat these mistakes. My list will include things that I can do to keep me closer to to Christ.
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