Monday, February 11, 2008

Pat and Stanley



About five months ago, my grandson (3 yrs old) and I were on the Internet. Some how we came across this cartoon. My grandson loves it. He watches it over and over again with me, his Papa. We don't have a clue as to what is being said. He just loves the sight humor.

Even though it is in a different language, you can almost guess and figure out what is being said. You can even use your imagination and make it really funny. I love my grandson so very much and it is such a joy when he comes running up to me to give me a big hug and a kiss. I thank God every day for my son and his family. The love they give me is so wonderful and uplifting. I enjoy every minute I spend with them.

When my son was about 11 yrs old, he would get jealous if he saw me talking to a girl (single woman!). I remember one time while he was playing basketball, he was running up the court and he saw me standing by a girl taking money for people coming to the game. The glare I got from him was like, "why are you talking to her?" A child has a way of being very jealous when it comes to getting attention. I had to reassure him that if I got married, that God would be first, my wife would be second and he would be third. But at the same time, he needed to know (and he does), that my love for him is so great, that I would be able to love others without him losing one iota of love from me (and my love continues to grow stronger each and every day). It took a while for him to understand that. Now that he is an adult with children of his own, he definitely understands that. When adults put their children first over their spouse, it only creates problems in the marriage relationship. When God is not first in our life, it only creates problems with our walk with Christ.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; Exodus 20:5

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God: Exodus 34:14

For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God. Deut 4:24

Commandment One says,
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Our God is a jealous God. He desires not only our attention but our obedience. It is through our obedience that we show we truly love Him.

1 John 2:3 says,
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1 John 2:29 says,
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

When my son was younger (and even now), if I asked him to do something, he would do it. It was out of his love for me and the fact he trusted me to do the right thing for him. We are to put our trust in Jesus. We believe that the Word of God is True and if Jesus tells us that we need to be obedient, then we will do it. If we are told to repent, then we will do it. If we are told to go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature, then we will do it. No ifs, ands, or buts. We do it because it is the right thing to do. Shame on pastors/priests who fail in their effort to be obedient to God's Word. Shame on them for ignoring what the Bible says about calling the lost sinners to repentance! Shame on any Christian (or so-called Christians) who will argue that they do not need to be completely obedient, because they have determined that the Word of God is not completely true.

The cartoon for my grandson to watch is funny and cute.
There is nothing funny and cute about self professing Christians who are not obedient. If you are reading this and are offended by the call to obedience, then you should check your faith at the door, because that is basically what you have done!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome post.

I always hated the fact, when I was younger, that my mom was supposed to love my dad more than me. It angered me, honestly, because my dad was very short-tempered, and would hit and yell out of anger. My dad did not abuse me, he just couldn't control his temper. I tended to push the level, too, so I didn't help the situation. :/

So, I tried justifying my beliefs that my mom should love ME more because my dad was mean to me, without realizing my own mistake of pushing the limit when I knew I was doing it (I was a brat).

Same thing with a lot of false-converts or those outside the church who believe in God and heaven. They try justifying themselves: "I'm good compared to so and so" or "I think God will forgive me because I have morals" (in other words, I'll bribe Him with my good deeds). God cannot be bribed. He is just and holy and MUST punish us for our sins because of His very nature.

(Sorry for the lack of comments and posts of my own lately. I've been busy and extremely exhausted!)

pastorbrianculver said...

I've been busy and extremely exhausted!

old age will do that to you!!!

Anonymous said...

Those cartoons were so cute and they made me smile. --Laugh too. Thank your grandson for me. :-) He has good taste in cartoons!

Brian, Hope you are able to get rested up and enjoy a renewed sense of energy and strength soon. May God comfort you and encourage you to press on.

Blessings.