The Plague of Unbelief

The Plague of Unbelief

For any of you who have read some of my previous blogs, you may soon recognize that this one is not only much more serious in its tone, but also much more important as to the content of its message.  And that’s because I feel prompted to hopefully raise some awareness concerning a PLAGUE of which almost every single person on the planet is suffering.

“A plague?!” you ask.

Yes.  Absolutely.  Now let me explain what kind of plague I am talking about and why it is so important to our welfare both during this mortal journey and throughout the eternities to come after we eventually die.

The definition of the word “Plague” refers to something that is “an epidemic, widespread, something that causes continual trouble or distress to, afflict, torment, trouble,” and so forth.

The plague of which I speak, is the Plague of Unbelief.

They say that the first and most important step in overcoming a problem, is to first recognize and admit that you actually have a problem that needs to be addressed.  And therefore, as part of my own personal attempt to overcome my UNBELIEF, I will be the first one to admit that it afflicts me likely as much as it does anyone else who suffers because of it.

What I am focusing on here DOESN’T have anything to do with science, the philosophies of men, political schemes or secular notions and social programs.  What I am talking about is the epidemic of Unbelief which afflicts all things spiritually in our lives and strips us of the ability to fully receive of God’s promised blessings.

Let me give a few examples of what I am talking about: (and I will preface these examples by saying that they come from my perspective and beliefs as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).  We read and believe in the stories from the Scriptures and accept them as reality, but fail to believe that the same rules apply to us in our own personal lives.

For example, we read the account in 1 Kings 17 of when the prophet Elijah went to the widow during a time of severe famine, and asked her to exert her faith and belief by preparing the last bit of her food, which she was about to prepare for her and her son as their last meal before they died.  He said to her, “Fear not; go and do… and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and thy son.  For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”  We know that the scriptures then tell us the outcome that, ‘and the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Elijah.”

What we see in this example is how the Lord can take something small that in and of itself isn’t very much, and multiply and bless it to become something of far greater and more lasting worth.  We read that story in the scriptures and believe and rejoice in the simple truth of the account, BUT when many are asked by the Lord’s servants to pay our Tithing as commanded in the Scriptures, they struggle to believe that doing so will bless them more than if they selfishly keep the 10% for themselves. The Lord has promised us that if we will pay and honest tithe, he will “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).  We may struggle to pay tithes because although we have faith in what the scriptures say, we fail to believe that those same promises apply to us personally.

Another example we read and readily believe is the account of Moses (in the book of Numbers), when the Israelites were afflicted and being bitten by fiery serpents, Moses, following the commandment of the Lord, made a brass serpent and fastened it to the end of a pole and instructed the people who were bitten, to look upon the brass serpent on the pole and they would be healed. Yet, “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished” (1 Nephi 17:41).  We read such a story and quickly proclaim how foolish they were to not perform something simple act which could have saved them, BUT when our personal trials and afflictions and life are bringing us down, how often do we quickly turn to internet distractions, secular philosophies and scientific cures rather than the simple act of turning to look to Christ who can heal us from all of our infirmities. “And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto life which is eternal.” (Helaman 8:15).

How often have we heard and readily believed the scriptural account of Noah building his Ark, while also calling upon the people to repent, so that they would not suffer the calamity of the flood which God was about to pour out upon the earth to cleanse it from wickedness.  Yet when our current living Prophet and Apostles have warned us and called upon us to protect the sanctity of the family in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” many struggle to support and sustain those leaders; Instead, trying to justify the worldly views and trends regarding same-sex marriage, transgender behaviors, and are actively engaged in the destructive habits of pornography, are quick to file for divorce when things in their marriages become difficult, etc…  In this discussion I am not wanting to state anything judgmental against those who suffer from these behaviors, but as we see the world descending into chaos around us, with gang violence, teenagers engaging in Knock-out games, civil rights and entitlement protests, mass shootings, and other endless behaviors which demonstrate our societal decay, far too many people tend to look to political solutions, social programs, entitlement programs, etc.. Rather than looking to the cure for the problem, which lies in establishing and sustaining wholesome family values and relationships.  The prophets even warned us in the above listed Proclamation, much like Noah did as he was building the Ark, “WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

We believe the Lord’s commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” but fail to believe that our personal worldly behaviors on the Sabbath day will have a spiritual detriment to our well-being.

We proclaim and profess faith that the temples are the "House of the Lord", but our Unbelief causes us to think that other worldly activities are more important than attending and worshiping there regularly.

We have faith in God’s commandments to “Love Him and Love thy neighbor as thy self”, but then fail to keep His commandments, and feel justified in holding onto personal grudges against those who have different religious, political or social viewpoints.  We suffer from the Unbelief that those things apply to us in our circumstances and therefore we are justified in our unrepentant behaviors.

We believe that the widow’s mite was of greater worth than the public donations made by the publicans, yet our Unbelief often leads us into behaviors in attempt to gain the praise of men for our actions, instead of simply giving from our heart to those around us in anonymity.  On the flip side of that equation, when we do give the small amount that we can based on our meager circumstances, we often suffer from the Unbelief that such efforts don’t have merit in the eyes of the Lord, who in reality looks upon the intent of our heart, rather than the size of the offerings we give.

We believe and have faith that Christ can forgive the woman taken in adultery, or forgive and make a righteous servant out of someone wicked like Saul/Paul, and that He even has enough love to forgive those who were crucifying Him, saying “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”  Yet we are plagued by the Unbelief that He can forgive us of our trespasses if we will but turn to Him and commit to doing His will.

We read of His miraculous healings of blindness, leprosy, crippling infirmities, and even raising people from the dead, yet we often suffer from the Unbelief that such healings can take place in our own lives through His infinite Grace and the authority and power of His priesthood.

We rejoice as He calmed to storm upon the sea, but fail to believe that He can calm to storms of life and the tempests which rage in our own souls.

In a book entitled, “The Triumph of Zion”, John Pontius once wrote:  “Our every act is driven by a belief.  Whether that belief is based upon truth, or upon a misconception, determines whether that act is righteous or evil.  Often, our faith can be profound, while our belief about how that faith applies to us can limit, or even eliminate, our enjoyment of the fruits of our faith.  Such faith opposing belief is called ‘unbelief’ in the scriptures.  It is not necessarily an absence of faith and can coexist with faith quite companionably. But it is nevertheless an effective and often long-lived damnation of our faith…  So it is unbelief, not necessarily a lack of faith, but unbelief that keeps us captive in a state of wickedness.  Does it seem harsh to characterize unbelief as wickedness? What is wickedness if not something that destroys our faith?  False beliefs always send us off in pursuit of some path other than the one that leads to exaltation.  And pursuing a forbidden path is always the result of failure to heed His voice…  Our minds are robbed of the light of our own faith through our inability to believe the truths that surround us.”

49 And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.

 50 And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.

 51 For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.

 52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.

 53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.

 54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

 55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. (D&C 84: 49-55)

In summary, I will confess again that I myself, along with all of humanity, suffer to one degree or another from the Plague of Unbelief.  My only hope is that we might all cling more firmly to the faith which exists in our hearts, rather than in the unbelief which often exists in our minds.

I hope we can all realize that the source of overcoming Unbelief, is the same source of all peace, happiness and joy that is to be found - in our Savior Jesus Christ.  He literally is the Way, the Truth, and the Light which illuminates our path in the darkness!

When we find ourselves faced with the symptoms of this plague of Unbelief, I hope and pray that we might answer as did the hopeful father, who brought his crippled child unto the Lord, as found in Mark 9:23-24, “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF.”

Cracked Perspectives

Cracked Perspective

As I was driving into town the other day, I happened to turn in a parking lot and the light of the sun was caught and reflected rather brilliantly across the large crack in the front windshield of my old car.  So brightly in fact, that it couldn't be ignored and it caused me to change directions so that I could more clearly see where I was going and didn't run into anything.

Now that crack in the windshield has been there for far longer than I can even remember, and most of the time, I have been able to look past the rather large imperfection and pretend it doesn't bother me or what I see as I am driving about.  But when the light of that rising sun hit that long and jagged fault, pretending it wasn't there was out of the question.

As I pondered that event and how quickly my focus and frame of reference had been altered by the reflection of the light, I couldn't help but consider the implications of the lesson.

All of us are broken.  It’s a simple fact.  Each and every one of us is flawed, imperfect, and marred by the scars of life which, like my old windshield, were either inflicted upon us by the trauma from an outside source, or from not negotiating life’s jarring potholes carefully enough.  Either way, the result is a damaged and cracked soul.

We humans are pretty good at doing two different things in regards to these cracks in our personal windshields:

1. We pretend that these flaws either don’t exist, or that they are small enough that they aren't an impediment to our ability to navigate safely.  So we just go on trying to ignore them, which leads to nothing but eventual internal misery because we are living in falsehood.

OR

2.    We focus so closely and specifically upon our faults and imperfections that we fail to look past them to see our true potential.  We become paralyzed by our flaws and shortcomings and are unable to see what lies beyond.

In the case of example number 1 listed above (which I was certainly doing with my own windshield), we can easily become immune to recognizing our brokenness, and it takes the occasional brilliant illuminating light of the “SON” to awaken in bright recognition which we cannot ignore.  We can then recognize the things that are wrong with our lives, and which cloud our vision and progress. His light, although initially uncomfortable to our perception, is a blessing which allows us to correct our course to a more appropriate path.  The wonderful thing about recognizing our flaws in His light, is that He can not only helps us change course, but is also able to help fix our windshield completely so that the flaw no longer exists (at least until the next of life’s potholes finds us once again).

In the second example, many times we tend to look far short of the mark.  We can easily become so focused on our flaws and imperfections that they become all that we can see.  The problem with this self-wallowing form of recognition is that we start to believe that we are the crack, rather than the entire automobile heading toward a much larger destination.

We are not just the crack in the windshield… No, we are something much more intricate and divine than that!  We are a divinely crafted being with so many other moving parts of our lives, all of which work together to help us progress down life’s road.

No matter which category we may fall into, the Light of Christ can not only illuminate the things we have wrong in our lives and show us how to fix them, but He helps us be able to change directions, rearrange our perspective, and look beyond our current flaws and realize that there is something much more important to be focused on in regards to our eventual destination!

The Life Altering Power of Choice

The Life Altering Power of Choice

          I normally have a rather comical side to the blogs I write, or at least try to tie some humor of certain life observations or spiritual lessons I discuss, in order to bring an optimistic smile to those who may sacrifice a few moments of time to read what I have tried to say.  But today I want to write with a more serious tone of something that literally has a life or death level of impact in our existence and happiness: The life altering power of Choice!

          Agency (or the ability to choose for ourselves) is a gift from God.  Life, health, breath and all our senses are also gifts from God, but despite all our efforts, we don’t’ have much control over those things.  We are all prone to sickness, disease and eventually death. But choice is different.  It is the one thing of actual power that we possess independently ourselves.

          Now many of the choices we make aren’t of the life or death variety, such as: what brand of toothpaste we use, what color of clothes we wear, what kind of cereal we eat for breakfast, etc… and many in society use that rationale and extend it out into the public concepts that people can choose to live however they want and it’s okay, because whatever pleases that individual is his/her right of choice.  They plead their case out into the arenas of defining what marriage is, claiming that pornography or infidelity is acceptable behavior, or legalization of drugs is a right or simple freedom of choice for those who want to indulge in such behavior.

          But many of the choices we make actually do have a life or death level of influence in our lives, such as: "Am I going to stop at the red light at the busy intersection?"

          You see, I can choose to jump off a cliff without a parachute if I want to experience the brief and false feeling of flight, but I can’t alter the laws of gravity to prevent the subsequent crushing outcome of landing on the jagged rocks below.

          Let me illustrate this point by sharing a personal story of a friend of mine, (whom I will not name).   When we were young kids, we lived across the street from one another, went to school together in the same grade, were deacons in our local church, camped out with our local Boy Scout group, had sleep-overs, etc…  In many ways we were from what most would say were similar environments.

          But along the way as the years went by and we advanced up into the Junior High School age, something happened to my friend and neighbor.  His parents got divorced when he was 8 years old (I don’t know the exact reasons why and won’t begin to speculate here), but this broken home led to some gradual differences over time.

          It wasn’t apparent during childhood, but he suffered from a condition known as “delayed growth syndrome”, which became apparent when I and most of his classmates hit puberty and started to grow facial hair and muscles, while he stayed small in stature with physically stunted growth.  Unfortunately this led to many of the kids in school teasing or harassing him at times.  He seemed to laugh and take it all in stride, but I know personally that it hurt him and caused him to feel like he didn’t fit into the normal group anymore.

          If I remember correctly, he went away for a while one summer between our 8^th and 9^th grade years, to either spend time with his father or an uncle.  I don’t know if it was to give his mother a break or spend some time with a male figure in his life, but when he came back at the start of the next school year he had changed in some small ways.

          He no longer came to church with the other boys, and because he was staying physically smaller, he no longer participated in the school sports activities.  As a result of this and the unfortunate occasional jokes as his expense, he started hanging out with a different group of kids who were also outcasts of a sort, because they liked to swear, sneak smoking cigarettes and drinking a few beers, etc…  (This behavior may be common among many areas of the country, but in our hometown of Rexburg, Idaho which is a fairly majority Mormon town, it was an aberrational behavior).  But these kids accepted him into their group of “different” kids and soon he chose to adopt some of their other behaviors, which unfortunately grew into experimentation with further alcohol and drug use.

          I didn’t know it at the time, but because of the teasing, he tried some medically supervised hormone treatments to increase his physical growth, but which had the unfortunate side effect of making him irritable and angry.  This combination soon led to some behavioral problems which had him in and out of the juvenile detention system, and as the rest of us progressed into high school, he wasn’t around very much at all.  He dropped out of school and I kind of lost track of him for a while as I went on with my own teenage life.

          At that time, as my friend drifted away, I started to come to a deeper realization of the importance of my family and religion in my life.  After my graduation from high school I voluntarily chose to serve a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Los Angeles, and experienced the wonderful growth and development that came with serving and giving of myself for the benefit of others.

          Unbeknownst to me, while I was away serving in California, my lost friend was battling a severe addiction to Cocaine.  With a juvenile record and an addiction, he had also turned to a life of crime in order to steal money for more drugs.  This next part of the story might be a little hard to read, but it is all completely true.

          On July 15, 1987, while I was away teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Los Angeles, my friend attempted to rob a small grocery store in a nearby town of Ashton, Idaho.  He had hidden in the back of Jack’s Grocery Store with a gun and watched as the wife of the owner, a mother of two children, brought the cash from the registers back into safe.  Thinking she had left he came out of hiding to steal the money, but she returned and caught him.  He shot her in the stomach and then promised to call an ambulance for her if she opened the safe.  When she did, he then shot her point blank in the head and killed her.  He was later caught and confessed to the crime.

          When I returned home from my mission on December 24^th, 1987 to a joyful celebration with my family, my former friend was on trial for first degree murder. He was convicted, narrowly avoiding the death penalty, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

          There are several factors about this story that I would like to discuss.  While some of the things apply directly to my friend’s situation, they also have some general relation to the world at large.  I am certainly not trying to tackle every social issue in depth, but simply pose some general comparisons and thoughts about certain issues.

          As I mentioned before, I don’t know the reason behind why my friend’s parents were divorced.  Divorce was still quite rare back in those days, but in today’s society with the at-fault divorce process the rates are staggering.  Couples seem to view marriage as something of convenience and throw the commitment and covenants of marriage out the window as soon as things get a little difficult or tough, leaving behind broken homes with single parents struggling to raise children and confused children often blaming themselves for why mom and dad aren’t still together.

          Think of just a few of the ramifications of choosing divorce (which we can’t possibly cover completely here), but single parents are more likely to end up needed government or church welfare assistance to survive, which can degrade feelings of self-worth.  Or often the single parent is forced to leave the home to work more, leaving behind a society of latch-key children who, without the regular influence of two parents are then left to video games, television or other peers to find their way through many of their formative years.

          Think of how the choice of viewing pornography has affected marital relationships and views of sexual intimacy in society.  With such filth and perversion so readily available in today’s world, many struggle with addictions that literally alter thinking patterns in the brain, degrade women, contribute to world problems of child kidnapping and a whole underworld of human trafficking that supporters of pornography like to sweep under the rug and pretend doesn’t exist.  The personal choices people make along this path, thinking that it is a personal and private decision, have ramifications which literally ripple out through generations of broken souls and lives.

          Consider how the choice of consuming alcohol can affect relationships.  Now I know that many feel that casual drinking is okay and doesn’t affect them, but anything that dulls your senses and removes inhibitions can lead to changed behavior, more serious alcoholism, which in turn has a history of domestic violence, shattered homes, and crime.  While not the case for many, the fact still remains that most hard core drug addictions likely begin with the initial choices of recreational smoking or alcohol consumption, which then leads to further drug experimentation and more serious addiction like my friend.

          Then there is the choice many teenagers and youth make to tease, bully or socially isolate others because they are different.  The news headlines are full of stories of teenage suicide, shooting rampages, or acts of violence which are related to these social issues, all of which stem from the lack of respect for others, absence of human decency, selfishness, and general decline in societal values.

          We could go on and discuss volumes about how moral and societal declines are related to increased divorce, violence, crime and so forth, but that is not the main point I want to expound on today.  And although my friend had a series of unfortunate things in his life, like the divorce of his parents, and physical problem, etc… I am not attempting to say that his problems were all the fault of someone else (although those things certainly did contribute to his situation).

          What I’m really trying to point out here is how our individual choices affect so much further than just our own personal satisfaction and situation.

          My friend’s choices left behind a devastated mother and siblings, not to mention a widower and two children who had to be raised without a mother, which in turn impacted their lives and subsequently many others.

          Now I am nothing special and have made my own share of mistakes along the way, but I have often thought over the years how our lives, though my friend and I started out in very similar circumstances, could have taken us in different directions.  I have at times lamented and wondered if I perhaps could have done something to help him.  Yet I feel so very blessed to have all of the wonderful freedoms and loving family relationships I personally enjoy.

          The fact is that we are all a result of the choices we make with the agency we have been given from a loving Heavenly Father, who wants to bless us and help us become more like Him if we will but use that agency to choose to follow Him.

          When as individuals and a society we choose to follow our own path of selfish, personal, fleeting gratification outside of the Lord’s guidelines, then an unfortunate ripple effect of broken hearts, broken homes and opportunities lost becomes evident in not only individuals, but society and the world at large today.  Thinking that our personal choices don’t have an effect on others around us is foolish.  The world, nations, states and local communities are merely the combined result of individuals and families and how they function. When viewed in that light of magnification, the individual choices we make every day have more of a life and death impact on our communities and nations than we can possibly realize.

          I know that many may disagree with these views and opinions. But the effect of the difference in choices between me and my friend is just an example of how a single choice or pattern of choices can, if we are not careful, can lead us down a vastly different path than we could ever imagine.

          My hope is that we can all comprehend a little more clearly how our individual choices impact not only ourselves, but our families (including generations yet to come), and so much more than we realize.  That is why the unchanging standards and commandments of God and the personal behavior that comes from following those values is so vitally needed in our personal lives and the world at large today!

          Just think of how different individuals, families and communities would be if each individual or their own free will and choice lived and taught the Christian standards and principles of love, respect, service and compassion for those around them!

          As I mentioned before, I realize that many may disagree with some of this thinking, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if so, I challenge you to show me a better, more effective way to solve individual, family or world problems.

          Study and implementation of societal and government programs cannot and will never be able to replace the powerful effect and positive change in individuals, families, communities, nations and the world, as each individual's choice to follow the commandments and gospel of Jesus Christ!

          And that all starts with the individual choices we make each and every day!

“A determining and defining moment lies ahead for all mortals. Yet that defining moment turns on our choices today.” – Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Why Life Keeps You Running Like A Dog!

Why Life Keeps You Running Like A Dog!

          There are two common phrases I’ve never quite understood:

1. I slept like a baby! (My kids never slept all that well when they were babies)

2. I’ve been working like a dog! (My dogs tend to eat, sleep and… well, not much work)

          But I want to talk today about the dog part of things... at least running like a dog.

          So it’s probably no secret to anybody who’s read any of my previous blog postings, but we are a dog loving family.  Since the time our youngest son was born we have had at least one dog in our family.  What can I say; other than they are great companions and have a lot to teach us humans about life and relationships.

          Since I am gone to work most days during the week, I try to take my turn each Saturday morning to take the dogs for a walk or a run.  Since I have a bad knee and can’t run too well myself, and since my two dogs run at dramatically different speeds, I will often take them outside of town in our van, and then give them a nice long run along some country roads.

          This past weekend, I noticed something interesting about our two current hounds, Missy (short for missy-fit) and Abby (short for abby-normal).

          Other than their size, and the fact that they are friends, they are about as different as two dogs can get! 

         Abby is a well-mannered, quiet, very obedient dog for the most part.

          While on the other hand, Missy is quite a “Diva” who likes to be the entire center of the Universe.  If she isn’t sleeping, she is usually begging for food, whining to be petted or pouting about like the entire world is against her.

          What I noticed about them on this last weekend run, was another example of how different their behavior is from one another, and how that applies to us in life as well.

          While I drive along at a near snail’s pace (so Missy’s short stubby legs don’t fall too far behind), Abby runs ahead of the van.  As I mentioned, she is usually a very reserved and quiet dog, but when we go for a run, she is like a Tasmanian devil!  She is off in the weeds and grain fields on one side, then scrambling off the road and out into the potato fields on the other side of the road.

          It’s as if she is afraid she will miss something and has to try to see everything around her before the run is finished.

          Missy on the other hand, is a stubby-legged, floppy eared, loose skinned wobbler!   She tends to have one initial short burst of energy, and then settles into a lethargic pace reminiscent of Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh!

          It’s not really her fault, she just has too much skin for her body size, which leads to some rather hilarious physics-in-motion dynamics! (The pic below isn't my Missy, but shows about what she looks like when she runs)

          I have to go slow because if she stops to smell something and I accidentally get too far ahead, she will despondently stop and just sit along the side of the road.  I once had to quickly run back home in an emergency and came back 15 minutes later, to find her sitting in the exact same spot where I left her.

          She has another funny tendency, which is if I am driving in front of her and come to a stop.  She wills top behind me and just wait.  She will wait to see if I am going to keep moving forward, turn around, or what?  She just doesn’t seem to want to expend any more energy that necessary, so she is content to just wait until I make the decision.

          The behavior of both dogs is a bit entertaining, but at times frustrating.  Missy’s slow pace makes the experience at least 3 times as long to get where you are going.

          Abby on the other hand, tends to get muddy during her off the road escapades, and will occasionally drag back some varmint she has killed, or will tend to roll about in some road kill and come back smelling like a rotting garbage heap!
          But they are our dogs, and we love them, so their weird behavior is tolerated because of the joy they bring to us in so many other ways (Like how to be forgiving, loyal, etc...!)

          But I realized that in the course of running through our various mortal lives, we aren’t much different than my two dogs.

          While our loving Master has laid out a straight and narrow path to follow, many of us are like my Abby:  We tend to venture off the approved course of commandments as often as we have the chance in order to try and “experience” what life has to offer.  This type of lifestyle usually leaves us dirtied to some degree, carrying some of life’s refuse and the unpleasant stench of spiritual road kill.

          I’m sure all of us know of individuals or maybe have been personally involved in how the habits of alcoholism, pornography, theft, infidelity, dishonesty or other worldly habits have devastated marriage relationships, and left behind a trail of broken homes and lives.

          You can’t indulge in behavior outside of God’s parameters and come away clean and unscathed.  The good news is that for those who have strayed, a loving Master has a way to cleanse us!

          My dogs don’t generally like a good bath and scrubbing down while the process is going on, but after it is over, they are so happy to be clean once again!

          The same is true for us.  When we have made mistakes (which all of us do), the process of repentance (although it is a process of love) isn’t always pleasant to go through, but once we find the peace and forgiveness and sense of spiritual cleanliness on the other side, we marvel and wonder why we have stayed away in our stench for so long!

          Others of us are like my dog Missy.  We tend to lumber methodically, despondently, making every effort to expend the least amount of effort possible.  When we can see our loving Master not far ahead, beckoning us forward, we plod along at our own contented pace and expect the Master to conform to our own speed and designs.

          If we get distracted somewhere along the journey of mortality, and look up to find that the Master isn’t easily in sight, we can tend to want to sit and do nothing, because the Master is constantly beckoning us along.

          The reality is in these situations, isn’t that the Master has left us, but because we have wandered away from Him.

          Fortunately for us, we do have a loving Master and Savior, who despite our weird tendencies and imperfections, loves to be intimately involved in our run through life.  He knows we have strange mortal propensities and behaviors, and understands and cares about us more than we will ever know.

          Because of this, if we are willing to heed His beckoning call to come back on the path and keep moving forward, He can and will lead us along the straight and narrow way, cleansing us and encouraging us as often as we need, as long as we are willing to hear His voice and try to obey!

          In this crazy world, which tends to keep us running like dogs, let us remember, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

          I know that if we all just do a little better to stay on the straight and narrow path, and keep up with the pace the Master has for us, the journey will be a lot more happy and joyful along the way!