Godly Sorrow or Worldly Sorrow?

Have you ever been caught in the act of doing something you had already been instructed not to do? I’m mindful of a time when I was out in a boat with my brother and my cousins, as they were visiting one weekend. Uncle Stan and my Dad were fixing a fence at the front of our property, and Stan Jr. decided he would play basketball. That left Cliff and Kyle who joined us in the boat for a little fishing expedition.

One of the rules at our house was anytime we went out in the boat, we had to wear a lifejacket. Needless to say, the four of us got in the boat without a single lifejacket. Dad spotted us from the house and called us in to the bank of the lake, as he swatted us all for being disobedient. All four of us were punished. We weren’t sorry we disobeyed; we were sorry we got caught!

Paul addresses the church at Corinth and commends them on their godly sorrow in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. They were truly sorry their sins had hurt God. The opposite of this is what I call the cookie-jar syndrome. When someone is sorry they got caught, it’s like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. That person isn’t sorry they took the cookies; they are sorry they got caught! Those in Corinth experienced something life-changing. Paul says “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while-- I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Cor. 7:8-10).

Many people in the world are only sorry when they get caught. God is pleased when those who sin against Him are pierced to the heart, even as the multitude did on the day the church was established (Acts 2:37). When we experience Godly sorrow, we are led to repent from our sins to change our actions. Only when someone experiences Godly sorrow will they show actions worthy of repentance. Worldly sorrow leads you down the wrong path. In fact, those who only experience worldly sorrow won’t have the chance to put on their “lifejacket” when they are cast into the lake of fire after judgment day (Rev. 20:14). Which type of sorrow do you experience in your spiritual life: Godly sorrow or worldly sorrow?

Check out this concoction!

Click on the link to my sermon from Sunday night to hear it: The Problematic Potion of Envy & a Wicked Woman. No, Lola-Margaret, it's not about you. I preached this lesson to show you what can happen when you mix together the bad ingredients of envy and wickedness. We see in the Scriptures what happens to Ahab and Jezebel for what they had done to Naboth.

As I started my sermon, I relayed a dream that I had when I was in preschool/daycare in Portland, TN. This was probably 26 or 27 years ago, mind you. Darrell Rogers (who probably has no recollection of this whatsoever) had brought a toy machine gun one day, and I really wanted that thing. I wanted it so much that I dreamed that night about going over to his house and taking it. I pointed out to the crowd last night that even though it was enacted through a dream, it was still envy.

Let us learn from these biblical lessons to keep us from the wrath of God!

Shocked!

I had something happen to me today that really shocked the fire out of me. A friend of mine whom I visited with in the hospital cursed me a blue streak when I walked in the room. Not once, not twice but at least three times he was using very colorful language aimed at me that would have made a sailor blush. Needless to say, I think he was having some health issues that led to him being out of character.

The next time you visit someone in the hospital, what kind of verbal bombs will they drop out of the clear blue sky? Be calm and say a prayer with them!

Who knocked over the cat food?

I came home this afternoon with the foreknowledge that Dianna wanted to cut the yard for the last time this year. Yes, you heard me right, Dianna wanted to cut the yard! I mean, it's quite a saga around our house, because we got this brand new zero-turn mower so we could cut our yard and field. I thought it would be great, because I'll get to use it. WRONG! She comfiscated that thing, and I have only been on it for a short while.

Even though I have hard feelings about that, I was going to do my wife a favor by filling it up with gas and backing it out of our garage. When I jumped up on the mower to start it up, I saw movement under the deck which consisted of black and white fur; yes, it is what you're thinking it is! A skunk was underneath our mower while I was on top of the mower. I had just seen the bag of cat food knocked over, but I really didn't think much about it. I guess I figured one of the boys knocked it over, but I really didn't dwell on it very long. As I saw the skunk under the mower, it all made perfect sense.

I jumped off the mower as fast as I could while Dianna, the boys and my Mom were out playing in the yard. I tried the following non-invasive techniques to get the skunk to leave: blowing the car horn and starting the mower. Let's just say that none of them worked. In fact, when I started the mower, the skunk came out in front of me. Let's just say that was not the brightest thing I've ever done. However, that did lead to the skunk to vacate the mower and move to the grill.

I was beginning to wonder what was going to get this skunk out of my garage without me getting a dose of Pepe le peux's natural perfume, if you know what I mean. What I finally figured I had to do was attach a bungy cord to a chain which I hooked to the side of the grill, and I managed to drag the grill outside of the garage. I strategically positioned myself at side of the grill where the base boards were closer to the ground so the skunk couldn't exit the underside in my direction. As I got the grill off the concrete and on to the gravel driveway, the skunk made its getaway to the pvc pipe running underneath our driveway. I would much rather have the skunk there than in our garage.

I know I'm known for rescuing hummingbirds, but skunks? The next time you see the cat food bag knocked over, you better figure out what creature is lurking nearby in the general vicinity. It may be something that causes a big stink - literally!

When Can We Become Lawbreakers?

As a follow-up to the last post concerning the episode of Grey's Anatomy, I preached a sermon last night centered around Romans chapter thirteen. I posed the question "When Can We Become Lawbreakers?" We looked at how the authorities were established by God and how we are to be in subjection to their rules. However, I told them when a moral conflict arises, God trumps government. This became of particular interest to me when I began hearing the possibility of HR1913 being signed into law by our President. This will more than likely pave the way for a hate speech bill that would put preachers in a legal bind. If this happens, God help us to take our stand on what the Bible says. As Peter and the apostles said in Acts 5:29, "we must obey God rather than men." If you want to listen to the sermon, check it out in my sermon links to the left.

They are pushing their agenda!

Last night on Grey's Anatomy, a show which I do not usually watch, part of the episode centered around a father having a discussion with his daughter who was a lesbian. He was trying every way possible to convince her that the type of lifestyle she was living was sinful. He pulled out passages dealing with the gross immoralities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19; 2 Pet. 2:6-7; Jude 7), the commands of the Mosaical Law forbidding homosexuality (Lev. 20:13) and Paul's description of their behavior being unnatural (Rom. 1:26-27). Despite his best efforts, his daughter kept quoting the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, as well as the command to love one another, but she was using them out of context.

It shows to me that people can twist the Scriptures to their own benefit. Even though those in a homosexual relationship are going against God's Word, they will still find a way to make it appear that those who oppose such actions are being judgmental. Politicians are pushing such agendas to eventually make it where even communication about their behavior being sinful (yes, even from the pulpit) would be considered hate speech. What they don't understand is that we do love them. We love their souls, and we want them to be saved. Peter said the Lord doesn't wish for anyone to perish, but He instead wishes all people would repent (2 Pet. 3:9). How would it be considered hate speech when we tell someone who is a gay or a lesbian that Jesus showed all of us how much love God has for us by dying on the cross for our sins?

Marcy Jo's Mealhouse

I am going to take this time to plug a great restaurant for everyone in the middle Tennessee area: Marcy Jo's Mealhouse! It is located in Pottsville, which sits at the intersection of highway 99 and highway 431 (between Columbia and Chapel Hill). If you have not munched on some tasty morsels at the mealhouse, now is the time!

Today is Thursday, and our senior adult group from the West 7th Church of Christ just returned from our lunch at Marcy Jo's. Envision with me the tasty plates of food that were set before us: pork chops covered in a mushroom gravy, corn, green beans with onions, homemade buttery mashed potatoes and cornbread (that's what was on my plate, anyway). Most everyone in our group chowed down on the special of the day, except for one who enjoyed the cheeseburger and fries. Since my lunch, I have discovered that they have homemade sweet potato fries. Let's just say I will be back to try those in the not-so-distant future! Did I mention I had homemade Coca-Cola chocolate cake with a side of vanilla ice-cream? I didn't need it, but boy I sure wanted it! It will knock your socks off, so be prepared.

Some of you have seen the Overstock.com commercials with Joey and Rory, and as you might know Joey is co-owner with Marcy. I hope you'll take time to check out their website at
http://web.mac.com/rlfeek/Joey+Rory_site/Marcy_Jos.html
Take the short drive over to Marcy Jo's to experience some of that great, down-home cooking. Your taste buds will be glad you did!