The behind the counter worker

I am sitting in a local restaurant this morning writing this article. This particular restaurant is on the local highway which connects two small cities together. It is well traveled by “outsiders” who are passing by as well as the locals. Today is no exception to the crowd. There is a mixture of outsiders and locals dining in this morning.

I am sitting here trying to figure out which ones are Christians by their actions. I see five sets of tables being utilized by these various groups. One table, the elderly man asked one of the elderly women to pray over their food. Does this constitute them being Christians? I see a middle age man and woman eating their food and discussing God, but yet, they did not pray. Are they Christians? The others are just eating and not talking. So, who are the Christians?

One man is at the front counter now complaining about his order. Is this man a Christian? The worker at the counter is definitely not a Christian (her works before coming in prove that) and she is smiling at the young man as he is complaining. I wonder if she saw him praying over his food prior to walking up to the register to complain. I wonder if she is not a Christian because of this young man’s actions.

Two bicycle missionaries come walking in now. Are they Christians? They have their black pants, white shirt, ties, and their satchels as they order their food. I got distracted and couldn’t see if they prayed over their meal. Others around them are ignoring them with the exception of one table. They are “whispering” and laughing about them. Does that make them Christians because they are riding around on bicycles sharing their gospel? I wonder what would happen if other denominations rode around on bicycles? Would our community see that as being Christian?

A boisterous child comes running in now. His mother is scolding him for being so loud and unruly. Some of the tables are murmuring among themselves stating how they would handle the situation. The mother is frustrated in her attempts to get her child to calm down. He is still very active. She is saddened in her eating. Not one person went to her and spoke. Several murmured to their eating partners about the situation. Is that mother a Christian? I wonder if she saw the praying eaters talk about her.

The prayers got up and walked out the door. They left their trash on their table. The worker behind the counter saw this. She turned and talked to another worker and both workers stared at the table. The behind the counter worker walked over and cleaned the table off. No tip due to this being a fast food restaurant. Just a disgruntled worker who isn’t a Christian cleaning the trash from a table where people prayed over their food.

A nice couple walks in. They greet the behind the counter worker with a smile and “how you doing?” She smiled back and said she is fine. They give the order and politely say thank you to the behind the counter worker. They walk by some other eaters and smile and speak. They sit down and join hands and say a small prayer thanking God for their meal. They talk some small talk and just as quick as they sat down, they were standing up. They clean up their mess. They walk up to the counter and ask the young lady at the counter for a rag. The behind the counter worker asks why. The young couple said they spilled some coke and they would like to clean it off. The behind the counter worker smiled and said she would clean it off. She walks over to the table and cleans the spill. The young couple waits with her and apologizes for their error. They share pleasantries with each other and depart. The behind the counter worker walks back and goes to fellow worker and talks. They both look over toward the table and smile.

I wondered if the behind the counter worker saw Christ today in the restaurant? Another group of travelers are arriving in now. In fact these are very intriguing to me. One is a set of women who are wearing long dresses, no make-up, and their hair all standing very tall. The other is a group of teenagers wearing tee shirts that has some sort of biblical connotation writing on it. They are in a “church” van. One of the tee shirts kids walks up to order. This young person is a teenager of color. One of the long dresses and long hair and no make-up look at the teenager and…

The cycle starts over again with this behind the counter worker.

Why churches should have "color"

Our society is filled with all kinds of woes. People are losing jobs on a daily attitude. Just today, I was told of a 40 something year old man that lost his job due to lack of business. He has worked in the same field for 24 years. This is heart wrenching for this man and his family. What will he do?

Television is making a mockery of what normal families should be like. Hollywood is showing the world that Christ isn't that important. Fill all of this with schools acting like idiots and you then have to look at our churches.

Drive by any normal typical church and look at the racial atmosphere of the churches. Why are churches, both white and black afraid to have people of color sitting in the same congregation? We can go to any restaurant in America and work with any race, but for whatever reason, we cannot worship the same God together. Why?

It saddens me to know that we have people who will openly say that they will not sit in the same church with someone who is a different color than them and be happy for saying such things.

My idea of a true heaven is anyone who is saved (born again). Not only the ?'s and the ?'s

If you have asked Christ in your heart, then you are it my friend.

So, I ask again, why can't churches have people of different color worship together? Because they don't want to do such a thing is the nice way to say it. I am more concerned about our young people today. Will they grow up to act the same way?

Look at your church my friend and ask a simple question. If someone of a different color walked in, would their be gasps and aw or would their be "welcome?"

The devastation of sin

We are all guilty of committing sins that are outlandish in nature. We are all guilty of doing things that we painfully regret. It is not why we do such acts, but how we feel when we do such acts.

I will not take time to quote scriptures in this blog, but instead just paraphrase such scriptures. We all know the story of how Peter denied Christ three times. We all know how his boldness made him stand out and say he would never. Well, how did he feel after the third time and he heard the rooster crow? He was utterly miserable. The Bible says he wept. He was miserable and since none of us was around, we cannot for certain actually say how he felt. I think I know how he felt by what Christ said. Do you recall when Christ told the followers to go and tell the disciples and Peter where he would be waiting? Christ knew that Peter was hurting or more importantly, suffering from his denial. Peter was afraid and in the moment of fear he gave in to his sin. His denial was more than he could stand. Sin may look pretty for a moment, but in reality, it is so ugly that it destroys not only your life but your way of thinking. You cannot focus on doing what is right when you have the devastation of sin in your life.

Take someone who is running from the law. They can never sleep at night in peace. They are always looking over their shoulder and they can never trust anyone. The devastation of sin is the same. We are always wondering what will be the outcome of such action. Even when Christ is walking with us, we at times take our mind off of Him and we succumb to the temptation of sin. The consequences of such actions lead us to live in regret and misery. However, we must establish ourselves to the point that when we accept the action that comes from our actions, we can go on and walk with Him again. I saw a little boy fall down the other day. Man, he cut his knee and he was screaming in pain. However, his mother made him stand up. She made him after a few moments of mothers love toward him continue walking. Sin is devastating, but let's keep walking. You will make a mistake. That is certain. Just don't stay down in that pit when you make such mistakes.

Tests in High School is a waste of time

The minimum school days in Alabama is 180 days according to this website that was accessed on January 14, 2012 ( http://teaching.about.com/od/ProfilesInEducation/a/Alabama-Schools.htm ). Let us do some math and we can show just by doing math that taking tests will use up valuable time in our schools that could be used for more study.

Let's say for talking purposes that you have 7 periods each day. For argument sake, you have tests each Friday. If you have 7 periods a day, you in essence meet 180 times minimum for each subject. Let's do some subtraction.

The average school will lose one day per school year for Homecoming activities, Christmas parties, some kind of assembly or field trip. Just those days will add up to at least 5 days. That now leaves you with 175 days.

Some more subtraction. Tests on Fridays will subtract 36 days of study time to write answers down. You have now lost 36 days plus 5 days plus an additional 3 days for unforeseen circumstances. That is a grand total of 44 days. That gives you now only 136 days of school learning.

Here is my proposal to offset such waste of time. Throw away the idea or notion that you have to test everything you teach. That is totally ludicrous and it is almost barbaric to keep this tradition going. Here is another alternative for tests. According to Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman from http://www.delaneykirk.com/2008/10/how-to-take-goo.html, taking notes for yourself is the single best way to engage in and remember the lecture.

The key to this is remembering the lecture. The idea is for our students to remember what was taught to them. Therefore, grade the notebook and see if they are taking notes. The idea that you have to test the student to see if they remember the material is asinine. What if that student had problems in the car before attending school? What if they had problems with parents, or siblings and their mind just isn't into the test? A student studies all week and then has one bad day and gets a bad grade and we label them by the test.

Throw away the tests and grade the notebooks.

Alternate lifestyles are kind of wrong

It is not ok to live a lifestyle that is separate from God. You deceive yourself when you think that because you attend church or throw a few pennies in the offering plate, you are committed to Christ. It is sad or sickening; depends on which way you want to flow with this for people to parade around the world claiming their relationship with Christ is solid when in fact they are far from Him. There is forgiveness for all sins. However, you must come out from among the dead and start living with the living. What you use to be when you were in sin should change when you come into Christ. When a man marries a woman, he doesn't continue to see his past girlfriends. Our relationship with sin should be the same way. When we come into Christ, we should try and walk the way that Christ walked.

Do you recall the story when the rich ruler came to Him and wanted to serve Him? Christ told him to honor the commandments. The rich ruler said, "great, I am doing these." (paraphrasing) and then Christ told him to sell all he had to give to the poor. The man walked away from Christ due to this. HE HAD HONORED THE COMMANDMENTS but gave up God because of a little money. Sad!

Now, we live in a world that says Homosexuality is acceptable. In spite of the growing secular humanist trend to think "it's ok to be gay," it's not a righteous lifestyle. Most vocal Christians are not homophobic, but are trying to share Christ's love for homosexuals and trying to keep them from horrific judgment. (http://www.allaboutgod.com/is-homosexuality-a-sin.htm)

Our world is littered with people who claim to be something their not because they honestly don't want to change their lifestyle. It is not McDonald's fault when a person is overweight. It is not Marlboro's fault when a person gets cancer from smoking. It is not the local car wash problem if your car is still dirty. You were born into sin for the Word teaches us that. However, once you know the difference, then you choose to continue that lifestyle is your choice. God created us in His image and if you think for one second that God was a ? because you are one, then you are mistaken my friend. You are a ? because you desire to be a ?

Now, on the day of judgment and I am not your judge. I will stand before my Father for my actions, but let's be clear on this. Christ loves you and he desires you to change. You can change if you want to change, or you can continue to live the same way. Judas went to church for three years with Christ and you know what happened to him. Change my friend, change.

Our Blood is the same color

The color of skin has caused many problems over our lifetime and I suppose it will continue to serve as a serious issue unless we come to terms with this remarkable opportunity to show love. Charles Manson wanted to create a race war and he would come to be the savior of this tragedy. Churches today are fighting over people of color worshiping together. True story. We wanted to have a kids crusade on a certain street in a certain town. I went to the local authority (mayor) and got permission. I didn't have to do such a thing, but I chose to inform him of my actions in case we had cars lined up watching the crusade, due to it being an outside event. This particular city leader told me that in no way any "coloreds" would attend his church. I will not bore you with my comments to him about how Christ died for all and we are all His kids, etc.

There is a time that we will all stand before a Jewish looking Christ one day my friends. White, blacks, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Africans, and the list goes on. The only thing that will matter will be what He says to us. I asked this question many years ago and I ask this same question in 2012. Can a person be a Christian if they hate someone due to the color of their skin? The answer back then is the same as today. No. If you hate your fellow man due to the color of their skin, then you cannot live for eternity in heaven.

I am in Wendy's restaurant right now. Across from me is a young man who has a Black father and a white mother. According to some churches, he is not welcomed. Why? What did he do to be born the way he is?

My wife and I went to a tent revival many, many years ago. We were sitting behind the pillar of the church when all of a sudden she gasped and said "oh my God!" I thought she was having a heart attack. I asked her what was wrong? She replied and I quote her. "Look over there." I looked over there and three elderly Black women were sitting under the tent. They came to hear the Word of God being preached. I am no man's judge, but I ask the question. Is this pillar in heaven or not? We will know a tree my friends...

The dignity of death

Death is inevitable in our lives. We will all face the "reaper" one day. We can run and hide from the law, i.e. D.B. Cooper, but in the end, Death will find us. I will not waste your time by telling you that your heart should be right with God when you take that final breath. Man, the consequences of not being right with God will be painful. This post isn't about that. This post is about the people who fail to live the word dignity in their visits.

Someone who is dying doesn't need undignified guests. Do you know what that means? There are many individuals who come and visit and they visit for the right reason. However, is that reason right? The average person doesn't know the real answer. The real reason is that they come to "gaulk" at the individual. That person is slumped over in the bed/chair. Their countenance is lacking human viewing. Their speech is lacking clarity. Their handshake is weak. Their pleasantry is changed to groaning.

Then here we come and we stare at them and say the normal "bless their heart" statements. If you are visiting the deathbed of a friend and you desire to help, then visit away. If you come to rob them of their dignity by gaulking at them, then stay away. That person deserves better respect than what we give them. The only difference between them and you is that they know they are about to depart soon and you think you are not. Look them in the eye and treat them with respect for they are still the same person they were before death became their life. Give them the dignity they have earned prior to death coming to their doorpost. Look them in the eye and love them for this could be the last day you love them on earth. Now, you come to their doorpost to bring your "i'm so sorry" statements when you never darted the doors while they were alive and full of dreams. That is so hypocritical my friend. Try this today. Find that person that you use to be friends with and try to start again. Don't let death bring you closer to someone that you should have been closed to in the beginning.

A friend

Proverbs 18:24 sheds the light on what I perceive is a misused verse in the Bible. We say this verse for various occasions, but do we really use it? What does it mean to have a friend and to stick with that friend to the point that you sacrifice because of their sacrifice?

I have had many friends in my lifetime and I still count them all as my dear friends. However, when someone you care for as a friend is mistreated, you must take action, regardless of the consequences.

The reason we do not "stand" up for our brother/sister is because we are afraid of the consequences that will happen as a result. If we fail to stand with our brothers/sisters in their struggle, then I cannot see how we can say we are their friend.

I have lived in several states during my lifetime. I have served my country in the United States Navy and lived/stationed in 5 different locations with one of those locations being on a ship. I have ministered the Word of God since 1979 and I have pastored in three states. Through all of this experience, I have noticed that people say they are friends, but in reality, they are not Proverbs 18:24 friends. A true friend is someone that hurts when you hurt. They feel your pain and they support you when you go through your pain. There was a movie many years ago, North Dallas Forty, that starred Nick Nolte and Mac Davis. Mac Davis' character was good friends with Nick Nolte's character, but, when Nolte's character got in trouble, Mac Davis' character encouraged his friend not to bring him into the situation. He was a good friend until the problem came up. If you count yourself a friend to someone, then be a Proverbs 18:24 friend.

So, what does that mean? If a friend of yours loses a job because he did something wrong, then you still stand with him. You tell him the truth and you encourage him. However, if your friend loses his job for no right reason, then you stand with him and you encourage him and you then go one step further. You approached the situation and take a stand with him. You take that stand even if you have to lose your job or you have to quit your job. If you claim to be a Proverbs 18:24 friend, then be a true one. Christ was that friend to you my friends. He stood with you. He left his job for you when you lost your job. He wasn't afraid to tell your bosses the truth, even if he knew he would never be allowed to work there again.

I desire to be that friend!