Southside's Blog

 Early in my career a boss gave me his philosophy of keeping a good relationship with his boss: “Whatever my boss thinks is important, I think is important. “ He practiced that faithfully and of course, he was giving me advice as to how to manage a good relationship with him. Another one of his philosophies was: “If your attitude is good, I can forgive mistakes.” I worked hard making sure that I understood what Bill thought was important and maintaining the right attitude.

I thought a lot about these philosophies in terms of my relationship with God. Generally, your boss has control over your future within that company, so you strive to make him/her happy with your performance. It plays a very important part in pay increases, promotions, benefits, etc. So, I worked to keep the boss happy, BUT did I give the same consideration and effort to my relationship with God? He created me, provides blessings, forgives my sins and decides where I will spend eternity which is far more important! Now that I’m older*, I’m pretty sure God did not get the same effort that Bill did. I went to church and went through the motions of being a Christian, looked the part, but did not give whole heart.

Conversations with folks I’ve known:

Q: How’s your relationship with God?

A: Yes, I believe in God.

Q: That’s great but how’s your relationship?

A: Everything is OK, I guess!

Q: Do you pray, read your Bible, go to church and serve Him to grow your relationship?

A: Well, no but I don’t believe you need all that to keep a good relationship with Him. Afterall, He loves me the way I am.

Q: How’s your relationship with God?

A: To be honest it’s not as good as it once was!

Q: You must have moved away because God didn’t move away from you. What happened?

A: Well, I had the following happen________________. I feel like God let me down!

The blank can be filled in with most any struggle in life we are experiencing now or have experienced. All of us have had our struggles, but we should not use those struggles as the excuse for the lack of our relationship with God.

For any relationship to thrive, attention must be paid to it. Typical answer is: “Yes, but we both are trying to move ahead in our careers, we have two kids and they are involved in school, sports and scouts, etc. I’m also involved with Rotary, Lions club (take your choice) and I’m serving people through them. GOD UNDERSTANDS!”

There is absolutely nothing God does not understand but he is a jealous God and expects to be our number one priority. Let’s see, God came in after careers, kids, school, sports, scouts and a civic club at best! He’s probably disappointed with the relationship!

Max Lucado is the author of On The Anvil. He describes the book as thoughts on being shaped into God’s image. He believes that our relationship with God is like a tool’s relationship with the blacksmith. There are several verses in Bible that refer to us as instruments/tools. Acts 9:15, John 15:16 and Romans 6:15. The best one for me is II Timothy 2:21 “… an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to do any good work”

Max writes: “We are all somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop. We are either on the scrap pile, on the anvil, in the Master’s hands or in the tool chest. (Some of us have been in all three.)”

“Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We should not try to escape it. God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it’s in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God. Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you’re still worth reshaping.”

How do I know if I’m on the anvil? Read I Peter 1:6-7

I’m paraphrasing here: Time on God’s anvil clarifies and defines God’s evaluation of our relationship with Him. If you feel you are on the anvil, step back and take time to consider why you are there. I believe that much of our relationship with God is about carrying out His business.

*I do not use the term “elderly” to describe myself. Elderly is for those older than me!?!?

When I led Sunday School classes, its success depended on discussion from the class members. I would like for the blog to be as interactive as possible so please share your ideas and comments @ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Need prayers for yourself or someone else, let me know. Know anyone that needs a short visit to be encouraged let me know.

Thanks

Mike

I was “raised” in the Church of Christ and baptized at age 12 plus a few months. Two friends, Monte and Gary were the same age and were baptized a little before age 12. People started to be concerned about the fact I had not come forward yet. The fixed age of accountability, 12, did not make sense to me. One day I’m not accountable and then twenty-four hours later I’m now accountable? I understood where the thinking came from but was troubled by it. In addition, I’m sometimes ornery and didn’t want to be pushed into an important decision that was only mine to make. One other thing was troubling, a Sunday School teacher taught us that repentance meant you would never commit that sin again. If you did repeat that sin again, then you did not truly repent and were not forgiven. Experience told me that I had a huge problem because I was a repeat offender and would be because of weakness to temptation.

 Please know that I believe baptism is essential but not because of an age attained but because you are a sinner and need forgiveness. It’s time to be baptized when you are mature and ready to commit  to a relationship with God and Christ. Baptism is not  the final act but should be a new beginning.  You will sin again, but you now have the only route to forgiveness. You will also have a relationship like no other you’ll ever know. After thinking through all this, I was ready for the commitment.  It’s OK to be seek advice and guidance but it’s very important that baptism be your decision.

 In Max Lucado’s book, When God Whispers Your Name,  he asks a question about people’s struggles with life and their relationship with God/Christ after their conversion:

 “Could it be you went to religion and you didn’t go to God? Could it be you went to a church, but never saw Christ?”

After reading the question, I was somewhat confused. The first reaction was well, I believe in God and that Christ is His Son and He died for my sins.  I believe in the religious teachings of the Church of Christ and the importance of the church itself. Does this not mean that I went to God and Christ both?

Max follows-up on Matthew 11:28-29: Jesus invites us to come to Him with our burdens. Jesus’s invitation is for a relationship with HIM and to accept HIS teachings. I believe we are to have a relationship with God’s people within the church but without a relationship with Jesus, it’s meaningless. We must  accept HIS teachings,  not the “doctrines” of any church.

Max concludes the chapter with these thoughts:

 “It’s not that you haven’t tried---you’ve tried for years to deal with your past. Alcohol. Affairs. Workaholism. Religion.

 Jesus says He is the solution for weariness of soul. Go to Him. Be honest with Him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He already knows what they are. He’s just waiting for you to ask Him to help. He’s just waiting for you to give Him your burdens.”

 I believe the vernacular with the younger generation is: God’s got this!

 How’s your relationship with God/Christ? Did you go to religion/church or to them?

From On The Anil by Max Lucado: his description of Judas, "those who bear the name of Jesus but have never met Him, and those who have religion but no relationship. Judas bore the cloak of religion but he never knew the heart of Christ. Let's make it our goal to know.....deeply"

 Remember to send me your thoughts at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 If you have a prayer request, let me know.  If you know of someone who would like a short visit, let’s talk.

 Thanks

 Mike

#1

Thanks to the Elders for allowing me to place some articles, comments and thoughts on the

Southside website. Hopefully, the writings will encourage you with your relationship with God.

You will note a number of quotes, comments and offerings from different authors that have influenced over the years.

It is intended that this be a “discussion” type of website. If you have comments or thoughts about the articles you want to share, please send them to my email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I will either respond directly to you or if you wish, I‘ll include them in a future post.

This first post will be a selection of thoughts that I have picked up over the years with credit given to the author or book. Some will have a scripture that relates to the thought.

 From the Eagleville Church of Christ marquee: “Love everybody! I’ll sort them out later!”

I believe this post really sums up our responsibility as a Christian but it’s not always easy. Sometimes we say surely “God does mean for me to love him/her.”

 This next one kinda fits our attitude about the previous one: “Most people wish to serve God – but only in an advisory capacity.”  God’s Little Devotion Book (GLDB)

 “Those who deserve love the least need it the most.”  Matthew 5:44.  GLDB

 Reading the bulletin every Sunday, you note that there are many prayer requests for different needs. Hopefully, some of the following comments from GLDB gives something to think about:

 “You should never let adversity get you down-except on your knees.”

 “God intervenes in the affairs of men by invitation only.” Revelation 3:20

 “The heart is the happiest when it beats for others.”

 If you have a prayer request, let me know and I’ll add your request to my prayer list.

 Thanks

 Mike