Just Between You, Me, & God 9-27-2012

How many of you out there have a dog?  OK, quite a few.  I have a dog, his name is Buster and he is an Irish Setter.  He is currently laying at my feet, fast asleep.  Dogs are like kids, they can sleep just about anywhere and in any position.  They are one of God's great creations.  They are fiercely loyal, they are always glad to see you coming, and hate to see you go.  They love to play and bark and chase and do all of those things that God created them to do.  They can make a mess and have been known to tear up a thing or two, (the cover off of one of my study Bibles).  All in all we really love our dogs and they love us. It is pretty much an unconditional love that they have for us.  You can get mad and yell and they just wag their tales because all they hear is you calling their name.  You can lose them on a cross country trip and they will try their hardest to get back home, no matter how long it takes.  In this relationship, we are known as the Master.  We usually provide their food and shelter with an occasional treat or toy, and they provide companionship, or security, or enjoyment.  It's a pretty good relationship.  How's your relationship with God?  Could you learn a few things from your dog about what your relationship with your Master should be like.  Matthew 22:37 tells us, "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  Are you always glad to see God?  Do you get excited, do you listen for His car coming up the street and do you wait at the door to welcome Him in.  A lot of us think that twice a year is sufficient, we'll have plenty of time to spend with Him when we get to heaven.  Listen to what Jesus says in John 10: 14-15, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-just as the Father knows me and I know the father-and I lay down my life for the sheep."  Your dog responds to your voice, you commands, because he knows you and he knows your voice.  If you don't have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, how are you going to recognize His voice when He calls you.  That may be the dog catcher or Satan that your answering to because you haven't been around your master enough to know His voice.  Are we loyal to follow Him, are we committed to obey?  Let's try this, take everything that you brought with you into this world and put it in a pile over here.  Hmm, that looks like empty space to me.  Everything that you have or own is a gift from God and when you leave this Earth, you'll have to give it all back.  These are you treats, your provisions from your Master.  So let's face it, we even mess up from time to time and even runaway but our Master is forgiving and loving and wants to welcome us back.  Buster and I have a lot in common, although he has a lot more hair than I do.  He is loyal, he loves me unconditionally, he is always glad to see me and misses me when I'm gone.  In my relationship with God, I try to be loyal, I love Him for first loving me, I am glad to be in His presence and I realize just how much I need Him when I am away from Him.  Have you been away from your Master?  He's waiting for you to come on home.  Embrace Him and show Him that you love and respect Him and that you are willing to obey so that you may walk together from now on.  Good boy!  Pastor Dean 

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF. He truly loves his big lug of a dog. His prissy cat Molly also loves Buster. His Chihuahua mix Red...not so much.

Just Between You, Me, & God 7/2/2012

We have a new member in our family. Buster is a 1 and a half year old Golden Retriever that weighs 67 pounds. He is house trained, which is a blessing in itself, but he still struggles with some manner opportunities. Buster is not our only pet, we have a cat named Molly who is rather antisocial, and a paranoid Chihuahua, Red, that is rather possessive of my wife and thinks he’s a giant among dogs. Now Buster, still somewhat a puppy, doesn’t know how big he is and he just wants to crawl up in your lap like the little dog, or thinks that Red is a toy that should want to play with him all of the time. There has been baring and gnashing of teeth with some vicious attacks that has sent the big dog scurrying. On the other hand, Buster and Molly have become best of friends with contest to see who can lick who the most. Buster has a definite tongue advantage. If he does overdo it a little, all it takes is one carefully placed, extended claw, to make Buster stop and reconsider his options. Buster does like to chew things and we have made adjustments in the placing of things where he can’t reach them. He, well they all require a certain amount of forgiveness. Sometimes I’m afraid he’ll think his name is “Buster Stop”. I often wonder if that is what God thinks about us when, like Paul, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do---this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:15-20. Fortunately God doesn’t know me as “Dean Stop”, but because of Jesus Christ death on the cross for me and my acceptance of that, God knows me as “Dean Forgiven”. Take your guilt and give to Jesus who has already paid for your forgiveness and feel the freedom and love that comes in a relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Ministries & Outreach Pastor for LHF.