Just Between You, Me, & God 7/9/2012

I'm not much of a techy guy. My kids and wife keep trying to drag me into the 21st century but I'm not convinced it's a safe place yet. We recently got Netflix. We run it through the Wii so we can pick and choose our movies to watch whenever Jeannie's at home. I'm not restricted from watching when she's not here, it's just that I haven't learned how to work the thing yet. When we look at a person's lifetime we often associate it with all of the technical advances during that same time period. I remember doing that with my Grandparents. In their lifetimes they went from the horse drawn wagons to traffic jams on super highways, from the Wright brothers to the first man on the moon, from black and white silent movies and radio shows to a color TV in almost every home. They lived through a depression, two World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam war. They raised two sons that raised families that continue to multiply families of their own. There have been a lot of changes in this world and it seems like they just keep coming faster and faster. The latest in high tech devices today is bound to be obsolete and on the clearance aisle in a couple of months. But throughout the ages there has been one constant, one stable that never changes: God. John 1:1-5 explains it all in a Cliff Notes sort of way. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." I am always impressed at night when driving up on a town or city and you look out and see all of the lights shining in the neighborhoods lighting the streets and yards providing security in the night darkness. Our world is dark with sin and I like to think that Jesus looks out and sees all of these little specks of light shining in this dark sin-filled world representing all of those who have seen His light and accepted Jesus as their Savior. Only Jesus offers us the beacon of His salvation, the security light of His mercy, the flood lamp of His forgiveness, and the unchanging floresence of His love. If you find yourself wandering around in the dark in this fast-paced high-tech world, can I offer you a light? The light of the world, Jesus Christ. Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Ministries & Outreach Pastor for LHF. Eventually, we may even get him to get an iPhone, perhaps even before iPhone 7 is revealed.

Where's Your Water?

Screencap from my iPhone

I have an addiction. Or pretty close to one. It can certainly interfere with productivity, and my husband complains that I don’t listen to him because of it. It’s Disney mobile’s “Where’s My Water?” Most people, especially those bearing iPhones and Android phones, know of this game. It is a terribly fun little game of physics, cartoon alligators, and animated sewers. The basic premise is this: get the water to Swampy (the loveable non-violent, cleanliness-seeking pacifistic gator hero). There are multiple levels of increasing difficulty. You dig through dirt, move water, deal with green ooze and acidic poison water, find hidden objects, and water little rubber duckies to accomplish the goal of filling Swampy’s bath. (Incidentally, I highly recommend this game, especially for families. My 5-year-old daughter also loves this game and has progressed further than my husband at this time.)


Just like Swampy, we’re all dirty and need to wash ourselves clean. And like Swampy, we have to deal with the ooze and poison in our lives. We need clean water to drink and to remove the ick from us. It was for these reasons that the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar needed the water for (John 4). She, like Swampy, was seeking water for her immediate needs. In the time it takes to take a drink, her life was changed by meeting Jesus there, who had for her a “living water” (John 4:10) that will not only sustain her, but fill her like a spring always flowing (John 4:14).


Unlike Swampy, where the water must be dug up and moved around to come to the one who needs it, or be drawn up from a deep well like the Samaritan woman, the living water from Jesus requires one simple word from us: Please. All we must do is ask for Jesus to fill us up, to cause that spring within us to bubble up and keep us eternally refreshed. I pray that each of you read this has the living water within you, but also 


So…where’s YOUR water?


Melissa McGinnis is the Children’s Ministry Director for LHF. At this time, she has cleared every level of “Where’s My Water?” and is surprised to find that the house needs cleaning and the cat is on strike until it gets IT’S water refilled.