Just Between You, Me, & God 6/25/2012

Call me crazy, but I enjoy mowing and working in my yard. Even during the heat of the summer, I get a certain satisfaction after I’m done by looking at the transformation of a weedy and ragged looking yard into a trimmed and cut yard that has some curb appeal. Now I’m no master gardener by any means and after last summers’ drought and heat wave I have more weeds than real grass but when watered and maintained, it’s still green and from a distance looks decent. If you want the grass to grow, you have to water and it helps to feed it also. The thing is that you can’t just water the good grass and not the weeds and when you spread fertilizer it covers everything the same, good grass and weeds. They say that weeds are generally anything growing in your yard that you don’t want. When Christ died on the cross, He bore the sins of the world, He didn’t die for a few but for everyone. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” He knew that what He had to work with was all weeds, all sinners, so if you put down weed killer and all you have is weeds, then there is nothing left, there is no hope. With Christ Jesus we have hope, His death is the transformation from an overgrown raggedy existence to a vibrant manicured life fashioned after that of the Master Gardener Himself. He brings living water and life to a world suffering from a drought and heat wave that has seperated us from our Creator who offers us our only relief, our only hope, our only salvation by allowing the only good grass to die in order that we, the weeds, may live. As we learn to live in the light and nourishment of Jesus we can be transformed into that beautiful green grass that He desires. 1 Peter 2:24 gives us growth in the knowledge that, "He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed." Refresh yourself from the drought of this life with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and then share this Good News with others so that they too may be encouraged with the Hope we have in Christ. Feed yourself daily in His Word and grow in His likeness, Pastor Dean.

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.