As a sort of “follow-up” to my “Hide and Seek” sermon I offer you the following story shared with me this week. Enjoy!
THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in
the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his
sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes"
But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen."
Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?"
So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and
Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper."
Sally just smiled and said, "Well that's all right because Johnny told
me he wanted to help" She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he
finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You
see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing,
but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."
Thought for the day and every day thereafter?
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done...
And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face
(lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ...whatever it is...You need to know that
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.
He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that
He loves you and that you are forgiven.
He's just wondering how long you will let the devil
make a slave of you.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness;
He not only forgives you, but He forgets.
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.
Like I said last week, there is no hiding from God. He knows where you are hiding and He knows what you are hiding and He is just waiting for you to bring it to Him.
Just in case there are some of you who want to keep playing the hide and seek game with God, I know a lot of things about a lot of you. You know who you are. Now, there is a lot of work that needs to be done around here and if you don’t start doing it, I’m going to tell God!
Please notice the announcement in the bulletin regarding the special Northern California Conference Convocation to be held all day, Sabbath, September 15 in Sacramento. I’m not sure what we will be offering here at the church that day, but I want to encourage all of you that can possible go to do so. There is going to be a wonderful choral segment with choirs from all over the conference joining together under the direction of Ralph Carmichael. Contact Gary or Starr Piner for more information regarding participation in that.
I have also had some very interesting discussion recently regarding the possibility of starting a choir within our congregation. Personally I think this would be a marvelous addition to the music we already have going. It is early yet, but I would be interested in your feedback.
I conducted a wedding Wednesday evening for a couple I met while waiting for family at the San Francisco airport in May. It is so much fun to see the doors that open when you just talk to the people around you. Every person you see has needs. Our God has the answers, but He needs you as a tool. If you can’t easily open up a conversation with a stranger, you could at least have some copies of a simple gospel book or a bunch of cards with the information about our church services and website. Just a thought.
What a mighty God we serve, and what an awesome church you are.
