In the Bible study video I watched on Tuesday night the pastor about how the Christian witness in the world is fading. The main reason he said is because we no longer stand out from the others around us but have become just another face in the crowd. His solution…become a bold witness for Jesus. This does not mean we become arrogant or offensive about our faith. We only need to tell others our story about why we asked Jesus into our lives. Then have faith God will takes careof the rest.
I grew up wanting to be a cartoonist. While I am no Charles Schultz from time to time I like to draw a cartoon just for old times sake. The cartoon today is entitled “A Girl’s Best Friend.” The reason for the drawing is that many times is life we come across a friend who like a girl and a dog which on the surface do not go together. I have known many like that over the years. One of those is our relationship with God. On the surface how can a totally Holy God have any friendship with beings who are mentioned in the Bible many times as sinful. The answer is Jesus. He is the one who came over two thousand years ago to be the bridge to a friendship with God. Don’t take my word read the Bible, examine it and then decide for yourself.
My wife has friends she has had since high school. Me not so much. I don’t have a clue where most of my classmates are now. I have also worked many places in my lifetime and had many friends at those places. I don’t know where any of those people are either. What I guess I want to point out is to hang onto your friends and when you see old friends for the first time again make sure you show them how much you appreciate them.
When I was but a wee lad up to my teen age years Halloween was was one of my favorite holidays. All day long sitting in school I would be candy dreaming, anxiously awaiting when my friends and I would go out trick or treating. While over the years Halloween became a holiday my family and I no longer celebrated because of our faith I still think back to those times. While as Christians we don’t partake of the holiday we can create a fall fun day where we get together and celebrate the fall season and God wonderful creation.
I don’t usually do this but i decided to make today’s drawing a collaborative effort. In my day to day I work with high school age children one of which as you can see is a Charlie Brown fan. I thought I would draw the child a cartoon character of my own. The student then took my drawing and turned it into a pseudo Charlie Brown painting. In life there are some things which make you smile. For me it the little things I do for others, not to get any recognition or accolades but because it is part of my heritage as a Christian. I think if we all did the little things for others the world would start to be a better place/
Today’s offering is a quick drawing entitled, Talk, Talk, Talk. Have you ever been stuck in one of those times when someone you know just will not stop talking. I know I have. These are the moments when you just want to walk away but just can’t. We all need to self monitor our speech. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:28 that, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Silence I have always heard is golden and there are sure a lot of times when it is but there are also times when you need to speak up, just don’t lecture
As I grow older I have discovered there are certain things which no longer go together like when my mind tells me I can do one thing but my body tells me I can’t. As a Christian I have been told over and over again that the Christian mindset does not go well with the worldview. In other words be in the world but not of the world. What does this really mean. I live in the world how can I not be of the world. the answer is simple. As Christians we are not to see as the world does but as God does. This means we no longer seek to satisfy our own needs but seek to become one who gives unconditionally. Think about how much good would be done if everyone who claims to be a Christian lived like one.
It is hard to believe how fast time flies anymore. It seems like only yesterday I started my self imposed drawing challenge and now it is almost the end of September. I must say I’ve enjoyed the process so far and look forward to drawing the last 94 drawings. The hardest part has been coming up with things to draw. By the grace of God I’ve made it this far and I know he will see me through till the end.
Today’s cute cartoon is a reminder to us all that at times we can be annoying and don’t know when to stop. the poor cat is tired of listening to it’s owner singing. “Please Stop,” the cat meows. Why do we not know when to stop? The answer is simple we are looking out for our own interests and fail to see the cues that we’ve crossed a certain boundary. As Christians we especially have to be careful not to be over zealous with our message. Look for the cues when it is time to stop. Then start praying that God will open up new avenues for you to once again give out the message of hope.
The Ugly Artist 