August 26, 2021
Good afternoon,
“We come to God by doing it wrong, not by doing it right.”
Anonymous
“For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil “. I Peter 3:17
Do we learn more from our mistakes than from our greatest accomplishments ? If we are reflective about our failings, and admit our wrongdoings, then I think we can learn from the things we have failed at. When we are successful, do we see it as our “win” or have people helped us along the way ? And what about God ? And when we fail, do we blame everyone else around us ?
Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers, tries to dispel the myth that successful people are self-made. He talks of people like Bill Gates who had certain things in his favour as he began his lifetime with computers. I am not a self-made pastor. I went to school when it was cheap. I had a great home church, and three churches where I have served have made me a better person and pastor. None of us are self-made. Thank the people who have helped you become who you are.
Admit when you are wrong. Repentance is good for the soul. The USA has been defeated by Vietnam and now Afghanistan, but there is no soul searching to say what they have done wrong. Maybe nations are different from individuals. In the Lord’s Prayer, it says about our sin and the sins of others. This is a great place to start.
Prayer
Forgive for the sins of omission and commission
that is for stuff we do,
and the stuff we do not do.
forgive us when we know better,
and don’t do it .
This is my great sin.
Help me Lord
!AMEN.
Fred
Soaring like Vultures
lifted up by unseen Hands
Trust, silent enters my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021