They Say We’re Crazy

In today’s society, it’s difficult to believe in the things which we believe. There is so much turmoil in the world, and yet, we persist. We continue to pray to our God, believe in the Holy Spirit and in The Son. While everyone around us feels nothing but anger and hatred for one other, we continue to have compassion, understanding and Love for our fellow man.

I was asked to speak about this today and, when I thought about it, it really did make sense. After all, we’re “different” to say the least than many of those who don’t believe.

How many of you here today have been told, “You’ve got to be crazy!” How many of you have been asked, “How can you believe in something you have not seen or touched?”

With everyone struggling to be on top, make the most money and have the best things, a Christian’s greatest difficulty is maintaining a relationship with God while trying to live the simple, humble life in this crazy environment.

So then, I ask you… are we crazy? Let’s take a little time this morning to talk about how you may feel you’re a little “Off Your Rocker” because you still worship all that you cannot see, touch or hear.

Jesus Warned His Disciples about Criticism

Matthew 10:16-20 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.  On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

So, when we are criticized for our beliefs, rely on Our Lord to speak for you. As we’ve mentioned before, quick to listen and slow to speak… He will provide us with the responses we need at the appropriate time we need them.

What They Believe In

When people ask you how can you do what you do and believe what you believe, ask them some questions in return.

Can you see the air? – The obvious answer here is no. You cannot see the air yet, without it, your life would be no more. Well, to a Christian, we believe and understand, that without Christ, we will have no eternal life so, to us, the air is insignificant

Can you hold an atom, or molecule in your hand? – (From the Polymer Science Learning Center) Solids, liquids, gases – all matter – are made up of atoms (or other things, like molecules, that are made from atoms)! ELEMENTS are the kinds of atoms that we can have. Carbon is an element, hydrogen is an element, and so is oxygen. … Atoms can join together – they form bonds together – to make MOLECULES.

There, another one. We know atoms and molecules exist as science has proven their existence, yet, we cannot hold them in our hands.

Here are some other interesting facts I’ve found that Americans actually believe in while unwilling to accept God and all that Christ has taught us.

• 3/4 of the American people believe that aliens have actually visited this planet.
• 1/3 of Americans believe that Bigfoot actually exists.
• Nearly all of Americans actually believe they will, one day, win the lottery.

Why is it, with all the Biblical proof of God, The Holy Spirit and The Son, can we not believe in what we cannot see?

Creators

The World’s Luxuries

Look at all the things that man has created in this world. All around us, we see majestic buildings of great design costing millions of dollars and countless man-hours to complete.

We see beautiful art-work of all types. Paintings, sculpture, photography and hand-made crafts that adorn our offices and homes throughout the world.

What about the vehicles that we’re out there buying-up like hot-cakes because of all the “really neat features” they offer. Seriously, air-conditioning, reclining seats with back-support, convertibles and retractable roofs to enjoy the sunshine. We drive down any highway talking to friends, family and co-workers through our dashboards and HEY… we even have vehicles that drive themselves!

What is common among all these things? They all had a “creator!” Either one person or a group of people came up with these designs and worked their fingers to the bone to create them and bring them to our attention… and we love them… but let’s talk about greater creations.

God, The Creator

Let’s forget about man-made things for a moment. How many of you have sat on the beach and watched the Sun rise? As you stared-out over the ocean, feeling the mist of the sea on your face, what was your level of peace?

Has anyone ever been to the Rockies? What was the feeling inside of you as you stopped at any “look-out” area and glanced across the mountains and into the valleys below?

How about at night, when the sky is clear and the stars are shining brightly across the Heavens. Wasn’t there a sense of peace within you that took all the problems of this world away?

Who created these things? Who gave us the Earth, The Sea, the Universe and all that it contains? Have you read Genesis 1? I have several copies from that Gospel verse here with me today. Take one, read it and understand… this was all God’s doing. He, in all His glory, gave all these things to us and, despite our best efforts, man’s creations cannot compare to what God has given us!

Our Body (Vessel)
One of the Greatest Creations

Talk about a creator… what about our bodies? We’ve talked about this before but let’s just touch on it again. There are so many facts known about our body, yet even science cannot explain the reasons on how they work. Here are just a few:

• We each have about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in our body. The heart works hard every day to pump about 2,000 gallons of blood through them.
• The human eye can distinguish up to 10 million different colors and take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.
• Our bodies are unique. Despite the millions of people in the world, each person has their own, personal identity in their fingerprints, tongue and DNA.
• Speaking about DNA, if uncoiled, the DNA in all the cells in your body would stretch 10 billion miles… from here to Pluto and back.

Okay, now let’s talk about “A Creator!” I think we all know who this was… this was our God and why we believe! He is SO great and still, to this day, baffles science.

There is simply, no way possible… even with all it’s great technology, that science could possibly create such a perfect machine as our God has done in us!

What We Feel

Once again, we’ve talked about this in the past but I think it’s important to remember again this morning. Just the other morning at breakfast, after our Sunrise at the beach, I had this conversation with Robin, a friend of Jamie’s.

As followers of Christ, we tend to look at things differently. What may seem mere and insignificant to others, we hold great value in and recognize that it may be a signal from God that He is trying to teach us something or warn us of something in our future.

I would really like to ask others to contribute here, even knowing how difficult that can be sometimes, but I want you to feel free to express yourself and let us know where you have “seen the signs” or “recognized God was speaking to you” about something in particular.

I’ll give you a few of my own just to get you started.

Pennies and Feathers – It has been said, “when an Angel misses you, they toss down a penny from Heaven.” Two of the most commonly sighted phenomena are coins or “pennies”, as well as feathers. Depending on your personal belief system, these items are left around for us by loved ones, animal guides, angels and spirit guides.

I have seen these things so many times, mostly unexpectedly, yet I know (and feel) what they are. ​No matter where you believe your signs may be coming from, they are most certainly meant especially for you, and they always have a sincere and personal meaning, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they may appear to be.

Unknown Paths – How many times have you been heading in a very specific direction and something caused you to change your route? When this happened, have you ever come across, on your new journey, something that you may have been looking for, for a long time?

As you all know, I lost someone I Loved dearly nearly five years ago. Just recently, it was her birthday. I had taken the day off as I knew it would be difficult. Once again, I headed for the shore to watch the Sunrise.

When I got to where I normally go, I was re-routed. For some reason, the gate guard had some early and I would have to spend nearly $20 to spend 30 minutes on the beach and leave. Nope… not happening.

I then continued on down the road and found another entrance. After parking my bike, I began my walk to the beach down paths I hadn’t been on before. Finally finding an entrance, I walked down the sandy aisle towards the sea. When my boots hit the sand, I turned my head to my left as something caught my eye. It was still quite dark so I lit-up the light on my phone to see what it was.

Now, clearly seeing, lying there in the sand were two, still inflated, “Happy Birthday” balloons… an answer from God that they were celebrating in Heaven too!

Dreams – Have you ever had a dream or vision where you truly believe God had spoken to you as you slept… as your body was at rest but your mind was still receptive?

As I just mentioned, I lost someone. I was greatly grief-stricken and didn’t know if I would ever recover from my deep-hearted pain. My life was falling apart slowly and everyone around me could see it very clearly.

One night, after pleading with God for solace in my prayers, I had a dream. I remember it oh so vividly as the words I heard rang like thunder in my head. This is what I heard:

“I have heard your prayers. I will bring you peace. You will not recognize her as she will be new to your world. She will be small in stature yet pert (lively or perky) in speech. She will listen to you; she will understand and feel what is in your heart as for this will be an attraction to her as she needs comfort as well. Remember when the time comes and accept this gift.”

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Pamela… God’s solace for my pain!

People – This, I’m sure you all know, can be an absolute blessing from God. If we listen, He will bring into our lives people we need, people that need us and, together, we will have all that we need.

Why does God send us people?

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Another example for you…

As you all may or may not be aware, I suffer from PTSD. This is, at times, a very debilitating condition where my body responds to any given situation with extreme panic, great fear and body tremors that I cannot control.

I had been on heavy meds for months but turned to God instead as I fear medications greatly for we never know what the long-term results will be.

Last week, as we attended breakfast after our Sunrise service, I sat at our table trembling as I was “out of my element” or my “safe-zone.” Pam was fully aware and continually stroked my hand to keep me calm.

At one point, I looked to my left, to my right and behind me as I have great fear of the unknown. When I turned back around. I saw you… my Family with God. A great peace then came over me knowing that, once again, He was providing for me. This, as Pam would attest to, was a very significant accomplishment for me and why I Love You All so dearly,  and I was reminded of…

Matthew 12:46-50 – “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’

He replied to him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

Now let’s talk about yesterday. What happened yesterday? Many people, giving up what may have been their only time to relax, gathered here at our church. They took their time to clean and scour this church… making it clean for our Lord!

I, being stuck in my office, could only watch as the photos and video were posted, but I need to tell you, it brought tears to my eyes… as a matter of fact, I cried openly, yet smiling, as what I witnessed truly touched my heart. I saw the enthusiasm as I watched the scrubbers tackling the floors; the ladies wiping down all the tables. What an effort!

Brother Joe called me shortly after things were wrapping up. Just listening to him, I heard the excitement in his voice… “Yeah Baby,” he said as I listened to the pride flowing out from him as he told me of the success of the day.

This little church has gone through SO much… but look what’s happening to us! We’re growing and, there can be NO doubt… God is in our hearts!

Okay, “How can we believe in something we have not seen or cannot touch?” We have seen, we see it every day as we read His words… and we are touched by Him in so many different ways. Let it be known to all around us.

Okay, Your Turn

Take your time. Think about it. Dig back within your hearts and try and remember a time when you, truly believe, had received a sign from God.

In Conclusion

Are we crazy? No, I don’t believe we are. We are simple, humble people that believe in our Lord. We try and live our lives a little more differently than others in that we do believe in God, The Son and The Holy Spirit. We do understand that we are forgiven of our sins and watched over every day by a Loving, Caring and Compassionate God that provides us with all that we NEED… not necessarily all that we WANT, but most assuredly, what we NEED.

Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless!