Obedience School

If you talk to me much at all, you will probably find out quickly, that I am the proud father of two crazy dogs!  Ellie and Sam are the driving force of insanity in the Lawson house as well as the leading producers of scratched walls and ripped pillows!  Needless to say, Lindsey and I have been pulling our hair out trying to learn how to train our two bundles of endless energy.  So, finally we broke down and paid for obedience school at the PetSmart in Winston.  So for six weeks we would pack Ellie into the car and make the journey to Winston so that we could hopefully learn the ‘magic word’ which would bring us a little peace in our house.  The instructor would come in and load Ellie full of treats while talking to her in the best baby voice, then she would say, “Have a good night,” and class would be over.  Let me tell you I was more than a little bit skeptical about this whole thing.  But then one night in class we learned the “magic word”!!!  The word which would bring peace to our home!  The word which we paid all that money for!  “PRACTICE!”  That was it, ‘practice’ was the magic word.  I felt like my hard earned money was being flushed down the drain.  But then the teacher explained that we could come to class and the dogs would preform beautifully while we were there but would then go home and do the same old things unless we worked with them, practicing everyday, teaching and reteaching.  The truth of obedience school is, the teacher does not teach the dog, they teach the dog owner how to teach their dog!  Now that’s a truth worth paying money for!

The same principle applies in the church.  If every Sunday morning you pack your family into the car and make the journey to church just to watch everyone learn new spiritual tricks and then go home only to be faced with the same old lifestyle, then you are missing the point of church.  Our goal, is not to pump you full of enough spiritual food to last until next Sunday.  Our hope is to teach you how to feed yourself!  But just like Ellie, this will only come through ‘practice.’  Day after day, chapter after chapter of Scripture.  There will be no peace in your home until blood, sweat and tears are poured out as you seek God with all your heart!  Jer. 29:13  This week, pick up your Bible and start reading.  You may be clumsy at it and it might be more difficult than you thought but keep practicing and before you know it, you will be the healthiest Christian you have ever been and you will know God like you have never known Him before!