Open Door Ministries Blog

Buried Alive

There’s a parable about a farmer who owned an old mule that fell into a well.  The farmer assessed the situation and sympathized with the frantically braying mule, but decided that neither the well nor the mule was worth the trouble of saving.  So the farmer called together his neighbors to help him haul in dirt and bury the mule thus putting him out of his misery (disclaimer, this BLOG is not SPCA approved).

Understandably the mule was hysterical but as shovels full of dirt peppered his backside, the mule had this thought, just ‘shake it off and step up’ and that’s what he did.  With each shovel, he repeated to himself, ‘shake it off and step up….shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up’ (if a donkey can talk in the Bible, I guess a mule can have a thought in a BLOG).  Before long, the old mule, battered and exhausted, was nose to nose with the farmer and triumphantly stepped over the wall of the well.

What looked like it would bury him, actually blessed him…all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.  We can face our problems, respond to them positively, refuse to panic, become embittered or yield to self-pity and realize that while problems come, often also comes the potential for benefits and blessings. 

Philippians 4:13…’I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.’  

So what threatens to bury you alive this December day….what are the ‘all things’ in your life right now? Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana

A New Approach

Yes, the economic crunch is touching Pitt County and even ODM.  We’re hearing of layoffs, bankruptcy, stress and illness….and Christmas is just around the corner.  
Acts 20:35 quotes Jesus as having said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ and certainly this year we’ll feel really blessed if we can actually give to those we love and care for. 
The Word Wealth in my Bible indicates that Giving is ‘granting, allowing, bestowing, imparting, permitting, placing, offering, presenting, yielding and paying.  It models the character of Christ; He didn’t say it would be more natural or easier to give than to receive, but that it would be more blessed.’  

I ran across the following information and it gave pause to my approach to my own shopping list:

If we could shrink the earth’s population to precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this. . . 

• 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 8 Africans
• 14 from the Western Hemisphere (North and South)
• 52 females, 48 males
• 70 non-white, 30 white
• 70 non-Christian, 30 Christian
• 6 people would possess 59% of the world’s entire wealth, all 6 from the United States
• 80 living in substandard housing
• 70 unable to read
• 50 suffering malnutrition
• One near death
• One near birth
• One would have a college education and
• One, yes, one would own a computer 
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you’re richer than 75% of the world’s population.  
• And any money at all in a bank, wallet or change puts you in the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.  

So, how about sharing a ‘new’ approach to giving.
What would you give to those you love this year, with all it’s challenges? Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana

Appendix

Twenty some odd years ago, I awoke to incredible abdominal pain and nausea in the middle of the night. The pain was relentless and went on for hours into the day. After several medical tests, I learned that I had developed gallstones the size of pencil erasers. One had blocked the bile duct and I was in full-blown attack mode. Surgery to remove the gallbladder was the only alternative. I gladly agreed; something had to give. As I signed the forms, my surgeon added rather nonchalantly that he’d be removing my appendix as well, although there was nothing wrong with it. Standard procedure called for removing the appendix if they were ever in close proximity to it during surgeries. According to medical science that particular organ was merely a left over from eons of evolution, totally useless to the human anatomy.

Turns out science isn’t always right, recently a team of scientist at Duke University have discovered that there is a good reason for our appendix—it cultivates good bacteria to aid in digestion. I suppose this should come as no surprise to me, after all, God doesn’t seem to be in the business of nonsense, that is a totally human arena. But it has gotten me to thinking, are there ‘other’ areas of my life that I’ve given up, given in, been talked into or out of, thinking they might be useless leftovers of long ago belief systems or Old Testament theology…but God actually had a purpose for all along?

So, has God shown you anything that was important to Him, but it wasn't quite as important to you? Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana

Franken-friends

Each Sunday the host reminds us of the church’s mission statement: ‘Loving God, loving people; demonstrating His character and gifts; going forth to reveal Him to our community and world.’ So every service begins by greeting people around us with a hug, handshake or hello. A recent Dear Abby writer expressed displeasure at being asked to do this. While she embraced the more casual atmosphere and contemporary music, she found the practice of forced fellowship to be a bit intrusive. Abby gave a really good answer, something along the line of…’it’s a sad testament of today’s fragmented society, when we are not willing to welcome and greet one another in a house of worship’.

There’s usually things that we have in common with those around us on a given Sunday. And community in church implies that we move beyond a simple Sunday AM greeting into relationship. But we’ve also experienced those awkward social situations where we’re not exactly certain of the people around us. Before I go any further, please let me clarify that I am NOT talking about people with disabilities, exceptional needs, language barriers or other obvious distinctions. Any inability to connect here may, in my opinion, be a character deficit on our part. But there are people that we simply have nothing in common with or find intrusive and obnoxious. Quoting Joyce Meyers’ again…’hurt people hurt people, wounded people wound people’; the weary and heavy burdened come in all shapes, sizes, and progressions to the message of the cross. And they may be sitting beside me on Sunday.

Our mother’s required us to invite the ‘new’ kid to our parties, play with the weird cousins, and kiss Aunt Poopee breath. And, sometimes, Mom knew best and we forged friendships for a lifetime. But we’ve also found ourselves thrust into relationships that were orchestrated, arranged and engineered, or trapped in a relationship gone bad because of poor boundaries or healthy confrontation. Carolyn Hax called these ‘Franken-friends’ in a recent column, monstrous and scary.

Okay, so where can we draw a line between loving God and loving people vs. having the life sucked out of us? Are there even lines in God’s economy? Can binding up wounds and ministering to the brokenhearted give way to enabling destructive behavior?

Healthy, honest conversation welcome; caddy judgment…probably not.

Blog on. Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana

Change

Having read Malachi 3:3 during quiet time with the Lord, an inquisitive lady made a visit to a local silversmith to learn about the process of refining silver. After hearing the process described in detail, she asked, "Sir, are you nearby while the work of refining is going on?"

"Oh, yes ma’am," replied the silversmith; "I must sit and watch the furnace constantly, for if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." The lady at once saw the beauty and comfort of Malachi 3:3, "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Before leaving, the lady asked one final question, "How do you know it’s finished?"

"That’s quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is complete."

For change to happen, it usually requires three things:
1. we must hurt enough that we have no choice but to change;
2. we must learn enough that we have hope for change;
3. we must receive enough unconditional love that we are motivated toward change.

How precious to know that our Father’s eye is steadily intent on the work at hand, and both His wisdom and love are fully engaged.
How has God changed you? Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana

Praying for Ice-Cream

Sitting around a restaurant table, a six-year-old boy asked his mother if he could say Grace. Bowing his head, the boy prayed, ‘God is good, God is great. Thank You for the food, I’d thank You even more if Mom gets us ice-cream. And liberty and justice for all! Amen.’

Along with the smiles and snickers of nearby customers, this remark was heard, ‘That’s what’s wrong with this country; kids today don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream, why, I never!’

Hearing this, the little guy burst into tears asking what he’d done wrong and if God was mad with him. His mother lovingly assured him he’d done a terrific job and that God was certainly not mad. An older gentleman joined in with a wink and said, ‘I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.’ Looking out the corner of his eye at the woman who had made the remark, he added, ‘Too bad she never asked God for ice-cream; a little ice-cream can be very good for the soul.’

No surprise, mom bought ice-cream for dessert. After looking at his for a moment, the little boy picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big and generous smile he told her, ‘This is for you; ice-cream is good for the soul and my soul is good already.’

Our soul (mind, will and emotions) is important to our Father. Psalm, Proverbs and other Scriptures are full of blessings for the soul. In Third John, the Apostle begins his letter with, ‘…that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.’

Next time you’re eating ice-cream, try meditating on Psalm 103…’praise the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, praise His holy name…’, as Proverbs 13:19 says, ‘A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul…’.

We want to know,
What 'longings' has God filled for you lately; was it sweet to your soul? Click here to comment.

Pastor Deana