Pastor Mike’s Garage April 21, 2022

*Pastor Mike’s Garage-April 21/2022*

So, we got a puppy a few weeks ago and I’m not sure what we were thinking!
His name is Winston, he’s part black lab, part great Pyrenees. I know, I
know, you’re thinking “what were they thinking!” getting those breeds for a
house in town. When we were going to look at the litter, first mistake, I
was thinking the same thing! We’re not getting one of these, it would not
be a good fit for town. Yet when we got to the farm they were on and took a
look at the parents I thought, hmm, well the dad is only a medium sized dog
and the mom looks nothing like a Pyrenees being medium sized herself with
brown short hair. I thought these are mutts, they’ll be fine. Well, this
puppy is turning out to be everything you would think of when you hear
black lab/Pyrenees! He’s the size of a horse, seemingly unending energy,
has huge paws, eats like crazy, has the brains of a black lab, he’s a
handful! We have crate trained him for the night because he is not exactly
trustworthy unsupervised! At the beginning he whined all night like all
puppies will do when first separated from their litter but lately he’s been
really good at sleeping through the night. Unfortunately, the second he
hears any movement in the house, no matter how early, he begins to whine!
I’m sure he is thinking, let’s get a start on this day, hey your up, I want
in on the action! Well, the reality is usually it’s just one of us going to
the washroom long before we actually want to rise for the day. To help with
this we have a Google mini above his crate that we leave music playing on
for the night to mask any sounds we may make.

Last night we told it to play worship music, and it was still playing in
the background while I was having breakfast this morning. The song “I know
who hold tomorrow” came on performed by Alison Krauss. I pondered this song
for quite a while and it was still in my head upon arriving at the church
and starting to write this PG. The first line goes “I don’t know about
tomorrow” and the first line of the chorus goes “Many things about
tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand.” Those words really resonated with me
this morning. So often it feels like the world around me is out of control.
To take it a step further I feel frustrated I feel like I have so little
control of my own life! A former pastor of this church often said, “The
controversy of the universe is ‘Who’s is control’”. Upon getting to the
church, I google the lyrics of that song and the first one that came up was
the now popular Alison Krauss version released in 1994. My first thought
was that I could remember that song from my childhood so it had to be older
than that! In the small print at the bottom, it mentioned Ira Stanphill
writing the first version in 1950 so I googled those lyrics as well. They
are very similar with the exception of one small word in the first verse.
In Alison’s version she says, :”I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live
for day to day” and in the original version Ira says “I don’t know about
tomorrow, I just live from day to day.” Did you catch the difference? The
purpose of the song is to state that while the world is seemingly out of
control, we have someone who holds our hand through it all who does know
about tomorrow. But there is a huge difference in how we walk through life
when we change the word “from” to “for”! If we are living for the day, then
we are still trying to be in charge dragging Jesus and God along with our
plans, dreams and ambitions. We’re still trying to be in charge! Let me
tell you from decades of personal experience that never ends well! When we
live from day to day, with Jesus and God as our wisdom, strength, guidance,
hope, security, we need not fear or worry about tomorrow. We have one
holding our hand who sees it all with clarity and if we submit to His
leadership in our lives, He will guide us through uncertain times! Now I
could see why she would maybe want to change that word. Without a living
relationship with the omnipotent one who created the universe, omnipresent
one who knows all about the past, present, and future, and the one who
loves us dearly, to say I’m just living from day to day seems aimless! It
sounds better to be intentional, to try and seize our destiny and say I’m
going to live for today! The trouble is today, and tomorrow, is out of our
control, no matter how intentional you are!

I will leave you with a couple verses which talk about tomorrow in the
bible. “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the
birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And
which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore,
do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you. “Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew
6:25-34

Pastor Mike

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