Bringing Crap Into the Church

Last Wednesday evening I was in my office and I stepped out into the hallway and headed towards the front lobby. As I walked that way, I saw something sitting on the lobby floor that wasn't a normal sight. There was a single shoe just sitting on the floor out in the open. Now I could tell by looking at it that this shoe was a woman's shoe or it came from what my dad would say was a sissy boy, but that is a totally different story! This shoe looked like it had been placed there. It didn't appear to have been kicked off or thrown but simply just set in its place. As I stood there and looked at it, someone from across the room yelled "yes...that's my shoe and I took it off because it has dog crap on it"! Knowing who said that, I immediately took a picture and my mind began to race with what I thought would be something good to write about so here I am.
This woman told me that on her way to church, she stepped in it. She knew it smelled bad and knew that her shoe was a mess but there really wasn't anything that she could do at that point so she just came on to church. The interesting thing about this woman is this. First of all, she and her husband are fairly new to the church. The second thing is that she was at the church because she and a few other ladies were meeting there to discuss the menu, cooking, setup and scheduling of our new Wednesday night meals which begin tomorrow. As I listened to them hash out all the details, I walked back to my office and I thought to myself, here is a woman who is new to our church and here she is willing to step up and serve and do whatever it takes to be a blessing to families here and she was in no way gonna let some crap keep her from serving God.
I wonder how many good people in this world let crap in their lives keep them from serving God? Satan tends to bring up all our messes and mess ups in our lives in hopes that it will render us useless for the cause of Christ. He hopes that you will spend more time focusing on all the crap you have stepped in in life instead of the one who can wash it all away. I don't know about you but I sure am glad when I think of my own life that God uses crappy people. He has done it throughout history, even way back in the Bible days and He still does today. The church, at least mine is not full of people who have it all together. We have hurts, habits and hangups and truthfully, it is all that crap that we have dealt with in life that helps us help others. I say this all the time to my people and that is the ONLY good in me is God in me and how true that really is because my life and all that is in it is but filthy rags without Jesus.
One of my all-time favorite verses is 1 John 1:9... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What that says is when you and I confess our sin to God...when we confess all our crap that we've been in, stepped in and carried in, He will not only forgive us of it but remove it from us as well and set us apart for His special service. No longer do we need to let that mess keep us from going to church, serving the church or being the church.
So what is it that you have stepped in? Kickoff that shoe, set it aside and get to work and share your story with ones who find themselves in their own mess and tell them that you "Have Been in Their Shoes" and by God's grace that you no longer are!

Consider Your Ways...Pastor John