Satan’s 10 Commandments

1. There is no God and if there is one he doesn’t really care about you. So, live your life however you want to.

2. Since there is no God you can worship whatever you want to; Sex, Sports, Food… whatever.

3. Use God’s name however you want to. It really doesn’t matter… it’s not like he’s going to throw thunderbolts at you. If you do offend him all you have to do is say “I’m sorry”.

4. The Sabbath Day is just like any other… do whatever you want to. You’ve worked hard all week… rest up or go do whatever makes you happy.

5. Your mom and dad… what makes them so special? They’re human just like anyone else. I say respect wisdom and experience. If your parents have that then great but so do a lot of other people. Find those people and respect them

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6. Thou shalt not kill? Really? Didn’t God kill people for violating his so called laws? If it’s good enough for God why not you? There is a law of self-preservation and benefitting self. If someone violates that then… you know what to do.

7. Adultery is OK as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. After all it is your own body and you can do with it what you want.

8. Stealing is not that bad, especially if the other person does not deserve what they have. Why should they have something they don’t deserve? Stealing is also OK if the other person has too much and you have too little. God told the rich to share with the poor. It’s OK to punish them by taking what they have.

9. It’s OK to “bear false witness” if you have to in order to protect yourself. Also you can bear false witness if the other person has ever harmed you or if they are not nice.

10. Wanting what others have is not bad. We all want to better ourselves and have more. What could be wrong with that?

Eldership and New members

At Parkway we try to meet with all of our new members. There are certain things we want them to know about being a member at Parkway. One of our goals at Parkway is to help our members reach full spiritual maturity.

- We encourage our new members to come to a complete knowledge of what God has revealed to us. So we encourage our members to study their Bibles at home and to attend all the public Bible classes we offer. - We encourage our members to control sin in their lives and we are there to help hold them accountable for their actions. We will help with any problems they might have but for those who willfully sin we cannot maintain fellowship. - We encourage our members to live lives of service to each other. Humility is built and pride is torn down by putting the needs of others before our own needs. - We encourage our members to participate whole heartedly in our collective worship responsibilities; Singing, Praying, Lord’s Supper, Sacrificial offerings and teachings.

By having these discussions up front we all start off on the same page and have a foundation to build on.

Sacrifice

The scriptures are clear that the world will come to know Jesus Christ through the love/service that Christians show to each other. We’ve got the concept down. I thought I might illustrate it with some experiences from my life.

Rudolph Kocurek and I were good friends, God rest his soul. He taught me a lot about woodworking. We developed a partnership where we would go out onto ranchland, winch the mesquite logs onto his trailer, go to the sawmill in Kingsville, Texas and then divide the boards. One day my Dad was visiting from Houston and watched Rudolph and I as we divided the boards. I would pick out the best boards and tell Rudolph… you take this one. He would say… no you take it. This happened board after board. Finally Dad out of frustration said… just divide them up… you’re not going to cheat each other. No we weren’t because our relationship was a lot more valuable than boards.

Gus, David and I have been Elders for a number of years. We were having problems with a member and two of us wanted to do one thing and one of us wanted to do another. I told the other two to go ahead with what they wanted to do but I couldn’t be part of it. The other two said if you can’t go along with it then we won’t do it… our relationship is too important. The member ended up moving off. I’ll never forget the respect that David and Gus had for my conscience.

In 1998, Pancho Hubert and I decided to partner up and start a new Veterinary clinic. A lot of people warned us about taking on a partner. I’ve had a lot of good friends and Pancho Hubert is as good a friend as I’ve ever had. We take care of each other. He can borrow anything I have and I can borrow anything he has. If he’s short on cash I’ll give him whatever I’ve got and he’ll do the same for me. He went to my dad’s funeral and I went to his dad’s funeral. We can laugh and poke fun at each other and we love each other for it. We never take advantage of each other but try to treat the other better than we treat ourselves. We have built an incredible business because just as water flows downhill so does the power of good leadership.

I’ve learned this, when you have complete trust in a relationship that frees you up to focus all your efforts in a positive direction and great things can be achieved.

I’ve also learned that things are not as important as people. Sacrifice yourselves and your things so you can build great relationships with people and God can be glorified.

Keep Your Vows

The prophet Isaiah was the mouth piece for God to warn his people about his unhappiness with them. God’s people Israel were often referred to as God’s wife. They had made promises to each other but the wife Israel forsook her promises and started “sleeping” around with other false Gods. God warned Israel through Isaiah (and other prophets) that he was going to give them over to her “lovers”… the heathen nations of Assyria and Babylon. God took away his protection of his wife and gave her over to Assyria and Babylon and they treated her horrendously… slaughtering most of them.

We as Christians have made a promise to God and committed our lives to him. Don’t think for one minute that God doesn’t expect us to live up to our promises. There are consequences for breaking vows… on this earth and in Heaven. Just ask Israel.

Let Your Light Shine

1 Peter 3:8-15

"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind… being ready always to give an answer to anyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you.”

This text explains that our Christian behavior as we interact with others should generate questions about Jesus Christ which dovetails precisely with what Jesus said in John 13:35…

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have brotherly love for each other.”

So here it is, through our demonstrable interaction with each other Jesus Christ is exalted. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light shine… do not hide it under a basket… and other Bible quotations. Demonstrate your lives to your neighbors, your fellow workers, your enemies and whoever you may come in contact with so they can ask you the question, “Why are you different” and you can respond “because of Jesus Christ.”

Customer Service

Julie and I were in New Orleans a few weeks ago and were scheduled to go to a lunch put on by a drug company. We were a little early and Julie was hungry so we walked in to the hotel restaurant where they were still serving a breakfast buffet. I asked how much it was and the server said $28. Julie said… I’ll just wait and walked out.

The server said… if she wants a muffin I’m sure that will be OK. So I fetched my bride and she picked out a Blueberry muffin. As we were walking out the server ran to us and said… here’s a napkin.

Wow! That’s customer service.

How about “customer service” in our assemblies… specifically our visitors? Do we ignore them or give them a warm welcome and act as if we are truly interested in them. Do we judge them because they may be dressed inappropriately or do we ignore their dress for the sake of being hospitable? Are body piercings and tattoos so repulsive to us that it creates a barrier to hospitality?

I was paid a compliment by a former employer who is not known for paying compliments. He said, “Rob Perkins can talk to anyone, no matter their station in life, and make them feel comfortable”. That compliment really goes to my mother because I learned hospitality from her. Learn hospitality. Don’t be too busy and neglect visitors and don’t judge based on appearance. Practice excellent “customer service”.

That server at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans? I told her if she wanted a job I would gladly hire her. She is a precious jewel. I hope that visitors at Parkway can see the same qualities in us.

The Problem with Grass Burs

I’m in the middle of a big Grass Bur problem at my house right now. It’s because when it was a little problem I ignored it. Now it’s a big problem. I started attacking the problem a year ago. I take my wheel barrow and a shovel and walk two acres searching for the little weeds. I’ve gotten where I can identify the plant without its characteristic bur but I’m so obsessed with getting rid of them that anything that even resembles a Grass bur plant gets dug up. I have two or three “hot spots’ in my yard where they have taken over. On these areas I spray the whole area with Roundup herbicide spray… but it kills everything. This year I have cleared up certain areas of my yard and I can focus on the few areas left. I see that it’s going to be about a three year process but really I’m going to have to pay attention to them in perpetuity because when I drive into my back gate I invariably will bring in Grass Burs from the wild and untamed areas behind my property.

Grass Burs are a lot like sin. - Grass Burs make my life miserable… so does sin - Sin, like Grass Burs, if ignored when small can become huge. - Sometimes Sin, like Grass Burs, reaches a critical mass before you decide to do something about it and then it’s a lot of trouble to bring under control. - Grass Burs are easy to recognize by the fruit it produces… the bur. Sin is easy to recognize by the fruit it produces. Learn to recognize the “plant” early and “weed” it out of your life before it produces that un-godly fruit. - Sometimes you are so surrounded by sin that you have to use a “Sin Herbicide”. That means you have to get completely away from your un-godly friends and family and surround yourself with the kind of people who are good for you. - You may have sin totally controlled in your life but we live in an un-godly world and if you are not vigilant you’ll carry those little grass Burs home with you.

To control Grass Burs you have to be a little obsessed with getting rid of them… be obsessed with eradicating sin from your life. It makes life so much sweeter.