A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Friday, September 25, 2009

Dave's Deep Thoughts


Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.


Late summer into fall....
warm afternoons, cool nights
blue skies, the brilliant colors of changing leaves,
the taste of fresh apple cyder.......

I DREAD IT

It's not that I don't like those things.......
But each fall, my home is invaded by that dreaded insect,
the cricket.

There's nothing wrong with listening to the little guys on the lawn,
chirping the night away.
It's just that I don't really need to be serenaded in my bedroom ................
at 3am.

Scientists say that the male cricket chirps
to entice the female for purposes of mating.

If that's the case,
my home has become a love shack for the little tikes.

It started about 4 days ago...
not just in the bedroom.
There was one also in the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen.
It didn't matter where I went to try to sleep.
They were there....talking to each other, from a distance.

It was the same feeling as if a couple chose to talk in front of me in Spanish,
so I wouldn't know what was being said.

So I laid awake, wide eyed,
listening to their locker room banter....
It went something like this....

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(Hey guys, glad to see you made it into the vault)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(Yeah! Glad the human of the house left the sliding door ajar.)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(He's not very smart.)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(Where are the girls?)

Chirp, Chirp
(I think they are hanging out by the fireplace)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(It's going to be a wild and crazy night)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp, Chirp!
(Wait, I see one of them. )

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(I see her too. Jiminy Crickets, she is hot!)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(Watch your language, let's not take our name in vain.....)

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
(Let's hit it boys.....)

As the chirping increased to a rapid pace,
I could hear them getting closer together.
I could only imaging what they were about to do....
on my carpet.

By now I was wide awake.
And so I did what any self respecting human would do,
I turned on the lights.

Silence.

Nothing stops a wild party like a raid.
Nothing stops depravity like shining the light on it.

Jesus spoke how we are like crickets.
We do those things in secret
under the cover of darkness,
that we wouldn't do in the light of day.

That's the nature of sin.

Crickets have an excuse,
they are acting entirely on instinct.
What's our excuse?

As for me.....
I recommend ear plugs.

"For nothing is hidden,
that shall not become evident,
nor anything secret that shall not be known
and come to light."

Luke 8:17

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