From: The Pastor’s Heart
To: You
Title: “Let SLEEPING Dogs Lie”
One of the things you’ll learn very quickly about Pastor K, if you don’t know already, is
that she is a serious Dog Lover. She has two Yorkshire Terriers (Yorkies), that she cares for
every day and is very proud to let everyone and anyone know that she truly loves, as she
calls them, her ‘babies’. Now even though I don’t want to admit it, they are good dogs and
don’t give us any problems. The youngest of the two is a male puppy (Prince) who is full of
energy and vitality. He runs, jumps, and plays around the house all day long. The older is
female and her name is Angel and she has two main objectives in life; eat and sleep. The
only time she gets riled is when Prince wants to play when she wants to sleep. I find
myself getting irritated, at times, with his desire to disrupt her while she’s resting in her bed
and I’ll say, “Hey, would you just let that sleeping dog lie!”
The phrase (‘let sleeping dogs lie’) is an idiom. An idiom (for those of us who’ve been away
from the English classroom for a long time), is a group of words established by usage as
having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. So this phrase implies
that one should not talk about things which have caused problems in the past; nor should
they try to change a situation because it might cause problems for the future. It’s
interesting to see how many people feel embolden to give their opinion on someone else’s
challenges in life, and not constructively but destructively.
Jesus warned us about being maliciously judgmental toward each other while then
choosing to conveniently forget that we have our own struggles and issues. He said, “Do
not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be
judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.Why do you look at the
speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own
eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all
the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your
own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
We as believers must be in the business of directing the lost toward the glorious throne of
God the Father and encourage the sinner to repent and find rest in the forgiving arms of
Christ. It’s easy to remember what someone’s done wrong and remind them of how they
failed, but when that person’s turning their lives around for the glory of God, we can not
be guilty of drugging up their past to discourage and belittle them.
Today I challenge you to purposefully and publicly go out of your way to celebrate
someone who’s made a positive change in their life. Let them know that you see them in a
new light and you are proud and excited about who they’ve become in Christ Jesus. Most
of all, give them comfort that no matter what, you won’t bring up their past. They can
count on you to just ‘Let SLEEPING Dogs Lie’.
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)