Phil Saves Father-in-Law from Certain Death, Again!

"Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs deliverances from death." - Psalm 68:20

A couple of days ago I was worrying about how I've been asked to write for youth, address their issues and help them walk closer with Christ. Basically I was carrying the weight of the spiritual plight of teenagers everywhere. No big deal right?

It doesn't help that I'm not quite sure what project I should be diving into right now. Should I be developing a blog, populating our Facebook page or writing new discipleship materials? There's so much to do, and so many directions I could take that I feel a little frozen in indecision. I'm also feeling impatient, wanting stuff for young people's spiritual growth to already be out there yesterday!

(I find my Uncle's advice about taking this time to research my theology and today's culture as invaluable. So that's what I'll be about.)

But I realized that the reason I was feeling so much weight is that I don't believe in a "God of salvation." I tend to default to the idea that "Phil saves from death."

Of course I do have some experience in this area. I once caught my father-in-law as he was sliding off a roof. Then another time I saved him from doom by catching a wall that happened to be collapsing on him. (My father-in-law lives a peculiarly perilous life. I am secretly grateful of this as it gets me a few brownie points, that I could cash in one day, say, like when he makes a comment about me not mowing the lawn for Melissa - "Remember the time you almost died...")

So I needed the reminder today, that I can't save anyone from death (other than my father-in-law) and that I do indeed serve a "God of salvation" who is way more than capable to deal with the spiritual plight of teenagers. He's just invited me along for the ride. For that, I'm very grateful.

And in case you're wondering, my Father-in-Law doesn't give me a hard time about not mowing the lawn, it's Melissa that does, so I plan on using my points on her: "You're mad that I didn't mow the lawn for the sixth week in a row? Do you really wish that your own flesh and blood, your father, was dead right now?".. Something like that anyway. I try and keep life light.