{"id":30641,"date":"2022-07-29T16:38:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=30641"},"modified":"2022-11-01T11:26:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:26:40","slug":"hot-dog-no-strings-attached-7-18-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=30641","title":{"rendered":"Hot Dog- No Strings Attached! (7\/18\/22)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever noticed that nothing is ever really for free?\u00a0 Things are advertised as “free,” but there are always strings attached.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A church in Georgia has created a “Hot Dogs and Jesus Day” ministry which gives out FREE hot dogs to anyone who passes by.\u00a0 No forms to sign, nothing to buy, no commitments: just a hot dog (with mustard if desired!).\u00a0 It sounds cliche, but in God’s economy, “the best things in life” (or after life!) are indeed free!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Strings Attached…<\/span><\/h3>\n

We’re always hit with things that are supposedly “free,”\u00a0 but things usually don’t turn out to be as good as advertised (click\/tap the “Previous” and “Next” arrows to scroll through some things that are “free,” but not really “free”<\/span><\/em>):\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t“Visit our historic downtown and browse through the shoppes that line our main street. Plenty of free parking.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

But when you arrive, you find that all of the parking spots are either taken or reserved for “special customers.”\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t

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“Sign up for XYZ cellular and get a FREE super duper iPphone i10000!”\u00a0<\/p>\n

But when you visit the “XYZ Celluar” store, you find out that the phone actually costs $799.\u00a0 It’s only “free” IF you keep their plan for 2 years.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t

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You call customer service and you’re greeted with the assurance that “your call is important to us.”\u00a0 You “listen carefully because our menu options have changed,” and then you patiently enter in your account number and all of the other information they request.\u00a0 You then “please hold because all of our agents are serving other customers.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

After spending 20 minutes listening to ads telling you how great the organization is, they hang up on you.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\n

We’re all used to situations that come up short and have strings attached.\u00a0 We’ve created a long collection of familiar sayings to help us cope:\u00a0 “Always look a gift horse in the eye.”… \u00a0 “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”…\u00a0 “Nothing in life is free.” \u00a0 We’ve been fooled by “free” offers so many times that we’ve developed a healthy sense of skepticism. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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No Strings Attached…<\/span><\/h3>\n

To find something that’s really (really!<\/em>) free, we need to turn to people who really (really!<\/em>) love us.\u00a0 True love is the only thing that gives without attaching strings.\u00a0 The best example of true love that we can find is God Himself, and we find that love illustrated by Jesus. In John chapter 3, Jesus explained why He came to earth to die on a cross:<\/p>\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\u201cThis is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn\u2019t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.<\/span><\/p>\n

(from the Message<\/a>)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div> \n

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Humanity’s relationship with God got messed up way back in the beginning.\u00a0 Early on, we humans decided that we wanted to do things our way instead of God’s way, even though God always knows better than we can ever understand (see Genesis chapter\u00a03<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 Jesus was with God at the beginning of creation (see John\u00a01:1-14<\/a><\/span>), and He became a human to restore the good things that come when we’re in sync with God.\u00a0 When we’re in tune with God, we can\u00a0 “have life and have it more abundantly.” (see John\u00a010:10<\/a><\/span>) \u00a0 Jesus said that He came to give us a life that’s richer and full of peace and purpose. \u00a0 To receive this promise, there are no strings attached.\u00a0 All we have to do is to believe and to want to return to God.<\/p>\n

And this isn’t just John 3:16 or other cherry picked verses in the Bible.\u00a0 This is really God’s character.\u00a0 He loves us- No strings attached! Throughout human history, God has offered to bring us back into a life-giving relationship with Him.<\/p>\n

Click\/tap the following tabs to view a few of things God is promising us- no strings attached!<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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