Steve Sikes Blog  

When I was a sophomore in high school, I remember going to the doctor with a sole problem.  I had stepped on a toothpick that had been caught in the carpet as I was running barefoot from the bathroom to my bedroom.  Being one of 13 kids, I can verify that Dad was always our family’s first line of defense and generally the only doctor or dentist we encountered.  As usual, Dad sterilized his Old Timer knife and went to work on my foot to extract the end of the toothpick.  At last, realizing he couldn’t help me, Dad took me to the doctor in town who looked at my foot and exclaimed, “What in the world happened to you?!” 

Come to find out, the broken toothpick in my foot was a secondary issue to Dad’s podiatry surgery without a license.  I was on crutches for several weeks after that incident and have since married, raised a family and produced my own licensed podiatrist!

Even Dad would agree that he is not a sole specialist, but in my book – he is definitely a soul specialist!  Dad continues to be one of the most faithful men of God that I know:  married to Mom for over 61 years; father of a godly family; and spiritual father to hundreds of needy children all over the world.  Dad and Mom ministered in children’s homes for over 35 years, and I can verify that Dad continues to be a major line of defense in prayer and wisdom for many of “his kids”, no matter what we are going through!

Today we celebrate Orphan Sunday (http://www.orphanslifeline.org); I just couldn’t do it without first thanking God for my Dad, SOLE TO SOUL!  I love and greatly respect you, Dad! 

God is good.  Mr. Steve

Did you hear the old story about the farmer bringing home a package containing a mousetrap? Let me give you the short version:

When a mouse discovered what was in the package, he went all about the farmyard shouting, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken, the pig and the cow all sympathized with the mouse, but said it was of no concern or consequence to them.

That night the mousetrap went off with a loud snap! When the farmer’s wife went to see what they had caught, she found a snake in the mousetrap and the snake bit her. The farmer rushed his wife to the hospital and later brought her home with a fever. Of course everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer went out and killed the soup’s number one ingredient!

But the wife did not get better and many of the neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. The farmer needed to feed them, so he butchered the pig. Later his wife died; and to feed all that came to her funeral, the farmer slaughtered the cow.

“And so, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t con-cern you, remember – when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.”

“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is hon-ored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:26).”

This week I set two mousetraps in the house. Please pray for my Patti!

God is good. Mr. Steve

This past Wednesday afternoon, I took my wife’s laptop to the health center and showed Illeane the before and after pictures of her trailer and yard. Two Sundays ago, Tim Davis and a group of teens, parents and young adults (36 total) cleaned up Illeane’s rental property and trailer and in so doing took part in a “triumph” and a “sweet-smelling” extravaganza! How? Read on!

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”    2Corinthians 2:14

Over 25 years ago, I pasted the following article in my Bible, between 2Corinthians 2 & 3.  (The author is unknown to me.)

“In a Roman Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order: the state officials and the senate; the trumpeters; the spoils taken from the conquered land; pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships; the white bull for the sacrifice which would be made; the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains; the lictors bearing their rods; the musicians with their lyres; the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them; and after that came the general himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four horses. After him road his family; and finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting lo triumphe!”
“Paul thinks of himself and his fellow apostles preaching the gospel of the triumphant Christ. To those who will accept it, it is the perfume of life; to those who refuse it, it is the perfume of death.”

“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…” 2Corinthians 2:15-16

CHURCH, KEEP SMELLING SWEET! GOD IS GOOD! Mr. Steve

What if you didn’t believe in angels or spirits? What if you majored in adhering to law where “an eye for an eye” literally meant “AN EYE FOR AN EYE!”? What if you didn’t believe in the resurrection – either Jesus’ or you own?

When I was growing up, my mother told me about an aristocratic group of priests in the Bible called SADDUCEES that supported the above beliefs. “Stevie,” she said, “If you didn’t believe in angels or in the resurrection of the dead – you, too, would be SAD…. YOU SEE!” I’ve always remembered her play on words, but never more than this week as I re-studied Peter’s second sermon found in Acts 3:12-26.

Peter opens his discourse following a miracle and the observers’ misplaced amazement. Peter redirects their amazement to, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers (verse 13).” “HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING! (Matthew 22:32).”

Then in less than 15 verses, Peter unfolds the Gospel story in a very unique way. Like a mender of nets, Peter amazingly weaves God’s redemptive work using divine thread by pen-ning the following ten descriptors of His Son: His servant Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One, the Prince of life, the One whom God raised from the dead, Jesus, His Christ, the Lord, Jesus the Christ, a Prophet, and His Servant!

Nearing conclusion, Peter exhorts his audience, some of them Sadducees, to repent and turn back to God! Why? 1) That your sins may be wiped away. 2) That times of refreshing may come. 3) That God may send Jesus for you!

JESUS IS NOT DEAD! JESUS IS RISEN AND I’M GLAD….YOU SEE! AMAZING!

God is good all the time! Mr. Steve