Even though I am a believer, I rarely look for something mystical to happen. I believe God can show up at any moment and do something supernatural, but it is an extraordinary experience and not commonplace.

With that said, a few weeks ago, I had a dream that might been slightly supernatural. Let me share, and you can decide for yourself.

In my dream, I was standing on the stage preaching like most Sundays here at the Church I lead. While I cannot remember the exact content of my words, I started talking about our need to change and rid ourselves of sin. As I moved on to the next point of my message, an unknown man stood up and was obviously upset. He gathered his things, and before he walked out, he shouted, “I can’t take it anymore. This guy doesn’t believe what he is preaching.” I stopped to address his disruption, and he said to everyone in the room. “This man doesn’t take sin seriously enough. When he preaches, he doesn’t yell when he talks about it. If he wanted people to stop, he would do everything, including shouting to get people to stop.”

At that moment, I woke up. And as rarely happens, I remembered it vividly. It has stuck with me for the last three weeks. Occasionally, I mutter to myself, “Do I take sin seriously? God, was that you speaking to me?”

I am not saying my dream was prophetic or the voice of God, but it is certainly something I have been unable to stop thinking about. It might have simply been my subconscious processing my weekly sermon, as often happens, but it is a question worth pondering, no matter its origin.

Do you take sin seriously? And are you doing everything within your power to rid yourself of it?

I spent a few hours helping to clean up around the Church after our Christmas programs. It was a fantastic couple of weeks. We had the children perform one Sunday, with volunteers helping our young people sing about Jesus. Their parents and grandparents came to listen to them and hear about the power of the Holy Spirit. 

When the morning program was over, another group of volunteers began working and setting everything up for our candlelight program. They decorated, prepared candles, blacked out the windows, and cleaned up to ensure everything was ready. Then, on Christmas Eve, we had our teens and adults lead worship with special music to delight those in attendance.

After everything was finished, numerous people, including some new believers, served the Lord through the season. We also had a large number of guests who heard the message of Jesus and the possibility of life change.

When the dust settles and Christmas is over, it is time for everything to be picked up, packed up, put away, and cleaned up. This week, one of those jobs includes me taking time to get wax off the chairs and floors from our candles that people held. I get an iron hot, then put a paper bag on top of the wax and hit it with a hot iron. It works pretty well, and the stains are barely noticeable. 

While cleaning up the wax, I rediscovered a significant black mark. It is the remnant of a group of middle school students doing a VBS project. It has been on our floor for about four years now. Every year, I wonder how I can remove it, too. So far, nothing has worked. 

This time, I sat and looked at it for a while. I have grown rather fond of that spot. It reminds me that the building exists as a workshop for the kingdom of God, not a museum for the saints. The goal of our Church is to use the building it owns for the glory of God as much as possible. It is to be used to teach adults, teens, kids, and even middle school students to be like Jesus. That stain is a mark of people doing ministry, which is terrific. 

A clean carpet looks nice, but the purpose of a Church should lead it to value stains over lack of use.

No one is exactly sure where the term came from, but I found five stories trying to explain it. So, no one can trace the precise origin, but in the golfing world, they ask for a “Mulligan” whenever someone wants a second chance.

If someone hits the ball and it is a terrible tee shot, or it lands in the rough, never to be found, they can ask their competitors for a Mulligan. That means they get a second swing at the ball. The first mistake is forgotten, and an opportunity exists to improve.

We are into the first day of the year, and I am asking for a Mulligan. I have had some inappropriate thoughts, said some insensitive words, had the wrong motives, and used the wrong tone of voice. I messed up. I was not focused and did not have my mind in the game.

I promise I will be better tomorrow. Please give me a little grace today, and don’t judge me by this first swing. And in the name of Jesus, I will do the same for you.