The Gospel According To Ralf

Ralf’s in Heaven

theriverkzoo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:38:48 +0000

As you probably know by now – Ralf has gone to doggie heaven. I knew that I was going to be sad, yet I’ve been shocked at the depth of my grief and how it has taken me out of the game. I’ve been pondering why that is.

Part of me thinks that my grief is a longing for Eden and Heaven. When Adam and Eve were kickin it in the garden before the fall, they were in right and good relationship with the animals. The critters were companions long before they became food. In the book of Revelation we see that at the end of it all there will be a new heaven and new earth where the earth and heaven will be united and earth restored to an edenic state. You can hypothesize that we will be in right and good relationship with animals (and all creation for that matter) when we get to glory.

Ralf wasn’t just another four legged thing. He was a friend and companion who gave me, my family and many others a glimpse back into Eden and forward into glory where we were and will be walking in tight communion with animals. My friendship with him filled a void that has been present in all humanity since Genesis 3 – the longing for all to be well. For some that void is filled with horses. For others by a long walk in the woods. Still for others a day on the lake answers that call for Eden. For me it was filled with my brown furry friend. I miss him because I (like you) was made for heaven.

Peace and Joy
Rob

GATR 30

theriverkzoo — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:47:51 +0000

Hello boys and girls,

Ralf wanted me to tell you that he loves you all and that he isn’t feeling well today therefore there will be no Ralf blog this week. Keep him in your prayers and hopefully he’ll see you Sunday.

Peace

Pastor Rob

GATR 28

theriverkzoo — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:57:13 +0000

Hi boys and girls. We were all hanging out in Pastor Wil’s office today. (Me, my dad, Pastors Fraaza, and Wil.) We were talking about how excited we all are for the Crooks family to get there adopted boys here in Michigan. You might not know that they are 8 and 6 years old and are from Ghana, Africa. Listening to Pastor Wil talk it is very clear that he can’t wait to be with his adopted boys.

I know I’ve told you this before, but God is like a good dad who loves being with us his children. Like Wil is excited to adopt his boys, God is pumped to adopt you as his kids. The apostle Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians that God has adopted us because it makes him happy! (See Eph. 1:5). Isn’t that good news? God loves you more than any parent on earth ever could.

So this week, pray that the Crooks are united with their boys and that you and your family know God as dad.

See you on Sunday

Ralf

Moving

theriverkzoo — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:04:09 +0000

Hi boys and girls,

I miss my dad today. You see he is in Idaho, helping a church plant a church in the inner city. I am glad he is serving God that way, but I still miss him. As I was telling him that I was going to miss him he gave me a big old hug. While he was hugging me he told me that there is one who is always close and will never leave. Sadly, sometimes those we are close too move out of our lives. People move to others cities. Our friends will come and go. Parents have to travel and be away. But there is one who will never leave us or forsake us. In the old testament book Joshua God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (1:5). That means that God will always be with us and never go away. Wow. Isn’t that cool?

I wonder if you and your family know the one who is always with us. Do you know him? You need to meet him if you don’t.

Have a great week.

See you on Sunday

Ralf

Love People

theriverkzoo — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:41:21 +0000

Hello Boys and Girls,

How have you all been? I’m doing very well. Thank you for praying for me to feel better. I certainly do. Did you know that Jesus told his followers that the greatest commandment is to Love God and the second greatest is to love people? And did you know that you can do the first by doing the second? To love people is to love God because God loves people and wants people to be loved. So when you love somebody and are kind you are showing God’s love too. My dad says I’m pretty good at this. A lot of people like to stop us as we walk so they can pet me. I love that because I get some good petting but also because I get to give people kisses. Dog kisses make people happy. My dad and I now look for people as we walk who look like they could use a big doggie smooch and some doggie lovin’. How about this week you look for people who need to be loved. Don’t give them a doggie kiss, but be kind and maybe even give them a hug. It would be fun if you could talk with your family about how you can obey the greatest two commandments this week.

Have a great week. See you Sunday,

Ralf

God’s Voice

theriverkzoo — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:36:26 +0000

Hi boys and girls. I went for a walk with my friend Timber Saturday evening with our dads. What started out as a great walk ended poorly. You see while we were walking Timber shot off into the woods after a squirrel – a fun thing to do if you are a dog. The problem was that she ran so far she could no longer hear her father’s voice. That’s when things got scary. We spent the next hour and a half looking for her. We couldn’t find her at all. We were all so nervous and worried. We decided to head back home to see if she had made it there on her own. What a relief it was to find her safely tucked away in her kennel. She had run in the direction of home, a neighbor found her and brought her to her mom who put her in the cage. What a relief.

My dad (Pastor Rob) told me that he preached this past Sunday on God the Father and how much he loves us. In light of our scary walk, my dad told me that humans are sometimes like Timber – running away from the Father’s voice, and that’s when things get ugly. So boys and girls let me encourage you to listen to God’s voice. You can do that by coming to church and listening to God speak through Ms. Doreen or the other workers downstairs. You can do that by listening to cool and godly radio shows like Adventures in Odyssey. You can do that by sitting quietly outside and letting the Spirit of God whisper to you. You can do that by reading (or having mom or dad read) the Bible. You can hear the Voice of The Father in many ways. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just do it.

Have a great week.

See you Sunday,

Ralf

Sozo

theriverkzoo — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:52:11 +0000

Hi boys and girls,

I wanted to let you know that I feel much better this week. Thank you for praying for me. Did you know that healing sickness is a part of God’s work here on earth? It’s true. Jesus talks about “saving” us from our sins – and isn’t that good news. Because of Jesus we can be free from the effects of our sin. (If you haven’t met Jesus yet, I recommend you talk to your folks, Ms. Doreen, Wil, Fraaz, or my dad.) Aren’t you glad that because Jesus saved us from our sins we can have joy in this life and be in heaven when we die?

Well that word “saved” is also the same word for “healing” too. (Moms and dads, check out Luke chapter 8. The Greek word is sozo which means both to save and to heal.) When Jesus came to the earth he not only brought forgiveness of sins he brought healing from sickness. Much of what Jesus did when he walked the earth was heal people’s sickness. So really we shouldn’t be surprised that I feel much better this week after you all prayed to Jesus to heal me. Thank you friends and thank you Jesus.

Here’s what I’d like you to do. Next time you or someone you know gets sick pray for the healing of Jesus to come. Then praise and thank Jesus for what he has done.

Have a great week, see you Sunday

Ralf

I’m Sick

theriverkzoo — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:53:46 +0000

Hi boys and girls. I was sick the past few days. Really sick. Couldn’t keep anything in my belly – neither food nor water. My family prayed over me and by last night I was feeling better. I was able to eat and drink some and go for a little walk. Yet I would love it if you could pray for me too.

The Bible tells us that “the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” It also tells us that because of Jesus we have become the, “righteousness of God.” Therefore we can believe that our prayers are powerful and effective. We can believe that our prayers will work. I believe that about you no matter how old or young you happen to be. If you love Jesus he has made you a person with the potential to be powerful in prayer. I would love it if you could unleash some of your prayer power and pray that I feel 100% better.

Thanks for praying,

Ralf

Tick

theriverkzoo — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:51:25 +0000

Hi boys and girls. Today at church I was hanging out with my dad and older brother (Jake). Out of no where a tick fell off of me. It was gross. It was bloated and huge. It had been latched onto me for a couple weeks hidden in my fur. I was so relieved to have it gone – even though I didn’t know it had been there.

My dad told Jake and me that sin is a lot like that. If we aren’t careful and diligent (you might have to ask mom or dad what that word means) sin will latch onto us. Yet with the grace of Jesus that sin will fall away just like the tick in the office. You will feel relieved to be free from the sin. So here is what I recommend you do. Talk to mom and/or dad about sin and with them pray and ask Jesus to take your sins away

Obedience

theriverkzoo — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:05:40 +0000

Hello Boys and Girls.

Do you ever think to yourself, “It is easier and more fun to not behave well”? Sometimes I get tired of always working hard at sitting when I’m supposed to sit, staying when I’m supposed to stay, walking nicely on the leash when we walk, and not jumping on people to say hi. Sometimes I think it would be fun to run around wherever I want, jump on people to say hi whenever I want, sit when I want to sit, lay down when I want to lay down, and basically do whatever I want when I want. I guess what I’m saying is obedience is hard.

I was talking to my dad (Pastor Rob) the other day about this. He said he knows what I’m talking about. Sometimes for him it is difficult to walk the way the Lord would have him walk. Do you ever feel that way in obeying your parents? My dad said it sometimes seems like it would be more fun just to do whatever he wanted to do. Yet he then asked me to look at my life and see how fortunate I am. I get to go to work with my dad every day. I get to go on long walks every day. I get to sit in the dining room while the family eats every day. I get to go for car rides all the time. I get to play in the back yard with my sisters (Reese and Elyse) everyday. I get to watch the game on TV at night with my dad. I get to be on the greeting team on Sunday. I get to do a lot of things that many dogs don’t get to do – things that I would be sad to do without.

My dad then told me that I get to do all those things because I am an obedient dog. If I didn’t obey and listen I would be stuck in the pen outside by myself all the time. But because I do the hard work of obedience I experience many blessings that other dogs who are less obedient don’t get to experience. So my dad and I agreed that obedience is hard, but it sure does come with a ton of blessings. My word to you boys and girls is to work hard at your obedience this week and see what blessings follow.

Have a great week, see you Sunday

Ralf