Great Job Lindsey Blue!!!!!
Lindsey had to do a project for co-op where she picked a state, studied it, and then did a work up on the state. Well this is the product of her hard work. She decided to make a map of Michigan with Play Dough. I think she did a very good job. She did this by her self…with very little help from mommy. I am so proud of her. She gets her creative side from her mommy….definately not from daddy! Good job Blue Bird!
Shane
Are we living with our eyes covered?
On this particular day of errand running I was listening to Paul Tripp’s series, “Forever”. In this series Paul Tripp addresses our need for an eternal perspective as we live out our lives as believers. God took an ordinary, busy, activity filled, me driven day and spoke into my heart creating great shame (well the shame was self-created) and conviction (God-created).
Paul told the story of a conversation that he had with the previous manager of the restaurant on the top floor of the World Trade Center…”Top Of The World” (the name being rather ironic). This conversation took place approximately three weeks after the tragedy of 9/11. Paul related how this man could barely speak through the sobs as he shared with Paul. On the morning of 9/11 the restaurant held a corporate breakfast with over 200 employees in attendance, but, the manager was unable to attend because he had a doctor’s appointment. The manager shared how, in a moment of time, he lost all of his employees. He went on to share that he had spent the last few weeks attending the funerals of his employees. He spoke of the mom that told him about how smart and sweet her son was, the wives that spoke of their husbands, husbands that spoke of their wives, children that spoke of their parents…..and on and on….people sharing about the people in their lives that had great meaning to them and are now gone. Through the sobbing the man went on to confess the reality of the situation to Paul. The manager told Paul that to him these “people” were nothing more than dishwashers, cooks, hosts, waiters and waitresses, bus-boys….etc. He did not really know them at all!
Paul used this story as an illustration of how many of us go through our busy lives interacting with “people who are no longer people” to us. You see these “people” have become the “guy at the bank”, the “lady at the drive through”, the “lady behind the counter”, and the “guy at the gas place”…..rather that a person with a story. All of us have a story that we are living and all of us live our story in the perspective of eternity, though we may not realize it. Our lives here on earth “are but a vapor” and then we will spend an eternity either in misery and damnation in Hell or in great joy and celebration with Jesus.
Here lies the great problem…..many of us live our lives never engaging in the lives of the people God has divinely put into our path. Wait, stop a minute! Do not read through the last sentence quickly…read it again. No really, read it again…..”many of us live our lives never engaging in the lives of the people God has divinely put into our path.” Does that not grip your heart? There are men, women, boys, girls, moms, dads, grandmas, and granddads, everywhere, that God has placed in our lives for the purpose of becoming involved in their story. Yet, we are so consumed with our story that their story does not matter. Think for a moment of all of the “people” you come in contact with every day, but you do not really know them. What is their name? Do they have family close by? Are they married/single? What are their interest? Are they happy/sad? Do they have needs? What is their story? And here is the big one….Does this person have a personal relationship with Jesus? This is what life is all about. No one will experience true life without Christ. God has given you and me an opportunity to share true life with people. What a privilege! Guys, we have the opportunity to be salt and light. We can impact the world for the cause of Christ. We can impact people for the cause of Christ! If we have the greatest news ever, how is it that we are living out our (God-given) story with our eyes covered to the stories being lived out all around us? When will it not be all about me?
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (emphasis mine) Matthew 22:37-39
Here is the good news….God desires us to live out these commandments. He desires that we impact the lives of others. He desires that we glorify Him as we become intimately involved in the lives of others. So guess what…He will produce this fruit in us as we surrender our all to Him! We cannot do this in our strength. We must be utterly dependent. God-dependence begins only when self-dependence ends.-Manley Beasley
We need YOU Lord! We desperately need YOU!
Shane
In Revelation 2 we see our Lord taking a journey through the church of Ephesus. This church had once been a vibrant group of believers deeply in love with Jesus. They had maintained doctrinal purity, they had kept themselves from the practices of the world, and they had a great enthusiasm for service. However, over the years that had abandoned their first love.
Jesus says in vs. 1 that “he walks in the midst of the seven lampstands” or churches. Can you imagine, with me, this picture….our Lord slowly making His way through the churches and he stops, He looks intently and he takes notice. Jesus observes each church and he evaluates their walk and their life. Jesus looks past all their wonderful programs….all the activities….all the ministries….the great buildings….the great pastor….He looks past their church face. Jesus evaluates their heart! You see, the church of Ephesus had gotten so caught up in doing the good things that they had taken their focus off of the Great Jesus Christ. They were not guilty of spiritual immaturity they were guilty of spiritual infidelity.
Let me ask you….what if Jesus were to take a journey through your church or your home and evaluate your life? What would He find? Have you abandoned your first love? Let us look at five warning signs that you or I have abandoned our first love and are in need of revival:
Is the Word of God alive to you and powerful? Heb. 4:12
Do you read and meditate on the Word of God? Ps. 119:9-16
Are you having personal times of devotion? 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Do you crave God’s living Word? 1 Pt. 2:2-3
Are you as much in love with the Word of God as you once were before? Are you willing to drive across town to sit under the preaching of the Word of God, but you will not walk across the living room to pick up the Word of God to read it?
You remember it so well…..there was a time in your life when you could not wait to get to church, but slowly you have began to go less and less. Now it has become easier to come up with an excuse not to go. Or maybe you have began to eliminate Sunday nights or Wednesday night prayer meetings from your schedule of worship.
Is it necessary for you to be entertained in order to be drawn to church?
Do you long for the fellowship and company of God’s people?
Does going to church still create in you a sense of excitement and joy?
We must be willing to admit that we have abandoned our first love when the things that used to be blatant sins to us are gradually becoming ‘not so bad’. This can happen so gradual that we do not take notice of it initially. The things that used to be black and white have slowly faded into grey. Does this describe you?
Do you keep your mind free from books, magazines, or entertainment that could stimulate fantasizing thoughts that are not morally pure?
Are you continually engaging in gossip?
Are you conversations and behaviors pure and above reproach?
Is there any relationship, practice, or habit in your life that you would be ashamed to have publicly exposed?
Is your private life consistent with what others think of you?
Has it become difficult for you to confess sin?
All of us have been victim to some type of hurt at one point or another in our life. Maybe you have been lied to, a promise has been broken, you have been neglected by someone, a violent crime has been committed against you, you have been falsely accused, you have been cheated or stolen from, you have an alcoholic family member, you have been publicly humiliated, you have been abused….and the list could go on and on. Does this describe you? Sure it does. We have all been victims. As you reflect on the ways you have been hurt do you find that each time you think of the person involved you are still angry?
Do you have a secret desire to have this person pay for what they did?
Do you find yourself telling others what this person did to you?
Are you unable to thank God for this person?
These are all symptoms in the life of a person that is unwilling to forgive the hurts committed against them. As Jesus examines your heart, does He find unforgiveness?
Do you remember a time in your life when you prayed fervently for your lost friends and family members? A time when you cried out to God that He would save them? When was the last time you went to the Throne of Grace on behalf of a lost soul? In Exodus 32 when the people of Israel made for themselves a god of gold God was going to destroy the people because of their sinful and rebellious hearts. However, one man (Moses) was willing to intercede on their behalf. In vs. 32 Moses prays this to God, “Yet now, if You will forgive their sins — but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which you have written.” Moses was saying, in essence,….”God if you are going to send any of these people to hell….save them and send me instead.” WOW! What a heart for the lost! Does this describe your heart? Anything less is an indication that your heart needs a revived love for the lost.
Do any of these “five warning signs” describe you? Well there is good news coming….Jesus gives us the solution. Look at vs. 5….
We must remember: Remember what it was like when you first trusted Christ and your love for Him was fresh, pure, and unrivaled.
We must repent: Agree with God that your love for Jesus is not as warm as it once was, and that other loves have taken His rightful place in your life.
We must return: Invest the time and effort necessary to re-establish an intimate, loving relationship with your Lord. Then you can respond to Him in loving adoration and obedience.
Are you all together right with God? Has there ever been a time in your life when you were closer to Jesus than you are now? Do you need revival? Let us be a people that allows the Lord to examine our hearts and then respond to Him in obedience.
Lord we need You! We desperately need You!
Shane