I am reading a book that was given to me by a friend. He warned me and he was right. I find myself in tears as I read this "straight up, cut to the chase, no spin zone" challenge to return to the simplicity of loving and serving Jesus.
The book is Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I admit, I am convicted. Example: About half way through the book he recommends an exercise out of 1 Corinthians 13 that describes love: "love is patient, love is kind, etc." He recommended that we substitute our name for the word love. (Phillip is patient, Phillip is kind, Phillip does not envy or boast...) I think you get the picture. Obviously I feel like a liar by the time I finish verses 4-8 and 13. At least I was warned.
I don't know about you but I have embraced the idea that I will never stop growing and that part of growth is to accept the hard truth about myself at various moments in life. Those are God moments when God says "It is time to come higher." It is not hard to identify those times because God simply makes you pretty uncomfortable where you are. That is the season many of us are in. There are two options: respond or ignore. There are always two options. But I say, let's respond to the invitation to grow.
With the invitation comes grace and desire. God wants to grow us into new realms of service and blessing we were not capable of before. Let's let God expand our capacity to yield more fruit. Let's begin today to seek the Lord.
Galatians 5:6 (paraphrase)
"the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
This year is promising to be the most enjoyable and fruitful year we have ever seen in our 28 year history. Speaking of which, this Sunday, January 18, is our 28th Anniversary! One thing I can boldly say about 2009 is that I'm glad it is not 2008. I was way past ready to say goodbye to 2008. Today is a brand new day and a new year with opportunity to make a lasting difference in our community as never before.
In the midst of severe pain comes a responsibility to comfort and encourage. I don't know how long this season of financial lack will continue but I do know that as long as people are hurting we have a job to do and all of heaven is watching how we handle this season in our nation's history. Any act of kindness is appreciated but when you have nothing, every act of kindness is never forgotten.
What a great time to be the hands and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is not a time to sit on the sidelines and debate among ourselves how long this will last or lament on how bad it is. Now is the time to act on behalf of our Savior.
People everywhere need a savior and they cannot save themselves. While we do not have the power to save a soul, we are well equipped to help save a life and instill hope. Obviously we cannot save everyone and there are many things far beyond our ability, but those things we need not concern ourselves. All we are required from our Lord is to steward what God has given us. Can I remind you, He has given us so much!
Let's leverage the many blessings of God as God intended: That is to be a blessing to others.
John the Baptist had it right when he said in Luke 3:11 “If you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” Simple but profound and effective: If you have, you share. God is calling us to share with those around us who do not have. What an honor! The more we share, the more we are blessed. Let's open our hearts like never before. I love you CCC family and I'm very proud of you.
