Jesus experienced something I think most of us have at times as believers. Sometimes the hardest people to witness to are those we love and know the most. I know countless pastors who have lost siblings, parents and childhood friends, but have limited success witnessing to them.
Apparently people still use these. I thought paper calendars had disappeared. I am a scheduled individual, but I haven’t used one in years. I have used Google calendar, Outlook, iCal, and my Blackberry, but all online. I even had a period where I used a Lotus Spreadsheet, but I never printed it.
Years ago I participated in a one-day medical clinic in a slum near Rio, Brazil that remains nameless, because the government has yet to name it. It is literally built on the side of a steep mountain. Simply walking to the clinic was a huge task. My job was to evangelize the crowd waiting to see the doctors. My translator and I had several decisions to accept Christ, but remarkably we also encountered a good number of professing believers. When I told them that the desire was to eventually start a church in the slum, they were ecstatic. One lady began to jump up and down with excitement. They wanted a local church!
I love it though. I actually read her story today. She had a dream, she worked for it, and she achieved it. This is a true picture of what determination and motivation can do for someone. What I probably love more than anything was what I read recently, that Susan’s real dream was to show her mother that she could do something with her life. Love it!
There are signs of encouragement and life returning to the economy. The unemployment rate is a factor that usually lags behind other indicators, so that’s still very discouraging, but there are hints of better days to come. How should we react during the waiting times like this? Let me offer a few suggestions:
Hypothetically (or maybe not), how would one grow a church that had no young families? Any suggestions on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
The Obama’s have a new dog. The dog is a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, named Bo, given to Malia and Sasha Obama by the Edward Kennedy family. Apparently the dog wasn’t working out at the previous owner’s home, so they thought to give it to the Obama family. I’m happy for them, knowing the joy an animal can bring a household.
One Saturday morning some 2,000 years ago, surely there was a group of mixed-up, hurting, confused, sickly, tired, afraid, and desperate people. They had placed all their hopes in a man who claimed to be the promised Messiah. They were there when their hope was nailed to a cross. They watched their mentor and friend die a cruel death. What would they do now? What was next?
Technology is being used in incredible ways for Kingdom growth. It seems this Easter I have seen much more advertising for “Internet Church”. Several leading churches are encouraging people to check out the Internet this Easter. That’s not new, but it seems more prevalent this year than ever.
That is, until the morning came. The night before it was dark. I couldn’t see fully what I was doing. There was one bracket holding the light in place that when moved, made the headlight one of the easiest to change I have ever experienced. I’m driving his truck this week as he drives mine, so I’m thankful for the headlight.
