That makes me wonder a few things. What is the advantage of telling about a loss? Is it so they can assure people they are okay financially? Is it to get press attention? Is it the modern idea of being upfront, honest and open with people, even if it’s not necessarily good news? Is this unique to Belk or is this a mindset of other organizations today, including churches? Personally I like this new approach. Do you?
You too have an awesome responsibility! Your actions and your heart will determine what is said about your children and your children’s children for generations to come. You are deciding now, based on the way you live your life, what the future will be like for your descendents. The Bible states over and over again that blessings are passed on by generations, as are the curses of God. Which are you leaving behind?
Finally, look forward to the Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4). One day Jesus is returning to redeem God’s people from this world of sin and disappointment. He will wipe away our tears and clothe us with eternal joy. We will enter our Sabbath rest. It means the final rest, the one for which we have waited, the one where we share our inheritance with Jesus!
Daniel Doss, the amazing worship leader who helped launch Grace Community Church, announced to the church this week that he is leaving to help plant another church. Daniel has one of the most gifted voices I have ever heard and could easily find a position anywhere, including staying at Grace, but he is excited to be pursuing the dream of planting again (it does get in your blood) with a high school friend in Northern Indiana. Daniel is our first staff member to ever leave and we are surely going to miss his and Emily’s energy and passion for what we are doing at Grace.
God? What do you think of when you hear that name? Jesus? Holy Spirit? I am not even going to insult you by suggesting that you would ever think of using God’s name in a dirty joke or an expletive phrase. If you are a follower of Christ, you surely have more respect for Him than that. But, what importance do you give to His name?
This is a word for me as a church planter. This passage is not talking about a lack of growth, it’s talking about the failure to produce a good harvest. The goal at our church is the same as any other Bible-believing, Christ-honoring church. We want to produce growing disciples of Jesus Christ. We want people to look, act, and sound more like Jesus. We want to be lovers of God and lovers of people. We want to be holy, because He is holy. If we keep that as our aim, and allow God’s Spirit to work His way in our midst, we will never have to sing the Song of the Vineyard.
God is more than we give Him credit for being! The second commandment is to remind us and command us to give God the credit He deserves. He has no equal. There is no image to which you can compare Him adequately. There is nothing wrong with having something around your neck to remind you of your love and devotion to Jesus, but it is not a replacement for that personal relationship.
Cheryl went to a baby shower recently. I dropped her off and asked how long she would be. She said, “No more than two hours.” At first I thought she was joking, but then I realized she was serious. It turns out it took two hours. So my question is: Why does a baby shower take two hours?
Yesterday I spoke to our church about the law, but I did not have time to talk about each of the Ten Commandments. Over the next ten days I will share some devotionals about the Ten Commandments I have previously written for my devotional ministry.
Church planting is in my blood. It didn’t occur to me until recently, but shortly after my mother came to Clarksville she was a charter member of a local church. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary today. Shortly after this my mother married my father and became a Baptist, but she has always loved her Lutheran heritage.
