Are You Listening to the Crowd?

Hey everybody! Hope you are having a fantastic day. If you aren’t, then cheer up! Only one more day until the weekend! And today you get a hand written message straight from the Man Himself. And by the Man, I do indeed mean God, not me. So, here you go. I’m going to start this post out with a story.

 Recently I attended a Kansas concert at the Cobb Energy Centre. After the concert, Kansas announced that they would be signing merchandise if it was something purchased at the souvenir booth. As you can imagine, this created a very large crowd around the booth and caused the line to go on forever. My dad and I were relatively close to the front, but we had to wait for the band to make their way off of the stage and out to the signing table. While we were waiting, I noticed a little, slightly older woman wondering around as if she were looking for something. I didn’t pay much attention to her at the time, though I did notice her walking through quite a few times. At one point, about 10 minutes after the concert ended and the line formed, the woman stopped walking and just kind of stood off to the side for a minute. Then, all the sudden, I heard a loud whistle. After a few seconds of trying to find the source, there was another whistle. I looked over to see that the woman was trying to get everyone’s attention. When the crowd had silenced, she explained to everyone that she was looking for a little boy. She explained what he was wearing and where she had last seen him. Someone in the crowd asked his name, she said Chase. So everyone in the crowd started calling for Chase. After a couple of minutes, someone started shouting “HERE HE IS, RIGHT HERE.” The crowd parted to reveal that Chase had been right in from of the woman the whole time; he had just gotten covered up in the crowd. All it took was for the people near him to realize that he wasn’t where he needed to be.

                Sometimes we are like Chase. We have gotten lost in a crowd of people without realizing that we are lost at all. And God is, in a way, like the woman. He may be looking and looking for a way to get to you and get your attention, but you just don’t realize that He is trying. And He may be right there, but you still just don’t see Him. Sometimes God uses the people around you to give you that nudge, to tell you that you need to get back on track, or to tell you to find him again. Or He may be calling you to be like the person in the crowd. Maybe God is calling you to say to someone, close or not, that they aren’t following God anymore and they need to look at where they have gotten to. Or maybe you are like the woman. You know that you are missing something, but you just don’t know where to look. You can see that something is wrong; you just can’t find a way to fix it. Sometimes you might just need to call on the crowd to help you find what you need. And He is just in front of you, like Chase was; it’s just that you don’t know how to see Him. You are looking at the wrong angle, or looking at the crowd instead of Him. If any of these situations are you, speak up. Tell that friend that they need to come to church. Ask a friend if they think something is wrong. Or if you know something is wrong, but you can’t seem to find God, talk to someone who knows Him. They are all over the place, and they would all be happy to help you.

                That’s all for today, I suppose. But think about where you might fit into the story and act on it. You may be surprised at where it can take you.

All in the Family

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't get a post up yesterday, had a lot going on around my place. Realized around 7:00 that I forgot to put a post up. But anyway, here is another message from dare2share.org.

And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians -- you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you. (Galatians 3:27-29)

A politician once made a very interesting remark in a campaign speech. I quote: "Wherever I have gone in this country, I have found Americans."

Well, this would have been an astute observation if he had been in another nation, but he was referring to America! One of those things that makes you go hmmm...

When I read that, it reminded me of an amazing aspect of the Christian life. Did you know that the minute you became a believer, you joined a worldwide family? It's true- you have spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers all around the globe. Here's what God has to say about it:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (Ephesians 3:14-15)

When we trusted Christ, we were immediately adopted into God's family, giving us royal status and millions of new relatives. You can truly say: "Wherever I have gone in this world, I have found Christians..."

This truth was very apparent to me recently as I spent a week with 200+ believers from over 20 states. I had never met the majority of them personally, yet by the end of the week I felt like I was leaving my own family.

Why was that? Because we share something that is thicker than blood and deeper than names: the Holy Spirit. The very presence of the living God indwells every Christian, and when we meet up with other believers, there is instant friendship (or should be). There are no racial, social, emotional, financial, or national differences between brothers and sisters in Christ.

What does this mean? Well, lots of things- but let me mention just a few:

1. We must be at peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are withholding forgiveness from your Father's children, then you can be sure that Daddy isn't listening to your prayers- just check out Matthew 5!
   1. As well, if you are unforgiving, He doesn't want you at His table either (I Corinthians 11)
2. We must remember that we are never alone. If you are feeling isolated and abandoned lately, keep in mind that you have family all around you. The issue is: have you taken the time and effort to get to know other believers? Remember, you will be spending the rest of eternity with these people, so it would probably be a good idea to get a head start while here on earth.

Perhaps you could make it your goal this summer to get to know 3-5 new Christians in your church and/or youth group. Remember as well that no believer has the excuse that he/she has no one to turn to, because the problem with us is not a lack of relational relatives, but an abundance of silent saints- perhaps that's why we are commanded to "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16).

Come back home believer, we're waiting with open arms!

Questions:

1. Am I at peace with my family? Why or why not?
2. How could I be a better family member?
3. Do I need to share my burdens with a brother and/or sister?

A Spiritual Science Experiment

Hey guys. Here's a message from the people at talkjesus.com. Hope it helps you start the week off right.

1 John 1:7
If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Fruit of the Spirit

Suppose a student chooses to test the effects of light and darkness on the growth of seeds for a science fair project. He gets some marigold seeds from the store, plants them in four Styrofoam cups, and waters them. He places two of the cups in a dark closet. The others go into a sunny window. In a couple of weeks, the seedlings appear. For a few hours, the plants in the dark and the ones in the light are quite similar. Two tiny green leaves break through the soil and begin to grow. Within a couple of days however, the plants in the closet turn yellow and begin to die, while the ones in the light grow and get more and more leaves. The experiment proves that plants have to absorb light in order to have the energy needed to grow, bloom, and make seeds.

The same is true of our spiritual lives. We need to live in the light in order to grow and become fruitful. Galatians 5:22-23 describes spiritual fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attributes are in stark contrast to the ones Paul listed as acts of the sinful nature: Jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, envy, etc.


Let’s imagine a spiritual science fair project in which we try to become more and more kind. At first, we determine to observe how we act after a few days of listening to rap music that encourages rebellion and watching television shows that glamorize gang members who commit violent crimes. We may continue the experiment by hanging out with some kids at school who like to sneak around after dark to paint graffiti on the sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Would we become more kind or less kind after a week or so?

Next, let’s imagine that we do exactly the opposite for a couple of weeks. We listen to music that encourages us to love others in the same way Jesus did. We read accounts of young people helping others through short-term missions projects. We watch uplifting TV programs and movies. We might even volunteer to paint some classrooms at the local community center or play games with the children who gather there after school. Would we become more or less kind after a week or so?

Clearly, kindness could grow much better in the latter situation. We tend to become like the people we hang out with. So, if we hang out with mean and violent people, we will become increasingly mean. If we hang out with kind, generous people, we will become kinder. Living in the light means developing relationships with people who will help us become more like Jesus. We grow in godliness when we choose our friends based upon whether they have the kind of qualities God approves.

Those friends will be more likely to do what Jesus would and that will help us do the same. Good friends definitely help us walk in the light as Jesus is in the light.
Today’s Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you are the very best friend I could possibly ever want. You always love me and accept me. You even forgive me when I mess up. Please help me choose friends who will help me grow godly fruit in my life. Also, please me be the kind of friend who encourages others to become more like you every day. Amen.

Written by Martha E. Menne, Flagstaff Arizona

 Colossians 3:2-3, "Set you minds on things above, not on earthy things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (NIV)