James 5:10-11 / "Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of Jesus the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
Sitting here with my first cup of coffee, my thoughts tend to roll and tumble in my brain. I love this time of morning when everything is fresh and the day hasn't had an opportunity to compete for your attention.
I have distanced myself from all the political upheaval that seems to be the super-norm of our nation. Don't get me wrong...I have prayed and will continue to do so for God's will to be carried out during this next season. But sometimes, I feel as though we get drawn into a "bigger" picture and forget about the things and people around us.
It's always been my belief that I can only take care of what God has given to me. In this case it would be my family...........the ReCovery Church..........and Northside Baptist, and everything associated with those three things. That is what God has clearly called me to lay my hands to. So why should I neglect these three things to run around wringing my hands and posting on Facebook all manner of stuff about the state of our nation. Not saying we shouldn't be involved in our voting process, we should. But sometimes I think we lay hands to things that God never intended us to, at the expense of those He has called us to serve.
My aspirations are very small...To simply reach out and show the way to that one who is still trapped in the darkness of addiction. It's about the one. The church seems to think mass production is the way. If God has called you to that, then rest assured that He will grant you grace to see it through. But that doesn't mean that every pastor........every church......every denomination should strive to become the largest, the most affluent, the one other churches look up to. Seems to me, as I read Scripture, I see Jesus interacting more with "One" person that with multitudes. By the way, the crowds came to Him, He didn't have to promote himself.
Maybe if we simply preached the whole word of God, the crowd might come to see what was going on. Promoting Jesus instead of our next program. Lifting the name of Jesus instead of our own name.
I never will forget one afternoon after I had started full-time in ministry. I was at the church and received a phone call. Of course it was a nice young man who wanted to help me and show me how I could grow my church. He was all full of vim and vigor, with a bubbly voice of optimism. I listened to his spill, as he went on and on about his ability to grow churches. Finally when his pitch ended, I thanked him for considering me, but told him...."You know, what I read in Scripture is that this is Jesus' church, and He said that He would build it. I think I'll stick to His plan, but thanks for calling."
i know I've kind of drifted from the verse I put at the top of this post.... I guess what I've been trying to say is that "Blossom where you are". Don't let the cultural winds take your focus off of Jesus. Be patient in suffering and find the heart and direction of God. I don't think we can go wrong if we practice these things.
Sorry 'bout the ramblin'
God on you....
mbb
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