Just a few thoughts before we all start out with a busy week. I am blessed to be part of a wonderful Church with wonderful volunteers, wonderful staff, and a great Pastor @deanhermanonline . I get the opportunity to serve with an amazing group of volunteers every Sunday morning who give their time to see lives changed.
Tonight, I attended a meeting hosted by Pastor Dean where he shared his vision and passion to "Win this City for Christ". I am humbled every time I hear him say that because that is truly his passion and I am reminded to check my passion to see the lost come to know Christ. I think I often fail at being committed to the cause of Christ and find myself distracted by so many things ("Squirrel!!!!"). Seriously though, Dean challenged me as usual to think less of me and more of others and to take every opportunity to share Christ with others. He reminded us that it only takes one mistake to ruin our ability to lead. He gave several examples that have occurred in the last few months, but one example he gave stuck out in my mind. The Bible says that, "David was a man after God's own heart." and in fact, David had everything. What caused David to fail? The one thing he couldn't have; Bathsheba. David had wives all over the castle to fit his every occasion. But one look at Bathsheba taking a bath, and he decided that he wanted her. Now you know the rest of the story, but suffice it to say, David lost everything and was eventually chased out of his Kingdom by his own son. It only took one indiscretion and his career ended.
Pastor Dean talks a lot about, "Church People" and "Radical Followers of Christ". To put it in even more perspective, 5 Point Church only has two services, both occurring on Sunday morning. Most Sunday evenings, our front door is open and we are outside playing. For the last nine years, we have lived directly across the street from Calvary Hill Baptist Church. Would you believe that in that nine years, there has only been one occasion where somebody from that Church has walked across the street to invite us to come to Church? Nine years!! I mean seriously, Paul and Beth Turner were the only ones to ever invite us to visit and they have since moved on to an amazing ministry at Mt. Carmel Baptist. But it got me thinking. What makes me any different? What have I done to invite my neighbors to my Church? Truthfully, I'm no different.
So what is my point to all of this rambling? It is so easy for us, well me, to look at what other people are doing, or aren't doing. I don't make as much money as they do, but I do so much more than they do. Man if I were the boss, there's no way I would do that. Just like David, I think I lose sight of what's really important and the only thing I can control; my actions. So I'm going to start making some changes right now. Every one of you that reads this blog, come visit 5 Point Church next Sunday. People there really don't care what you look like, what you wear, or where you've been. They will love you! I want to challenge each of you to start right now focusing on you and your actions. Ignore the action (or the lack thereof) of those around you. Spend the next 30 days focusing on growing closer to God by reading the bible and spending time with him in prayer. It won't be easy because Satan DOES NOT want you to focus on the person that God wants you to be. He wants you to be distracted by those around you.
For the next 30 days, I am going to take part in an unusual fast. When I put the kids to bed at night, I spend the next several hours watching TV or surfing the net. For the next 30 days, I am going to turn the TV off and spend some one on one time with Christ and I plan to spend a lot of that time praying for you. I hope all of you have a great week and I pray that every one of you that reads this blog will accept my challenge.
Lord, forgive me when I fail you and when I get so busy thinking about me. Help me see every opportunity to share you with others.
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