Too Much Entertainment, Yo!

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ~ Colossians 3:2

I’m really bad about eaves dropping. I’ll admit it. I’m a talker but in a big crowd I stay very quiet because I hate big crowds. At these moments, I’m able to get tid bits from various conversations. It’s like flipping through channels on TV. “Too much drama, boring, boring, sports, Disney, boring, boring, ohhhhh, what do we have here?” Yes, that’s exactly how it goes in my head. Anyways, you would be surprised at how some of these little overheard conversations can inspire us orrrr not so much. It’s usually the not so much and you sometimes would like to hand out a tongue lashing but you have to remember you were eaves dropping. Oops. I overheard a conversation one time that seriously made me take a second look at how I view church. There was a small group of teens discussing the youth services at their church. One of them thought the youth leader was attractive which was a little comical to me. However, the topic came up about some of them getting bored with church. They felt that the youth pastors weren’t doing enough to entertain them or keep their interest. Their exact words were, “There needs to be more action, more lights, or something.” I got a little annoyed at first but then I realized, wasn’t I just complaining to myself about routines? I’ve been going to church since I was born. I’ve not moved around on churches very often. Right now, I help run a youth outreach and the responsibilities can get heavy because there are few to help. I went through a faze where I felt I wasn’t getting enough out of the service. Listening to that conversation made me realize that I was being a big baby. I don’t go to church to be entertained and it definitely is not meant to entertain us. Church is a place where we can learn and spend time with other Christians as a way to stay encouraged and ready for the crap life can throw at us. Church is sure as heck not a movie theatre or a concert where we need to be entertained twice a week. If YOU want to get something out of church, it is up to YOU. Open up and truly listen to the words. Shoot, you may not agree but there’s still learning in not agreeing with something a pastor has to say. It is not a pastor’s job to say something you will always agree with or to say something that will tickle your fancy. When you walk into church, forget about everything and just focus on God. Let Him wash over you and ready you for walking back out that door to face life. We don’t need entertainment for that, we just need to be still and quit focusing on ourselves so much and focus on God. Gathering as the church always meant focusing on the worship of God, not on the worship of ourselves and the need for entertainment. Don't get me wrong, music, lights, and dancing isn't wrong to have in the church, it's when it becomes our sole focus and we can't have church without it that it becomes a hindrance. 

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation Let all things be done for edification. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:26

Cast Your Net

"He said, 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish." ~ John 21:6 NIV

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on my blog. Funny thing is, I work for other bloggers but their blogging is quite a bit different than mine. I guess I could say that I’m still old school and only like to use my blog for my thoughts. They’ve moved on to modern times and use their blogs for more useful purposes. For now, I’m just going to yack away because the Lord knows I’m good at yacking. Anyways, since I’ve been working as a virtual assistant, I’ve had to learn a completely different method to finding work. You have to offer a topic and a service and hope the right person sees it and jumps on it. Other times, you could post and it’s like crickets, if there could be crickets on Facebook. My husband decided to get involved with my little business and add in his expertise which allowed us to up our money goal for the month. Our game was strong, let me tell you. However, one month it will be awesome and then the next month it will be extremely difficult to reach our goals. We recently had one of those months and I wasn’t sure what to do. One night, I felt God speaking to me about posting and offering a specific topic in the form of how-to articles. This hadn’t worked in the past so I really didn’t want to waste my time. God spoke to my heart and said, “Cast your net, trust me.” So…. I did. Holy grapes, you guys, it worked! Imagine that. I had a blogger who was ecstatic about it within minutes and we ended up earning hundreds of dollars off the deal. I’m not the only one this can happen to and God doesn’t stop at blogging articles. Our God is so big that He can provide for us if we just trust Him to. We have to listen and do our part and He will provide in His time. We did more than meet our goal that month and every month since then. I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to feel God’s provision in my life. Just knowing that if I do my best and listen, I have nothing to worry about. For the first time in my life, I am not worried about money. We’re not rich but we’re definitely not poor and I have God to thank for every little bit of it. Don’t be afraid to cast your nets, guys!

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" ~ John 6:35

A Sacrificial Leader

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I love Stargate.  I stay up each night watching it with my family for what is probably considered an unhealthy amount of time.  We own all ten seasons and have begun our second round of them.  However, because my father likes to sneak and watch episodes without my mom and I, there are some I have only seen part of.  A couple of nights ago, we started watching an episode I hadn’t seen before.  Daniel, one of the main characters, was trying to free an alien called an “Unas” which he had befriended on an earlier mission and called “Chaka.”  However, when Daniel attempted to free him, the mission went sour because the creature would not leave the other enslaved Unas behind in order to save his own skin.  This race had their own language and began to call the one Unas who had not left them behind, “Chak’ka” which was a greeting of respect.  Later on, Daniel, who had studied their language said the word referred to many things.  In this instance, the respect meant they saw Chaka as their leader and were willing to follow him because of the sacrifice he made in their favor.  Wouldn’t that be amazing if our world was just as simple?  Those Unas did not ask Chaka to make that sacrifice but he saw they needed the help and gladly sacrificed in order to ultimately save them.  Jesus saw that we needed a sacrifice in order to ultimately be saved.  We didn’t have to ask Him, He did it willingly because He loved us.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful, like the Unas, if we recognized fully what He did for us and immediately saw him as our leader and wanted to follow Him?  Not just for a short while but until we died.  The Unas saw their life belonging to the one who was willing to save it, we should be willing to dedicate our lives to Christ because He was willing to save us.  

Psalm 109:31 - "For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save his life from those who condemn him."