Who's First?

"Pick me, pick me!" As most of us can remember, when we were children we always wanted to picked first to be put on the best kickball team or the best "Red Rover" team. We always knew, even as a child, that when we were picked first then we would have the best chance of winning whatever game was being played. As adults the scenario is the same, but we get the chance to pick ourselves first. To many, this is a hard task because we are torn between choosing what is best for us or what is best for our friend. In most cases, we would meekly choose our friend, but deep down inside we really wanted to put ourselves first.

As Christians, we know that we are supposed to put God first, but still fall short. In Isaiah 6:8, we read about how Isaiah called out to God, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah, being filled with the Spirit, submitted himself COMPLETELY to God's service. He didn't say, "Lord, I will go when it is convenient for me" or "Lord, I will follow you as long as my friends go with me." He gave his life up completely to His service. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, "Here am I, Lord. Send me!" Can you imagine if Christians followed Isaiah's example? If we all COMPLETELY gave up our lives to follow Him? Only God can fathom the numerous amounts of people that would possibly come to know Him through those that truly surrendered their lives to His service.

Every day I thank God to have been raised in this amazing country!! I thank God for giving America a strong Christian foundation that provided me the freedom to worship as I pleased. Sadly, this freedom becomes a hindrance to Christians because it gives us "flexibility" to go to church when we feel like it or the "flexibility" to pick and choose what we will do for Christ. We need to be getting into His word DAILY and developing a relationship with Him, so that when we say, "Here am I, Lord. Send me!!" we would truly be willing to do whatever it takes to follow Him. We need to develop such a close relationship with Christ that when we follow Him, we would know that we are following a "friend" that would help me reach out to those who need to hear the Good News!!

Instead of picking ourselves first and giving into our own selfish desires, we need to FIRST surrender to Christ and HIS desires for our lives. The best part of being a mission church and church plant is having the desire to reach new people and get out of our "comfort zone" a little bit. God can't be completely evident in our lives until we break down all of our barriers and all the excuses we put up and begin to look to Him for comfort. This week, make it your goal to seek out new ways to choose God over yourself and to pick Him first as you follow Him.

Made to Crave

Some of us have expressed an interest in a women's book club. The book that was suggested was "Made to Crave - Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst. From what I have read this afternoon, the book talks about how Eve was tempted with food and we've let it tempt us away from God ever since. I have found that it has made excellent points and has grabbed my attention. A couple of us are going to start reading it, so I am inviting the rest of you ladies to join us. The chapters are really short and it has been a quick read for me. If we want to make it into an event where we meet together every other week at Starbucks to discuss it then let me know. I look forward to reading this book and allowing its content to change my food cravings into God cravings.

Pardon the Interruption

Darren often watches a show on ESPN called "Pardon the Interruption" where two men debate their thoughts on various sporting news. It isn't unusual for these two men to interrupt each other in mid sentence, so they can speak their opinion or protest the other's comment. As humans, we get very frustrated when someone interrupts us when we are telling a story or in my case, when I am trying to teach my students. The interruptions are so frustrating that it can make us irritable at everything in our paths. For those who have ever been in a car with my husband, you know that he tends to get frustrated at "slow drivers" who are on the highway. We may be running late to an appointment and there will be that one slow driver out for a "Sunday drive" when it isn't even Sunday! This morning I was awakened to my cell phone ringing before my alarm went off. On the other end of the phone was my twin sister, Beth, crying and shaken up. She proceeded to explain to me that she had just witnessed a car rolling off 635 onto the exit ramp right in front of her. She was shaken up not only by the car rolling onto the road in front of her, but thankful that she wasn't hit. She was on 635 headed for her destination and was frustrated to be stuck behind what she referred to as the "slowest driver ever!" While she was driving she was starting to get frustrated that the driver was making her late and thought about going around the car. Thankfully God had other plans. If she had gone around that car and exited the highway onto Centerville then she would have either been hit by the rolling car or hit by the cars swerving around the rolling car!

David reminds us in Psalms that God protects us each day and has plans for us. Psalm 138:7-8 says, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hand." When we reflect on the words, 'with your right hand you save me,' we can thank God for the little interruptions in our lives that cause us to slow down. For in Psalm 46:10, "He says, 'Be still and know that I am God." What if we began to think of the slow drivers as God's blessing to us to remind us to slow down and enjoy the moment and to thank Him for the day, and the safe commute? How often have we rushed through traffic only to avoid a wreck right in front of us or been stuck in traffic and thank God that we were not the cause of the traffic jam?

Next time you get annoyed with an interruption, remember to thank God. Let His interruption remind you to look for a purpose in the interruption. We ask God for specific things in prayers, but barely stop to reflect on what He is trying to tell us. The next time you are behind a slow driver, stop and think about what God is trying to tell you and thank Him for all the little interruptions in your life.