Reality Check!

Thought this was a fun reality check for why we do what we do, and the sense in it all (if there is any at times).

Keep this in mind when you are at the restaurant again... Or maybe you should think about this when you are writing out your tithe check this week???

Christianity...

Here is a great quote that I found in a missionary newsletter recently, and I thought I would share it here. Good food for thought!

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance.

The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

C. S. Lewis

There is no living on the fence for any of us! "God doesn't have any fair weather friends" as Mirilla Cuthpert told Anne in Anne of Green Gables. Which is the same that Jesus says to us when He tells us to put our hand to the plow, and not look to the left or the right. So keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

Lost & Found

I am just finishing up my sermon for Sunday Night this week (yes, we still have a Sunday evening service) and it is about the Parable Jesus taught in Matthew 13. Where the man sells everything in order to buy a field with a great treasure buried in it, and also the pearl of great price.

These two simple parable tell us a great truth about God's Kingdom. That the sacrifice we make for the sake of gaining the Kingdom is not really a sacrifice in the first place. It is a win-win situation afterall... We trade in so little, and gain so much! So what sacrifice what there made in the first place?

Well anyhow... I came across this little story from a Pastor's newsletter, and thought it was fitting so I wanted to share it here...

There is an ancient story about a man who hid his gold by burying it at the foot of a tree. Every week he used to dig it up and admire it. A thief noticed this routine and dug up the gold and ran off with it. The next day the man went out to discover his gold was missing. His mournful cry was so loud that he neighbors came to comfort him.
One of his friends asked if he ever used the gold. “No,” said the man, “I only came out to look at it.” The friend replied, “Why don’t you just keep coming out and look at the hole. That will do you as much good as just looking at the gold.”Do we make the best use of our resources, or is it just as if we did not have it at all?

This story teaches us a lesson in a bit of a different direction than the parables, but is still of value. We can't bury our gifts, and expect them to be blessed. It would be just like you didn't have them in the first place! Even though you know where they might be, they are still lost! So, find them, and use them!