Open Sundays @ 11:00 am
events
rock groups
missions
parents
blog & podcast
contact us
Elizabeth Barry
My Favorite Books
Previous Posts
- It Starts Now!
- What's A Weapon w/out a Target?
- If You Don't Use It We All Lose It
- Sow Some!
- Smells Like Sewage
- Take the First Step
- A Sure Foundation
- Free At Last, Free At Last
- Fail!
- You're the Best!
Archives
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
- August 2009
- September 2009
- October 2009
- November 2009
- December 2009
- January 2010
- February 2010
- March 2010
- April 2010
- May 2010
- June 2010
- July 2010
- September 2010
- October 2010
- November 2010
- December 2010
- January 2011
- April 2011
- May 2011
- July 2011
- August 2011
- January 2012
- February 2012
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
Skylar's Blog & Podcast
Sow Some!
It is finished! Just a few days ago we finished a good size planter (...it's an area where you grow plants) in our backyard. This was originally Kayla's (my wife's) idea when we first moved in to this house. You may be asking: why? Because Kayla really wants a garden! Every time she sees a picture of a beautiful garden she stops me and shows me what she has found. However, to have a garden you have to grow things (plants in particular), and as we all know we don't live in a very plant friendly environment. We both know to have a garden will require a lot of tender love and care, and the blessing of God to get this whole thing off the ground (or out of the ground...it's a gardening joke). So, what's the first thing you have to do to create a garden? You have to plant seeds.
This last Sunday we talked about Jesus' last command to us, His children:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).
We also saw our part in this command. We are to take advantage of all of the moments and relationships we encounter on a daily basis to "make disciples." The hard part is figuring out how to do this. My advice: look to the planter. When you plant a seed you can water it, give it all the care you can muster, but you can't will a plant to grow. You can create the best environment possibly, but in the end it's out of your control. If you are taking Jesus' call on your life seriously, then you must know the disciple making process' success doesn't depend on you. You are not called to make disciples in the sense that you are bringing them out of darkness, you are healing them, and you are bringing them into a relationship w/ Jesus. Do you want to know what you're responsible for? Planting seeds. Paul says this:
So, as you go out this week plant seeds. Seeds of love, mercy, truth, and forgiveness. And while you are sowing seeds, trust they will not be in vain, and expect God to do something awesome through your faithfulness to take His call seriously.
Smells Like Sewage
Did you know that you have an aroma, too? It's not just that smell you have when you haven't changed your underwear in a week, or the one after you've been hanging out in the locker room for too long. The aroma I am talking about has to do with how you live your life. Think about all of the ways you interacted w/ people over the last week, go ahead think about it... If you had to place an aroma to how you treat people, what would it be? Would it be a sweet aroma? A sour aroma? If it were an aroma, how would people react when they smelled it as you walked down the hall?
This last week we focused on the second part of Jesus' great command in Matthew 22:39: Love Others. And we saw that how we love other people is a gauge of where we are at with God (1 John 4:20-21). However, our love for others is not just a gauge, it's something even deeper:
Our love for others does not just reveal something just to us, but to others, too. Because Jesus has placed His seal on us, and his love is revealed to others by our love (1 John 4:12). What kind of aroma does your life give off? Is it the fragrance of Jesus Christ? Or is it the fragrance of the reputation you have tried to create because it's the one you want? I dream of a day that the aroma we all give off is the aroma of Jesus. I envision that just as people can't avoid the toxic stench of our waste treatment plant, they wouldn't be able to avoid the sweet aroma of Jesus' love as they interacted with us. Then, as they are soaked in the beautiful aroma of our Jesus, they are drawn to Him, and are saved by Him.
Take the First Step
There are so many important days in our lives. Our first kiss, graduating, getting married, etc. Going back to the very beginning of our lives there are so many things that had to happen first before all of these other firsts: namely, our first steps. Few of us remember those first attempts at walking, but if we could I'm sure we'd remember frustration after frustration. Seeing other people do this incredible thing called, "walking" and yet we can't even stand up.
When we talked about mission we began with something that seems very simple: love God. However, we all know it's not that simple now. Maybe you've had a relationship with Jesus for a long time and you're frustrated because you see other people doing these incredible things for Jesus or who have this incredible connection with Him and you feel like you're still just trying to "stand up." Or, maybe you have just met Jesus and you're just overwhelmed by the idea of God. Either way, we must see our mission not just as something to aim at, but as steps.
If a baby decided it was over trying to walk, and it was moving on to jumping, what would happen? Disaster! We must be content where we're at right now, and learn to love God as He has given us the ability in this moment. If you want more, if you want to grow, GREAT! God has not put this in your heart in vain. Let's seek God together, and let's join the father in Mark's Gospel in crying out: "I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24)."