Re-Fuel

So this is completely random, but I thought it was a cool image to have about church and worship.

As I was listening to a prayer this past Sunday morning at church, something the guy said stuck out to me. He thanked God for the church building (which is not odd, nor the part that stuck out to me) for the convenience it gave us to come together and worship. It was the convenience thing that got me thinking that church is like a convenience store or gas station. Think about it. In today's automotive world, gas stations are a must. We use cars for just about everything and our cars need gas to run. Therefore we must make regular stops at the gas station so that we can go on about our lives. Church is the same way, I think. While we will all probably admit that we don't use our bibles everyday like we do our cars, most of us realize that we need God in our everyday lives. And a lot of us think that by going to church, we refill ourselves with God. So we go regularly on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening so that we can keep our faith running.

Unfortunately, we tend to think thats all we need to do. We don't take our "fuel" and use it in the world. It's like we went to the gas station, filled up our car, and now we are driving laps around the place until we need to fill up again. That's not how it works. When we go fill up our cars, we drive away and use that fuel to go to the post office, go to work, go to the grocery store, etc. We even use that fuel to go on vacation. This is the way it should work in church. When we go to church and fill up with God, we need to take Him out into our lives, share Him with our friends, put Him in our families, and show Him in our attitude and actions.

Another cool image I got was about inside the gas station. If you go inside, there are all sorts of things we can get, like snacks and drinks. Church is like this too. Once you get inside you will find that there are classes and small groups to join, friends to make, ministers to talk to and get advice from, and a family who will stand with you in times of trouble.

So next time you go re-fuel, take note of what you do with it. Will you use it or just do laps until you need some more?

Take A Hike!

Hey everybody! I know it's been a while since I last posted something here. I've been quite busy getting married and going on a honeymoon, but I'm back and I have a pretty neat image to share with you (at least I think it's pretty cool).

For some reason I was thinking about the whole "straight and narrow path" thing and the image of hiking trails came to my mind. Some hiking trails can be pretty narrow and there is only one way to make it up the trail, unfortunately it's not the smoothest path, in fact it can be pretty difficult to make it up that trail. Then you have trails that pretty wide, and while these trails have their tough spots, it's so wide you can just go around them, no problem, easy peasy.

These are exactly like the paths of life. Tight spots and rough terrain are common in life. Everybody faces a broken relationship, financial hardship, uncontrollable urge, etc. We have to carve our paths through these obstacles. Now just like with those wide trails through the woods, it's better to take the easy way out and go around the obstacle, right? Nope. Jesus calls us to a straight path, one that plows straight through that obstacle. One that requires that we rely on Him to help us make it through. The easy way past a financial hardship leads to theft, scams, and even sketchier places and times. It's a lot harder to give up a few things (not our giving to others in need or to the church) and to remember that God will provide for all those who love Him.

Most hikers will even claim that they get a greater sense of joy and accomplishment at the end of that straight, rough path. Their reward is better than if the took the easy way. This is the same for us in life. If we take those easy ways out, we get a false sense of accomplishment and a lot of times we just get into more trouble. But when we keep on through our tough times and put all our faith in God, he rewards us more than we could or would even imagine. And in the end, if we've carved our path as straight as we can, we win the ultimate reward and the ultimate joy, a mansion in Heaven. So next time your out hiking, or the next time you hit "a rough spot in the road," just remember to keep going straight and put your faith fully in God cause He will see you through and give you more.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Peter, John, and Jesus

It's been a while since I've posted anything I know. I apologize. I have been very busy making wedding preparations for this coming Saturday. Anyway, I thought I could share an idea that popped into my head this morning (I guess technically it was yesterday morning) at church. There was mention of Peter's denial of Jesus and it got me to thinking. Peter gets a pretty bad rap for this. We are always pointing out how that is not the kind of Christian life we should lead. We should not fear the thoughts and feelings of others for having faith in our Lord. I think most Christians like the idea of being John-like instead. You know, the guy who drew his sword and chopped off the ear of a Roman guard attempting to arrest Jesus. Ya, we like that story, we should be more like him... or should we? While he made a stand in his faith, John seems to have gone a little too far. He seems a little too eager to fight. In fact, Jesus stops him before he can take out the whole group of guards, and replaces the man's ear.

Now I know this is the "church" answer, but Jesus is the one we should strive to imitate. He stood for God, knowing full well that people would hate Him, not caring how they felt about Him, but at the same time He didn't fight everyone to the death, swinging His "sword" wildly about, cutting those He was trying to reach. That's what being Christ-like is really. Letting the world know your faith, caring not if some hate you for it, accepting the persecution some may bring upon you, but doing it in a way that shows love and compassion for even those who are doing the persecuting. I realize this is no easy task, but I bet carrying the cross wasn't either.