Ahhh....life

  Life moves in phases.



 There was a time in my life, not too long ago, when I watched that commercial and seriously considered how I would look driving a Mustang.  (Who am I kidding?  I didn't care what I looked like.  I just wanted to drive it.)  I spent large amounts of time wondering about Ford Mustangs and really expensive bicycles and other toys I probably (definitely) didn't need.

  Now, life has changed a little.  That Mustang doesn't have four doors, and getting a carseat in and out of the back seems treacherous.  Those triathlon bikes probably don't work so well with trailers behind them.  Instead of wondering about horsepower, I'm purchasing items that promise to be 'odor free' and offers 'economic refills'.  Once, I was focused on stocking the house with items for a game room downstairs.  Now, my house has an item expressly designed to care for the toxic waste produced by a person who won't use a litter box.

  How quickly life changes...

  (And why is it a good thing that my diaper disposal system doesn't need batteries?  What would the batteries do--run the ejection system that pitches dirty diapers out the window into the neighbors yard?  Call the sewage system and have them send some guys out to clean this thing up?  Or does it just mean I can't put batteries in there because the stench would erode them and make battery acid leak all over the place?  Or am I not allowed to buy battery powered diapers?  What would those do--clean themselves?  Make my child crawl faster?  Light up when it needs to be changed?  Have a flashlight to help the kid find the litter box in the dark?  So many questions...)

8/18 E-News

Announcements

Planning Calendar—If you’d like a Presbytery Planning Calendar, please reply and let me know. 

Potluck—There’s going to be a potluck supper THIS Sunday following worship.  Join us!

Outreach Committee—Meets tonight at 5:30 in the McMillan Building.

Small Groups—In the next few months you may be hearing more about the possibility of small groups at New Hope.  What I’m trying to gauge is the interest level of the congregation.  These groups (6-12 people) would meet for about an hour each week or every other week to follow Bible studies or other curriculum.  (I’ve found some options)  I’m looking for leaders, as well as others who are interested in being involved. 

New Hope News

Saturday a team from New Hope will head to Tazewell to begin making plans for a Living Waters installation.  Please be in prayer for them, and contact Lloyd or Don Kaller if you’re interested in being a part of this.

Pray for…

The kids of the church as they get back into the rhythm of school.  (And the parents, teachers, administrators, bus drivers, etc.)

Roger & Lynn Meyer

Links

Thoughts on evangelism.

There is more wisdom in this seven minute video than I have found in 700 page books.

Chattanooga arboretum and nature center

Did Adam and Eve exist?  Food for thought.

Re-thinking evangelism

Text for this Week

Luke 19:11-27

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. 

He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 

When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. 

The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’

Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ 

Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’

He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’”

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WWW.NEWHOPECHATTANOOGA.ORG

Keith’s blog and devotionals

Devotion--Work, part VI

Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”

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  Someday, we shall not work.  As Adam and Eve were being evicted from the Garden of Eden, they were told about how their lives would be transformed as a result of their sin.  They were told that their work, their labor, would be hard, and life would be different.  And so it has been ever since that fateful day.

  But someday, when God restores all of creation, we will rest from our labors, and we will take up the holy rest we find in God.  Someday, all the world will be restored and redeemed, and we shall dwell forever with the Lord.

  Until then, we will work.  It will be joyous sometimes, and at other times a difficult slog.  But we will work, and it is my earnest prayer that all of our work will be directed to God as worship.  May we offer all that we are to the Lord in thanksgiving and praise, praising God through our work and letting all of life be worship.

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Psalm 127

1Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.

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Standards

  So I realized something this evening... my standard has changed.

  When I was a kid, or otherwise academically engaged, my standard was my peers.  How am I doing in relation to my peers?  We had class rankings for that very purpose--they helped each student see where they were in relation to the whole.  As one of the kids who was academically gifted, I was usually doing pretty well according to my standard.  I didn't have to invest a lot of time or worry in whether I was living up to the standard or not.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say I didn't have to invest a lot of work in it, either.  It came naturally.

  Now, this became a problem when I arrived in college.  No longer was it easy to coast along above my peers academically.  It was a challenge, one that demanded hard work, and I will readily admit I failed in this task.  I didn't live up to the standard, and the fact that I graduated with a respectable GPA had as much to do with my switching majors as it did with my renewed focus on work.

  As long as my standard was academically relating to my peers, I did ok, with the exception of failing miserably in engineering.

  But, as my life became centered around the Gospel rather than the world of academics, my standard changed.  No longer was it enough to do better than my peers--now I was measuring up to the standard of Jesus Christ.  And, in case you haven't read the Gospels, that standard is as high as possible--Jesus Christ, though tempted just as we are, is perfect in every way, without sin or blemish.  Now that I'm seeking to live as a Christian, I'm trying to live up to his standard.

  And I'm failing.  Just like everyone else.

  The problem is, I don't hear the words of grace.  I'm so busy beating myself up for failing to live up to a standard that I will never achieve that I don't focus on the grace, forgiveness and love that Christ pours out into my life.  I'm too busy focusing on myself rather than Christ's gracious love.  I'm trying to make this life about myself, rather than letting it be about Christ.

  So it's okay that you don't live up to the standard that Christ sets.  You never will.  I never will.  Sin gets in the way.  It doesn't mean that it's ok to give up, what it means is that we need to accept Christ's forgiveness and live as a transformed, forgiven people, sharing that love with others, rather than investing energy into worrying about failure.