Verse of the Day:
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17
This past Sunday, I has the privilege of attending services at Trinity Reformed Church in Newark with the senior high Sunday school class. This is an amazing place. In 2004, I went to Trinity on a mission trip with Three Bridges and Bruce and Laurie Hawley. We spent the week converting part of the building into Sunday School classrooms. While we were there we had lunch with the Principal of the Hawkins Street School which is directly across from the church. The discussion was how this mission site could be in ministry with that school. Who knew then that with only 4 people attending Sunday worship what God's amazing power would do to this small patch in the middle of a hurting city. Now they have an amazing ministry to children of all ages through Safe Haven Urban Redemption with children having a safe place to be after school with people who are sharing the love of Christ. Danny (pastor and director of Safe Haven) told us that they just celebrated an amazing milestone - they have not had a shooting in the past year. On Sunday, I watched as 16 young adults were baptised. Without this ministry they would have already been baptised into gangs. Three Bridges has had a small hand in helping this ministry get it's footings. We built the Sunday School rooms, we sent money to pay for the carpeting, we helped pay for the new hard wood flooring in the Sanctuary and we have continued to support them through our benevolence giving. If you every wonder if a gift you have given makes a difference - just look at Trinity.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Day 20 !!!!!
Verse of the Day:
"Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." 2 Corinthians 9: 11-12
We are half way there. It has not been easy to remember to give a gift everyday. Some days, I just forget to be engaged in the process and get to the end of the day and remember I have not given. Some days nothing seems to call me to give anything in particular. Some times I question if what I gave was really a gift. I guess if it were easy, we wouldn't have to make an effort to do it.
But, it has been rewarding. I find that I smile more, that I try to be more polite, I say hi to strangers, I hold the door more, I ask about people's lives and when I do I really care. I also have enjoyed the giving. It feels good. What it, surprising although God tells us this will happen, I have received more than I have given. I also think that this process has helped me to recognize the small things that others do as gifts and I have learned to appreciate them for what they really are. The blog has been a discipline for my spiritual life as I have needed to spend time in his word each day hoping for inspiration. I hope that this has been a gift I have given each day but I know that it has been a gift I have received.
I pray that God will bless the rest of the time we spending doing 40 days of giving. Keep your focus on God and his power to guide us and encourage us each and every day. You all are a gifts to me as you have given me the gift of friendship and companionship as we travel this road together. Thank you,
Sue
"Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." 2 Corinthians 9: 11-12
We are half way there. It has not been easy to remember to give a gift everyday. Some days, I just forget to be engaged in the process and get to the end of the day and remember I have not given. Some days nothing seems to call me to give anything in particular. Some times I question if what I gave was really a gift. I guess if it were easy, we wouldn't have to make an effort to do it.
But, it has been rewarding. I find that I smile more, that I try to be more polite, I say hi to strangers, I hold the door more, I ask about people's lives and when I do I really care. I also have enjoyed the giving. It feels good. What it, surprising although God tells us this will happen, I have received more than I have given. I also think that this process has helped me to recognize the small things that others do as gifts and I have learned to appreciate them for what they really are. The blog has been a discipline for my spiritual life as I have needed to spend time in his word each day hoping for inspiration. I hope that this has been a gift I have given each day but I know that it has been a gift I have received.
I pray that God will bless the rest of the time we spending doing 40 days of giving. Keep your focus on God and his power to guide us and encourage us each and every day. You all are a gifts to me as you have given me the gift of friendship and companionship as we travel this road together. Thank you,
Sue
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Day 19 - All Aboard
Years ago when Scott Brown came to candidate for the position of Pastor at Three Bridges, he shared a sermon about Stage Coach travel. He shared that depending on one's circumstance, they could be a first class, second class or third class passenger. A first class ticket provided the rider with the ability that during an almost certain breakdown that they could remain seated in the coach as others fixed the problem. The second class passengers needed to get out of the coach, but could find shade or shelter as others took care of the problem, but the third class travelers were required to participate in the pushing of the coach out of the mud. God sells only third class tickets. What kind of ticket have you purchased?
Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
After purchasing our own tickets, we need to bring others along for the ride with us. No journey is ever as fulfilling and enriching when taken alone as it is with friends and family. God asks us to spread his good word to others, which is an invaluable gift, as it allows someone a ticket to the ultimate destination, heaven. We are meant to be ticket sellers for that journey through telling of the life of Jesus and the many gifts that God has provided us. Jump on, and grab a few friends, the coach is in the station.
Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
After purchasing our own tickets, we need to bring others along for the ride with us. No journey is ever as fulfilling and enriching when taken alone as it is with friends and family. God asks us to spread his good word to others, which is an invaluable gift, as it allows someone a ticket to the ultimate destination, heaven. We are meant to be ticket sellers for that journey through telling of the life of Jesus and the many gifts that God has provided us. Jump on, and grab a few friends, the coach is in the station.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Day 18 - 18"
Verse of the Day:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Some people miss heaven by 18 inches.
Imagine what it would feel like to get that close and miss... How would it feel to be in sight of heaven and be left outside. 18 inches represents the distance between your head and your heart. Where are you in your relationship with God. All of us know who God is in our heads. We know the stories, we have accepted Jesus as our savior, but have we allowed him in our hearts? Some of us wander away from our relationship. When God is at the center of your heart you worship, when he is not you worry. Your gift today could be to give your whole heart to God!
Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing - verse 3:
O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee: prone to wander Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Some people miss heaven by 18 inches.
Imagine what it would feel like to get that close and miss... How would it feel to be in sight of heaven and be left outside. 18 inches represents the distance between your head and your heart. Where are you in your relationship with God. All of us know who God is in our heads. We know the stories, we have accepted Jesus as our savior, but have we allowed him in our hearts? Some of us wander away from our relationship. When God is at the center of your heart you worship, when he is not you worry. Your gift today could be to give your whole heart to God!
Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing - verse 3:
O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee: prone to wander Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Day 17 - Centered?
Verse of the Day:
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8
Do you know what is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 117.
Do you know what is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 119.
Do you know what chapter is in the middle of the Bible? Psalm 118. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118. If you add them together you get 1188.
Can you guess what the center of the Bible is? Psalm 118:8
Do you think that this is a coincidence? God wants to be at the center of our lives. Pilots put confidence in their planes. Commuters place confidence in trains, cars or buses. Each day we must put our confidence in something or someone. If you are willing to trust a car to get you to your destination, are you willing to trust God to guide you here on earth and to your eternal destination. In the center of the Bible, God tells us to make him the center of our lives. Will you?
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8
Do you know what is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 117.
Do you know what is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 119.
Do you know what chapter is in the middle of the Bible? Psalm 118. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118. If you add them together you get 1188.
Can you guess what the center of the Bible is? Psalm 118:8
Do you think that this is a coincidence? God wants to be at the center of our lives. Pilots put confidence in their planes. Commuters place confidence in trains, cars or buses. Each day we must put our confidence in something or someone. If you are willing to trust a car to get you to your destination, are you willing to trust God to guide you here on earth and to your eternal destination. In the center of the Bible, God tells us to make him the center of our lives. Will you?
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