OUR
IDENTITY … AND OVER-TIME! What do they
have in common, if anything? Just what
makes us who we are? Well, if we are God’s children, His Word tells us that we
are created in His image. That infers
that we must look like Him. Well, at
least we are to resemble Him enough that we are actually a reflection of
Him. Wow! That’s pretty incredible! It’s one thing to think that I have my dad’s eyes
or my mom’s nose, or that I sound like my siblings when others hear our
voices. But to think that I really
look like my Father? My Father in
Heaven, that is? Mind-boggling, to say
the least. Oh, yes … our minds. God’s Word also says we are to have the mind
of Christ. Now THAT’S a tall order,
wouldn’t you say? And yet, God would not
have told us these things if it was not possible to achieve them with His help! But does accomplishing anything come
as easily as we think it is going to? I
remember when our youngest son, Dustin, used to tag along with his dad in the
summertime to help out with repair projects at the apartments we owned. My husband would ask, “Do you want to go
along, Dustin? It won’t take very long!” And Dustin’s reply was always, “How long is
that?” To which Doug’s answer was, “Oh,
not too long … probably about a half-hour.”
So, Dustin would head out with his dad.
After going on several tasks like this, Dustin soon got smart and told
me one day, “If Dad said it will only take about a half-hour, I know I’m going
to be there at least two hours!” I told
him, “You’re learning! Nothing ever goes
as quickly as we plan for … or hope that it will, does it? Something changes … it’s harder than we
thought, or something else breaks, or we get interrupted, or we don’t have the
right tools and have to go get them. But
we stick with it until we accomplish it!” There are many people who are
committed to doing whatever it takes to get the job done in many arenas of
their lives. They work more hours to pay
the bills, or they get an extra job.
They just do whatever it takes to survive. Or, if they want something more than
survival, some people start a business of their own on the side, in hopes that
someday they can replace all of their long hours at so many jobs. An easy change? By no means, but adding in a few extra hours
now means looking forward to later enjoying life the way God intended us to! Some
people want to lose weight and become healthier, so they take a hard look at
their options and choose to ditch the fast foods, the packaged and processed
foods and replace them with the natural foods that God gave us to eat. An easy change? By no means, but a commitment to that means a
healthier, longer life – and you feel great while you’re living it! What about our walk with God? Why do people just settle for “I just don’t have
any more time or any more money to give to God!” Point blank.
Done. End of story! I cannot answer for anyone else. All I know is that if I can be my best at my
job and make the right choices for enjoying life; if I can put the right kind
of foods into my body to fuel it for the long-haul; then surely, I can put some
over-time into my relationship with God – which is what matters eternally even
more than any job I will ever have or any food choices I make. All of these decisions mark who I am. They give me my identity. Especially my identity in Christ. He gave so much for me … cannot I give more
of myself … my efforts, my time, my devotion, my money and possessions, my
talents, my ideas … to Him? Do we ever
even think of putting in some over-time to accomplish things for God’s Kingdom
on this earth? After all … our jobs will
end someday when we can no longer work, our health – no matter how great it is,
will end when we take our last breath, but our identity in Christ will live on
into Eternity. No one can steal that
identity from us! Today, I encourage you
to think about putting in some over-time for the only lasting thing in our
lives … let’s get out of our comfort zones and share Christ and recruit as many
others for Him as possible! Just wait
until we get to Heaven … and there they all stand – because of Jesus … and
because of us! Will the over-time have
been worth it?
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
SUN,
FEB 24:
10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. – KIDZONE CHURCH
WED,
FEB 27:
7:00 P.M. – MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY
905 El Dorado Street SE, Owatonna
THU, FEB 28:
7:00 P.M. - MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY
165 24th Place NW, Owatonna
SAT, MAR 02:
9:00 A.M. - MEN'S BIBLE STUDY with the
Barnabas Leadership Team Meeting to follow
9:00
A.M. – LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER
REMEMBER . . .
“We
fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
