This week the bag contained a small toy race car. The point of a race car is to go fast and win the race it's in. And so in order to help the car go as fast as possible they strip down everything that isn't essential for speed. Race cars have no head lights, or radios. There aren't air conditioners or airbags. Everything that isn't necessary for speed is taken out to help the car go as fast as possible.
The Bible says in Hebrews 12.1-2, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
We are in a race, and we need to run with endurance. In order to make it, to go the distance, we need to get rid of the things that slow us down. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus and so we need to get rid of all sin, because as we strive to become like Christ sin only gets in the way. It entangles us, it slows us down.
So let us be like race cars, and get rid of everything that keeps us from getting to the prize of Christlikeness.
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Marble
It's been a while since we've done a bag message on Sunday morning. It's either been forgotten or the service has been different and we haven't had this part of the service. This week there was a clear marble in the bag.
As a kid I was past the marble generation. But one year either for Christmas or on a trip to Amish country (obviously it was really significant) I got a bag of marbles, and I thought they were awesome. There were so many different colors, and they came in an awesome leather bag. Over the next couple of years i began to collect them, and had a couple hundred. My favorite were these metallic looking ones.
I never really played an official game of marbles, but I learned how. There are two kinds of marbles, a large one called a shooter, and the small ones that as far as I know are just called marbles. In an official game of marbles you place the small ones inside of a circle on the ground and you use your shooter to try and knock your opponents marbles out of the circle. Who ever has the last marble in the circle wins.
As I stood there and help the marble in my hand I began to think about a game of marbles, and then about life. Life is sort of like a game of marbles. We're in the middle of this big circular object (I know the world is three dimensional, but go with it), and we are the marbles. Competing for us are God and Satan. But in this game, the marbles get to choose who knocks them out of the circle.
If a marble chooses God, then He takes His shooter, represented by Jesus, and shoots us out of the circle. Our sins are forgiven by us calling on Christ for salvation, and when we die we are taken by God. But if the marble refuses to let God take it, Satan gets it. It remains in the circle until the end, and then it is knocked out of the ring by Satan's shooter (not sure what to call this one).
Some people played marbles for keeps, you kept the ones you knocked out. In this game, all of the marbles initially belonged to God. We are all His children, but some of us refuse to accept that or acknowledge it. And because of this we allow Satan to take us in this game of eternal keeps.
God wants to take back all of His marbles, but He doesn't force them to come with Him. His offer of salvation is available to all, will you take it?
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
As a kid I was past the marble generation. But one year either for Christmas or on a trip to Amish country (obviously it was really significant) I got a bag of marbles, and I thought they were awesome. There were so many different colors, and they came in an awesome leather bag. Over the next couple of years i began to collect them, and had a couple hundred. My favorite were these metallic looking ones.
I never really played an official game of marbles, but I learned how. There are two kinds of marbles, a large one called a shooter, and the small ones that as far as I know are just called marbles. In an official game of marbles you place the small ones inside of a circle on the ground and you use your shooter to try and knock your opponents marbles out of the circle. Who ever has the last marble in the circle wins.
As I stood there and help the marble in my hand I began to think about a game of marbles, and then about life. Life is sort of like a game of marbles. We're in the middle of this big circular object (I know the world is three dimensional, but go with it), and we are the marbles. Competing for us are God and Satan. But in this game, the marbles get to choose who knocks them out of the circle.
If a marble chooses God, then He takes His shooter, represented by Jesus, and shoots us out of the circle. Our sins are forgiven by us calling on Christ for salvation, and when we die we are taken by God. But if the marble refuses to let God take it, Satan gets it. It remains in the circle until the end, and then it is knocked out of the ring by Satan's shooter (not sure what to call this one).
Some people played marbles for keeps, you kept the ones you knocked out. In this game, all of the marbles initially belonged to God. We are all His children, but some of us refuse to accept that or acknowledge it. And because of this we allow Satan to take us in this game of eternal keeps.
God wants to take back all of His marbles, but He doesn't force them to come with Him. His offer of salvation is available to all, will you take it?
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)