Just a Thought

Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” Genesis 15: 5


As I was driving home the other night there was a beautiful moon lighting my way. I thought about driving home as a teenager in my small town, and how I was so happy then because, well, I was a teenager - what was there to worry about?

It was still the same bright, beautiful moon up there last night that I loved back then.

You know, sometimes we think everything is changing – that everything has changed, but the same moon is up there again tonight, along with very the same stars that Abraham saw. They're all up there. And the same God that put them there and made them shine, He's still there, too.

I don't know what life has for you. I don't know what life has for me. But I know this; I know that God is good. I know that God does not lie. And I know that God has given us the gift of our lives. I can’t tell you the best way for you to honor that gift, but I can encourage you to Love one another. Forgive one another. Work as unto God. Let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts. Make it your ambition to Give. Obey. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

I think your Father will be pleased.

A Thank You For My Teachers

A lot of times we look at people in the Bible and we think that they're so different from us. But when we look at the things we all share in common, we find it's very profound. The fact is that people are people regardless of the time or place in which they find themselves. When we dig down beneath those temporal issues, this is what we find - that God Loved them, and that He Loves us. To me, there is nothing more riveting.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom and we were created to fear God, it's not a fear like a fear of the dark. It's more like a fear of the Grand Canyon, the awe inspired by standing on the top of Table Rock when the wind is blowing. Every Sunday morning, as I go around and speak to all of you and try to find out more about what is going on in your lives, I find myself marveling at God’s perfect plan. It is a small moment of awe that overcomes me each week.

Whether you realize it or not, God uses you every week to teach me things that I need to know, and I am grateful that you are willing to be The Teacher’s assistants (even if you were unaware that was what you were doing).

Sometimes my lessons are immediately obvious: Sometimes, due to my stubbornness, they take some time to sink in. Regardless, a lesson is there for me each and every week, and you are the ones who show me the way.

Thanks Guys!

Robert

Forgetting, Serving, and Growing

It was great to see all of you this morning. I want you to know how much you are appreciated. Quite simply, Marathon would not work without your dedication and service.

Brad Williams and I were talking the other night about how we tend to live our lives in a self-centered fashion. I told him that sometimes when I stop to think about it, I realize that I've been living as if life were a book all about me, and everyone else is just smaller characters in the book that were written in to give it more color.

People who become self-centered lose contact with the outside world. They spend all of their time and energy worrying about bills, friends, work, or even play. If we were to take the time to stop all of that, we could see that it's a big world out there - and it reflects the character of God.

The wonderful thing about service at Marathon, is that it allows us to forget about those things once in a while, and allow ourselves to become involved in the lives of people who have equally bad situations, to our own. To open up, look outside of our tiny little worlds, and let other people matter.

When we take a bigger view of things, God will give us more of His Grace and Love to share with others. We'll find ourselves responding to their needs; we'll find ourselves angered by injustice to others, and perhaps we'll even be moved enough to do something about it.

Self esteem is overrated. Christ never asked us to esteem ourselves. I think that if Christ were asked, He might say that it would be a wonderful thing if we forgot ourselves.

Christianity isn't about being self-sacrificing - it's about being self-forgetting. Forget yourself once in a while, and open your eyes. Focus on this big, beautiful world God has made. As you walk around, learn to identify some of the plants that you pass. At night, learn to identify every constellation in the sky. Get to know birds by their feathers, flight patterns and songs. Introduce yourself to your neighbors, or the lady you're in line with at Bi-Lo. It really is a big world out there - and it really does reflect the character of God. Let go of yourself - and God will show you a whole new world.

Be God's!

Robert

Equipped To Serve?

I was asked on Sunday if I thought a certain person was "equipped to serve". The only answer I can give is: "Are they willing to serve?"

Think about this:

God did not give Joseph any special information about how to get from being the son of a nomad in Palestine to being Pharaoh's right hand man in Egypt.

What He did give Joseph was eleven jealous brothers, the attention of a very loose and vengeful woman, the ability to do the service of interpreting dreams and managing other people's affairs and the grace to do that faithfully wherever he was.

So the question is never "Are you equipped to serve". The question is always simply, "Are you willing to serve?"

Be God's!

Robert