Are you a Pointer, Sample, Invitation, or all for God?
Man, church was GOOD today. Do you know that when I go to church, sometimes the message is spot on. I mean, it is like God is telling me to listen up. Other times, it is the interactions at church that make me think that God intended me to meet those people that day. Thankfully, my husband and I have started in a leadership role at church. We are at a smaller campus, but we are really getting involved which excites me. Today was one of those days that everything made me feel like we are placed in that church for a reason.
Our morning started off, a little slow, but we had the please sure to listen to Ruth at our pre-service meeting. This is my Facebook post:
Today was very rewarding at church. Glenn and I have started being lobby team captains for the 12pm service at the Oneighty building. Every week in our meeting we ask our group, “What did you do personally to make a difference in someone’s life this week?” Thankful Ruth spoke up and decided to share with us her first American Thanksgiving Dinner that she shared with one of our volunteer team members. (The back story is that Ruth is here on a temporary religious visa from Papua New Guinea and she just met Stacy about a month ago. They clicked and Ruth has been volunteering and coming to Church On the Move ever since.) She explained to our group that she was so excited to see the love and tradition for our American Thanksgiving. That people had come from near and far to show love and thankfulness on that day. Ruth was asked to pray before the meal and she said that she became overwhelmed with love for the family, our nation, and this great American tradition. That she prayed that this tradition would always be protected and continued over the years. America is still that great nation that we sometimes forget it is. That our traditions and values are not only important to our country but shows others how we can come together and love and hold true to the ‘American Dream.’ Today, Ruth made me tear up. I was so proud to be an American and to live in this Nation, because though we always see the bad in our society, others see our good. We condemn the ones that speak up about their faith and others praise us for having such amazing bonds with God. I wish that each of us could see what God and his people see in our Nation. We live in an amazing country and it is not as far gone as most think it is. I just hope that I can continue with the amazing traditions and values that have been celebrated in our country. As well as continue to speak highly of God and the way he continues to bless me DAILY. I am proud to be an American and a Christian.
But that wasn't all that happened. That is what I wanted to share with my Facebook friends. See before that meeting, we connected with Kendra and her daughter. Thankfully Kendra is back from visiting her dad whom was diagnosed with leukemia. She shared her testimony with us on how God was working in all of their lives and has a hand in his walk towards healing. Then Brian shared with us about his wife and how she has Crohn's Disease and I am planning on continually asking how she is doing. After our pre-service meeting, we ran into our good friend Matthew which was awesome because he is such a good-hearted soul that we truly enjoy seeing.
Then I was able to connect with Rebekah and Bekah. We are challeneged to really get to know our volunteers. Today, I spoke to Rebekah at length about some issues she had. She was telling me how excited she was to feel like she fit in and could connect with the other volunteers. Rebekah continued to explain how she was politely asked to leave her small group... This made me SO MAD. I love my small group and have only had positive ideas about it, however, here I was getting a story that just seemed like it was coming from an outsider whom just wanted friends. I listened and deep down, I wanted to go find this group and beat them for hurting Rebekah. Trust me when I say, that I will let some others know. So after our chat, I speak to Bekah and she tells me also had a bad experience with small groups. That our leader told her that the other girls thought she hated them?! Who tells someone that? Within 10 minutes, I was shown a crack in our wonderful small group system. So, I plan on speaking to a couple of people at my church to see if there is a way to correct this for future small groups.
Right before service, I was able to connect with Skye, whom is new to COTM and she let me know that she loves seeing me every weekend. Talk about exciting and uplifting. Finally, we made it to the service and at first I couldn't get my mind from thinking about all that had happen that morning. Well, then the guest speaker got my attention, telling us about how we are all wired a certain way. (Sort of like my new friends) But that God had plans for each of us. That what we do for God and others is not to boast but to show love and faith for him.
Some Key Notes:
- My good deeds are 'pointers' to God not myself.
- My good deeds are 'samples' of Jesus.
- My good deeds are 'invitations' to church and to God.
So basically, we can be little pointers for God by doing simple, every day good deeds. We can be samples of Jesus by stepping out of our comfort zone and showing how faithful we are by praying or speaking genuine to strangers/friends/co-workers. We can physically invite or proclaim our church so much that others want to come and see for themselves.
Well, I'm continuing this journey of being a Mustard Seed by pointing, being a sample, and inviting others to Church and God.
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