Friday, December 29, 2006

The Means to an End, or the End of our Means?

Sometimes for us, prayer becomes a means to an end: getting what we ask for. We can add worship and praise and all other sorts of service and if the purpose in our hearts is getting, we still fall short of the greatest blessing. God can and does meet us at all levels of understanding and service. What he wants us to get to is, instead of a means to an end, He wants us to get to the end of the means; i.e. He wants us to get to the end of our trying, end of our performing, and realize that all the doing to get has been completed in Christ. He was and is the means to the end: our restored fellowship with our Creator. All we have left is communion! Conversation! Connectedness! Through Him we have togetherness with God and each other through Jesus Christ. All the prayer requests and Worship and etc. become the banter of lovers as we spend time together.
Sondra was worried how our relationship would be different when we were both arrived in heaven. We would no longer be "married or given in marriage". I told her I believed that we would be no less close and no less connected than we were now, but the difference would be, the spiritual intimacy we have only with spouses now, will be with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, not in some perverted way, but in a connectedness of understanding and sharing that would allow us to communicate with a new intimacy. Our relationship wouldn't suffer loss in heaven; it’s just that what we had here is a fore taste of Glory Divine. So many barriers of race, color, sex, history, will be broken down.
I miss her! I miss what we had! I communicate with no one the way we communicated.
Heaven; I can hardly wait!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Operation Christmas Child


It was great to volunteer last night for Operation Christmas Child! We met at the warehouse off Nations Ford Road and Checked and stacked thousands of shoe boxes headed for India!
There were at least 3 different groups from our church represented! It is so neet to be part of a church that has helped out so much with such a worthwhile world wide ministry.
So much of our Church expeirience gets "spiritualized" or only meets the tangible nature of things when it comes to monetary gifts, etc.
It is so great to be able to get physical (at risk of borrowing a secular phrase) with our spirituality and directly help meet the physical needs of a ministry.
My old pastor used to say: "I'd rather wear out than rust out!"
It was a little chilly in that warehouse, but once we started moving those boxes around, it was amazing how quickly the temperature went up! So, if you're goiing over to volunteer, wear layers so you've got something to shed! I've heard so many people complain about their sleeping pills not working. Well, three hours of stacking boxes worketh better than a medicine! I usually don't have any trouble getting to sleep, but this past year I wake up and drift off several times a night. Last night I pretty much slept through. If you're interested in helping at Operation Christmas Child this year, you had better get over there. I'll bet Sue Pruit could answer any questions you might have.