Shooting Stars or Guiding Lights

It seems I might have posted about this subject in the past but it has been on my mind lately so I thought I must need to blog about it. I'm sure if I have posted before, this one will be different than that one. I have seen posters that say "God doesn't need shooting stars, He needs guiding lights". This is such a true statement. Why? - Because while shooting stars are wonderful to watch stream across or fall downward through the sky; they fizzle out and are gone. God doesn't want a person to turn to Him and away from sin by becoming a Christian and maybe even serving Him and being productive for Him; and then fizzle out. Shooting stars are bright and sparkly for a short time and then they just disappear. Many Christians shine brightly for a time and then disappear. They get involved in church and then after a time quit serving like they once did. Then they may even quit going to church. While God gives examples of people taking rests (even commanded by God) at times, this is to be only temporary. We are to be steadily burning for Him. We are to be guiding lights. I love the songs "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning" and "Send the Light". They remind me of our mission. After all, we are to "let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven." - Matt. 5:16

Sometimes it is not that someone is a shooting star that fades away. Sometimes, they ARE steady. They do shine a light for Christ but they just happen to stand beside someone else who is burning even more brightly. People don't notice that person's light nearly as much because someone else is shining brighter. - Maybe they have an awesome ability to sing or play an instrument or teach or preach and therefore the smaller light seems less bright. When you live in the city you don't see the stars nearly as well as someone who lives in the country away from city lights. The city lights take away from the stars shining in the sky. - But when you get in the country where there are no street lights and it is dark, it is awesome how brightly the stars shine and how many more of them you can see! While we should do our best to be a steady guiding light shining for Jesus we must remember not to compare ourselves to others. This can lead to discouragement. We should also not compare one Christian to another because while God gives to everyone talents according to their several ability, He just wants us to use those talents for Him. Let your light shine.

Also, when we let our lives become dirty we can't shine as brightly. For example, a coal oil lamp doesn't shine very bright when the glass globe gets black and dingy from the smoke and flame. We must take the globe and clean it and then it allows the light to shine through. We need to keep our lives clean so that we can shine as brightly as we can, pointing the way to Jesus. I don't know about you but I don't just want to be a flickering small flame, I want to be a spot light that pierces the darkness! I also do not want to be a shooting star that quickly fades away. I want to stay the course, I want to finish the race and finish it well. I want to be steady and unwavering. That is my goal. There are days I allow myself to become just a flicker of light but I refuse to let that flicker go out. I encourage myself in the Lord - ok sometimes a fellow Christian encourages me in the Lord - but that helps me to ignite my flame and make it grow brighter. I want to say thank you to my fellow bloggy friends who help with this encouragement. Sharing your personal lives with me helps to encourage me to keep on keepin' on for Him and to remember the goal. - Heavenly rewards!!! - to give back to my Savior!

No Envy

Sometimes we can look at those in the world that seem to be prosperous or blessed and wonder why we are struggling or going through a trial when they don't live for God or they are teaching false doctrines. We wonder if God has forgotten us when we are doing all we can to serve Him. We wonder why it appears that everything good seems to be happening to those who do not care about God, who live wickedly and in sin, or even who has a growing church built on no standards, convictions or correct doctrine. Then we read Psalm 73 and it all makes sense. David was struggling with wondering and questioning why in his mind, and even said it was too painful for him to think about. ----Then he went into the sanctuary of God! Then he understood their end! We must remember that this is a TEMPORARY assignment - this life is only temporary! Some may have some riches and blessings here on earth but in the end they will have utter destruction and weeping and gnashing of teeth. We must focus on our heavenly future. God has not forgotten us - He loves us even when we mess up and doubt. - Though He may not be happy with us for our messing up or our doubt; if we confess our sins He will forgive us. Praise God! Praise God!
One other thing, David went into the sanctuary of God. Church is where you get what you need. - whether conviction, encouragement, understanding of God's Word, or fellowship with other Christians. Church is the best place for that to happen. On a day when you might struggle in your mind with why you have a trial while others seem to prosper no matter what they do, read Psalm 73 and remember their end!

Missions Conference

Our Missions Conference went well. Didn't have the showing we had hoped for in our members but it helped me be renewed and our faith promise missions commitments that we received just on Saturday at the end of the conference (with only a handful of representatives on hand) came to over $4,840 for the coming year. The messages were inspiring and some of our congregation who are new to faith promise and the IFB way of supporting mission works were given new perspective. Our International Dinner was great though not many were here to partake of the wonderful array of food. I don't believe I will have to cook all week because of all the leftovers. YAY! :) There was taco salad, taco soup, my homemade salsa, a Mexican dessert, Rouladen (German beef dish), sauerkraut, 7 layer salad, Adobo chicken (Filipino dish), rice, homemade cranberry sauce, ham and beans, cornbread, spicy Cajun pork chops, lasagna, Brigadeiro (chocolate candy dessert from Brazil), Black Forest cake, and I'm sure I'm leaving some things out. It was a feast and plenty for everyone to try a little of all. We were stuffed!!! :) Ain't that what Baptist do best - eat?!

One of the men, Bro. Kevin Hall, preached Saturday morning about living by faith. He made this statement..."A life of faith lived by sight is frustrating." - this is because sight demands an explanation. God spoke to my heart that I had been doing that the past three years. While Bob and I have always (even before being in church) seemed to subconsciously trust God by jumping in with both feet and believing He would take care of it all; the past couple years we (and especially I) have grown more cautious. I've been looking for guarantees and definite solutions for financial problems instead of trusting in His provision - which He has always supplied even if it wasn't in the timing I'd have preferred. The job prospect that I posted about awhile back and thought was so perfect for me if I was going to have a job, didn't pan out. I got my rejection notice on my birthday but I wasn't upset because I'm trusting God. I had prayed and asked others to pray that I NOT get it if it wasn't God's plan or will. While I get confused about the whys sometimes, I know He is Sovereign and loves me and wants what is best for me. So, I just keep on keepin' on. Today I had a phone call from a dear old friend with a job opportunity to care for her sister's son who has special needs. It will depend on if the family receives a grant or not to pay for my wages and my special training. They need to have someone lined up to do it before applying for the grant. I would love this opportunity to have the short term training and for caring for a sweet little boy. The training can only help me in the future with children's ministries. It would only be 12 hours a week at most and would help fill in the small gaps for us financially, and will fit our busy lifestyle. I am excited about this prospect.

All in all it was a great day and for our church, weekend in the house of the Lord. Our adult numbers were down but we had 11 kids today and one of them was a visitor.

PS - I posted on the right a couple of John's senior pictures that I took last week. They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. The color photos should be in this week and I'll post some later.

Missions Conference Decore

Just wanted to post some pics of the wall behind our platform. I got it decorated for our upcoming missions conference - which is this Friday and Saturday. Please pray for a good turn out and for our guest missionaries to have safe travels. I'm looking forward to our international dinner.

The theme is Punching Holes in the Darkness - Verse Acts 26:18. The yellow spots represent the works we already support or that will be presenting their works at our conference.

A Neat Find! & Special Gift

Just wanted to post a picture of this great find I found at a consignment shop today. My sister, Sheri, and I went to do some shopping and have lunch for my birthday which is tomorrow. I found this German song book printed in Germany and dated 1959. It was $2.99! It is entirely in German so I've no idea what it says but I would assume it is children's songs judging by the cover. - Not than you can judge a book by its cover! Anyhoo, we are having a Missions Conference next weekend and I thought it would be neat to have on display even tho we don't have any missionaries right now in Germany. Here's the pic.....

If any of you know what the cover says, please let me know.

Here is a picture of me in the apron Sheri made me from an antique table cloth. I think it is pretty neat. The top is pleated but you can't tell very good in the pictures.

It's Our Move!

It has been awhile since I posted about anything of depth so I wanted to talk today about a great illustration Bob used in his Sunday morning sermon. It was about one of the paintings a man did of Jesus standing at a door knocking and how a man told the painter that he had made a mistake in his painting. The painter asked, "What do you mean?" and the reply came, "You have forgotten to paint a doorknob in your painting." The painter told the man that the doorknob was on the other side of the door. You see, Jesus is always standing at our door knocking. It is up to us to open the door to allow Him in! This is true for accepting Him as Savior as well as for the Christian to have close fellowship with Him. Jesus never beats down the door and pushes His way in to our lives. He patiently knocks and waits for us to invite him in. While Jesus IS the door to heaven, He does not open the door but waits for us to ask Him in. Scripture says for US to draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to us! The first move is ours - ALWAYS!

I know that many and probably most who read this blog are already children of God but I hope that if you are not you will consider what has been said and ASK Jesus to be your Savior. You see if you have not realized that you are a sinner in need of saving from hell, and accepted that Jesus has paid your sin debt, and ASKED Him to save you from hell then you are NOT a child of God! While God loves you and everyone in the world and wants you to accept His gift of love, you are not His child UNTIL you accept His son.

1 John 5:12 - He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (this would be, life in heaven and not hell)

John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (this is how to become His child - RECEIVE Him)

If you have already become His child, then I hope you will remember that if you want to have a close relationship with Him, it is YOUR move. You must spend time talking to Him, reading His Word and obeying what He says. In any relationship, if you want closeness, there must be time spent together. It works that way with marriages, with parenting & children, grandparenting, friendships, siblings, pastor/congregational members, and it works that way with God, too. He says so. James 4:8a - Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.

Pastor Appreciation

October is pastor appreciation month and I thought it only fitting to write my pastor a poem to show how much I appreciate him... So here it is....

Why I Love My Pastor

The man God gave me as a spouse

is a godly leader in our house.

He takes time to show he cares

and it's not just to put on airs.

He works hard to preach God's Word

so that doctrine is not blurred.

My heart and mind are always stirred

by the messages that I have heard.

I feel so very blessed, you see

For God gave my husband as a pastor to me!

I truly enjoy having my husband as a pastor. I like learning from him and sharing his vision for the future of our church. I like seeing how excited he gets over new understanding of a passage and how he shares it with me. I like seeing how he allows God to use him when before salvation he didn't like to be noticed in a crowd even at Wal-Mart. - Now he will preach in front of 200 if given the chance. We have had 12 years to grow together in the Lord and 5 1/2 were with him as my pastor. I pray that the Lord will allow that to remain the situation til He comes back!