12.18.09
Posted in General at 11:28 am by Administrator
I was watching “Nightly News with Brian Williams the other night. He has been running a series of stories titled “Making A Difference” for a number of weeks now. These stories are great! They tell of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things for others in their community. There are children who raise money to provide blankets for the homeless. There is a mother who kept buying mittens only to give them away to those who had none. There are restaurant owners who give away hundreds of meals for those who have lost their jobs. There are….etc. etc. etc. If you go to the Nightly News website you can spend hours watching people help other people in need. As I thought about this I realized that even though these acts of kindness are wonderful and help many people, most every act on that website is temporary. They bring relief and comfort for a little while and then life moves on. I realized that the only way for me to truly “Make A Difference” in people’s lives is to introduce them to Jesus Christ. He is the only permanent answer to life’s difficulties.
Let me ask you a question, what are we going to do in 2010 to make an eternal difference in the lives of people who are facing difficult times in Swansea and the surrounding communities? I believe that we need to help with earthly needs that come our way, but I also believe that we need to be more concerned about the spiritual needs of every person we come in contact with. What can Sardis do to really “Make A Difference” in our community? Will you help me find ways to “Make A Difference” in Swansea? If we work, pray, and dream together, I believe that there will be people at the end of 2010 who will be able to say, “Thank you for helping me find Jesus Christ as my Savior. My life is eternally different than it was before.” I want to “Make A Difference,” how about you?
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12.08.09
Posted in General at 2:07 pm by Administrator
Lexi was nervous as she lined up on the starting line for her second State Cross-Country meet. She was so scared that she was shaking. I pulled her of the line and told her that she had a job to do. She had a race to run that required all her focus and attention. Her fear about the outcome would hinder the outcome. Just do the job you trained all season to do and let the future take care of itself. She understood and began to focus on the task at hand. Anyone looking at her could tell she had shifted her focus. Just a few minutes later she was going up the last hill of the race. It was the second time up this large hill and she looked at me with panic in her eyes. She said, “Coach, I’m not sure I can make it.” I said, “Do your job.” Lexi did her job. She finished third in the race and was selected to the All-State Team. She had finished tenth the year before.
Our walk with Christ is very similar. We have a job to do as children of the Most High God. The job isn’t always pleasant and often very difficult. We get tired and are not even sure we can finish the “race set before us.” Have you ever felt like that? I know I have. We often go to passages like Philippians 4:13 that teach us we can do all things through Christ. However, it still feels as if we are alone. I think this happens because we forget that God uses other brothers and sisters in Christ to help us through those difficult times in life’s race to the finish. God allows Christ to work through us through others in Christ. Remember Lexi’s race? She had help running that race. Who was that help, me. As her coach I was able to help her focus on the race set before her when she was fearful. I was able to help her finish it during the difficult part of the race when she didn’t think she could do it.
Let me ask you a question. Who do you have in your life that can help you focus on the important things of your daily walk with Christ? Who do you have who will be honest enough to clearly tell you that you have a job to do? We all need these kind of mature godly people in our lives. I know I do. If you already have someone like this in your life, make sure you thank God for them. You might even want to take them out to lunch to say, “thank you”. If you don’t have anyone in your life like that, then pray that God would help you find one and begin to look around. God will provide someone to help you run the race that He has set before you.
Its time for me to run (yes, I thought that was clever),
P. Mark
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