Saturday, Aug 16, 2008

TWG - August 16, 2008

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TWG - August 16, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Leviticus 25; Acts 28


Today is August 16, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. TWG is a covenant to seek the LORD God with all our heart and with all our soul. If you seek Him, He will be found by you.

Vacation Bible School is over. It was a very good day. We had several children make decisions to trust Christ! The leaders are doing a great job. Today in our story, Jesus is risen! Thanks to all those who made this a great VBS. After VBS I went to our Pizza party and then came back to church for Music Practice. Dave stopped in with the new sound cabinet for the amphitheater. I took off and then I spent a quiet evening at home. I put a picture of another of our VBS shops on the Blog at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com. Check it out.

This week’s theme verse is Mark 8:34-38 "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Comparisons are good. Comparisons help us gain perspective and understand the vast difference between ideas. They give us key insights into issues we may not think about too much. So today we are going to compare apples to apples. Apple #1. This shiny red apple is coveted by billions. This apple sits on top of the apple crate. In fact this juicy apple owns the apple crate! He is the “big apple.” Through corporate mergers, behind the scenes manipulation, cunning investments and sheer hard work he has become the richest apple in the orchard. He is so amazing that the apple paparazzi quote his every word, dozens of apple apprentices fawn over him and jump to do his bidding, and the apple stock market rises and falls based on his pronouncements. He has it all… a refrigerated home for preserving his apple like looks, swimming pool for washing off the pesticide, vacation homes at several orchards and whatever his heart desires. He’s on top of the world. But like all apples, his shelf life is limited. Time passes and he begins to shrivel and turn brown. One day he is laid to rest with pomp and ceremony in a sterile Petri dish at a famous mausoleum. His life of glitz and glamour are over. Apple #2. He is just a common run of the mill apple. He will never know the life of luxury of the big apple. Instead He has decided that he is going to give himself up, slice by slice if necessary to be used by God. When placed on the produce rack Apple #2 begins shouting, “taste and see that the Lord is good!” His life is short and sweet. A shopper evaluates his message, picks him up and takes him home. Painfully, this apple gets cored and sliced. The sting of loosing his life is almost more than he can bear. But oh the joy he brings to little sister who takes bite after juicy bite! And then his core is taken out to the back yard and given a proper burial. At the funeral, little brother quotes, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless an apple core falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces a great apple tree.” And so it is that God whispers “well done” to the poor apple which sprouts and grows into a mighty tree. While apple #1 lies sterile and dead in his Petri dish in the mausoleum, apple #2 has experienced a resurrection to life! The point of this parable? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and looses his soul? So you are on top of the apple cart today? That can never compare with eternal joy. Live for eternity, not for the transient pleasures of this life. In the end, there is no comparison unless you want to compare apples to oranges!

Father help me to keep eternal values in view. Help me to evaluate my pursuits to see whether they really measure up to the kingdom of God! Help me to always seek your Kingdom first and focus on your righteousness. Thanks for your great love and grace!
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”-

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:22 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

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