Our current sermon series is about a God who cold have stood back and allowed mankind to fend for ourselves. After all ... God was perfect ... Christ was sinless ... the Holy Spirit was blameless. Yet, as stated in the great Wesley song, "He left His Father’s throne above, So free, so infinite His grace— Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race: ’Tis mercy all, immense and free, For O my God, it found out me! ’Tis mercy all, immense and free, For O my God, it found out me!" Great words about an even greater God. What a reason for being where God has called all Christians on Sunday morning. Yet ... as weather improves and other opportunities happen, God's people make poor excuses and plans to do what they desire ... not what God desires.
I wonder ... if I were to announce a cure for cancer ... offer a lucky person tickets to a favorite sports team ... have a sure-fire cure for aging ... have water from the fountain of youth ... what would that do for Sunday attendance? But, of course, I offer none of these things. Just words from a God who went on a great and noble mission into enemy territory, braving birth, death threats, childhood in flight, temptation, politics, persecution, torture and death ... for what? For the people who place their whims, their comfort, their recreation, their 'fun,' and all the other me oriented things we place in priority before God. Some of you are saying that you need time away ... so you take the time God calls you specifically into His house. Some of you are saying you need your fun ... so you spend more on you than you do on God's work.
I asked, in my Facebook page, a question a few weeks back. It asked what, financially, we placed before God. One person sent me back (I am guessing they did not read me entire post) a response that said, "recreation of course!" A sad and probably true answer. So I will ask the question in a different way. What do you place before God in how you use your time and energy? How does your life respond to His great mission of salvation as he lived, taught, died and was resurrected for you? Do you abide in Him or in this kingdom called fallen? Pastor Randy
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