Good morning everyone! For those of you getting down about todays weather, remember that RDF (rain-drizzle-fog) is the norm here. There is a bright side to this ugly weather. Above the clouds, the sun is shining in all its glory! Here is what is happening this week! Take note that there is no Mid-Day Prayer this week. Prayer Time - Tuesday - 6PM (Upper Room) The Corner (Youth) - Tuesday - 6PM (Coffee House) Coffee House - Friday - 8PM (Coffee House) Free Market - Saturday - 10AM (Upstairs) Supper Bowl - Saturday - 4:30PM (Main Sanctuary) Pre-Service Prayer - Sunday - 10AM (Upper Room) Service - Sunday - 11AM (Main Sanctuary) We would like to thank you all for your giving to Offerama this month. Thanks to you, we surpassed this years goal for Missions giving! Here is Pastor Garys Thought for Today. ________________________________________ The Danger of Comparing The period of judges in Israels history was drawing to a close. The people of Israel were restless and anxious for the future. Samuel was the spiritual leader of the nation. Yet his two son, Joel and Abijah, were less than honorable judges with whom the nation felt uncomfortable to entrust their future. Listen to what the nation said: Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:4-7) Without reading too much into this, Israels leaders were doing a comparison. All the other nations had earthly kings, someone they could see and visualize as their leader. God was offering Israel a theocracy (a nation led by God) and yet they wanted a monarchy (a nation with a earthly king/queen). God was offering Israel the unique experience of having God as their king. But in anxiousness, Israel chose an earthly king instead. History would allow David (from whose lineage Christ would be born) to one day give Israel Godly leadership. Yet as you read in 1 Samuel 8, God warned Israel that if you ask for a king, you also need to consider the consequences. Is there a message here for us? Is it possible that God has something unique, handcrafted, and special for each of us, and yet we might unwittingly jeopardize what He has in store because we compare ourselves to others? Do we sometimes impose on ourselves a standard or comparison that we ought not to? If God can give us our own personalized finger print and unique DNA, can He not craft out for us a life that is uniquely ours? I suggest the answer to all of the above is YES. Read Psalm 73. The psalmist is doing what most of us do; he compares the comfortable lives of the wealthy and the Godless with the suffering of the righteous. This apparent injustice almost made him give up on God. Until he went into the sanctuary and got alone with God. Thankfully, God gave the psalmist a more correct perspective. Maybe the enemy of your soul has you comparing your life with someone else. For whatever reason, you feel you are coming up short, in comparison with the good fortune of someone else. Maybe you are feeling less than blessed as you compare the good life of the other person with your plight. Woe is me! :) While Godly role models and examples are meant to compel us to seek more of God, comparing others with the intent of imposing their life on ours can be dangerous. Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you to be you. Lets go live our lives in the specialness of the journey he has uniquely marked out for each of us. - PG _____________________________________ God bless and enjoy your day! CMC
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 15:33:50 +0000
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