Change

As I drove into the church this morning, I noticed the church sign we have been working on. It has been some time since our sign was knocked down by a drunk driver. I remember how excited we were to be able to put that new sign up and then in less than a month it was knocked down. Isn't it funny how our lives are similar to that sign. We work real hard to make something of ourselves and then overnight it can be torn down. This week a young man that's real close to me was let go from his job and in an instance his life changed. All the plans he had made had to be revisited and put into perpective of his new situation. Years ago I was working for a company and I was very content to spend the rest of my life there but one day my boss called me into his office and told me to get my things together because I no longer worked there. Wow! What a wake up call! Thirteen years later I'm so grateful for the fresh opportunity that that change allowed. Change isn't always welcome but in most cases it is necessary. Today ask God to change you. Ask Him to make you look and act more like Him!

Cause of Death

During the week I work part time at a funeral home. My main responsibility is to drop off death certificates at the doctor's office and then pick them up after they have been signed and take them to the courthouse to file them. I admit it's not a hard job but I enjoy getting to meet so many new people each day. One of my duties is to read over the form and make sure it is filled out properly. I get to see how each individual died or what the cause of death was. I'm amazed at the ages of the ones who have died. They go from 1-100 and no age is left out. In my line of work as a pastor, I've heard lots of reasons why, "I'm not ready to think about God or death". No one I know says, "I want to die today" but we never know. I turned on the tv last night and watched the story unfold about the killings in Alabama. Last Sunday the pastor that was shot as he preached his message in Illinois. And then this morning the young man in Germany that took 15 lives. I would like to say you don't have to worry about anything like that happening to you but I could never make that promise. How 'bout today let's make things right with God? I would like my death certificate to read he died of old age wouldn't you? God Bless!

Reflections

Here are a few thoughts on the weekend.

Yesterday I continued our study of the Book of Joshua. We had made it to the fourth chapter where it talks about the children of Israel gathering 12 stones out of the Jordan River to remember God's help. I had asked several people to share what God had done in their life. I told the church at the end that I didn't want anyone to ever accuse me of being long-winded again. We were only able to get half way through the ones who were going to share. I guess the one thing that sticks with me this morning is how many great things we have experienced. The testimonies we heard dealt with salvations, healings, and miracles. One lady told about a financial miracle and another told us how she had been unable to have a baby but miraculously they had a 10 year old boy. I watched a man tell us how he had been saved and continue on about how God had helped him time and again. As he talked I could sense his faith increasing because he is going through some tough times right now. I think sometimes we need to remind ourselves how big our God really is!!

I think it's so wrong for Atlanta to get more snow than we did!