Sunday, September 8, 2019 is National Grandparents Day. There is not much fanfare made about Grandparents Day. Most of our calendars don’t even recognize its existence. What a shame! It is unfortunate that we don’t make as much of a fuss about grandparents as grandparents do about their grandchildren. No cowboy was ever as fast on the draw as a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet.
Grandparents will go to war for their grandchildren. A grandmother or grandfather will even fight his or her own child for the sake of their grandchild. Grandparents are the God’s gift to the world. You are an integral part of family system. Perhaps now more than ever, grandparents are a critical part of the family unit. At a time where the norm is for both parents to work outside of the home or for only one parent to be the primary guardian, grandparent support makes a significant difference in the life of a child. As grandparents, you provide a link to the past, while shaping the future. Through you, your grandchildren have access to their roots. In you, grandchildren are able to see how their parents were influenced to become the people that they are. You help your grandchildren create a sense of identity within themselves. Tell your grandchildren your story. They realize who they have the potential to be, in part, by knowing where they come from. What’s your story? Is it the story of a country boy who picked cotton for 10 cents a day? Is it the story of an East Texas native who was the first person in her family to go to college, and then came to the big city in search of opportunity? Is it the story of a single mother who sacrificed her dreams in order to make the dreams of her children a reality? Is it the story of a boy from the South with only an 8th grade education who has a PhD in common sense and integrity? Is it the story of a young fool who should be dead, but God’s grace spared your life and turned your foolishness into wisdom? Is it the story of one who survived the Civil Rights movement, Jim Crowism, discrimination, segregation and voter intimidation? Maybe your story is not a pretty story, maybe you are not proud of your story. Is it the story of one who has come over a way that with tears have been watered? Whatever your story, it is one that needs to be told. You need to tell your story because your story has an impact on your grandchildren’s story. Your story will impact generations yet unborn because your story is a story of faith. Your story is about the power and miracles of the Lord, God. The most important contribution a grandparent can make is imparting and modeling faith.
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In 2 Corinthians 8:7-12, Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the promises that they had made to assist in the offering to the church in Jerusalem. They had committed but had not followed through on their commitment. They were to finish what they started as a demonstration of sincere love and as a response to God’s grace. They were to finish and complete the task according to their ability.
Some of us need to finish what we started. We were excited and eager last year. We entered this year on fire. We made a commitment and decided that we were going to be different. But once we faced the same old temptations, we went back to our old ways. Pleasing God was no longer a priority. We started well, now we need to finish. Finish. No Excuses! The truth of the matter is that excuses usually only satisfy those who give them. We use excuses in an attempt to justify being less than who God has called us to be. “I would be more but my family is dysfunctional” “I would be more but I don’t have any money.” “I would be more but I’m not educated.” Excuses! We use excuses to say no to God. My job, my school work, my parents, my church, my schedule, my skills, my extracurricular activities keep me from participating in ministry. We use excuses to minimize our failures and justify our sins. “I would not have said that if you wouldn’t have made me mad.” “At least all I’m doing is watching porn.” “We need to do something before we get married to make sure we are compatible.” “We’re living together to see if marriage is going to work for us.” “I lied in order to protect you.” “What I did wasn’t that wrong, it’s not like I’m out there killing people.” As long as we make excuses we will never make a change. You must come to a point where you quit making excuses for yourself. You need to take responsibility for yourself. Realize that although it may not be your fault, it is still your responsibility. It may not be your fault that you got knocked down, but it is your responsibility to get up. No excuses! Finish. Jesus died so that you could finish! Jesus rose so that you could finish! Jesus lives so that you can finish! It is not enough to have good intentions, we must honor our commitments. We have been exploring the impact of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. As we study the book of Acts, we see that the Holy Spirit was active. In fact, Acts could rightly be call the Acts of the Holy Spirit instead of the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 13 we see that the church was active in serving the Lord. The Holy Spirit spoke while they were ministering, serving the Lord and fasting.
It is as if the saints in Antioch were expecting God to do something great among them. To take it a step further, they weren’t just expecting God to do something great among them. They were asking God to do something great among them. In the Spirit filled church, there is a sense of anticipation and expectation that God is going to move. We should expect the Spirit of God to speak to us and do great things through us. Too often the church doesn’t expect much from God and we end up getting what we expect. We should be working, worshipping, fasting, and praying in anticipation and expectation of a Word from the Holy Spirit. Often our thinking is limited by what we know we can do. We need to think beyond our limits and dream beyond our resources. Why do you need God’s power if you can do it in your own power? Time and time again, our heavenly Father has demonstrated that He is the God of the upgrade. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is working within us. The work of the Spirit is not limited by our imagination. The work of the Spirit is only limited by the limitless power of God. The Holy Spirit empowers the church to be the church. Unfortunately, many Christians minimize, ignore, or dismiss His role among us and His power in us. The early church understood the impact and influence of Holy Spirit in the church. The Acts of the apostles are acts that are possible because of the actions of the Holy Spirit. The disciples understood that the Spirit is the life of the church.
If the church is the body of Christ, the Spirit of Christ is the life of the body. Just like the human body is dead without the spirit, there would be no church without the Holy Spirit. He is the breath, the life-giving force of the body of Christ. The same Spirit who was active in the life of the early church is available to us. Perhaps the greatest tragedy in the church is the suppression of the Holy Spirit. We are often guilty of quenching the Spirit and grieving the Spirit. This may be because many Christians are uninformed and unaware as to who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. But the church needs to be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not like a contractor who builds a house and then leaves it for new owners to occupy. Instead, the Spirit takes us residence and fills the void left after sins are forgiven and evil is driven out of hearts of new believers. The Spirit continues to give life to the church, and that life is the life of Christ. The church is the community of the Holy Spirit. As the community of the Spirit, the church benefits from the presence of the Spirit within us. What are some of the benefits that we receive from the presence of the Holy Spirit? How is the Holy Spirit active in the church today? How can we be more aware of the leading of the Holy Spirit? These are questions that we will address over the next few weeks. During the nationally televised NBA and NFL games there is a halftime report. Casual fans of the game typically change the channel during the halftime report. But those who are die-hard fans will watch the half-time report to hear the analysts and commentators review highlights, and what worked and didn’t work in the first half. They also share what each team needs to do in the second half if they want to win the game. There is a similar conversation being had in each team’s locker room during halftime. Halftime gives players a chance to catch their breath and teams an opportunity to make adjustments to their game plan sob that they can win the game.
We have reached the halfway mark of 2019. It has been six months since we were ringing in the New Year. Many of us had great dreams and plans for 2019. We made resolutions, committed to greater spiritual devotion and started exercising (again for the fifteenth time). So where are you now? Halfway through the year are you as committed as you were at the start of the year? Now is a good time to evaluate and make adjustments for the second half of the year (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Even if your first half was a lackluster performance, you can now catch your breath, do the analysis, and make the necessary changes to your life strategy to still win this year. Take some time to evaluate your connection to God, the church, and the world for the first half of 2019. Here are some questions to get you started. Feel free to add your own. Connecting to God: What am I doing to have one on one time with God each day? How will I engage in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, scripture reading, and meditation between now and the end of the year? Is worshipping with the church on Sunday a non-negotiable habit? Am I focused on God in worship? How we better connect to God as a household? What is my plan to better connect to God in the second half of the year? Connecting to the Church: How much time am I spending with Christians outside of the church building (excluding family members)? Are there any strained relationships with any brothers or sisters in Christ that I need to address? What is my plan to address the relationship (when, where, how)? Am I involved in at least one ministry of the church? Am I attending MACC monthly +connection groups? What is my plan to better connect to the church in the second half of the year? Connecting to the World: What have I done this year to equip myself to share the gospel? What opportunities were presented for me to engage in a conversation about Christ and salvation, and did I take advantage of that opportunity? How many non-Christians have I invited to worship, Bible class or a church event? Who are the lost people that I know that I am going to pray for by name that God will touch their heart to obey the gospel? What is my plan to better connect the lost to Christ and His church in the second half of the year? |
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