A Resolution to be an Atheist

So this week an Adventist pastor announced he is going to practice being an atheist for one year as his 2014 resolution.  He’s going to stop praying, stop going to church, stop reading his Bible, and stop thinking about God.  I’m not sure how you do that last one, but good luck.  Anyway, Ryan J. Bell is a former pastor for the Hollywood Adventist church.  He’s had some differences in opinion over the years with the church which ultimately led to them firing him as the pastor.  As a result of his resolution for this year Mr. Bell has already lost his teaching positions at two Christian universities and his job writing for a Christian magazine.  He’s also had friends and family distance themselves from him.  You can check out the full story here.

So what is your gut reaction?

Can someone just decide to stop being religious?

Is it a good idea to experiment with something like this?

Could/would you do it?

What would you hope to get out of it?

Everyone winds up going through a phase where they’re going to question and push back on the beliefs they’ve been taught their whole life.  For some people they’re lucky enough that it comes earlier in their life.  They have parents that allow them to figure their faith out in middle school and high school and they’re able to form those convictions earlier in their life.  Then you have some who have to get through high school, into college and after they have some freedom they begin finding ways that open their mind for them to see things and question things differently.  For some people like Mr. Bell it may not be until you’re in your 20s or 30s and you have a midlife crisis.  There’s a reason why atheism is out there and so prominent right now.  And I don’t believe that it is because it’s the cool thing and all the people are just jumping on the bandwagon, which there are a lot of people who are just on it for the ride and popularity.  But then you have the people who sincerely just don’t know and atheism is just ground zero.  It’s a blank slate where they just want to start from scratch and figure this whole God and religion thing out for their own.

When you’ve got shows like Preachers Daughters and Preachers of LA and Duck Dynasty, then throw in people who used their faith and family Christian values like to get famous Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus; you start to question everything about Christianity.  You start looking at those things and you say “whoa, why do I want to be part of those Christians”.

Spirituality, faith, and religion are going to be the number one thing that defines everything that you do in your life.  And we have all these influences and examples around us trying to pull us one way or another as we try to figure it out.  But discovering them is a very personal journey.  Which is why the apostle Paul tells Timothy to “study to show yourself approved” (2 Tim 2:15).

Jews in ancient Israel spent their lives reading the Torah, the first five books of the bible.  It’s all they had.  There wasn’t a public library they could go check out the latest spy novel by Abraham the Assassin.  You spent your elementary school days reading and memorizing the Torah; the foundation of their faith.  Teachers and scribes would read the Torah every week, all five books.  All week long they only read that one thing.  So a man named Ed Dobson a few years ago decided as a Christian it would be a good idea for him to do the same thing with the foundation of his belief system, the gospels.  He read the four gospels every week for a year.  52 times he read the gospels.  He said “I’m a Christian, I’m a follower of Christ, I believe that he died on the cross for my sins and if I truly believe that I need to spend time understanding this person better”.

If the basis for who you are as a Christian is dependent upon your relationship with Jesus don’t you think that you want to know those stories forwards and backwards.  When you get married and you have your spouse you want to know their story, know them inside and out so you ultimately become that cheesy couple that finishes each other’s sentences.  You don’t have to think about it, it’s natural.  Understand who Jesus is.  Even Gandhi, a Buddhist, was a follower of Jesus.  He famously said “I like your Christ; I don’t like your Christians”.  And that’s the crux that is creating situations like this.  Can you argue with him?  I like Jesus, I like the way that Jesus lived for and treated other people.  But I don’t like your Christians.  They’re rich.  They’re snobs.  They mistreat each other.

So this year I encourage you to resolve to understand what you believe better.  Look for ways to strengthen your faith.  Delve into the four gospels.  It’s the story of a person who we all say we want to model our lives after.  It’s okay to ask questions.  That’s what my ministry for youth has always been.  It’s not simply a place where you can go through the lesson and walk out, going through the motions of Christianity like a zombie.  It’s a place where we can have these kinds of conversations; understanding and owning our faith.

Why I’m Thankful for Youth Ministry

Youth ministry is by no means easy.  Parents are fickle, pastoral staff is demanding, and church members are critical. You throw in high expectations on a limited budget with ingratitude for anything that’s done and it’s a wonder why anyone would want to do this anymore.  After all, most of us are too old to be pulling an all nighter playing Halo while doped up on Mountain Dew and Snickers bars anymore.  But we keep coming back to it in spite of what our psychiatrist says.

I’ll be honest, this past year has been a roller coaster for my faith.  There were serious moments where I felt as if I couldn’t do it anymore.  The politics and hypocrisies of church life had eroded my passion. Yet, as I look back over all that has happened this year, I’m more thankful than ever for the ministry God has called me to for the past nine years.  With every low point there came a highlight and a reminder of why I can’t give up.  It finally hit me this past week sitting at my desk and a song came on the iPod.  I immediately sat back and laughed because the song itself brought up a memory of a road trip and time spent with students.  I remembered how much that trip meant to them in the midst of the trauma of their own life.  My life seems to be filling up with those glimpses.  Hidden mementos.  A Katy Perry song, a package of cookies, a line from a movie.  All little things that have invaded my life and changed the way I experience the world.

I’m thankful for youth ministry because for me it’s everything that’s pure and right about church.  There are politics and inconsistencies in every institution and organization.  It’s inevitable.  We’re humans flawed with selfishness and stupidity.  But in Youth Ministry I’m reminded of who I am and why I believe what I believe.  It’s a mission field.  Some people serve the homeless, some people sell all they have to build a school in Africa.  I’ve built my life around helping students sort out all that life has to throw at them through the lenses of Jesus colored glasses.  Youth ministry has changed my life and I’m thankful for every moment.

I’m thankful for the moments where I feel completely powerless to do anything but put my arm around a student and let them cry.  It’s a reminder to me of how much we need one another in a world where everything and everyone seems so shallow and pointless.

I’m thankful for the passion I see in a student’s eye when they have an amazing worship experience.  I see hope where there was despair, and life where there was brokenness.

I’m thankful for the fact that no one knocks on my door anymore.  My home is their home and my family is their family.

I’m thankful for parents who send home a pie for my wife who sacrificed her evening with me so I could help their son or daughter.

And I’m thankful for pastoral staff who continue to let me do what I do.

There’s so much to be thankful for and my list grows every year without realizing it.  Stopping to be mindful of all that youth ministry has done for my life and for my family gives me strength to go into another year with vigor, looking for the opportunities and callings God has for me to continue to change lives.  If you’re a youth minister reading this, please take a few moments to look back at all that you are thankful for in ministry.  If you’re a student or pastor reading this, thank your youth leader for what they do for you.  And if you’re a church member reading this and aren’t involved in a ministry, I hope that you would find what God is calling you to do.  Whether it is youth ministry or quilting ministry.  The change that you make in the lives of others through your sacrifice and love is more than anything you will buy on Black Friday.

10 Reason’s to Be In Youth Ministry

10. You don’t know enough adults to have a decent paintball game

9.   The church budget covers all the pizza and Dr. Pepper you can eat

8.   Your subscription to Rolling Stone is now a “ministry expense”

7.   You don’t want to admit you’re getting old

6.   You have an excuse to do the crazy things your spouse won’t let you do

5.   Reliving high school, except this time you’re the kid in charge

4.  High school students aren’t afraid to ask questions adults won’t

3.  The personal challenge to continue to grow spiritually

2.  The note that comes their freshman year in college that says “you don’t know how much you changed my life”

1.  Seeing the heart of a student change to want to be more like Christ

What Cinderella and Pro Football Have in Common

Everyone knows the story of Cinderella don’t they?  At least the happy ending part with Prince Charming and the glass slipper, whisking her away from her evil step mother.  At some point it’s every girls dream right?  But did you know that in today’s world that story is about a lot more than finding Mr. Right and excaping your mean parents?  Has it been so long since you’ve seen it?  Let me remind you…

This past week there was one story that dominated the sports world.  It was about Jonathan Martin, a 300 pound offensive lineman who quit playing for the Miami Dolphins because of the way he was talked down to and harassed by his team mates.  There was name calling and threats at a level that a man who has spent his entire life playing football and hanging out in locker rooms couldn’t take it any longer.  If you aren’t aware of the story you can check it out here.

So what do a professional football player and Cinderella have in common?

Bullies.

What throws us off about Cinderella and Jonathan Martin is the fact that we wouldn’t expect either one of them to be bullied in todays society right?  When have you ever seen the prettiest girl in school bullied by a bunch of ugly girls or one of the jocks, member of the football team crying because he got made fun of?  It just doesn’t happen right?  When we think about bullies we think about nerds getting stuffed in lockers and poor girls getting teased by the cheerleaders.

The headlines are crowded with bullying stories anymore.  Physical bullying, emotional bullying, and even cyber bullying.  And we find out about them when people reach a breaking point and do something extreme like commit suicide.  These people who are tormented their entire life just look for a way to get out and to end it.  Jonathan Martin knew he needed help and checked into a hospital, but so many people don’t believe that’s an option.  And what are we to make of this?  What can we do?  I found one other football story this week that helps point us in the right direction.

Did you notice the affect the play had on the whole team?

When was the last time you saw a middle school boy jock cry?

Notice how the students didn’t tell their coaches because deep down they probably felt the coaches wouldn’t have supported them.  They knew what they were doing was counter cultural.  It was revolutionary.  The most respected boys in the middle school take the person at the bottom of the social ladder and place him on top. 

Now, the question is, would you have done the same?

Last week we talked about the woman thrown at Jesus’ feet.  And that story fits into so many facets of our life.  Much like this one.  This woman was trapped and abused, hauled out to be mocked and accused in front of everyone.  This happens all the time today.  We like pointing out how someone has fallen short of what everyone thinks is proper.  Yet, Jesus looks at her, doesn’t judge her, picks her up, and encourages her.  If you start looking at the people that Jesus hung around with they weren’t smart popular people.  It’s one of the things that got him killed.  The popular kids (the pharisees) thought he should have been hanging out with the rich kids and jocks.  Instead Jesus sat at the table with the druggies, flunkies, and teen moms.  The untouchables.  And Jesus’ disciples were the same way.  Imagine your head pastor hanging out with truck drivers.  That’s who Jesus was.

And that’s the example we have for responding to the world of bullies around us.  Even those whom we don’t expect to be bullied at some point need the love of Jesus.  They need us to carry them into the endzone for that one fleeting moment of victory that tells them that they are loved infinitely more than any value that this world could offer. 

Who will you carry into the endzone this week?

How Would You Treat A Gay Waiter?

This past week a Christian married couple went out on a date to a local restaurant.  After a lovely meal out with excellent service from their waiter, the couple left a note on their receipt rather than a tip.  The note read:

“Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD.  (Gay slur) do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours. We hope you will see the tip your (gay slur) choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly.  It is never too late for GOD’S love, but none shall be spared for (gay slur). May GOD have mercy on you.”

What are your first thoughts about this note?

Would you ever do anything like this?  Why or why not?

What struck me first was how did they even know he was gay.  I’ve never known a server to come an introduce themselves with personal information like “Hi, I’m Sandy I have a blue car, a dog, and three kids and I’ll be your waitress tonight”.  So immediately we run into a problem of this Christian couple passing judgment on this man without really knowing him right?  Should they have done that?  What does the bible tell us about judging others?  Look up Matthew 7: 1-3.

Now for the next part, I didn’t see any grace did you?  If you don’t believe in what someone is doing, help them (or ignore them entirely which is what most people do).  Why not invite the man to church where he could find Jesus.  Every time the Bible gives an example of judgment, the next line is to offer salvation through repentance and fellowship.  But somehow these people missed that.  These people didn’t even have the nerve to tell the waiter to his face.  They had to leave a note.  They knew deep down what they were doing was cowardly and unChristlike.

Now we’re not going to talk about homosexuality with this.  What I want us to look at is how we as Christians interact with the world.  This type of behavior is why so many people leave the church and faith entirely. We have a perfect example of how we are to respond to those who may be practicing  a lifestyle we don’t approve of.   In John 9: 1-11 Jesus is brought a young woman who was a prostitute and asked what should be done with her.  The hate and condemnation of the religious leaders was trying to get Jesus to give up on his mission of grace and love.  But after a little bit of public shaming, all the religious people left.  Jesus looked down at the woman and said “I don’t condemn you, but go and stop what you’re doing”.  It’s that simple.

I believe Jesus would have left a tip for hard work earned and then had a conversation with the young man and inviting him into fellowship.  With love and grace we should be an encouragement to each other, after all everyone has sinned and fallen short of that grace so many Christians claim will bless you if you live rightly.  No one deserves it.  And no one deserves to be treated like this waiter.

Does the Devil Influence You Through Celebrities?

Growing up I remember it was a really big deal for pastors and Christian leaders to show us this video called “Hell’s Bells”.  It was about all the rock and roll bands and how they all worshipped the devil.  They’d show us all the hidden pentagrams in the album art and play the songs backwards so we could here “worship Satan” come blaring out of the speakers at us.  Of course we all thought it was a little crazy because who listens to a record backwards anyway.  But it always stuck with me.

If you do a google search of celebrities who worship Satan you’ll find a lot of weird websites that make a lot of assumptions.  But there are articles with singers like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha who come out and say they worship the devil.  The one that really jumped out to me the most was actually a video made shortly after Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance.  Take a look

With everything we’ve talked about the past few weeks regarding the devil being very much alive and real, what’s your first reaction to this type of thing?  Do you believe that there are celebrities today are involved in the occult and worshiping Satan?

There are a lot of symbols shown.  Do you think it’s just coincidence?

Do you think people are reading too much into it?

We see lots of people interacting with Beyonce and Jay-Z while performing, and also buying their CD’s and clothing filled with the occult imagery.  Do you think they know what it is?  Do you think they care?  Do you think people actually are affected by it?

What do you think of the “possession” piece?  Do you think that’s possible?  If Beyoncé believes it why wouldn’t we?  She says things like  “I felt something come into me.”  “when I see a video of myself on stage I ask ‘who is that’”,  “I have out of body experiences.  I’m not aware of my face or my body.  I black out”. That’s pretty scary stuff to me.  For a singer with as much talent as Beyoncé to come out and say “I don’t know who that is on stage” is scary to me. 

Now I’m not trying to tell you to go through away all of your Beyonce and Jay-Z music.  What I wanted to do is have you stop and think about it for a minute.  Whether you think the music has an effect on you or not, does it make you look at them differently and view whether you want to support them differently?  The Bible tells us that only demonic spirits possess people.  Pick up a book of stories from missionaries or even visit some parts of the world today and you’ll see firsthand the impact of true devil worship on the lives of people.

As we come up on Halloween and all the scary things that come with it.  Stop for a minute to really look at the ugliness and influence that the devil is trying to have on this world.  No matter how he disguises it, the devil’s end goal is to take the place of Jesus.  His entire being is built on selfishness, greed, lies, and personal satisfaction.  With that comes the ugliest kind of people.  And at the end of the day whether you believe it has an effect on you and your friends or not, think about what the opposite would be.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things” Philippians 4:8

How the Devil Interacts with Us

So, we believe the devil is real right?  It kind of goes along with believing in Jesus.  If you believe in the story of Jesus and the bible, you have to believe the devil is real.  So if he’s real, what does he do? 

Do you think that Satan interacts with people today? 

How does he interact with people?

What do you think of when we talk about the devil interacting with people?  The first response is usually something along the lines of the Exorcist or the Conjuring, demon possession where we have a preist standing over someone with a bible and cross.  Maybe if you’re not that graphic you think th devil just causes bad things to happen to people like cancer or car accidents. 

I recently came across the video below about three girls who believe the devil is real and are trying to do something about it.

The bible tells us several stories about people who came to Jesus to deal with demon possession.  There’s the demoniac on the island of the Geresenes and the boy who had seizures and he disciples couldn’t heal.  A lot of times we read these stories and think that these things probably don’t happen anymore.  They’re as foreign to us as watching possession movies like The Haunting.  It’s a scary story, but how real is it in the end?

If we believe that the devil is real, do we believe as much as these teen girls do that we can fight him?  Can we as individuals through our faith in Jesus Christ work to stop the devils work.  Sure we laugh when the girls talk about “sexually transmitted demons”, but how far off base are they?  We chalk up so much of the bad things we see around us to Satan’s work.  We pray and believe that God will help us and heal us and protect us.  We have faith in a God who is loving and caring and gracious.  And who has also told us that if we have faith like a mustard seed we can do anything.  And the Bible shows us how the disciples went from no faith and the inability to perform miracles to a point after Jesus left where they could do anything. 

Think about your faith in how you see and feel Satan working around you.  How will you approach it?  How will you stand up against it?  How will you work to strengthen your faith so that you do not fear Satan’s attacks and could even give hope to those around you?

 

The Devil is Real

Do you believe the devil is real?

Did you know that more than half of people who say they are Christian don’t believe that Satan is real?  This boggles my mind.  To make it even more confusing this same group of people polled by the Barna Group, a Christian research organization, said they believe in angels, demons, and miracles.  Now I’m just confused.  Supernatural powers of good and evil are real, but Satan isn’t?

What’s your favorite scary movie?

The scariest movies that I can watch aren’t really horror movies.  They’re suspense really.  Things like Silence of the Lambs and Scream are about as scary as I’ll get with movies.  I’ll watch the occasional vampire movie (a real vampire movie like Dracula, Twilight doesn’t count) or even zombie movie.  But when it comes to the supernatural I don’t mess with it.  See, the thing is that I believe the devil is real.  I’ve never watched a movie like Paranormal Activity or The Conjuring.  I won’t sleep for days after watching that.  Why?  I believe the devil is real.  I know people who have experienced those things in real life and because I believe it can really happen I don’t open that door for evil in my life. 

But the sad thing is that most people have got to the point where Satan is a joke to them.  He doesn’t really exist other than this cartoon with horns and a red tail.  Sure scary things happen, but come on.  There really can’t be a fallen archangel who’s roaming around the planet with an army of castaways tormenting people, causing sin, and trying to pull people away from God. 

One of my favorite quotes when talking about the devil is this one: “The greatest trick the devil ever played was to convince the world he did not exist ” Charles Baudelaire.  It’s true.  If you start looking at the people who say he doesn’t it’s frightening.  Even among Christians as I showed above.  If Satan wanted to have a greater influence on people, all he had to do is become irrelevant.  That’s the true sign of power.  To many of us that doesn’t make sense because we feel that power, fame, and fortune come from being in the public on Youtube and SNL and having millions of twitter followers.  But have you ever heard of Carlos Slim Helu?  He’s the richest man in the world.  He’s worth $73 Billion.  He’s been quietly taking over the world while we follow Miley Cyrus twerking. 

That’s the way the devil works.  Like a magician who has you watching one hand while he’s taking your wallet, he’s quietly letting you get scared on horror movies and thinking he’s not real.  Meanwhile he sows corruption, hate, and despair all around us. 

The problem though is that if you stop believing in the devil, that can slowly unravel your entire belief system.  Think about it. 

Can you believe in angels, Jesus as the son of God, and miracles, without believing in Satan?

If you don’t believe in Satan do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer?

If you don’t believe in Satan, then where does evil come from?

Can you believe in a God who sent his only son to earth for our salvation without believing in the devil?

Why Should Christians Serve Others?

After who, what, and how, we have one final questions about service.  Why?  Why should we serve others?

A few months ago our church did a survey to help people find their spiritual gifts.  When people were done with the survey they could come and talk to one of the church leaders about what those gifts meant and how they can use them in the church.  I was surprised at how many people actually took the test and wanted to learn how to do more around the church.  I had signed up to be one of the leaders to meet with people, even though I really didn’t want to.  It was going to take all afternoon talking with people I really didn’t know and I just really wasn’t excited about doing it.  But because I’m a leader I felt like I had to.  I did it anyway and what happened was amazing.  I had one person after another come to talk to me specifically just to tell me how inspired they were by me leading the youth group.  They appreciated everything I did and wanted to help in the church the way I did.  I had signed up to try to help others and through the whole thing I had done something that made me feel better about who I am and what I do.

If you’ve ever done something like that you kind of know what I’m talking about.  That feeling you get that you just can’t describe.  There are lots of reasons why serving others is important.  As Christians and followers of Jesus those reasons are given to us throughout the Bible for us to understand better

1.  I Peter 4:10-11 – God has given you gifts to use in serving others.  Sometimes we don’t even realize those gifts until we start using them to help others and we find a hidden talent we never thought we had.

2.  Acts 20:35 – We’re told it’s more blessed to give than to receive.  If you’ve ever done a random act of kindness to someone and seen the look on their face when you’re done you know what I’m talking about.

3.  Matthew 10:28 – Jesus is our model and he came to serve, not be served.  He showed over and over in his life that his life was humbly spent helping others.

4.  James 2:14-17 – Faith in God doesn’t mean anything if our actions don’t show it.  Our salvation doesn’t depend on our works, but our works show our commitment to God and the life changing power of Jesus.

5.  I John 3:18 – Always show others how much you love them.  Love is shown through kind words and actions, even to those we may not always like.

Jesus’ disciples missed the point on a lot of things that Jesus said and did.  Even to the point to where at the last supper they were sitting around arguing who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom.  After all that time with Jesus they still thought he was going to take over Jerusalem, throw out the Romans, and make them all rulers.  They didn’t even notice when he got up, took off his clothes, and began washing their feet.

A lot of times we overlook this little piece of the story.  Most people think feet are gross and wouldn’t wash another person’s feet today.  So think back then when you really didn’t have shoes.  You didn’t take a bath everyday.  Roads were just dirt with cattle poop on them.  Most people hired a servant to wash feet it was so gross.  Yet Jesus, king of the universe, went around and washed his disciples feet as one last lesson of what his life was about.

Serving others should be more than just you wanting to get into heaven.  It’s more than a requirement for being a Christian.  If you view it that way I feel sorry for you.  That’s like giving Christmas presents just so that you can get some in return.  If you’re doing that you kind of miss the whole point. We are called to serve.  Our gifts are different and maybe the way I serve isn’t the way you serve.  Ask yourself why you serve today.  Are you selfish so that you get your community service credit?  Or do you do it because in your heart it means more to you than anything else?

Think back over all the questions we’ve asked about service.  Who are you called to serve?  How do you serve them?  What do you serve?  And now why?

How Do We Serve Others and Why Don’t We?

We started talking about service a few weeks ago with our attitude about serving.  We like good service and go back to places where the people are kind, loving, happy, and generous.  We then talked about who we serve; the lonely, homeless, hungry, poor, ugly, stinky, mean people.  So now, how do you serve others?  Let’s make a list.  We serve others by…

Being friendly

Volunteering at church

Praying for others

Being social

Donating money

Going on mission trips

Doing nice things without being asked.  

That’s just a short list.  Serving others happens so fast and in so many different ways you can’t just write them all down in a list.  When we look at the life of Jesus he really doesn’t give a list of things either.  There wasn’t a checklist like the pharisees had of the exact things to do to be a good person and get into heaven.  All the stories of Jesus have him helping people in different ways.  Each time a little different depending on the person.  And when you skip into the early parts of the church, Paul talks about spiritual gifts and how each person may be good at something different.  Serving others can be in big awesome was, or tiny unseen ways.  It’s as complex as preaching sermons on a mission trip to Africa and as simple as a smile and “hello” to someone who doesn’t have any friends.  How isn’t hard when you think about it.  It’s all the things you do on a regular basis with friends and people you love, just for those who you may not have thought about doing it for previously.  

Seems easy enough right?  It’s all the things that Christians talk about doing, so how hard can it be?  Then what stops us?  So many times we make a list like this and it looks easy on paper, but then we wind up never doing it.  There are lots of reasons for it too.  The most common is that you just don’t feel lie it or helping others in inconvenient, it never seems to fit in your schedule.  Other times it’s just awkward, you don’t really know how to help that person who’s crying or punching things because their day is horrible.  Then you worry about what others would think of you, being criticized for helping that person everyone else has rejected and makes fun of.  Maybe you’re afraid you might make it worse.  

The fear of failing when helping others is probably the biggest reason people don’t do it.  They are afraid they won’t do it right or they’ll make things worse for everyone.  But when it comes to serving others you can only fail upwards.  Before I started doing youth ministry, I was doing college ministry.  The reason I switched was because the pastor found me in the college room by myself because I had killed the college program.  But if I hadn’t failed at college ministry I would have never found the amazing ministry God had for me by working with high school students.  When we fail we learn, we grow, and we see where God is leading us.  Thomas Edison said “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”

Serving others is like Christmas shopping.  It’s kind of a big hassle fighting crowds and trying to find that perfect gift.  Then wrapping it and waiting however long until you get to give it to them.   But it’s always worth it.  And if you’ve ever helped someone in need you know what that feeling is like.  Reaching out and making someone else’s life better even for a minute makes you feel better.  There’s no amount of selfishness in the world that can replace the feeling of helping others.  

So who is it that you feel God wants you to serve?  

Look around you this week for who you can serve and how?  Then ask, what’s stopping me.