Life Goes On

l'm in my hometown, Cullman, AL. It's always good to be with family. Enjoyed lunch at Chik-fil-a. Every Monday at the Cullman, C f l you can bring your church bulletin and get BOGO (buy one, get one free) My brother, sister in law, sister, and a host of their church friends occupied about 5_6 tables. Later, got in a round of golf w/Jerry. As we drove to and from the course I was saddened by the extensive damage left by the spate of tornadoes that devastated the area last May. My hometown will never be the same except in the memories of those of us who grew up there.

Do you ever play "what if" in your mind? I certainly do. As a Pastor, I often look at my congregation and wonder, "What if they each took seriously the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?" What if each of them looked at their neighborhood or workplace or school campus as their personal mission field? What if they made it a point to tell their story of how Jesus has changed their life to someone each day, or even each week or each month? Invariably, after such flights of fancy, I come to the realization that even if only I and my fellow pastors did this, the world would be significantly different. For my part, I'm going to take this challenge personally. And each week I'm going to invite someone to join me in this great experiment. How about you?...today?...let's get started.

I just changed the water filter in our refrigerator. After putting the new filter in place, I had to run water through it for about 5 minutes to clear the air from the water line. As I was doing this, I was reminded of something Jesus said in Mark 7:18-20 "Are you also lacking in understanding? Don't you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him? For it doesn't go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated (as a result He made all foods clean) Then He said, 'What comes out of a person, that defiles him. For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thought, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, lewdness, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person.'" It occurred to me that we are in need of a filter; perhaps a two function one. One function to filter that which enters our life via our eyes and ears, an...