17 September 2007 Dear Church Family, "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18 KJV) "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 NKJV) There are two major problems in life. First, having no vision and secondly, having an immature vision. Most of our lives are made up of the little humdrum activities. Why am I bothering to make the bed? I'll mess it up later. I just washed the dishes and the sink is full again. I just did the laundry, but I have no socks.These activities consume much of our day and seemingly lead to nowhere. Of course, we know that there are reasons. When we are ready to cook, we want our favorite pan clean. Although I feel the only reason for a made bed is to find the TV remote. Filling up canvas bags with sand may seem like a meaningless and mind numbing job, but to towns that are prone to flooding, it is a life saver. Many of our activities in church are also mind numbing and seem to lead in circles. Understanding the vision brings meaning to these activities. A concern to the activities of our daily lives and church is our second problem, that we give too much meaning to these activities. In essence they become the total vision and not the means to achieve the vision. We all know an obsessive compulsive who MUST have a clean house, never to relax and enjoy it. Or the student who worked hard to get to college only to stay there or graduate with a nonsensical degree. I heard a caller on a radio talk show the other day say that he received a degree in interdisciplinary studies, which meant he had a little business, a little psychology, a little humanities, etc. The radio host asked him what did that qualify him to do? The caller replied that he has been delivering pizzas for three years now. In the same way, we can place too much value on activities in church. Many churches keep programs long after their usefulness because that is what they have always done The true vision of the church is to glorify God, by reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and facilitating in their growth in Christ. If a program, event or everyday activity does not support this vision it is superfluous and can even be detrimental to the true vision. Let us put all our activities to the litmus test of Christ. Amen. Pastor Scott PS Click here to see previous devotionals... [Home] [Welcome] [More information] [Services] [Devotional] [Previous Devotionals] [Special Events] [Links] © Woodhaven Baptist Church 2007 Last updated: 06 October 2007
|
A
Devotional from Pastor Scott...