Evaluation

Just a few stats to get started, • The average house size in 1950: 1200 Square feet. • Average house size today: 2350 Square Feet • Average household population in 1950: 5 • Average household population today : 3.1 Houses have gotten bigger, families have gotten smaller and it is reported that there is 2.35 billion square feet of storage space rented in the United states. Based on number of units that is enough storage for every family unit to possess three storage units. Sometimes statistics point to some systemic issues that we should begin to think about in our own lives. What fuels this need for all this stuff? Why are there so many shows on TV about organizing, hoarding, collections gone wild? C.S. Lewis talks about the sin of avarice. Counting, possessing, finding my worth in how many I own. At what point do we ask if I own something or does it own me? The title here is “Evaluation.” Over the years I have been forced to sift through the collected piles of others, the common thread I see is an inability to evaluate worthwhile stuff from worthless stuff. In an attempt to value everything, everything becomes worth less. Learning to decide the difference and making evaluations is an important part of life for all of us, not just concerning our stuff, but our spiritual lives as well. What have I placed value on that needs to be rethought? The Pharisees in Jesus day said the altar doesn’t mean anything, it’s the gift that matters most. Jesus said “ARE YOU CRAZY” the altar makes the gift sacred. A wrong evaluation of what matters most. Our whole world is filled with the need to evaluate, to decide that one thing is more important to me than a list of many other things. It’s an important part of a healthy life. One of the greatest evaluations from God’s word is simply this…“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Here’s to the good life of evaluation. Saying yes to what God says yes to and saying no and so honor our Lord.

Sunday Sept 16th, Love them but do I have to Like them?

God tells me I have to love people, but do I have to like them? Youth always asked me this question. The answer is yes unless you can stomach the idea that God loves but he doesn't like you, your parents love you but they don't like you and your boyfriend/girlfriend loves you, but doesn't like you. For those of us who are married, how well would it go if I told my spouse... Hey Leah, I really love you, but just so you know, I don't really like you. Some of you feel sorry for Leah already just with the written (totally)hypothetical statement.The Sunday is about the enormous Love of our God.

Anointed to...

The questions of life draw people into important questions about where I belong, do I matter, is there any meaning greater than just what I can see. The atheist seem to proclaim: you live, you die, you rot, who cares. As CS Lewis would probably put it, the fact that so many people want to know if there is a greater meaning is evidence itself that there is. Enter Isaiah 61..The Lord has anointed me to... There is a task that matters greatly for all eternity. To... bring good news, bind up the broken, proclaim freedom to captives and prisoners, comfort those who mourn. A friend of mine has a great song he wrote. The chorus proclaims a thankfulness to Jesus for giving us "Hope and a Home." My prayer is that we would root ourselves in God's family, know hope, and grasp the idea of the great anointing God himself has blessed us with to be a part of the greatest tasks we've been commissioned for.

Isaiah 61:1-3