Friday, April 20, 2012

My Job

I asked myself today, seriously for the hundredth time, why do I still work at this job? Today, I thought about it at great length and I couldn't think of a single good reason. I like my job, I like the people, I minister to people at my job when the opportunity arises. None of those are "good" reasons, though. I don't have fun anymore at my job, I feel like I could accomplish so much more, if I were to go full time in the ministry. I stay sick, I think because I don't want to be at my job. So, why am I still there? I can't answer the question. I'm not a man that has stayed long at many jobs in my life. Longest besides this job is about three years. Why? In almost every case...because I got bored with the job. After I learned as much as I could, I would get bored, plain and simple. With this job, I never get bored. There are days when it seems tedious, but never boring. I love the people I work with, or at least most of them. But I am getting away from my point. Let me answer the other side of the question: What would I do if I left my job? My desire is to go to a Seminary school or some type of immersed study of God's Word. My desire is to preach the Gospel. God has called me to preach and to be a Minister and Pastor. I am looking for that opportunity, even now. Tomorrow I return to my job after vacation and I am not looking forward to it. I am already thinking of all the things that I am going to have to catch up on and get done in the next two days. God will bring me through and bring me to the place He wants me to be. I just have to trust in Him and have patience. But, I can't wait to serve God full time, I am so looking forward to those days. Someone once told me, "Do what you love and it will never be work." I can't wait to find out.

Love of Christ: What it truly means

I have to ask this question, because I am beginning to worry that the Church has forgotten: What does it mean to you when you read that Christ said to His disciples, just before His Crucifixion, "Love one another as I have loved you." I ask because I am having trouble seeing the love of Jesus shown as an example to the lost and dying. I ask because we have people fighting over doctrines that mean little to nothing when put beside a question that Jesus asked, "When I return, will I find faith?" Faith is not whether you believe a passage or verse means this or means that, Faith is in the One Who wrote the scripture. When Jesus spoke the words concerning love to His disciples, He meant them as a commandment. In fact, in Matthew 22, in a conversation with the Pharisees, Jesus explained that the two greatest commandments are loving God first, the most important, and then loving your neighbor like you love yourself. How many of you would run around arguing with yourself about what you believe? How many of you would talk about yourself to other people? How many of you would just be plain ugly to yourself? None of you would, or at least I hope you wouldn't. Jesus told us to love one another, both as He loved us and as we love ourselves. When you realize that His love for us included dying on the Cross, so that our sins could be forgiven, you realize that there is no room for the kind of pettiness and argumentative attitudes that are in the church today. We have to get back to the basics of what Jesus taught and leave the worldliness behind. Again I say to you, "Love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you." John 13:34