GO JACKETS!!!

**Great job to everyone who worked the cookouts and thank you to those who supported the cookouts this year!!!**

Way to finish out a season!!!

Will I serve God for nothing?

so lately i've been struggling a lot with having a lot of questions and very few answers...i guess really that isn't a horrible thing it's just really hard for me to accept that fact that i won't always get a definite answer to my questions...anyway one particular one i've been struggling with has been how to switch from trying to follow God's will for my own benefit to trying to follow God's will simply to glorify Him. I feel like everything I do is centered around whether or not i'm comfortable or i'm happy. Even college...i'm so worried about what major i should be - what job i'll get when i graduate - but really why should it matter. Do i really believe that God can't use me no matter what job I have? of course not...then why do i worry about it so much. It's not that I'm worried that i won't be glorifying God...it's that i'm worried that i won't enjoy glorifying God or doing God's will won't be easy or painless. Pretty much all this worry is focused on me and my life and my goals and my happiness. At The Midtown Bridge Today, Larry spoke about Job. He brought up two big questions something around the lines of: Will a man serve God for nothing (if he loses everything)? and Is God still worthy to be served if you lose everything? I think those are incredibly important questions because honestly I don't think I could do what Job did. The littlest bumps in the road cause me to doubt God and wonder where He's gone and why He's not fixing the problem. One huge verse for me was Job 2:10 "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" I don't know a lot of times I think I yearn to know God really well...to really really know him as a friend and father - to know Him in a way I could never know friends I see every day. But then I think about it, and I think that it's going to hurt a lot if i want to really know Him. It's just like any relationship...I can't expect to know someone incredibly well and really get them without working at the relationship and going through struggles and ups and downs....why do i expect a relationship with God to be any different...I want to "dig in and know the heart and integrity of God" I want to serve him for nothing... or at least I want to want those things...what do you want?

Tide-To-Go-Pen

A crude joke here. A spot of bitterness there. A fresh blob of jealousy. I make a thorough mess of my life. My point is, I need the equivalent of a Tide-to-go-Pen for my life. All the little things that I choose to do that are instantly regretted upon the passing of that moment seem to be showing. I need something that removes the stains so that I can be on my way looking clean and hiding the mistakes I have made. Apologize. Laugh it off. Try to forget it. Be on my way.

This summer I worked camp. One week in a city off the coast of Mississippi, we attended the churches children's service. I was asked to do a demonstration of how bleach (Jesus) when added to Koolaid (sin) removes the color. I did the demonstration and made my point that Jesus takes all of our sins away like they were never there. Really? Like they were never there?

It is hard to let go. No one really can let go of everything however hard we like to think we can. Jesus took the punishment of ALL our sins. Past, present, future. However, He does leave us with a story. This story is the memory of all the stains. This story is what witnessing is all about. The cup that overfloweth. The forrest fire. The abundant love that we just can't contain. (Insert other Christianese metaphors.) Jesus came in because you let Him in. Jesus is the difference in you and your choices. Jesus is the reason you have a story to share. Sharing with anyone about how your story changed upon letting Jesus in is your witness.

The Truth is that all the big stains that you try to hide and the small blemishes that you ignore on your favorite shirt, however unpleasing to your eyes, are what give you a witness. A story. Share it.

What are you going through?

Have you been having trouble trusting God? When you pray do you really believe that what you ask for God will deliver? Do you truly turn to God for every one of your problems, not just the ones that are convenient for you? Why ... but no, really,...why do you pray? Who are you sharing God with today? What questions are you asking?

What is everyone going through right now? Post - Share - Discuss