Lay the foundation before you build the walls

Last week, I came one step closer to the end of my construction woes. I had to revisit all of the difficulties and errors that I encountered with the original construction company. So, when I came across this passage this morning, it really hit home. ..

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on.” Matthew 7: 24 (The Message)

Several times, the comment was made that it would have been easier and less expensive to tear down my entire house and start from scratch than to complete the addition. Partly because there were so many errors made in the new construction, and partly because we were simply adding a new addition to an old house.

Many times we add on to our Christian life. We add a Bible study or add quiet time in the morning. We add these great things without altering an already damaged and old lifestyle. That’s not what God wants from us. He’s not an ‘addition’ – He’s a foundation. As your ride through your neighborhood looking at houses, you can tell which has an ‘addition’ and what was part of the original structure. Similarly, others can tell when we have a Christian ‘addition’ rather than the entire ‘structure’ because our actions might not be equally representative of Christ in every aspect of our life.

So, how do we get to the foundation?

Picture in your mind your life as if it were a ‘blueprint’. You have the ‘job room’ and the ‘church room’. You might have a ‘kids room’ or a ‘family room’. You have all of these parts of your life that make up who you are. You aren’t just a ‘mother’ or ‘father’ or ‘employee’ or ‘boss’. All of these ‘rooms’ come together to make up your whole life. If one of them is on a weaker foundation than the others, the entire structure becomes unstable.

So, let’s start with a ‘room’ – let’s say the ‘job room’. Ask yourself … Do I have God in this room of my life? Do I treat my coworkers and customers in a Godly way? Do I complete tasks to the best of my ability the way Jesus would? How can I make God a priority in this part of my life? Build this room on the foundation of God.

Let’s look at the ‘church room’. Ask yourself … Am I attending church to become closer to God or has it become something to check off on my to-do list? Am I involved in ministries that I am passionate about and pleasing to God? How can I let others know that God is a priority in my life rather than having a ‘church addition’? Build this room on the foundation of God.

Once you’ve rebuilt your life with God as the foundation, He can flow through all aspects of your life. You are no longer meeting God in the addition of your life – but truly making Him the foundation of your life. That is a very good thing!

One brick at a time

My how time flies!! Only a few more weeks until summer is over, school starts and best of all – Breakout starts!!!

We have the opportunity to change the world. That sounds like a huge effort, but really, it’s not. How do you build a mansion? The same way you build a shed – one brick at a time. How do you make a billion dollars? The same way that you make a hundred – one dollar at a time! So, how do we change the world? One child at a time!

One day these children will be leading this church . . . this town . . . maybe even this country. We need to make sure that they have the background, knowledge, and faith to make a positive difference for the future – and for God. I look around at kids these days and hear the stories on the news. The violence, the total lack of respect, the drugs, the children having children – it is very scary to look at what is going on in society and know that is the battlefield our children are walking into. But these kids aren’t like that – they have a chance to make a difference – we just need to give them the strength and confidence to do it.

For those of you who have pre-K – 5th grade children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or kids that spend enough time with you that you should be able to claim them on your taxes … Breakout and Kids Quest are AWESOME programs that can introduce our children to their Savior. This is an excellent way for children to learn about God, Christianity, and how all that fits into their life. It’s designed to build relationships with peers, with leaders they can trust, and with Jesus.

Now, for the rest of you that don’t have children in this age range – please pray for us. Pray for these kids – they are our future.

There is a song that says ‘we’re not so different – we’re all looking for a savior’. We’re all looking for something bigger than us – stronger than us – to wipe away our tears and our pain. It says that some look for their savior in a bottle, some in the arms of a stranger, some in a pill – I found my savior at the foot of the cross. Look at most of the kids in the news – or kids that you might know that stay in trouble – they don’t know where to find their savior – and they are searching for Him in all the wrong places.

Our kids know where to find their savior. They know where they are safe and they know that they are loved. Now, I’m not saying that they won’t stray, or make mistakes – but they won’t be looking for it to save them. The Bible says that if we train up a child in the way that he should go, when he is older, he won’t depart from it. They may go off on a wrong path – but they know that it isn’t going to save them – and they’ll come back to the One that will. But I don’t think it’s good enough for our kids – WGBC kids – to know this. We average 60-odd kids at the 9 and 11 service – not counting Sunday School. Is it enough for these 60-odd kids to know where the Savior is? What would happen if, before these kids left the children’s department – before they went to youth – they each told just ONE person that they could find their savior in Jesus. That would not only bring 120-odd kids closer to God – but it will get 120 kids off the street and out of trouble. And if those kids told their parents – and they told friends, and their friends told their kids and….

That's how we change the world ... one child at a time!

Comm-u-nication

Communication

It’s one of the most influential and important things in our lives, yet many of us frequently struggle and often fail at. We have opportunities to practice communication in our work life, our home life and our spiritual life – yet many of us don’t seem to be getting any better at it.

I know my communication skills with Morgan are quite poor. I communicate that I would like her to clean her room, however, my efforts fail. My communication skills at work often fail as well. An email that says ‘please provide your street address’ often produces a post office box address. And I won’t even mention that my communication with God is much less than I’d like it to be.

When we want to get a message across … here’s something to remember. Comm-YOU-nicate. Put a little of yourself in the message. Morgan doesn’t want to hear a laundry list of chores – and neither does God. He wants to hear from YOU. He wants to hear about YOU. God wants a relationship with YOU.

Note the difference…

“God, please send lots of kids to Breakout and send enough leaders to teach them”

Or….
“God, you have trusted me with the ministry of your children. You know which children need to know more about you – please send them. You also know the leaders that have a passion for loving these children. Please put this program on their heart”.

The first prayer communicates what I want – lots of kids and enough teachers. But it doesn’t communicate ‘me’. It doesn’t tell what is in my heart and what I truly want. The second prayer is true comm-YOU-nication. It tells God a little bit about me. It tells Him that I know he’s in charge of this program – no matter how many emails, phone calls or letters I send out – He’s in charge of who comes– and those are the children and leaders that I am looking for!

The same thing holds true at home. If I start off telling Morgan – “Hey, I really want to have Saturday afternoon to do fun stuff – and would appreciate it if you cleaned your room in the morning” I‘ll get slightly better results than if I say “Morgan, clean your room”!

It doesn’t matter who you are talking to – or what or where. When you communicate with someone, you are sharing a bit of yourself. Make sure that you deliver what is in your heart … not just what’s on your mind.