Blessed Sunday! Worship was totally awesome today. The worship music was so full of praise and joy and my soul sang for the first time in quite a while. We opened with “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord” and closed with “This Little Light of Mine.” I even learned to sing the “shu-be-du-bops!” Not as well as Cheryl does, but I will get better. As the assisting minister today I led the congregation in the prayers. One of the prayers called upon God to help us in the tasks we have been called to do even when we feel unprepared or unworthy and to be obedient to the calling of the gospel whether we are called to Ninevah (Jonah) or across the street. The message was quite clear. We are to serve God with our actions and use words if necessary. What an amazing call to our daily lives.

Philippians 2:5 says, “God wants you to think and act like Christ Jesus.” If we are to be obedient and accept the call of Christ to service then we must be willing to submit ourselves to His direction. We must be willing to be taught by Him through His Word and through prayer so we may serve on His behalf.

In order for my first graders to act like first graders I must teach them. My job for the first six weeks of school is to teach the children in my classroom how to be first graders and not kindergarteners. At the beginning they are pretty resistant to this teaching, sort of like Jonah when God called him to go to Nineveh and preach. Jonah said no way and resisted God’s call three times. Well God placed Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days until Jonah decided that preaching for God was better than being digested by a large fish. (I think I would agree!)

I continue to teach them the skills and the ways to begin to think like a first grader and before long most of the children are catching on to this more mature way to think and act and have a great year. And then there are those who are really resistant. Those are the ones who miss recess and have to watch the others play because they resisted the instructions given to them. If you think about it; God’s call to us is sort of like that. For God, it is His way or the highway. He does not give up on us and continues to work with us until He has made us ready for His calling. How many of us have been in “time out” having to watch others work in the kingdom? Have you been in the belly of a fish lately? With some of us who are really resistant to the way God wants us to think and act He has to get pretty dramatic to get our attention. (I resisted the call to seminary for years. Big mistake! Huge!)

Listen and trust in God’s call on our life. He may send us to Nineveh. If He does, then He will send us prepared and with a plan. If He sends us across the street then He is will send us prepared and maybe with a pie. No matter where He sends us or what He calls us to do, He will go with us. And there will be joy in the journey.

Take joy in the journey friends. Love you, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.