Stop Chasing Shadows
Why spend your money on food that doesn’t give you strength? Why pay for groceries that do you no good? Listen and I’ll tell you where to get good food that fattens up the soul! Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake.
~Isaiah 55:2-3, TLB
Jesus does not give us what we want; He gives us what we need because what we need is ultimately what we want.
~Ya’akov
I love Luke 15 and the story of the loving merciful father. In this story, the younger son, a prodigal asked for his inheritance early so that he can go abroad and get a taste of the world and all its amusements. His father graciously gives him his share and off he goes in search of fulfillment. Things went well for a while and then he ran out of money. He discovered quickly that with no money, he had no friends. There he was in a far country, bankrupt and lonely. He had no one to turn to and no one offered to help him. He had to beg a local farmer to let him feed his pigs. A Jew had rather do anything as feed pigs. He was so hungry that he probably ate the husk that the pigs were eating but there was no substance in the husk. He could eat it but it was not satisfying. He was like the starving man who fell asleep and dreamed of dining at a feast only to awake with more hunger than ever. The young man learned a valuable lesson: this world cannot satisfy our needs. I’ve always said we have a J shaped hole that only Jesus can fill. Robert Dingley says we have a triangular shaped hole that a round world will not fill. The point is: God created us with a need for Himself and nothing else will satisfy that need.
Dingley tells the parable of the King who gave a feast and invited all the subjects of the realm to attend. They came in mass but only a few actually dined with the King. When most of the crowd got to the palace, they became enamered with the decor, the statues, the paintings, the furniture, the gardens, the ball rooms and the stables. They spent the evening wandering up and down the halls of the gigantic palace taking it one sight after the other and they missed the entire banquet. The Giver is always greater than the gift. Don’t get so wrapped up in the gifts that God has created that you miss the Creator Himself. Solomon said, No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied; no matter how much we hear, we are not content. Augustine said,“We are all restless until we find rest in God.” This world can give us a lot of things but it cannot give us peace or joy. In the end, it will leave us hungry and dissatisfied.
- We got the word last night. Our grandson Ty is now one of the managers of the ALABAMA MEN’S BASKETBALL team. Congratulations Tybo! He had a lot of help. A special thanks to Tommy Kyle of Decatur. That is the good news: the bad news is we want see him much for the next 8 months.
- Don’t forget someone out there needs you to intercede for them today and it may be your pastor.
- Outdoor Church this Sunday September @ 8:00. We are sticking with the 8 O’clock start due to the heat. Hopefully this will be our last heat wave.
- GOD’S WORD FOR ALL PEOPLE is Sunday September 13th. Our Goal at the POINT…108 verses which happens to be the number of verses in the book of James.
- Slidder and Hotdog supper Wednesday night September 16. Originally had this for the 9th but we decided to use the pavilion and so maybe the weather will be cooler by the 16th.
- Monday October 26…we are hosting the pastor appreciation banquet at the POINT. Things are a little different this year. It will be pastors and executive committee members. I have asks Terri and I am asking our 49ers to help with the meal for the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. I think we will have between 60-70. It will work if we have a servant’s heart! All 49ers who help are to stay and eat with us.
- October 28 is our Bill Smith Jambalaya Supper. Pat and Chad are really to go. They will cook the Jambalaya and I am doing hush puppies.
- We do have one Wednesday night meal in November; it falls on Veterans Day and we are having a stew and Joe is going to have us a video of our veterans at the round table. After the Stew in November, there will be no more Wednesday night suppers until Spring.
- First Wednesday day service will be November 18 at 10:30
- We will have a day service on November 25 and lunch but no night service. {Thankgiving Eve}