Treasure

Everyone loves a good treasure hunt, right?! Remember the 1950 movie Treasure Island starring young Jim Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver? The movie has good guys and bad guys, but more importantly the hunt for a buried treasure is at the center of the story line. Today, you can even plan a vacation in which you can hire on to search for sunken treasure. I think I might put that on my "bucket list". Who doesn't enjoy the idea of finding something of great value which others have overlooked?

Jesus spoke about treasure in Matthew 6.  He counseled, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."  (Matthew 6:19-20, NLT)

I want to encourage you to think about those things which you treasure in life.  Make a list and join us Sunday as we consider Jesus' words concerning treasure and our hearts.  See you Sunday at the ARC (9:30 and 10:15 AM)

Spiritual Fitness

Looking forward to Sunday and trust you are having a great week.  This Sunday we are focused on spiritual fitness.  I was going to title the message "Spiritual Disciplines" but decided to change it to "Spiritual Fitness".  1 Timothy 4:7-8 says, “. . . Train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

Our culture is obsessed with physical fitness.  Americans spend upwards of 60 billion dollars on gym memberships, diet plans, and exercise plans.  No doubt about it -- physical health is important.  But increasingly, medical science is awakening to the reality that emotional, mental, and spiritual health is just as important, if not more important than physical health.  So the big question this week is "What are you doing to get in shape spiritually?  I hope you will give it some thought and then join us Sunday as we celebrate the gift of Jesus in our lives and take three steps towards spiritual fitness.  See you at the ARC (9:30 and 10:15 AM).

Food for thought - God and money

Already getting excited about this week's sermon entitled, "Three Disciplines of a Spiritual Life".  We will focus on Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6.  He suggests giving, fasting, and praying as three important ingredients to a spiritual life.

Jesus begins with a words about giving to the poor, so I thought I would share a note from the late Larry Burkett on Christians, giving, and debt.  After all, Christians should be different than the culture.  Enjoy.  See you Sunday.  Pastor Tom

Christian author, speaker, and financial counselor Larry Burkett's 25 years of experience, tells us that, “the Christian world is no different from the secular world when it comes to debt, bankruptcy, and divorce because priorities are misplaced. Burkett goes on to say, “while the Bible does not condemn borrowing, it does lay out specific guidelines for Christians and debt. “God said very clearly [that] you can’t be unfaithful in a small thing and faithful in a large — they come part and parcel together,” Burkett says. “You can’t be a bad money handler and be handling other things well. Money is just the outside indicator of what’s going on in our lives spiritually.” According Burkett, the use of credit/stewardship is not a problem among Christians — instead, he says, it is the misuse of credit. Burkett says, “most Christians do not have a firm grasp on the biblical perspectives on debt or stewardship. His origination Crown Ministries conducted research with the results that, “Only 3% of Christians actually tithe today. Thirty-seven percent of those attending evangelical churches don’t give anything at all to their local church in any way. And that’s not a problem,” he says, “that’s an indicator of a problem. It’s a spiritual problem being reflected through their finances.” Burkett cites surprising statistics to prove his point. “Over the last decade, giving overall in Christianity has increased about 20% — but recreational spending increased almost 125% and debt spending increased 550%,” Burkett says. “I think it’s really time that God’s people decided [that] God really does want us to live by a different set of rules.” Burkett further says, “there are several steps to becoming good stewards, among them transfer ownership of everything to God, tithe on gross income, allow no more debt, develop a realistic balanced budget, and start retiring existing debt. (quotes taken from Crown Financial Ministries http://www.crown.org website and article, Qualities of a Generous Giver periodical Generous Giving, 2002 by Gordon MacDonald) 

Words of wisdom for life - "I wish you enough"

WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE NICE...YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT MAY BE GOODBYE
"When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?"

He began to smile. "That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.

"When we said ’I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory:
" I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. 
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. 
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. 
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. 
I wish enough"Hellos" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
He then began to sob and walked away.
**I WISH YOU ALL ENOUGH**

A favorite quote from Mother Teresa

I thought I would share a favorite quote from Mother Teresa which has encouraged me over the years.  Be bless and let your light shine!  Pastor Tom


“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 
― Mother Teresa

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Great is your reward in heaven

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encouraged us to to rejoice in the midst of persecution, because "great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).  Truth is . . . no one naturally rejoices in the midst of trials or tribulations, especially when one is the focus of religious persecution.  So why is Jesus encouraging us to rejoice?  James, the brother of Jesus, must have understood as he writes something similar in James 1:3, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trails of many kinds." (1:3)  How could James write these words?  What was he thinking?

Here's the key to understanding these words - 1) Believe that God has a plan and purpose, especially when it doesn't look like he does (remember it's always darkness before the dawn); 2) Be willing to grow, to change, to flex and follow, and to be loyal to God's purpose in your life, and 3) keep your eyes on the reward.

This Sunday, we are going to focus on rewards.  We don't normally speak about heavenly rewards, but the Bible has quite a lot to say about the concept of reward.  I hope you will join us Sunday as we explore one of the great teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.  Bring a friend and join us for Sunday School at 9:30 AM or worship at 10:15 AM.  Have a great week.  Pastor Tom