The Atlanta Hawks are on a Mission!

This season very few people gave the Hawks much of a chance of having a good team. But they had a mission.

Because of that they won over 60 games and are advancing well in the playoffs.

A mission is not just a goal. It is a determination to work, and a drive to do what it takes to reach that goal.

The United States had a mission to get to the moon. It took hard work and determination between a large group of men to make that happen. It was more serious than a goal. Men's lives were at stake. Every detail was important, Each person did more than what was required for the mission to be successful.

A few years ago, a man developed a line of sports clothes. He made some, and loaded his car, and set out to sell them. When he sold those, he came back and made more. The business has become a multimillion dollar business.

It was successful because he believed in his product. He was not just a salesman. He knew his product was quality, and others would benefit from wearing it.

His company went from a local product, to the state, and then became a national name brand chosen by millions of people.

You may have been on a mission. Maybe it was the video game that you had to beat. You spent are your free time trying to reach that certain level. It was not just a goal. It became a passion.

Others have a passion for a sport, or talent that they had to pursue beyond the level of most others.

A church mission trip should be like that. It should be more than a goal. It should have your determination to share the message. You need to believe in your message, and have a drive to share the love of God with those you can reach.

It starts with the local, and sharing that Jesus died on the cross for them. It may grow to statewide, or national, or even international opportunities to share God's love.

Each person has a mission. Are you going to have the determination and drive to be successful? Are you willing to give God the chance to accomplish that mission with your life?

WOW! How about those storms?

There were terrible storms all across the country last weekend. Seems like everybody faced some bad weather. How did you do?

The loud thunder and lightning, the strong winds blowing, the heavy rains, all caused quite a stir. Driving in the heavy rain was a real challenge.

In the morning, everybody came out to survey the damages. Trees were down, debris was everywhere, and houses and cars had some damages. 

People from all over the neighborhood came together to help. Priorities were easy to set. Rescue those trapped in their houses by fallen trees, then clear the big trees that were down all over the area. Some other things were just not important at the time.

When times get tough, it is easy to see who the real friends are.  Everybody has some fair weather friends. Those are friends when things are going good. But they seem to disappear when times get hard.

The storms are not all bad. Storms clear out dead and decaying branches. They blow away the dust and the pollen and clean the air.

With the dead branches cleared away, the new life can grow in the plants and trees. The world gets greener and stronger. God knows how to make the world work. So enjoy each new day.

Life works the same way. Everybody faces storms in their life. The storms or problems are a challenge for each person.  How you deal with those problems in your choice.

The storms teach you how to set priorities, and decide what is really important in your life. They show you, who your real friends are.

You find out who you can trust and depend on in difficult times.

Storms clean out some areas of your life that need to go, or forget about. They prepare you for new things in your life.

Some veterans of storms can be a big help. But others with the right priorities will be helpful also. God knows and cares about you.

So begin the new day, and see what God has for you!

This is an Important Month!

April is Prevent Child Abuse Month.  What does that mean?  Who cares about that?  Many people think that it is important.

Abuse is hurting somebody.  It can be with mean words, or physical abuse.

When you say mean things, or make fun of someone that says a wrong word, or does not know what that word means.  That is abuse. Others may laugh, and that makes things worse.  This creates painful memories for that person.  Those memories are there much longer than you think.

Hitting someone is not poking or nudging them.  Sometimes bigger kids do not realize how they can hurt a smaller child.  It still hurts.

Parents, teachers, and coaches use discipline.  Discipline does not always involve punishment.  Discipline is teaching.  Parents teach their children proper behavior to get along in the world.

Teachers are teaching the students how to study, and learn.  Coaches are teaching their athletes how to prepare for their sport.

A good athlete, or student, or child wants to learn, and they welcome good discipline to become the best at what they are doing.

Coaches know that some great athletes without discipline will never go very far in their sport.  It is sad to see a great athlete waste their talent.  Teachers are saddened when they see a great mind wasted, and not used to learn and accomplish the things it could do.

Parents are disappointed when their child refuses to learn, and just does not try.

Some young people have parents or teachers that do not discipline or punish them.  The young person thinks that because they got their way, it is good. 

You can look around and see many young people that are paying the price for not having been disciplined.  It is easy to see the emptiness in their life.

The Prevent Child Abuse council is available to help, and make a difference in lives.  They offer parenting classes for the parent and child to learn better ways of handling each situation.

They have prenatal classes to encourage new mothers, and teach them better ways to help the new family.

Their office is called the Resource center, because they offer many resources to the family. It is there for you.

So you can say thank you to those that work for and support our community at the Resource center.

What is Grace?

In the Bible, Grace is an important word. Last time we talked about the trade. God gives anyone the free gift of salvation in exchange for their sins. It is a choice that must be made and received. That gift is the grace of God. It is an "I love you" gift from God.

A gift is not earned. Grace is totally a gift from God.  He does 100%, the person does zero percent. Maybe that it is why it is hard. Everybody feels that they need to do their part.

You can have eternal life, and the promise of God to go to heaven one day and that is great. But grace is not just the gift of eternal life. It is the power of God in your life everyday. 

Someone said that it is hard to live the Christian life. It is not hard, it is impossible. Becoming a Christian does not make you perfect. It gives you the desire to be perfect. You should want to please God.

Remember the trade, or exchanged life, means that your life now belongs to God. That means that He is responsible for it. The same is true in the life of each Christian. God does 100%, while the person does zero percent.

 How does that happen? To be saved, you admit that you cannot do it. You surrender to God 100%. Living the Christian life is the same. You admit that you cannot live the Christian life. Then you surrender to God 100%. 

Grace is God saving you. And then grace is God living His life through you. God has a plan for your life, but it is your choice to surrender to Him. And then fully trust Him and follow His directions. You will be glad that you did.

That was a good trade!

Have you received a gift for Christmas or your birthday, and had to take it back? You took a game back because you already had it, and  got one you really wanted. Or maybe it was shoes or a shirt that was the wrong size. You found one you really liked.

You were happy to exchange them. You took something that was not worth that much to you, and came out better.

Mom and dad have done that with a car. They took an old car, with a lot of miles on it, and traded it in for a new one. 

The Braves traded some players this year, hoping to get a player that they need more. Teams try to trade a bench player from their team  to get a starter that they need. They exchanged a player to improve their standing.

Sometimes people upgrade the seat on a plane. They like it better in first class.

Young people have been known to trade a sandwich at lunch time in school. They made a good trade.

Jesus offers you a trade. In the Bible, it says that Jesus gave His life for you. He died on the cross for your sins, and offers you a gift. He is willing to take your sins, and give you eternal life. This is a trade open to anyone! It does not matter how old you are, or how young you are.

It is an exchange where you win for sure. That is a wining trade.

In the Bible, in Galatians, Jesus says that it is no longer your life, it is His. Then He gives you His eternal life. Who would not make a trade like that? You can have eternal life in heaven one day with Jesus.

That eternal life really begins when you ask Jesus to forgive your sins. Heaven is just a bonus for later. 

Are you willing to make that trade? Then do it right now. Do not wait to make that exchange. You know what happens when you put things off to do them later. Make that good trade for yourself right now.