Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Servanthood

A lot of my friends want to hear the following words at the end of their lives:

"Well done, you good and faithful servant" Matthew 25:21

I am no different, but some days are easier than others. There are days, when I don't feel like serving, but I do it anyway. Some mornings, I just want to spend one additional hour in bed, but I show up where I am needed instead. Not out of guilt, but because it feels right. Some people, like Pastor Steve Bowen our "Loving People" pastor makes it look so easy...

His message on servanthood really hit home. If Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to serve, then why is it so hard for me to go out and do the same? Am I not called to imitate Christ? Why is it so easy to forget or ignore about the serving part of his ministry? I think that one of the reasons I was so hesitant to make a commitment to Christ, is that I intuitively knew what it entailed. According to a spiritual gift test I took, "serving" is my main gift. This wasn't really a surprise; I used to call myself a softy... but servant sounds much better! Or does it?

Serving means forgetting about myself for a little while. It means genuinely caring about someone. Serving one person is a good start. Serving one person has a bigger impact than we can possibly imagine. I helped someone the other day, and she said that I was saving her life. In all fairness, all I did was listen to her story, pray for her and give her a ride somewhere. I don't think I will see her again. She said I saved her life, I say she saved mine. Every time I serve someone, I become a little more like Christ, "the way, the truth, and the life".

EED

Note: Wherever you are Charmene, please know that I am praying for you. It was no accident that you ended up on the steps where I met you. May God bless you, and protect you wherever you are. Amen.

Blogger's block

I am currently suffering from a mild case of blogger's block (combined with general life busy-ness)...

Will be back very soon :)

EED

Revelation

Heard this song earlier today... It's been stuck in my head ever since.

"Revelation" by Third Day

Something happened- Part 2

A lot has changed since last year.

I have met incredible people, established wonderful friendships, served in my church, community and total strangers in New Orleans, studied His Word, cried, laughed... discovered what the term "church family" means... I don't think I have learned so much about myself in a long time. I have learned about myself mostly by serving others. I joke with my friends and tell them that the voices in my head tell me to be nice to people.

I remember talking about this to my friend SS a few months ago. I was telling him that the scariest part of my transformation wasn't so much what I was doing or what was happening to me, but the fact that I might not have/feel the same fire one day. Instead of lecturing, or encouraging me, he simply said:

-"Well, if it all ends one day, at least it would have been a great experience. Wouldn't you say so?"

Very encouraging! But seriously to answer his question, I would definitely say so... I can't help but be a little pessimistic at times, and question some of my motives when I do an outreach, or serve the poor, or something of that nature. The answer is kind of complex but to summarize it, it would be because of what God has done for me.

Pastor Doug often talks about the three phases of our relationship with God. First there is the honeymoon phase, then confrontation, then reconciliation (I can't remember the exact terms he used...). My honeymoon phase lasted a few days. Before I could really process what had happened to me that Sunday, I was faced with a major decision: getting up or staying down? Following Jesus or the outside world? Depending on my own strength or relying on my Heavenly Father. The choice was fairly easy to make...even though it didn't feel like it at the time. Hindsight REALLY is 20/20.

Some time last week, I bought a ring with the inscription: "Faith + Hope + Love". So far, people have called it my promise- commitment- purity- dorky- nerdy- cool looking ring. To me it really is a reminder of what God has done in my life:

- HE restored my faith
- HE gave me hope
- HE showed me the meaning of true love



It really doesn't matter how long this will last, the bumper stickers are right:

"It's not about the destination, it all about the journey!"

EED

Something happened- Part 1

Something happened a year ago today...

I gave my life back to Christ, and He gladly took it back. By then, I had been going back to church for a while, but I was one of the "back row" people, who according to Pastor Doug cannot be trusted :) I was just content, coming to church on Sunday morning, not talking to anyone, listening to a practical and meaningful message, and go on about my business. That didn't last long, especially after that. My world was turned upside down.

I wrote the following entry in my journal, in an attempt to recreate what happened that day... The message was titled "What to do when you are afraid to roll the dice"; after hearing it, I asked Jesus to show me what to do because I was TERRIFIED to roll the dice. (I edited a few personal sections...)

" OK, let's recreate the scene. I am sitting in the back of the church, another face in the crowd, silently crying, first in my heart, before the tears start rolling on my face. The man sitting next to me grabs his wife's hand and holds it tight. I am obviously making him uncomfortable, but seeing someone being so vulnerable seems to stir up something in him.

Pastor Doug finishes his message, and I think I am going to be fine now. He says, the usual:

-"Grabs your neighbor's hand and let's pray".

I grab the uncomfortable man's hand, and I cry and cry even more. What is happening to me??? Pastor Doug invites anyone who needs prayer to come up and be prayed for. I stand frozen in my seat. Will I go up? I don't know. I could as easily go back to my car, drive home or Yellow Springs, and "process" the message, as I do every Sunday. Instead, I find myself walking against the crowd. I see Joy, and Sarah and Nate. It would be rude not to say hi, so I stop and say hi. They look at me strangely, they can tell something is wrong... I feel like walking back, but I can't. I need to keep going. I am so close.

I finally make it to Pastor Doug. I walk up to him and immediately think "Wow! He is so tall in real life!!!". I tell him how I almost didn't make it to church this morning, but I KNEW I had to be there. He asks me what I need prayer for, and I tell him. He listens, prays for my situation for less than 10 seconds, tells me some things I haven't told anyone, and prays some more. I stop for a second, look at him, say thank you, and quickly leave... I am not sure how to feel. How does he know? What just happened?"

What happened? God was invading my heart is what happened... more on that later... I am bit tired today....

EED