Thought for October 22

 History:

• 1746: Princeton chartered
• 1836: Sam Houston elected President of Texas
• 1907: Ringling Brothers buys Barnum & Bailey
• 1966: Bobby Orr scores first goal
• 1981: US debt tops $1 trillion
• 2012: Taylor Swift releases "Red" album
• 2019: Northern Ireland legalizes same-sex marriage and abortion
• Born: Magnus Huss [coined "alcoholism"], Franz Liszt, Sarah Bernhardt, Curly Howard [Three Stooges], Jimmie Foxx, Joan Fontaine, Timothy Leary, Christopher Lloyd, Annette Funicello, Catherine Deneuve, Lynette Fromme [tried to kill Gerald Ford], Jeff Goldblum, Brian Boitano, Toby Mac, Brad Stevens [Celtics], 
• Died: Paul Cezanne, Pretty Boy Floyd, Arnold Toynbee [historian], Cleavon Little, Red Barber, Soupy Sales, 

Thought:

Rereading the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. As I have prayed for our church and the class I am privileged to lead, I am led back to these letters to consider the things Jesus praised and the things He admonished. In our church's study of Acts, we just looked at Paul's farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus. The first letter in Revelation is to that church. As I read 2:1-7, the Spirit says:

• Jesus knows. This makes me stop. Jesus knows everything, nothing is hidden from Him. Today, this hits me--it doesn't matter if anyone else knows things that I do for the kingdom--Jesus knows. I need no affirmation, no praise, no thank you from anyone else. An audience of One. Jesus also knows what I am not doing for His kingdom. 
• Look what the church at Ephesus had done
• Labored, worked, endured. So I examine myself and our church family. Would Jesus say that of me, of us? 
• Not tolerated evil people in the church. Do we exercise church discipline?
• Endured hardships and not grown weary. Really. For me a hardship is the room is too hot or too cold. My parking place is too far away. The sound system is not good. The music was not my favorite. Think about your conversations with your children and grandchildren when we say, "back in my day." Back then we really suffered. Really. And grow weary--why is it always the same people who do all the work. God gives me an opportunity to serve Him and I complain because I am doing all the work. He did all the work that matters on the cross.
• When I read what the church had done in terms of work, endurance, hardships and perseverance, I think, "this was a great church." But then Jesus says--there is one thing. All of us have been a part of that conversation, perhaps in school or at work or maybe in sports. The boss, teacher, coach or parent comes and says, you have done all these things so well. Then the BUT. 
• What had the church at Ephesus done--forgotten its first love. Passion faded with time. Joy became duty. Opportunities became demands. Sounds like a marriage that has gone from passion to going through the motions. This church was still working, enduring, laboring, but the joy and passion had gone. So I look at myself--have I lost the passion for Christ. Am I going through the motions out of habit or duty. 

Lord, today breath on me fresh, new, restore my passion and joy of knowing and serving. Give me that fire that I once knew. I want to be all in!

Blessings

Larry