Can I share with you a concern I have? Are you disciple? Am I disciple? Are we as a church intentionally making disciples of our flock of people who God has given us? Matthew 4:18-20 says:

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

What is a disciple? Do we have a proper definition as a church? According to Matthew 4 there are four things that define a disciple.
1. A disciple is one who has made Jesus Lord of their lives. Verse 19 says FOLLOW ME, that means He becomes the leader . Is there a commitment on my part to being His follower.
2. A disciple is one who is in a relational process with other maturing believers. This is the way our lives are shaped.
3. A disciple is one who is becoming Christlike. I am one who is in process of becoming more like Jesus. He is the transformer- He is the change agent in my life.
4. A disciple is one who is committed to the mission of Jesus Christ. When we spend time with Him we start to care about the things He cares about. Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost.

Are you a disciple? Am I a disciple? Look at the four areas I have described above and see if you are on track. If not get on track!

Pastor Mark

The past week has been so interesting. I got the flu that has been going around and finally started to feel better. My balance was a little off, but I thought I was getting over the flu and was weak. For no apparent reason I started falling because the room would start to spin and to this day it is still happening. Yesterday my son took me to the doctor and he set me up to have an MRI on my head. TO SEE IF ANYTHING IS THERE. Ha. I am now in the process of waiting to have that done.
What happens when your life starts spinning out of control. You lose your balance! Many times you fall. Life seems to be out of whack. Could I talk to you today about balance in your life? Seems like a great subject especially for what I am going through right now. Is your life balanced?
I Corinthians 10:31 says, " So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." When I begin to speak of balance I need to be reminded that God is the One who deserves my loyalty, love, service and devotion. I am a person who has been called to be a steward of what God has given me. Nothing I have has come from me, it has all come from Him. Do you believe that? If you do it shows up in your actions. I need to honor God in all areas of my life. I live within time and space and He calls me to live within that context and seek to balance the demands on my life. How I manage my time is very important . My focus should never be how efficient I am but how effective I am. Do I do the right things.
Let me give you 7 areas where we need balance:
1. Family
2. Finances
3. Personal Growth
4. Physical
5. Social
6. Spiritual
7. Work
You can be a great employee and be a terrible father. You can have a financial budget that is so on target that people envy you, but how is your spiritual life? Get the picture? All 7 need to be in balance. A choice or an action in one area will have effect on all the others.Balance in life does not mean you spend equal time on all 7. In 100 hours per week how much time do you spend in one of the areas of life? I know folks who are in church every time the doors are open, yet their marriage stinks. My life in Christ demands me to balance every area of my life to bring glory to His name. May I Corinthians 10:31 be our verse of purpose.
Pastor Mark

I read an article today that just jumped out at me so I wanted to share it with you.
Here is the article. "One day I hopped in a taxi cab and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital.' This is when the taxi driver taught me what I now call , 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they will dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so......... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the one's who don't.
Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it !

What a great story on how to live your life. It reminds me of the Scripture that says: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44

Most of us can quote that verse but the question I have is: Is that how we live? Knowing the Word and Living the Word are two seperate things.

I will write again soon
Have a blessed day!
Pastor Mark