Take care now!

How many times have you said to someone ‘take care now’? The one person you may hear say that is Melvin. It’s a good farewell phrase probably picked up from his mother. But it’s a good phrase that we should appreciate its meaning. What does it mean to give a farewell with ‘take care now!’

First, it probably means to take care of yourself and keep yourself safe. Don’t do anything that would jeopardize your health or safety. This is a good basic understanding. Maybe the Lord said that to Adam after visiting with him in the Garden of Eden. The Bible does say that “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it” (Gen. 2:15). After God created all, He placed Adam in charge to take care of the created order. God’s design for humans is to rule in the sky, in the sea, and on the earth (Gen. 1:26). What an authority and what a responsibility God has given us humans. God is saying, “Take care of this for Me.”

The Bible view of this concept is how we get the word steward. A steward is one who is trusted to care for what belongs to another. What this means is that what we have really belongs to someone else. It has been loaned to us for a while, and what belongs to us now will eventually belong to someone else. But we have to give an account for what we did with what we had-our time, talents, and possessions. Though all belong to God, we still have the choice as to rather acknowledge God as Owner or not.

Eventually we will give an account for what we did with what we had and who we were. Let us begin now acknowledging God as the rightful Lord of all we have and all we are.

 

Isaiah 48:17“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) NIV. All Rights Reserved.

 

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News Items, 09/02/07

Thank you, JC, Kerry, and John for weed-eating the front bank this week. It enhances the beauty of our church property. Also thanks to Dwayne for replacing the front brake pads on the church van.

First Teen Quiz is next Saturday at Indianapolis Gracepointe Nazarene Church. Bethany Cameron is coaching Kendra White, Derek Talbott, and Jenny Jenkins as our teen quizzers. We’ll need to leave the church at 7:30 a.m.

Children’s quizzing is another great quizzing program of the church. The children definitely learn about God through His Word. See Pastor if you’re interested in heading this important ministry with our young treasures.

Exercise aerobics will meet this Monday and Wednesday at 6:00p.m.

Recycle your printer cartridges by bringing them to the church and placing them in the white box in the foyer. These are sent to a company for recycling in return for a check.

Resolve Conference is a 2-day event for teen and pre-teen girls held in Columbus, OH. We have several girls attending. The tickets are $69. If you wish to help sponsor this event for our girls, mark you donation “NYI-Resolve.” There will be a Mike Bonanza spaghetti meal on Saturday, September 8^th, 4:00-8:00 pm. to help raise funds. Also, you may donate ingredients for the meal. See the bulletin board.

Real Italian Spaghetti Dinner is planned to help raise funds for the girls’ Resolve gathering. Please see the bulletin board to sign up for spaghetti dinner ingredients. Your donations are very much appreciated. Chef Bonanza will prepare the spaghetti sauce and meet balls for next Saturday, September 8, 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. Everyone come.

Dayton Ambassadors will be here next Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. followed by finger-food fellowship at the Outpost. Invite your family and friends to hear a great gospel concert. Let’s pray God will be glorified in the singing and praises of His people.

A special prayer project received $200 towards our goal of $900 to help a fallen and reclaimed man back on his feet. Through Winnie Nirich we were able to acquire a 1992 chevy truck for transportation for his employment. He starts his new job this Tuesday. So far we have another $330 pledged beside the $200 already received. This makes a total of $530 towards our goal. Thank you to those who are making this possible and making a difference in his life.

District Ladies Day presents the Amen Sisters. They offer contemporary country and classic music, hilarious speaking and lifetime changing concepts.

Ladies need to sign up soon in order to reserve enough tickets. The Friday service is free and open to the public. The service on Saturday, September 22, is only for the ladies and costs $25 which includes lunch.

Alabaster offering will be received Sunday, September 30. This is our missionaries building fund.

Missionary Kathy Matson will be with us Wednesday, September 12, 7:00 p.m. A missionary pitch-in meal will be at 5:00 p.m. Everyone welcome.

Faith reality check

A red-haired, freckle-faced, six-year-old girl was shopping with her mom. It was pouring outside, rain gushing over the top of gutters. Several people stood under the awning patiently waiting. Others irritated because nature was interfering with their hurried day. The little girl’s voice rose above the downpour, “Mom, let’s run through the rain.”

“What?” Mom asked.

“Let’s run through the rain!” She repeated.

“No, honey, we’ll wait until it slows down a bit.”

The young child waited a minute and repeated, “Mom, let’s run through the rain.”

“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom admonished.

“No, we won’t! That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said tugging at her arm.

“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!’ ”

The entire crowd was struck silent. Not a sound was heard but the rain. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Some might have laughed it off or scolded the child for being silly. Some might have even ignored her. But this mom chose to affirm her little girl’s faith.

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If God let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing.” And off they ran, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and right through the puddles. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few others who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. Suddenly, getting wet didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

 

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Isaiah 26:3“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) NIV. All Rights Reserved.

Treasured Victory

God’s grace gives victory over sin, death, and the grave. The life of the Christian is a life of battle. Each day we face an enemy that seeks to destroy our faith in God. At one time the Evil One had us captive in the clutches of sin. But God sent His Son to release us from the prison of sin. Jesus our Christ became the Captain of our salvation and now we follow at His commands of love and obedience to eternal life. Jesus said eternal life was to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom God had sent.

With Christ there is victory not only over sin but also over death. Death can only do so much to these mortal bodies. It’s appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment. Since Christ came we have the victory over the judgment. To those in Christ judgment of sin has already taken place in the cross. And the word we’ll hear at our departing from this life is “enter in the joys of the Lord.”

Today we’re feeling mixed emotions. Our beloved Eileen went to be with the Lord last Tuesday. Her funeral was Friday and was buried with her husband, Ralph, at Bainbridge. We miss her presence and prayers. Eileen was very faithful to her Lord and her church. She endeared herself to our church family at Hagerstown and elsewhere. She became the one we called upon for prayer and counsel. She made the church the center of her life because she found it as an expression of her devotion to the Lord.

But we are glad for her because she is now with her beloved Jesus and her husband Ralph. Eileen was prepared and ready for this day. She had made Jesus the captain of her soul. The life she lived inspires us to serve the Lord in a greater service.

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