Just some thoughts

Recently God has been showing me and teaching me so many new things. This past month at our church we have been challenged to "Live simply so that others may simply live." Our pastor has been preaching a series of messages from the book of Colossians that have opened my eyes to some very familiar truths, however I am seeing them in a new light. Not to be viewed as "legalism" but rather sacrificing so that others may receive, our pastor has challenged us to save anything above what we "need" for the month. At the end of March, we will be taking up an offering and what is given will be used for local and global missions. A few include a local crisis pregnancy center, the Barnabas center, South America mission work, and even overseas groups that help women who have been sold into prostitution because their families don't make enough money to allow them to remain at home. If anyone would like to listen to the Sunday sermon's you can find them at experiencecelebration.com. My initial reaction was "Lord, how are Dave and I going to be able to give when we don't make anything now?" And I began to think about all the useless things we spend "our" money on. The fact that "our" money is not "ours" to begin with. God has given each according to their own ability, and we are certainly blessed beyond measure. We could for sure not eat out like we normally would, or make a trip to the Gap, or go out for an ice cream date at Chicken fil a. So the money that we would normally spend doing these things, we are going to save, so that others may be able to have a nice meal for dinner, or even just a meal for that fact. One verse in Colossian's continues to stand out in my mind, chapter 1 verse 24 says, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." Now just to make a note real quick... the big picture of the book of Colossians is that Paul is writing to tell of how God is sufficient in all things and how Christ is completely adequate. So why would this one verse say that there is something lacking in Christ? It reminds me of the song that goes like I wanna be your hands, I wanna be your feet... Christ no longer has a physical presence in this earth, and it is our place to go and bring the message of Jesus to those around us. It's also important to realize that God doesn't have a bank account that He uses when there is a need to be met. It's up to us to use what He has given us. One point pastor mike brought up was why did he pick you and me, people, to spread the good news? Simply put, because we have experienced His salvation and tasted of His grace. That is why we should be passionate for the Lord's work. Back to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, the Lord gave to each according to his own ability and when we are faithful with a few things, He will put us in charge of many things. My prayer for our family is that we won't be lazy to the calling of God's work and that whatever He leads us to do, he will provide a means for us to go or give.
~ Lindsey