A family Legacy!

Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.” (2 Samuel 7:29 NIV)

I'm in St. Louis, or more precisely, Eureka, Mo. My daughter Lindsae is pregnant and due anytime. We thought we could spend Labor Day weekend with her. We were kind of hoping she would go into Labor on Labor Day! No such luck yet. 

This passage made me think of the birth of this, our 6th, grandchild. I have been harassing my daughter about naming the boy (if it is a boy) Steven Michael Gilbert. Since I had all daughters I wanted someone to carry my name forward. If they can't share my last name, why not the first? Right? I've not been too fair and pretty selfish about the name issue.  The most important legacy I can leave behind is faith in Christ. It's not my name that's important, it's the name of the one who sacrificed his life for me, my family, and the world. I want my house to live forever, not in name, but in eternity! Be Blessed forever Stephanie, McKenzie, Lindsae, Kelley, Jeff, Brian, Klayton, Lauren, Hannah, Ayla, Rian, and BGIII. I am blessed to be in your earthly family, and I pray all of us will be together as a Heavenly Family, for eternity. Praise God for the blessing he has granted to my family!

Happy Labor Day Weekend! Take a Break with God!

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:9, 10 NIV)

I have to admit, the start of the school year has made me very tired. The schedule has exploded with activities for the grandkids, work, and course preparation. It is now Labor Day Weekend, a time to take a break. Praise God for the little breaks he gives us. We are going to a cross country meet today then on to St. Louis to be with my pregnant daughter and her family. She is due any time and we want to be there for the birth if we can. Even though the schedule is full for this weekend, we will get a break and some needed rest. God provides rest for us. He loves us. He cares about our crazy, busy schedules. He wants to give us breaks so we can rest and look to him. Vacations, holidays, and weekends are gifts from God to escape the labor of our lives.

God is with me through my labor and strife. He is faithful to those who believe and put their hope in him. He is alive and active in my life. I am a witness to his faithfulness. His word is true and deserves full acceptance. Study it, get to know your Heavenly Father. He loves you and wants you to be counted as one of his very own. Take a rest break with him! Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Unity!

And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. (Luke 2:45 KJV)

I am so blessed to be a part of a unified church. In the past 6 years I have never heard of turmoil. I'm sure there have been disagreements, but they have not gotten in the way of our mission. The church is still growing, but more importantly our pastors and staff are focused on preaching the Gospel and bringing non-believers into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Likewise, my CMA chapter has also been unified. I have heard of turmoil in the distant past, but Jack Lorence, the Phil Brown have done a great job to build a unified chapter that works hard to fulfill its mission. We now have some new Area Reps and I'm sure they will help our Chapter keep focused on our ministry of building relationships with Bikers and sharing Christ love with them.

So many times, churches, towns, businesses, and schools lose their way because of fighting and strife. It is so sad. Joseph and Mary lost Jesus and had to go back to Jerusalem to find him. We also lose sight of Jesus. So many times in our lives the world gets in the way of our mission. We fight sbout the little things, churches split, believers turn on each other. Instead of dwelling on our differences or disagreements, we need to focus on Christ. God the Father is the centerpiece. He is our strength and our unity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same for each of us. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, is coming again, and we will get to share eternity with him. Nothing else really matters. Just like Mary and Joseph, we need to turn bak toward Jerusalem to find Jesus. Turn from the ways of the world to the arms of our loving savior!

Teach and Baptize!

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19 KJV)

You can't travel to a city, attend an event, go to work, or attend a school that doesn't need Christ. The "GO" is easy. We are a nation, Christians are a people, on the go! The next two commands are the hard part. We need to teach and baptize. We, I, am so passive when it comes to teaching Christ and the Gospel message. Even as a member of the Christian Motorcyclist Association, we emphasize building relationships, being there when they need us. I love that mission, but we are called to teach and baptize.

We are called to take our witness a step further. This last weekend my church took that extra step. Over the last three years we have baptized around 300 youth and adults. Our Baptism Sunday has become a very emotional and powerful event.

 

We don't need to travel to Kenya to be on the mission field. Everywhere we GO is a mission and we are missionaries. I can't forget our real goals, teach and baptize. We need to have that mission in the front of our minds as we build relationships with non believers. We need to teach with real words and actions. We need to teach believers in the same way. Just because you accept Christ as your savior, doesn't mean you know all about being a person of faith. We all need to grow in our knowledge of Christ and how we are to walk in his path. 

Go, Teach and Baptize, that's our mission.

Seek his face, be strong!

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. (Psalms 105:3, 4 KJV)

Its been a while now and I'm getting back in the routine of my personal bible study. I had forgotten how much I enjoy my quiet time with God. I'm actually able to do this twice a day and its wonderful. Every night I prepare for this blog, I read my verse then study it more in depth. I pray about it, sleep on it, and get up the next morning to complete my thoughts. I don't really write this blog for an audience. I write to help me organize my study. I'm not here to deliver some wonderful insight or pearls of wisdom. These words are my thoughts written on a screen. I  am seeking God through writing this blog. I am seeking his face. I treasure this time as a time God speaks to me, where I can see his face through writing and studying.

I rejoice as I seek him. I love how he reveals himself to me, a nobody, a sinner saved by his sacrifice. As I spend more time with him, I gain confidence and strength for my daily trials and stresses. So, my advice, set aside time. Seek him through your study, thoughts, words, and the actions of your life. He will reward you with insight, strength, and knowledge of his will and purpose. God is alive in my life, thank you Lord!