If you are looking for some casual reading to do while on vacation, take an hour and read through the first thirteen chapters of Luke as a review as well as preparation for the next season of Jesus for Everyone! Look for repeated themes evident in Jesus' words, as well as the narrative structure and events. How does this gospel connect with different groups of people?
Here is another classic bulletin devotional for you this week:
"Back to School"
It’s been many years since I
was last in school, yet still, each year when autumn approaches I feel a mental
and emotional quickening. I can sense that it's Back-to-School time. I like the
fun and the freedom of summer, but there is something invigorating about
heading into autumn. And this fall, I am literally going back in school! The signs that the casual, laid-back, easygoing days of
summer are drawing to a close are obvious.
·
People
scrambling to take last minute vacations.
·
Young
men gathering on football fields for conditioning and two-a-day practices.
·
Parents
taking their children to the mall for new school clothes.
·
Supermarkets
sculpting mountains of school supplies into prominent displays.
·
School
bus drivers practicing their new routes swirling crispy leaves in their wake.
The transition from summer to school
is, for many, quite an adjustment. One of the hardest things for me was that it
meant that my days were no longer my own—I had to live my life by the schedule
the school district set for me. Ironically, that was also one of the most
rewarding aspects about going back to school. By the end of August, I was
usually pretty bored and (though I wouldn't have admitted it) really looked
forward to the challenging and purposeful pattern of the fall. I think that the
same is true in the spiritual realm. Living unto ourselves is not fulfilling.
It's hard to rearrange our days and live according to someone else's timetable,
but, when it's God's schedule to which we conform our lives it's the most
fulfilling thing we can do!
It seems as though the signs of the
times and the Word of God corroborate that the easy days of our long spiritual
summer are drawing to a close. The Lord is calling his children “back-to-school.” Is your heart beginning to sense that we are
entering a new season in Christ? That there are new things He wants us to
learn, a new schedule He is calling us to follow, and new spiritual disciplines
He is suggesting that we begin to practice more diligently? According to His
Word, He is calling us to gather together (Hebrews 10:25), to begin to condition
ourselves in the Word and in prayer (2 Timothy 2:15), to put on our new school
clothes (2 Corinthians 5:1-4; 1 Peter 5:5) and gather the supplies we will need
(Philippians 4:19).
It is to my benefit that I
enthusiastically submit my life to the Lord's back-to-school schedule, even if
it means some early mornings and some late nights. I am reminded that:
·
I
have wasted enough time living for myself the way the ungodly do (1 Peter
4:3-4).
·
I
have been redeemed with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
·
I
am no longer my own (Romans 14:7-8).
·
I
have been given a great and purposeful commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
·
I
need to be redeem the time (Ephesians 5:15-17), bear good fruit (John 15:8),
and be alert, ready, and dressed for my Lord's return (Luke 12:46; Romans
13:11-12).
Waiting
expectantly for the school bus,
Pastor
Greg
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