| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Fully Alive” Our Bible verse for today: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” John 15:16 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Being fruitful for Jesus enriches your life.” One of the features of Facebook I appreciate is that it notifies you when a friend has a birthday. And, if in the past you have posted pictures of that friend, then on their birthday Facebook will show you some of those pictures. It then allows you to post those pictures and share those memories along with your birthday greeting to your friend. Since I’m Facebook friends with lots of people who have gone on international mission trips with me over the years, and since there have been lots of pictures from those mission trips posted on Facebook, all throughout the year I’m able to send birthday greetings to old mission team members along with pictures of those past mission trips. The person always appreciates that because the memories from those trips are special. Mission trips are often referred to as “mountaintop experiences”, and rightly so. Mission trips change lives. Not just the lives of the people on the receiving end of the ministry, mission trips change the lives of the people who go on them. That’s true because being fruitful for Jesus enriches your own life. In John 15:16 Jesus said that He has appointed us to go into the world and bear fruit in His name. The lesson of the New Testament, and the example set for us by Jesus and the Apostles, is that we are to go into the world and serve others. How do we do that? In a thousand different ways. It can be anything from going on an international mission trip to a remote corner of the world, to serving a meal at your local homeless shelter, to mowing the lawn for an elderly shut-in, to sharing the gospel with a co-worker, and an unlimited number of other ways. Any effort made to bless someone in the name of Jesus constitutes producing fruit for the Lord. Our theme this month is all about being fully alive. In other words, living life large, on-mission with Jesus, fulfilling your purpose in life. Jesus said that He has appointed you to go and bear fruit for Him. When you’re doing that, you are fulfilling your primary purpose in life as a Christian, and that is the point at which you will be most fully alive. This is an important point – it’s a crucial aspect of being fully alive, and there’s much more to be said about it. Therefore, we will continue this discussion tomorrow. Being fruitful for Jesus enriches your own life. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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