Am I invisible?

So, do I have anything worth saying that anyone else would want to read?  That is a good question and one worth pondering.  I remember hearing Bill Hybels say once, and I will have to paraphrase cause I am not good at word for word quoting, that as a leader you should be able to learn something from anyone.  I tend to agree.  If you spend enough time with someone and you are asking the right questions you can learn something from anyone.

I remember spending time at a shelter for the homeless or struggling and I gleaned so much wisdom from the people that were there.  It may have come from an angry at the world person or a genuine heart of "help me I made some mistakes" but it was refreshing and real.  I can remember learning from children, from teens, from the sick as well as the educated (sometimes the over educated).  You don't have to have a piece of paper hanging on your wall to have permission to pass on wisdom from the things you learn as you walk through life.  You and I are not invisible.  Though it may seem like it at times.  Always remember that Jesus sees you, he notices you, he loves you and he cares for you.  He is interested in what you have to say.

So, Do I have anything to say that may be worth hearing?  Probably.  It may not be what you were looking for but if you have enough patience you could learn from a cricket I suppose.

Tomorrow night we will kick off a series called "The Invisibles" for our midweek program at Calvary.  Come and give us your 2 cents worth.

Distractions

A book that I am reading has this quote from Hans Hofmann, an artisan born in Bavaria, "If you want the necessary to stand out, you have to get rid of the unnecessary." This quote is shared in the shadow of a story about King Hezekiah and his actions of taking down all that distracted the Israelites from true worship of God the father (2 Kings 18 and following). Then I pondered the many things that are obvious in distracting me from growth and worship.

One fear that I have is that I spend so much time dealing with the large and obvious distractions that I have let creep in the subtle to ruin my growth.

Another fear is that what I have let creep in I rationalize as necessary to worship and growth.

then I am left with a week and stunted spiritual life without the stamina to withstand the struggles that are coming my way. How can I expect myself to grow if I am distracted? How can I remove the distractions if I cannot recognize them or identify them as distractions?

What is the first thing that King Hezekiah does when presented with potential war with the Assyrians? 2 Kings 19:1 "When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord."

Now, of course all of my struggles pale in the light of this potential distraction. I am not anywhere near pondering war, death, battles, surrender, captivity, or the like. I am instead dealing with the subtlety of the unnecessary that ruins my personal growth.

He of course wins in God's great plan and timing.

so, how necessary is the unnecessary? What is unnecessary?

I can point out the obvious. Then the more time I spend with the Lord the eaiser it will be to remove the unobvious and unnecessary.

Drive Safe