It’s All About Perspective
All the believers were together and had
everything in common. – Acts 2:44
People met today to worship God. For some, it was
another routine Sunday. They gathered in their sanctuaries and other buildings
to sing and hear a sermon. Some complained about the temperature. Others noted
the loudness of the music or the appropriateness of the pastor’s message.
There was another group of people who met today to
worship God. They gathered outside, bringing their own chairs to sit in. The
only music was what came from their voices. They listened intently to the
pastor’s voice, desperate for a word of hope and thanksgiving.
They met outside because Hurricane Michael had ravaged
the sanctuaries of the churches they once attended. They brought their own
chairs, or sat on the ground, because there was nowhere else to sit. They weren’t
concerned about how loud the music might be or how long the sermon went.
Priorities shift when the life you once knew is gone
forever. They came today to hear that God always keeps His promises. God
promises to turn bad into good if we’ll just hand it over to Him. God promises
to never leave us. God promises to sustain us, to give us strength and courage,
to show us the way.
God always keeps His promises. That’s what they were holding
tightly to today.
The “church” in our world today means a building that
houses worship services. But, actually, the church is the body of believers. It’s
you and me. We are the church.
Consequently, you are no longer
foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also
members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building
is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. – Ephesians 2:19-21
We get so caught up in comfort and control and things
that really don’t matter. Sometimes it takes losing everything to refocus our
lives on what’s important.
A dear woman posted today that it finally occurred to
her that while she was whining about being without power, others have lost
everything. It’s not just that their home and possessions are gone. They don’t
have jobs anymore because their employer is gone too. She finally understood
that while she was focused on her own discomfort, there was people who would
give anything if electricity was all they were missing.
It’s all about focus, isn’t it? It comes down to what
is truly important. People are important. Stuff, well, it can vanish quickly in
the face of 150 mph winds.
Today people gathered to thank God for their lives.
They thanked Him for volunteers and bottled water and so many other blessings.
And they asked for courage as they cling to hope that one day this will all be
a distant nightmare.
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