Your Son For A Quarter

Many of you might have seen this email and if so I encourage you to read it again. Below is a chain email and story that I recieved from Amy last week. She told me that I might enjoy it and could use it in one of my post. After much thought and prayer, God helped me realize that this email is this week's post because this is a great follow up story to The Real Every Day Christian post. 

Enjoy.

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Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change ..'

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?'  
 

'Yes' he replied.

'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of  the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test!  Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself  'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts ; they become words.Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch  your actions; they become habits..
Watch your habits; they  become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your  destiny. 

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So my question this week to you is:

What is your quarter?

The Chain

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." - Hebrews 10:24-25

"They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."

- Acts 2:46-47

  

Since the beginning of time we as Humans have desired one thing more than anything else: Community and being around others. It is written in Genesis 2:18-22  "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone... God made a woman from the rib, and He brought her to the man."  If you read Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:18-22 you will notice that everything that God does in creating the Earth he says that "It is good" but if you look closely he does not say that when he creates Adam, because it is not good for Adam to be alone and to not have a partner to live life with.

In the first two passages at the top of this blog, you will notice that Paul is telling us that we need to be in a community of people that can invest in each other lives. He is commanding us to meet with our communities regularly not just on a periodic basis or whenever we feel like it.

The year after I graduated from High School I started living life with some guys, that were not just friends or best friends but brothers. We lived every possible moment of everyday with one another, some even worked with me. Early on we realized that being in a community it not just about "hanging out" its about investing in each other lives and keeping each other accountable.  These guys have been next to me through every major moment in my life and that is why they were standing next to me at my wedding. Now that I am married, Amy and I are in a community of married couples, we been there when they get married, announced they are pregnant or that they are getting a puppy. We have also been there during their not so good times.

"Community is as important as prayer, going to church and reading the Bible"

 - Matt Carter of Austin Stone Community Church

I have been asked to describe what my community looks like and after some thinking this is how I view it: Imagine a ship being anchored to the sea floor. The chain and anchor is what keeps the ship in place where it needs to be, even though the chains and the anchor look rusted, nothing can break it loose. Without the anchor and chain, the ship can stay in one place for some time, but sooner or later a wave is going to come by and move it.

My Community helps keep me grounded in the Word, God, and Christ.

Looking back at a story that Matt Carter of Austin Stone Community Church shared on 10/7/06: He was told that one of the main reasons why Starbucks has become so successful is because they have created a false sense of community. Starbucks realized the one thing that people crave more than anything else is being around other people. That is why the employees are friendly, the chairs are comfortable and you don't mind drinking coffee and having a casual conversation with a complete stranger.

So my question to you today is:

Who are you living life with?

God is the Driver

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

Here Solomon is telling us that no matter how much control we think we have over our lives, God is in the driver seat and has the ultimate control.

Every time I read this it reminds me of a story between a man and his Pastor…

The man said: "Pastor, I am getting frustrated with God because I don't know what He wants me to do with my life… I feel there is so much that I could be doing but I just don't know what it is!" When the Pastor heard this he became angry with the man and said to him, "The plan that God has for your life is none of your business... When it is time for Him to reveal it to you, it will be on His time frame not yours!" He continues on to say "You are so worried about the 'next' in your future that you are forgetting what God has put in your present."

How powerful and true is that? We as Christians are so overwhelmed with what God’s plan for our life is that we forget to look at the present, we forget that what we are doing now is part of God’s plan for us. What if we stopped to ask "What can I do today to make a difference for the people around me?" Focusing on that question would allow us to live in the present, while letting God handle our futures. We as Christians need to stop thinking 'outside the box' and start thinking 'inside the box'.

According to Wikipedia, "Thinking Outside The Box" means to look further and try not to think of the obvious things, but try and think beyond that. While this can sometimes be good, it can also be harmful if you set yourself up for failure with unrealistic expectations for the future, falling prone to our natural “wishful thinking”.

What would happen if we stopped looking for answers beyond the obvious and started focusing on the clear ones? What would it look like if we spent time and energy on things we can do now instead of the things we wish could happen?

So my question to you today is:

Are you in or out of the box?