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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #912 September 19, 2003 Geese Everywhere I drove past the lake last night about 6:00, with my young friends Ben and John, and there were more geese than I had ever seen there before. There were Canada geese everywhere. I have no idea how many there were, certainly many hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand. I'd like to say there were thousands of them, but I think I'd be stretching to make that claim honestly. I do know that on the area of the lake I could see as I drove by and the nearby shore you wouldn't have been able to step in any direction without stepping on a goose. There were a plethora of geese, a veritable cornucopia of honkers, a whole hockey sock of waterfowl, a dirty big bunch of Canada's....well, you get the idea. Lots of them. An hour later, Genni the wonder dog and I went for our evening stroll. Not a goose on the lake. Nary a one. Zilch. Zip. Naught a one. Nada. Now that's not uncommon as the geese begin to flock up for their trip down to warmer climates for the winter. (Apparently geese and ducks are smarter than most of us Canadians). They'll come over for a drink, a swim and a bath and then head back to the fields to fill up on grain and spend the night. It reminded me of cars in a church parking lot. An hour before the service there are a few, ten minutes before and there's not a parking space to be had. We wouldn't want to be too early, after all we might have to talk with someone or spend some quiet time with God. Can't have that on a Sunday morning. Ten minutes after the service the parking lot is virtually empty again. We come for our little splash about in "religion" for the week, then hurry away for something else. Perhaps it's to beat the rush at the nearby restaurants or for the kid's sporting events, or maybe the game on television. I'm not sure where they all go, but it certainly doesn't take long. It breaks my heart. You see Christianity isn't about religion, or ritual or duty. It's not about rules o saying the right thing or looking good. It's not about making business contacts on a Sunday morning. It's all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A deep intimate relationship with someone you want to spend eternity with. A passionate platonic love relationship with your best friend. It's about love, peace, joy, forgiveness and contentment. It's about loving Him so much that you want to share His love with others in words and in actions. It's about a relationship so great that you want everyone to know Him. It's about growing to be more like Him in our everyday lives, our relationships. It's about maturing into the people that God designed us to be. You can't do that in an hours (or five depending on your denomination) worth of worship on a Sunday Morning (or Friday night or whenever your group meets). It's an ongoing thing. It's prayer and time in the Word. It's seeing people through His eyes and loving them even if you don't like them or the things they do. It's exciting. It takes your breath away. It's beautiful beyond description, to marvelous for words. It's too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing you've ever seen or heard (okay no more song piracy). I think you get the idea. If that's not what you find it to be, you're missing out on the greatest thing ever created. He's made us new. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV If being created new by Christ doesn't excite you, check your pulse and call 911. I think you might be already dead. Until next time, may your heart be set aflame for Jesus and Holy Spirit burn in you so hot you can hardly bear it. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you are a delight to the Lord. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING Perhaps you've misunderstood what Christianity is all about. Don't misjudge it, try a real relationship with Jesus on for size, once you've experienced the real thing, I promise you you'll never be the same. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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