Grow or Go Number 2

I love you, but I hate your wife....

Yes, that was actually a sentence that Pastor Chris used this past weekend in his sermon. "REALLY?" I hear you saying. Yes, really. He was comparing marriages here on earth to the ultimate marriage, Christ and the church.

This past weekend was another message on "Grow or Go." Chris again, was really encouraging people to use their spiritual gifts to serve the church in some way. This may seem demanding, but really it is The Lord's ultimate desire for each one of us. He reminded us all that the gates of Hell are not going to prevail against the church. I don't know about you, but that sure makes me want to hop on bored. That means that there is no way or no how that Satan is going to destroy the church and its purposes. I know for me there are some days that I feel defeated and beaten down. To be honest, I feel like Satan is winning. But, when I heard the friendly reminder that Satan will not prevail against the church, I was incredibly refreshed. Because each one of us have a gift, and together we are the church, that means that Satan WILL NOT win. Needless to say, some people who are followers actually believe that they can love Jesus, and not serve the church in some capacity. We were reminded this weekend that this attitude is basically saying to Jesus, "I love you, but I hate your wife."

Since I am the wife in our situation, I have to say that I would be majorly offended if someone made this comment to Chris. Like the kind of offended that I would need to ask for some serious forgiveness. Chris already discussed his reaction, and yes, it did involve his extremely large pecks ;). After this weekend, I was reminded that every gift brought to the table is necessary for the church to be the church that God desires. So, I would encourage to find your gift. Get in the game and serve. Being obedient to the Lord's direction and guidance in your life offers more joy than most people realize. I pray that you won't miss out on this opportunity that the Lord has placed before you.