WOW - Fabulous February was wonderful wasn't it? I know my family was touched by God on all four Sundays. I enjoyed the simplicity of Brother Phil Waldrep’s message. God moved on the body of our church that morning. The evening with Brother Phil was great also. He used Paul’s letter writing skills and the fact that Paul took the time to recognize folks that “couldn’t really do anything for him” to hammer home his points about loving people. Dr. Hal and his wife DeeDee offered some refreshing insights into healthy marriages. I was actually surprised about the fact that they didn’t really say anything all too surprising; the point was and still is that when I actually commit to doing those things that God will work in my marriage and I will see the fruits of the priorities that I have set. February 15th brought Randy Mann to the pulpit of Eastaboga. Brother Randy came to talk with us about Sunday school…..well, to be politically correct (as if you are really concerned) SMALL GROUPS. I really enjoyed the eloquence with the way Brother Randy communicated both the morning message as well as the one given that evening. I already talked with a few of you about how both of Randy’s messages made me reconsider how I view “church”. Most of us have agreed that we would have liked to have seen Sunday night on Sunday morning. Either way I walked away a richer man after listening to some of Randy Mann’s insight on things that we can do to grow as a church. Yesterday Chris Swan brought his hoe and rake and talked with us about cultivating the lives of our children and how it is our responsibility as parents to love our children enough to guide them into living Godly lives.
Now comes the part where we, as a church body, actually digest the food that we’ve been given. How do we respond to this? Almost every night this month my wife and I have discussed at least part of what has been talked about from the pulpit trying to take it all in and practically apply it to how we raise our children, the way we conduct ourselves at work, how we interact with each other and just what our role is here at Eastaboga.
I don’t know what you took home from Fabulous February but I am going to take a shot at explaining what I received from it. Before I get to that I want to say that I think we have come full circle. I find it ironic that just before Fab Feb started Brother Rodney gave his “annual sermon on money”. I find it ironic because to me all four pastors came to Eastaboga this month to speak about investing and how well we’re doing it. Think about it…….Phil Waldrep discussed how Paul invested in the people of the early church, Hal Warren’s message on being a better husband???? Invest yourself in your wife. Ask Randy Mann what one of the main reasons that Sunday School is vital in our church today and I am sure he’ll tell you that it’s because we can actually invest in each other in a small group, something that gets increasingly more difficult the larger the group gets. And lastly one of the two keys that Chris Swan drove home yesterday was to BE a part of your child’s life……in other words genuinely invest in the life of your child.
As I consider this I also have to consider how hard these things are for me to do………consistently. My conclusion is that I simply CANNOT. All of this hinges on how Jesus answered the question found in Matthew 22:36, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Brother Randy Mann mentioned this on Sunday night. What was Jesus’ answer? Love God and Love People (my paraphrase). Think about that. Jesus says that to Love God with all that we have IS the greatest commandment and to love other people just as we love ourselves is second. How can I love you like I love me? I’ll ask you again because I simply cannot get my mind around this……How can I love you just as I love me? I CAN’T……..on my own. I need God to love you through me. Therefore I HAVE to get the first commandment right in order to even think about moving on to the second. I think that possibly the second commandment might be a practical and “seen” application of the first commandment carried out in our lives.
HERE is a link to a good article on this subject. Take your time reading this one. It’s a lot to digest at once.
Fabulous February was wonderful for me and my family. It was a cool drink of water on a hot day for us, very refreshing and now we are ready to go do more LIFE together.
What did you receive from Fabulous February? How did it affect your family? Did it change your prospective on ANYTHING? What are you doing differently now?
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