Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (8.14.14)

I hope you're having a great week.  God is doing some awesome things among us at Church of the Way.  Last night we had 53 students at our One Way Kickoff.  Praise God for what James Savage and our One Way Team are doing to impact the next generation.  I'm super excited about this Sunday as we continue the "Legacy" Series.  I'll be speaking on what it means to leave a good name for those that come after us.  What goes into a good name?  We'll see what God's Word has to say about it.  Hope to see you there an invite a friend!  As always, go to www.churchoftheway.net to send an eVite to friends.

Thought for the Week
"All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."  2 Timothy 3:16

Do you believe that verse?  The implications of that passage are staggering.  I have come to the conclusion that many don't believe it.  We like some ideas in the Bible, but we're not sure if they're all applicable to our lives.  They don't really "fit" our lifestyle.  Let me put it this way.  Doctors tell us that some foods are bad for us.  Now, many of us still choose to eat those foods.  Why?  Well, there are many factors, but here are the main three:

1. We believe we'll be THE ONE for whom those foods don't have an adverse affect.  They might be bad for others, but not for us.  Deep down, we sometimes believe that we won't be negatively affected by those foods.  They rules simply don't and won't apply to us because our bodies will respond differently than doctors predict.
2. We don't care and like them.  Our appetites and desires are powerful forces.  I know cheesecake and red velvet cake are not good for me.  I don't care.  I like them.  I try to practice moderation and only have them on special occasions.  Maybe moderation will help?  It's certainly better than having a piece of cake every day.  I care enough to cut back, but I don't care enough to never have a piece of cheesecake or red velvet cake ever again.  After all, I don't think they're THAT bad for me.  I'll just run a couple extra miles and make up for it.
3. We're not really sure the doctors know what they're talking about.  This is a big one, and it's legitimate.  We are learning new things about the human body all the time.  And what we're learning is that things we thought we used to know we don't know any more.  We used the thing eggs were bad, remember?  And, we all have an uncle or grandma who ate bacon every morning and fried vegetables at ever meal and lived to be 96.  So, for us, this is evidence that Physicians don't quite have our physiology completely figured out.

Now, think about that when it comes to ALL of God's directions for our life found in the Bible.  They are directions for the most full and healthy life we can have in Christ.  If we are honest, we often treat God's Word like eating directions from our doctor:

1. We think not listening to Him won't have as adverse an affect on us as predicted.
2. We don't care and really like our vice.
3. We're not sure He knows what He's talking about.

Essentially, we're not sure it all has authority for us, but this is not the plan for the full life God desires for each of us.  Let me ask you one question:  of all the people you know, which ones have the most full and joy-filled lives, the ones who are most closely aligned with God's Word or the ones who steer farthest from it?  And which one do you want to be?

In Christ,

Carter