10 Ways to Serve Your Neighbors This Summer

You know it’s summer when LifePoint gets in a tizzy about serving. As a church this month, we’re collecting food, giving blood, and serving the city of Ozark, but the serving doesn’t have to stop there. With a little creativity, we can all serve our neighbors this summer, and here are ten ways you can start:

1. Babysit your neighbors’ kids
2. Mow your neighbors’ yards
3. Offer to check your neighbors’ houses (feed pets, water plants, get mail, etc.) while they’re on vacation
4. Visit with elderly or home bound neighbors
5. Support your neighbors’ garage sales by stopping by, browsing, and maybe buying something
6. Share flowers and vegetables from your garden with your neighbors
7. Bring housewarming gifts (baked goods, plants, etc.) to neighbors who’ve just moved in
8. Invite your neighbors over for dinner
9. Volunteer at your neighborhood’s polling place
10. Sponsor a neighborhood fireworks party

For me, it’s easier to start a conversation and build a relationship when I have something in my hands or have something to do, which is why many of the items on the list above involve a gift or an activity. Did I miss anything? What are you doing to serve your neighbors this summer?

Humility Prepares LifePointers for July Servant Emphasis

Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog?” True enough, sometimes smaller is better, but I was still reluctant to pick up C.J. Mahaney‘s book Humility: True Greatness, June’s book of the month. Maybe I have an aversion to the pint-sized Michael W. Smith books I read when I was a teenager. Maybe I have a superiority complex about the size of the books I read. Who knows.

In his book, Mahaney discusses what it means to be truly great. In our world, greatness is often defined by business savvy and athletic skills, but when God looks for greatness, he looks for humble hearts. In the first two sections, Mahaney defines pride and explains God’s opposition to it, and he redefines humility using Christ’s example. Much of what he said was old hat to me, but one thing resonated: Pride is our greatest enemy. Humility is our greatest friend.

Mahaney uses the third section to encourage us to practice humility in our lives by identifying evidences of grace, encouraging others, inviting and pursuing correction, and responding humbly to trials. He also stocks one chapter full of ways he strives to practice humility every day. This one caught me by surprise: Before going to sleep, receive the gift of sleep from God and acknowledge his purpose for sleep. Sleep is a reminder to us that we need to be refreshed every day, that we are not the independent, autonomous creatures we like to think we are, and that for our lives to be sustained we must rely on God.

Chris Bryant’s sermon this Sunday and LifePoint’s July servant emphasis bookend Humility perfectly. CB spoke of getting to know God, and many of the love languages we can use to know God can also be used to practice humility. Acts of service is one of those love languages, and that’s our focus as a church next month. If you haven’t picked up a copy of Humility yet, it’s not too late. Good things come in small packages indeed.

Book Review: In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day

I do not want to live a life with regrets, instead I want to make the most of the situations that are in front of me—those that I still have a chance to effect. Even though this is the case, there are moments in my life that come to mind every once in a while that give me pause. The ones that stand out most vividly are those that are born out of my inactivity, the missed opportunities which will never come again. I have been thinking about this lately after reading a book by Mark Batterson entitled In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. Mark believes that “the church has been fixated on sins of commission for far too long. We have long lists of don’ts.” He calls this “holiness by subtraction.” Mark also says “I think God is more concerned about sins of omission, those things that we could have and should have done.“ I agree with Mark, I tend to fixate on the things I should not do for God instead of looking for the opportunities God has carefully orchestrated in my life, the things I should do for God. These opportunities come, and if we are not diligently watching, they go.

Mark shares many examples from his own life, one where he planted one church that did not even make it to its first Sunday. He then picked up his family and moved across the country to plant a church near Capitol Hill in Washington DC. His new church, by God’s grace, is thriving today out of many challenges and struggles. Mark also uses many examples from the Bible including one obscure story out of 2 Samuel from which his book gets its title. In this story a man named Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. This event is one of many events in Benaiah’s life that leads him to being selected as one of King David’s body guards and then promoted to commander and chief of Israel’s army. God is continually creating “opportunities” for his children to glorify him in spectacular ways; in the case of Mark and Benaiah those “opportunities” came in the form of a failed church and a 500 lb. lion. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I purposely avoid these types of “opportunities.” But then I would miss out on what God has planned for my life and the opportunity to truly glorify him. And so my prayer is to be watchful and ready for the next lion that might come my way.

This reminds me of what Jesus said to Peter when he gave him his name. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” Gates are not used for offense; they are used for defense. Jesus is speaking of his church, which is the aggressor not the defender against the gates of Hell, and he promises they will not stop his church.

Updates from the Mexico SportReach Team

Our team to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, has been on the ground since Sunday. Check out what they’ve been up to on the SportReach site!

Our other partner Doug Millar is also posting updates on his blog. Check out his thoughts and photos here.

And it’s not too late to pray for them. Download their prayer calendar here.

Hope

by Heather Myer

At times when life is overwhelming and hope does not extend past my present grief, I watch Schindler’s List. This is a movie about the Holocaust, portraying humanity at its very worst. I only watch it when I feel miserable or depressed. Nothing that I am experiencing can possibly compare to the despair of the Holocaust. Each time, I finish the movie cringing at man’s depravity but feeling alive and grateful. At the end of a very long and wretched week, I had every intention of watching Schindler’s List.

After work, I came to church for my turn of reading the New Testament during 24-Hours of Scripture. Andrea left off with Matthew 26. Seated in the light, far from the darkened corners, God revealed truths to me. My voice was small against the large empty room as I read aloud Christ’s last supper, betrayal, arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion and burial. My voice faltered as I recited Jesus’ last words, and his death, and the destruction of the temple. Then in Matthew 28, Christ arose on the third day! My grief was replaced with joy as Jesus greeted his disciples and offered the great commission. I left LifePoint feeling filled, at peace, and thankful. Perhaps this may become my new ritual when life is unpleasant: greet it with the ultimate suffering of our Lord, his arousal, and my own awakening.

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” —Matthew 26:64

Modern-Day Manna

by Heather Myer

Have you ever experienced a time of being low on cash? A time when you sought food for its price and not for its quality? College students are skilled at this task. Top Ramen Noodles are a universal answer to hunger. Available in pork, shrimp, vegetable, chicken, and beef, these dried curly noodles cost only a quarter. Elizabeth frequently resorted to Toastio’s, an off-brand version of Cheerios. I ate hard boiled eggs and instant oatmeal for all three meals. Perhaps the most creative were Erica, Theresa, Katie, and Dallas. Erica waited until after 7 PM when the Fast and Friendly Gas Station sold hot dogs and hamburgers for half-price. Mixing minute rice and salsa together satiated Katie. English muffins topped with cheese and tomato sauce substituted Theresa’s longing for Papa John’s. Dallas mixed together tuna and macaroni and cheese to balance carbs with protein. College was a time when Stephen cherished pop tarts for their real fruit filling, and Cassie ate peanut butter in lieu of meat. It was a time of frozen pizzas, hot dogs, and microwave popcorn. Adults with kitchens cook pancakes, beans, potatoes, and meatless spaghetti when money is low. Now, pick a food item that you ate regularly out of necessity.

Do you have your food in mind? Good! Now, do you still enjoy eating it? Now that you have tasted the flavors of steak, penne pasta, and asparagus, could you go back? Back to a time of eating purely to stop hunger and not to satisfy your taste buds? If only for the simplicity of being content with what you had, would you want to go back? Knowing that the pricier items did not matter, because you could not afford them anyways? Life was simple in college. Dinner options were either between tomato soup or corn flakes. This was a time before choosing Zio’s over Macaroni Grill was even an option. Yet God always provided and brought us through.

Consider the Israelites, as they wandered in the desert for 40 years. God had promised to deliver them into a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet they dined on four decades of manna and the occasional quail. Manna was bread that God caused to fall like rain and cover the ground like frost. It was white, flaky, and tasted like wafers made with honey and olive oil. The Israelites had to rely on God to feed them. The manna would turn to maggots if they hoarded it overnight. They could save some to eat only for the Sabbath, God’s day of rest. Think of your food staple again. College was 4 years of instant oatmeal. This grew old quickly. Now imagine 4 decades of ramen noodles. Try to conceive four decades of nothing other than macaroni cheese and tuna. Would you remain thankful? The Israelites could not. They groaned and even wailed with out ceasing, “If only we had died in Egypt! We have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” God had delivered the Israelites from persecution, slavery, and genocide. Yet they wailed and groaned because of their food. Because of constantly eating a honey-flavored wafer provided by God, the Israelites were willing to forgo Canaan and return to a land where their lives were forfeit and their doom certain. Yet God had plans for his people to prosper and thrive in a new land.

What has God delivered you from? How has he carried you through difficulties? During your own time of eating manna and the occasional quail, consider how he sustained you. Some of us are still in the middle of wandering in the desert. We can choose to be thankful for our minute rice and salsa or we can wail and groan because of another PB&J. God is in the process of delivering us from our own Egypt and bringing us to Canaan. Until we reach the land flowing with milk and honey, let us be thankful. Let us praise God for his provisions. May we find comfort the manna that he has given to us.

A Time to Embrace

by Heather Myer
Louise and Kyla formed a friendship that grew beyond age barriers. Louise was a kind 90 year old lady who enjoyed working on word search puzzles while volunteering at a local community organization. Kyla, a 23-year-old employee helped her find tricky backwards and diagonal words. Their friendship formed over a year of joint work on puzzles and conversations about life. One day, Louise had a stroke. Kyla continued their friendship by visiting Louise in the care facility for 1–2 hours a day. Louise was not lucid. Her voice slurred, and she was confused. She was not alert to person, place, time, or date. Unsure whether Louise’s condition would decline or improve, Kyla pulled up a chair beside the elderly lady, whom she loved. She took the small, aged hand between her own strong hands. Her slender fingers stroked those crippled from arthritis and pain. Laughing, Kyla told Louise about her day, the news, work, her wedding plans, and her pug dogs. Still holding hands, they watched cartoons and sitcoms, as Kyla laughed and encouraged Louise.

Scientific studies have proven that hand holding has very specific health benefits. Heart rates slow. Blood pressure lowers. Respirations are fewer. Endorphins, hormones that allow for good feelings, are released. Stress levels are lowered. Tension in the temples and between eyebrows vanishes. Shoulders, weighed by life’s burdens, are lifted. In the simple act of grasping Louise’s hand as they sat together, Kyla administered a treatment that modern medicine could not: time, reassurance, familiarity, and love.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, and a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. —Eccles. 3:1–8

Ring in the New Year with Auld Lang Syne

by Donovan Dobbs

During the New Year, most of us will either hear or sing the song “Auld Lang Syne” (For Times Gone By). Do you know where the song came from or have you really looked at the verses? I bet you didn’t know that the song has its roots in Scottish folk songs from the 1500s and that it was first written down around 1790 by Scotsman Robert Burns. You might need this information if you ever find yourself on Jeopardy. I will gladly accept part of the winnings!

The song recalls the days gone by and says we will always remember them. So how was 2007 for you? Did you have a good year or bad year? What difference does it make what happened last year? The year is over and a new one is beginning. I do not mean to be crass but you really cannot change what happened last year. Time has passed and the event whether good or bad has been swallowed into time. The only thing that you have to look forward to is today and tomorrow. Is that not what happens as we follow Christ?

Once we surrender to Christ, we should not concern ourselves with our past lifestyle but look forward to what he will create through us. 1 Peter 4:1–3 and Romans 7:6. As it says in Romans, “Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life” (Roma. 6:4 HCSB). With Christ we are a new person who is completely and forever changed (2 Cor. 5:17). We are renewed in body, mind and spirit (Eph. 4:23–24).

As we begin the new year let us be a new person. Do not worry what you did or didn’t do last year. Forget what you should or shouldn’t have done. 2008 is a new year with new adventures and new challenges from God. Have you surrendered to Jesus? If not, why wait let today be the day you surrender to Him. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a new person who is continually growing to be what he wants you to be. Let 2008 be the year that he works through you in ways that you never expected nor imagined!

Pride Before the Fall

by Heather Myer

Skiing for the first time is a quick way to break someone of pride and bring a fast return to humility. My experiences shall be presented in the manner of a Batman and Robin episode circa the 1970s. Nothing brings about true humility like Batman and Robin. A few years ago, some friends went to Colorado on a ski trip. My trainer and I drove through the night while the others soundly dozed through the plains of Kansas. Neither of us had eaten or slept before attempting to ski. Standing at the bottom of the slopes, I timidly peered at the course. All my meters ran on empty. Loopy from lack of sleep and an overabundance of coffee, I clumsily clicked my boots into the skis. *WHAM!* I fell to the ground. Embarrassed, I tried to scramble to my feet. *SMACK!* I flailed a bit and my skis popped off from the force of my fall. The ground was a sheet of ice, packed solid from thousands of vacationers. My trainer helped me to my feet.

“Let’s try a slope!,” he cheerfully suggested. My eyes widened. I couldn’t yet support myself standing still! Nervously, I nodded. He led the way to the ski lifts. “Now, Heather, you must time this just right. The lifts will come behind you and you need to sit down as they come to you.” *BANG!* The lifts never had a chance. I fell on a patch of ice before it could catch me. My pride, as well as my bottom, were sufficiently bruised. I clamored into the cold metal seat. Squirming uncomfortably, I peered over the side. The world below was in miniature. Pine trees and lodges were scattered in the distance. Tiny figures wound their way down snowy hillsides. “Okay, get ready!“ Gracefully, he hopped off the lift. *OUCH!* Unable to stand, my body slammed to the ground. Scrambling away, I approached my friend. *KA-BLAM!*. The force of our collision echoed off the distant peaks.

My trainer looked nervous. He was now trapped on a high slope with girl who spent more time floundering on the ground than standing upright. Glancing down, over the rolling ice, I could not even see the end of the course. “Ready?” he asked. “Un-hunh…” I chattered, my teeth rattling from the cold and my belly growling with hunger. Everything inside me said that this was a very bad idea. We didn’t get far. *POW!* Both of us were on the ground and stared disgruntled at each other. Stubbornly, I crossed my arms and wondered if I could roll down the hill. “Now, Heather, you’re stuck up here! You can’t give up! You need to try.” Rubbing my throbbing side, I attempted to stand. *CRASH!* Dazed, I laid on my back and stared hopelessly at the blue sky. Tears of pain stung in my eyes. My trainer sighed in frustration. Small children, not old enough to know cursive or long division sped past us.

*SPLAT!* Feeling like road kill, I realized that every ounce of pride and dignity had been stripped from me. A grade school kid who could not yet multiply whizzed past us. Sore, bruised, embarrassed, and naked in humility, I rose to face the slope. A tree was in front of us. “Turn left! Heather! Left!” Wildly, I twisted and turned, but nothing happened. I could only turn right, not left. My eyes widened as I neared the pine. A morning of falling had taught me a few lessons. *THUD!* If only Sonny Bono had been able to fall half as well as I, he and Cher might still be doing reunion tours. After nearly 2 hours of brief stints of skiing followed by falls, we successfully made it to the bottom of the course.

That night, I slept soundly and ate well in the lodge. My sore limbs thawed by the fireplace. Refreshed, I refocusing my attentions and tackled the slopes. Miraculously I did not fall the next day. My pride was replaced by a spirit of humility. Rather than focusing on my failure, I was awed by God’s creation. The bright intensity of the powdery snow, the distant forest, and the brisk breeze all captivated my attention. For one brief weekend, I was able to enjoy the mountains richly draped in splendor.

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting you are God. —Isaiah 52:7

Corteo—Cirque Du Soleil

by Heather Myer

Corteo by Cirque Du Soleil is a portrayal of a clown dreaming of his own death. The audience is treated to French operas, unusual instrumentals, and acrobatic feats. Full of charm and magic, Corteo highlights the clown’s past. Angels guide the clown through the delicate dance of life with loved ones. Past memories spin and twirl in chandeliers above the clown’s death bed. Children leap on beds, displaying endless and unceasing back hand springs, flips, twists, and turns. Men seven feet tall fold themselves up and dive through small 3×3 hoops suspended in the air. A tight rope walker hoo-la-hoops with 20+ hoops on her tiptoes suspended in midair. Human marionettes, dwarfs, and giants display amazing flexibility and acrobatic talents through catapults, summersaults, leaps, and bounds 20 feet above the ground. During one act, men effortlessly tossed ladies simultaneously and without ceasing through the air. The timing was perfect. The performers revolved within seconds and mere inches of each other, yet avoided painful collisions. In another scene, a petite woman was suspended by only her ankle in mid air and a strong man held onto her pony tail to support himself in the air. Ouch. The audience followed the clown through his past and applauded as he eventually earned a set of angel wings ascended through fluffy white clouds into heaven. Nice touch, but this is not an accurate picture of eternity. Rather, Corteo is a humorous glimpse of a funeral procession with scant hope of an everlasting life.

Revelation has a glimpse of what our everlasting will include. Jesus will be at the center of a throne encircled by an emerald rainbow. He will have the appearance of both jasper and carnelian. From the throne will come lightning and thunder. Seven lamps will blaze. Twenty four elders will be seated around the throne and four living creatures, each with six wings and covered in eyes, will be before the throne. Without ceasing, the living creatures will give glory and honor to God by saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” The elders will fall before the throne and worship God,

You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things by your will they were created and have their being (Rev 4:1-11).

All angels will fall down on their faces before the throne and worship, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” People from every tribe, nation, and language will wear white robes and hold palm branches before the throne and cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” They will have survived great tribulation and have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. We will serve him day and night and God will house us. We will not hunger, thirst, hurt, or even become sunburned. God will personally wipe away our every tear. Our self-consumed thoughts will be changed only to focus on praising and worshiping our holy Lord. We will join an eternal celebration with those who have gone on before us. He will be our shepherd and lead us to the springs of living water (Rev. 7.9–17). This is our promise. May our robes be washed white in the blood of the lamb so that we too may join in the promise of an everlasting life. Salvation belongs to him alone.

—
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com

Next Page »