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Our One and Only Life
Recently, two things made me stop and think: “Chris, where are you on your journey of growing spiritually?” The two things were a devotional and a tragic event...
Stowell, former president of Moody Bible Institute, is one of my favorite pastors and authors. I regularly read his devotional Daily Strength at www.rbc.org. Based on James 4:14, he wrote:
What difference would it make if we truly grasped the fact that there are no
guarantees about what tomorrow holds? I suspect we would be a lot quicker
to forgive. I think we would be much more apt to consider the needs of
others around us. We’d say “I love you” more often and prioritize people over
things and duties. I think we would spend a lot less time pursuing earth-side
stuff and care a lot more about eternity and the lostness of people around us.
It motivates me as I think about my priorities as a husband, father, employee, steward of God’s blessings, a neighbor, brother, son, and most importantly, as a Christ-follower.
Where am I in my relationship with God? Do I value that relationship? Do I connect with Him each day and work on my relationship with Him?
Currently, we’re developing a program at Grace to focus on our journey of growing spiritually (or JOGS for those of you who like acronyms). We hope that each of us will develop and commit to our own, unique
plan of spiritual growth—regardless of where we’re at on our walk of faith.
Our team has developed a simple model and tools that we can use to design our plan that are based on the Seven Habits of Effective Disciples. Stay tuned for more details in the fall.
In the midst of our team meetings, a tragic event happened that caused me to do some deep soul-searching.
Julie Steiskal was the receptionist at Church of the Open Door, where I worked for three years before
coming to Grace. She loved Jesus, had a quirky sense of humor, and a room-brightening smile. At 29 years old, she was an accomplished photographer and had a deep desire to make her life count for God’s Kingdom.
At the end of June, on a church trip to the North Shore, she lost her life attempting to save a 17-year-old girl who was being swept away by the current in the Temperance River. Both of them died.
Since then, I’ve been praying for the families and friends of both, as well as the staff and congregation at Open Door; for comfort, peace, healing and that everyone who knew Julie would be okay asking the why questions–“why did they have to die, why them, why then, why there?”
Equally convicting has been God’s prompting on my heart to consider how I’m living my life, right here,
right now. I began to pray about my life and what value I place on my “one and only life” as Bill Hybels would say.
How am I doing…as a husband, father, employee, steward of God’s stuff, a neighbor, brother and son? And am I doing my best to follow God’s call? Am I doing my best to grow as a disciple of Christ knowing that, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow...You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
Because like all of us, I long to hear our Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
For His Kingdom,
Pastor Chris