29Jul 07
Will you claim fame or His Name?
posted by
Let me explain! Whether within your own home, down town, or across the U.S. border, you are on a mission field. In many ways, life as a Christian can be compared to living within a glass house. What you say, participate in, and allow reveals both who you follow and who is most important in your life. For the Christian, this means associating with Jesus Christ vs. the world. All too often we sacrifice Jesus to please and not offend the world (claim fame).
Recently, I had the privilege of working with the Alert Cadets of Northern Virginia as they assisted staff and exhibitors at the NOVA Homeschool Convention. Alert leader Lt. Voell has a heart for serving others. It is a joy to work along side him and his family. A frequently asked question as we were moving boxes, running errands, setting up, and then breaking down was, “Who are you with?” I would reply that we were with an organization resembling boy scouts, called Alert. I would also mention that a goal of the program was to strengthen father and son relationships. The inquirer would then express approval and my fame would grow. I had failed! Oh, I described it correctly, but something lacked. The real power behind this program is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Realizing my error, the next time someone inquired of our program, I purposed to briefly explain the program and point out that it was also a tool to strengthen one’s relationship with Jesus Christ.
A few days later while writing a note of gratefulness to a former unsaved piano teacher, I was prompted to ask the Lord to bless her. At first I figured that, ‘may the Lord bless you,’ would be sufficient. However, building on His work in me a few days prior, He had me write, “may the Lord Jesus bless you.” Power comes from claiming the Name of Jesus.
May we live our lives with the heartbeat of John, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Thank you for the reminder Joshua. And it is not only out in public that this needs to be practiced. I find that in our home I need to live in such a way as to point our children to Jesus Christ continually. I need to model a relationship with Jesus that is real and alive. I want my children to know that Jesus is not a fairy tale, but that He is alive and at work in our lives today.
May Jesus bless The Wilkes Team this week!
Under the Shadow of the Almighty,
Mrs. Southerland
Amen Mrs. Southerland! Thank you for that timely reminder that our most important mission field is the family. May the Lord bless you as you all continue to put Jesus first.
That morning as we got ready to go I had no idea what to expect, except I knew we were going there to serve and be a blessing.
That day turned out to be a blessing to ME and a refreshing experience!
There is definitly true joy that over comes you when you make others successful!
Hey, I don’t know if it was in any connection to this event or not, but I just recently saw a picture of Matthew speaking up on stage and all dressed in his Cadet uniform. It was in an all-new brochure about the ALERT program. You’ll probably see it one of these days but it was sure an encouragement to see him! Keep up the good work!