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Saturday, April 2
10:00 a.m. Soup Dinner Set-Up
Sunday, April 3
Celebration of the Lord's Supper
All-Church Soup Dinner-Theme "The Letter A" Your soup sign should have a nicely decorated, fancy "A" (for April) in it!
We need more soups! Please contact Susan O'Donnell (bonnell9@comcast.net) to sign up.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
7:00 p.m. Special Informational Meeting. Question and Answer Opportunity.
Those desiring child care please contact Jessica Sperry (jess.sperry@gmail.com) by Thursday, March 31.
New Mailer:
We now have a NEW archive link set up on the homepage of our website (www.wellspringchurch.org) for those of you who may have missed, deleted or lost an email from us. Please take advantage of this useful tool!
Reminder from last week
"Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in his name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer, we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords. He calls them to self-abnegation and death; we call them to spread themselves like green bay trees or perchance even to become stars in a pitiful fifth-rate zodiac. He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers. ...We can afford to suffer now; we'll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyments will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way in the right time." (A.W. Tozer)
Rewarding Myself
Sometime in the past of our lives, most of us have adopted the belief that there are times when we deserve a reward. We work hard, we suffer a loss, we are misunderstood, or in some way we have not gotten what we have thought we deserved or was our right, so we reward ourselves. We understand the connection of working and wages. We apply that connection to every part of our lives. I expect applause, appreciation, and some sort of reward-even when I am doing the minimum of what is expected. Like a performing pet that gets a treat for sitting, staying, begging, rolling over, or jumping through a hoop, I too want a reward. When the reward I want doesn't come, I am disappointed and feel as though I have the right to choose my own reward. This is the beginning of bad habits, self-medication, and addiction. After years of being told "you deserve a break today," we think that we deserve a break every day, all day. When I don't get that break, I am disappointed, I sulk, and I wallow in self-pity.
There are at least three things wrong with this attitude from a Biblical Worldview.
First, Jesus tells us that those who do what is expected are not to expect a bonus. "Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17:7-10) We are to see ourselves in light of responsibilities and duties. Humbly we end each day and thank God for the opportunity to serve him.
Second, none of us deserves any good from life or from God. When I count my hard work, my over-the-top achievements, anything I consider above and beyond the call of duty as a reason to receive a reward from God, I am forgetting that I only deserve his wrath and displeasure. I am a rebel and a sinner. The wages (rewards) of sin is death, not bonuses, treats, and rewards. Yet at the same time I must remember that free gift of God's grace is eternal life through Christ Jesus.
Third, when we do reward ourselves, we settle for cardboard instead of steaks, plastic instead of diamonds, and images instead of reality. I wonder how many people come to the end of a hard day tired and weary, looking forward to a treat and think, "Now I get to spend some free time with my Bible!" or "I have an hour of extra time, I'm going to pray!" It is strange, isn't it, that when we consider rewards, strengthening and enjoying our relationship with God doesn't come to the top of the list. So instead, we watch TV, eat, read, exercise-or in many cases pursue something destructive to us and the ones we love us. In a strong marriage, or even in a marriage that wants to be stronger, there is a longing to spend free time with one's beloved mate. My time with my wife is not drudgery, it is the reward I look forward to after time invested in other necessary things. Why do we not see time with God's Word and the God of the Word as a reward at the end of a day? Why when we are hurting, tired, misunderstood, anxious, or under stress do we go to our favorite reward other than to the greatest reward?
What kind of difference would it make in your life and attitude if you went to God when you wanted to cash in some "me-time?" What would happen if God became the reward, the medicine, the satisfaction. instead of the unsatisfying and enslaving substitutes you have been using?
BookTable
Check the New Resources for parents on the Family Table. Choose and take a book home to read between now and Easter focusing on the cross. Don't let the incredible story of the death and resurrection of Christ sneak up on you without considering anew what it means for you. Your worship and service will be enhanced!
If you missed last weeks sermon you can listen here. You can also subscribe to our podcasts here. For more information about any of these events or if you need to contact us, please email us at wellspringchurch.org@gmail.com.
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