Today, as I sit working in a local coffee shot I have done a good bit of self examination. It seems to be a fitting time of the year to do such a profound thing, but regardless of what the calendar says, God has been calling me to take a good look at what I’ve been doing for the past 24 years. As I did this I thought to myself, “how many people really ever evaluate the entire parameters of their life?”

We’re all used to short-term evaluations. Students are evaluated through tests, employees through yearly performance reviews, and the list goes on and on. But all of those things are based on recent actions and knowledge. When and where is there is the place for us to evaluate a decade of our lives, and is this type of information even going to be beneficial to us?

Well, allow me to share my feelings after my short period of self-examination.

I believe that there is something that God has prepared for each person to do in their lifetime, and I also believer that in every person’s life there is a certain point where they finally become ready to do that thing. For this purpose I’ll call it the “essential task”. For many people that point may come much earlier than others, but when it arrives you realize that everything up to that point has merely been education for the task. The experiences and adventures that lead to that point were all shaping and preparing you to carry out this one “essential task”.

I think the problem that most of us have, myself included, is that we try to answer this question too broadly; pinpointing our “essential task” as a general body of work or career of choice. But, did you ever think that God intended for us to go deeper with this thought? God has the ability to do grand things through our relatively short lives, and I believe that when we look at our “essential task” too broadly we are stunting the true potential God has placed inside of us. We need to be thinking of specific tasks in specific places that God has undoubtedly equipped and called us to do, and without hesitation START DOING THEM!

I think this is all easier said than done, but I want to challenge you to do is examine the last 5, 10, 15, or ever 20 years of your life and see whether or not you have passed that point of being ready to fulfill your “essential task”. Maybe this year will bring that moment, maybe it will bring the realization that you pasted that point and you need to get to work, or maybe it will allow you to gain more education for the task God is calling you to. Either way, just know that God has to take priority in our lives in order for his plan to become clear to us.

I know this thought was a little longer than normal for me, but I hope it will help you to do something greater for the kingdom that you ever though possible.

Is December 31st the end of an old year or is January 1st the beginning of a new one?

This thought to ponder has been brought you by “2008: Deeper and more thought provoking than 2007!”

Today I was checking my bank account balances online like I often do and I noticed something quite humorous. The savings account that we had recently set up for my son had earned some interest. To be exact it earned 1 cent of interest. That’s right, one measly penny. I got a good chuckle out of this until I realized, that penny is just the beginning of the growth his account will see in the next 18 years. I mean, we’ll make deposits that sometimes will be large and he will earn small amounts of interest, but in the long run it will hopefully all add up to a pretty significant amount. It’s hard to think that far ahead with such a small start but it’s true.

I think of our spiritual growth in much the same way. I know people often think, “what is reading my Bible for 30 minutes today going to do for me? What is a daily prayer time going to give me? How will that have a true impact on my spiritual life? They seem so small and insignificant!” Well, I can personally tell you as someone who asked those very questions years ago that investing in our spiritual development is like that penny of interest. It may seem like a small step, but in the end your will yield great growth from such diligence.

Things have been pretty crazy in my neck of the woods lately, and it’s mainly because of all the stuff that consumes my world in the month of December. December is without a doubt the craziest, busiest, and most stressful time of the year for someone in my profession. All I keep telling myself is that Christmas is coming and it will soon be over for another year. When Christmas finally arrives, all of that stuff will be done, and the busyness of the season will be over. Maybe this is why I look forward to Christmas day with the same anticipation that I did as a child.

But more than just a relief of holiday stress we should look forward to Christmas as a great celebration! We often think of soft music, candle light, and baby Jesus laying quietly in a manger. But I want to encourage you to look at Christmas as a true celebration. The start to a great victory over sin!

I haven’t done much blogging in recent weeks due to the massive production that our church is preparing for in the coming weeks. It is going to be called “Back to Bethlehem” - A walk through the epic event of Christ’s birth, and it is a guided tour that takes you scene by scene through the events that lead to the miraculous birth of Christ. It has caused me much stress, but I know we will pull it off and it will be awesome. We literally have hundred of volunteers working on this simultaneously. It’s pretty awesome to see. People hurry around putting forth their best effort to make something happen. There just seems to be a sense of urgency in everyone’s mind.

I think it’s great that an event like prompts people to jump into action, but more importantly I think that the fact that there are people in our community dying everyday with out Christ should cause a sense of urgency in all of of ALL THE TIME! Not just for an event or program, but EVERYDAY! I hope that when this event is over and done this sense of urgency remains, and I would encourage everyone at River Valley to keep this feeling going!

If you aren’t busy, please come and check this event out. We have it running two nights December 13 & 14 from 7:00pm-9:00pm.