It's All Fun and Games Till Things Fail to Work

Last week, I was getting this continual message on my phone, indicating I had problems. I recently acquired a new phone that has so many bells and whistles that it could whistle Dixie and have a church bell sound at the same time. Ok, maybe that was a bit of an extreme, but it does have a lot of features. I am still learning the features, that even for a tech savvy guy, it takes a while.

I called up Tech Support and they told me one thing. I tried it and it didn’t work. Before getting off the phone the guy said he would call me. Well, with the problems that were happening, I couldn’t receive anything - phone calls, texts, e-mail, etc. So, he called and had to leave a voicemail. I couldn’t call him directly, but I had to call back anyway, since that proposed solution didn’t fix the problem.

When I called back I was able to find out what the problem was and get it taken care of. Something on the company’s end was adjusted causing all the problems. They reconfigured the settings and the phone worked well.

Life can be like that. I recently experienced the need to replace my car battery. Not a fun time either.

Anything that works correctly is a blessing. However, when things start working incorrectly, then we have a problem. This brings to mind the famous Apollo 13 line…“Houston, we have problem”.

We can apply this to Jesus’ church. There are so many working parts that are moving this way and that. So, we’re bound to run into each other from time to time. Sometimes that “bump” may hurt someone. However, to be the body that Christ designed, we need to work and be together.

We may work together for a while and things will seem “fun”, but then when something goes out of whack or fails to work, the fun ceases. I need to be continually reminded of this so that I can be praying and be active in doing my part.

Let’s do all we can to try to keep the “fun” alive and be able to use the features that His Body is designed to have - fellowship, teammwork, unification, etc.

A New Found...Devotion - Acts 2:42

We all really like to do something. Some would categorize it as "loving" to do something. It could be going to eat somewhere, a hobby, a vacation spot, etc. We are devoted to these things. We tend to think about them often and may put them into practice as much as we have time for. You may be devoted to a certain team, local or otherwise. Devotion comes in different forms, but the overall concept is still the same. As we think about devotion, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. As Christians, we must be devoted to God. He is a jealous God and wants us to not have any devotion to anything else above Him. Think about your priorities, are they putting Him first? Do you need to re-examine where He is on the list? The next time you are finding yourself putting prayer, bible reading, going to church/assembly below other things, you might want to re-examine your priorities and your devotion to Him.
   
2. Be a Kindergartner. Treat each day, each time you open your Bible, and each time you hear the Message as a chance to soak in all that you can. There is so much to learn when it comes to being a Christian and a disciple of the Word. What will God teach you today?
3. Fellowship is so important to me. I enjoy the opportunities to spend time with others. It is such a bonding experience. Look for ways you can get in touch with someone else and get to know them a bit deeper.
   
4. Pray...not because you "have" to, but because you can't go on another day without talking to God. Give Him your praises and petitions.
   

It was great to get together and sense the excitement of people. It has been great to see the transformation in people as they are getting out of their comfort zones and doing things they have done in the past. It is amazing how God works with different situations to allow His people to flourish in using their talents!

Devoted...and Excited...