Personal

I listened with half an ear yesterday as Pastor Greg shared his "leftover sermon" (watch or listen from the Seacoast-Irmo website). There's so much going on, so many folks giving of themselves for the upcoming small group adventure, just things that need to get done to support them and enable them to do their best. So after the morning training session, I had a few more things on my heart and mind, and like I said, half-listened as pastor shared "Squeeze the Most Out of Life".

No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be,[a] but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. - Philippians 3:13-14, nlt

One point smacked me: making sure that I'm spending my time "perfecting my talents and streghths". Pastor Greg brought up the story of the talents, with three co-workers getting a measure of $$ to take care of for the master. Two of the three doubled his investment, but the third was afraid and hid his $$ so that he would at least not lose what had been entrusted to him. Am I holding too tightly to what I've been entrusted with? Am I working my best in time & resources to give a return to the Master? I don't know, but it made me think, challenged me to assess my own life.

Why is it that when some people hear sermons, when some folks hear the Word, they think of what's wrong in someone else's life? Why do some folks feel the need to convict others when God speaks? I do it, too, probably more than I'm willing to admit since I'm the one writing here. But really, I get cut back and forth with the two-edged sword of His truth, whether I'm paying attention or not, it seems. Now the task is to do something about it, make changes in me that reflect His life, and not worrying about whether so-and-so was here to hear that or not.