No Greater Love

Palm Sunday coming this week and as Christians we should remember the sacrifice made by Jesus to willingly lay down his life for you and me!
John 15:13 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Training

I wanted to share something that's been on my heart a lot lately. People sometimes tell me that my son is sweet and well behaved (I have to be honest, I love hearing that!) and it's because we've been training him to be that way. To train means "to make proficient by instruction and practice". I've been thinking lately: Am I training my son to love and serve God?
Honestly, the answer isn't always yes. Sometimes I get into a "do as I say and not as I do" mindset. I came across this verse:

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
                                                                                                          -Proverbs 22:6

I tend to struggle in that department most when I'm allowing myself to worry instead of trusting God. The "Crump family verse" is
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding"
                                                                                                           -Proverbs 3:5   
It's something that I, especially, struggle with. I think that worry's been my go-to emotion for so long that it's hard to give up sometimes.But I don't want Simon growing up feeling that he can't trust God or that he needs to worry.
I guess this is my long-winded way of asking for prayer. Not only regarding how I handle stress and worry, but in how I raise Simon, that he will learn that he can trust God in everything.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
                                                                 - Deuteronomy 6:5

Game Night

 

The rain didn’t restrain anyone from coming to Game Night last night.  This was our second fellowship of this year and the turn out was amazing!!  Of course, being Baptist, there was no shortage of food,  fun or fellowship!  Trish delighted us with some homemade Angel eggs (it was a church event….can’t allow the devil in as Brenda pointed out).  We also had some chicken wings, 6 ft sub, plenty of chips and dip, taquitos, fruit platter and cake.  Oh yes, can’t forget the Oreos….the snack that is equivalent to crack apparently. 

6 Foot Sub

As the games started, Brenda taught us all how to barter on the stock market for the items we wanted in a friendly, but loud game of PIT. We quickly realized that we have some serious negotiators in our group! Not  to mention that Quick Hand Simon was in charge of ringing the bell!
After a few games of PIT, we matched up boys against the girls  for some Pictionary.  While the boys may have won that game, we all  realized that Felicia and Chris are a force to be reckoned with when it  comes to drawing cleaning supplies.  The girls were much more creative  on the pictures they were drawing.  If winning were based on the pictures drawn, the girls would be the winners, hands down!  Simon and Brenda were enjoying their game of Battleship taking place in the Mediterranean Sea apparently because Brenda picked up the accent of the area, informing Simon that he sank her battleship in the best English accent.  The final game was the game of Signs, which simply cannot be explained in this format.  Its one of those games you have to be there to get it.  However, we did realize very quickly that some folks have difficulty focusing and paying attention and that other people make up their own rules as they go…..that’s what makes spending time together so fun!  Spending time with folks, laughing, sharing, having fun and letting your hair down (for those of you who have hair)….that’s what you do with family too huh?  Glad to see so much of the “family” together tonight!  I can only imagine that the upcoming events are going to be as much fun!

This was Pit!! What a blast!!

Are you an Ugli Fruit?

Are you an Ugli Fruit?

Recently I discovered something called Ugli Fruit sold at my local Publix. This stuff is really ugly and does not even look appealing. If you were to look this fruit up on the Internet you would find it described as “Hideous to look at - It is lumpy, frumpy, and has a poor complexion” I mean looking at this fruit in the store you would pass it by because it looks like a grapefruit gone bad on the shelf.

I remember when I first laid eyes on it in the store. I had to ask the produce manager if his Grape Fruit had gone bad. He laughed and told me that it was suppose to look like that and that it was probably the sweetest citrus fruit he had on the shelf. I looked at him like he was crazy and said, "man you must be crazy that stuff looks like its gone bad right here on your shelf". The Produce Manager kind of chuckled but assured me the Ugli fruit was good and the he would even let me try it. I looked at the fruit again as he chose one off the shelf and dug his thumb into the top of the fruit and peeled back the thick skin and separated the fruit from the peeling.

Once he had the fruit opened and the layers of Ugli skin peeled back I noticed how full of juice the fruit was and that it had no seeds and it was really a very beautiful fruit. I took it from him and place the fruit on my tongue and was surprised to taste something that was kind of indescribable as I had never tasted any thing quite like this. I purchased 3 of them that day and vowed to my family if you touch my fruit I will hurt you!!!

Looking back on this I wonder how many of us is like the “Ugli Fruit”. How many of us are sweet once the layers are peeled back.  It’s kind of like this; If I were to just look at you or have a brief encounter with you like I did with the fruit at the grocery store but all I see is this “Lumpy, Frumpy skin with a poor complexion (poor Christ like complexion). Then how likely am I going to want to purchase the fruit (or get to know you)?  In my case the produce manager who had truly experienced the fruit and knew just how sweet it really was and wanted me to know it shared his experience. But let’s say only the stock boy was there the day I went in to purchase fruit and he really did not have the same personal knowledge as his manager and he could only speak of what he has seen or maybe he is new there and thinks the fruit is bad also and decides it should be discarded and thrown away.

God puts it like this: Matthew 7:16-20

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

So I ask you then are you being an Ugli Fruit? Are we allowing people to see the special fruit God has created within us? This special fruit is for us to share with others and show them how sweet the love of God can be and how special the message of salvation is for them. If we sit with our arms folded and a sour look and say to ourselves “well they didn’t speak to me so why should I speak to them” it may be that they are afraid even scared to approach you/me if that’s how we look to the new folks around us in small group and in the main service?

So if you are an Ugli fruit, with a rough and tough exterior or maybe your a “Man’s Man” that’s OK but you have to peel back the layers and show the love of Jesus Christ to everyone around you. Then I bet you wont look like that Ugli fruit anymore, you will be that beautiful piece of fruit God intended you to be!!

John 15:4

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Light Dawns

Friendship with God

Friendship with God

No Greater Love

John 15:13

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹³  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.