Jay's Message-June 23

Colossians 4:5, 6

Opportunities are providentially arranged for us by God. We are best serving Him when we recognize and utilize them to the fullest of our ability. If we ignore them or make excuses for failing to move when God leads, we stand in disobedience to the Word of God. Courage born of serving the King should be a motivator.

And besides, serving God can be lots of fun. Challenging, stretching, tiring, but truly fun. If that sounds shallow, oh well. Take a minute and inventory all the things you do for “fun,” then ask how many of them have eternal value in changing people’s lives. Hmmm?

Which leads me to Vacation Bible School, which can be a life-changer! It’s coming up next month, July 10 through 14, from 6 to 8:30 PM. Whether you’re working VBS this year or not, here are some matters to take before God in prayer; VBS is about accepting the opportunities and challenges- if all the kids sent to us were in perfect spiritual health, with perfect backgrounds and no issues, there might be no reason for them to be there in the first place! Pray that God sends us the kids He knows we can impact in a positive way for the Lord. Focus on the kids…it’s about them, to the glory of God! Every child is an opportunity. We may have to be crea-tive, but we must absolutely be committed!

VBS is about going beyond the “usual”- mediocrity is not hard to achieve. Excellence must be pursued, planned for, and embraced as a standard. Pray that God places a desire in your heart to deliver nothing but your best effort each night, each child. Pray for one another, that we might be strong and focused on doing our best.

VBS is about learning a little about yourself- what talents and skills you already know you have that you can sharpen, as well as new things God can use you to accomplish. Be ready to be flexible. Be prepared each night. Be looking for, and expecting, God to be at work. We are His instruments, His tools. Pray in ad-vance, and every evening, that nothing will stand in your way of being available for whatever or wherev-er the Lord wants you to best serve Him.

Let’s see what God can do through VBS this year!