This is Like Christianity

These are my 2016 Tulips pushing up for the first time. They were bulbs last fall when I planted them. All I had was a picture of what color and variety they were supposed to be. I have to trust that what I was planting last fall is going to be a beautiful tulip someday because when I plant the bulbs I couldn't  tell what they were going to be. As a matter of fact, there is no guarantee that they were going to bloom at all. I could plant them too deep, not deep enough.  A squirrel could dig them out and eat them. The winter could have been extremely harsh and they could have died. There are many possible deterrents that could prevent the blooms from coming into their fullness.

I decided a long time ago to bring God into my heart. I asked Him to come into me and take over my life over 40 years ago. Since then I have dug Him up. Moved Him around. Let Him lie dormant in the garage of my soul. I have put him in bad soil, haven't fertilized or weeded, neglected to water, and allowed a number of things try and uproot and destroy His presence in my life. It is an ongoing battle just like trying to have a beautiful garden. It takes work and diligence to see and enjoy the fruit.

This is the season of Easter. A time of resurrection. A time when "Blooming" is expected. I am again preparing God's bulb in my life. I am tending to it. I need it to bloom. I am tired of just looking at the picture on the box of what the bloom is supposed to look like. I want to experience the real thing.
Here are some of the instructions I am following to allow God to bloom in my life. I hope you will find them as helpful as I do.

John 14:23-24 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Jesus promises if I "obey" His teaching that He will come and Make His home in me!

John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Proverbs 11:25Whoever brings blessing will be enriched and one who waters will himself be watered.

Mark 9:35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

We are to serve one another in love!  That is what God honors. If I want the fullness of God in my life, I must become a servant to all. I must become last and my neighbor must become first. It starts at home with your spouse and then moves out into your circle. We are to serve with love! If you serve out of obligation or with contempt in your heart you will not receive the blessing. Ask God to give you a servants heart. Jesus was a servant unto death. He is our example of how we live to experience the fullness of God and it is through serving one another in love!

NOTICE:  Chuck Weiss Funeral arrangements:
This Friday the 11th of March there will be a visitation at the Irwin Chapel Funeral Home located on Maryville Road in Granite City. The visitation will be at 4:00 to 8:00. There will be a memorial service at 11:00am Saturday at the Irwin Chapel. You can read more at the Irwin Chapel website.

Next Blog I will talk about my ongoing struggle with "Church!"

See you soon. Love, pastor kent