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July 20, 2014

Big Thoughts

Every week here at South all those serving in some capacity join together worship to focus, talk through the day and pray. We call it the huddle. Each month a different elder handles the discussion, giving a scripture thought to challenge us for the day.

Today, Jim led. He shared with us the following lyrics from The Earth Falls Asleep by Abandon Kansas.:

I’m convinced that the world that we see is a curtain, behind which vast realms await us of uncharted marvels in oceans of mercy inside my father’s eyes and the mountains are grand stands that sheets of blue skies rest upon pealed back with ease by yours hands to reveal a glory I’ve never dreamed

He then said, “Today, I want you to think big thoughts.” He challenged us to see past the mundane, the tasks at hand that always have to be done. He encouraged us to see something bigger going on in the day, to be ready for something bigger. Then he prayed and we were done.

It was so simple, yet so beautiful and mind blowing. Think big thoughts…

We are a part or something bigger, something beyond what we see right here right now. We are a part of something beyond what we planned to eat today, or the coffee we stopped and got on the way to church. We are a part of something bigger than this week, our jobs, or our lives. We are a part of something that has been going on for generations and generations. Really, its been going on since man fell in the Garden and separated humanity from God via sin. God has been chasing us ever since with an unrelenting love. And, when we accept and embrace that love, we become a part of the pursuit.

That means it is not just about me. It is is not simply about the church that I serve, or even the churches of Christ/Christian churches here in Lansing. It is not even about all the churches here in Lansing. It is about all of us, one entity who are called brothers and sisters of Jesus because of the cross - the Church, the tribe, the Kingdom of God - whatever you want to call it so you can grasp the bigness of it. Actually, it is about us and beyond us. It is about the unrelenting love of God working through us to redeem the world.

It is about us here AND it is about our brothers and sisters in Mosul, Iraq. They are being persecuted by ISIS (an Islamic group). ISIS came through in the last few days, marked their houses with an Islamic symbol that means “Christian” and gave them three options.

  1. Leave
  2. Convert to Islam for the sum of one pound of gold
  3. Die by the sword

To them, faith is real and in their face right now. Move on from your homes, confess Islam with payment, or die. How would I do in that situation? Think big thoughts…

Where does faith take hold in our lives? When will we pull away from the mundane and live lives that matter? Think big thoughts…

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