Working for God

It's been a fascinating spring at COTHA.  Launching the capital campaign in the midst of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression was, well, interesting!!  God knows what He is doing though, and the result of the campaign has brought God glory.  As I said on Sunday, we swung for the fence, and while our ultimate financial goal wasn't reached, we should feel very good about the money that was pledged.  We felt God was calling us to relieve the financial pressure that our building debt was placing on the budget, and it appears that happened.  For that I give all the wonderful people at COTHA my heart-felt gratitude and I give God the glory and honor!

As always when good things happen we need to remember who it is we follow and what the challenge is that He gives us.  Also, when we make a difference for the Kingdom, we don't go unnoticed by the spiritual realm.  I'm reminded constantly to put on the full armour of God because the battle is not with flesh and blood.  The spiritual battle has been raging since our first parents and since the devil can't claim our souls, he will certainly try to remove our effectiveness.  

I am given much hope through the writings of Paul.  This morning I was reading in 1 Corinthians (15: 58 ff):  "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."  As I think about this, I am acutely aware how easy it is to go through the motions, thinking that one person or one church can't really do that much.  Paul reminds us that: 1. God always calls us to big, God-sized projects; and 2. Nothing, when we do it for Him, is EVER useless.

I encourage you to keep pushing ahead, keep seeking to grow as a disciple, keep sharing your faith and never, never give up.  Our God who began a good work within us, will indeed bring it to completion.  And what a beautiful day that will be.