Verse of the Day - Acts 20:24

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. ~ Acts 20:24 (NIV)

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I remember going to a garage sale at a little old Methodist church a few years ago. They had the sale in their sanctuary, as I recall (which is really weird...where did the pews go?....maybe my recollection is failing me...lol!...but I do remember buying some cute coffee mugs from them.) But what struck me was that it seemed like this church was stagnant. The people were old, the building was old, the parking lot was in disrepair, and there was no growth anywhere to be seen. I thought, This church is gonna die pretty soon and implode on itself...

Have you ever seen experts in demolition implode a building? It's amazing. In the middle of a city block, they can demolish a building with little-to-no influence or impact to the surrounding structures and neighborhood. So I ask you: Do we have an 'implode' or 'explode' mentality? I ask this from a personal standpoint, as well as a corporate standpoint. Because if we are personally content to simply minister to each other at church, staying in our 'holy huddle', having no real concern for the outside world, that will trickle down to the corporate mentality, and the congregation is threatened with stagnation and an imploding death. And Paul declares in the book of Acts that that is NOT what Christ's body is about. We're to be about EXPLODING!

Paul wanted to be like this light bulb -- an explosion of transparency, so the world would see the light. Jesus is asking us to run the race, spreading the gospel of light and truth to the world like a magnificent explosion, impacting those around us with the Magnificent One.

Implode, or explode. How will you live?

Love,
Joelene