left behind

How was your week? In this part of the world, we have begun to experience the joys of summer!

Saturday was kind of strange around the center, very quiet! Matt and Vikki took the weekend off to go visit his mom and relax a bit, so no basketball practice. Ardis was on vacation. Momma T and Ms Abbie picked up the slack, wrapping bread, working with the girls, and spending time in the garden. We visited our friends, living outside, trying to convey cool thoughts! It is hot and humid, mosquitos are everywhere, making life miserable. Don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs, so we can fill them up with water, freeze them, providing cooler drinking water during the week.

We finished another week of camp. It was a good week. Thursday afternoon, walking up to chapel, there were a sea of children sitting on the steps eating watermelon! What a treat to see the little ones enjoying their slices of heaven! I won't be surprised, next year to see watermelon plants growing around the chapel, there were seeds everywhere!

Tuesday evening, we read from Luke 17 starting in verse 20, talking about The coming of the Kingdom of God. Are we ready? Is it coming? When will it get here? The world was doing what it wanted and God said, it is time, so the floods came. Have we strayed away from God's Word?

Thursday evening, chapel was led by Willie and Wes. There is a connection between those two, Wes starts playing, Willie starts singing, the Holy Spirit moves in ways that can not be explained! A good meal was served, the Market was busy, clothes were given away, a blessed evening.

Prayers for those on the road this weekend. Momma T headed to College Station. Dr Phil, who's birthday is Wednesday, Ms Sarah and her youth group will be heading back from a week long visit in Haiti. Continued prayers for healing for Ginellen. Her doctor was pleased on her progress. Willie having kidney issues. Prayers for our community and the hot, summer days.

This week in different settings, conversations have developed, asking where is our society going? Have we gotten so far away from God's Word, that we are living in a world with no morals? What is right - what is wrong, sometimes is hard to determine?

In Luke 17, verse 27 Jesus tells the folks, people were eating, drinking, marrying . . .  then the flood came and destroyed them all. Verse 28 talks about the people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building . . . fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Is God's Word relevant today as it was back 2000 years ago?

When the Son of Man returns, there will be some of us left behind and others will experience the glories of Heaven. We talked about a book series called Left Behind. I think the first book, when the first group of believers was taken, there was a character in the book left behind, a pastor. I have always identified with the pastor. He thought he was doing what Christ wanted him to do. He was sharing the Gospel with others. He thought he was a man of God, but he was left behind?

Jesus could have easily strayed from His duties while He was here on earth, but he didn't. He knew what his ministry was and stayed focus on that vision. We need to do the same. When the world around us seems to be going another direction, Common Ground needs to stay on the path that we have been following all these years. We will be persecuted. We will be ostracized. We will be look at strangely. We will be looked down on.

Jesus tells us in Chapter 17, don't stray from what I have taught you, or things will not go well for you. As Noah did, he followed the path God led out for him and he and his family was sparred. We can be the Noahs or our time! People will need a place where they need comfort, peace, harmony, and especially lvoe, we can provide that through the Holy Spirit working in and through us! Amen

Hope your coming week is filled with joy and blessings of God's mercy and grace! How exciting to be a part of a community where lvoe is shown to others in ways God had intended!