WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“What an Opportunity” was the theme; yesterday’s talk at church that is.

And while our Pastor tied the opportunities revealed by the birth of Christ, like opportunities for singing and sharing, I thought I would take that little title and remind each of us of “what an opportunity” we have today.

An opportunity to:

Serve someone.

Inspire someone.

Bless someone.

An opportunity to grab hold of all that today brings.  

An opportunity to make the most of it!

As Pastor recounted the story of Jesus’ humble entry I was reminded of this little quote from Lucado:

He started it all, sustains it all, and will bring it all to a glorious climax. In the meantime, we have this high privilege: to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Christ.

THAT is our opportunity today; our HIGH privilege

To do our best and make the most of this opportunity today to follow Christ and follow Him well!

It has been said…

“The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.” ― Kyle Idleman

Ouch!

I fall into that trap sometimes.  Ask Jesus to do ALL the heavy lifting, bless me, protect me, inspire me, and rally me without asking Him what He wants from me.

And no, while He NEEDS NOTHING from me to fulfill His purposes or move the needle in my life or the lives of those I intersect, I do know that He does expect me to MAKE the MOST of EVERY OPPORTUNITY He affords me and He expects my best when I am given them.

Just look…

“At that time, God’s kingdom, will also be like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. He told his servants to take care of his things while he was gone. 15 He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money.[a] He gave another servant two bags. And he gave a third servant one bag. Then he left. 16 The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. 17 It was the same with the servant who had two bags. That servant invested the money and earned two more. 18 But the servant who got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.

19 “After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. 20 The servant who got five bags brought that amount and five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used them to earn five more.’

21 “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

22 “Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’

23 “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

24 “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. 25 So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.’

26 “The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest what I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. 27 So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.’

28 “So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags. 29 Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.’

Matthew 25:14-30 (ERV)

That parable pretty much sums up today’s thought, reminder, and encouragement.  

We have been given an OPPORTUNITY today to FOLLOW CHRIST, to do our BEST with the intersections and the opportunities given. 

Let’s be sure not to waste it!

I love you all.

Have a blessed DAY!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

 

Pastor GDelaney