Back to School

1 Corinthians 12:7

• Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

We had an awesome summer: church trips, mission trips, camps, sports, sun, water, jobs, and low stress! Now it is time for us to get back into it: school. Just like the forgiveness of Jesus, our slate is clean. We start anew!

Maybe we should think of school in the context of 1 Corinthians 12:7. In addition to all the family, church, and cool summer activities, school is a place where we can find "something to do that shows who God is!" Maybe it is academics...maybe it is sports...maybe it is leadership...maybe it is activities...maybe it is writing...maybe it is photography...maybe it is enthusiasm...maybe it is speaking...maybe it is the way we act toward others...maybe it is encouragement...maybe it is teaching. Whatever our gifts, each of us is given "something to do that shows who God is." That is an awesome gift and He expects us to develop and use our special skills to His glory in the service of others.

So think of school not as a place of pressure, competition, busy work and boredom. Think of school as a cool place where you get to try out all that God has to offer. School is a place to discover your talents and passions...things you are really good at and move your heart. Maybe we should be really excited to start school...God is there. And God has big plans for us if we stay connected. Imagine what it would be like if we thought about school like we do about Great Escape or Fun in the Son. What if we expected to find God and were looking for Him to work everyday at school.

"Something to do that shows who God is!" Wow! What's your thing?

Welcome to the FOLD

Chasing the Wind

To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:26

Have you ever chased after the wind? Have you ever caught it?

Eight times in the Book of Ecclesiastes the writer, most believe it was King Solomon, uses the phrase "chase after the wind" to describe useless human activity: wasted time and effort. He was a keen observer of people and wrote a lot about our relationship with God...how it is and how it should be. It was true then and it is still true today. We spend a lot of time "chasing the wind."

When we are out of relationship with God we waste a lot of time on the things of the world. We worry about whether we are popular, how others view us, and whether we are cool. We worry about who likes us and who does not. We worry about how we look, what we wear, and who we hang with. Do we look like others, do we act like others, do we fit in, do we belong? Are we cool?

Our parents worry about making money, living in the right neighborhood, driving the right car, or going to the "right" church. Do they know the right people, are their children in the right school, on the right team, and in the right group. Adults spend lots of money on looking younger, looking thinner, or climbing the social ladder. They worry about how they look, what they wear, and who they socialize with. Do they look like others, do they act like others, do they fit in, do they belong? Are they cool? They seem a lot like us.

Maybe we should start when we are young working on pleasing God rather than ourselves. You know, that part about loving God and loving others...like it says in Matthew. Maybe if we spent more time pleasing God and loving others we would spend less time worrying about our own needs. Perhaps if we work more on walking in His LIGHT we would not feel the agony of chasing after things we can not see or feel. We might begin to feel the overwhelming peace and encouragement of the "wind of God."

If we spend less time "chasing the wind" of ourselves and more time "riding the wind" of God we will begin to receive the wisdom, knowledge and happiness that is promised to all of us.