This Monday is a big day in the life of us that call the United States our home: Independence Day; The fourth of July! I love our country! The answer to the problems our nation faces will not come through the ballot box, bullets or bombs but rather through the broken hearts of people before a Holy God! Please fast and pray for our nation during this week’s fast!
Weekly fast on Mondays
Please continue in our church-wide fast this week. You may change the day since July 4th is on Monday but please don’t forget to continue to pray and fast for our Social Circle Launch; the continued focus of CATGrove; our Romania mission team and for God to work personally in your life!
Group Link
We will gather again in our Group Link gatherings on July 10! Let’s get together for some fun and fellowship. If you have any questions about where you need to be, simply ask!
Community Groups
Community Groups will be launching before too long! Be thinking about where you will connect for relationships and spiritual growth this fall! True spiritual growth doesn’t happen sitting in rows starring a the back of people’s heads! It happens in circles sitting face to face with people! Make it a priority!
This past Sunday: Matthew 5:8
Purity of Heart comes from a singular devotion to God.
Purity of Heart is about living a life of integrity
Purity of heart cleanses the eyes of the soul so that God is visible.
Jesus is our reward
This is the great story Nathan shared about how we tend to focus on the exterior rather than the inner heart!
Story from Max Lucado
“Once, when we were leaving for a week-love trip, I remembered I hadn’t unplugged the ham radio. I ran back in the house, puled the plug and dashed out again. But I pulled the wrong plug. I unplugged the freezer. It was summertime, and it was hot. For seven days, a freezer full of food sat in a sweltering apartment with the power off. When we came home, my wife decided to get some meat out of the freezer. As she opened the freezer door – well, I won’t go into details as to what she saw but I will say it was a moving experience. We then figured out that I had unplugged the freezer instead of the radio. Guess who would be responsible for cleaning it? You got it. So I got to work.
What is the best way to clean out a rotten interior? I knew exactly what to do. I got a rag and a bucket of soapy water and began cleaning the outside of the appliance. I was sure the odor would disappear with a good shine, so as I polished and buffed and wiped. When I was through, the freezer could have passed a Marine boot-camp inspection. It was sparkling. But when I opened the door, that freezer was revolting.
No problem, I thought. I knew what to do. This freezer need some friends. I’d stink, too, if I had the social life of a machine in a utility room. so I threw a party. I invited all the appliances from the neighborhood kitchens. It was hard work, but we filled our apartment with refrigerator, stoves, microwaves, and washing machines. It was a great party. A couple of toasters recognized each other from the appliance store. Everyone played pin the plug on the socket and had a few laughs about limited warranties. The blenders were the hit, though; they really mixed well. I was sure the social interaction would cure the inside of my freezer, but I was wrong. I opened it up the stink was even worse!
Now What? I had an idea. If a polish job wouldn’t do it and a social life didn’t help, I’d give the freezer some status! I bought a Mercedes sticker and stuck it on the door. I pained a paisley tie down the front. I put a “Save the Whales” bumper sticker on the rear and installed a cellular phone on the side. The freezer was classy. It was stylish. It was … cool. I splashed it with cologne and gave it a credit card for clout. Then I backed away and admired the high-class freezer. “You just might make the cover of Popular Mechanics, I told it. It blushed. Then I opened the door, expecting to see a clean inside, but what I saw was putrid – a stinky and repulsive interior.
I could think of only one other option. My freezer needed some high-voltage pleasure! I immediately bought it some copies of Playfridge magazine – the publication that displays freezers with their doors open. I rented some films about foxy appliances. (My favorite was The Big Chill.) I even tried to get my freezer a date with the Westinghouse next door, but she gave him the cold shoulder. After a few days of supercharged after-hours entertainment, I opened the door.
And I nearly got sick. –END–
