What if...

“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” Luke 14:27-30  

About this time last year, I was sitting in the fifth row of pews from the front of Crown of Life Lutheran in Sun City West, AZ listening to Dr. Dale Meyer give a message that caught many in the congregation off guard.  He asked “What if tomorrow this church just vanished “poof” into thin air; would anybody notice?”  He went on and asked “what if you just vanished “poof” during the night; would anybody miss your presence?”  I hope so.  Not sure why, but that message came back to me while listening to him on the Lutheran Hour this morning and I thought that here he is, a year later, still encouraging people to draw closer to Christ and be a Kingdom builder and bring more souls to Christ.

I spent a week away from my PC, IPad and television because of a sinus infection that blurred my eyesight and prevented me from writing messages last week and even texting was difficult.  Thankfully several of you asked what was up; where are you?  My point is this “what if” any of us reading this went “poof” tonight?  Would your presence and labors be missed and would your un-noticed ways to draw others to Christ brought people to ask; “where did you go?”  Thanks be to our Heavenly Father that a few Trinity/HOPE donors have made a difference in the lives of these children so they will share the Good News of their Savior to the lost souls in their neighborhoods in Small Town, Haiti.  What if “poof” you were not here tomorrow?   

Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen. 

May God be with you…Jay