Church Update August 12th
I love getting what I want when I want it. Coming home to the smell of brownies and seeing that they are ready to eat, asking Ellie to clean her room and she goes and does it immediately, or the craving for KFC when I've just been given a gift card. These are good days. Getting what we want when we want is so common today that I take it for granted. If I have a question, I can check the internet. If I don't have enough money in the bank, I have a credit card. Now using a credit card when I have no money is very unwise, but it does give me another opportunity to get what I want when I want it.
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 1 Corinthians 9:25
Blessings in this world are great but like the athletes wreath they are perishable. Did you notice how many times I used the word I or me in that first paragraph? Thirteen times. But remember that our life is to be lived for God and not ourselves. When I get KFC it is gone so fast but, when I invest in my children, they grow up to love Jesus and love others. When I sacrificially love Miranda, a connection grows until death do us part. When I discipline my body for godliness, I receive an imperishable reward that nothing can take from me.
Make sure you are not running aimlessly or beating the air. Practice self-control for this life and the next. It is not easy but God promises it will be worth it.
By His power at work within us,
Nic Cooper