NorthStar Church Blog

One night this winter I was out walking my dog when another dog came running up to us out of nowhere. She was friendly and kept trying unsuccessfully to get my senior dog to play with her. She wasn’t going to give up and ended up following us home, much to my elder dog’s chagrin.

I let the dog inside the house so I could read the tags on her collar. Fortunately, she was microchipped and we were able to be put in contact with her owner.

And there was something about the owner. Through our numerous but brief conversations that night involving getting the dog back, he left an impression on both me and my husband. He was friendly. Really friendly. What struck us the most was how he asked both of us our names and made a point of using them frequently in conversation. It was strange that such a small thing left us feeling so positive. We both commented later that night on how different the guy was. How personable. How sincere.

The next day I walked by the dog’s house in the daylight and saw the truck that was parked in the driveway. There was one of those fish symbols on it. Of course I know that anyone, even a non-believer could put a fish on his car and it wouldn’t mean much, but all I could think of was what a tremendous witness this guy was to the Christian faith. Even if he wasn’t really a Christian, if he had the same impact on everyone that he met, even in brief exchanges, what a positive impression people could have of Christ followers!

I know that I for one am going to attempt to adopt this practice. Imagine if we all did? If we introduced ourselves, asked others their names, and made a point of remembering them and using them in conversation? Even the non-believers in our midst would wonder, “What’s different about them?”

And maybe, just maybe, they’d want it.

There is a parable in the book of Matthew that tells of a man who was going on a trip. He entrusted his servants with money to invest for him while he was gone. He divided it up among them in proportion to each one’s ability to handle it.

The first two servants were given the larger shares. They invested their money and doubled it for the master. The third dug a hole in the earth and hid his small share for safekeeping.

When the master returned he was pleased with the first two men. “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” he said to each of them. He rewarded them and celebrated with them.

But with the third man the master was angry. He took away what he had entrusted to him and sent him into outer darkness.

Which man are you?

Just like the master in this parable, God has entrusted each of us with time, talents, gifts and other blessings according to our ability to handle them. We are not to ignore them or hoard them here on Earth. He expects us to invest them and use them wisely until he returns!

May we all use our God-given blessings to bear fruit for Him and His Kingdom!
God will reward our faithfulness!

Ok, Quiz time….

1. In what year did Henry Hudson sail up the Hudson River?
2. In what year did Columbus sail the ocean blue?

Unless you’re a history buff, most likely you knew the answer to the second one in a flash but might have had to Google “Henry Hudson” to know the answer to the first one.

As you know, we retain a lot of information when it’s taught in songs, poems, chants, etc….which is one reason we teach our kids Bible songs in God’s Growing Garden! This kind of learning is effortless and is there for the long haul. How many of us still recite the “30 Days has September, April, June and November” rhyme when we’re trying to figure out how many days are in a month? Or unconsciously sing the alphabet song in our heads to figure out what letter comes before R or after V?

Since our goal is to partner with parents to lead children to Christ, I would encourage you to listen to these kinds of songs at home, in the car, etc…to reinforce what we’re doing at church. Before you know it, countless Biblical truths will be ingrained in your child for life!

If you don’t know where to start, here’s a link to the cd from which we sing a lot of our songs…including the ones we’ll be singing this Sunday on Next Generation Sunday (Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, My God is so Great).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0843113006/sr=8-1/qid=1236730991/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1236730991&sr=8-1

Happy Listening!

PS. Hudson sailed up the Hudson in 1609. I Googled it.