What ever happened to . . .

Monday, February  7, 2000

VERSE:
   So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to
live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith
as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
    -- Colossians 2:6-7, New International Version
       <http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Colossians+2:6-7>

THOUGHT:
   We are well enough removed from Christmas for me to remind myself of how Christmas usually plays it's self out.  This especially holds true with children.  You see the present.  You rip and tear into it.  Caught up in the excitement, you begin to lose yourself in it.  Then before you know it, you put it aside and look for the next time.  Sometimes, a gift never gets played with or used again.  Christmas morning is it's shining moment.  For a split second, it is valued, but then the toy is put aside for the next item.

    Unfortunately, we can also do this with our faith.  As I work with youth, I find that after summer camp, mission trip or choir tour everyone is on fire.  Those moments act as an all important moment with Jesus is our center!  However, time can go by, and with out working to sustain ourselves, we forget our foundation, we forget about the gift.

    Hear the Good News, the gift is still there.  It await you.  Find it, seize it.  Understand and believe God is going to use you in a wonderful and that you are His gift, and you are a gift that is never put down and forgotten.

PRAYER:
   Holy and Giving God, Thank You for the gift you have given us.  Please give me the focus to keep Christ as the center of my life.  Restore the flame and the fire You set forth in my heart, and allow me to do all You would have me do and be all You would have me be.  In Jesus' name
I pray. Amen.