Hello Baby and happy Saturday. Greetings from Branson, MO, the entertainment and vacation capitol of the Midwest. A group of us from the church have made the trek here to see the story of Jesus’ life at the Sight and Sound Theater. It has been a fun time so far. We have learned that Edwin cannot catch rolls when tossed to him. However, the ones he did catch he devoured rather quickly. Also, we should never form a church mini golf team. There were several good shots, like Stacy “Ace” Zoller making a hole in one, accompanied by a lot of bad shots by the rest of us. We even managed to hit a few balls off the course, which is quite remarkable for miniature golf. It took us so long to finish we had to use the flashlights on our phones to light the course. Nevertheless, we had a good time together.
Recently, some good friends of ours took Michelle and I to the New Theater Restaurant for a wonderful evening out. If you haven’t been lately, the place is very nice, and the food is delicious. The show that we went to see was really enjoyable. The primary feature was a man that does a remarkable tribute to Elvis Presley. In fact, he has won a lot of awards and is recognized as one of the top Elvis impersonators in the business. At the very start of the show, the man was quick to point out that he was not the real Elvis Presley and that he was doing this as a tribute to the king od Rock and Roll. What is remarkable is that even though you know it is not the real Elvis, it is easy to get a sense for what it would have been like to see him in person. This man has spent much of his life studying Elvis. He has read a lot about him. He has watched his movies. He has listened to countless songs – from records to tape recordings to downloads. One can only guess how much time he has watched reruns of the Ed Sullivan show and any other thing that he could find. In doing all of this, he has learned the mannerisms of Elvis, he sounds like him when he talks and when he sings. He even had the on-stage antics that Elvis was known for. As I mentioned, there were times when it was easy to get a sense of what the real Elvis would have been like in a similar venue. Overall, it was a wonderful tribute. That is probably why he is also one of the very few artists that is recognized by Graceland.
As I thought about it, it dawned on me that this is how our Christian walk is supposed to be. By that, I mean when people see us, they should get a glimpse of what Jesus was like. Even though Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago, we are to continue to carry His image in the modern age in which we live. In order to do that, we should be studying the life of Christ as much as we can. We do this through our time in the Word of God. We read and we pray. We ask God to guide us. We seek His help so that we can become more like Jesus in all that we do. And one of the most incredible things is that when we get saved, we receive the Holy Spirit of God that enables to do this very thing. In Acts 4, the religious leaders observed the disciples of Jesus and concluded that they were ordinary people, but it was evident that they had been with Jesus. Wouldn’t it be incredible if people saw a glimpse of Jesus in us? What if we did our part in seeking to learn and grow while allowing God His part in transforming us from the inside out?
Here is one thing I know, I will never be mistaken for Elvis. My beautiful hair is long gone. I never could sing at all. It is more likely that I will get a hip replacement than be able to shake my hips like he did. I could try all that I wanted, but no one would see a glimpse of Elvis in me. The same would actually be true of Jesus if it was something that I only tried on my own. But praise be to God that He gives us His Spirit to guide us so that we can become more like Jesus in what we think, say and do. I guess one question that we will all need to answer is, “How much do we want to become like Jesus?”
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, the Apostle Paul says, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” In reality, the only time we are worth following is when we are like Christ. Let us seek to become like Him so that others may see Christ in us.
Hope to see you in the morning as Pastor Fitsum continues our series in the book of Joshua.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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