Good morning everyone. It is time to get out of bed and get something done. Hope you enjoy your day and are able to catch up on things.
Tomorrow will be a busy day at church. We will have Sunday school and our service at their normal times. I will be starting our new series in the book of Joshua. Then at 12:00 we will have a luncheon with David Kaya and Mike Congrove. After that, at 1:00 we will have a service to hear from David Kaya about what God is doing in South Sudan and Uganda. I hope you can join us for that. After that, we clean up, do meal delivery and have our evening service. I will preach the Joshua message and Edwin will be interpreting.
The other day I was at the bank waiting patiently in the drive-thru. As I sat there and waited, and waited, and waited, I looked across the street at the old building that stands there. Having waited in the drive-thru many times, and driven up and down the road too many times to track, I had seen the building a lot. On it is a sign that declares it is the oldest building in Shawnee. In fact, the sign shows it is from 1824. While I waited, hoping that I not the building would get another year older, I thought about that building being almost 200 years old. Stuff like that always fascinates me. It makes me wonder what life was like when it was first built. What was the area around it like? I always like it when museums and exhibits show how areas developed over time. Imagine if that little building could tell the story of the things it has witnessed in 200 years. Other houses and buildings being constructed. Dirt paths being replaced with gravel, brick pavers and then asphalt. From horse and buggies to Teslas. People coming and people going. One generation after another. And through it all, this one building still stands as a monument to the past. Obviously, in the scope of world history, 200 years is not that long. There are structures around the world far older than that. Each of them has stood the test of time. Each of them a reminder to the past.
As I thought about that little 200-year-old structure, I began to wonder about my life. Is there anything that I have built that will still be around 200 years from now? I spent 15 years in the road construction business. I can still go and see some of the roads that we worked on. However, none of the original work will remain intact for 200 years. The freeze-thaw cycles in Kansas City are too harsh for the roads to survive that long. Besides, much of it will get removed and/or re-configured as the city grows and changes. Fortunately, I did get to work on some church buildings in KC. Maybe some of them will stand for a long time. But, beyond buildings and physical structures, there is one thing that will last. That is what is done for the sake of the Gospel. All of our relationships, all that we do on this earth, will only have permanence if Jesus is in it. Does that mean we can’t take time to go for a walk, watch a movie, go to a game, or cook on the grill? No, of course not. What it does mean is that the overall purpose of our lives is for the glory of God. Let us seek to live our lives in such a way that we leave behind something that stands the test of time.
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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