As I sat here wondering why I procrastinate so much, I figured what better way to study this out then to write about it.  Or at least if I’m not studying why I’m such a procrastinator I can be comforted by the fact that I’m still procrastinating as I write this instead of the sermon.

I was looking for some deep philosophical reason for it.  I don’t buy the lame excuse that everyone uses about being ADD or having too much sugar in their diet or being dropped on their head as a baby.  I don’t think any of those things apply to me.  I’m pretty sure my procrastination is caused by a dash of laziness and a whole heaping desire to just goof off.  So instead of risking that I say something remotely useful, I’ll just sign off now

Why must we always take the easiest way out?  Is it truly the way that we find the greatest reward?  Sometimes we get the greatest gain by taking the time and the energy and putting forth the work necessary to get to the top of the tree.  So what if we go after the high hanging fruit?

Let’s think about this in terms of the church.  As the church in America I think too often we go for the low hanging fruit.  We create programs that attract and draw in “church” people.  For some churches they are so inward focused that they never reach outside their own four walls.  Everything they do is about their own congregation and the people of their own church.

For other churches they speak the language of other believers.  The programs and ministries within their church may bring in new people but at times it’s more about how our church is “cooler” than the one you go to now so you should switch.

Sure I could argue that if you’re not being fed or if a church is being ineffective than I guess it makes sense for people to move from church A to church B across town.  But, you know those are really the low hanging fruit.  What about the high hanging fruit.

What are we doing to reach the unreached?  What are we doing to bring those who are far from God into our churches.  Unless we pull out the ladder or drive in the boom truck, how can we even expect to reach the high hanging fruit?

I don’t pretend to have the answers.  I look at our own church and as much as I love our people and what’s happening their…I know we need to continue to focus on reaching the lost and hurting people who are all over our community.  Just about any city you travel to in America, you will find about 50% of the population never attend church.  It is an epidemic of lost souls and it’s up to us to start reaching for those high hanging fruit.

Got some ideas?  Maybe some success stories of how your church is reaching those that are far from God…I’d love to hear about it.  Post up your comments here.

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
-Matthew 7:7-8

Sometimes it’s tough to ask those really big questions like, “God what do you want to do with my life?”  It’s because, quite frankly, we are afraid He might answer. I would challenge you this year to allow God to answer that question. And once He does, trust him to bring that vision to reality.

• Midnight is not nearly as late as it seems.  Everyone was awake and excited and I did not hear a single complaint about being tired.
• I was shocked that so many stuck around to talk after the service even though it was late at night.  I’m reminded that we have a great community at our church…a family!
• 30 minutes was the perfect amount of time.  It wasn’t too short or too long, it was the perfect length for a midnight service.  I’m so glad we went that way.  I had originally planned on more music, and this was much better.
• Never underestimate the power of God’s word.  I basically read from Isaiah and Luke and that was it.  I didn’t tell a bunch of jokes or stories (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but rather we just told the Christmas story.  And it truly made an impact.  Hebrews 4:12
• Note to self, don’t ever forget your bible and notes again.  Wow I felt like a fish out of water for the first few minutes.  Thank God for technology!  I had my laptop and was able to reprint my notes and the scripture passages.  I’m still wondering what kind of preacher leaves his bible at home?
• I felt nervous for the first time in a very long time.  You might think that’s bad at first, but on the contrary, it is the best thing!  It means that we stepped up to another level last night.  We had a full house and while that was a blessing, it was a surprise walking out on the stage and seeing it.  I couldn’t be more excited for next week and all that the coming year is bringing!

In all seriousness though, as we come to the end of yet another year I am really starting to reflect back on the year and see that it has been quite a ride.  2011 has flown past me and I really wish above all that I could rewind the clock just a wee bit and squeeze in a few more moments of fun with the family.  But, I must say I’m so thankful for the holidays as I will get to catch up a bit over the next couple of weeks.  Also, as I look back at 2011 I am blown away by what God has done this year at Connecting Point Church.  I was just in awe of how good God is as my wife and I were reflecting on the fact that we have now been in our new building for a year.

As Christmas quickly approaches, I just want to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas.  My prayer for you in 2012 is that God will open doors for you that the enemy can’t shut.  I know I sound like a broken record with my sports analogy, but I want to remind you that you are far too valuable to sit on the sidelines.  I’m praying that you will get in the game in 2012.  God has great plans for your life.  Jeremiah 29:11

Let’s say I leave my cookie sitting on the table and I walk out of the room.  When I return, there you are still sitting at the table, but now my cookie is missing and you have cookie crumbs all over your face.  I say, “Your face!…has cookie crumbs.”  But then I give you the “benefit of the doubt” as I allow you to explain.

Perhaps I’m just a glass half full kind of guy, but it seems like I’m giving you the benefit of faith as I believe in your innocence since you are my friend and would never do anything like eat my cookie.

Doubt just doesn’t seem like much of a benefit to me.  On the other hand faith is a fantastic thing.  Proverbs 28 says that a faithful man will abound in blessings.  I would much rather have the benefit of faith.  By the way you owe me a cookie…

Today I stayed home from work because I was sick.  Not something I do too often, but this morning I realized that the pace I have been keeping lately sort of caught up with me.  As you may already know, I both work full time as a software developer and I’m the lead pastor at Connecting Point Church.  Generally a little sore throat wouldn’t put me down for the count.  By the way I blame my daughter who has been coughing all over the house for days, as I’m pretty sure she gave me her cold.   I gotta blame someone don’t I?

I was so exhausted last night that I went to bed early and this morning I felt even worse.  So, I called in sick so that I could recoup.  Having spent most of the day resting, I have come to the end of the day realizing that I really accomplished very little today.  But, it really made me think about something.  How much do I really accomplish on days when I’m not sick?

In fact here is the question I want to start asking myself on a regular basis; “What have I done today that will matter for eternity?”  If you are like me then, you are always busy doing “things.”  But, at the end of the day what do we look back on and think, “wow that really mattered.”

Now I don’t pretend to think that every day will be like Peter’s preaching after Pentecost, but I do think that every day I can do something that counts.  So, what have you done today?

With a little more than a minute remaining, down by 10 points, Zook makes the decision to go for it on 4th down when we were on the 17 yard line.  I ask you, who does that?  Nobody, that’s who!  You take the easy field goal and then you set up for the onside kick and how to recover.  You got a minute on the clock and if memory serves me they still had 2 timeouts left.  That was simply a terrible coaching decision.  I guess you can argue whether or not it cost us the game, but one thing is for sure it seriously took us out of the competition at that point.

Well, I hardly ever write a post up here without a moral to the story…so I guess I will give you your choice on this one:

A)  The moral of this story is that change is good!  Let’s embrace change and look forward with great anticipation to next season of Illini football and what lies ahead.  Mark 7:9

OR

B) The moral of this story is that greed is bad!  Don’t get greedy for a touchdown when the easy field goal is right in front of you.  Proverbs 15:27

The best time to wear a striped sweater is all the time.

- Spongebob Squarepants

I think this is a case of art imitating life imitating art while reminding us of Jesus…or perhaps this is simply a reminder that my brain works in ways no one has yet to fully explain.  As I listen to these thought provoking words echoed by the scholar Spongebob Squarepants I can’t help but be reminded that the best time to worship Jesus is all the time.  Whether you choose to wear a striped sweater or not, why not choose to go to church tomorrow and worship the King of Kings and the creator of all things including striped sweaters?

After laughing a lot…I was reminded of this verse:

¹³ A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
- Proverbs 15:13

You want a prescription for a face lift?  Try some laughter.  Laughter is unbelievably good for you.  My prayer for you today is that God will brings some laughter into your life today.