A Family Series

[I remember reading this email of a godly woman who wrote…I decided to not let anyone new in…I wasn’t going to do it anymore…I’d been hurt too many times and disappointed too many times…I’ll have my friends and those I trust, but I’m not going to open myself up again!]

I get that!!! I’ve done that! (at least for a while, while I heal up) Relationships are always a two way street…and sometimes the ones you feel like are going somewhere, end up a dead end street.

But, if we close off our hearts to foreigners and strangers, they can never ever become part of the family of God.

If there are never godly teachers who will invest in the Teddy Stallard’s of this world, the potential of God for unkempt, slow loners will never be realized.

Never stop believing that God can build a temple out of a crackhouse!

[I’ll never forget filling out my entrance form to go to Bible College…It was only about 6 months after my conversion…I was working as the lifeguard at Blue Grass Christian Camp and on weekends I came home for church…It had questions on it like “Have you ever used drugs?” and “Have you ever been arrested?” “If so, explain.” I tried to explain honestly and share that that prison didn’t exist anymore. The application also required a letter of recommendation from a church leader…So, I asked one and He looked at me and said, “I can’t write that letter for you!” I felt the judgment and condemnation fall on me like a ton of bricks. So, I asked another…my dad’s boss Bill Buchannan, the President of Kentucky Utilities and an Elder. he said, “Ricky, I’d be honored to write that letter…I’m so proud of you.” It was an honest letter filled with hope, the belief in forgiveness, and God’s plan. By the way I’m the only person in Johnson’s history to enter on Academic probation and graduate as valedictorian…That’s a story of hope and grace…because God can turn potheads into preachers…and the Holy Spirit becomes our letter of recommendation.]

May God help us all have Bill Buchannan’s heart…It believes that those who are far from God can be brought near…Those who are foreigners and strangers can be adopted into the family.

“Anyone can find the dirt in someone…be the one who finds the gold.”

Let me end today with this challenge:

II. GOD’S HOUSE IS A CONTINUOUS BUILDING PROJECT

When Jimmy and Karissa were looking for their first home they found one they really liked, but it had a crack in the foundation…They didn’t buy that house!

The family of God is composed of “Living Stones.” It is people joined together in the Lord, and our foundation is built on the Word of God, through the Apostles and prophets. Jesus is the chief cornerstone that makes that foundation perfect, solid and crack free!