this past sunday, i was invited to preach at stone church. its not uncommon to be asked to speak somewhere on behalf of church army, especially when i am on the road. as the days were getting closer, i found myself getting more and more anxious about it. perhaps it was the combination of preaching to a historically strong evangelical congregation, my principal and two other ca evangelists.

the reading that i was preaching on was luke 19:11-26. a beautiful parable illustrating how God has given us various gifts to use for His glory. the prep for this message caused me to examine and reflect on what God has given me. am i using His gifts for His glory? or for my profit? i’d much rather He say to me at the end “well done trustworthy servant” instead “you wicked servant”.

i think there is a huge danger, i might have been caught in it, of trying to do so much to serve God that we end up being useless. i called this person ‘candie the church committee junkie’ in my sermon. we are called to serve God with all that we have, but if we don’t allow time for rest and refreshment, how long can we serve without being useless?

i’m off this week, using my last week of holidays for the year. my goal is to spend time reflecting on this. i’d prefer not turn into candie.