OK, I know what you are thinking. A Sunday Meditation on the Gladiator? Yes that "Head Cold" has effected her brain. Hang in there ... I guarantee you there is a message to be found in the Gladiator.One of the things my husband and I like to do after watching a movie, is select "lines" that we think are admirable or memorable! We've done this for years. Some movies will produce one, occasionally two. But when we saw Gladiator for the first time...Several jumped out at both of us."Soon, but not yet!" If you recall the movie. The tall black slave used this line several times in the movie. It really added to the story, and the movie even ended with these powerful words.This reminds me of God's timing in our lives. We want it now. But many times we are told "Soon, but not yet." I think Ecc. 8:5-6 says it well. "...the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter."Pastor Don and I experience this as we pondered the "right time" to announcement our retirement. We put the idea in motion 2 years ago, but the Lord seemed to keep reminding us....Soon, but not yet. When we did make the final decision, it was the perfect timing. So glad we listened an waited."Shadows and dust" This was yelled to Maximus as he entered the arena to face death. Yes without purpose, and knowing who you are, and why you were created then life can just be shadows and dust. But Genesis 2:7 tells us why we are not just shadows and dust. "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." That handful of dust was given infinite value when God breathed life into it, in His image. From Him we come, and all He wants in return is for us to realize the value he put on life and return that love and fellowship.The Emperor is dying. "How will I be remembered?" was the question of a dying man. A question we all ask, whether out loud or in the privacy of our hearts. The Emperor wanted to be remember for something good, not a tyrant, or man of war, but someone who had the vision and compassion to save Rome. Ephesians 4:1 speaks to this issue. "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."What is YOUR calling. Live worthy of it and you will be remembered with love and honor."What we do in life, echoes in Eternity" is yelled by the General in battle to his men. You will be remembered in Eternity for what you do this day for Rome. Does it matter? How do you measure what really matters? Jesus tells a story in Luke 12:13-21. The question He raised in this parable is: What in life really matters? What is true success? What should we really fear? *"We should not fear that we may fail, we should fear that we may succeed at that which doesn't matter." Mark 8:36-37 "For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" If your life has been entrusted to the one who created you, lived for you, died for you, and rose again.....Then what you do in life will echo loudly throughout all eternity.That is my Sunday. If you look for "life changing" lines in a movie, and find them, and then try to incorporate them into your living - - - it was a movie well worth seeing.Love and Hugs for a Great Sunday. Thank you for all your "Get Well" messages and prayers. I'm feeling so much better day!*Author unknownSource
Sunday, January 27, 2008
SUNDAY MEDITATION
OK, I know what you are thinking. A Sunday Meditation on the Gladiator? Yes that "Head Cold" has effected her brain. Hang in there ... I guarantee you there is a message to be found in the Gladiator.One of the things my husband and I like to do after watching a movie, is select "lines" that we think are admirable or memorable! We've done this for years. Some movies will produce one, occasionally two. But when we saw Gladiator for the first time...Several jumped out at both of us."Soon, but not yet!" If you recall the movie. The tall black slave used this line several times in the movie. It really added to the story, and the movie even ended with these powerful words.This reminds me of God's timing in our lives. We want it now. But many times we are told "Soon, but not yet." I think Ecc. 8:5-6 says it well. "...the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter."Pastor Don and I experience this as we pondered the "right time" to announcement our retirement. We put the idea in motion 2 years ago, but the Lord seemed to keep reminding us....Soon, but not yet. When we did make the final decision, it was the perfect timing. So glad we listened an waited."Shadows and dust" This was yelled to Maximus as he entered the arena to face death. Yes without purpose, and knowing who you are, and why you were created then life can just be shadows and dust. But Genesis 2:7 tells us why we are not just shadows and dust. "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." That handful of dust was given infinite value when God breathed life into it, in His image. From Him we come, and all He wants in return is for us to realize the value he put on life and return that love and fellowship.The Emperor is dying. "How will I be remembered?" was the question of a dying man. A question we all ask, whether out loud or in the privacy of our hearts. The Emperor wanted to be remember for something good, not a tyrant, or man of war, but someone who had the vision and compassion to save Rome. Ephesians 4:1 speaks to this issue. "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."What is YOUR calling. Live worthy of it and you will be remembered with love and honor."What we do in life, echoes in Eternity" is yelled by the General in battle to his men. You will be remembered in Eternity for what you do this day for Rome. Does it matter? How do you measure what really matters? Jesus tells a story in Luke 12:13-21. The question He raised in this parable is: What in life really matters? What is true success? What should we really fear? *"We should not fear that we may fail, we should fear that we may succeed at that which doesn't matter." Mark 8:36-37 "For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" If your life has been entrusted to the one who created you, lived for you, died for you, and rose again.....Then what you do in life will echo loudly throughout all eternity.That is my Sunday. If you look for "life changing" lines in a movie, and find them, and then try to incorporate them into your living - - - it was a movie well worth seeing.Love and Hugs for a Great Sunday. Thank you for all your "Get Well" messages and prayers. I'm feeling so much better day!*Author unknownSource
