“From the Hart” Devotional for April 25, 2024

“Celebrate What You Want To See More Of”
by Julie Hart, Director of Connectional Ministries

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
Philippians 1:6

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” ~ Tom Peters

I came across this quote the other day and it got me to thinking…what is it that I want to see more of? In myself? In my home? In my church? In my world?

We are gearing up for two big celebrations here at Desert Spring — A celebration of Pastor David and the great work that he has done over the past 16 years followed by a celebration a few weeks later of Pastor Sharon and the great work that we know she is going to do. We get to celebrate both where we have been and where we are going. Pastor David has done an amazing job leading us and empowering us to do God’s work in our church and our community. And when he passes to baton off to Pastor Sharon, we (the church) will continue to live out our purpose of helping all people to discover and live a life of purpose through Jesus Christ, as together we make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. We will continue to do MORE of what we know we are called to do.

This is not to say that what Pastor David began, Pastor Sharon will finish. Because we know that it is neither Pastor David nor Pastor Sharon, but the church that is to do the work. And we know that until we each breathe our last breaths, that work will not be finished.

It is our collective desire to do good in the world. But we haven’t always gotten it right, have we? Sometimes we have missed the mark in our obedience toward God. Yes, we do good stuff in our church, in our country, in our world; and we can be proud of our history. ALSO … there are times when we have failed to love, to care, to be obedient; and for that we can be sorry. But being sorry isn’t enough. When we know better, we must do better.

There is no shortage of examples of getting it wrong as long as people have walked the earth:
The Pharisees were self-righteous, self-indulgent, and self-centered. They talked the talk but failed to walk the walk. The unthinkable events that led to the Holocaust are horrifying, and genocides continue to happen even today. Slavery and segregation are painful examples of getting it really, really wrong in our own country. Christians who spew hate and judgment and draw the line of who’s in and who’s out are still getting it wrong.

Some questions to think about this week.

Maya Angelou taught us “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” When is a time in your life that you realized that you needed to do better? How did you do better?

In Luke 6:45, Jesus says “A good person produces good from the good treasury of the inner self, while an evil person produces evil from the evil treasury of the inner self. The inner self overflows with words that are spoken.” What work do you need to do in your heart so the words that you speak reflect the “more” that you want to see in your life?

In this week’s picture, we see youth working during their Service Hour on Sunday morning. They do jobs each Sunday like stocking the pantry, taking out the trash, and working on projects around the campus. What’s one way you might be able to be in service this week to both be blessed and be a blessing?

PRAYER:
Dear God. Thank you for those who continue to teach me a better way. When I get it wrong in ways that make others feel “less than” help me to do more, to love more, and to shine more of your light into the world. Amen.