Finish the Job!

If you are around me much at all, you know I like to tinker (tear up is probably more accurate) with my vehicles. Last week I had another opportunity. The temperature gauge on “The Beast” began to go haywire indicating the engine was running hot. “The Beast” is what my girls call my 200,000 mile,1999 […]

If you are around me much at all, you know I like to tinker (tear up is probably more accurate) with my vehicles. Last week I had another opportunity. The temperature gauge on “The Beast” began to go haywire indicating the engine was running hot. “The Beast” is what my girls call my 200,000 mile,1999 Chevy Tahoe. The girls will barely ride in it and Jana will hardly drive it. They say it is “stinky”. I think it just has character.
I knew the culprit had to be a stuck thermostat. I knew this was something I could do myself. I bought the part. I got my wrenches ready. I raised the hood. I went to work loosening bolts and ripping out parts. I found the part that looked just like the new one still in the packaging on my hood. Feeling extremely proud of myself, I put the new part in place. I started putting bolts and screws back together. I put coolant into the radiator system and started the engine.
To my surprise, coolant started running all over the ground. My ego was shattered. I did what any self respecting shade tree mechanic would do. I called Kelly Shebs, my bona fide mechanic. Within minutes he found the problem. I forgot to reconnect the radiator hose. The easiest part of the entire procedure. Boy, did I feel dumb!!!
I forgot to finish the job. Finishing the job is important in any aspect of life. I tell my daughter who is taking finals this week to finish the job. I want her to study all the way to the end. I tell our college students when I visit them on campus to finish strong. I tell my Pre-Teens on the mission trip to finish what you start.
Our God expects the same from His children. We were put on this earth for a reason. We are here to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them. Let us not forget to finish the job. Let us not grow weary in our good works. Let us not give up and give out before the final screws have been tightened. Finish the job!

Community Connections

A couple of weeks ago, I shared two opportunities that we had to connect with people in our surrounding communities. We had booths representing the church at “Hay Hoover” and Pelham’s “Fall Fun Day.” By taking advantage of these opportunities, we were able to connect...

Permission to Wonder

In the 6th grade classroom there is a large metal envelope hanging on a bulletin board, and the students know that during bible class, anytime they have a Bible / religious question pop in their mind (whether related to the topic of class, or not), they can go and...

Kidmin 101

This past Sunday night, I shared five core values that our Children’s Ministry is founded on. These values are what helps keep each event, activity, and class in line with our overall mission. The core values are: 1. Know: Our children will learn to know God and the...

Faith On a Shelf

I have this hat that my dad brought back to me from a business trip to Atlanta when I was 9 or 10 years old. You can see that I’ve worn it a lot. In fact, I wore it to just about everywhere I went during the summer when I was a kid. Church camps, grandparents’ house,...

“Jesus Loves Me”

After being led in this song by two of our young men Sunday night, I was reminded of a quotation from Karl Barth. On April 23, 1962, Karl Barth (the renown 20th Century Swiss-German, neo-orthodox theologian) spoke at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University...

That’s Not a Candle

Several years ago, there was story shared about a woman from Connecticut whose power had gone out during a storm. She left her house to go to a local hardware store to purchase some flashlights, but the store was closed. She returned home and found what she thought...

The Post-Christian Problem

I attended the New Day Conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at the end of last week with a small group from Riverchase. It was a good conference and I left encouraged about the opportunities we have to fulfill the call of Christ to make disciples. On Friday evening,...

Josiah’s Reform

In the thirty-one years of his rule, King Josiah proved to be a faithful man of God and a great king of Judah. He served God from the beginning as a young king and grew into a greater understanding of God’s will and a determination to follow that will. He made a...

You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat You’ve heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Simply defined, it means that you should eat healthy if you want to be healthy. This phrase can trace its roots back to the early 1800’s. It came from the 1826 work The Physiology of Taste, in which...

It Is Well

Above the piano in our house is a large wood sign with the phrase, “it is well with my soul” on it. Kimberly and I purchased it during a season of our life together where we were not completely sure what the future had in store for our little family. Since then, the...