Pastor's Column
July 2008

July 4^th is a major holiday for the United States. Many persons get off work that day. Picnics are held. Some families use that day to get away from the daily routines. Some of you may also reflect upon the history of the United States. Many persons in the early years of our nation gave so much. Because of them and so many others over the years we experience freedoms we often take for granted. This action was often costly. The cost was in financial terms and, on other occasions, the cost was their physical lives. Those persons had decisions to make. They had to move from talking about the situation to doing something about what was faced. They had to decide to use what they had available to them.

This also applies to our relationship with Jesus. Many of you who read this article would claim to be a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple involves a relationship of trust in Him. You may have affirmed that trust by making a profession of your faith at the altar rail of a church. You may have come forward with other believers affirming the work Jesus did in your life. Some of us may stop at that point. We forget that being a disciple involves what we do.

Jesus taught His first disciples and sent them out among people. There was putting that relationship into action. This has been the ideal for disciples throughout the history of the church. There have been those who gave of their time and energy to help persons in need. Hospitals and colleges were started by followers of Jesus. Missionaries were sent. Work teams have gone to areas in which disasters have struck.

We are reminded, "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (1 John 3:18). Love is much more than a feeling or emotion. Jesus was one who put love into action by dying on a cross. He probably did not feel like doing this. He did this anyway. We have enough abilities to get started. You may feel you cannot do a great deal, but you can do something. Without the action of those persons in the early years of our nation we would miss so many freedoms that we have now. Without your action many people will miss much which could help them physically, emotionally and spiritually. We, like those first disciples of Jesus and the founders of the United States, cannot just talk about what needs to be done but take action.

In Christ Jesus,

 Richard