Pea Ridge Baptist Church

I can’t believe that the calendar has turned to 2010.  It seems like we just celebrated the new millennium last year.  Well, it IS 2010 and this year brings an event in our country that happens every ten years…the taking of a census.

The first enumeration, or census, began on Monday, August 2, 1790, little more than a year after the inauguration of President Washington and shortly before the second session of the first Congress ended.  The census is important as it affects funding in your community, your voice in Congress, your representation in state and local government and it informs your community’s decisions.  The census ensures that every household in the country will be counted.  They no longer use only the door to door method, but are using our modern technology to ensure that everyone is counted.

Taking census is not a new thing.  In fact, we have an entire book in the Old Testament devoted the counting of people.  Numbers records a counting of the people of Israel.  “The LORD spoke to Moses …Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.  You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army” (Numbers 1:1-3, NIV).   We also know that Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census was to be taken in the entire Roman Empire around the time of Jesus’ birth (see Luke 2).  So being counted is nothing new…we have been doing it for years.

But I would like to challenge you to make this a year to do more than just be counted…I want to challenge you to make this a year that really counts for the kingdom of God.  What can you do this year that will make an impact on the community in which you live?  What will you do to bring glory to God through your life?  These are questions worth asking and I trust that you will ponder these in the coming days.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1, NLT). He called us to run with great perseverance the race before us (see Hebrews 12: 1) and keep moving forward in our Christian lives, offering God our sacrificial service and committed hearts for the building of His eternal kingdom.

So how can this happen in a very practical way?  How can this be fleshed out in our lives?

First, I believe we must make an intentional commitment to pursuing a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.  In the great commandment, Jesus calls every one to a deep commitment to love him.   Jesus’ words are very clear “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.   A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39, NLT).  This type of love goes beyond feeling and moves to a commitment level.  Even when we don’t feel like pursuing Jesus Christ, we must raise an emotional response in our relationship.  Loving God is evident in the one who spends time in God’s word, in prayer and in service to Him through the church.  How do you measure up in these areas?

Second, we must live with intention in our lives daily.  The apostle Paul wrote…“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,  because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free”  (Ephesians 6:7-8, NIV).  Jesus was the greatest example of Servanthood to us.  He came to serve and give him life as a ransom for many (see Mark 10: 45), and we must offer ourselves in the same way.  The church should never have to ask for volunteers.  In fact, we ought to have to turn people away because we have so many who step up and want to help.  Too often, we are trying to fill open positions of service which take valuable minutes and hours of service.  Pastor Bryan asks the congregation each week, “What are you doing for God?” This question is one that needs to be answered.  Attendance on Sunday morning is not enough.  You must offer your bodies as a “living sacrifice”, offering service while you are still able to give to the Lord.

Third, we must keep our eyes on the eternal prize that awaits us in heaven.  I have been reminded lately of my life here on earth compared to eternity.  I must remember that I have been called by God to serve here on this earth, but one day I will leave it.  I must remember that in Jesus Christ I am given the promise of living for eternity in Heaven.  But that doesn’t mean that I stop serving here and just focus on eternity.  “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it,” Paul wrote. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV).  Paul knew that his eternity was going to be tremendous, but he kept his eyes and heart focused right here on earth.  That needs to be our attitude as well.

So  in this new year, don’t just be counted as a citizen of this great nation in which we live…be counted in God’s kingdom and make this year count for advancing the kingdom of God.

Have a blessed and rewarding New Year!

Pastor Greg