At the end of June, Sandi and I will be taking the kids to Pennsylvania to my parents ? home for a family reunion. We get to go to PA maybe twice each year, and so we don ?t get to see my folks or other relatives very often. But one nice thing about a family reunion is that you don ?t really have to go through a lot of the stages of reconnecting with people because you ?re family. Just because you share a name or common ancestry, there ?s always something to talk about, there ?s a natural connection.
As we go through this current sermon series seeking revival from God, we ?ve been focusing on 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, ?If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ? We ?ve been focusing on the concepts of humility and prayer and other things that we need to do as we ask God to bring revival, but it seems like we may have missed one significant point.
God refers to ?my people, who are called by my name. ? According to Acts 11:26, which says, ?The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch, ? that ?s us. We share a name; we are family. If we want to experience revival, we need to ask God together to bring it among us as his family.
As we launch into Summer and all the traveling that often happens, let ?s not forget our church family. While we don ?t have Sunday and Wednesday night programming, we can still get together with each other. Get together for a grill-out. Families with kids can plan to meet up at a park and play together. Saddle up and join Mark on Thursdays in Hines Park for Bike, Bible and Prayer. And by all means, don ?t give up on meeting together Sunday mornings for worship and Adult Bible Fellowship ?no matter how nice it is. We ?re better together!
I think it’s neat that Jesus was adopted by Joseph. He gained the same family rights as Joseph, that is, to be counted as a son of David. It is interesting too how when people needed healing they would shout this out to Jesus, as if to tell Him “I know who you are, I know who you are!” I too, am adopted, and I thank God everyday for the day my biological mother and father gave me up for adoption, you see at that moment I was not abandoned like I thought for all those years, rather I was fortunate enough to be put directly under His care. Without that day, I might not be walking with Him right now. I was adopted by a wonderful mom and dad, and am grateful for every moment shared with them. I am also very grateful to be in the family I am in now as well, the family of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the Creator of the world and Word of God. I was flipping through our church catalog, and smiling at all my brothers and sisters, we had a “smile-off” but they won, they cheated though, they were pictures. God bless you all!