Euanthe's Monday Memo

Scott Hamilton

by Scott Hamilton on Monday, 2nd July 2012

Marks of Obedience

What another great Sunday spent together as a church family. We kicked off the service with a video about the Gospel, Michael and the team lead us in a sweet time of worship, Scott brought another powerful message and we even got to hear the good ol' camp version of dating!

[embed]http://youtu.be/jyYFxp7apl4[/embed]

This week we looked at our second high impact word: obedience. As followers of Christ we are to be set apart for him and are called to live in obedience to him. On Sunday we looked at three marks of an obedient life. I encourage you to reflect on these and see what areas you need to work on.

A discerning heart

Who is your life partner and impacting you the most these days? Will they double your impact for Jesus?

Where and how are you spending the majority of your time?

What is provoking change in you?

Who are you sharing your heart with?

What are you invested in and do you need to de-clutter?

These are all good questions to consider, but instead of taking pages and pages to share my thoughts, I'll touch on the one that struck a chord with me the most: What are you invested in and do you need to de-clutter? Our hearts are the dwelling place of God, but so often we have other things and even people fighting for our whole heart, our time, and our affections. For me, I often don't realize what is getting in between me and God until someone poses a question like this. However, it should be something we are fully aware of. A high impact life is one lived only for Jesus with our hearts in the right place. So what is your heart set on today? I want to encourage you to examine this this week and if necessary talk to your small group leaders about it.

A distinctive life

As believers, our lives should look different and carry evidence of change from within. To live out this distinctive life we need to:

Think about our influences: Where do we ''mix''? Are there any situations we need to step out of?

Mark out our boundaries: Where am I spending my time?

Work out our identity: Our identity is to be found in Christ alone.

Together these three things will have a great impact and help us to live that distinctive life Christ has called us to.

A dependent hope

We serve a loving and personal God. He desires to make each one of us clean and complete. How often do you try and find satisfaction in something or someone else other than God? If we have him, we have everything! We need to stop trying to find happiness in the temporal and keep our eyes fixed on the eternal, where we will find unending joy.

Once again this weeks message gave me a lot to consider. As we wrap up our ministry year, I'll leave you with the following thought to reflect on: Obedience to God is a mark I've been saved by God!

Looking forward to gathering together next Sunday! Be praying this week for the team coming over from Harvest Barrie and for Mike Armstrong as he brings the word on Sunday.

Have a great week in the Lord,

You Are Loved,

E