From the Pastor's desk...

“Budding Flowers or Blooming Idiots?”

The opening words of I Samuel 11 begin innocently enough: “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle…” But what then ensues is a story of disaster, of a king making a series of unwise choices which will haunt his family and his kingdom for years to come. Take time now to refresh your memory by reading it; read and weep.

Springtime offers to us so many opportunities and so many distractions as well. Many of us have been imprisoned during the winter months with snow chains and the quarantine of sickness, and now we are finally free. We are liberated to come out to worship, and to attend evening events in the daylight, and to fellowship without fear of catching a cold. But we are also easily distracted by other appealing events.

In our studies in Ephesians, which are now drawing to a close, we have just studied that admonition in chapter 5, verse 16: “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Like King David, we are faced with exciting opportunities in the Lord: the Ladies’ & Girls’ banquet, Mother’s day, missionary visits, the Missions trip, Family Fun Fest and all of its preparations, summer camp, sharing in fellowship events like the Wild Things game and bowling, and the variety of menu choices in God’s Word – Sunday School, Bible Studies and evening services, Bible memory. Each and every day, we will have so many choices. Each and every choice will be either wise or foolish.

The paragraph containing the challenge above begins this way: “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise.” (Ephesians 5:15) We have the ability to choose unwisely, and become blooming idiots, or choosing wisely and be the budding flowers, the fruitful tree God wants us to be.

Like David, we are writing a new chapter of life, in the Spring of the year. Let us be wise and discerning to choose the right opportunities that help us grow.

In Christ alone,

-- Pastor Fred