Don't Miss the "E"
by Bill Allison
Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick, Watson, went on a camping trip. They took all the accoutrements needed for a successful camping excursion: a tent, Coleman stove, lantern, sleeping bags, and food. About halfway through the night, Sherlock elbowed Watson and said, "Take a good look at those stars Watson. Now what do all those bright shining stars mean to you?"
Watson, though groggy, wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked up to see a stunningly clear sky speckled with thousands of brilliantly shining stars. Ever the intellectual, Watson responded in typical fashion: "Philosophically, those beautiful stars tell me that our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, is but one of about 100,000 million galaxies in the universe. Therefore, those stars are constant reminders that we, as important as we think we are, are fairly insignificant in the greater realm of the universe. On the other hand, theologically, those beautiful stars remind me that there is a God in Heaven who created those stars, and that we, as people, are very significant because we are a part of God's immense divine creation. Atmospherically, those beautiful stars tell me that there is a good chance that we are going to experience fair weather tomorrow." There was a long pause as Watson's philosophical musings hung thick in the air. Finally, Watson broke the contemplative silence and asked, "What do all those beautiful stars mean to you Sherlock?"
Sherlock responded, "Elementary my dear Watson: Someone has stolen our tent."
Sometimes the obvious is so obvious... we miss it. (Think about the
irony of that for a moment.) It's like missing the "E" on the eye
chart. It's so prominent, we fail to see it. This happens way more
than we realize--especially in the midst of a busy summer of serving God.
According to Mark 12:28-31, God's big "E" for us is: love God and love people. The sequence is significant. If we love the God of the Bible supremely, His love will overflow from us to the people around us. And it's God's love at work in our lives that causes us to joyfully throw ourselves into various kinds of service and ministry activities. So far, so good. But is it?
The danger is that we can fall in love with serving God and miss... God. Our love for serving God--rather than our love forGod and people--can become the "E" in our lives. It's a slow, subtle, and sinister shift in focus from God's "E"--with perilous ramifications.
Here's a strange-but-true phenomenon in Christianity: It's quite possible to love serving God without actually loving God and people. In the middle of all your serving this summer, don't miss God's "E" for your life (Mark 12:28-31).
What follows are all things Cadre that are designed to help you make this summer--not just a summer of great service for God--but a summer of loving God that overflows into loving people.
Is there anyone you can think of who may need this reminder? Why not send this to them now?
Three FREE Short Term Missions "E"sources
Here are practical ideas and training resources for anyone going on a short term
|
We dare you to take this self-assessment... and share it with others.
Ten Short Mission Trip Land Mines Your Team Must Avoid
* Includes a FREE training session for your team BEFORE
you leave.
Service Projects That Make Middle Schoolers Shine
Making the Most of Mission Trips
* Includes a FREE seven day devotional guide.
Ten FEE Cadre "E"sources
Try stoking your love for God and people this summer with one of these Cadre "E"sources... |
- Big God, Small Problems devotional and audio CD
- Training Makes All the Difference & The Training Genius of Jesus
- One Another Devotional Guide
- One Another Small Group Guide
- One Another Devotional Guide: Special Women's Edition
- John 3:16 Evangelism Devotional Guide
- Email from Hell Devotional Guide for Students
- Email from Hell Audio with printable PDFs
- Downloadable PDFs
- Thirty-Three Things Devotional Guide
FREE:
Just to Be Fun"E"
We're your Cadre missionaries! As Ephesians 4:11-12 missionaries of encouragement and equipping, we live by faith and trust God to financially provide for our families and our ministry with Cadre. We know we can't do this wild and wonderful Cadre adventure without God and crazy friends like you.
Cadre Ministries: Equipping Local Churches to Make Volunteers WILDLY Successful!
Cadre Ministries is a [501(c)(3)] not-for-profit ministry.
To be trained to take Cadre training to your church/ministry, contact info@cadreministries.com and ask about Cadre's certification process.
For information about bringing a certified Cadre trainer to coach and train the volunteer teachers, leaders, and youth workers in your church/ministry, contact info@cadreministries.com.
For Cadre training resources visit www.cadreministries.com/store. Cadre's fun-loving staff serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries who can only do this ministry with Cadre because of generous friends like you. To make an online, tax-deductible donation to Cadre Ministries:
Donate Online | Recurring Donations
All other tax-deductible donations can be sent to:
Cadre Ministries
PO Box 278
Sycamore, IL 60178
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