Message from the Buhl First Assembly Pastor :
Pastor Rick Stoltenburg
Pastor Rick Stoltenburg
From the Pastor's Desk
I LOVE VIDEO GAMES !!!Yes, it's true. I love video games and today I would like to share a lesson with you that I learned while playing my favorite game.
A few years ago, I found this game that I loved playing. I got hooked! And I spent a lot of time playing this game.This game had a running clock that kept track of the hours a person spent playing the game.
A few years ago, I found this game that I loved playing. I got hooked! And I spent a lot of time playing this game.This game had a running clock that kept track of the hours a person spent playing the game.
I played this game a lot! It had puzzles and fight scenes and lots of strategy to figure out. All the elements of a game that used to entice me. The problem came when I came to the final round, the final challenge to beat the one last enemy. It took alittle doing, but at last I escaped as the victor over the game. I had won, and I had beaten the ultimate bad guy. I jumped out of my chair, raised a right arm and yelled, "YES!!" That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"
I sat back down in my chair and looked around the room. Nobody here to share my victory with! Suddenly I felt empty. But wait, where is my triumphamt feeling, except for that one fleeting moment? Where was the feeling of accomplishment? Where was the feeling that I had accomplished a major event or something worthwhile in my life?
I looked down and looked at the time keeper. Holy cow, had I really spent that much time mesmerized by this game? When I added it all up, I had spent weeks on this game, and for what?
That's when I felt the shame of the lesson I had just learned. Did you know that there is a difference between doing a good thing and a God thing? Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in doing what we consider good things, wasting time, and not doing the God things we should be doing. This applies to us all, Christian or not.
If you are not a Christian today, don't waste time, spinning your wheels doing empty "busy" time. Spend a moment or two reflecting on how much maybe you have already wasted. Jesus is calling you today! To live a life that has no regrets or shame. No more "wasted" time and energy on doing things you thought made you a good person.
Not only that, but Jesus can give you a worthwhile life, one in which you can look forward to the challenge of each and every day, knowing that don't have to worry about being a "good " person without the help of Jesus, to get to heaven anymore. Your hope can be secure in Him!
If you are a Christian, learn from this lesson and seek God and His direction for your life. Even Christians have the ability to ignore God or be blinded by good things and this will keep you from the fullest blessings that God has to offer. It's your choice, choose life. A full life, not an empty one full of endless wheel spinning or "busy" work.
In the Bible, Matthew chapter 6 verses 19-21 says,
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Remember, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy!
In His Majesty's service,
Pastor Rick
I sat back down in my chair and looked around the room. Nobody here to share my victory with! Suddenly I felt empty. But wait, where is my triumphamt feeling, except for that one fleeting moment? Where was the feeling of accomplishment? Where was the feeling that I had accomplished a major event or something worthwhile in my life?
I looked down and looked at the time keeper. Holy cow, had I really spent that much time mesmerized by this game? When I added it all up, I had spent weeks on this game, and for what?
That's when I felt the shame of the lesson I had just learned. Did you know that there is a difference between doing a good thing and a God thing? Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in doing what we consider good things, wasting time, and not doing the God things we should be doing. This applies to us all, Christian or not.
If you are not a Christian today, don't waste time, spinning your wheels doing empty "busy" time. Spend a moment or two reflecting on how much maybe you have already wasted. Jesus is calling you today! To live a life that has no regrets or shame. No more "wasted" time and energy on doing things you thought made you a good person.
Not only that, but Jesus can give you a worthwhile life, one in which you can look forward to the challenge of each and every day, knowing that don't have to worry about being a "good " person without the help of Jesus, to get to heaven anymore. Your hope can be secure in Him!
If you are a Christian, learn from this lesson and seek God and His direction for your life. Even Christians have the ability to ignore God or be blinded by good things and this will keep you from the fullest blessings that God has to offer. It's your choice, choose life. A full life, not an empty one full of endless wheel spinning or "busy" work.
In the Bible, Matthew chapter 6 verses 19-21 says,
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Remember, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy!
In His Majesty's service,
Pastor Rick
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