Looking Ahead

The Chiefs are 4-0! Even if you are not a Kansas City Chiefs fan or even a football fan in general, you should be glad the local eleven are off to a good start. It seems to me that everyone is just in a little better mood when things go well on Sunday (there is an entirely different lesson in that statement). I had lunch with my folks the other day, and Dad, talking about the most recent game, said, “Well, the Chiefs tried hard to lose that game!” If you watched the game, you know what my Dad meant, and maybe you still have white knuckles from the nerve-wracking experience.

On a couple of different occasions, the Chiefs have faced a fourth down and decided to try to make a first down rather than punt the ball away to the other team. Several times, they have converted that fourth down and kept possession of the ball; on other tries, they have failed. Far be it from me to criticize the Chiefs’ braintrust, but it annoys me when they hand the ball to a running back (even though Kenneth Walker has been fantastic) and fail to gain enough yards for a first down. It bothers me because I consider the quarterback to be the best player on the team. Why not allow your best player an opportunity to make a play? I suppose it does remind me that no matter how talented or skilled we think ourselves to be, we all need a little help!

Last night our Elders studied 1 Samuel 9 together. In this chapter, we are introduced to the man who would become the first king of Israel. Saul has it going on! He is tall, handsome, and rich (or at least his father was). When you looked at this young man, you thought, he is going to do something big! Maybe, he could even be king! In chapter nine of 1 Samuel, Saul is still living at home and working for his dad. This chapter tells the story of how Saul is sent by his father, along with a servant, to go hunt down lost donkeys. Saul looks all over the countryside for three days with no luck. He is tired and hungry, they are out of supplies, and so Saul suggests they go home, you know, so dear ole’ dad wouldn’t worry. It is Saul’s servant who suggests they keep going to the next town because the prophet Samuel happened to be there, and they could seek his advice. After some more excuse-making by Saul, the servant even offers to sacrifice his own money as an offering to Samuel. Finally, Saul relents, and they go to find Samuel. It is during this meeting that Saul learns of God’s plan to have him anointed as king. I was struck by how easy it was for Saul to give up on the task at hand, how doing so would have kept this really big opportunity out of reach, and how the influence and encouragement of his servant helped him to hear from God.

We need each other! Every single one of us has considered giving up on something. Maybe it was something really big, a job, a relationship, maybe even you’ve considered giving up on God Himself… If you were in that kind of situation, I bet you can think of the person who encouraged you to stick it out. Perhaps, you are in that kind of situation right now. Let this newsletter be the encouragement for you to seek God, listen to what He says, and know He is at work even when we are unaware. Realize we need God & we need others to help us stay close to Him! This Sunday is a great chance to begin building those relationships. Join us for one of our three worship gatherings on Sunday morning (8:00, 9:30 or 11:00 a.m.) and then come hang out on the Vavricek ranch for Wallula’s fourth annual Beanies and Weanies. I know it is a goofy name, but it is a great time roasting marshmallows around the bonfire, eating hotdogs, playing cornhole and getting to know each other a little better! I’ll see you Sunday!

- Lance

When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”

       - 1 Samuel 9:5-6