CANAAN COMMUNITY CHURCH

Sometimes you go to a bookstore and you are able to walk around and search for the book you would like to read.  Other times you walk in and a book screams out to you and says "Hey, you need to read me!"  

This is the experience I had a couple of months ago at a Barnes and Noble store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I was speaking there for a convention and brought my family with me for us to have a little bit of family time before school began in August.  My wife and two daughters were off in there favorite sections of the store respectively, Jas in the tween "Diary of a WImpy Kid" section, Jade in the childrens books (specifically Mickey Mouse) and Micheal in the cook book section. I was thinking about the bank balance and the fact this was not the only stop on our shopping excursion so I wandered off into my favorite area, the bargain books!  

While looking through the normal array of crappy vampire love stories and all of the "for dummies" books I saw the spine of this book which read OUT LIVE YOUR LIFE. It seemed to jump off of the shelf as if it was in all caps and bold!  I said to myself that is exactly the sentiment I have been trying to convey to my congregation, community and even in my classroom.  You should live this life in such a way that your impact is felt long after you leave. (Of course this might be a good book for everyone else to read) I immediately grabbed the book and as every good reader does immediately began reading the back cover.  (You would be surprised how many books have I chosen or put back based on the back cover!) 

Little did I know that this would begin a journey of God speaking personally to ME about MY responsibility to the society around me in a new and refreshing way.  The book was so timely and speaking so directly that I found myself sitting on the floor of the bargain books aisle reading a third of the book while waiting on my family.  I could not put it down!  So I tucked the book under my arm ( I did pay for it...I think?) commenced to reading it nonstop and finishing it before we even traveled back to Chicago.  This was definitely a GOD moment which caused me to ask myself some very difficult questions.  In the distant future when people look back on the time in which I lived, what will they think of my life?  Will they believe I was truly concerned about others?  Will they see the love of Christ in the way that I lived?  Will my life be an example of how to live or how not to live based on the impact I made during this present generation?  These are hard questions to ponder, but this is the way God chose to speak to me!

Now there is no guarantee that when you read this book you will have the same epiphany. However, I am certain you will be challenged about how you live.  As Christians, neighbors and members of humanity we are all called to live our lives in a way that others benefit because of our sacrifice, which in turn allows us to benefit from their relationship, gratitude and wisdom.  

Will you join us in reading this book and studying the book of Acts together?  Will you take the challenge with us and find out what happens when you realize "You Were Made to Make a Difference".

Grace and Peace,

Pastah J