From: The Pastor’s Heart
To: You
Title: “Unlucky?… Don’t Think So”
Today’s Friday the thirteenth and for some superstitious people, this day represents an
unlucky day. I’m not sure why the day and number is considered unlucky, and honestly,
I’m not even feeling like googling it to find out. Why? Well because it’s just silly to me. I
guess always being raised in the church and taught that we walk by faith and not by site,
I’ve just never looked at things happening out of luck. If I really look closely, I can trace
where my blessings and cursing come from and it’s up to me to determine (most of the
time) what type of day I’m going to have.
Remember in Genesis when God set Adam and Eve in the garden and gave them access to
everything but the tree of life? Wasn’t it just sad when we saw how they gave up
everything because of their curiosity with what the serpent said, along with their refusal to
remain obedient to God. No matter how many times I read that story I’m always hoping
that they will realize it’s not worth it to listen to the devil, but like always, they do and the
story ends up the same way. They are banished from the Garden of Eden and it’s not
because of bad luck. It’s because of a bad choice.
God said that He sets before us ‘life and death’ and then gives us the chance to choose
one or the other. Every morning He gives us options and opportunities to choose the path
of sanctification or sin. We are tempted on a regular basis and sometimes that temptation
is major and at other times it’s minor. What I mean is that sometimes it doesn’t really have
any power of persuasion over us, but then there are times when it’s pulling us quite easily.
Especially once we dabbled in it and enjoyed it, even for a second. That separation from
God then sets the wheels in motion for potential trouble and challenge in our lives.
There’s another story in the bible that I often think about and that’s the one about the
Prodigal Son in the gospel of St. Luke. He looked at what he had versus what he thought it
wanted and decided to choose a path different from what his father’d prepared for him.
Things started out pretty well and he was enjoying this new found life and lifestyle, until
he ran out of money, friends, compassion, and protection. His decision to leave the father
put him on a downward spiral where the next day seemed to become worse than the day
before. It wasn’t until he repented and went back to his father that he realized how blessed
his was before he left.
Now his luck wasn’t bad and it didn’t become better because of any silly superstition. No,
his world took the course it did because of the decisions he made. I’m a living witness…if
you make bad choices then you risk having bad days. It’s not about luck – it’s about love!
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)
