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I had a picture of a sail being hoisted into position on a yacht.
The sail was only part way up. The wind was light and didn’t have any real direction to it, as such the sail was flailing about a bit.
The top of the sail was always being drawn towards the top, following the line that it was attached to. The rest of the sail followed.
In its part way up position you had the top of the sail leading the way, the middle part of the sail flailing in the wind and the bottom part of the sail resting on the deck.

I felt that the picture could be a picture of the church.

The top of the sail is the leader of the church, following the way set before them by God.
The next part of the sail is the leadership team (these could be both staff and non staff people) who are supporting and following the leaders guidance.
Then you have those who are up and doing what they can, when they can.
Then you have those who are just getting off the deck, to join those who can and do.
Lastly you have those who are still on the deck, waiting to see if they will join those who are off the deck or just stay where they are.

If you are part of the church, then where about on the sail would you be?

Are you with those who are off the deck flailing around in the slight wind, not quite sure of what’s going on?
Are you on the deck looking at those off the deck, thinking, that looks a bit messy up there, I think that I’ll stay just where I am?
Or are you on the deck just waiting to join the fun of those who are already off the deck, just waiting for the wind?

When the wind does comes and properly inflates the sail, then the real movement will happen!

But how much of the sail will be in the wind?

1%, 10%, ….. 100%, or somewhere in between?
How much of the sail is off the deck will greatly determine how much movement occurs when the wind comes. A sail that is 100% up will catch more than one that is only 10% up.

When the wind comes, then will you be part of those who are where they are meant to be, off the deck?
Or will you be part of those who are on the deck, thinking, if only I was up there?

While we are waiting for the wind, well things may appear to be a little bit unsettling. Try not to focus on the flapping about, instead focus on the goal and where we are heading to.

To the leaders, try not to be put off by the flapping about but instead focus on where you are being led, and as such continue to lead the way, that we all should go.
Can those who are off the deck encourage those who are on the deck to join them, so that when the wind comes, we will then have a bigger sail?
If you are on the deck then can you join those who are moving up to where they should be?

Although this picture has described the church as a whole, can we apply it on a personal level?

If the wind of God came today, then how much of your sail would you have available?

Is your sail fully up, ready and waiting for the wind?
Or is it all on the deck, where the wind could come and go and then pass you by?
It’s going to be best to have as much of your sail up and waiting, as you can, so that when the wind does come, then you can be moved by the wind to where you are meant to be.

Father,
I ask that You help us all to know where it is that You want us to be, so that we can then say yes to You, and be where You want us to be.
Help us to know and trust You that much more, so that we can follow You, and be ready to do what You would like us to be doing.
Amen.

I had yet another strange dream the other night. (I don’t think I’m eating too much cheese before I go to bed. 🙂 )
I’ll share as much of the dream as I can remember, even though I don’t fully understand certain parts of it in the hope that it might be just what someone needs to hear. (With a better interpretation than I currently have :-))

In the dream I was in a queue waiting to purchase an electric bicycle. The queue was not on the ground though. We were all on wooden wall bars, like the ones I remember from school times.
There was a ledge somewhere where I was putting my extra purchase of a fancy lock and other bits for the bike I was about to buy. As the queue moved along I would move my purchases along the ledge, just like everyone else was doing.
In the dream it all seamed perfectly normal, but looking back at it now, it seems utterly mad.

The next thing I remember is being at the till.
I paid for the electric bicycle and then went onto pay for my extra purchases, which included the fancy lock. The lock needed some explaining on how you use it. The sales assistant duly gave a demonstration on how the lock worked, then put everything in a bag and then sent me on my way.

I was then walking down the street looking through my bag at all the items I had bought, with a bit of excitement.
All of a sudden I realised that I didn’t have the electric bicycle with me, that I had just bought. ?????
As I turned round to go back to the shop, the sales assistant was suddenly present with the electric bicycle. Then I woke up.

My first thought was, what was that all about???

I then had a thought, if you don’t take Jesus with you, then what’s the point? It’s like buying a bike and then leaving at the shop as you walk out.

OK, let’s just ponder that one for a bit.
If you do great things for God, but you don’t have God with you, then what benefit do you have?
If you have a great program of events to do for God, but you don’t have God with you, then how much value do you have?
Could these things be thought of as having bought and paid for a bike, and then leaving it at the shop?
If you are doing something for God, then make sure that you keep in step with Him. Don’t go running off leaving the One who it’s all about behind.

There is a bible passage that comes to mind as I’ve been thinking on this, it is…

1 Corinthians 13-3.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

The importance of having Jesus with us wherever we go is something that we should never let go of. I have a previous post that follows something of this thought process called, “Don’t get carried away, instead get carried along“.

I do think that it is relevant that the sales assistant was suddenly there the moment that I turned to go back.
God is waiting for us to turn to Him.
The moment that we acknowledge that we have gone wrong and turn to seek Him, then no sooner is He there to help, lead and guide us in the way we should go. Just like the Father in the prodigal son, who runs to greet, and welcome back his wayward son. Luke 15: 11-32

I do think that it is relevant that the bike was an electric bicycle. Yes, it’s another post I’m going to point to for the answer as to why.
The Electric Bike Sermon, part 1
Brief summary of that post.
There are 2 ways to live. With God and without.
The electric bike is with God where as a normal bike is without.
On a normal bike headwinds and hills could cause you to want to give up, where as on an electric bike, you just have that little extra help to see you through it all. Just like being a Christian means that you have access to One who can be the help you need to see you through ……….

The strange way of queuing still has me a bit baffled. It can only make any kind of sense to me if I consider that the electric bike represents Jesus coming into the life of the purchaser. Then is it a picture of how people could be feeling without Jesus in their lives?
Just hanging on in there, just the same as everybody else, not quite sure of what’s going on around us, but just going with the flow all the same??? (I told you it had me just a bit baffled :-))

The good news Is that if you are in the queue waiting to meet with Jesus, then He is ready, and just waiting to meet with you.
You just need to say Yes to Him, and He will then lead and guide you in the way that it is best for you to go.
As The Wannabe Christian Doorman, I can only encourage you to say Yes to Him, for He is …….
The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.
The one who is above all and knows all and is in all.
He is The One who Loves you with an everlasting Love that goes on beyond measure.
He is just waiting for you to ask Him into your life, so that He can then be all that you need Him to be, for you.

If you haven’t already asked Jesus to come into your life then I do encourage you to do so. The starting point could be to say the words below.
Jesus,
I ask you to come into my life.
Help me to know You, to hear your words to me and to follow You and your ways.
Amen.

I wrote about potential being more important than neat and tidy a couple of weeks back. That post centred on potential in the church. (Link here.)

As I have shared this thought with other people, the thought has developed a bit, onto a personal level.

So, in our own lives, will we favour neat and tidy over potential for development?

It’s like, we can have boxes stored away in the cupboard, of our lives, all neat and tidy. Then God comes along and says to us,
“That box that you have stored away so tidily, take it out and pour it’s contents all over the table, and then we can have a look at it.”

If you are anything like me, then this could cause you a little (or a lot) of discomfort. But our Loving Heavenly Father is more concerned about our potential, and our overall well being, rather than a small amount of discomfort.

You see, there are some things that He will put His finger on and tell us that they are for the bin. (He will help us with the disposal process.)
He may then take two pieces at opposite ends of the table and then bring them together and explain to us how they are meant to be this way.
He may then do many things with the contents, some of which may make immediate sense, and other actions that may need a bit of time for us to see the reason.

In short He will make a masterpiece out of the contents of the box which we would have rather kept locked away. But for this masterpiece to be made, we need to hand the box over to Him and allow Him to have His way with it.

So when He asks for something in our lives, whether it be large or small, will we hand it over to Him.
Will we allow Him to have His way in our lives, so that He can then make us closer to the masterpiece that He sees that we could be?

Father,
Help us to always say yes to You.
Help us to be willing to let You have Your way in our lives.
Help us to know that we can trust You, for You do have our best interests at heart.
Amen.

As I sat down with my morning cup of tea, I absently minded reached over to pick up my tablet to look at ……. ,when the thought “Why don’t you put that down and talk to me instead” came you my mind.

OK, put that down.
Sorry Lord, you should be the first thought on my mind, but so many times You are not. I can only say sorry.

Then the thought, “Are you so easily distracted by pretty lights?” Came to my mind.

The answer should be no, but clearly I am. 😦

There are just so many pretty lights calling out for my attention.
Tablet, smart phone, games of many kinds and the biggest of them all, probably the TV.
As I said, so many pretty lights calling out for my attention.

So what do all these pretty lights give to me?

On the most part, they give to me a distraction, a passing of the time.
I know some pretty lights can be useful, such as reading something that draws you closer to God. (Such as a post like this one ….. maybe 🙂 )
But how many times do we just whittle away the hours by just being distracted by all them pretty lights?

Are we sooo drawn to them that we can end being like the fly caught in the glare of the fly zapper, being drawn to its end?

Could we do better?

Could we put them pretty lights down and spend some time with our Loving Heavenly Father instead?
(Could we end up writing a post about the distractions of pretty lights? 🙂 )

When all is said and done, what are we doing with our time?
Are we allowing ourselves to just be distracted or are we doing something that is worth while?
Are we going to do something that will last?
Investing time in your eternal resting place is always going to be a good investment! Or to put it another way, spending time with your Loving Heavenly Father in the here and now is always going you be a worth while thing to do.

Father,
I am sorry that I am so easily distracted by pretty lights.
I am sorry that so many times I just go looking for them, instead of seeking You.
Please help me your be more aware of You, all the time.
Help me to hear Your words to me, that much better, so that I can then put them into action.
Amen.