I went to church everyday for a week and listened to great teaching each day. Even listened to messages on the radio while driving back and forth from the church at Ocean Grove. On Sunday, I enjoyed the well put together and meaty message at our home church given by our assistant pastor. Was totally blessed and refreshed.
While the messages were all very good and made my vacation enjoyable, perhaps the one message that impacted me the most did not involve words. Not one word was spoken but shots were surely fired and it was at the hands of a vacuum cleaner. Again, every other sermon, teaching and preaching encouraged me in plenty of ways but the vacuuming done right in front of me spoke to me in ways I had not imagined.
After Sunday service, having given one message and sitting in the next, all that was left was to pack up and head for home. I thought God was finished speaking to my heart. Then as we were about to leave, one brother decided he wanted to vacuum that ugly red runner carpet that goes from the front door to the large room. Personally, I would have left it alone and kept walking (not my problem). But yet, he kept vacuuming with such great care and devotion. I couldn't help but think things like: he was serving God, Working as on to the Lord, he sees this as God's house, and the biggie: if we start serving the Lord strong, we must finish serving strong.
By the time he was done, that carpet looked as nice as it possibly could. While a number of verses came to mind, I will leave you with two:
Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Have a blessed week, don't forget to read your Bibles, and look out for those other messages God wants to share with you. You never know where it's going to come from.
Blessings, P. Gene