Christian

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The Carpenter

So, I was walking around some neighborhoods the other day, dropping off invite cards to church and I saw the most beautiful home I have seen in a while. Everything was immaculate. The grass looked like each blade was cut by hand. Not a single weed in the entire lawn. The house itself looked like a painting. Flower boxes on the window sill, a white picket fence, and the shutters painted to bring out the highlights in the brick walls.

This house could easily be on the cover of one of those Better Homes & Gardens magazines.

But the closer I got to the door the more I could see some issues. The back of the fence needed paint in the worst way. The brick mortar was cracking and falling out in quite a few places. The foundation of the house had shifted from age and was separating from the brick faces, and the flower boxes that looked awesome from the street were missing screws and very close to falling off of the house.

Here is why I mention this to you…..

All of us are just like this house. ALL OF US!

We all look good from a distance, but the closer the investigation, the more flawed we become. The more scrutiny our character comes under, the more chips in the paint are revealed. The closer the magnifying glass, the more dings, dents, and baggage is found.

This is true of every human to ever walk the earth……..except for one.

Jesus.

The closer you look at Him the more perfect you realize He is. The more closely you examine the Bible, the more you understand that there are no flaws. The more scrutiny you put Him under, the clearer it becomes that the paint is chip-free.

Good news: Jesus came to fix the broken.

Perhaps you are a mansion in fine condition. That's awesome, but I would bet on close inspection there are some boards out of place, or some paint chips, or a flower box that is close to coming undone.

If what I am saying is true, then Jesus is perfect and we aren't. We are all in need of some refurbishment. Who better to seek a fixing from than one who is perfect.

I am fairly certain He can repair your picket fence. Give Him a shot.

He was a carpenter after all.

Carpe Diem

Lewis Alpern
Jeannette Stuart
John Ber
Ira Greaves
James Herron
Max Henrici

What do these names mean to you?

Chances are absolutely nothing, but they are real people.

My wife and I got to watch a classic older movie the other night.......Dead Poet Society.
Robin Williams plays a teacher in a prestigious school for boys, who challenges the young men to look at life from a different perspective.

I was affected by a scene in the movie that I did not remember seeing before.
Robin Williams has the boys gather around a trophy case in the hallway. He told the young men to lean in and look at the photos of past young men that had attended the school a long time ago.

As they are leaning in, the teacher asks, "What are they saying to you".
The boys laugh at the uncomfortable moment, unsure of what the teacher means.

The teacher goes on, "...these men are all now fertilizing Daffodils".
He explains that the men in the pictures all waited too long to decide to do something great, and now they are just worm food.
"Lean in", the teacher says, "they are whispering their legacy to you", and in an eerie whisper the teacher says,
" .......carpe .......carpe......carpe diem......seize the day boys........make your lives extraordinary."

The people listed at the top of this post are all dead. You don't recognize their names because they led normal lives.
Right now, chances are that you are too.

I am.

But that changes tonight as I write this.

I am deciding that my family and I will no longer live normal.
We will seize the day.

I am not sure what that means right now, but we will not live a normal life.
Normal is boring and Jesus did not die so that we could lead normal lives.

He died so that we could live extraordinary lives.
He died so that we could do something awesome.
He died so that we would seize the day

There is a risk you are not taking tonight..........seize the day.
Right now, maybe God is speaking to you.........seize the day.
This very moment, you are aware of something big you want to accomplish.......seize the day.

You can do something great......make your life extraordinary.......right now.......seize the day.

CARPE DIEM!!!!!!!!!!