All In For Him

Why start a blog?  Honestly, it never crossed my mind until my friend Ken suggested it.  He knows my passion to encourage others with God’s Word, but I don’t have a regular platform by which to do that.

Writing a blog scares me.  For one, it requires commitment and I seem to be growing lazier with age.  It was actually my pastor’s encouragement that sealed the deal.  First he told me he’d be my first follower (so this one is for you Aaron), and then he went and preached a sermon that prompted me to take the risk.  He was discussing what it really means to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”  He said that if you want to be “All In” you need to go “All Out” for Jesus.  Jesus had a ministry to people who were far from God.   His specialty was pursuing “Lost Sheep”.

That clicked.  Some people already know I collect sheep.   My infatuation with them started on my last trip to Scotland.  I fell in love with those wooly, long-haired, Scottish sheep.  They seem so content with life with not a care in the world, except to eat.

In reality, sheep are not the smartest animals in the barnyard, and they can easily lose their way without the guidance of a loving shepherd.  The same is true for me.  In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

I committed my heart to Jesus in college, at a time when all my own efforts to make sense of my life were failing.  It hasn’t always been the smoothest of paths, but He has always been faithful to keep me from wandering and well fed by His Word.  Just like a sheep I am always hungry for more. 

Another reason that writing this blog scares me is because I am sure to say something that someone doesn’t like.  I’m not known for being the “quiet” sort, but I don’t want to offend.  Jesus spoke the truth with love and I want to do the same.  Pastor Aaron told us that those who are “all in” are bold when they don’t want to be bold.  Like the disciples in Acts 4:29, I am trusting in Jesus for the results.

Colossians 1:10 has been my goal, “That I might live a life worthy of the Lord, to please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.”  And so, I take my next step in this walk of faith by writing this blog and I pray, “To God be the glory.”