If I have a problem with my computer and I can’t figure it out, you know what I say?  Sally! help!  I see the Bible similar to a computer.  Challenge yourself to change through studying the Bible… Many of you have so many questions, you don’t know where to begin, you are not familiar with the Bible.  Ask (Sally! J).  We actually have dozens of more than qualified people to answer questions…many in our church family are quite familiar with the Bible.  Make yourself available.  We need one on one teachers, mentors.

Knowing the Bible will change your life!  The Bible will guide you.  Meditate on its words.  Learn about the background...  Join a Bible Study.  Set aside time each day to read a portion of the Bible.  You don’t know where to start?  Ask for Help!  

What would make a good symbol of our church?  While teaching children about different faiths, a teacher asked her students to bring a symbol of their family's faith to class. The next day, she asked each student to come forward and share what they brought:
     The 1st child said, "I'm Jewish, and this is my family's menorah."
     The 2nd child said, "I'm Roman Catholic, and this is my Mom's rosary."
     The 3rd child said, "I'm Greek Orthodox, and this is an icon of my patron saint."
The 4th child said, "I go to the Sumas Advent Christian Church, ///and this is my casserole dish."

After looking over the photos on our church Facebook page, somebody left a comment, “sounds like all you do is eat…” I love our church!  I love being with you.  I like MOST of you ~I mean~ ALL of you… I like Potluck Sundays… best cooks in the world!  I may not understand all of you.  I don’t get all the things some of you do…some of you probably think I’m quirky, too!  You think I make odd decisions.  That’s ok. I like all of you as you are, and I hope and pray we all grow in our faith, our Christian walk….  

I begin this year with a series of messages, “Challenge Yourself to Change.”  Change is difficult because that means becoming something we have never been.  There is always room to grow in our faith.   I challenge you to change.  Contentment is good and desirable, yet there is always room to grow in our understanding of God and our how we practice living out our faith.  Years ago in the days of S.F. I wrote a devotional which I have never forgotten: Always content but never satisfied.   As long as we are on this earth, this side of heaven, contentment is the goal, accepting who we are in Christ, yet asking the Lord to constantly mold us and shape us.   Challenge yourself to Change! 

You cannot change by digging in your heels.  You need the Lord.  You need to hear from God.  How do you hear from the Lord?  Here’s one way: He can send a bolt of lighting to get your attention, make a donkey talk, do the amazing ...  I think a lot of people want God to stay in their back pocket until something bad happens, then they pull him out to do something dramatic to bale them out of the tough situation.  One of my professors in school described how some people use the Bible like a magic lamp in which something bad happens so we pull out our bibles and we rub and rub and rub hoping a genie will pop out and then our wishes will be magically granted and all will be well.  God does do amazing things, it is part of the Christian life, but the miracles are not meant to be magic bullets that give us a license to continue making bone-headed decisions.