It Kind of Works…

A little over a year ago I went to get some frozen fruit out of my fridge for a smoothie…and what should have been hard as rock frozen fruit were just slightly mushy.  Not a big deal.  I figured the freezer had been opened too long loading stuff in or it hadn’t gotten closed all the way or something else.  As time went on I noticed again and again, things weren’t as frozen solid as I wanted them to be.

Something was off.

Ice cream was soft.

Ice packs were soft.

Frozen berries were soft.

Not a big deal, just not quite right.

Then I noticed it wasn’t producing as much ice.

Then I noticed it wasn’t producing any ice.

We have a garage refrigerator, so slowly I started moving more and more things out there.

I purchased thermometers for the fridge to try and gauge the temperature.

My fridge temperature stayed close to what it was supposed to be, but my freezer just couldn’t get much below 30 degrees.

It was almost working…but not quite.

I cleaned the fridge to open up air flow.

I unplugged it and plugged it back in.

My Dad was in town about a year ago and he’s a fix-it kind of guy, so we removed any dirt or debris from the coils.

Amazingly, it started to working again.

Kind of…for about a week.

Then back to the same problems.

With no rhyme or reason, suddenly the temperature would drop, it would start to produce ice.

Then as quickly as it started working again, it would stop.

Over the summer we went out of town for a few days and we came back to a low temperature and a tray filled with ice.

I assumed we were just opening the door too much.

I told the family, “no one open the freezer unless you have to. No one use ice unless they have to.”

It wasn’t really working.  No ice was being made.  The temperature wouldn’t stay down.  I was exclusively using the freezer in the garage.

Over the past year I’ve looked up solutions on YouTube, I’ve talked to friends about it, I’ve researched online, I’ve had multiple service people check it out and I kept convincing myself, it kind of works…almost.

A freezer has one main job.  Keep things frozen.  I was no longer using my freezer for that.  It was just an expensive decorative insulated metal box…but not a freezer.

This frustration started to weigh on me.  It seems silly, but I both got used to the freezer almost working…and still trying to find a work around for this little problem.

After an entire year of this, I finally decided to buy a new fridge.

In my mind the new fridge would solve all my freezer problems for sure, maybe all my kitchen problems, and heck, it might even solve more than that!

I took the leap, got a fridge that works, and guess what?

My new freezer works, I am no longer stressed about that, and yet there are still some problems in my life.

This is where many of us find ourself.  There are a lot of things in life that are “almost” working.  Something is off, but we continue to operate as normal.  We find little workarounds as temporary solutions.  We try little tips and tricks, we talk to friends, read things online, watch YouTube videos, maybe even setup some meetings to talk to people for help…and we may keep convincing ourselves it’s kind of working.

I want to offer a few thoughts.

Sometimes something kind of working is worse than it not working at all.  It’s like we live in a sort of temporary space dealing with how it isn’t quite right…but kind of works.  We have moments where things in our life seem to work for no apparent reason and then a week later they fall apart.  It seems to me that most of us are finding patches, little solutions, or temporary hacks.

I wonder if we need to take a bold step to do something drastic.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about what it means to follow after Jesus looking at his first few words in the Gospel according to John.  We’ve seen how Jesus notices John and Andrew are looking for something.  Jesus then invites them to “come and see”.  Jesus is inviting them to be his disciples, to be with him, to abide in him.  Jesus then meets Simon and changes his name to Peter, which means “rock”.  Jesus is calling for them to be like him, to be changed by him, to be formed into his image.  Jesus then says to Phillip, “follow me”.  His invitation is not just to be with Jesus, to become like him, but to do as he did.  Jesus is inviting them to embody his way of life.  Philip then goes on to say the exact same words to Nathanael, “come and see”.

Most of us want to see change in our life, but we are hesitant to do anything drastic.  So we deal with things in our life and find little work arounds.  It kind of works…

Most of us like the idea of being like Jesus or living out his ways, but we are concerned about taking the steps to doing what Jesus did.

I think, when we just adopt little tips and tricks of Jesus, without being transformed by him, it’s the equivalent of adding apps or widgets to our life, but still being the same old operating system.  Jesus is calling us to experience “life and life to the fullest” and if we’re honest, we are settling for “just getting by.”  Jesus wants to transform our freezer and make it come alive, but we’d often rather use the one in the garage.

Don’t let your life “almost” work.

Now, you may have the same thought as me…following after Jesus will solve all your problems.  I hate to tell you this, but it won’t.  In fact, some things may get harder, but it will lead to a life of purpose and one that is greater than you can ever imagine.

He has come to give us life, and life to the fullest.

Take a bold step to see what Jesus has for you, to be changed by him, and to do what he did.

Abide in Jesus.

Be Changed by Jesus.

Embody the Ways of Jesus.

If you haven’t been in awhile to The Chapel I want to invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue on this journey together.

A few things.

• This Sunday, September 24th we are excited to welcome our friend the Rev. Dr. Vernon Burger.  Vernon has been with us several times in the past.  He and his wife lead His Voice Global, an incredible ministry that cares for orphans, widows and works to raise up leaders among the vulnerable in East Africa for the past 20 years.

Sunday, October 1st is a big Sunday and we have several things that day.

• We are going to kick off a 4 week experiment looking at the idea of Sabbath.  This is a call to stop, rest, delight, and worship in God and all the blessings that we have.  This was a command for the Hebrew people and beautifully woven into their life and rhythm.  It is a gift for us and a wise thing to incorporate.  If you want to know more about our Sabbath experiment, I invite you to check out the latest edition of The Tower – Sabbath Edition.  
• That Sunday morning we will share in communion at 9am before worship.  Then we’ll have worship like normal at 10am.
• That Sunday evening we are excited to have a Night Of Worship led by Daniel Pratt and his friends from Pour Worship at 6pm.
• Our Wednesday Morning Bible Studies are currently underway.  Men meet at 8:30am and Women meet at 10am at The Chapel.  We are journeying through the Gospel according to Matthew. If you aren’t getting our communication for our studies, join the men’s group here and the women’s group here. 
• We offer a Young Adult/20’s and 30’s Bible Study on Thursday mornings at 8am that is currently meeting.  They WILL NOT BE MEETING THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST, but will be back next week.  Join us at The Chapel upstairs and we’re studying the book of Genesis together.  If you are interested in our Young Adult group, please click here to get connected.Let us know if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Blessings.

Andrew