Christ - The Reese Source - December 2007

Have you seen the commercial about fantastic finishes? As is the case with so many commercials, I cannot recall what the product was they were trying to sell. However, it shows several clips from sporting events where the team won on an amazing play at the end. One such play is Boston College quarterback, Doug Flutie’s last second, game winning sixty five yard touchdown pass against football powerhouse Miami. Another is the Cal-Stanford football game that ended with the ball carrier (I forget which team) running the last twenty yards through the opposition’s band, who thought the game had ended earlier and had come on the field, to cross the goal line as time ran out to score the winning points.

Each of us should strive to have fantastic finishes. Many of us are in the last quarter of our “games.” Some have climbed the ladder of success. Others have faced bitter disappointments. The question is…“What am I going to do with whatever time I have remaining?” We can win the last quarter! Bob Buford, in his great book, Half Time, talks about moving from success to significance. You may or may not have experienced the success you pursued, but the game is not over yet!

For men, the name of the game is significance. That is our driving force. What will we do that will have eternal significance? That is a great question to ask ourselves. When we stand before the Lord, will He say to us,”Well done, good and faithful servant”? Those are the words we should long to hear from Him. Telling people about our relationship with Jesus and demonstrating, by our lives, what that relationship means to us is one way to have eternal significance. Teaching our children and grandchildren about Jesus is a great place to start. Knowing that they will be with you in eternity is the greatest joy a man can have. To quote III John 9, “I have no greater joy than to know that my children (and their spouses and my grandchildren) are walking in the truth.”

Men, let’s give our best effort to win the last quarter. Don’t hold back. Play to win. Let us all strive for fantastic finishes!

One final note: Thanks to so many of you, Net Work Ministries had a fantastic finish to the year! At the end of October, we were approximately $25,000 behind. No, we did not completely erase the deficit; but we actually ended up less than $4,000 short. Considering where we came from, I think that qualifies as a “fantastic finish.” Praise God from whom all blessings flow!


MINISTRY NEWS:

On December 8th, fifty members of our Friday Morning Group and significant others celebrated the Christmas season at the home of Jack and Brenda Lyle with a fabulous dinner party and carol sing, accompanied by the two great keyboardists, Neal Sisson and Pat Head. Of note were the special group, The Five Golden Ringers, made up of Bob Mitchell, Peggy Reese, Jack and Brenda Lyle, Patti Pearlberg, and Marshall Dye. A guest appearance by Santa Pearlberg livened up the evening. There were 50 of us in attendance that evening.

The Goshen Trading corporate office study on Wednesdays at noon, as well as The Goshen Trading warehouse group that meets on Fridays at noon continue to develop and are looking forward to a new year together.

The Friday Morning Group finished studying the book “Prayer” by Phillip Yancey and will begin the book “The Language of God” by Francis Collins in January. Attendance has stayed strong.

MINISTRY NEEDS:

We would like to make up the deficit going into the New Year.

I would like to facilitate another men’s group in the morning other than Friday mornings.