Divine Impact

It has been 3 years since I first started writing these weekly articles. I can still remember when the story you are about to read first impacted my life. I want to encourage everyone to expect divine encounters; where God uses people, places or problems to leaving a lasting impact. Hopefully if you hang around me long enough you’ll hear more of these moments which happened to me. Here we go! Welcome to Pastor Joe’s new article/column titled “Eternal Significance” or “ES” for simplicity. Most of you know the story of how this terminology has become part of my daily thought life. My friend, Greg, shared with me the importance of keeping an eternal perspective on every decision I make, no matter how difficult it might be to fulfill. Whether it is work related, where you live, what church you attend, how you raise your children, the group of people you spend your free time with, what you watch and read through various media options, and much more. Everything we do or consider should be weighed on the scale of Eternal Significance.

Obviously common sense rules the day as to things like; going to work on time, paying your bills, getting proper nutrition, healthy sleeping, and many other activities. Yet it is not too far-fetched to consider “Eternal Significance” as it relates to what you are eating. Consuming junk food usually means unhealthy outward symptoms. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so “ES”, in a way, does matter when it comes to nutrition.

I want “ES” to be a part of your spiritual equation. I want “ES” to the guiding principle for this column. For 13 years I wrote a weekly article while serving as Senior Pastor in Northfield, MN. It would be easy to just “tweak” those articles and update as needed for our congregation. I want you to know every article will be brand new, but great nuggets of truth from the past will definitely be used.

Why am I telling you these details, because it requires me to dig deeper, and not just take the path of least resistance. “ES” requires me to press in, to give you Jesus with excellence. As a side note, my previous secretary accidentally threw away every article I had on file, and to add insult to injury, our church computer hard drive crashed, and we were unable to retrieve the old columns.

Yet “ES” says “give your best, and don’t settle for leftovers!” Let me challenge you to live with Eternal Significance!