300+ By Pastor

300+ By Pastor Joe

Typically, this article is written on Thursday morning and sent to the secretary to proof and add to the back of the bulletin. A big thanks goes out to all the secretaries (Katie, Hannah, Sharon) who have accommodated my schedule. They have all waited patiently for me to put my thoughts together. Today’s article is another milestone. Six years ago, the first ES was published and today you will read the original article with just a few corrections. This is article 312, do the math, 52 weeks multiplied by 6. Thanks for reading and responding to these jottings from your Pastor. My friend Greg placed the spark in me 8 years ago to focus on ES. Enjoy!

Welcome to Pastor Joe’s new article/column titled “Eternal Significance” or “ES” for simplicity. I’ve told the story 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 made, 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 commonsense 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 farfetched 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. “ES” needs to be a part of your complete spiritual equation. “ES” will be 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. Every article will be brand new, but great nuggets of truth from the past will definitely be used. These details are important, 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 previous hand-written article on file, only 728 but who’s counting. To add insult to injury the 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!