“Who’s counting!”

“Who’s counting!” By Pastor Joe

With any time-sensitive experiences in our life, we do not want to forget these special occasions, such as: our birthday, our anniversary, our children’s birthday, and so many more noteworthy celebrations. Often the statement is made “But who’s counting!” Often the statement is made rhetorically meaning the total number really isn’t that important! Especially about our age or how many years we’ve been married. I just thought it was interesting I’ve now written over 300 articles and it’s a good time to remind everyone the purpose of these jottings on the back of the bulletin. So, with very little changes, please enjoy the very first article written 300 weeks ago! Small correction, Janet and I have now been your Pastor for 7 years, not 6, meaning we started our 8th year at Hawthorne Assembly on Easter Sunday 2022. But who’s counting!

Welcome to Pastor Joe’s new article/column titled “Eternal Significance” or “ES” for simplicity. Here’s the story about 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. I want “ES” to be a part of your spiritual equation. I want “ES” to 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. 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!