"One stop shopping"

"Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden"









I grew up in a small town in central Georgia. The town had one radio station and everyone listened to it to find out what was going on in the community. There was a local store that used to advertise on the radio station, and I will never forget their slogan: "Why, if we dont have it, you dont need it". That slogan is still humorous to me today. Angela shops at Walmart sometimes, and I joke with her that if Walmart doesnt have it, you dont need it. She isn't amused by that.

In todays blog I want to use that idea of one stop shopping in a spiritual sense. Whether you consider yourself to be a Christian or not, this blog entry applies to you. Whether you are happy or sad, it applies to you. It applies everyday, rain or shine. It applies on the day you entered this world, and it applies on the last day of your life, and everyday and circumstance in between. It is a critical concept that the mature believer in Christ seeks with all their heart. Are you ready? What is this important, life changing, "mission-critical" concept?

Before I answer those questions, I need to explain why this "one stop reference" concept is possible and extremely important. As you may know, I am a pilot and we have navigational equipment on our airplanes that must be initialized before flight. In order to accomplish this, we must enter into the navigational computer an initailization reference point. Then after several minutes the computer establishes its reference starting point. Then, when the aircraft begins moving, it knows where it is in relation to where it started from. Spiritually, the Christian accomplishes the same thing, when they accept Christ as their savior. Jesus Christ becomes the starting reference point. When the Christian goes through life,and encounters joys, heartaches, spirtual highs, spiritual lows, loneliness, etc., they have a reference point to return to in order to erase/correct the "deviations" encountered in life, and regain proper position reference, so to speak, just as the airplane navigational computer requires reinitialization or corrective action to prevent further errors or deviations. It is imperative that we periodically refocus and correct our trajectories, just as the aircraft navigational system requires, or else navigation is impaired and you simply go the wrong way. Therefore, the one single reference point is critical for proper navigation. Jesus is that single reference point in the spiritual sense.

If you are not a Christian, you are searching for rest for your soul. You are looking for peace, you are looking for security. Ultimately, you are looking for God, but may not realize it. You wont find him on your own. The scriptures make that clear. Thats why Jesus had to come and make the Way to God (John 14:6). The Christian has the advantage of trusting and believing in Jesus Christ and His promises for both now and eternity. The promises that were secured by Jesus giving His very life to enable. If you are a Christian today, but are still in search of His peace, be comforted in knowing that He is your one stop for consolation and comfort, too. Dont, let another day go by without pouring your heart out to Him, for He is waiting for you 24/7. Personally, I find that I must do this daily to stay in touch with Him, and not get distracted by wordly pursuits.

In summary, the Scriptures makes it abundantly clear that in Him, through Him, and of Him (Jesus), is everything we need. Parenthetically, He did not say everything we think we need or want. Abundant life, though, is a promise. It is a promise for eternity and it is a promise from beyond the cosmos to your heart and to mine. Why shouldnt He be able to accomplish this? Here are the words of the Apostle Paul: "For by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for Him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together"(Col. 1:16). Simply put: Jesus is everything! He is God, Savior, counselor, and friend. Now, that's what you call one stop shopping.

He's waiting to hear from you, today..no matter what your "issues" are. Will you choose to talk to Him?

Blessings!
George