Our Conference, Our Kids: The Soul
Through the month of September, we are going to focus on the organization “Our Conference, Our Kids” which was created by our very own Bishop Frank Beard. In honor of Bishop Frank Beard, who is undergoing eye surgery in both eyes and is on Sabbatical until January of 2022, all churches in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference are asked to take up a collection to give to this organization. During our Kid’s Message, the kids travel through the sanctuary collecting a “noisy offering” which will be sent to Our Conference, Our Kids at the end of the month as our way of paying tribute to Bishop Frank Beard.
Last week we talked about our physical needs and how we are to treat others like we want to be treated. This week we are going to examine, with X-Ray vision, the needs and wellness of the mind and heart. Do you know where your mind is? I remember my mom asking my dad this question at supper one time; and my dad said, “I don’t know. I must have lost it!” How about your heart? Do you know where your heart is? That’s right: it is in your chest!
With our X-Ray vision, we can see that the heart is filled with a liquid, that it has tubes, and that it is controlling our bodies, like our mind does. But if we look closer, we can see that Jesus’s love is everywhere in our heart. Which means that Jesus is inside of us. If Jesus is inside of us, then we must take special care of our heart and mind: we don’t want anything to happen to Jesus. God wants us to make sure that we take special care of our mind and heart just like we take care of our physical bodies. Why? Because his son, Jesus, lives in our mind and in our heart! And that is where we can live like Jesus and learn to help others accept Jesus into their own heart. When our mind and heart don’t feel good–we do something bad or we don’t say I love you to our mom and dad–Jesus reminds us to pray so that we can feel good again.
When we feel good, we can soar into heaven because Jesus is in our heart and mind. Isaiah says, “[T]hose who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary” (40:31). As we accept Jesus into our heart, we will be given the strength to soar high above every mountain and run and walk as far as we can without getting tired. With Jesus in our heart, we can do anything! Always remember that with Jesus in your mind and in your heart, you will never be lost and you will forever be loved!
Thank you, Holy Spirit!
Let us pray: Lord, we lift our hearts to You and pray for those who live with chronic stress due to poverty, loneliness, fear, and trauma. Living like that makes it so hard to think beyond current needs. Thank you for the ministries that show them how to stabilize and develop the ability to make wise decisions for their families and their future.
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