Jesus Disciples

Summer is here and our lives are full of excitement and fun, but all of this keeps us so busy. Over the last couple months I have spent 2 weeks in Romania, doing a kids camp for the children there who otherwise would have never had an opportunity to attend camp. If you would like to find out more about my trip to Romania check out my family blog,

http://www.the-reighard-7.blogspot.com/. I will have that info up within the next couple of days.

We have had our VBS here at the church with many children coming through the door and filling the places with laughter and smiles. And now we prepare for the upcoming camps for our children and teens.

In children's ministry we have been talking about being Jesus Disciples the last couple of weeks. We have learned that the word discipline means more than getting a swat on the behind and being grounded. It means, 'Training to do what is right even when you don't feel like it.'

The kids have met Joe, a man who has good intentions but has a big talk, he is always trying to do something big, but he lacks the discipline to follow through with his grand ideas. He has tried to run in a marathon but did not train or discipline himself for the event. He came back unable to finish the race and obviously very out of shape. But we too need to have this discipline in our lives, to run the race of life. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 talks about running this race in such a way to win the prize, a prize that will last forever. It's talking about training hard, it takes work and discipline. We must be disciplined to become who God wants us to be.

We've talked about the Bible and how it is a very important book that tells us about who God is and how He wants us to live. Psalms 119:11 'I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.'

Also how we need not only read the Bible but meditate on it. Again we had Joe visit the classroom, he had heard about meditating on God's Word and he really wanted to make God happy so he went out and bought an expensive head wrap and mat to use while meditating. He misunderstood the verse and found out that he wasted a lot of money. Joshua 1:8 'Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.' This verse is telling us to fill our minds with God's Word, think about it always, trying to understand it. The kids were encouraged to meditate on God's Word this week. Asking themselves these questions: What is this about? What does this mean? and How can I apply this to my life?