A message from Curtis

April 1, 2008  From Small Ripples to Big Waves!

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6) I am currently working on the fall '08 and spring '09 calendar and leadership models. Some of the curriculum comes from Irwin McManus and his insight on the effect of relationships. Look at how he explains this scripture. "When God creates, he creates with relational integrity. Everything is connected and fits together. This is true not only in the physical real, but even more so in the spiritual. The Bible tells us that when man sinned, all creation groaned. Those who study science have told us that a butterfly fluttering its wings in South America could, in some cases, be that primary cause of an avalanche in Antarctica. This level of complexity strikes us as new and innovative, and yet the Scriptures have advocated this kind of interconnection for thousands of years. The idea that the sin of one man and one woman could send a disruption throughout the entire cosmos is an extraordinary description of the organic connection between all of nature. The pulling of one piece of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the primary influence of famines that spread across deserts, tsunamis that swallow up villages, earthquakes that shake the earth, and the unpredictable force and violence of nature." (An Unstoppable Force, McManus pg. 15) What I see in this is everything we do ultimately has an afffect on this world - everything! To produce good fruit, we need to pick good fruit. To leave a good legacy, we must be a good legacy. Deuteronomy chapter six tells us to leave a legacy through our relationship with God, teaching our children His Word. We produce good fruit by loving God, loving our neighbors, and encouraging each other to do the same. May we truly be affectual! (Yes, I meant to misspell it!) Remember, what may seem like ripples may one day be a tsunami, hopefully in a good sense!