Thought for the Day
At our house, we have a garage door opener. This is a very useful device, especially when it is raining and the car is loaded with groceries. (It is less useful when your garage is full of so much other stuff that the car won’t fit, but that’s for another time.)
At the bottom of the garage door, just above the floor, are two boxes mounted to the frame of the door. Each box has a lens that faces the other box that emits an infrared sensor. The sensor prohibits the door from opening or closing if something is in the way. As a further safety precaution, the door also will not operate if the sensors are not properly facing each other.
It was that last piece of information that would have been helpful the day I could not get the garage door up regardless of how many times I pushed the button. After not a little frustration and some intense Googling, I discovered that the sensors must have been bumped or jostled and were no longer aligned correctly. A quick readjustment and problem solved!
How often we can find ourselves out of whack. We might be sailing along, thinking everything was OK, but in reality our sensors have been jostled by the world around us and as a result, we are no longer aligned correctly – aligned with God – and things are just not working as they should.
As Pastor Tony Evans wrote recently, “You worship what you align underneath.” If we are not aligned correctly under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, if we allow the world to tell us what is important, things just aren’t going to work. So many things can cause our alignment to be off – popular opinion, people pleasing, finances, entertainment – but Jesus in Matthew 6:24 spells it out quite clearly.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Substitute whatever is causing your alignment to be off for the word money, and it still reads the same. Our alignment is off whenever our focus is not on Him.
– Written by Bill
May Collections:
For the month of May we will be collecting girl’s clothing, including socks and shoes. This includes items for ages 2 to 4, 5 to 9, or 10 to 14.
Chicken BBQ:
We are planning to have a Chicken Barbecue fundraiser to benefit OCC on May 15 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Ace Hardware in Littlestown.
The cost of each meal is $8.50, which includes chicken, a potato, a roll and butter, applesauce, and bottled water.
We hope to see you there!
Partnering with OCC
Consider how being involved in Operation Christmas Child benefits your church or group. Possibilities may include:
• An opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission
• A tool to teach children about giving
• A tangible way to equip churches around the world in outreach and church planting
• A fun and personalized project that unites people of all ages in your group or congregation
• A Christmas outreach that can be completed before Thanksgiving and the busy holiday season.
National Project Leader Workshop
The 2021 National Project Leader Workshop will be held September 10-11. Friday evening, September 10 at 7PM will be the Project Leader Season Launch Virtual Event. This will be approximately 45 minutes of inspiration designed to cast vision and increase passion in Project Leaders. Content will focus on stories from the Pacific islands, unreached people groups, and church planting initiatives. We will also heavily promote the value of Area Teams and urge participants to attend a local workshop the next day.
The following day, September 11, local area teams will host workshops with practical, hands-on content. Resources provided by OCC will equip you to lead a workshop that takes a deeper dive into equipping, heavily focused on tips and “how-tos.”
Much more information will be coming soon. This is open to all who may want to learn more about Operation Christmas Child.
Praises and Prayer Requests
• Praise God for the large number of Mid-Atlantic North Regional Team (MAN) Connect volunteers to have registered for Connect Conference.
• Praise God for our International Team Members who are making connections with local pastors for the delivery of OCC shoeboxes.
• Praise God that the Mid-Atlantic North Regional Team feels more like family than a volunteer organization.
• Pray for Unreached People Groups around the world who have yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Pray for all the technical aspects of the virtual Connect Conference.
• Pray for our 2021 MAN shoebox goal of 593,471!
• Praise God for clear direction and goals for 2025!
• Pray for opportunities for conversations about volunteering with OCC.
• Pray for Area Teams to have unity, humility, and teachability.