What If? A New Year's Thought

These days, a lot of people are talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it will either improve or destroy as it becomes more embedded into our society.  AI platforms like ChatGPT and other writing assistants are being sued by the Wall Street Journal because AI isn't properly referencing plagiarized excerpts.  And the ad for ChatGPT says, "Ask AI to write anything and get instant answers!"  Seems to me we are awful trusting of those "instant" answers as truth!  Maybe we should lean on something more solid that "intelligence" generated by a computer!  What if we did?

Here are a couple of "what ifs" I thought of as I was writing this blog (and I didn't ask AI to do it!).  Here goes:

- What if 2024 becomes a year of focus on our youth and our children?  Do our parents actually know how to follow Proverbs 3:5-6 ... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."  Do parents, grandparents and guardians realize that learning God's Word is a little like math ... one part builds on another.  Consistency is important!  Being there every week (not just when it is convenient) is important.  Bring your children and youth to church!  Bring them to learn.  Bring them so that they will know the songs we will be teaching during Sunday School time.  Bring them so their spiritual house will have a solid foundation and won't fall when the going gets rough!  I saw a post that said, "If you are not spiritually-fed you will be emotionally-led."  Trust God ... stop leaning on your own understanding ... stop the nonsense of basing your Sunday morning decisions on how you feel that day!  John Wesley would ask, "Have you faith?"  What if the answer was "yes" accentuated by what faith should be about ... action!?  What if we choose Jesus!?

- What if Jesus altered our behavior and our daily choices?  I heard an amazing statistic about our habits.  During 2023, according to Forbes, of the 100 top-watched programs in America, 93 were football-related.  Let that sink in a moment!  Where are our priorities?  The old sayings are, "we eat first with our eyes" and "you are what you eat."  What are we consuming?  The second half of that Proverbs 3 passage is "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight."  What if we did that?

I give you these two thoughts because we are embarking on a year of opportunity of focusing our time, our children/youth and our lives on something of value and worth.  The Agape Sunday Group is studying Proverbs.  Nicey's class is into their book series.  My class is studying Psalms.  The Youth are studying Old Testament Foundations.  On Wednesday nights we will (January till Lent) study 1,2 Thessalonians. During Lent we will study "Alter'd," which is a study on making Jesus central to your daily life of faith.  Our children will be learning songs and season-based truths about Christ, to build their faith-foundation.  My sermon series, between now and Easter, will be about how we build a strong altar of faith in our lives, following the "Alter'd" study series.  What if we all did that?

The old song, How Firm A Foundation says, "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith, in His excellent word ... what more can He say, than to you He has said, who unto the Savior, for refuge has fled."  Maybe, if we build on His firm foundation, we won't have to rely on intelligence that is "artificial!"  What if we trusted God and real truth?  Randy