Ever heard of Cher Ami? No? Well allow me to take a moment and enlighten you. Cher Ami was a carrier pigeon that was owned and used by the Army Signal Corps in France during World War I. He is credited with helping save the Lost Battalion of the US 77th and with 12 successful missions. For his service he was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) a French honor given to those who were foreign allies of the French. In his last mission he delivered his message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye,covered with his own blood and a leg barely hanging on by a tendon. What honor, what commitment, what... wait a minute he was a bird for crying out loud. While he is now stuffed and found on display in the Smithsonian in Washington DC he is not there for acts of great heroism, he was after all only a bird. He is there because he did one thing and one thing only... what he was trained to do. You see as a bird trained by the signal corps he was taught, when released, to fly home. It was instinct, not even second nature, it was the only thing he knew.
What is your first instinct in life? Are you driven by self and your own gratification? By a desire to serve Christ? Maybe you live to please others. Chances are you are like me and you are a mix of two or even all three of these things. You see we react to this life based on our training and we have learned to train ourselves to do all of these things because we please others from 9-5 Monday through Friday, we please our selves when we go home in the evenings and God? well He gets our Sundays, at least the rainy, cold but not to cold, I've got nothing better to do Sundays. Now I know that I am being a little harsh here but I am just trying to drive home the that Christ is not first nature in our lives because we choose not to allow Him to be. Jesus Himself said the greatest commandment was to "Love God" followed by loving our neighbors or living for others. God first, then family and friends and in that formula we will find true satisfaction for ourselves. Just something to think about. Thanks for checking it out.

See ya real soon!