Sunday school is always a pleasure for me. A person knows they're called to teach if they have an uncontrollable desire to share absolutely everything they learn. I'm so thankful the Holy Spirit has given me both the desire to learn & the desire to share. There's always more information on a subject than can possibly be dealt with in 30-40 minutes, but last Sunday our class voted to start 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled time so we'll have more time for Bible study and all without any prompting from me. The Sunshine Ladies love to study God's Word. Aren't they great!!

We've been playing catch-up for the last several Sundays. We began this quarter by meeting in the sanctuary under the leadership of our pastor to explore the vision God has for Belden. Other classes might have just picked up on the date they went back to their classes, but we're studying 1 & 2 Peter and we didn't want to miss a word. We've been trying to cover two lessons each week and after tomorrow we'll be back on track.

Our lessons build on each other naturally as we use the Explore the Bible material that covers a book at a time. The two lessons we're studying tomorrow are definitely yoked together. The first comes from 1 Peter 4 about staying focused on God's purposes. The second lesson is from 1 Peter 5 and covers acting with humility.

You just can't do one without the other. In order to stay focused on God's purposes our hearts must be humbled to understand that His purposes are what we're about. If we try to serve His purposes without humility, our activity is just that - activity. And self-righteous activity, at that. And "humility" without acknowledging God's purposes becomes low self-esteem with no goal. God has created us in such a way that our ultimate fulfillment is only found in Him. His purpose should be my goal; His glory should be what I'm about; His Kingdom should reign. And you know what? His glory, His purpose and His Kingdom will always be supreme, no matter what I do. But what a blessing I'll miss if I choose not to be a part of it, all because He created me to be a part of it.

So I commit to staying focused on God's purposes and to acting with humility. Those of you know me wonder if I can do the second. Absolutely not - not without Him. Humility isn't a personality trait in God's Kingdom. It's a recognition that God is sovereign and that my sole purpose is to serve His purpose. His purpose includes putting the needs of others before my own. It means crucifying the "I-itis" that is part of the old person. I don't get it right every time, but it's my desire to do so. In Psalm 37:4 David says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." And in 63:8 he says, "My soul followeth hard after Thee." (KJV) I'm praying that the desire of my heart will be to follow hard after Him.