The Buffet

Raise your hand if you, like me, love "Buffets"? OK, you can put your hands down now, hey you in the back, put your hands down, what is up with both hands AND feet? Anyway I do love Buffets. My Dad and I go to Golden Corral once a week, usually on a Tuesday, been doing this for about a year and a half. My Dad loves the place,usually gets the same things, sit in the same booth, know the waitress' the cash register people, the cooks, the managers............
Don't get me wrong the food is good, but getting the same thing every week gets old to me, my Dad, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind. I usually try and mix it up, you know get food primarily from the Right side of the the serving line, this time. Next time it is the middle and the week after maybe the left side. I have taken Dad to other places once in a while, Pizza Buffet, Jason's Deli for a good deli sandwich, He doesn't like Oriental food as much as I , so he won't even try a Chinese Buffet. ( I could eat at a Chinese Buffet 7 days a week and be very happy).
My point is: Things get old, even if they are really good, after awhile. I used to think that steak 7 days a week would be fantastic. Or as I said before a Chinese Buffet would be fantastic. I know I would get tired of anything, even Chinese food, before to long.
God knows us, I mean He made us, why wouldn't He? He knows we get tired of the same ole thing, which makes me ask, how did the "Children Of Isreal" make it on Manna everyday? Keith Green's song from years ago: "What, Manna again??!!" comes to mind here, (Mananna Bagels?). But God knows we are picky people.
Imagine going to a buffet and all they had was chicken. Every kind of chicken possible but only chicken. Fried chicken, baked chicken, grilled chicken, chicken and noodle soup, chicken casserole ("That is about all the ways you can make Chicken (shrimp) Forest" ) Any way, It would not take long to tire of only chicken, would it?
God loves variety, that is why we love it. We were made in the image of Him, so we love variety.
Can you imagine the Buffet we will have in heaven? Nothing will ever get old, there will be all of everyone's favorites. But here on earth we still have variety, God made us all different, some more so then others, IE: ME. There are so many varieties of us. I am a morning person, love the Pre-dawn time, it is so peaceful then I get allot of work done before the sun comes up. Some people are night owls, they cannot wake up in the morning, but they can stay up until all hours of the night. What about talents? My son is very creative, (He gets this from his mother, not me) He is great at music, computer graphics, audio recording, filming and the like, Me? I would have no idea how to do the things he can do. My daughter is a High School Algebra 2 teacher, in other words she has a ton of patience. Me? No way. My Ex-Wife is a organizer, she can get things done without hesitation. She tells people what needs to be done, she does her work, and she constantly has her mind going a hundred miles an hour. And everything comes together. Me? Are you kidding? I can work on my own, get things done, do my job, and do it well. Just tell me what you want done, leave me alone and expect it to be done, and I'll do it. I enjoy working independently.
Just a few examples of how God made us all different. My Pastor preached this morning on the "Gifts of the Spirit" and he made a statement that got my attention. He asked if the Gifts given by the Holy spirit, were for EVERYONE of US? Does each and every christian, that has been saved and are striving for more of God, have a "Gift" given to us to "Edify" the Body of Christ and His Church?
He did not answer this question, he left it up to us to think about. My answer is an loud "YES"
You see God loves a Buffet as well, He loves to see a group of people praising and worshiping Him in music, then the same group of people, being taught about His word and challenged by their Pastor, then being taught by teachers who have studied the word and share it amongst us. Each of us giving of our Gifts and using them to build up God. But you know what He loves even more? When we, having been led in worship, taught His word, Listened to His plan for our lives, go out and share these things with the people we run into everyday. That is the Buffet God loves most, the Buffet of People who hear the Word of God, the testimonies of believers, the trials we have gone through and the praise of deliverance. If Jesus had not had any trials when He was here on Earth, would he have the faith that His Father would have fulfilled His ministry. Jesus may have just given up.
Use your gift. Don't know what it is, easy ask. What do you enjoy the most? Climbing rocks, cliffs, riding Motorcycles? Playing music, listening to music, going to sporting events. Watching movies? It doesn't matter, there are people out there who, like you, enjoy these same things, and only you can relate to them on a certain level.
I love people, I love talking to strangers when I am standing in line at the bank, or waiting at a traffic light, and there is a person standing on the corner asking for help. I can talk to anyone just about anything. God has starting using me in this capacity more and more in recent months. Why, because I have seen the opportunities and taken advantage of them. Before where I may have talked about sports to a guy, I now, start with sports, and get a "Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior?" in there. If this makes them uncomfortable, or they tell me they attend such and such church, I let the Lord lead me. Sometimes I respond by saying :" Not what I asked,do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?" I get a lot of different responses, but it makes them think. If they don't want to go any further I bring the conversation back to sports. But sometimes it gets the conversation into things that are deep and important about what they believe.
What is your gift from the Holy Spirit? Whatever it is, it is part of a large, huge gigantic, Buffet that God uses to fill those that need Him. Like any Buffet we can go there but it doesn't mean we have to eat. That is our choice, God will never force Himself on anyone.
Let's all find our gifts, use them so that we will have a buffet with many options.
The Chicken looks good today.....................