I received an email today from John Stephenson, an old friend of mine from Kingsport, TN. When Sunny and I began our ministry with the Northeast Church of Christ in Kingsport, we were so blessed to get to know John and his wife, Alice. We eventually bought a home in their neighborhood, which only served to deepen our friendship. John, I still miss our late night prayer sessions. Last spring, John and Alice welcomed little Caleb into their lives. John shared a devotional thought with me in his email, and I thought I’d post it as a guest blog. I only wish you knew the man behind the words…
JB
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My wife and I just finished watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It is basically the only television show that we consider worth an hour of our time. Have you ever seen it? It is truly a great program. If you’ve never seen it, here’s the premise. A group of designer/carpenters show up at a deserving family’s home and send them on a week long vacation while they build them a totally new home. The typical family either has had a rough time with illness, a death in the family, or some type of misfortune. Other families are chosen because of the amount of their time and money that they give to others while their needs go unmet. The house that’s built for them is gorgeous and HUGE. The family comes home after a week away and they are introduced to their new abode by cheering throngs of well wishers as the family shouts, “Move that bus!” A huge touring bus (which is initially parked in front of them to block their view) pulls away, and their hearts go in their throats at the initial view of their home. I’ve been known to shed a tear or two during an episode. Well, maybe most episodes. OK, pretty much every episode chokes me up. You’ve gotta watch that show.

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:5