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My world. My values. My mall. You can read these six words on a billboard as you travel west between Nolanville Hill and Nolanville. I think I understand what the sign attempts to convey: shop Killeen’s mall for bargains. But I wonder.

We might want to investigate the meaning of values. We value those things that we consider worthy and desirable. We value God. We value family. We value education. And apparently, we value stuff, at least according the billboard. Could it be telling that one response made after the terrorists attacks of 9/11 was to get back to shopping and show the terrorists that they didn’t win. What do you spend your time doing? What do you most often think about? What do you spend money on? What do you value? The First Commandment reads: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Jesus echoed this in the Sermon on the Mount: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

We might want to examine the meaning of world. To link one mall to my world smacks of living in a small world. Many of us live in a small world (and not the Disney kind). Our small worlds may be geographically, social, emotional, economical, and even spiritual. I pray that each of us might be transformed into the kind of person who reflects the kind of God who would send his only son for the world. I pray that each of us might be transformed into the kind of person who affirms and obeys the final words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19).

So here’s a suggestion for a billboard (or maybe a church marque). My world–all nations (peoples); my values–Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord.

It’s 101∘ degrees outside (for the 26 straight day). That and several other things reminded me in recent days of water’s importance. (1) I was riding my bicycle this morning and saw a man with a hose watering his yard. I nearly stopped and asked for a drink, but my Camelback was still full. The man’s yard was green; his neighbor’s pale yellow. (2) Building a house in Lasara two weeks ago drained me and others. Heat problems plagued several who were working. You just couldn’t get enough fluids, even alternating between water and sports drinks.

I visited several stores before the KidsHeart trip looking for enhancements for water. One option is “Lifewater.” I found this description online: “SoBe Lifewater is a naturally flavored beverage that is . . . designed to help you live a healthier life.” I also noticed that Lifewater comes in 16 flavors, each focused on a specific health need. We need water for good health.

Biblical writers have used the body’s need for water to reveal spiritual truths. The psalmist wrote: “He leads me beside cool waters” (Psalm 23:2). Isaiah envisioned a time of God’s restoration and blessing and wrote: “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost” (Isaiah 55:1).

I thought about asking the man with hose for a drink. I thought how similar that would be to Jesus asking a Samaritan woman for a drink. She could have provided water that would temporarily quench thirsty lips. Jesus, however, offered her living water that could transform her life. Later Jesus would declare to all in the temple: Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38).

Here’s what I read just this morning on Facebook: “ONLY 67 HOURS AND 15 MINUTES UNTIL WE SCRAP AGAIN. Please join us in the Fellowship Hall at 6:30ish. Bring the project you are working on: scrapbook, card making etc. I guarantee you will have lots of fun.

I probably ought to check my Facebook posts more often. The time is now less than 36 hours away. I struggled with the word “scrap,” and what appeared to be a longing to do it again. I thought “scrap” was a noun, not a verb and was something that you gave your dog to eat after dinner. I’ve also equated “scraps” with rags, the material that is leftover after a sewing project of some kind is completed. And for some reason I want to do that.

Moreover, when I began to think of rags, Isaiah 64:6 came to mind: “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” So, am I right that someone wants to get together and become like a filthy, unclean rag? And for some reason I want to do that.

Isaiah used the term “filthy rags” in a section where God was making all things new. God was continuing to work to restore his people after their struggles with unrighteousness. God, like a potter, was able to remold and shape them a new way–a lot like my grandmother and my mother used to do. From time to time, they would take the scraps from sewing projects and stitch them together in a quilt. Their children and grandchildren were fortunate beneficiaries. They took something useless and worthless and transformed these “scraps” into heirlooms.

God continues to transform “scraps” into godly “quilts.” Join me in worship, where God “scraps” us into his likeness.

Several years ago, I shared with the church a list of ten Scripture passages that identify the work of the church. In many ways, these are a primer for what a church ought to be attempting for God and the manner in which we should attempt this work. I, for one, need to be reminded of the basic task of the church and our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. Here’s the list for you. Read the passage. Meditate on it. Ask God how he wants you involved in his world.

(1) Revelation 4:11; God is our creator. We offer him our loyalty and worship him as Lord.
(2) Revelation 5:9-10; Christ ransomed sinners through his death. Sin separates people from God and mars their relationship with him. Christ made restoration possible and makes Christians to be a kingdom of priests.
(3) Psalm 119:105; For direction and guidance, we turn to God’s word.
(4) 1 Peter 4:10; God expects every disciple (100 %) to use the gifts given to her or him in God’s kingdom’s work.
(5) Matthew 6:33; Seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and God assures us that we will receive everything we need.
(6) Zechariah 4:6; God’s kingdom work advances through the power of God’s spirit and not human resources.
(7) John 8:31-32; Disciples abide in God’s word. As they do, they know Christ and imitate him. In imitating Christ, he frees disciples from sin.
(8) Luke 19:10; Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. His work is our work.
(9) Matthew 20:26-28; Disciples serve as Christ served. We do not long for others to serve us but to offer ourselves in service to God.
(10) Romans 12:1-2; Disciples are transformed in Christlikeness by God’s mercy and grace. Both individual disciples and churches reject conforming to the world as they are daily being transformed and changed.

I donate blood regularly, and if you are able, I urge you to do also. But that’s not what I’m writing about. Blood donors receive gifts when they donate, one of which is almost always a T-shirt. My last T-shirt had this slogan, “Recycle Life, Donate Blood.” My blood is recycled (transfused) into a person due to injury or surgery. It may save another’s life.

A person who receives a blood transfusion is strengthened by the blood they receive, but they remain the same person, living the same life as before. A person who is redeemed by the blood of Christ is no longer the same person. One is different and not recycled. First Peter 1:3 describes redemption in this way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus told Nicodemus that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Life in Christ is not rehashing or recycling something old. New life in Christ is transformation, the making of all things new. A new birth suggests starting over, beginning again. The past may linger but it has no control over one’s present life. In Christ, one has been freed from the power of sin and death. We’re not recycled, we’re reborn.