Christian Living – Page 10

Book Review: “Redeeming Church Conflicts”

July 6, 2012July 7, 2012 Chris

God, in all of His wisdom, gave the world His Church. We are one Body made up of many members, saved by the same faith, united by the Holy Spirit. He gave leaders and gifts to the Church to help it grow and minister to each other and the world. And yet there is one element of church life that can destroy all that God desires to accomplish through this Body: people.

I have often said that the church is made up of people, and where people are involved things get messy. Conflict is a part of church life. It doesn’t take twenty years of church membership to know this is true. Unfortunately, though we know conflict exists in the church, we usually go on without knowing how to deal with it, solve it, and move on in our walk with Christ together. Yet there is more to conflict than just “dealing it.” We have the ability to redeem conflict and come out of it healthier, closer to God and each other.

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Bible

Devotion: Hebrews 11:13-16

June 1, 2012June 1, 2012 Chris

Each month I have the opportunity to speak and share music a couple of times at the chapel of our local nursing home.
This is the devotion I shared on a recent visit there.

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as “The Hall of Fame of Faith.” We are taking some time to look at the individuals and other teachings about faith in this chapter of Scripture.

So far we have defined faith (v.1), and spoken of several individuals who lived by faith. Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother. Enoch walked with God and was taken into Heaven without having to die. Noah heard God’s warnings and built the Ark to save his family from the Flood. Abraham obeyed God, leaving his home when God said “Go,” he waited for the land that God promised him, and he trusted in God to do what he promised.

Then we run into verse 13 that tells us something that seems out of place about these people of faith.

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Book Reviews, Ministry

Book Review: “Every Leader’s Everest” by Jim C. Molloy

January 16, 2012January 16, 2012 Chris

As a leader, do you know what your greatest struggle is? Various answers may be running through your head. “Getting people to follow.” “Knowing how to make good decisions.” “Coming up with some kind of vision or direction for the people I lead.”

While all of these are genuine concerns, they are not your greatest struggle. It is not an external force, but an internal one; one that lies within you and threatens all that you hope to accomplish. Jim Molloy reveals the worst enemy of leadership in “Every Leader’s Everest.”

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Christian Living

Being A Christian Should Affect How Your Boss Sees You

July 20, 2011July 20, 2011 Chris

You probably know the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Some of the top guys in the kingdom of Persia didn’t like that Daniel was getting so friendly with King Darius. So they tricked the king into signing a law that no one could pray to anyone but him for 30 days. Daniel, of course, only prayed to God, and did so three times a day. It was easy for them to catch him breaking the new law and have him sentenced to the lion’s den.

But there’s a part of this story that we might miss if we do not read the story slow enough. There is something for us to learn from Daniel and his relationship with his boss, King Darius.

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Bible, Christian Living

One Reason God Is Not Answering Your Prayers

July 14, 2011July 14, 2011 Chris

Are you waiting for God to do something in your life? Is God providing in your time of need? Is He intervening in your relational problems? Has He brought healing to your life?

You have probably heard of various reasons why your prayers are not being answered. Some typical answers from Christians are, “It just isn’t God’s time,” or, “God is waiting to see if you continue to trust Him, praying until you receive.” Some harsher reasons might be, “You don’t have enough faith; you have to really believe,” or “There is sin in your life and you have to get rid of it first.” We also hear more biblical reasons such, “You aren’t asking for the right things.”

Jesus told His disciples about one key to answered prayer. If we are crying out to God and aren’t seeing results, we take a moment to see if this key is part of our lives.

Continue reading “One Reason God Is Not Answering Your Prayers” →

Each month I have the opportunity to speak and share music a couple of times at the chapel of our local nursing home. This is the devotion I shared on a recent visit there.

Each month I have the opportunity to speak and share music a couple of times at the chapel of our local nursing home.
This is the devotion I shared on a recent visit there.