Conclusion. God offers us so much, yet we often settle for the smallest taste. King David made three choices early in his reign that deepened God’s relationship with him and the nation. As David continued to reach for more, God finally promised him the impossible.
Tag: Christianity
Sola Scriptura: How One Rule Keeps Us Straight when it Comes to God
There is a moment from my opening days of Bible College that I love to share. It comes from the first day of our Systematic Theology course. Who knew such a simple exercise could have such an impact on my heart?
The professor asked us to take out a sheet of paper. We were given a few minutes to write out everything we knew about God. After we finished and the papers were collected, we were told to expect the same assignment at the close of the semester. Sure enough, that day came and we wrote new descriptions about God, and they were much longer, filled with the theological words and ideas we acquired over those months of study.
It is incredibly helpful to take a course in theology. Doing so forces the student to “unlearn what he has learned” on his own in order to grow and accept what Scripture actually shows about God and how He relates with humanity. So many don’t have such an opportunity. Left to develop an understanding of God on their own, there is a great danger that can cause serious problems for us. Thankfully there is a simple rule to keep us safe.
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Audio: Freedom is the Only Way to Live
Part 8. We like the idea of freedom for prisoners and the oppressed, but we forget the power of Freedom in the life of the Believer. When we give up our Freedom, when we choose to walk another way, we let go of the most basic building blocks of life in Christ. A life without Freedom is a life stuck in a dangerous place.
God or Sin? A Choice that Cannot be Avoided
Every life has to make a crucial decision. It is the most important decision you will ever make. No, it isn’t your major in university or the person you are going to marry. It isn’t even the church you will attend. The biggest decision you will make in life is whether you will follow God’s Word or choose any one of the countless other paths in life.
This decision doesn’t stop to weigh all of the ins and outs of each path. There are no reconnaissance missions to scope them out for a distance and bring back a report on each one. No graph exists to organize the bumpiest roads from the smoother ones. You won’t find a color-coded report highlighting roads with more or less traffic on them. It’s a simple choice. You can choose God’s road or any other road. The only road with a unique destination is the one God calls us to. All of the others, regardless of promised joys, successes, accomplishments, or gratifications, all end up together.
My purpose here, though, isn’t to draw lines between the roads. God’s Word does a very clear job of that. Instead, I think we need to be reminded about the reality of the decision itself. We may find it uncomfortable to talk about, and we might even try to imagine that it doesn’t exist. But this choice is real, and we have to keep making it everyday.
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Audio: Jesus’ Mission of Freedom
Part 7. To call oneself a Christian is to assume a life dedicated to following the model Jesus set out for us. We all know Jesus came to die for us, but the Cross was not the entirety of His mission. As Jesus began His ministry, He was very specific about announcing that mission. We need to be reminded of it, and take our place in doing the same.
Audio: Revealing the Burden of Purity
Part 5. Those who live in the lane of Purity have a hard road ahead of them. Maintaining that life is a lot of work. We volunteer for it, accept it, but miss so much more of what Christ promises and gives to us. If we don’t learn how to change lanes, our lives will weaken and suffer.
Chris MacKinnon 