Tag: Christianity

Christian Living

Blood Moon Disappointment: What happens when hope for Christ’s return gets misdirected

Chris

Millions of Christians woke up this morning and turned on their favorite news outlets. Televisions, computers, smartphones and tablets tuned their signals to see if any news came out of Israel overnight.

The spark that created this firestorm was a heavenly event. In the sky early this morning was a rare occurrence, a full moon eclipse. What makes this lunar eclipse extra special is that it comes on the Jewish holy day of Passover, the celebration of God’s deliverance from centuries of slavery in Egypt.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk

But the reason that all of this spurred so many to check their news this morning was the startling appearance that such an eclipse makes in the sky. From a bright, white, full moon the Earth’s only natural satellite gradually turns red as the Earth’s shadow passes over it. Some call it a “blood moon”. And there are many who hoped that this happening would spark an event that would signal the closeness of the return of Jesus Christ.

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Christian Living

The Road to Life is NOT an Easy Road

Chris

One of the songs that put Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman on the map in his early career was one that talked about how great the road to Heaven is. “There’s no better place on earth than the road that leads to Heaven. No other place I’d rather be.”

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A lot of times we talk about the Christian life as a great place where our troubles pass away, sickness is healed, and every need is provided for. We draw a picture of how God works all things for our good and wipes away every tear.

While each of these statements comes from Scripture, we have a tendency to place God’s promises where they don’t belong. For example, God will wipe away every tear in the New Jerusalem where we enjoy eternity with Him (Revelation 21:1-4). In our zeal to lead souls to Jesus, we have to be careful not to dye the grass so green that we do not prepare those souls for the realities of following Jesus.

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Christian Living

Saying “NO”: The danger of refusing God’s call to action

Chris

You might be familiar with the “omni” statements about God. The term omni “is a Latin prefix meaning ‘all’ or ‘every’” (Wikipedia). When placed at the beginning of a word it means all or every of that descriptor. Thanks to dinosaur movies many people know that to be a herbivore is to eat plants, a carnivore eats meat, and an omnivore eats it all.

The “omni” statements about God include some very amazing truths about Him. Our God is omniscient, which means that He knows all things. He is also omnipresent, not being restricted to time and space, He is everywhere at once. God is also omnipotent, which means that He is all-powerful.

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These three ideas quickly come into play when we start to think about and discuss the will of God. If God is all-powerful, all-seeing and everywhere, surely He can accomplish His will very easily. All He has to do is make someone do it. But God is not in the business of making people do things. Instead He leads us to it and gives us the choice to walk in it or ignore it.

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Christian Living

A Leap into the Unknown

Chris

Last week I went for a ride in a vehicle I haven’t stepped on in a long time. I’ll spare the suspense and spill the beans. It was a newer model school bus. No, I’m not taking a joyride back to my teen years. And I’m not staging a bullying intervention. I rode the bus for almost eight hours to welcome some exchange students to our country, our city, and for one lucky contestant, into our home.

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For the past several weeks our church has talked about seeing and receiving the “new” with God. Sitting behind these students on a school bus, I couldn’t help but draw some comparisons.

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Christian Living, Church Life

Passing the Buck: How we apply what we believe about the will of God

Chris

There is a common thought, a philosophy, that resides deep in the hearts of modern Christians. It is based on upon our belief that the will of God always finds its completion. Somehow, some way, through someone, God will be certain to accomplish what He desires.

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This line of thought is used by many as a way to excuse themselves from the pressing call of God on their hearts and lives. Afraid of the unknown, they look for a back door or a loophole that will give them permission to ignore that press of the Holy Spirit.

Two issues arise from the presence of this philosophy. Do we really see this expression of the will of God in Scripture? And what happens when we take ourselves out of the equation of the fulfillment of God’s will? But first, let’s look at what this belief is and how it permeates Christ’s Church.

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Church Life

Which Kind of “T.P.” Describes Your Church?

Chris

Disclaimer: If you are squeamish or believe that every picture or message about God and the church must be proper and finely tuned, do NOT read this post.  Read at your own risk.

Have you ever had one of those “Eureka!” moments that you felt like you couldn’t share with anyone? That happened to me today. One crazy thought led to a series of truths that are so, well, true.

They are truths about the church. Not the “big C”, Church, the living body of Jesus Christ where He is the head and all the pieces are being brought together and shaped into a living temple of the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about the church, the local assembly of believers that joins in a building to worship, pray, serve, and preach the Gospel.

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Oh, and there’s one more thing you need to know up front. These truths are inspired by T.P. That’s code for toilet paper. Yeah, I know your mind is racing at top speed thinking about things it shouldn’t, so let’s jump to the good stuff.

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