Part 9. When the local community hears a prison full of inmates was released, they hide in fear of what might happen to them. The Church has a similar fear of those who claim freedom in Christ. We need to remember that a life of freedom is not lawlessness, but is forever subject to a greater law.
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.
Part 4. We begin looking at the lane of Purity and find out how it has driven us as Pentecostals so far down the road. Purity is essential to godly living and knowing God, but it has a purpose. We have turned it into something God didn’t intend, and so we misuse and abuse it.
Part 3. Even the smallest difference in opinion can divide deeply, whether in politics or in the Church. We sit like armies, each one camped upon a hill, with the valley of war between us. Though we start down the Narrow Road together in joy, we drift to one of two sides. This week we learn what separated us and what each side has chosen to fight for.
One of my favorite parts of church is the singing. My life was always filled with music. We learned how to play the recorder in Grade 3. In Grade 5 we were given the chance to sign up for the school band. When I went home and told my parents I needed a trumpet, they were quite surprised. All through my school years I was part of the choir, which is where I learned music theory. Later I took that knowledge and taught myself to play the piano and the guitar.
Songs can stick with us for years. It will be a long time before people stop hearing the music of Disney’s Frozen every time they hear the phrase, “Let it go.” The songs we sing in church have the same power. We may not be able to remember them in their entirety, but parts of those songs can sink deep into our memories. They help us remember powerful truths about God and life. And no matter our situation, we can pull those songs out of our hearts, any time and any place.
Scripture describes what we do with our songs using many powerful words. One of these tells us to take the words we sing and use them to take God from the back burner of our minds and put Him front and center.
Continue reading “Magnify the Lord: Making God Bigger in Our Lives”
I am a child of the 80’s and early 90’s. My parents wouldn’t let me listen to secular music, and for the most part I didn’t stray away from the Contemporary Christian Music scene. Anyone who grew up in the church back then listened to one of the greatest Christian storytellers of all time: Carman.
You never knew what to expect on a Carman album. There’d usually be one great story like “The Champion” or “A Witch’s Invitation.” Though his music is considered contemporary, Carman is versed in many styles of music. And he proved it with the song, “Addicted to Jesus.”
It was a venture that a few other CCM artists would bravely dive into with mixed results. Partnering with growing sensation DC Talk, it involved adding a hip hop, from the street feel. We were called to this positive addiction, obsessed with the Son of God, the Word of God, and in prayer.
There is nothing more amazing than feeling the power of the Creator of the universe touch your life. God created us with a desire in our hearts and souls that can only be satisfied by Him. No amount of pleasure or treasure can fill that hole. So when that hole inside of us actually connects with the one true God, our lives yearn for it to happen again. But can we go too far? Can we be addicted to Jesus in a bad way?
Continue reading “Addicted: Understanding the purpose of God’s touch”
Chris MacKinnon 