Tag: God

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.

which-way

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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Church Life

Taking Care of the “church”

Chris

The church. It is a North American icon. If you search the internet for images of a church you will see country churches and cathedrals, some made of stone and others out of wood. There will be lots of steeples and crosses.

If you drive around your city you will probably see a church or two, or ten, or twenty. Large and small churches. Traditional and modern churches. The one on the corner was renovated last year. One with an orange top was built more recently. And that old one made of stone was converted into a bed and breakfast.

crumbling church

Have you ever stopped to think about the significance of the church building? While they don’t seem to have the same appeal as they once did, with some folks shouting that they aren’t even necessary anymore, what would our attitude be towards the church?

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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.

plane_runway2

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.

womanchurchpew_unlockingfeminity

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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Christian Living

A Fresh Start

Chris

It is January 1st. Happy New Year! Whether you stayed up to watch a ball drop or two, or you went to bed early because you aren’t much of a night owl, you woke up to the first day of 2014.

january-calendar

Today isn’t too much different from yesterday, though. The sun still rose in the East and will set in the West. The bills you had to pay are still waiting for you. Your job still needs to be done, even if you get to enjoy a day off today.

When we get to New Year’s we talk a lot about starting over, starting fresh. We look forward to all of the good that is coming during the next twelve months while we try to forget all of the difficult trials of those past. But January 1st isn’t as magical as we would all like to be.

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Christian Living

Don’t Let Christmas Redefine Your Joy

Chris

Christmas is the season of many things. At our church we are looking at four aspects of life that Christmas promises and guarantees for us. They are familiar words that you see all over the place at Christmas. One of those aspects of life is Joy.

joy blocks

At Christmas we talk a lot about joy. Joy is in our songs and cards. We plan and attend parties for work, parties with family and parties at church. Sometimes we do it all over again a week later for New Year’s. But is this what joy is all about? Presents, twinkling lights, eggnog, cookies and taking a breather from real life? What happens when real life reappears on January 2nd?

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