Tag: Life

Christian Living, Ministry

Are You Developmentally Challenged?

Chris

Okay, okay. I’m not trying to belittle any true challenges or struggles people face today. Please, don’t send any hate mail.

The question posed here has to do with your continual growth, both personally and professionally. Are you growing? How are you facilitating that growth? Do you even believe that you need to grow?

You’ve probably heard this adage: “You cannot truly sit still. You are either moving forward or backward.” It’s been applied to our Christian walk, our relationships, and our professional lives. But do we take it seriously? Do we live like this statement is true?

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Book Reviews

Book Review: All In

Chris

Risk is a part of our lives, almost every moment of every day. In the past twelve months, salmonella ran through 42 states because of what some thought was tomatoes, though many would confess they don’t have a clue where it came from. And now it’s been linked to peanut butter. From driving in your car, to opening a milk carton, risk is everywhere. Whether we realize it or not, we’re risk takers. For some of us, the risks are more obvious. For example, this past summer my mother went parachuting. (I’m not ready for that one yet.) The real question is, are we taking the risks that matter? That’s point of Michael DiMarco’s book, “All In: Gambling on Life, Love & Faith in a World of Risk ”

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Christian Living

How do you know, that you know, that you know?

Chris

In a small group meeting this weekend, I talked about the Theory of the Heart, and I mentioned how one aspect of including our heart in worship is to love God. One of our discussion questions asked how we can fall more in love with God. The answers were your typical Bible study answers: pray, read your Bible more, talk to God, worship. And I heard one member of the group comment, “Man, I wish someone would just give a straight answer.”

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Christian Living

Delays

Chris

I traveled home to Minnesota this week for the privilege of standing next to my brother as he tied the knot.  It’s a good thing we had some things to look forward to this week, because we faced a terrible traveling situation flying out.

We showed up for a 5 pm flight out of Portland, Maine, on time around 3 pm.  After checking in at a kiosk with the help of a nice security/baggage guy, we had our boarding passes and headed for security, feeling like we were on our way.

After passing quickly through the check point, we were headed for our gate when we heard our names on the PA system, calling us to a different gate for a message.  The friendly airline employee asked if anyone had explained our flight delay to us.  My wife and I looked at each other and knew we were in trouble.

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Christian Living

Victory or Peace?

Chris

It’s been almost two weeks since the passing of my father-in-law, but some of the lessons I’ve learned in the past month stand at the forefront of my thoughts and conversations.

I mentioned previously that he was convinced he was under the attack of Satan, and therefore needed deliverance and victory.  Since he slept little in his last months, he would often stay up most of the night watching Christian television.  He called in and signed up for information from an evangelist who promised healing and prosperity and spiritual victory, as long as we sent X-amount of dollars each time we received a mailing.  Books on divine healing would come in and he would read them, he would try the miracle spring water and the Dead Sea salt because he was so desperate for deliverance.

For those of you who might not have guessed from that last paragraph, I am a Spirit-filled believer and minister who believes in what God has provided us through the death of His Son (for example, read Isaiah 53 and 61).  But at a certain point in the dark valleys of life, we need to grapple with whether God wants us to trust in Him for victory, or for peace.

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Bible, Christian Living

What else could it be? Questions about sickness.

Chris

This week I’ve been thinking about my father-in-law.  Most of you wouldn’t know him from Adam, so I think I’m safe discussing things here.  Actually, he is on our minds a lot.  Why?  Because he’s dying.  There’s no easy way to come around to it, it’s just a matter of time. 

A few summers ago he had a series of strokes and possibly heart attacks that so ravaged his body that the doctor’s never expected him to live.  But he came out, for the most part, with little consequence.  About a year ago he had surgery for colon cancer, and they removed as much as they could; some was still near the spine, and that has since made it into his bone.  And now a genetic disease, Huntington’s Disease, that most of us knew would be kicking in, has come on full force and is taking his mind.

Continue reading “What else could it be? Questions about sickness.” →