Tag: Life

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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Ministry

Tests of Leadership (2): When the People Push

Chris

Leadership isn’t easy. Somehow our minds have latched on to the idea that to be the leader is to oversee, kick back, and watch as everything falls into place. When the Word of God is clear, people will follow. If troubles arise, people will trust. And the leader gets to enjoy what is accomplished.

This is nothing like real leadership. Real leadership understands that difficulties will come. Enemies will need to be fought off. Obstacles will have to be crossed. Struggles will affect the lives of individuals and of the whole. The leader has to remain steadfast through the difficulties as he/she points to the unchangeable Word.

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It is important for the leader to keep his/her eye on that Word at all times, because there will be days when that Word will be challenged. When his gaze is focused the leader will be able to stand against those voices. When his gaze wanders, so will his resolve. And doing the right thing will fall to the will of the masses.

One of the most difficult situations a leader will face does not come from a competitor or oversight committee. It isn’t overt until it builds enough steam to try and roll you over. It is the push from the people called to follow the leader. Because of difficulty or unbelief or insubordination, the followers gather together to push the leader in their direction.

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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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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.

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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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