Open Handed
At one of our last summer youth meetings, I went up to our host and told him thanks for letting us come and over run his house. His response although quick and most likely something he has said multiple times has been poking me in the side since. He simply said, “It’s not my house, it’s God’s”. There is a lot of power in that statement for me. It’s so against everything I feel like the culture is teaching me. It’s all about me, I should do it all for me and put myself first and man that just comes naturally for me. To see my possessions not as my own and not something I earn, but instead as a gift from God to further his glory and kingdom even when it isn’t convenient for me or what I want to spend my resources on is...
Pointing towards Home – Thought 2
So per the last post in my series ‘Pointing towards Home‘, I want to share another thought relative to the glorious existence that awaits us on the other side of death. I know that Death is a sincere ache for those who have lost their loved one, but for those who love and follow Christ, there is a joy hidden. I have been captured by the idea that I am going to be able to tell the family of Christ that I love, “KNOW that I will see you there. Jesus promises it to us.” If this is spoken in faith and realizes the scope of eternity, this will give real solace, hope and joy in a time of loss. This may not quell the painful circumstances that follow here in this life for those that are left, but to know that those who are gone have simply...
Disappointment
There are a lot of sad headlines these days, but this may be the saddest I have been in a long while: SURVEY: CHURCHGOERS MORE LIKELY TO BACK TORTURE The link went to this CNN story with a little less reactionary headline: Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful: Read here It boils down to this: I small survey showed that 54% of churchgoers said torture was sometimes or often necessary. I guess all that “love your enemy” stuff only counts if you are a Roman Centurion. No wonder we are losing the world. I think I will just decide that this was a poorly done poll seized on by the media to give us a bad name. There, that feels better.
Defined
You know one of my last post got me thinking about how much other people’s opinions of me effect me and how much the appearance I want to convey effects me. How much their defining me can hurt or help my life. I even do this to myself, defining myself by my strengths, abilities and even by my shortcomings and sins. This can create a really bumpy ride for me, trying to meet expectations and dealing with failed ones, but I need to remember stop and remind myself that I am defined. Not by Satan, the world, the media, my boss, my coworkers, my enemies, my friends, my wife or even myself. I am defined by the one who made me and I am his beloved child.
The Right Comparisons
This is a devotional I received from a friend from At His Feet. Whom God Uses It’s quite an intimidating list. if you think about it. Abraham the man of faith Moses the lawgiver David, a man after God’s own heart Elijah the prophet Peter the rock Paul the evangelist Heroes of our faith. God’s anointed. Role models we can never live up to. Or so we think. It is profoundly encouraging that the great examples of faith and godliness in the Bible are not really the superhuman spiritual giants we’ve traditionally made them out to be. If they were, few of us would be eligible for God’s service. We just can’t relate to their spiritual stature. Lets take another look at that list. Abraham the liar (Gen 12:13) and the impatient one...
Prone to Distraction
i⋅dol /ˈaɪdl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ahyd-l] Show IPA –noun 1. an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed. 2. Bible. a. an image of a deity other than God. b. the deity itself. 3. any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol. wor⋅ship /ˈwɜrʃɪp/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [wur-ship] Show IPA noun, verb, -shiped, -ship⋅ing or (especially British) -shipped, -ship⋅ping. –noun 1. reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. 2. formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning. 3. adoring reverence or regard: excessive...