You have churches popping up all over the place and yet still more and more churches are dying out. It’s like a consumerist propaganda, each church is trying to sell themselves as having what the guy down the street doesn’t have and I hear people comparing churches like they compare hamburger joints. The preferences over theology, music, eschatology, liturgy, and preaching style have caused a great splintering of the evangelical Church in America.
He watches their face as they hear about who Jesus is and what He has done for them. Then just like on Christmas morning and you realize just all the nifty things your gift can actually do–God waits to see the smile on that person’s face when they realize their sins can be forgiven through Jesus. You know, the Bible is chalked full of stories about people who heard about God’s gift to them for the first time.
That doesn’t sound safe. That doesn’t sound like Abraham was in his comfort zone. That doesn’t sound like Abraham was trusting in himself and leaning on his own understanding. Further, when God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son–the one thing that was his dream and his great love and joy Abraham was willing to do this demonstrating that he loved God more than anything or anyone else (see Luke 14:26). Would you be willing to follow God to a foreign land or be willing to give up as a sacrifice to God the one thing/person you loved the most?
Think about the phrases we use. “Ask Jesus into your heart” “Become born again.” “Trust Jesus with your soul.” “Just believe.” These things become “Christianise” to the world. Here’s the thing. There’s not a specific terminology. There’s not a special wording you need when you pray. There’s no secret or magic based on what you say when you pray or exact wording to use when you ask for grace. God is more interested with what is in your heart then how many “hail Mary”s you can say and He cares more about what you do than whether or not you can recite the Lord’s Prayer.
I got in the car to drive home just like any other day. But on this particular day… it was different. My heart was still pounding in my chest as I got in the car. I turned on the air as I drove home hoping that would calm me down. I cranked up the music. Hot tears flooded my eyes–I blinked in an attempt to make them go away. I finally pulled my car into my driveway and let out a deep sigh hoping I could convince myself everything was going to be ok.
Why did I leave Facebook open on my computer? Then, slowly at first but quickly I realized why in a age by-gone we used to disconnect with people. The grim reality strikes that you cannot possibly keep up with hundreds of people even if you wanted to. It is not humanly possible to be close friends with so many people. Who has time for that anyways?
“I’m not cut out for that ministry.” She said, reluctant to tell me “No.” “Maybe not,” I replied hoping to convince her that I felt God wanted to use her despite what she thought. “But how will you know unless you try? God often seeks out people unqualified; He often is seeking to push us outside our comfort zones, what is impossible with us is totally possible with God.” She squirmed a little, looked at me a reluctantly and said politely, “Well, I’ll pray about it.”
Have you ever wondered the purpose in the Bible commanding us to give thanks? Let’s face it, does God really need our thanks? Why is it commanded? What’s the point of thankfulness? What does it accomplish in our lives? What purpose does it serve in the body of the Church? If we as Christians-the body of Christ were to be more thankful, I wonder, how would that make us different? What would change??
Do you remember when you were a kid? If your mom was anything like mine she made you say, “I’m sorry”. In fact your mother probably drilled that into you. But what about now? When was the last time you went to someone and ate the humble pie and said “Hey I was wrong and I’m sorry.” Think for a minute. Is there someone in your life today with whom you need to be reconciled? Perhaps someone with whom there has been a rift for years and years. Go make amends. Go ask for forgiveness. Go and make reconciliation today.
When you set your alarm for the morning, you intend to sleep soundly through the night so that when you awaken to your alarm, you are rested and ready to tackle a new day. However, you’re awaken by an unusual culprit: whether it be the garbage truck making short work of the dumpster outside your apartment, a neighbor’s dog who is looking to scare a squirrel witless or a strange dream that causes you to wake up in a cold sweat, you find your sleep disrupted by an unexpected wake up call.