If we love Him, we obey Him. In my opinion, this is the hardest teaching that Jesus ever gave. Lately, this instruction on obedience has been coming up a lot, and challenging me to my core.
Why do we do what we do? Are we stuck between legalistic church life (pursing religious piety) and prideful rebellion (self-seeking glory)? How are these behaviours centred on the Gospel? How are they reflecting Jesus to our world?
Human beings have been tempted to keep a spiritual checklist for centuries; striving to do enough good or avoid enough bad to be accepted by God. It’s an unhealthy temptation of our sinful nature that slips into the church. It surfaces when someone is trying to be a “good Christian” by adhering to certain rules and standards.
What is boasting? According to Merriam-Webster, boasting is defined as, “to speak with exaggeration and excessive pride, especially about oneself.” Unfortunately, many people struggle with self-boasting, present company included. It happens so quickly and easily.
As Believers, we can get caught up in what we ought to do, or ought not to do. We try to justify our feelings about actions we should be or shouldn’t be taking. All of this is in order to achieve a type of holiness through self-imposed regulations.
Loss is hard. I remember walking with my wife after losing her father. It was really hard. However, when I think back, it was during our family’s sorrow that I found a renewed understanding of eternity and God’s faithfulness.
Goal-setting is so important! When I was a youth pastor, taking trips was a key part of the ministry. Before we left, we would have an evening of spiritual preparation; a group session to discuss the spiritual goals for the experience. Goal setting can be a great addition to any conference or mission experience, to increase the impact of the trip.
I have learned a lot from being a father. Here’s a lesson I learned from my oldest son when he was 3 years old. To give some context, my wife had spent the weekend away, so my son and I got to have a few days of quality time together. God used him to teach me how obedience and dependency on Him are connected.
Children have supernatural thoughts. Having three sons is an adventure, to say the least. All three of them have been full of imagination and strong will. Here’s an account of when my oldest son was 3 years old and led us down an interesting discussion about God.
For many Christians, a certain verse or passage can carry more importance or perhaps, becomes easier to memorize. This is because of its attachment to particular events in their life. Sometimes attached to their salvation or baptism. This piece of Scripture becomes an anchor used to solidify their faith, and throughout their faith journey, comes to be known as a “life-verse”.
We need to take a deep, hard look inside ourselves and get to some honesty. If we have no desire to strive whatsoever, if we feel no compulsion to proclaim Christ, teach or admonish each other in any way, we have got some serious work to do in our hearts.
In Colossians 1:28, Paul lays out his purpose. According to him, it’s the reason he labours, strives, and works so hard in ministry. He desperately wants every Believer in Christ to be presented complete, in their faith and mission. He wants every Christian to be fully equipped disciples for Jesus.