Church Blog (Page 37)
Labels#12. “Divisive.”
To deal with the divisive is to strike at the heart of Satan’s demolition crew. Never are the destructive more willing to implode a church than when they are confronted with their evil ways. Knowing they have nothing to lose, they attempt to “torch the place” on their way out—I have seen it with my own eyes! The strength of a congregation resides in its collective faith and love (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4). Years of labouring together in the church as…
Labels#11. “Enemies.”
It is a rare day that a Christian will admit, “That person is my enemy.” They know better than to say such a thing. Instead, they would tend to speak in terms of: “That person treats me as if I am an enemy of theirs;” thus putting it back on the other person. Every child of God will accumulate enemies; it goes with the calling. Jesus said that the world will hate us as it hated him (John 15:18-19). However,…
Labels#10. “Lukewarm.”
It is a strange irony that every lukewarm Christian that I have met has been the nicest of people. They were characteristically congenial, and when their sensibilities were challenged, they tended to default quickly to their agreeable dispositions. One would wonder if the world would be a better place if everybody was like them. Of course, I am only skimming the surface of things when suggesting that every lukewarm person lives to please others. Crack that pleasing veneer open and…
Labels#9. “Biased.”
The first major principle of study that Terry Brown taught us at Bible College was: “No one comes to a subject as if a blank sheet of paper.” That was 40 years ago, and it was exactly what I needed to hear at that beginning point. Since then, it has helped me to smile when I have discovered that all my “original ideas” were somehow miraculously written down by scholars long before I was born. When making decisions or judgements…
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Labels#8. “Bitter.”
Bitterness of spirit is a sad thing to behold. I have known Christians who lived and died believing that God and man alike had deliberately dealt them one bad hand after another. Nothing was their fault, and you would be adding your name to a very long list of enemies if you told them so. One can hear echoes of Esau’s bitter cry when realising that he was bested by his brother, Jacob (Genesis 27:34). Conversely, I have met very…
Labels#7. “Scared.”
The older one gets the less they are likely to care about admitting to their fears. By contrast, it takes a brave child to shrug off those dreaded words, “Are you scared?” I asked a brother if he had been to Queenstown and seen the spectacular scenery from the gondola. He said, “I went on the gondola, but I saw nothing.” I wondered if there had been a strange happening that prevented everyone from seeing anything. But he continued, “I…
Labels#6. “Useless.”
Before I had a major operation the surgical team visited my bedside. I appreciated the reassuring tones of the conversation and admired them for believing it possible that I might be able to understand a word they were saying. When they asked me if I had any questions, I saw myself as a TV Medical Drama patient who was trying to nod and smile in all the right places. This team had a job to do, and someone somewhere had…
Labels#5. “Arrogant!”
In my early teens, I attended a few evening Bible Classes held at a Catholic school. One of the classes covered the mythical story of Narcissus, the handsome young man who fell in love with his own reflection. Though there is more to the story, it ends with him gazing into a pool of water and slowly pining away and dying. In recent years we have heard the term Narcissus applied to more than a few people; both great and…
Labels#4. “Crazy!”
Jesus’ life had become unhinged as far as his family was concerned. It was time for an “intervention.” They had concluded that the pressures of ministry—relentless crowds and being unable to find time to eat—had pushed him over the edge. Their prognosis? “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21). You can only imagine the hand wringing as Jesus’ family tried to decide what to do with their temporarily insane brother. Having obviously achieved consensus, and having left to collect…