Church Blog (Page 74)
Series: Running toward the Prize. #4. “Let us run with endurance” (Heb.12:1).
Whatever happened to passion and determination? Are they still alive and well? The very fact that some speak of their extinction speaks volumes about where their focus is set. It is when we lose sight of these that we must question our own spiritual driving forces. Running toward the prize is not the same as having the prize in hand. Much energy may yet have to be expended between now and then. We are saved by grace, but that does…
Series: Running toward the Prize. #3. “The sin that so easily holds us back.”
The Lord’s church must be ever vigilant to instil a sense of personal accountability in matters of belief. When members rely completely upon that which is taught from the ‘front’ as their reason for believing, they will be in for some very rough sailing when challenged to defend their faith. When life-long Bible students – you and me – come to our group Bible studies armed with knowledge and understanding, we come as those who are taught of God. Such…
Series: Running toward the Prize. #2. “What’s holding you back?”
The Great Depression generation of the 1930s didn’t think as we do today. Jobs were few, money was in short supply, and resources expensive. Theirs was a make-do culture. Meals and clothes were made from that which was available and waste was not tolerated. Broken things were repaired and borrowed things were expected back. Those who lived to see it were horrified at the throw-away society of the last 40+ years. Those depression years affected the way they saw life…
Series: Running toward the Prize. #1. “You are surrounded!”
I have a friend in Zimbabwe who loves Formula One Racing. Lord willing, I will one day join him in the crowd. If his enthusiasm is anything to go by, then it is true what they say: “Grand Prix is electrifying.” As you know, in Formula One, ‘Pole Position’ (the racing car at the front of the starting grid) is the best place to be. No less than 40% of races are won from Pole Position. As much as it…
I walk with the King.#10. “
Out of Darkness and into the Light.”If you see ‘The Light,’ you must decide if you are willing to forfeit the pleasures of darkness to walk in it. Baptism purified you in God’s eyes, and it is for righteousness that you now live.Coming-and-going from the light is guaranteeing a miserable life. “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (Eph.5:8). The Light of Christ in you, (and around you in…
I walk with the King.#9. “For God, King, and Country.”
It seems a million years since I heard my father tell stories from his service days in WWII (he passed away in 1973). These were strictly ‘stories from the good times.’ To this day the British Commonwealth motto: “For God, King, and Country” brings forth both pride and sadness in my heart. Dad, and so many others around the world, left home and country to ensure that tyranny would not invade our shores. I owe the freedoms I have enjoyed…
I walk with the King.#8. “Tread lightly.”
When I was 10 years old, I envied one of the boys in our street because he went away to camp for 6 weeks. This was an injustice that needed to be righted. My mother, the most patient of women, endured my talk of ‘wanting to go to camp’ for only so long. To bring things to an end, she told me the sad truth. “He went to a Health Camp,” she said. “That is where they send children because…
I walk with the King.#7. “In the workplace.”
The secular workplace can be faith’s hardest testing ground. For those who have been blessed to land jobs that are clean and wholesome, more power to you—Praise the Lord! But spare a thought for those who wake up to less-than-ideal places of employment. Many work around people who think bad language, blasphemy and smut normal. And things get even harder in jobs where intimidation is tolerated or encouraged. If so, change jobs a.s.a.p. Language and behaviour that offends a Christian…
I walk with the King.#6. “Walking to please God.”
Ambition is a sword that swings both ways—get on the wrong side of it and you will be cut asunder. The Lord’s church is to face the devil with victory in its eye. It is for heaven we have set our course, and we expect our feet to be dogged by the devil and his demons every step of the way. Congregations can be too much about formulating and creating and not enough about receiving proper guidance.Along with the Thessalonian…
I walk with the King.#5. “Walking away.”
Depending on the kind of congregation you were a part of back in the day, missing a Sunday morning, Sunday night, or Wednesday night church meeting for anything other than death or near-death reasons might have caused someone to enquire as to whether you had forsaken the assembly. Things have indeed changed! In many places the opposite is true today. Many brethren pick and choose which church service to attend according to whim, not duty. No matter what the environment,…