A lie goes half way around the world before the truth can get its pants on.—Winston Churchill
Monday, January 14, 2008
election year
I can't resist. I know that this is quite an aside from what I usually share here, but this being a big election year, and the media assault already being well underway, I just have to share this quote. It seems apropos.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
success
I've been trying (unsuccessfully until now) to write this post for several weeks now. It started when I came across this from Wilbur Chapman:
You see, there are several different directions to consider this thought from. An obvious application is to turn away from sin or any empty, unprofitable pursuit. Less obvious is the need to cease (or at least suspend for a time) otherwise good things which we replace God with in our lives. Sometimes good things can be the obstacle to our faith if improperly motivated or done for selfish reasons. Therein lies the difficulty I've had with this post.
In Chapman's quote, there's the phrase "...makes Christian work difficult, ..." My dilemma is that sometimes Christian work is the problem. This is not to say that the work in itself is bad; I'm talking about the attitude with which the work is done. Hopefully that distinction is clear.
The other thing that made this post difficult is that it hit home with me; God has been pruning in my life and some of the things he is showing me that need to go are a few of my involvements at my church! In unto themselves, these involvements are good but they are obstacles to my walk with God, ultimately, because I am not doing them depending on Christ for the power. As such, these activities are not fruitful in God's eyes and are burdens (rather than blessings) to me.
Just as I have prayerfully considered these things in my life, let me caution you not to rationalize away your ministries in a church body or in the lives of people that God has placed into your life. Let us look at every aspect of our lives through the lens of the Word; consider John 15:4, where Jesus says
Success in God's eyes, a fruitful life, is a life in which every activity finds it's basis in trusting him.
Anything that dims my vision for Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps me in my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me; and I must, as a Christian turn away from it.
You see, there are several different directions to consider this thought from. An obvious application is to turn away from sin or any empty, unprofitable pursuit. Less obvious is the need to cease (or at least suspend for a time) otherwise good things which we replace God with in our lives. Sometimes good things can be the obstacle to our faith if improperly motivated or done for selfish reasons. Therein lies the difficulty I've had with this post.
In Chapman's quote, there's the phrase "...makes Christian work difficult, ..." My dilemma is that sometimes Christian work is the problem. This is not to say that the work in itself is bad; I'm talking about the attitude with which the work is done. Hopefully that distinction is clear.
The other thing that made this post difficult is that it hit home with me; God has been pruning in my life and some of the things he is showing me that need to go are a few of my involvements at my church! In unto themselves, these involvements are good but they are obstacles to my walk with God, ultimately, because I am not doing them depending on Christ for the power. As such, these activities are not fruitful in God's eyes and are burdens (rather than blessings) to me.
Just as I have prayerfully considered these things in my life, let me caution you not to rationalize away your ministries in a church body or in the lives of people that God has placed into your life. Let us look at every aspect of our lives through the lens of the Word; consider John 15:4, where Jesus says
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither you unless you abide in Me.
Success in God's eyes, a fruitful life, is a life in which every activity finds it's basis in trusting him.
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