I keep thinking of Hudson Taylor, the great man who once upon a time was a missionary to China. Even before he went to China he lived on bread and water, in a crappy apartment, and he gave the rest of what he had to everyone else.
I wish that I could live like that. In a way, the church should live like that. God doesn't demand what Hudson Taylor did exactly, but He does want us to give Him everything. That looks different to each individual, but everyone has to start by letting God direct them in their spending, living, etc.
I mean, technically He owns everything we have anyway. That's what we need to acknowledge. Everything we have is a gift from God--what's so terrible about giving it back to Him?
"'And try me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it'" (Malachi 3:10). If you give to God what He has asked of you, He WILL reward you for your faithfulness to Him, and that's no TV evangelism message.
February 26, 2008
February 18, 2008
Not the Mission of the Church
One of the things the church should never do: complain.
One of the major sins the church is extremely guilty of: complaining.
Do we read the Bible? Philippians2:14 says "Do all things without complaining and disputing." Colossians 4:6 says "Let your speech be always with grace." And I Peter 2:1 tells us to put off "all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking."
Key words: "All," "Always," "All." The Bible doesn't give a list of things that we can't complain about, it says all things; it says always; it says all evil speaking. In the Greek? Just like the pastor always says: "All means all."
The mission of the church is constantly forgotten because we can't get past our own agendas. We complain about... gee... just about everything, and then wonder why the world is going to hell.
And if you think you can't stop complaining, remember you "can do all things through Christ" (Phil 4:13).
One of the major sins the church is extremely guilty of: complaining.
Do we read the Bible? Philippians2:14 says "Do all things without complaining and disputing." Colossians 4:6 says "Let your speech be always with grace." And I Peter 2:1 tells us to put off "all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking."
Key words: "All," "Always," "All." The Bible doesn't give a list of things that we can't complain about, it says all things; it says always; it says all evil speaking. In the Greek? Just like the pastor always says: "All means all."
The mission of the church is constantly forgotten because we can't get past our own agendas. We complain about... gee... just about everything, and then wonder why the world is going to hell.
And if you think you can't stop complaining, remember you "can do all things through Christ" (Phil 4:13).
February 12, 2008
Division Anyone?
How much are Christians supposed to work together? There are opinions that span the entire spectrum from they shouldn't at all (so as not to compromise beliefs) to they all should all the time (in order to reach more).
Now, there's no black and white here. There are a lot of issues in between the above words that skew our vision. I wish that on my campus the three evangelical Christian organizations I know of would work together more and not be so territorial over the same few acres, but is God using that as well?
Take Paul and Barnabas. We all know that they made a great team, but they just couldn't work together anymore. Despite their imperfections and possible bad decisions, God increased the amount of people that got reached because Paul went one direction and Barnabas went another.
Maybe the same thing happens today, not that I would encourage derision in any form. But maybe the many denominations and churches have been able to reach more... or maybe they've caused a schism wider than there should be.
I don't know. Seek God first--then worry about your opinion.
Now, there's no black and white here. There are a lot of issues in between the above words that skew our vision. I wish that on my campus the three evangelical Christian organizations I know of would work together more and not be so territorial over the same few acres, but is God using that as well?
Take Paul and Barnabas. We all know that they made a great team, but they just couldn't work together anymore. Despite their imperfections and possible bad decisions, God increased the amount of people that got reached because Paul went one direction and Barnabas went another.
Maybe the same thing happens today, not that I would encourage derision in any form. But maybe the many denominations and churches have been able to reach more... or maybe they've caused a schism wider than there should be.
I don't know. Seek God first--then worry about your opinion.
February 4, 2008
Living Outside of Ourselves
One of the things that I personally have been learning and, I think, my church along with me is that of reaching outside of ourselves and our church body. The church is a place of fellowship and we get a lot of encouragement from having that base, that family. But the church's purpose isn't to bless ME and to feed ME: the purpose of the church is to reach out to the lost and dying.
Think about it. While Jesus walked the earth, did He only go to the church? No. He taught in the synagogue a few times, but the majority of His ministry that He saw fit to have written down was spent with publicans, sinners, prostitutes, and hungry people. He came to seek and to save those who are LOST; He came to heal the sick, not to hang out with those who are "well."
No, Christians aren't necessarily well in the way we think of it. But we have all the necessary ingredients to be healed--Jesus. Now it's time to look outside of ourselves and start fulfilling God's purpose for our lives--helping others find the Everlasting Father, the Wellspring of Life, the Great Physician, the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace.
Think about it. While Jesus walked the earth, did He only go to the church? No. He taught in the synagogue a few times, but the majority of His ministry that He saw fit to have written down was spent with publicans, sinners, prostitutes, and hungry people. He came to seek and to save those who are LOST; He came to heal the sick, not to hang out with those who are "well."
No, Christians aren't necessarily well in the way we think of it. But we have all the necessary ingredients to be healed--Jesus. Now it's time to look outside of ourselves and start fulfilling God's purpose for our lives--helping others find the Everlasting Father, the Wellspring of Life, the Great Physician, the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace.
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