What really matters?

1 Corinthians 1

 ¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

 ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Our lives are so complicated with needless conflict. Just take a look at our political institutions. Take  a look at the modern family. Take a look at the division between religions and faiths. I am amazed at what division there is in this world.  I would love for the world to be full of christians. But, does that mean there would be no conflict, no division? If you look at the divisions in the Christian Church, you would have to say NO. If you take a look at the division in the Bible and the conflict that is seen from the beginning of time, you would have to say conflict and division is a fact of life. God is saddened by the division and the pettiness of our disagreements. We are called to be in "perfect unity".  We are not followers of the Methodist Church, or Baptists, or Missionary, or Lutheran, or (fill in the blank). We are followers of Christ. 

Why can't we concentrate on the things that unite us instead of the things that divide. We may worship differently. We may have different thoughts and feelings about Baptism, music, communion, ordaining ministers,etc. But, we can agree that Christ is the son of the most High God, he was crucified, dead, buried, and rose on the third day. We can agree he died for our sins and has promised his followers eternal life. We know how he have revealed himself to US. We can see his hand in our daily lives. What else REALLY matters?

Coincidence?

Acts 16

 ²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

 ²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

How lucky for Paul and Silas! It just happens that there was a violent earthquake that was strong enough for the prison doors to fly open, the chains to fall off, and they were not injured. How amazing. What a coincidence!

The rest of the story is that the jailer accepted the gospel message and his whole household was saved. 

There is nothing on this earth that is by chance. God has set all things in motion and is in complete control of all things. There are no coincidences. There is no such thing as Luck. I committed my life to Christ when I was 12 years old. I asked God to take over my life and to fill me with his spirit. I haven't always been a great servant. But God has always been in charge and he has brought me to where I am right now. He planned me to be married to Stephanie. He planned my career moves. (I would never have believed what I have done and am doing.) He has planned my family and their families. He is in charge and knows what he is doing. I can take no credit for the blessings I have received. He is my savior and has wonderful plans for me still. 

Why don't you ask him to take over your life and see where his plans will send you? He created the universe an he created you. What makes you think he doesn't have a plan for your life. Give him a chance and just see his power revealed!

Innocence: Teach your Children Well!

Romans 16

 ¹⁷ I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

One of my grand daughters is spending the weekend with us. I just love having her here. I always enjoy having them visit and stay with us. After living for 51 years and witnessing the good and the bad in life, it is fun being able to spend time with someone who has not been tainted by the world. I love the innocence of children. As parents, as grandparents, as educators, one of greatest callings is to preserve that innocence as long as we can. We are to protect them from evil. We want them to know as much good as we possibly can. We want them to know of the good in this world, not the evil. 

God wants us to be wise of the good around us. God wants us to know of the good within us. God wants us to be innocent of evil. As Christians, we have a choice to dwell on all that is wrong with the world, our world, or we can dwell on the goodness. It seems that evil in this world is growing and it is easy to get wrapped up in it. The times can seem to be hopeless. But, we know that our Good and Holy God is in control and there is hope in him. God is Great. He wants us to be innocent as children, as grandchildren.

Thank You Lord for your love. Thank you for your hope. Protect us from evil. Protect the innocence we have remaining in our lives. Amen!

Us and Them!

Acts 15

 ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

This country, our planet for that matter, has way too much US vs Them. Are we really that different that we can not get along with each other. What is the real difference between a Democrat and  Republican? What is the Real Difference between and American and an Iranian? God did not put barriers between us, we did that on or own. Christians are not very much different than Non-Christians. We are both sinners! We both need the Lord! We might have different religious priorities. We might believe in a certain type of communion. We might believe in one baptism over another. But, we are all the same. We need God's perfect grace and we need to be saved by Lord Jesus. 

Grace! We can spend our lives concentrating on our differences or we can realize we all need Jesus. That is the tie that binds us together. If we let Jesus purify our hearts and know that he accepts us as we are, we will be able to tackle all of life from a different, more united perspective. God never looks at us as being different. He looks at us with Love and he made a choice to work to leave none of us behind. He did it even though he knew we did not deserve it. True Grace! He doesn't look at our differences, he doesn't look at our weaknesses, he doesn't even look at our sin. He just looks at us as lost and needing him. 

Thank You Lord for not seeing me as different. Thank You for not seeing me as the enemy. Thank you for not dividing between US and Them. Thank You for your Grace! 

Cross Country Runners!

Romans 15

 ⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I now have a granddaughter who is a Cross Country Runner. I love Cross Country. I enjoyed Coaching CC so much and now that Lauren is running it brings back fond memories. Cross Country is a tough sport. Not only in running a 5k race, but also in running every day. Workouts grow in order to  build endurance. Endurance is built by lengthening your training runs and by increasing the speed at which you can maintain that endurance. The job of the coach is to design the workouts. But, the highest priority of the Cross Country Coach is encouragement. Endurance and encouragement go hand-in-hand. You can't build endurance without receiving encouragement. You have to have encouragement from your Coach, Family, Friends, and your teammates.

As Christians, we need to have that same combination. In order for us to endure the pains and struggles of this life, we need encouragement. Our main source is God. Those who know the Lord get a great dose of encouragement through their Lord and Savior. I am not the least of these. My life's struggles have been the subject of many of these Blog Posts. Yet, through it all, God has been there to encourage me through those times. I am constantly in awe of how he speaks to me. He speaks through his word, through prayer, through the message of my pastor, through my CMA friends, through my family, and through my co-workers. Even when I am down, I have hope. That hope is in and through Jesus.

Praise God for helping me endure and encouraging me to move toward him! Praise God!