My wife and I are currently reading The Normal Christian Life with a group of brothers and sisters. While reading today I came upon this passage in the sixth chapter and it really stuck out to me. We often long for a major life change, be it a change of scenery or a better job. How quickly we forget the joy and blessedness we felt, though, when that job was first opened to us. While I believe we should have a sort of discontentment in that we never settle and cease to go deeper spiritually, we also ought to have a sense of contentment in where we know God currently has us. I am the Lord's and now no longer reckon myself to be my own but acknowledge in everything His ownership and authority. That is the attitude God requires, and to … [Read more...]
Don’t Miss Frank Viola’s New Book – God’s Favorite Place On Earth
One of my favorite modern authors, Frank Viola, is releasing a new book that he is calling his "life's work." I'm super excited for this release. Maybe more excited than I have about any of his previous releases. The book is called God's Favorite Place on Earth and here is a short description of the book from Frank's blog: God’s Favorite Place on Earth is different than anything I’ve ever written. It’s a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction. The premise of the book is simple and 100% Biblical: when Jesus was on the earth, He was rejected everywhere He went . . . from Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Jerusalem. The only exception was the little village of Bethany. The curtain opens with Lazarus, who is now ready to die, telling the … [Read more...]
The Abiding Need Of Faith
I picked up my copy of School of Christ by T. Austin Sparks again last night. I've been in this book off and on for a while and it's having a huge impact on my life. The second chapter of the book ends by discussing the constant need for faith and I thought I would share. The Abiding Need Of Faith "The work of the Holy Spirit is to conform us to Christ, to cause us to take the form of Christ, to form Christ in us; but Christ will always remain other than we are, so that there will never cease to be a call for faith. Do you expect to reach a point in this earthly pilgrimage when faith can be dispensed with? It is a false hope. Faith will be required as much as ever in your last moments in this life, if not more than at any other time. … [Read more...]
Seeing Christ In The Small Things
After being a Christian for most of my life, it's easy to see Christ in the "big things" around me. I don't have much trouble seeing the Lord in creation all around me. His glory is reflected in the sky, the mountains, the ocean and in the unsearchable depths of the universe. It's easy to grasp that all of these things came from God, and while we may not understand it all, it reflects Christ's beauty and glory somehow. When I really think about it, I feel like it's harder to see Jesus in the everyday happenings of our busy lives. Things that we see as being of less importance in the grand scheme of things. But does that mean Jesus isn't involved? Absolutely not. We need eyes to see Him in all things. For me, it's easy to get so … [Read more...]
Christ’s Riches Are Endless
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. - John 21:25 The world could not contain the books it would take to declare all that the Lord Jesus has done, is doing or will do. Christ's riches are so deep and so vast that we couldn't begin to comprehend them while still on this earth. You could put this final sentence from John's gospel into modern terms by adding the internet couldn't contain all the blog posts, tweets and status updates it would take to declare all the Lord's riches. Does this spur you on to seek after Him continually, more and more? It should. We as believers have no reason to ever come to … [Read more...]
