Opening Hearts to God
Pursuing Christlikeness was of paramount importance to committed believers in past centuries. Strategies for developing the fruit of the Spirit and Christlike virtue prompted much discussion and analysis, both verbal and written. They painstakingly considered all facets of these character qualities to determine how best to live them out in their daily lives. Quite frankly, many of them make us look like rank amateurs in comparison. We can learn much from them.
God the Father sent us His One and Only Son, so that through our faith in Jesus Christ, we could be born again by the Holy Spirit. We who believe in Him, have turned from the darkness of this world’s lies to the light and glory of Christ’s truth. We have moved from death to life. Therefore, we are no longer condemned by God, and we will not perish—unlike those who refuse to believe. Continue reading “From Death to Life – John 3:1-21”
“Discipleship is a tricky business sometimes,” began the man introduced one Sunday morning as the head of the prison ministry. “You don’t always know how new believers are internalizing Scriptural truths, or some aspect of Christianity that you are explaining. They can parrot the right words back, but they might misunderstand those words – significantly sometimes.”
Such was the case with one prisoner — Jim let’s say. Jim was convicted of bank robbery and sent to the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, WA (USA).
A reader responded to my previous post asking: Isn’t prayer a weapon against the evil one, who we are battling?
That’s a good question. We can determine the answer by studying the New Testament verses containing the word “pray.” The word is used 151 times. D.A. Carson’s book “Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation,” for example, in particular discusses the following passages: Rom 15:14-33, Eph 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Phil 1:9-11; Col 1:9-14; 1 Thess 3:9-13; 2 Thess 1:3-12. The focus of prayer in the New Testament was predominately on knowing God better, being more like Christ, God providing for the needs of others, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and for success in ministry.
Fantasy is popular today. There are fantasy movies, fantasy games, fantasy books, and of course fantasy football. We love it because anything goes. It’s all just made up. Worlds are created where anyone can do, or be, anything. The only rule is that there are no rules. And just when we assume there is a rule or two, something impossible happens to break them. It’s why I’m not a big fan of the fantasy category – no tension.
Billy Joel’s song “The River of Dreams”[1] vocalizes his heart’s deep longing for something. Something he thought he would never lose. Something undefined . . . but sacred. Something taken from his soul. “In the middle of the night” while he slept, says the singer, his heart went searching through fear, doubt, and truth. His mind was tired, but his heart pressed on . . . searching for that undefined, sacred, something.