What Is Your Will In Christ?

My sweet mother graduated from this world this week and I find myself struggling just a little with the knowledge of her absence from this world while I'm left to inhabit it without her.  As a follower of Jesus like my mother, I know where she is. She's not gone and she's not missing, she's just not here. But even with my knowledge and complete confidence in Christ's word, I occasionally find myself a little overcome with moments of deep sadness as I work through processing her departure ... but then I fight back. It's so easy given our current limitations to focus on the microcosm that is this world as the content of our life. But the real and true picture isn't so small and if we believe God (which I do completely), this world is just the front doorstep of our actual lives. My precious mother was never her body of flesh and it was never our heavenly Father's intention that any of us would perish with our flesh. She inhabited her body for a time, bu...

There comes a time in every life I think, when we have the opportunity to contemplate how short the lives of our physical bodies seems to be. It really doesn't matter how old you are when you watch a loved one coming to the end of their span in this life, it seems that our desire at that time for them is almost always for more ... More time - in good health, sharing the laughter, the conversation, ... the good times. But we're not the masters of time. Each one of us is given a predetermined portion of time to inhabit these physical bodies and no one can know in advance exactly when that time will run out. It may be very short or very long and no matter how long it is, it never seems to be enough in the minds of those who are left behind. But what really happens when the figurative hour glass runs out? What will have mattered then? When the last grain of sand has fallen - in the very next moment for that soul who's time has expired ... what will the accounting look li...

I'm an imperfect spiritual being created perfectly by God for the life that He has planned and intended for me (His design for my personal character development and spiritual growth). In spite of my imperfections He has also given me the freedom to possess a will of my own and the freedom to choose to follow it. In spite of my imperfection I have the freedom to make the choices that in large part determine the course of this life that I've been given ... imperfectly and on my own. But wisdom would acknowledge the brokenness of my imperfection and the likely result of the choices I might make on my own. Wisdom would recognize that the potential impact of those choices will not only touch my own life, but will likely affect those around me. As a parent, the power of my choices is the strongest to affect most deeply those closest to me - by the example I demonstrate and the spirit modeled by them as well, to say nothing of the shared consequences. I have the freedom to make ch...

Most likely we will encounter things in life that don't go the way that we think they should and in some cases they will happen in sharp contrast to what we would ever wish. Contrary to our own desire the end results might even be painful and in our own view, tragic. As God's children we're taught that He loves us deeply, so while these things are happening ... where is He? In former life I was brought to wonder about this question myself more than once. In the absence of a divine revelation at those times, I would eventually seek to develop my own theories. They usually took the form of shameful accusations for which I harvested deep regret when purely out of an act of His grace, He later allowed me to understand some of His reasons for His decisions. Being human with human limitations and abilities to control the conditions and situations around us, we find ourselves heavily reliant on God's grace as His children to cover what we can't. But when His responses,...

While I live, Let my life reflect in living example the honorable things of the most high God passed on from those who went before me ... Let the God that gave me life be honored by the things I do in secret ... and may my hands bring His gentle touch to those the world might deem unworthy. Let my heart share clearly a love that I alone do not possess ... while my feet walk a path that demonstrates my gratitude and brings glory to my maker. Let my mind be ruled by a heart that's pure and intent on holy kindness ... toward even the very least of my master's thoughtful creation. Let my heart and life reflect in reality the image of the great one who made himself nothing ... in order to save the very least of all that He loved Let my walk be unwavering and with eternal perspective where deep darkness seeks to conquer ... revealing the light of God's truth on death's unabashed lie And may my life and journey forever bring great joy and pleasure to the hea...

It seems that the farther we go down the road in history (speaking in terms of the years traveled during my own life), the more disappointed I become with what I see as a slowly creeping erosion of the truth and a growing accommodation of changing societal values by some who report to posit the teachings and values of our Lord. What troubles me at times is the apparent weight shifting of some who in an effort to avoid causing offense, seem to be sidestepping certain declarations of the Lord or are finding ways to creatively and/or apologetically pander to the potentially offended. In doing so they're leaving the truth behind and as a consequence the truth seems to be losing its value to a society wandering in search of its own temporary pleasure. But the truths of our God are like the many facets of a brilliant diamond - each reflecting the light of His glorious and beautiful character and life giving wisdom for our benefit. When they're hidden by men it doesn't dimi...

Amos 4:13 NLT "For the LORD is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The LORD God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!" I recently typed the word worship into my computer browser, just out of curiosity to see the definitions that would come up. Among the the blurbs that appeared representing the definitions that I could potentially select was this one: *** Worship | Definition of Worship by Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worship Merriam‑Webster Simple Definition of worship. : to honor or respect (someone or something) as a god. : to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc. : to love or honor (someone or something) very much or too much. *** Hmmm ... "too much" I mused. That's not even possible when it comes to the only person worthy of being the ...

It's not the adjective form of a destructive word used to describe a debilitating fear, but the active verb employed to vanquish potentially subjective emotion that I seek to convey. I'm guessing there are others like me who are watching the erosion of godly morality and the seemingly increasing evil, upheaval and calamity in the world and wondering what's coming next? I have to admit that for myself there have been moments when I've tended to wonder if this is the beginning of the foretold turbulent end. At times those mental wanderings have been met with a little trepidation in my own heart regarding the safety of myself and those I love if indeed we are in some position along the predetermined timeline of "those" days... Matthew 24: 3-14 (NLT) 3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? ” 4 Jesus told them, “Don’t...

I've thought considerably about this and while in the back of my mind there's a little voice saying that there may be reason to have some fear of reproach, I have to share a learned conviction with some boldness. A friend recently made a comment that was not directed to me, but one that I received just the same. And although I'm heavily paraphrasing, it went something like this: I used to believe in magic and wonder, but as a child it was "churched" out of me. My heart sank and was instantly filled with grief. I was crushed ... This isn't the first time that I've heard something similar and I fear that it won't be the last. Every time I'm confronted with the idea of people losing their faith and walking away, every time I recognize that someone is trying to earn their way into grace and every time someone misses out on the awe and wonder (what we might call the "magic" if you will...), that is found in relationship with the God wh...

We all have some pretty profound questions as we walk through this life. We may vocalize them and then again, we might not. Never the less, they exist and naggingly beg to be answered. Some of those questions vary in their profoundness. Some might seem rather basic, but have core effect on our sense of well being and soundness. Questions like: Who am I?, How do I look?, What am I worth?, Where am I going? How am I doing? Am I getting it right? These might represent just a few of the questions our inner person might be seeking resolution to at any time and possibly on a continual basis. It's almost as if we have an inherent need to gain approval or confirmation (I believe we were created with it) and we all do it. Whether expressly or in a seemingly self reliant silence, we're still asking. Where we're looking for those answers and to what or whom we're tuning our ears to to get the response is critical to getting the right answers... But even beyond the source of th...

What is it that makes your heart beat faster? Aside from health issues, chemicals or exercise, what is it that has the ability to elevate your pulse rate the fastest? As an individual saved by, and committed to serving Christ, my answer should be the obvious - but as I live out my answer, ... is it? ... really? Now I'm not out to attack anyone's priorities or standing in their personal relationship with our Lord. No, my motivation to write this came from some questions that entered my own mind - almost as if they were a divine invitation to do some personal introspection ... and perhaps they were. Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT)  "And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." Pretty extreme really, and in a holy context, pretty radical and intimate in terms of the love required by our God. His use of the word "all" doesn't leave much in terms of "left overs" for other potential competing issues. ...

It's my humble observation that there's a needless, sad, but common theme that runs through conflicts that arise in a few of the marriages of those who claim to follow Christ ... In a February 2014 Christianity Today article called "Marriage, Divorce, and the Church: What do the stats say, and can marriage be happy?" written by Ed Stetzer, he cites some interesting research by Harvard trained social researcher, popular speaker and best selling author Shaunti Feldhahn: "In her newest book, The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages, Shanti compiles some stats and conducts some research of her own on marriage, and specifically, what makes for a happy marriage. "Her statistical findings, and the implications of these findings, are fascinating. Here are a couple of stats that I found to be particularly interesting as it relates to faith and marriage: 53% of Very Happy Couples agree with the statement, "God is at the center of our marriage...