Work and Its Rewards
By christon | March 2, 2010
I wish that someone had explained these verses to me when I was younger. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been so driven in my work. Maybe I would have relaxed more and let myself enjoy life.
There is virtue in honest, hard work – no one would argue with that.
But some Christians have the idea that work is all there is to life. To relax, to enjoy life, to spend a little of their hard-earned money somehow makes them feel guilty and lazy. So they keep driving themselves till they are stopped – often for health reasons.
Author of Ecclesiastes tell us that it is “good and fitting” for us to enjoy the benefit of our work ( 5:18 ).
It’s about eating and drinking, and talking about a joyous feast – a banquet with plenty of good food available and all the family gathered around the festivities.
Bible clearly teaches that God expects us to work ( 2 Th.3:10 ). He also wants us to enjoy some of its rewards. Whether the Lord has blessed you with great riches or just enough to pay the bills, take time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
If you’re working hard to make a living, never taking time to smell the roses, now it’s the time to heed the Bible’s wisdom: Find some joy before your life’s day closes
Topics: bible | 10 Comments »
Why Do We Worry?
By christon | November 8, 2011
An incident in the life of the apostle Peter will help us answer this question. Do you remember the time the disciples were out in a boat in a storm? Jesus had sent them ahead while He went to a mountain to pray (Matt. 14:22-33). A strong wind swept across the Sea of Galilee. It was so powerful that the exhausted disciples could make no headway rowing into it. Then Jesus appeared, walking to them across the water. The disciples were terrified.
After Jesus identified Himself, Peter was skeptical. “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v.28). When Jesus said “Come,” by faith Peter walked out on the water toward Him.
But then he looked around him. He saw the power of the wind and the huge waves. He thought about the danger he was in and began to question whether he could survive in a situation like that. He began to sink. He cried out to Jesus, who reached out His hand and escorted Peter back to the boat.
We’re so much like Peter. His experience illustrates why we worry.
1. We worry because we’re vulnerable. As human beings, we are susceptible to many things. Disease may strike. The economy may change. We may get stranded by an automobile breakdown or a sudden airline strike. We could get hit by a drunk driver. We’re afraid someone may say cutting words or offer harsh criticisms that will wound us deeply.
We are frail, mortal, sensitive human beings. We are vulnerable physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We can get hurt in many ways. Like Peter, we are merely human and capable of drowning. We worry because we are vulnerable.
2. We worry because we become aware of our vulnerability. Most of the time we feel relatively safe. We can make our home secure. We can drive a reliable car and keep it in good repair. We can get regular checkups. We can buy good insurance. We can maintain peaceful relationships. We take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
But then something happens that makes us painfully aware of our vulnerability. We’re like Peter when he saw the wind and was afraid. It could be an engine that begins to knock. Or one of our children is ill. Or there’s pressure in our chest. Or we discover a mysterious lump. Or we hear rumors of a layoff at work. Whatever it is, it forces us to see our weakness.
3. We worry because we distrust God. Confronted with our vulnerability, we have a choice. We can turn our safety over to God and trust Him with our apprehensions. Or we can take our well-being into our own hands. That’s what Peter did on the water. Confronted by his frailty, he lost faith in Jesus. Yet he knew he couldn’t save himself.
Jesus’ words to Peter are revealing. “O you of little faith,” He said (v.31). Peter stopped trusting Jesus. When we no longer feel that we can trust Jesus with our lives, our feelings, or our future, we worry. And that is sin because we are taking responsibilities on ourselves that belong to the Lord. We are stubbornly refusing to place ourselves in His strong hands.
It’s no wonder that we worry!
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If God Texted The 10 Commandments
By christon | November 18, 2009
Here is one way to communicate the 10 commandments, the older you are the longer it will take to read!!
1. no1 b4 me. srsly.
2. dnt wrshp pix/idols
3. no omg’s
4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
5. pos ok – ur m&d r cool
6. dnt kill ppl
7. :-X only w/ m8
8. dnt steal
9. dnt lie re: bf
10. dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.
M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.
Topics: humor | No Comments »
Are you worried? Pray
By christon | November 23, 2011
Bring your vulnerabilities to the One who has the power to do something about them. When you wake up at night worried about your sister or your job or your little boy, pray. Train your mind to stop and redirect all the energy from worry, which is destructive, to prayer, which is constructive. Ask God to help, to intercede, to convict, to open a door, to work the kind of miraculous change only He can work.
When you’re overwhelmed by the frightening prospects of the future, pray. Express your apprehensions to the Lord. Turn them over to Him. While you’re waiting for a traffic light and you’re worrying about paying the bills, pray. Ask God to provide, then move on. God hears your prayers.
In an article in Focal Point, a publication of Denver Seminary, Paul Borden gave a good action suggestion for worriers. He recommended making a worry list. When you’re worried about something, write it down. Perhaps it’s the health of your aging mother, or replacing the refrigerator, or changing churches. Write it down. It will help you when you see that specific worry in black and white.
Next, turn that worry list into a prayer list. Pray about those things you are concerned about. Pray about them specifically. You’ll be pleased at how much that will help keep those worries from crippling and controlling you.
Then Borden suggested that you turn that prayer list into an action list. As God gives you insight and confidence, do something about those cares. Even if you only do a little, you’ll soon find that a paralyzing anxiety is replaced by a healthy, manageable concern for the responsibilities of life.
Are you worried? Pray. If you’ve done that, pray again. Use the energy of worry to pray instead.
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Ministry As Empowerment
By christon | October 17, 2011
We now embark on one of the most crucial journeys in this book, beginning with an introduction to ‘ethology.’
Ethology is the study of the comparison between human and animal behaviour. An important concept in ethology is the notion of territoriality: the practice of marking a piece of ground and defending it against intruders. (23) Animals as diverse as fish, worms, gazelles, and lizards stake out particular areas and put up fierce resistance when intruders encroach on their area. Many species use odorous secretions to mark the boundaries of their territory. For example the wolf marks its domain by urinating around the perimeter.
Some scholars argue that people are territorial animals: humans’ genetic endowment drive them to gain and defend territory, much as other animals do. ‘The dog barking at you from behind his master’s fence acts for a motive indisting- uishable from that of his master when the fence was built.’ (24) The list of territorial behaviours is endless: in a library you protect your space with a book, coat, or note- book; you ‘save a place’ in the theatre or at the beach – reserving a spot that is ‘mine’ or ‘ours’; juvenile gangs fight to protect their turf; neighbours of similar ethnic backgrounds join forces to keep other groups out; nations war over contested territory; and, between churches, pastors accuse other pastors of ‘sheep-stealing’. (25)
Our own personal territory may include our room, specif- ic seats in a class or in church, a particular table at the restaurant… The more attached you are to an area, the more likely you are to signal your ‘ownership’ with obvious terr- itorial markers such as decorations, plants, photographs, posters, or even graffiti. College dorms and business offices are prime places to observe this type of territorial marking.
As a result of our fallenness, this planet and its inhabitants have substituted ‘territoriality’ (‘my space – keep out’) for ‘hospitality’ (‘my space – you’re welcome!’). Throughout the Bible we have numerous stories and injunctions about reversing this effect of the Fall. You know them – references to prophets’ chambers, looking after aliens, opening our homes to strangers and entertaining angels unawares, being hospitable to one another, prophetically denouncing the group which does not welcome Jesus’ mess- engers, Jesus being a stranger and we take him in, and so on.
Now pastors and leaders in the church are invited to be ‘hospitable’ rather than ‘territorial’, and it’s something they generally do very poorly. The biblical models are clear. Moses was told by his father-in-law: ‘You’re killing yourself!’ (Exodus 18:18). In essence his good advice to Moses was: Your task is to pray for these people to God; teach them God’s laws; and appoint others as co-leaders. When Jesus was recruiting disciples to lead his church he had the same three priorities: prayer, teaching (by instruction and modelling), and training for ministry. It’s amazing how much Jesus delegated to his disciples so early in their relation- ship: ‘Go and preach, heal the sick, bring the dead back to life… drive out demons’ (Matthew 10:5-8). Just the simple stuff, fellows, to start with!
Then when these apostles messed-up the early Church’s social welfare system, they had an ‘aha’ experience: ‘Oh, we should have remembered; our task is to give our full time to prayer, and preaching, so let’s delegate other ministries to people full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:1-4). It would be wonderful if more pastors had this kind of ‘aha’ experience.
Now why don’t they? Fasten your seat-belts: this para- graph will contain some turbulence. The Devil could not get Jesus to accrue power to himself (Matthew 4:1-11; 16:21-28) so he has tried the same temptations on the shepherds of Jesus’ church. And he has generally succeeded. The church very early in its institutional history developed an ‘official’ ministry which separated ‘ordained’ Christians from others. These ‘priests’ alone had sacramental prerog- gatives. The Protestant Reformers rejected Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology and practice at this point, but, in my view, did not take their reformation far enough. Protestant pastors generally feel that they too, control certain prerogatives in the life of the church (presiding at most sacramental observances, preaching most of the sermons, blessing most of the meetings etc.), and are reluctant to share these ministries with others. They have perhaps forgotten that their key role is equipping (Ephesians 4:12), empowering others for ministry, not doing it all themselves as paid ‘professional employees’ of the Church.
Frankly, it’s nice having these privileges: all the clergy surveys tell us they enjoy these public roles in most cases. Taking power to ourselves is the devil’s primal trick however. Justice, we said, is essentially about power. When we deny others their empowering, that’s unjust.
To change the metaphor, let us transform the classical ‘wheel-model’ of the church – where all the spokes centre on one person or small leadership-group – to a discipling model. Pastor-teachers ought to spend more time with fewer people, training them for leadership and ministry on the job.
So, back to Antioch. The acid test for ministry-leaders at this point is: how hard have you trained others? Could you leave your church after one year, as Paul and Barnabas did, safely in the hands of those you have prepared for lead- ership in ministry? Do you take people with you as you visit folk? Do you run courses on how to help your friend, how to lead a small group, on how to grow as a Christian? How about your church becoming a miniature theological semin- ary, as Elton Trueblood suggests? That is, how about doing in your congregation what Jesus did with his disciples? Or what Paul suggests Timothy do: ‘Take the teachings… and entrust them to reliable people, who will teach others also’ (2 Timothy 2:2). Well?
Topics: events | No Comments »
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