Year: 2014

The Right Way to Overcome Temptation

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Temptation is common to all men The Bible tell us that temptation is common to all men. We should never thing it strange when tempted. We should never think that  our struggle to resist temptation is unique to us alone. Jesus urged his disciples when He walked the face of the earth to develop a life of watching and praying so that they wouldn’t fall into temptation. In other places in the Bible, it says, that sin is constantly knocking at our door, and Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We must do everything to resist temptation and sin by drawing near to God. How does one overcome temptation? James give us a strategy in his book chapter 1. Let’s take a look at what he teaches. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be …

This One Thing

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Men may be divided into two classes—those who have a ‘one thing’ and those who have no ‘one thing’ to do; those with aim, and those without aim in their lives… The aim in life is what the backbone is to the body: without it we are invertebrate.” How frightening it would be to be “invertebrate”—to be spineless, weak, and weak-willed—especially in the Christian life! But thanks be to God for these cherished-yet-instructive verses about the process whereby you and I may know and accomplish our “one thing”—attaining the great prize of the Christian race. (Elizabeth George, experiencing God’s peace. p. 95). Source. Jesus had a one thing “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. (John 12:27 ESV) Paul had a one thing “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize …

There is still hope for the Averaged

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My aim in this post is not to encourage you to settle for average. I believe we should all be a little curious and adventurous. We should have a very healthy dose of ambition, a competitive spirit and the desire to perfect the gifts and talents we’ve all been given. However, we ought to “not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” In other words Not many of us our going to run like Usain Bolt – the fastest person ever. Not many of us will agree to downsize our fighting men like Gideon did and still defeat mighty armies with a small military force. Not many of us will be the next King Solomon, the wisest man. Not many of us are going to become billionaires like the likes of Buffet, Gates and Zuckerberg. The fact is, not many of us will be as successful and discerning as others are. So, if you fall …

Joy is strength: How can I Increase it?

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The joy of The Lord is my strength. Neh. 8:10. What is joy?   Webster’s Dictionary defines joy as “a feelings of great happiness” but there is something much richer and deeper from God’s word about the word. This is because joy is more of an “elevated and spiritual kind.” Joy is of God  “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 God is our source of joy.  He doesn’t only possess joy, he spreads it abroad. When he releases his joy in us, it moves like the working of his mighty power. A lot of people think that God is this angry, grumpy, always in a bad mood father. Quite frankly, it wouldn’t be a stretch to equate God to a “Happy God.” A few bible interpretors see the word “blessed” in 1 Timothy 1:11 as speaking of a cheerful and delightful God. Joy is God’s will  But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in …

The Culture of Pastoral Notoriety

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Part 2 in the series – “The Pulpit and The Pew” The number one thing rocking the pulpit with scandal after scandal in America, is the rock star status of celebrity pastors. From heresy to immorality, worldliness to apostasy, consumerism to greed, the culture of celebrity pastors is bringing the western church to its knees. It doesn’t matter if you pastor a mega church or a small church in your neck of the woods. Nor does it matter if you’ve written a book, air a television program of your own or have a just a few followers and fans. You can fall into the trap of desiring the status of “the next big thing” no matter where and who you are. Who is a celebrity pastor? The common mistake is to select big names, men or women whom God has apparently raised up as voices to this generation and brand them with a negative connotation. Another mistake is to pick on easy targets like those incredibly gifted to speak and lead, or those with a million …

The Pulpit and the Pew Mini Series

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Allow me to introduce a six part mini series entitled, “The Pulpit and the Pew: 6 Cultures bringing the American Church to its knees.” Here is an outline of the 6 parts. I am going to devote three parts to the pulpit and three parts to the pew. Here is and idea: The Pulpit: 1. The Culture of Swagger without Substance 2. The Culture of Pastoral Notoriety 3. The Culture of pastoral Isolation The Pew: 1. The Culture of Hooking up 2. The Culture of Shacking up 3. The Culture of Cozying up Part 1: The Culture of Swagger without Substance Today, all around America, there is a lot of swag going on in pulpits of every denomination and every church. We even have what some call – “hipsters and celebrity pastors.”  There is a culture of swagger in the pulpit but there is not enough substance to back it up. Every preacher has a style and it’s okay to have style. Unfortunately, style doesn’t change lives, never has never will. Seth Godin, the one …

When Prayer Invokes Mercy

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What if prayer had another dimension to it than what we have experienced? What if prayer is way out of the box we’ve placed it in? Sometimes, in our particular corner of Christendom we think that our particular tradition and prayer style is the only one God accepts. In fact , for us, other traditions just don’t measure up. I can say beyond the shadow of doubt that our particular way of praying isn’t the only one that has something worthwhile to say about prayer. If we could just step out of our comfort zones, lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance, we would discover a lot of valuable lessons about prayer in other Christian traditions. Today I want to challenge you to venture out of your comfort zones and try a different approach to prayer. I challenge you to try something fresh and out of the box, out of the norm. Something that will deepen and enrich your prayer life. I have been a Christian for many years now, but have only recently attempted to do a 40 day of prayer and consecration leading up …

Rolling Up your sleeves

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1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The idea “of preparing for action” is much like the phrase “rolling up your sleeves.” God is calling us to roll up our sleeves and get to work on the most important thing in life – our faith, our relationship with him. Two thoughts from 1 Peter 1:13 1. Prepare you mind for action. Be Sober. This means to take a serious look at life. There must come a time in the life of every person when he or she must ask the hard or most important questions. What am I doing with my life? Where will I go if I were to die today? What is the meaning of all of this, God, Jesus, this world, church, suffering, my faith and christian life etc…? Am I on the right track? Am I sober? Am I right with God – am I growing as I should – is …