Christian Living

There are times in the Christian walk when the Lord seems far away. The dew of His conscious presence no longer saturates the contemplations of our heart. The clouds of unbelief hide the Son from us and we feel all alone.

It’s not usually the great burdens of life that kill our joy. In fact, our joy often flourishes during these times because we are more likely to draw close to the Lord and experience His presence at a new level. What kills our joy are the subtle temptations that draw us from walking in the presence of God.

The book of Second Peter was written as the final inspired statement of Simon Peter to Christians before his death. At the beginning of the letter, he says he is writing to remind us of important things so that we will remember them after he is gone. Many of the truths about real New Testament Christianity are easily and soon forgotten by Christians who once knew them, both by study and by experience.

If there is one thing we should model as Christians, and particularly as Christian leaders, it is the joy of the Lord. God designed the Christian life to be an abundant life. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. Although joy should be the norm for Christian ministry, we can go days, weeks, or months operating in “joyless mode”—diligent in going through the motions but empty inside.

All of us come upon times when our time with the Lord is not as fresh as it could or should be. Below are tips I recently shared with my Sunday school class. They were a blessing to me to compile, and I hope they’re helpful to you. Perhaps you could pull just one or two of these to incorporate into your time with the Lord.

The life and influence of Richard Hester extend from the farmlands of the great American plains, through Muslim neighborhoods in Lebanon, to Arabic refugee immigrant populations in Australia. It is a life dedicated to serving Christ in a ministry that spans more than six decades and three continents.

If you want to read some thriller stories, pick up a biography about Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, or William Carey. If you want to be stirred by heroic endurance and courage, read about Adoniram Judson, Mary Slessor, or Amy Carmichael. These Christians—and a host of others—saw God do the impossible in foreign fields. They took seriously Christ’s command to give the entire world the Gospel, and they acted. And because they acted, to this day there remains fruit to their efforts.

Recently I was preparing a message encouraging our people to implement godly habits in their lives. As I thought about habits I was reminded that doing something habitually can lose its power for good.

Occasionally, I am asked why a Christian should become a member of a local church. Some insist that membership is merely a technicality, not seeing much difference between attendance and membership. Some argue they can worship God on their own disconnected from a church family. Others feel qualified to invent their own definition of the word church is an attempt to release themselves of responsibility.

China’s best-known monument is the Great Wall that surrounded the country during the Ming Dynasty. At four thousand miles long and over twenty feet tall, the Wall was designed to be an impregnable obstacle to invading armies. The idea was a good one, and it would have worked well—except that the enemy was able to bribe the gatekeeper. With the compromise of one guard, an impenetrable wall was rendered useless.

In spiritual leadership, the way up is down, and the way to greatness is the path of service. We already know that, and we pray for a servant’s heart. But sometimes we forget what a servant’s heart actually looks like. What, specifically, are we praying for when we ask for a servant’s heart?

Have you ever considered the basic convictions that motivate a soulwinner to be faithful? Convictions are the spark plugs that keep the engine of faith going forward. And biblical convictions regarding the eternal souls of men and women move us forward in reaching the lost for Christ.

In a world of darkness, there should be a place where one can go to find the light of life. There should be a place where the seeking can find understanding, the hungry-hearted can find manna from above, and those bound by sin’s chains can be set free.

One of the dangers to which spiritual leaders are particularly susceptible is that we would teach the truths of God’s Word while exempting ourselves from those very truths. Take, for instance, the lawyer in Luke 10 who asked Christ how to inherit eternal life. Contrary to face value, this question was not a “What must I do to be saved?” kind of question. It was a trap.

As a Christian wife, you will be watched and even judged. Some women consider this to be a negative aspect of being a Christian or of being in ministry, and either they resent it and give up, or, in most cases, they become consumed with trying to please people. Neither response is pleasing to the Lord!

Ephesians 4:1-3 is one of the most convicting passages to me, because I am guilty of causing a stir more times than I am guilty of stirring the cause. And if I’m honest, it is often rooted in my pride. “Only by pride,” the Scriptures teach us, “cometh contention;” and most of the time, that pride comes from me.

It promised to be a beautiful Monday morning in a small, rural area of Kansas. The opening services of the revival on Sunday were productive, and I was thankful to be at this church for a few days. At the crack of dawn, I mounted my bicycle, intending to get some good exercise.

Have you ever handled rose petals and noticed how soft and delicate they were? The rose has been dubbed the “Queen of Flowers.” This beautiful flower has been a symbol of love, romance, beauty and pleasure. Each bloom is different and unique. Roses are hearty but fragile at the same time.

I am not a neat freak. In fact, the title of this little article is extremely descriptive of my natural tendencies. I have no patience for those who waste valuable time making sure all the paper clips in their desk are in perfect order, all the pencils point the same direction, and any papers are stacked as neatly and squarely as when they came in the original ream from the office supply store.

The devil does have a plan for your life. And it can be expressed pretty fully with five words:doubt, discouragement, diversion, defeat, and delay—they’re temptations to all of us. The key is to recognize them for what they are, submit to God, and resist Satan.