Christian Living

It’s staggering to contemplate the demands placed on Jesus’ life. Not only did He come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), but He was continually sought out by the multitudes. Naturally, once you heal a blind man and cleanse a leper, you’re pretty much in high demand!

President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech in 1906 at the dedication of the office building for the House of Representatives in which he stated: “You may recall the description of the Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.”

I once read a sign in the lobby of a church that said: “When God speaks, He will not call your cell phone, so please turn yours off as you enter the auditorium.” I enjoyed that immensely but have also been convicted by its message. With all of the modern technology today ringing in our ears, I wonder if we would even recognize God’s voice if He did “call.”

You couldn’t be any more loved by God than you are right now. Does that statement strike a nerve of unrest with you? It’s absolutely true. We all love affirmation. We all desire significance and recognition. We all benefit from being encouraged by others. And yet, this silent struggle for approval can often become an over-riding motivation that keeps us on an unpredictable roller coaster of insecurity and instability.

When I was a teenager, our school participated in the presidential fitness test program. We did sit-ups and pull-ups, ran the fifty-yard dash, stretched our fingers past our toes, and accomplished a whole list of other exercises.

In Philippians 1:20, Paul shared that his desire was to magnify Christ in his body whether by life or death. He wanted to live as Christ desired him to live, and if he had to die for Christ, then so be it. Either way, Paul wanted to live so people could see Christ in his life.

As a man and his wife were traveling across the desert by camel, a terrible sand storm came up causing the man to be separated from his wife. He desperately started searching for her on camelback, but could not find any trace of her. After several days, the man was separated from his camel in another sand storm.

Sometimes we overcomplicate the Christian life. We develop formulas, lists, and philosophies, all of which may be good and helpful; but there is an overriding purpose to our lives, and it’s quite simple—do all to the glory of God.

I am glad there is still a Sunday in May on our calendars designated as Mother’s Day. The Bible sadly announces in Proverbs 30:11, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.” While no mother is sinless or perfect, everyone ought to be thankful for the one who went through the travail of death to give us life!

Pastors carry many burdens. That is why Paul said, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). Paul had many difficulties. He had physical handicaps, he had been persecuted severely for the faith, he had been marooned on an island with criminals in the middle of a storm.

In a recent post, I shared several concerns and hopes for young preachers. Here I would like to continue the theme with some thoughts regarding older preachers.

If I asked you to define Job’s life, what would you say? Probably most would define it as suffering or sorrow, but God defines Job’s life as filled. We come to the end of the book (Job 42:17) and we read this phrase, “So Job died, being old and full of days.”

An important aspect of life is influence. Each one of us has influence over someone in this world. It is obvious that the more you lead, the more opportunities for influence you will have.

I was recently with a young preacher here on the West Coast who asked me a thought-provoking question: “What do you see that concerns or encourages you in younger pastors?”

Our first President, George Washington, had a motto for his life that he endeavored to live by: “Deeds, not words.” Reading this, I thought about how simplistic and yet how important it is that our lives as Christians be characterized by that motto.

Sermon outline: This is an abbreviated outline with the complete sermon downloadable at the bottom of the post. God’s Word was written for our instruction. As one must dive deep for pearls and dig deep for precious stones, so must we delve deep into God’s Word if we are going to uncover its powerful principles.

If you were to ask the average Christian which book means the most to him out of every book he has ever read or owned, I believe most would say the Bible. But I wonder how many Christians are actually benefiting from it in a real and practical way on a regular basis. We don’t get the benefits of God’s Word by setting a Bible on the coffee table or carrying a Bible to church.

We live in a culture that openly rejects and rebels against proper authority. The latest manifestation of this trend was the “occupy” demonstrations. Some of the protesters did not like the fact that they are expected to pay back money loaned to them for their college education, so they rebelled against taxpayers who funded the program that loaned them the money.

We know that Christ ultimately came to save us from our sins. Truth be told, the reason we face so many hurtful situations and circumstances in our lives is because we live in a sin-cursed world, and we are sinners. Because people are sinful, they do hurtful, hateful, and sinful things which always affect others.

Five-point Calvinism has, in our generation, been a disincentive to soulwinning, a hindrance to evangelism, and sadly, a source of intellectual pride.