The man who sold everything gained, through a temporary loss, great wealth. There are some things worth having that we should purchase, even if it costs us everything.
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God uses people to help people. God intends people to touch and shape people. This is not always positive, but God intends it to be. We leave on one another indelible marks. These are never in consequential. These mini impacts are for good or for bad. We must ask ourselves, "Who is better for my having interacted with them?"
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Our church is a treasure, but it takes the continued contribution of its members to remain so.
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The success of the gospel can be credited to the membership of the church. The strength of Eastland is directly tied to the missional mindset of each and every member.
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Christ asks each of us the same question, "Do you love me more than __________?" If we are going to accept and perform the ministry Christ has given to us, we must answer this question in the affirmative. Christ's expectation of Peter and us are simple. He wants us to love Him and people. That is the ministry He has given to us.
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Stephen was a man of faith so filled with grace that those murdering him saw in his face the countenance of an angel. They saw not hatred, anger, or pain but the manifested grace of God. The grace of God allowed Stephen to overcome unbelievable abuse and hardship. Mastering self is life’s hardest task. God’s grace enabling us to take abuse and hurt is a miracle in itself. We must ask ourselves: to what degree do we have power over our own selves? By whom and what are you controlled?
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We all know what it is like to face disruptive questions, questions that create tension. We often don’t like this tension because tension is uncomfortable. However, to make better decisions, we must embrace the tension and probe the tension. We must ask the question: “What about this bothers me?”
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As Christians, we affirm a number of truths, all of which are vital and important aspects of our lives as Christians. Perhaps none is more self evident than our own sin and brokenness. This makes none of the truths Christians affirm more important than the resurrection. What are you going to do with the risen Jesus Christ?
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The self-restraint of God demonstrated on the day of Christ's crucifixion is remarkable and unparalleled in history. The jeers and mockery Christ faced, the rejection he experienced from everyone, including God the Father, are hard to fathom. All of this Christ endured willingly for us because he loves us. Love relinquishes all, and love absorbs all. What are you wiling to relinquish, and what are you willing to absorb for the sake of love?
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God is a God of order; that is clear in creation. He expects there to be order in the church. However, the church is not a business, and if you remove the Holy Spirit, the church becomes worthless. We must be both organized and Holy Spirit filled. We must be people of God who walk with God, and we must get our hands dirty in the service of the church. The church will be hurt by a neglect of the spiritual and the organizational. We all must do both, and we all must do our part.
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Christ suffered indescribably agony to be loyal to us. In the face of such willingness to be loyal to us, should we not strive to be loyal to Him?
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The miracles of the early disciples were done within the context of sharing the gospel. Multitudes of people found healing, and this healing gave opportunity for preaching. All of Jerusalem was filled with the doctrine of the early church. This preaching of the gospel led to imprisonment by the religious establishment on multiple occasions. However, the early church was determined to obey God rather than man and they went right back the preaching the gospel, which is what had led to their imprisonment in the first place. God has given the church a singular mission, and it is vital that we keep the main thing the main thing.
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We're all writing a story with our lives. Every decisions we make is another chapter in our lives. We write the story of our lives one decisions at a time. Given this fact, we ought to pause and ask this questions: "What kind of story do I want to write?"
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The pursuit of personal greatness is a threat to things that are great and meaningful. If we're going to make a difference for the Lord, we have to set aside our egos and personal ambition. It is when our hearts are directed toward others that greatness is found.
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God takes issue with concern for self over concern for the group, especially within the context of the church. Shared purpose and mission has as its by-product a deeper fellowship and unity. To act selfishly is to distance ones self from the church and, therefore, to fail to accomplish the mission the church has been given by God to accomplish.
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For every good choice we make, there are often many we regret. We all know the pain of poor decisions. Good or bad, our lives are made up of the decisions we make. Decisions determine the direction we go in life. Rather than living life by default, we ought to determine what kind of life we want to live. Good questions lead to good decisions, which lead to a good life.
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We may feel we labor in insignificance and obscurity, while others do great things. However, God knows our labor, and His expectation for us is simply that we keep the faith, finish our courses, and fight the fight.
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We live in an egalitarian, ecumenical age that holds to a relative view of truth. However, Christianity espouses a different view, and to hold to Christianity places you at odds with the age. If we are not facing resistance from the culture, there’s something wrong with our Christianity.
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In 2 Corinthians 9, Pauls attempts to challenge our thinking regarding giving. It is a law of the universe that if you sow bountifully you will reap bountifully. The law of cause and effect is a powerful law that can be used to our advantage. The gift of giving does not discriminate. God gives to all equally the grace to give. We can all leverage the law of sowing and reaping.
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Miriam, accompanied by Aaron, in her jealousy, criticized Moses and undermined his leadership. However, her criticism was nothing more than a smoke screen hiding the nature of her own heart. Criticism always reveals more about the heart of the criticizer than the criticized.
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