Christians do not live in someday but today!
The mistakes of the past are forgiven.
The needs of today are promised, and
our hopes for tomorrow are secured,
all through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- M.L. Herring
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Just Passing Through ...
Psalm 119:19 reminds me that I am a guest on earth, or as I remind myself, I am just passing through. I have to face the fact that I have no control over the time I spend here. As a guest I must also remember I have no right to a house of my own or posessions. I must receive with graditude what my host provides and not complain. I am a guest.
As a guest I am subject to the rules of my host, for it is his house that shelters me and his provision that sustains me. It is not my place to disparage my host, interject my own rules, or code of conduct. I am a guest and owe my loyality to my host.
Many today walk this world without accepting the hospitality of its host. They walk in despair and fear, trying to find shelter from the storms of life. They look to their own strength to sustain them instead of looking to its gracious host who has the power to sustain all.
In this world I am nothing more than a guest. I am weak and having nothing of my own. Yet, God himself shares all that he has with me. He has sacrificed his precious Son for me so that I may be accepted as even more than his guest, as an heir. Many on this earth may look upon me as an unwanted guest, weak, with nothing to offer. But to our Gracious Host, the One who holds this world and all who walk upon it in His hands, I am the favored guest.
Through my Gracious Host, I will find my way through this world, my rights in injustice, my support in times of uncertainity, my strength when I am weak, my hope when I am discouraged. Through my Glorious Host I will find my way home.
RefRev
As a guest I am subject to the rules of my host, for it is his house that shelters me and his provision that sustains me. It is not my place to disparage my host, interject my own rules, or code of conduct. I am a guest and owe my loyality to my host.
Many today walk this world without accepting the hospitality of its host. They walk in despair and fear, trying to find shelter from the storms of life. They look to their own strength to sustain them instead of looking to its gracious host who has the power to sustain all.
In this world I am nothing more than a guest. I am weak and having nothing of my own. Yet, God himself shares all that he has with me. He has sacrificed his precious Son for me so that I may be accepted as even more than his guest, as an heir. Many on this earth may look upon me as an unwanted guest, weak, with nothing to offer. But to our Gracious Host, the One who holds this world and all who walk upon it in His hands, I am the favored guest.
Through my Gracious Host, I will find my way through this world, my rights in injustice, my support in times of uncertainity, my strength when I am weak, my hope when I am discouraged. Through my Glorious Host I will find my way home.
RefRev
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
ReformedRev's Quote of the Day
A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing
to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and
temperance, is, by Christian standards, in
infinitely higher state than one who
is listening to Bach or reading
Plato in a state of pride.
Walk As You Have Been Called
What religion are you? I am sure you have been asked this question more than once in your life. Yet I believe it is not an easy question to answer. I often stumble over the word "religion." The word religion can be defined as the observance of a faith or practice of a system of beliefs. It can mean the service and worship of God, a god, or the supernatural.
Yet "religion" that has no practical impact on our daily lives is as useless as the definitions above. Religion can become vague or abstract, it can encourage empty professions of faith, it can become focused on works, loosing its true identity and purpose.
In 1 Corinthians Paul reminds us to "lead the life that the Lord has assigned him, and to which God has called him."(1Corinthians 7:17 ESV) In other words, walk the life you have been called to walk. In your home, in your work, and in your church, walk the walk you have been called to. There is little room in the Christian life for hypocrisy. Too many people today want to seek their own way; they promote their own opinions over seeking the call of God. They will tell you in a very religious tone how important God is in their life and then go on to explain their wants, their needs, and their desires. In the process, seeking God's will and walking as he has called us to walk falls out of the discussion. For these people serving their religion is far more important than seeking the one, true, living God.
Christianity is not, in the truest sense, a religion; it is a relationship. It is not based on a system of steps to follow but founded in a real, life giving relationship. Jesus did not promote a system of works, he reached out personally to those who needed him most.
RefRev
Yet "religion" that has no practical impact on our daily lives is as useless as the definitions above. Religion can become vague or abstract, it can encourage empty professions of faith, it can become focused on works, loosing its true identity and purpose.
In 1 Corinthians Paul reminds us to "lead the life that the Lord has assigned him, and to which God has called him."(1Corinthians 7:17 ESV) In other words, walk the life you have been called to walk. In your home, in your work, and in your church, walk the walk you have been called to. There is little room in the Christian life for hypocrisy. Too many people today want to seek their own way; they promote their own opinions over seeking the call of God. They will tell you in a very religious tone how important God is in their life and then go on to explain their wants, their needs, and their desires. In the process, seeking God's will and walking as he has called us to walk falls out of the discussion. For these people serving their religion is far more important than seeking the one, true, living God.
Christianity is not, in the truest sense, a religion; it is a relationship. It is not based on a system of steps to follow but founded in a real, life giving relationship. Jesus did not promote a system of works, he reached out personally to those who needed him most.
RefRev
Thursday, June 21, 2012
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