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Revelife Christian Blog
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
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What Are You Paying Attention To?
More Here...
By Clayton King“Sadly, what we do not observe willingly is often imposed upon us forcefully.” Wayne Cordeiro, Leading on Empty.
My two boys, Jacob and Joseph, are wonderful and amazing, but because they’re boys, they sometimes get into trouble and have to face the consequences of their actions and disobedience. Every single time, it seems, I say the same thing to them as I am administering the discipline: “You guys always get into trouble when you don’t pay attention to your parents!”
Just like a parent who is constantly giving advice, sharing wisdom, and communicating expectations, God is always speaking to us through His Word, the wisdom of others, His Holy Spirit, and our circumstances. The reason we suffer is not because God fails to speak. We get all out of sorts when we we stop paying attention.
This applies to every believer, but especially to pastors and leaders.
1. Are you paying attention to your attitude? When we are grumpy, irritable, negative, jealous, or envious of others and their successes, we ought to ask ourselves why we’ve grown so unpleasant and take steps to change our sorry attitude. If you’re not paying attention to your attitude, I guarantee you others are, and they will be happy to tell you about it if you ask them.
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Exodus 18: Jethro the Life Coach
By Sam at Creating Culture
In Exodus 18, Jethro:- approaches Moses
- celebrates with him
- corrects/advises him
- leaves him
Whether you are a creative, change agent, church leader, social justice advocate or just a normal person going through life, you can learn from this chapter of Scripture.
To be successful, we need to be approachable and accessible. The lone wolf mentality is outdated. Form a team and get on with it.
We need people to celebrate with us. It’s like the guy who went into a manic depression because he shot a hole-in-one on a day he golfed by himself. In order to fully experience joy, it must be shared with those around us.
More Here... -
Sin: Our Nasty Little Secret, and What to Do With It (Part One)
Sin, for the tenderhearted conscientious person -- a person who really wants to do the right thing, is a serious problem. I suspect there are a lot of people who don't give a 'flick' about sin which is no longer a problem for them. In some fashion they have learned to ignore the God-given sense deep within them that 'something's wrong' -- terribly wrong! However, in some fashion they are able to get through the day (maybe even several days on end) without giving it much more than a passing thought. Or perhaps they have come to the place where sin, guilt, forgiveness and righteous behavior are treated with a derisive condescending, even belittling attitude.
But there is an inherent sense embedded deep within that nags us constantly and incessantly. It is the need to be 'right'. And not a one of us has escaped this compelling trait that we all share. In fact, the need to be 'right' is so essentially a part of our innermost make up, that we could almost prefer to die than acknowledge that we might possibly be wrong. We are relentlessly driven to always be right.
I think this explains in part how very difficult it is for us to completely embrace in a wholehearted manner, one of the most basic truths of Scripture -- a truth that is repeatedly and extensively stated and illustrated throughout the Bible: "For all [emphasis mine] have sinned and [continue to] fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). More Here...
Monday, 15 March 2010
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Rejection and the Paralyzing Fear of ‘What Ifs”
By Brett at Godly Sheep [photo by Mountainbread]What if when Peter went to meet Christ on the water, and when he jumped out of the boat, it didn’t work. *Splash*
When I was in jr. high, I remember making the proclamation that I had never been rejected by a girl. This was said in a bragging type manner, but if inquired beyond the initial statement, you would find the opposite side of the story: I never asked a girl out either.
I never struck out, because I never went up to bat. The fear of rejection kept me in the dugout, or better yet; in the stands as a spectator.
I think of how often I do this with God. I never ask because I don’t want to be told “no”. I don’t want to feel the faith breaking embarrassment of going out on a limb and being rejected by God. I live my life in the comfort of familiarity. No need to get out of the boat. No need to put on my cleats. I’m fine right here.
More Here... -
What Do You Want to Hear?
By Sam at Creating Culture
What’s the one message you would love to hear preached?A message on a certain perplexing scripture, social issue or theological position?
What’s that one topic you’d love to hear covered? -
What Are Your Prayer Requests?
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
-- 1 Timothy 2:8
We here at Revelife believe the community that prays together grows together. That's why we offer the community a chance to receive prayer at the beginning of each week. Perhaps you have been facing a difficult choice, illness among friends and family, or struggles in your faith life. What ever it is that you are facing, Revelife wants to pray with you. If you don't feel comfortable leaving your prayer request in public as a comment on this post, feel free to contact us and send us a message with your prayer request. We will pass your request along to the Revelife prayer team anonymously, and we will pray for you.
How can we pray for you? -
Death: Enemy of Creation, Friend of the Faithful
As the greatest enemy of creation, Death seeks to steal from all mankind. Christ has overcome Death and proved that Death can only steal what we think is ours by some over-glorified "law" of ownership. Jesus never claimed His life to be His own. He gave His life as a ransom for many. Thus He disarmed Death and was able to dismantle all power belonging to it. We Christians know life to be a gift and a blessing. We readily offer our lives for others on behalf of the Kingdom of God. We claim no ownership of our lives. As Christians, we declare ourselves to be slaves in debt to our king Jesus. We belong to all creation in accordance with the decree of love proclaimed by God our King. We are thankful for the generous gifts of our Creator and acknowledge He owes us nothing. We have not and can not earn anything especially life.As living sacrifices, we say to Death: "You may have our mortality. Try and steal from us but we know that you can not for we share even our very lives with our enemies by giving to all those who ask. By not being afraid of You and not clinging to our own lives out of love, we define the very love that overcomes You and Your great friend Sin. You may accept our generosity but You can never steal life from us for what You seek to take from us is not even ours! In accepting our gift, You also accept our victory over You which we share with the One who has come before and for us. In such activity, You make another payment on your pending defeat which was installed by the fall and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and will be finalized through His return. Death, we have turned You into a friend by making you an enemy defeated. After we shake Your cold hand we shall feel the warmth of Paradise's hand embracing our own. Thanks for introducing us to another friend."
What do you think about this perspective on death? Can you look at death as a friend rather than as an enemy?
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Who Should I Trust: My Psychotherapist or the Divine Therapist?
Reports from the National Institute on Mental Health says that 20.9 million adults which is 9.5% of the adult population will have a mood disorder. The NIH also mentions that over one quarter of adults will suffer from a diagnosable mood disorder each year. These numbers are significant and it's telling of a greater issue that over a quarter percent of the U.S. population has a mood disorder. What does God say about mood disorders or mental health disorders in the Bible? I wondered what God would say about issues like depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic complaints or physical ailments. Recently, I scheduled an appointment with the Divine Counselor and my experience was so pleasant, that I'd like to share it with all of you...
When I walked in His office, it was an unassuming sort of place. There was a couch for me to lay on, so I kicked off my shoes and got comfortable. I was laying there for a minute, and I almost didn't hear Him walk by. I didn't want to waste any time in our 55 minute session so I got right down to business. I said: "God, I've been so down and out lately. I don't know what's wrong. I don't know how to fix it. Am I crazy?" He answered with a still small voice: "..Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted...there is no soundness---only welts and wounds..."[Isaiah 1:5-6] After that, I guess you could say He had my attention. It seemed as if He knew what He was talking about.
I started talking to God about the welts and wounds of my soul. "God, I'm just so depressed. What's the prescription Divine Doc?" I asked. More Here... -
Light Up the Darkness
A quote from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 2006 says: "Don't fight darkness - bring the light and darkness will disappear." I don't typically quote Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In fact, I think that might have been the first time in ten years that I have used a quote from him. Recently, I found the above quote and immediately thought of 2 Corinthians 6:14 "... what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
Even though the Maharishi had a similar idea as to that found in 2 Corinthians, his thought was still spiritually off-center. He instructed his followers to avoid fighting the darkness. As Christians, though, we are instructed to fight the darkness. Satan and his demons know who Jesus is and they know what was done on the Cross 2,000 years ago. Because of what was done on the Cross, people can have true hope, but also because of the Cross, Satan and the demons must obey Christ. Christians also have power, through Jesus, over Satan and over the demons."Bring the light and darkness will disappear." Darkness will disappear because it cannot coexist with the light that Jesus brings!
Can you identify the areas of darkness in your life? What are some of the greatest sources of light that you can bring to a person or situation? Where do you need to allow the light of God to shine brightest in your life?
Sunday, 14 March 2010
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Should Church Finances Be Run Like a Business?
This is something that I have been thinking about when it comes to church finances. Another question that comes along with this subject is the topic of what success means in a church setting. There are many questions that we need to answer. Let me first lay out some of the questions I have and hope that some of you can converse with me about this topic.When we talk about/deal with church finances, how should we treat them?
The question is concerns whether money should be profit or not. As people give and as the church uses the money, should the treasurers look for ways to turn that money into profit or should the church use that money to do ministry and forget about it?
More Here...
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