Valuing What Is Free

To what lengths would you go to be with fellow Christians?

On the one hand, we answer that question all the time. We, of course, have multiple chances to fellowship with each other throughout the week -- just at our church property. Add in all of the opportunities we have to be in each others' homes and we're essentially unable to calculate all of the times we could be together. When we establish that framework and fill it in with the efforts we make to be with God's people (in the context of the whole of our lives, of course), we start to get an answer about what lengths we would go to in order to spend time with other believers. So, in that sense, we have an idea.

Prayer and Our Priorities

"All of life is competing priorities," they say. They're right, whoever they are.

Every day we are faced with so many choices, living under so many pressures. Bob Seger talked about "deadlines and commitments," and we're all too familiar with those. If we're not careful, we can lose all control of these responsibilities and find ourselves living under various "needs of the day" that are really just wrongly-ordered priorities. The place of prayer in our lives is a great example of this.

Singing Sparks

Singing is an instrument of God given to creation for our benefit. By singing, we show how we are set apart from the rest of God's creatures, as those made in His image who can communicate in such a way. It is unique to mankind and it carries with it unique benefits.

Embracing the Trials

Charles Spurgeon once said, "I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages." This kind of perspective is obtained only by spiritual maturity.

Who would embrace trials? Who would get stronger through struggles? Who would find consolation in tragedy?

The answer is, "Only a Christian."

Prayer and All the Feels

Talking about God's feelings is rarely a good idea.

On the one hand, it is challenging and dubious. Challenging, because we cannot know the mind of God beyond what He has revealed to each one of us in His word. Dubious, because God does not have feelings as we have feelings. He is not fickle, emotional, persuaded, reactionary, or spontaneous as we are. He is the unchanging God who exists outside of time, ordaining all things according to His will alone.

Yet, on the other hand, God certainly has affections. In Scripture we see Him express joy and grief, pleasure and anger, gladness and sorrow. He is personal, and He has chosen to relate to His creation personally. Prayer is perhaps the most tangible way that His children can experience His personal nature, as He hears us and responds to our needs.

Keep Calm and Read Scripture

It's hard to take our eyes off the news these days--and for good reason! We are a nation in tailspin. The only thing that's certain about our country's future is that our country's future is uncertain. There's so much we don't know and therefore wonder about; we'll likely never know the truth about many of the most important things that have happened and are about to happen. But here we are.

But we'd do well to stop and consider how we're not unique in world history on this point.

The Priority of Good News

As Christians, our top priority must be to get the good news out to as many people as we can. Beyond all of the other priorities that we have in life, the number one goal must be to get the message of the gospel out to every person on the face of the earth. This is the commission we've been given by our Lord and it is a task that can be considered both critical and exhaustive.

Serving God Uniquely Just Like Everyone Else

How many ways are there to live for God?

On the one hand, it seems countless. Christian doctors, Christian entrepreneurs, and Christian stay-at-home moms all live very different lives. The way they live for the Lord in the day-to-day will often appear radically different. On top of that, we all have different personalities, and we are in different seasons of faith and growth. We're all unique--with unique gifts--and we have different people in our lives that we interact with and try to reach. We're all living for God in so many ways.

Yet, on the other hand, any disciple of Christ who is going to live for Him is going to be doing the exact same things as every other disciple of Christ.

Prayer: God's Daily Test

I have some biblical tension for you to hold in your life that gets to the heart of prayer. Are you ready for it? Perhaps you should pray first.

Consider these verses:

• "Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham..." (Genesis 22:1)
• "Then the Lord said to Moses...'I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.'" (Exodus 16:4)
• "God left [Hezekiah] alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart." (2 Chronicles 32:31)

Why We Gather

For the Christian, gathering in fellowship should never be considered a chore or a begrudged obligation. Instead, meeting together to serve God and others in the ways we've been gifted is a glorious privilege. It's something that the Lord has designed for us to do for eternity.

There are times when our hearts grumble at the prospect of gathering again. There are times when we refrain from serving because we cherish the lack of responsibility. There are times when we participate in fellowship with the wrong motivations, judging others for not doing what we're doing. These thoughts are foolish at best and evil at worst.