How can I serve God best today? It’s a question each of us should ask at the beginning of each day. The way we frame our days determines how we live our lives. If we wait for life to just happen to us, we will constantly be in a reactionary mode, and this is not the optimal way to live. Reacting results in circumstances dictating our own actions. A better way to live is to proactively and intentionally influence what circumstances will actually occur in our life. Remember the old saying that the best defense is a good offense? That sports analogy works well in life. We want to make our lives happen rather than wait for things to happen to us. As followers of Jesus, the absolute best way we can do this is to determine ahead of time how we will impact our world for Christ each day.
John
The Voices in Your Head
The spiritual battle that wages around us is often played out through the voices in our head. Every day we face a constant barrage of nonstop conversation within our own mind and it can be hard to discern which voice to listen to and which one we should disregard. How do we know when its God speaking to us, when it’s the devil, and when it is simply our own thoughts? The constant tension between the voices is a source of great consternation for most of us. Fortunately, it’s a lot simpler than you think to sort out who’s got the microphone at any given moment.
Mercy
“Hear my cries Lord, hear my plea / All around me, all I see / Are canyons of heartache, rivers of mistakes / … It’s clouding up my clarity.” Those lines are from the song, “Mercy”, written by Aaron Pelsue. How often have you felt this way? Every day brings a new disappointment, and it seems as if bad news has taken up permanent residence in our inbox. The daily news grows ever more depressing, and the demands on our time our choking out any semblance of a spiritual life. We are dismayed by our past, discouraged by the future and despondent over our current circumstances. Where does it end, and how do we get off of this ride?
Beyond Belief
Do you ever wonder how people live without Jesus? Where do they turn when life gets overwhelming? How do they find the strength to persevere through difficult times? I’m certain I’d be dead or certifiably crazy, save for the fact that I know Jesus is with me through everything. There is no storm He cannot calm, no trouble He cannot heal. When I look around at the turmoil in our world, I don’t understand how people can feel anything but despair. There is no hope to be found of our own ingenuity or creation. While so many think the faith I have in Jesus is ridiculous and restrictive, I cannot imagine living in their alternative!
Comfortable Faith
I recently heard Ken Davis make the statement that, “There is no such thing as a comfortable faith.” How many of us believe that, or at least live as if it were true? It reminds me of a question A.W. Tozer asked years ago, “Have the saints of God joined the mad scramble for security?” Modern day Christianity looks awfully comfortable, and it seems few are willing to run towards the battle. We want the benefits of Heaven without having to go through Hell to get them. This may resonate with our modern ears, but it’s not the life Jesus modeled for His disciples.