Chosen for God's Purpose

The pictures flashed across the tv screen, and my numb eyes roll as I murmur to myself, “Here we go again.” Homeless and emaciated children. Communities without clean water. Animals deserted and dying behind bars of steel.  Their haunted eyes lock with mine; pleading for me to act, desperately seeking assistance.  Irritated, I move onto the next channel as quickly as possible, not ready to be bothered once again by their plight. I settle back into my cozy chair, pull a warm blanket under my chin, and take a long, relaxing sip of my steaming coffee. Life is good on this side of the tv, and I do not lend another thought to what I have witnessed. Obviously, needs are not simply seen through the square window of our television screen.  Need lives and moves about in our community; it walks with us through the store, drives with us through town, even sits next to us in church. Need is everywhere – and it comes in many forms. Need was als...

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Follower. Imitator.  After a careful review of the previous six posts that allowed us to dig into the characteristics that Christ manifested in flesh - can you now see the stark difference between these two terms? A follower is one who simply goes where another leads. An imitator is one who strives to become like the one they follow. I believe that the early church was full of disciples , those who truly desired not only to follow Christ, but to become more like Him every day. They were passionate pursuers of the truth that He lived out, and proclaimed it with boldness . They learned to lay their lives down in sacrifice and humility and faithfully serve one another as they served Jesus. And they worshiped - oh did they worship ! For the...

The master showed us the concept of true humility, and reminded us that the servant is not above the master Humble. Meek. Modest. Webster’s defines humility as a “modest or low view of one’s own importance”.  How does Scripture define humility? God defines humility as one of the most important character trait a person can possess. This is a trait that will bring you close to Christ – the humble servant – in living out your life.  If you seek to live a life to be seen or to be the greatest in the kingdom of God or even within your own sphere of influence, you are truly missing out on what God is. We see the concept of humility come up so often in Scripture, but a particular story comes to mind.  The disciples have been following Christ for a while. They are seeing great miracles done all the time. Jesus has sent them out to begin to minister apart from Him, and they are moving in the power of His spirit. They come back rejoicing that the demons a...