Jesus Archives - Page 5 of 9

When God Did the Impossible

A lot has been happening within my church body. There have been huge moves of the Spirit and God displaying His power and providence in unexpected ways. (To catch a glimpse of what’s been going on, read this).

So much has been happening that I have had little time to share, simply because there hasn’t been time to keep up. Excitement and hope is springing up within me and all I want is to share it with all of you.

Then, the other day I read a post from Frank Viola, where he asked his readers to share stories–scratch that—testimonies of God’s power and faithfulness.

So, today I am totally, completely, %100 stealing that idea from Viola and asking you to do the same. I can’t share everything with all of you right now, but I can certainly be encouraged and lifted up by you sharing about God’s power in your own life. More than that, we can be edified by one another.

The Questions: What has God done in your own life, or those you know, that was a clear answer to prayer and His power displayed? Has He healed someone? Resurrected a marriage? Brought a clear answer to a seemingly hopeless situation?

When has God performed a miracle? Made the impossible possible? What is the story of God’s faithfulness that you stand upon? When He showed up for you in a big way….

May our testimonies be a witness to those yet to know the Lord and may our own faith be bolstered in reading one another’s answers.

How Important is Theology?

I know that as I begin this post, there may be a few individuals who might disagree with me and that’s okay.

Of course, despite what people often assume, I’m really not looking to pick a fight. This is just a question I have been mulling over lately:

How important is theology?

I am obviously no theologian, nor do I pretend to be, so please take this fact into consideration. Yet, I know many Christians who might, maybe, if backed into a corner, outright consider themselves to be theologians.

There is nothing wrong with this–thinking of yourself in those terms, I suppose. Yet, as of late, as my church body has begun living out what it truly means to make Jesus Christ the Head of our church, theology seems less and less important.

Here’s why… Continue reading How Important is Theology?

Don’t Follow Your Heart

God made us to be emotional beings. We experience millions of varying emotions over the course our lifetime from elation, to horror, admiration to disappointment, anger to joy.

If God designed us to express and experience emotion, it is no surprise then that for many of us, our emotions are critical in guiding and directing us.

Yet, as believers, should we always yield to our emotions? Better yet, is it always safe and wise to follow our heart, wherever it may lead?

Because I can’t help but wonder, in all of the ways the Lord gave us to help guide us in making wise decisions–the counsel of others, the Bible, prayer, common sense, our intellect, and our heart–if following the latter is always the best choice.

Especially, when you consider the sort of shocking statement the Bible makes regarding the heart… Continue reading Don’t Follow Your Heart

The Territorial Christian

Christians are territorial. Have you ever noticed this? We often walk around like we’re the *ish* and project a certain air of supremacy or snobbery.

We lay claim to our Christian-y things, like our music, our movies (which generally stink, by the way), our Bible, our worldview, our morals, our churches…

We are not very good at seeing other peoples’ boundaries. We only see our own. Often times, we only operate within our own sphere, but why? Why are we so territorial when it clearly contradicts the Gospel? Continue reading The Territorial Christian

Does God Want You to be Happy?

You might be thinking that this title sounds familiar and you’d be right. A while back I wrote a post called “The Top 5 Lies Christians Believe,” and among them was the lie that Christians think happiness is a guarantee of following Christ.

I’ve had enough people write me and disagree with me on this particular point that I thought I should address it in its own post.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like this idea–the idea that happiness is not necessarily guaranteed to us believers. I don’t like thinking that God is more concerned with my holiness than my happiness or more concerned with His glory than my good times.

But when I look at the Word and when I listen to the Holy Spirit, I have never been left with the feeling that my happiness is important. That doesn’t mean our happiness is irrelevant to God, but rather less important than we tend to think. Continue reading Does God Want You to be Happy?

I Am a Prodigal Daughter

Most of us who have been in the church for any amount of time have read the story of the prodigal son. A young man, sets out on his own, only to squander his inheritance, forcing him to return to his father’s home, broken and penniless.We have perhaps even heard a few sermons preached on this parable. And from time to time, we may have even heard others (or even ourselves) refer to people we know as “prodigals.”

What we usually mean when we say this, is that so-and-so had walked away from Lord, but has now returned. They came back to the Lord, just like the son who returned home in the parable Jesus spoke.

I used the word prodigal from time to time and I’m embarrassed to admit, I didn’t really know what it meant. I assumed I knew and that was enough. Until one day, I heard a wiser older Christian in my life explain that when you run across a word in scripture that you don’t know, you should find a dictionary and look it up.

How novel, I thought. How very elementary school.

But one day, when reading my Bible, I found myself at the story of the prodigal son. Of course, the word “prodigal” isn’t actually used in scripture, but I suddenly had the idea to find that oh-so-childish-dictionary.

I was surprised to find that the word “prodigal” actually has nothing to do with the concept of returning or coming back to anywhere. In fact, it means something different all together.

But what is perhaps even more surprising, is that the real definition of “prodigal” did apply to me. I was a prodigal daughter and all that time, I had had no idea.

I was a prodigal daughter because just like the definition says, I was: Continue reading I Am a Prodigal Daughter

The Most Important Type of Church

I read this quote the other day, and I have to say, I completely disagree with it:

A good church is a Bible-centered church. Nothing is as important as this–not a large congregation, a witty pastor, or tangible experiences of the Holy Spirit.”― Alistair Begg

I mean, on the surface, I think it sounds right. We know that as believers, the Bible is our bread. It is God’s very Word to us, able to divide joints and marrow (spiritually speaking). But is a Bible-centered church really the most important thing in creating a “good church” (whatever that means)?

Consider the Acts church, which grew rapidly and spread the Gospel like wild fire. Do you think the thing they focused on most, was the Bible? Was it within the Bible, and from the Bible, that they found their strength and power?

I doubt it. I think the Acts church focused most of their energy on something else entirely.

I once heard a pastor at a local Phoenix area mega-church talk about the 3 kinds of churches that exist. The first church is a Bible church, that focuses primarily on the Word. The second is a Jesus church that focus mainly on the Person of Jesus. And the third kind of church, he said, was a Holy Spirit church, that was more so preoccupied with things of the Spirit.

So after reading that quote and recalling this pastor’s sermon, I got to thinking; which type of church is best? Which of the 3 types should we strive to achieve and focus our energies upon? Continue reading The Most Important Type of Church

God Never Said to Just Love Yourself

Is it just me or does it seem that lately, instead of people attempting to improve themselves, the new fad is to simply accept yourself for who you are, even if who you are isn’t that great?

We talk about being easy on ourselves, being kind to ourselves, being our own best friend. This seems absurd to me. How can I be my own best friend? And why would I want to?

Here’s another one of my favorites: “You can’t love anyone else, until you love yourself.” Or the variation: “No one will love you, until you love yourself.” When did loving yourself become a prerequisite for loving others or being loved? I know a guy named Jesus, who would probably disagree with this sentiment.

Yet, we’ve heard this mantra time and time again. We tell people that they’ll never find love until they learn to love themselves. We’ve heard Oprah and Dr. Phil tell us that loving ourselves is necessary if we’re ever to find true happiness. But when I think about this, an image pops in my mind that actually causes me to laugh out loud: Continue reading God Never Said to Just Love Yourself

This Jesus Of Nazareth…

“This Jesus of Nazareth without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Muhammad and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on matters human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoke before or since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.” ― John Schaff

He Is.

Still.

This Jesus of Nazareth….

What from this quote, stands out to you? Which aspects of Jesus do you find the most wonderful? Likewise, which do you most struggle to grasp or embrace?

True and Better Jesus

I’ve watched this video quite a few times now, and each time I get something new out of it. It is a perspective I had never really considered before. If you have time, please watch it twice.

Everything points to Christ…

What are you thoughts after watching this video? Which “true and better” Jesus was a new idea to you? If you had to choose, which are you most thankful for?

Thanks to Antwuan Malone for sharing this with me.