“Christianity is not a system of laws and principles, but a pattern of relationships.”

A thought by Leonard Sweet, (2012-03-13) from his book, What Matters Most: How We Got the Point but Missed the Person (Kindle Locations 780-781). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

I have just come to really realize this fact. Margaret and I are in a new city and we are in the process of making some new friends; I in my Starbucks world and she in her work world but not in our church world. We have been driving 60 miles to attend one of the greatest churches in the world and sitting and being taught and challenged by one of the great pastors of our day but we have made no new friends. And he challenged us this week to the fact that this is wrong.

On our drive home from church Saturday night, Margaret and I both agreed that we needed to find a church closer to where we live. Pastor Rick said that each one of us would go through this year some kind of crisis where we would need a support group. We thought about the fact that if something happened to us, we wouldn’t even have a Pastor to call on for support or a group of Christians who would be there in our time of need.

You see, church is not just a great Pastor or great music but it is people, it is relationships. Do you know anyone who would be there when you are hurting or when you are in a financial crisis or relational crisis? Do you? Oh you may have a lot of friends but they may be friends who don’t even know how to pray, I mean really pray and there are times I need someone to really pray for me. I don’t mean over the phone but right there beside my sick bed or there in my front room when my life is falling apart or when I have lost my job or whatever. Do you have friends like that?

Well we are headed to PazNaz this week. It is a large church and we will at some point break it down to a small group but at least it is closer to home. We will also transfer our membership from New York. It is a start. It is what we want to do and we need to do.

What about you?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog