Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within ( Kindle Location 383). Kindle Edition. I am reading the New Testament Gospels thirteen times in 2013.   I want to really catch a glimpse of what Jesus thinks is important.   One thing I’ve found is what Erwin says in this thought, Jesus brings about change. He brought religious change by His continually healing people on the Sabbath.   He brought vocational change to a group of swine owners when He cast some demons out of a man named, Legion and they were sent into the pigs and they went over a cliff.   He also brought structural change to a house when some men tore open a roof to drop their sick friend down in front of Jesus so he could be healed.   Over and over He brought change through His teachings and His miracles where ever He went.   Have you noticed that in all of the good He did for someone He was it seemed messing up someone else’s...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within (Kindle Location 380). Kindle Edition. When you really learn that He can be trusted then you do want to step out and risk more.   You just don’t want to waste the fact that you are connected to Him. Now there is the other side.   In the gospels in the New Testament there is the story of the two times that Jesus fed great groups of people with just a few pieces of bread and a few fish and even had some left over.   You would think that the disciples would really trust Him to provide food for them but they didn’t and Jesus got after them.   He fed 5,000 then 4,000 with a few loaves and some fish.   What about us?   He has shown us that we can trust Him but we still live with so much worry.   I mean look how He brought us through April but we’re not going to survive in May.   He has shown He can be trusted but we are afraid to risk. ...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within (Kindle Location 441). Kindle Edition. Jesus didn’t die to get us all to look or be alike but to be who we were created individually to be.   Now as a parent I understand the desire to do this.   We have two children who are now adults with their own families.   Our son came first and we found some ways to deal with him and his personality but then our red headed daughter came along and what worked with Brett didn’t work with Stefanie.   God made them both unique with different personalities and different needs and different potentials and it was up to us to see that and to enhance that.   We were not to make Stef like Brett.   God created them both as individuals. That is the way God sees us.   His desire is to not conform us to be like everyone else but to transform us into the person He created us to be.   It seems like everyone e...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within (Kindle Location 222). Kindle Edition. I find it so interesting to hear people who say they are Christians say that now that I am a follower of Christ there will be no pain and suffering in my life.   If there is it means I don’t have enough faith.   But what that really means is they haven’t read the story of Christ.   If they read His story and the story of those closest to Him they would see that they had great pain and great suffering. Yes they had pain and suffering and yes they had meaning and purpose and fulfillment and reward.   They had a reason to live and they understood the reason for the suffering.   They were serving Christ not Him serving them.   They lived for a cause that was great than themselves.   And that is what real living is all about. So what are you living for, no pain or suffering or meaningfulness?