Monday, March 19, 2012

Journey of Salvation

I have often thought of salvation of an 'event' but truly it seems better described as a journey.  Ofcourse, there is a moment in the life of a person where we come to God in earnest - asking for His gracious forgiveness - believing in His Son Jesus' life, death resurrection and return - claiming His Lordship over our lives.  However, it is a daily process of change and transformation that leads us closer to God.

Under the 'journey' idea, I think of a train.  I have been on a train many times during my business career - sometimes near the engine and sometimes near the caboose and other times nearer the middle.  Our Christian lives have different segments not unlike train-cars.  All part of one train going in one direction (hopefully).

It seems there is always a part of our trains that is the hardest to keep moving in the same direction.  One rebellious boxcar that desires to make its own way or even flat out stop in its tracks.  Sometimes our Christian walk is hindered in its growing by this 'weak link'.  Each of us have our own unique struggles and weaknesses but scripture teaches about a few that are held in common by a great many believers.  One is discussed in Matthew 6:19-24 - slavery to money, possessions and stuff. Read that passage and ask God to show you where you stand in this area.  With most of us, we can surely improve.  God calls us to have a heart for Him and His Kingdom and when our earthly treasure becomes our focus than we divert energies of our heart from Him to 'Stuff'.  Stuff never saved anybody and stuff is temporary.

Let's take an inventory of our 'journey' and see what train-cars need re-alignment to keep us moving along the tracks of a spiritual life following God Almighty!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Don't Act Up

Reality TV like 'The Bachelor'and  Popular Novels like 'The Hunger Games' - what do these have in common? It has become normal to act differently on the outside than we are on the inside.  We have been trained by our culture to do this and to expect it from others.

As it pertains to our spiritual lives this can be most dangerous.  It can break down the walls of trust between brothers and sisters in Christ.  It can certainly hinder our relationship to our God.  We can even fall into the trap of believing our Savior might also be this way - after all - everyone else is...

Rather than putting on an act, what if we simply acted in Faith?  That is the clear command in scripture.  It is this Faith that makes it possible to please God.  What if, when a person looked at you they saw you and took you completely at face value?  Rather than wondering what you were really about they could choose to believe what they see because you have a track record of not putting on.  I am challenged to do this.  You?