Month: October 2020

The Power of Consistency

~ ForCommonGround ~ Leave a comment

No one should ever underestimate the effects of living a consistent lifestyle. We have to fight for positive godly habits. When we incorporate them into our lives they will produce amazing results.

I know a lot of people that bag on the rituals of the Old Testament, but they served to create a pattern of worship in people’s lives. Of course, there’s always the chance that someone will get fixed on the rituals and lose sight of God, but it isn’t meant to be that way. That’s a heart issue. Just like how the Pharisees and Sadducees were so concerned with the law that they couldn’t even see the law giver walking among them in the person of Jesus. But the pattern of living a life of worship is meant to draw us closer to the One we worship.

I think many Christians lack godly habits of worship that are consistently engrained in their day to day. It has become an all too common practice to just work them in when they’re convenient instead of allowing them to shape our lives in a way that we plan everything else around our worship of God. The result of such a lifestyle is a somewhat empty walk with Jesus and a life that lacks Holy Spirit power.

When Jesus talks about abiding in Hin and then His love that as a reference to a constant state of being. We can’t possibly abide in Christ if our acts of worship and devotion are spotty at best. If our life is too busy to be in a consistent state of worship on an individual basis, with our family, and then a community of believers, then it is simply too busy and out of alignment.

When God said that we need to write His law in our hearts and minds and door posts and meditate on them when we wake and when we lay down and when we go about our way, He never inserted a clause that said when you have time. He obviously meant this to be a consummation of our entire lives. If prayer, meditation, devotional, worship, and serving others aren’t things we do everyday, then we need to pause and reevaluate how we’re spending our time. That’s something that should be done often anyways. I know I have to.

What can you do today to create a more Consistent life of abiding in Jesus?

Peace in Christ brothers and sisters!

Live like we have life

~ ForCommonGround ~ 2 Comments

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John‬ ‭5:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The gospel message is pretty clear: Jesus equals life. An eternal life and the life blood of God’s Spirit here and now. But how many of us are actually living like we believe that? How many of us are filled with unmovable hope? Does joy mark our existence or are we weighed down by the worries of this life? More than all of this, what are we doing to get the message out? If we believe Jesus is life, shouldn’t we do everything in our power to let others know that? But many of us keep to our own Christian circles and rarely look for chances to share the gospel with those outside. I guess until we fully realize the magnitude of the offer Jesus has given to us, we can’t fully understand what we are meant to share with the world. Lord please renew in us a full appreciation for your loving grace. Awaken our hearts again to the joy of your salvation.

Pray for me to be bold and I too will pray for you all. Peace in Christ brothers and sisters.

Allusive Peace

~ ForCommonGround ~ Leave a comment

When Jesus said we can have peace through Him, I believe Him. But I will be the first to admit that it’s allusive at times. At least that’s how it seems. The problem is my innate ability for distraction and misplaced priorities make it difficult to maintain a state of peace. I work a lot. I mean a lot. I have a family with three little ones, Bible Study, a business, and a teaching career. I find myself constantly battling the concerns of being a husband, father, teacher, business owner, etc,,,that I don’t often stop to smell the roses. I’m living month to month, instead of minute by minute most of the time. It’s a cycle that deepens as life progresses. But it’s also a cycle that can be broken at any time.

This is my manifesto. I will choose the moment rather than planning all the upcoming moments. I will soak in Jesus presence as often as I can possibly make time. I will choose to look at the silver lining in all circumstances. I will be the rock my family needs. I will stop allowing the stresses of life to have any hold on my heart. My life is good because I have Jesus. And because I have Jesus, I have salvation, rest for my soul, and peace with God. And it just so happens that God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and three awesome kids.

Money will come, because God will not abandon His own. Life will go on and we will all be under His loving watch. His peace will no longer be allusive in my life. How about yours?

Maybe today is the day for you to write your manifesto. Wherever you’re at, today is a gift. Let’s receive it with joy.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John‬ ‭16:33‬ ‭ESV‬‬