Category: General

“Take my life; lead me, Lord… Make my life useful to Thee. ”

I believe the Lord is focusing my thoughts lately on the concept of being USEFUL.

A big part of being useful is knowing the ways that we LIMIT our usefulness, our effectiveness. One of the primary ways we limit our effectiveness is through a weak testimony. If others question our motives and motivations due to indiscretions, questionable decisions, unresolved moments of weakness, or out-and-out moral failure, we cripple ourselves spiritually and, in effect, take ourselves out of the game.

As much as we sometimes like to mock him, it is important to remember that SATAN IS NO DUMMY! He knows we win. He knows he has no chance. He’s read the end of the Book. And He knows that he can’t loosen God’s grip of grace from His children.

But if he can turn us into Christianity Lite, he preempts our potency.

If we cease to be the salt and light Jesus called us to be in Matthew 5, we cease to offer the world an alternative. THE alternative.

If we intend to remain steadfast soldiers for the cause of Christ, we MUST…

• Guard our testimonies.
• Confess our sins.
• Own up to our mistakes.
• Admit wrongdoing.
• Flee fleshly desires.
• Guard our hearts.
• Establish hedges of protection against weaknesses.
• Die to self.
• Get prayed up.

I desire and pray that God will use me in ways I can’t imagine or even see coming! I look forward to exploring how to prepare myself for whatever the God of the universe has in mind. I hope you’ll join me.

“Jesus is a person.”

This quote does seem strange, doesn’t it? We often want to think of Jesus as a foreign entity, absent from our lives, not caring what we think, feel, need, or do. We want Jesus to fit into our definition of Him.

That quote comes from Your Own Jesus by Mark Hall, in which he uses practical (and sometimes mind-blowing) illustrations and wonderful writing to compel the reader to develop a relationship with the REAL Jesus, not the Jesus we want Him to be.

The most gripping aspect of this book is the way it incorporates lyrics from Casting Crowns’ songs into the text, giving even more life to songs that already have lives of their own. We get to see the insight and inspiration behind the music.

This book unpacks powerful truth in a language that is accessible to all. If you have ever seen a Casting Crowns concert or heard Mark Hall speak, you will hear his voice on every page. He delivers the reality of Jesus in a concise and multi-faceted way. But he doesn’t stop at letting us know who Jesus is: Mark shows us how our lives should look BECAUSE of who He is. Sin, repentance and forgiveness, living a Godly life, commitment, accountability, prayer, evangelism… it’s all in there.

This book will stretch your understanding of our Savior. A must read.

I was having a conversation with a member of the praise band at my church this past Sunday while we were setting the platform for the second service. I was saying how disappointing it is when believers are told that, based on the Bible, there are areas of concern in their lives. But because they want to keep doing it, they say something like this: “Well, I know it’s wrong, but…”

That’s when I said it: “Your BUT is sin.”

We laughed about it at first. But then I got to thinking: anytime we are confronted with the truth of the holy, infallible Word of God and our lives are being lived contrary to the teaching of the Scripture, we have no defense or excuse to continue in said behavior. In other words, whatever we have to say that follows the word “but” in the scenario above is a defense of sin and needs to be reconciled.

You often hear Christians say, “God said it; I believe it; that settles it.” Well, the fact is that it doesn’t much matter whether or not we believe it. If God says it, THAT SETTLES IT. And the same goes for sin. Sin is not up for debate. The Bible is not Wikipedia: we can’t submit revisions.

The Bible says that we are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers (James 1:22-25). When confronted with sin in our lives, we have no defense. The only way to a close relationship with God is to do business with Him as soon as we are aware of behaviors that are contrary to His Word. Our preferences, opinions, habits, predispositions, and misconceptions don’t mean a thing if they don’t stand up to the scrutiny of the inspired Word of God.

This is why it is so important to be in the Word on a consistent basis. We can’t know what God says if we don’t know His Word. That is also why preachers of the Gospel have to be steadfast in proclaiming what the Bible says, unashamed and unafraid.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. Psalm 119:5-6