As I started these series of articles on 1 Corinthians, both on my blog pages and on Facebook, my intention was to show what happens to the body of Christ, mainly the church, when it drifts from the biblical structure and purpose God intended for it to have. I also wanted to show, and will continue to do so in future writing on my daily Facebook post, just how easy that drift can happen whether it be a small local congregation or a mega church.

In article one, I shared how many believers never seem to get past the infancy stage in their Christian walk because they have not been taught to live a surrendered life to Christ and the kingdom of God. They agree with the principles Jesus taught about seeking the kingdom of God but, for them, that mainly means not engaging in a sinful lifestyle. Most of their personal study in the scriptures revolves around discovering God’s promises on how to get their personal needs and desire fulfilled rather than embracing God’s promises to fulfill God’s purpose for them.  The idea of living for a higher calling, one of divine purpose, seems to always be challenged by their focus on themselves and thus they can’t hear God’s voice on much else.

A calling, as defined in the first article, is when we perceive God defining a purpose we are intended to pursue to change the world around us. In Matthew 5, Jesus is teaching on what is called “The Beatitudes” in which he defines people who will be blessed by God. One category of such people are those who work at establishing peace.

I was recently asked to teach a group of pastors in Tanzania about what it means to know you’re calling and how to identify it. I have taught on Christian leadership for many years but have never been asked to teach specifically on an individuals calling. That being said, I dove into the subject and studied what the word had to say. Through these articles I will try to unpack what I have learned and identified about my own calling, which will hopefully help you discover your own.

I remember when I was born again in 1969, the term was not very excepted in religious circles even though it was one of the main ideas in Jesus’ teaching. When I or friends of mine testified that we were born again people actually got angry because they thought we were judging them for being less of a Christian than we were.

As you get older, hopefully you gain a different perspective on how life really works. When we are 18-20 we think we can do anything and that anything is possible, which is true but with a catch. What you don’t know is how much those ideas and potential dreams will cost you or the challenge of what you will need to sacrifice in order for those dreams and ideas too manifest.

Each year people make what are called New Years Resolutions. The reason, supposedly, for making these resolutions is that people are hoping to resolve something they did or didn’t do in the last year. Sometimes there was a mistake or sometimes they could have done better. Sometimes they didn’t do anything at all. The problem with resolutions is they are often done half hearted and we are only slightly committed to them. Mind you we may have good intentions to resolve these missteps, but rarely do we have any real conviction about them.

When I tarted this series on prayer, I wanted to address some misconceptions about prayer, and some habits many Christian have developed that are not productive. Our misconceptions come to us from a number areas such as poor teaching, personal challenges and a lack of understanding of the character and nature of God from the scriptures. 

With Christmas almost upon us, I wonder what most Christian parents are communicating to their children about Christmas and its importance for them and the body of Christ?

This is the fourth article in a series on prayer.  I am attempting to explore the vast  insights the scripture gives us if we would only open the scriptures to find them.  The topic of prayer, based on my experience, has few believers practicing because of misguided teaching in the greater body of Christ. Believers say they understand prayer and yet practice it either infrequently or poorly. The subject of prayer deserves a lot more attention. Jesus said his house was to be called a house of prayer, not of preaching or worship, even though those are important items and functions in a healthy church. Real healthy prayer is the gateway into the presence and provision of God. If you have not read the first three articles please do so now so you can see the foundation points on my understanding on the importance and practice of prayer for each believer. Look at what the disciples ask Jesus one day about prayer and how to pray according to the will of God.