Posts

Showing posts from December, 2013

Shawn McDonald - Open Me

Josh Garrels-Believe

Moving Forward

As we enter a new year, may each of us strive to be transformed in our journey with Christ.   At the least, our call in a life established in Christ is to strive through all distractions of self and the world and obtain a greater intimacy with him.   In the book of   Romans, Paul makes an assessment of the Roman church, diagnoses a number of fundamental problems, makes a prognosis, and writes a prescription to help obtain a cure. (Good nursing skills!)   In Chapter 12, Paul establishes how those claiming to be Christians should live their lives so not to contradict the gospel and model of Christ.     1) Verses 1and 2 identifies how to be a living sacrifice.   In order to truly understand how to live a life truly representing Christ, we must understand what it means to sacrifice.   The previous blog provides two good examples. Mary and Joseph.   They both had to surrender and submit physically, mentally, financially, emotionally, and spiritually to fulfill God's will.

Surrender and Submit

Hello all! Christmas reminds us of God's greatest gift, Jesus Christ our Messiah. God loves us so much, he sent His only son to come to Earth, surrender His reign so to take on the flesh of man and become vulnerable to man's injustices. Christ had to surrender and submit to the will of His father in order to accomplish His designated purpose, to be the ultimate sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. I mean, in God's design, the only way for Him to give mercy on us was to have love expressed in such a way as sacrificial giving. Christ not only loved His father, but us as well, yes even you and me. Well, preceding Christ's birth, there were two people who had decided to express their love for God through the act of surrender and submission. An act that would cost them right to themselves through the sacrifice of self. Think of Mary. As I read the story of Christ's birth being foretold, Gabriel came to Mary said that she was favored by God and told her that

Grunt Work

Colossians 2:6-8   "6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than Christ." I t is not always easy to surrender oneself to the authority of another. After all, you have better ideas right? You seem to always know a better way.   As a young man, starting out in obtaining my education and career in EMS and the Fire Service, I had to learn quickly what surrender and submit meant.   I was entering a profession that was structured in order to maintain control so to sustain order and justice.   There was no tolerance for insubordination.   Freelancing, or working out from under the authority of my instructor (in school) or   commander (on the job) was