Do we really care?

Mark Cahill posed a great challenge to me, and I trust to you, this Sunday morning. Given that heaven and hell are very real places, do we really care enough about lost people to do something about their eternal destiny? We may come up with myriad excuses, but none of those holds water in comparison with the command to simply go and share something. It's not my job to "win" people, that's God's job. It is not my job to shape the perferct "presentation," but merely to engage people in a "conversation" about matters of eternity. This can be freeing, because I often want to stall and put off sharing because I'm not sure I'm "ready" with answers to any potential questions a particular person might ask. (This is rediculous, because I've got a Master's Degree from a seminary. When am I ever going to be ready if I'm not now?) I bring this up to highlight how weak some of our excuses can be. The point is that we need to get busy obeying God, responding to the opportunities around us. May you find the courage to start a conversation with someone God has layed on your heart this week!

To find out more about Mark Cahill's ministry, visit http://www.markcahill.org

Run away from sin!

This morning, Perry spoke about ridding oursevles of sin, and especially running from the dangers of sexual sin. On this topic, I can think of no better Biblical example than Joseph. He was sought after by the wife of his boss Potiphar, and had plenty of opportunities to act on her advances without anyone knowing. Yet time and time again he resisted, saying "How could I do such a wicked thing against God?" (Gen. 39.9)

One day, the story continues, Potiphar's wife insisted that Joseph have sex with him, and here's what he did: he ran away. She grabbed ahold of his cloak, but he left it right there in her hand.

Now many of us know how the story ends, how she falsely accused him of trying to come after her, but I love the fact that Joseph ran away from sexual sin. He didn't hang around, trying to rationalize his actions, or talk her out of it. He was faced with temptation and ran.

Paul says there should not even be a hint of sexual immorality among us. Like the dead mouse Perry wanted to throw out of his house, let's "throw out" sin from our lives each day. We ought to be ruthless when it comes to getting rid of sin. May God give us the courage to run away from temptation. Let's not court it any longer, thinking we are strong enough to resist it.

Big-Picture Living

I was fascinated by Pastor Perry's image last Sunday about grazing animals. In case you missed it, it went something like this: Usually, when grazing animals get lost it's not because they run headlong away from the pasture, but because they have their head down grazing for food, and gradually lose their way. This is an interesting but sad picture of what a "dumb animal" can do when it stares at the tiny patch of grass in front of them.

Like these kinds of animals, we can easily become too focused on what is right in front of us and get sidelined in our faith. Things we want to achieve or get, whether a promotion or a new vehicle or the romantic attentions of another person, can blind us to the big picture.

Let's live with our heads up, aware of what God is doing around us. Let's live with an awareness of what things are really important to God, and try to make those things important to us as well.