ClydeStyle

Tag: trying

  • If only it were that easy

    Christianity suffers from unbelief. There are many who profess a relationship with God outwardly but in their hearts they have not surrendered. Have you ever heard phrases like, “I’m just trusting in the Lord”; “God knows my heart”; “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual!”? These used to be the words of the religious, but have now become as empty in meaning as the hearts of the sayer is from God.

    Strong words. I know, but it just seems like a person who loved the Lord in their heart would want to be pleasing to him. God expects that his people will practice loving each other, help people in need and worship him with their lives. Now you don’t have to go to a church to do those things, but going to church has its purpose.

    Allow me to be religious for a moment — in the book of Acts, chapter 2:42-47 Luke, the physician, writes that after baptism the new believers continued in the apostles teaching and fellowshipped together daily. He spoke of them being glad together and having singleness of heart. And it was in this backdrop that the Lord added to the church daily. You see, God expects for his people to form a community of believers that would then go into various other communities and consume them. The church is designed to function like a kingdom. And that kingdom would fulfill the prophecy from Daniel 2:44.

    It’s hard to build the relationship that would glorify God when the system he established is not being utilized. Now I am fully aware that some institutions of religion are so blended with tradition that it doesn’t look like anything God created but none the less, there is a mandate to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

    The problem here is much like funerals these days — everyone goes to heaven. I’ve never seen a funeral where the expectation was that the dead would be tormented. No matter what lifestyle was lived, we ignore bible mandates and decide that death for everyone means we are all heaven bound.

    Not only is that not true but it is a pretty good reason why as a society we are so callus about God. Let us live lives that serve a creator who is worthy of our worship. Let’s honor him in our comings and goings because it is because of him that we move and live and have our very being!

  • The wonder of second chances

    20131025-232823.jpg

    I loved every Rocky movie. The dialog, the training, the fights — I was always inspired even if at times the movie got a little corny.

    Something about the underdog touches my heart. Rocky was about taking the hits and continuing to move forward. What a great lesson. But it seems there are too many people who have not learned this lesson. We go through life blaming other people and wishing for things we don’t have.

    We’ll say things like, “I wish I had this”; “I wish I had done that”; or “if that didn’t happen I could have done such and such!” People are slow to recognize and seize the second chance. A second chance is an opportunity or a pause during the hits of life. It’s the time you get to regroup and go at it again. It is true that the things that don’t kill us, make us strong. There is a moment in every battle that is lost where you have a chance to go again. Second chances are all about believing a bigger picture and refocusing. It’s about digging deeper in places in your heart you didn’t know existed and then exploding out of the gate for another round.

    With each failure comes a second chance. Some of us use the period of second chance for rehashing failures. We are stuck and can’t get over the loss. If you believe you are a winner, then no matter what the odds or failures, you will rise to fight again. If you question whether you’re a winner or not; if you are unsure of your abilities; or you are waiting to hear if someone else believes in you, then you are destined for failure. And this my friends is actually a choice. You are what you believe. Don’t let anyone change your positive outlook.

    Step into the hits and keep moving forward. The war is yours to win and you need not worry about a few lost battles. Take the second chance!

    20131025-233133.jpg