Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

The New Testament is full of the analogy of "running" or "walking" as a descriptor of faith. Have you noticed that? Just like my stories about football seem to dominate my mental pictures, running and other athletic analogies dominate the writings of Paul. He must have been an athlete or loved the games! As I think about it, it could also just be the fact that it is such an apt descriptor of what faith actually is like! Today I talked with the 46! middle school students who came early to JumpStart about what God asks us to do in terms of faith... Let's see what God had to say to us: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one...

Bill spoke of real faith Sunday, and it was awesome. The idea that believing alone isn't all we're called to is so much bigger than we say. Just as God called Abraham to leave his home or Peter to leap out of the boat, He calls us to live a life as He did! How does that relate to Ephesians 1 you might ask? Simple, Paul speaks of God as having "blessed us with every spiritual blessing...because we are united with Christ." One of the blessings, whether we see it or not, is faith! It might sound odd, God giving us faith to believe in Him, but it's the way it works. Without God's gentle (or not so gentle!) nudging, none of us would have ever found Jesus Christ, much less come to a saving knowledge of Him. The Psalms say it pretty clearly: "No one seeks God...no not one." We weren't seeking God, He was seeking us. Why would He do that? He is perfect in and of Himself; why seek us, imperfect, flawed, and ungrateful as we are? Short answer: ...

As I finished W.P. Campbell's book, "Turning Controversy Into Church Ministry," it has made me want to re-examine Ephesians. Partly because it is the framework upon which he builds the entire book (which is VERY, VERY, VERY good and comes highly recommended for everyone in ministry or who is dealing with issues related to homosexuality, in fact I'm going to recommend [and possibly push "gently"] it become required reading material for our church and Presbytery officers/staff) but mainly because he brought a lot of great thoughts into my head. But, I'll start my thoughts around this particular quote and passage from Ephesians 3 tonight: "The love of God is wide enough to reach all kinds of people, long enough to keep your church on track through time, high enough to change any life, and deep enough to heal every wounded heart." Followed by Ephesians 3.14-19: When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of ...