Imagine the Possibilities: Take Action - Part 3

If we’re honest, it’s relatively easy to realize some changes need to be made in certain areas of life. For some folks, minor changes would be sufficient, but for others, a major overhaul would be needed if this acknowledgment were taken seriously. Can you imagine the first century apostles, evangelists, preachers and teachers as they turned the world upside down with their commitment to Jesus?

The task of change is related to three basic components: insight, endurance and action. Change may hit like a tornado or come gently and unexpectedly. Change does require energy and effort as well as determination to endure. Insight as an agent of change is knowledge gained either deliberately or accidentally.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world.  In me there is no darkness." To those who comprehend and accept this challenge, a new world of experience awaits them. Jesus also said, “Take up your cross and follow me” to a different kind of experience, but one that honors and pleases God. This means Take Action. 

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You are invited to listen as I will be the guest on "Vital Issues in the Christian Home" next week on Thursday morning, May 19 from 10:30-11:30 Central Daylight Time on KHCB radio at 105.7 FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, AR and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.

Endure: Press Upward and Onward - Part 2

People who do aerobics and other sports learn the importance of building endurance, or “no pain, no gain”. Many wonderful Christians have had to endure physical and perhaps emotional pain for years. Yet they tell you that God gives them strength to endure. It's true, we're not all created equal, and life can be more complicated for some than others.

Endurance may include pressing on toward godly goals even when failure seems eminent. One of the hard sayings of Jesus was to "take up your cross and follow me." Pressing onward could mean working through difficult problems instead of giving up or denying they exist.

Jesus would not advocate something so important without empowering you to endure. Listen to his words. "If anyone would come after me, he must take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me shall find it." Reconstructing your values demands faith and trust in the presence and power of Christ in you.  

Critical Choices & Long-range Consequences - Part 1

Facing life-changing decisions is not readily forgotten because choices have lasting consequences. John Mark, who later wrote the Gospel of Mark, decided in the middle of their first mission trip to abandon Paul and Barnabas and go home. Later Barnabas wanted to include him on their second trip, but Paul refused to trust his immaturity as seen in Mark’s earlier choice.

Did John Mark regret his decision to desert Paul and Barnabas when he packed up and went home? Everyone will encounter crossroads in life, and most of these encounters create anxiety or even desperation. A young man caught up in gang activities during the 1970's was invited to attend a Billy Graham Crusade and, to his own dismay, agreed to attend.

His crossroads experience came as he realized God spoke directly to him through the message and invitation. Resistance was powerful, but yielding to God's call was overwhelming. Today that man pastors a church that is making a difference for Christ Jesus and the Kingdom of God. God gives peace to the person making the right choice.