Category Archives: Christian Living

Blogs in this topic are designed focus on living a life that’s honoring to God.

Be the champion your church needs

Posted on January 3, 2017 by | Comments Off on Be the champion your church needs

championChampion – what does it mean and are you willing to step up to the challenge? Do you have it takes to be a champion for your church and family? A champion is defined in the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary as a militant advocate or defender or one that does battle for another’s rights or honor. Within the King James Bible there are two ways this concept is used. The first is seen in Samuel and references Goliath, the enemy of God. The second concept, God calls more than our modern definition of champion, and this is a man of valor. In our modern usage of the English language, it is the second concept I will be using.

The challenge put forth to me by the Lord

The Daily Walk, for the most part, is the vehicle the Lord has given me to share my faith and my walk with my Lord and Savior. As a part of this ministry, I’ve shared my struggles with my faith and the ministry where the Lord has called me to serve. The week before Christmas (2016), the Lord began working in my heart. At the center of the struggle were two verses. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). The second verse is found in the Old Testament. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:8). Within the week of Christmas, two more verses were added to what was already going on in my heart.

At the center of my confusion, the two verses the Lord brought into my mind simply brought everything else into focus. The one that stung the most was: And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). I know the specific ministry the Lord has called me to serve. I also have problems with my past; can our Lord forgive completely? Yes. This has never been the problem and I know I have been forgiven. The problem lies in my own frustration and anger in what I was and the time I wasted pursuing things that have no eternal value. 

Becoming the champion that the Lord needs

The last verse the Lord brought into my heart was one penned by the apostle Paul. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9). Throughout 2016 many people tried to share with me the simple wisdom of this message – if the Lord has called you to do something, he will bring you to the place you can do it. Those two weeks before Christmas and the week after, the Lord began to show me something about myself that I didn’t know. I had become so fixated on worrying about things I could not change that I missed opportunities to serve Him. God was calling me to be a man of valour – not in the future, but now.

The concept of a man of valour is found forty-two times within the King James Version of the Bible. Thirty-five times, you’ll find the exact phrase, men of valour and seven times, man of valour. According to Biblical mathematics, the number thirty-five refers to hope and seven refers to completeness and spiritual perfection. Both numbers added together, forty-two, refers to the oppression of Israel and the first and second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What the Lord was working on was my heart and the need for men and women to stand up and become these servants of valour – champions the church needs today.

The men of valour were equipped, willing, and ready for combat

As I began to study what made these men so noteworthy that the Lord inspired them to be recorded as men of valour, several traits became obvious. In 1 Chronicles, the Lord gives us a trait: All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle (1 Chronicles 7:11). These were men who knew, understood, and drilled in the art of war. They knew what it took to win the battle and once committed to battle, would only break off an attack when given orders from their king.

The second trait these men of valour possessed is also found in 1 Chronicles: And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God (1 Chronicles 9:13). The Hebrew word translated here for able men is the same phrase meaning men of valour (חָ֫יִל – Strongs 2428). These men were ready to do the work that the Lord set before them to do. Within our faith as Christians, we have a lot of things in common with the description given of these men. Our Lord and King has left us a specific set of instructions. We know what He’s asked of us, and we know we have all the equipment we need.

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Posted in My Walk, Our place within the local church, Stewardship

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Christmas thoughts and musings from the Old Testament

Posted on December 21, 2016 by | Comments Off on Christmas thoughts and musings from the Old Testament

christmasChristmas is less than a week away. Every year our society becomes  focused on Christmas in both the religious and secular sense. If we are not careful, we can become more focused on the secular celebration of Christmas than what Christmas is really about. Earlier this morning, I came across a person on Facebook defending their church’s decision not to have church services on Christmas day. In their opinion, Christmas is for families. This is a secular view that has crept into the church and will have spiritually harmful effects. 

Christmas does have a family element

Before I get accused of contradicting myself, please read what I am sharing. All through the Old Testament, beginning with the first Passover, God has set some basic concepts in place. The first of these reads, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb (Exodus 12:3-4). This is the basic teaching found in every other celebration of God’s provision and grace throughout the Bible.

Christmas, like Passover and other Jewish festivals mentioned in the Bible, is to be a time when we are to open our home to those who do not have families. For that moment, while worshiping the Lord, we are one family. It is within this context where God places the next concept: And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever (Exodus 12:14). We are to teach the younger generation, and to remind others present, what the real meaning of the holy day we are observing. At Christmas, we are to focus on what Christmas is – the day Christians have set aside to honor the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

The meaning of Christmas is to be shared with all at our table

The more time I have spent studying the similarities God instructed the Jewish people to observe the holy days and celebrations with the Christian observances, I become more convinced about their importance.  If Christians were to focus on the meaning of Christmas as in the way of the Old Testament celebrations and observances, we would truly see Christmas miracles happen. Some families will read the Christmas story before opening presents, as ours does. This year, I’ve contemplated actually reading the story a second time right before we begin to gather around the family table, just as Passover is celebrated and observed in Jewish homes.

With the Passover Seder, children are encouraged to ask questions about the meanings and reasons behind the celebration. Every element of these special celebrations focus on the Lord. Each one focuses on reminding the elder generations of God’s testimony. They also give an opportunity to teach the younger generation about the goodness and holiness of the Lord. I’m beginning to believe my family and I need to adopt a similar attitude towards Christmas where it becomes an opportunity to teach about God’s love for mankind.

The Passover was to be observed in perpetuity by the Hebrews

There are several places in the Old Testament where God commands that holy days be set aside. It was also to be observed by future generations so that the testimony of the Lord would not be forgotten among His people. In Numbers, a commandment given to Moses is restated: Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations (Numbers 15:23). Not only did this include the Law, but the observance of Passover. There were never to be any question of the reason Passover was celebrated. There was never to be any question about the way and traditions within Passover. It was simply to be observed as a memorial to what the Lord had done for Israel.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living, Christian Responsibility, Our relationship with God

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Breakwaters of faith and their role in our life

Posted on October 18, 2016 by | Comments Off on Breakwaters of faith and their role in our life
breakwaters

© Micha Fleuren | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Breakwaters play an important role in modern society but many of us never bother to think about them. Even when I lived on the Gulf Coast  I never really paid much attention to what had become a common item. I watched the television reports of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew as it churned its way up the East Coast of the United States. One news broadcast contained a weatherman in Charleston after the hurricane had passed that city.  Although he was highlighting the damage to the area near him, the breakwaters did their job. The beach behind him was in better shape than the rest of the area!

What is a breakwater?

As defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary Online, a breakwater is a wall that is built out into the sea to protect a harbor or beach from the force of waves. For the past few days I’ve been thinking about the breakwaters God intended us to have within our faith. On Wednesday evening of this past week, I was able to attend midweek services with my in-laws. The services yesterday at my local corps (this is what the Salvation Army calls its local congregations), both the morning and the evening services seemed to brush against a similar topic as Wednesday’s service. A part of our growing faith in Jesus creates such a breakwater for us to be able to bear the storms we will face.

Real storms, such as Hurricane Matthew, teaches us about the preparations made by a community for such storms. Right now, even as clean-up continues, many towns, counties, and states are already reviewing what was learned and are making preparations for the next big storm. A spiritual storm can teach us a lot about who we really are, show us where we need improvement, and will allow us to grow in our faith.

We must develop spiritual breakwaters

When I briefly lived in Gulfport, Mississippi, I learned that after Hurricane Camille, nearly every public and private organization studied ways that could have reduced the impact of that storm. By the mid 1970s, breakwaters were added along key areas of the Gulf Coast spanning from Louisiana to Florida. Within our Christian walk, we must prepare for the spiritual storms. I think of the application of what Solomon wrote, The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; (Proverbs 30:25). Already in our house, we see the occasional ant scurrying around, looking for crumbs – in preparation for winter. Solomon is advising us to pay attention to the ant and understand a simple lesson. They prepare for the bad storms now, when things are going well. It would be too late to try to gather food for the colony during the winter.

Since 2006, I have noticed changes in my spiritual walk with the Lord. At first, even the smallest storm would send waves of doubt into my mind. I would doubt my sincerity to Christ, I would doubt His forgiveness being complete, I would doubt that He could love someone as wretched as me. The problem was not Jesus’ love for me at all; the problem was I didn’t have any breakwaters to meet Satan’s spiritual attacks. Satan is not dumb. Too many Christians underestimate his ability to trip up and bring spiritual chaos to even the strongest of Christians. Remember the warning by Peter, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). 

The breakwater of asking forgiveness of our sins

Earlier this morning I was deleting some old photos off my smart phone. I came across a photo I had taken of the weekly question written on a dry erase board we use for our pre-teen Sunday school class. The question was, “Why does it seem that it takes God so long to help me when I’m in trouble?” This is a question that all Christians, at some point in our walk, will ask God. The apostle Paul, when explaining the Lord’s Supper, said: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). This examination does not begin with anything other than us examining all we do through the lens of scripture.

This is the first and important breakwater of our faith. Paul tells us why this self-examination is so important: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). When we examine ourselves honestly through scripture, we have an opportunity to confess our sins, our failures, and shortcomings before God begins to deal with us about them. When we are in the middle of a spiritual storm, there are times when the Lord will not intervene until we confess our sins that separate us from His boundless grace and love.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living, Difficulties and Trials, Discipleship

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