Doing It Right vs Doing It With Excellence

Last night I got into a fairly lengthy discussion with my wife about this idea of "doing it right" vs "doing it with excellence". In my wife and I's context this tends to be a thorny subject at times. It could apply to just about anything...let me pick something random...like laundry for instance. My wife has a very specific way she would like the laundry to be done...to her it's "the right way". I have a different way I was taught growing up and to me it is "the right way" to laundry, but we both, I believe, are trying to accomplish the task with excellence. If we, as fellow believers in Jesus, could learn to strive to do all things with excellence while representing the name of Christ instead of demanding we are doing it "the right way" and so should you, maybe the world would sit up and take notice. Is there one "right way" to do laundry, maybe...is there one "right way" to be a christian...I don't know for sure, but what I do know is how Christ directs me in my prayer time and scripture reading and I know my hearts desire to follow Him with excellence. Are you following Christ with excellence or are you just trying to keep up with the latest "right way"? Keep seeking Him.

Why Is It SO Hard To Wait?

Last night I talked to the teens about anticipation and waiting in this advent season. Pastor Sam (our senior pastor at Shepherd Nazarene) talked about this topic this past Sunday and used a pretty cool passage in 1 Corinthians 1:7-9. The teens talked about various things that it is hard to wait for and the list varied from drivers licenses to Christmas break to having sex when they get married! The point that hit me hard is we all tend to look forward to Christmas, but why? What is our motivation? Is it getting together with family we haven't seen for awhile...is it getting a load of presents...is it the joy of watching our kids open presents...or is it anticipating, longing for the birth of the one who would save us all, Jesus the Christ? We also talked about not only longing for the day when Christ would come as a baby but also the day He comes again with the same type of anticipation and longing. Are we prepared for that day...am I prepared for that day? By God's grace I will be.

Keeping It Simple

You know, it seems like we, as Christians, tend to get the cart before the horse...alot. I have been in the process of praying and thinking and planning and praying and thinking and planning some more. God planted in my heart and mind a simple but powerful dream of a gathering of people that could share our life journey and spiritual journey together in the context of a family or community...a church of sorts but more in the 1st century vein. I have been soooo excited about this vision that I have pushed without properly taking the time to pray...not just on my own but corporately as a community, as a family. Well, we did that tonight. It was strong, it was intimate, it was powerful. God is leading, the core team is following, and we are doing this together. It's a good start...