A raised eyebrow never killed anyone
Lord, give us some grit. Lee Grady in an article recounts his recent visit to Pakistan and an encounter with a Pakistani pastor that affected him deeply. This pastor oversees 900 house churches of approximately fifty persons each, and lives quite modestly, even by third world standards. He showed him several parts of his body that bore scars of gun shots, beatings, and physical assaults of all types because of his faith in Jesus. He spoke of the numerous attacks on Pakistani Christians, of miracles and healings he experienced as he ministered in the open air to crowds that were mostly non-Christian.
Believers in some countries experience great persecution, they are targeted by the state and radical opposing groups and yet they continue to hold fast to Jesus and thrive. The Read more
Five Vows for Spiritual Power – A. W. Tozer
Some people object to taking vows, but in the Bible you will find many great men of God directed by covenants, promises, vows and pledges. The psalmist was not averse to the taking of vows: “Thy vows are upon me, O God,” he said. “I will render my praises unto thee” (Psalm 56:12).My counsel in this matter is that if you are really concerned about spiritual improvement–the gaining of new power, new life, new joy and new personal revival within your heart–you will do well to make certain vows and proceed to keep them. If you should fail, go down in humility and repent and start over. But always keep these vows before you. They will help harmonize your heart with the vast powers that flow out and down from the throne where Christ sits at the right hand of God.
A carnal man refuses the discipline of such commitments. He says, “I want to be free. I don’t want to lay any vows upon myself; I don’t believe in it. It is legalism.” Well, let me paint a picture of two men.
One of them will not take vows. He will not accept any responsibility. He wants to be free. And he is free, in a measure–just as a tramp is free. The tramp is free to sit on a park bench by day, sleep on a newspaper by night, get chased out of town on Thursday morning, and find his way up a set of creaky stairs in some flophouse on Thursday night. Such a man is free, but he is also useless. He clutters up the world whose air he breathes.
Let’s look at another man–maybe Read more
Resistance, prayer, and good running shoes!
Last year, I decided I would run the Paris marathon. Well, perhaps, considered running would be more apposite. Here’s what happened. On a normal day when all seemed to be well with the world I got on a train to Brussels and happened upon someone I knew and liked travelling in the same compartment as I. We got into conversation, in the course of which she told me she had started running in the Paris marathon.
She really got my attention when she told me she had been somewhat like me, a zero exercise person, great lover of the couch, for whom physical activity was rushing to catch the bus. Then one normal day, when all seemed to be well with the world, she decided to get in shape, and, train for the marathon, which she did. She made some mistakes of course and sustained a foot injury, but all in all, she had done very well.
Well, that set me thinking that perchance Read more
at your service
Every once in a while i speak to someone who wants to join the church and be a worker. I listen to what people say, every once in a while someone comes along who just wants to serve and is happy to do whatever we feel they ought to do. They have not come to do their ministry. That is music to my ears. They do not say i am the greatest woman of God this side of heaven, that they will be with me forever, they do not sing endless love, they just want to serve. There is something wrong when we need people to tell us how magnificent we are and how their lives are now inextricably tied to ours. Most of those who have said that to me are no longer with me. And i am not weeping.
Previously I would ask people what they expected from the church, now i tell them what the church expects from them; this is where we are going, if you want to be a part of it, this is what we expect from you. We value openess, flexibility, unoffendableness, commitment to spiritual growth, willingness to suffer, to love and forgive. Suffer, offense, that is often a surprise. But it is important we tell people that serving God is not cakes and coffee all the time. Commitment to God still raises hackles, even in church. The devil still finds it unpalatable and he will try to throw a spanner in the works. People will irritate you, annoy you, frustrate you, just keep going, and going with Read more
AUTHOR
pastor bola olivia ogedengbe,
The Theophilus Company,
ABBA HOUSE, Paris,
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