A Different Kind Of Christmas, A Different Kind Of Life

If you’d like some advice on how to have a self-less Christmas and a more self-less kind of life, please take time to read a challenge that my daughter wrote here.  I hope you are blessed and challenged as I was.

Foolishness or The Power of God?

Foolishness or the power of God, which shall it be?

What is your response to the cross of Calvary?

For every man down deep in his heart must decide,

Will the gospel be believed or denied?

 

Perhaps life’s greatest question, aimed at you and me;

Foolishness or the power of God, which shall it be?

What will we do with the Savior crucified?

Will His blood to our lives be applied?

 

Down through the ages God is longing and reaching

Every time the cross is at the center of our preaching.

Foolishness or the power of God, which shall it be?

A choice that will affect eternity.

 

A wondrous opportunity, the greatest of good news

Some will run to the altar, while others cling to the pews.

One day we’ll hang our heads in shame or rejoice eternally.

Foolishness or the power of God, which shall it be?

 

Written 11-27-09

 

 

1Corinthians  1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Corinthians 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

 

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

 

No, Don’t Let Him Out!!

Wait a minute, what are you doing? You can’t go out there. Stay inside the church, right where you are supposed to worship God. If you go out there, people are going to see you, and worse yet, they’re going to hear you. Aren’t you embarrassed? What are the folks driving by going to think of you? You know, you might get in trouble with the city. If you’re too loud out here, somebody could file a complaint against you.  People are going to think you are really weird when they see you lifting your hands and clapping your hands. This just isn’t normal Sunday behavior, you know.

 

I’m sure the devil would have liked to interject these thoughts or similar ones into our minds, but he did not prevail. I can’t explain everything that happened in church today, but God definitely wanted us to break outside of our building and worship Him out in the open.  It was exhilirating and liberating.  Thinking about it later, I wish the Oakley Press had driven by and taken some pictures.  However, being on the main drag of town, there were plenty of cars that drove by, and I can’t help but think that there was someone out there that needed to see people who were not ashamed to worship God.  Perhaps there will be some whose curiosity was so piqued by what they saw that they will feel compelled to come and  find out more.

The early church didn’t limit God to a churchhouse. They met in homes, by the river, on the streets and just about anywhere.  This is what the Bible has to say about Jesus’ disciples after He had resurrected and appeared to them.

MarK 16:19,20

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

I do believe in having a place of worship where we can meet on a consistent and regular basis, but I don’t want to be guilty of confining God to 4 walls. Neither do I want to keep Jesus locked in my heart, where nobody else can see Him, but I want to open my mouth more and tell others just how good He has been to me. Lord, we heard you loud and clear today, and we are letting you out!