Read 'A Slice of Infinity' each day and email Chad with your comments/experience/prayers etc. This ~5 minute recap, called 'COUGARS Daily' contains snippets from the previous day's A Slice of Infinity as well as comments from you.
- “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”- (Ephesians 3:17-19)A Slice of Infinity snippets:
In spite of the fact that our Lord prayed fervently for unity among his followers, the visible church is often a conglomeration of competing factions, each equally convinced of its solitary possession of divine favor. Those who seek signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit are usually suspicious of those who emphasize exegetical approaches to the Scriptures. Christian scholars are sometimes content just to talk to each other, and the uncanny tendency of apologists to sniff out rotten doctrines, real or imagined, is not always appreciated.
As a result, not only do we squander valuable benefits of dedicated teamwork within the household of faith, we also lose our edge in our witness to a broken world. Despite the monumental gains made in biblical research and translation, biblical illiteracy is still a high-ranking concern, and the frequent outbursts of oft-unfounded accusations from our detractors succeed in rattling the cage for not a few followers of Christ. While outcasts and sinners braved insults to seek refuge in Jesus, they bolt from our divided efforts to reach them and reject God because they mistake us for Him.
When being right becomes an end in itself, we lose sight of our own need for God’s grace--a need that would be there even if we were faultless.
Chad's Comments: How difficult it is to not act as if I know what God wants for every corner of someone else's life. Or even more so to make judgment calls based on someone else's upbringing, appearance, nationality or world view. It is a challenge for me to realize that my Jesus walked an 'Eastern' world and was not a 'white bred American'.
I must lay down my selfish ambition and 'enter in' to a love for others that transcends my personal judgment call.
Yesterday, I was speaking to a client about how we had previously allowed someone who was in hard times to stay with us for awhile. When it became obvious that the person was becoming complacent and lazy, we 'kicked them out'. Looking back on this, I still believe we made the right choice for that particular situation. But, can I pick a hard line and say that this is the proper method for every encounter? No. We must follow what the Holy Spirit tells us, not what our world thinks is best.
I know that the Bible says, "if a man will not work, he shall not eat." And I agree that enabling is likely a downfall; but if, in serving the poor and downtrodden, we err on the side of too generous, I believe we are closer to what Jesus would have us do.
Let's strive to not be divided in ministry. May we put Catholic and Protestant, Messianic and Orthodox, Anglican and Pentecostal all focused on being Christ. The book 'UnChristian' tells us that if a person does not 'accept' what Jesus has done for them by age 18, there is only a 6% chance that they will do so in their adult lives.
I sure don't want someone's excuse for not believing in Jesus to be, "that church (Chad and his friends) sure is a hypocrite. If that is what Jesus looks like, I don't want to have anything to do with it."
Sorry for the jumbled mess of this post. I hope it's making sense.
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After posting this morning, I read Pat's blog post from http://life-devotions.blogspot.com The postings were so related that I had to share.
All who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Tim 3:12
Living Faith snippets: "In this age of pop stars and movie celebrities, we are [often], at best, fans of Jesus, not followers. We may go to church, we may read the Gospels, we may respect His teachings, but to follow Jesus faithfully means...resisting systemic injustice, forgiving those who hurt us, and taking up the cross of nonviolent, suffering love in the struggle for justice and peace. Because we are followers...discipleship will disrupt our lives and take us down a path not of comfort and consolation but of pain and sacrifice." by Fr. John Dear ("Transfiguration")
Sr. Francelle snippets: "Dearest ones, Why did Our Lord speak so strongly against judging others? I think the reason is because we cannot see what is in the heart. We do not know the motives, although we make up motives for every action we see. It is not possible to judge another fairly unless you know what is on his mind - maybe he just got bad news; perhaps he isn't feeling well or maybe he just hit rock bottom and has lost his faith. Regardless of what I see them do, I think everybody is trying to do their best. I don't know how they grew up, what they had to put up with - were they put down and made to believe they were inferior? I wonder which one of us would dare to stand before God on judgment day and say, "My God, judge me as I have judged others?" Gossip is the worst form of judging. I have a friend, who, when she hears a negative statement about another, instead of repeating it, she says a prayer for that person - how much better to bless than to repeat! Our Lord said, "Judge not, and you will not be judged." We can easily find fault in others, if that is what we are looking for. Why not look for the good rather than try to discover any hidden evil? My love and prayers, Sister Francelle" See the entire devotion at sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com.
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