“God is NOT my co-pilot; He’s the Designer, the Draftsman, the Engineer, the Builder, the Insurer, the Ticket Agent, the Server, the Security, the Navigator, and the Captain, not to mention the Maker of the wind, the Power to take off, and the Writer of the laws of gravity and flight! Friend, I’m not the pilot of anything; I’m just an unworthy passenger along for the ride!”
– A. Baker
35k ft. somewhere over Ethiopia.
Filed under Christianity, God, salvation
As you wind down from a weekend of celebrating St. Patrick Day, pause for a moment and read a portion of the real St. Patrick’s prayer, one he prayed every day.
May it be our prayer, also.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21
Filed under Christian Living, Christian Maturity, Christian Unity, Christianity, Faith, Jesus, worship
In honor of National Woman’s Day…
As a husband, father, pastor, and author, I am constantly reminded of how much I really don’t know.
If I were to attempt to list all the things of which I have no knowledge, then that would take forever, especially since there are things that I don’t know I don’t know.
However…..
Here are some things that I wish I knew more about, or at least could understand. If it were possible to master these subjects, my self-esteem might go through the roof. Some may even call me a “know-it-all” in a non-derogatory way!
Life is full of persistent, nagging questions. Some questions may never be answered. I may never truly be a know-it-all. However, when it all comes down to what’s most important, I am reminded of the words of a man who was blind from birth: “I was blind…but now I see.”
I may not know everything, but I know that I will be OK when I die. I know that this world is not all there is. I know that heaven awaits me when I die. How? It’s all written in the Word of God, the Bible.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. – 1 John 5:13
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, Life Lessons
“The God who we trust with the spiritual needs of our eternal souls should also be trusted with the temporal needs of this body. If we can’t trust Him to supply our needs and keep us from begging bread, then we need another god! After all, which is harder, purchasing our redemption or providing a roof?” – A. Baker
“…Lord, I believe! Help thou mine unbelief.” – Mark 9:24
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, Faith, God
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.” – King David (Psalm 57:1-2)
Filed under Christianity, current events, Depression, God, Struggles and Trials, worship
It may come as no surprise to you that I have some pretty unique students who ride my school bus. I’m sure the same could be said for any school bus.
However, today, following a conversation in which a middle school girl was laughing about some creepy things she’d done, like stabbing her stuffed frog, I posed a question to the students surrounding her.
“Of the following,” I asked, “which of these two things would surprise you more if you found out they were true about (the girl)? First, that she had a bedroom full of unicorns and rainbows, and that she wrote poetry about flowers… Or, secondly, that in her bedroom she had a black pot, under which sat a burner…and that she used the pot to boil water, into which she would put the severed extremities of creatures she gathered from outside after midnight while her parents slept?”
“Unicorns and rainbows,” replied the other students. A creepy cackle of approval came from the seat behind me. Then she added, “But the poetry could have been about dark, magical flowers that kill.”
Uh, yeah.
Anyway, this got me to thinking. What would surprise you more, if you heard it about me?
How about this?
Now, try these on for size. Which would surprise you more?
You see, how we answer these questions reveal our perceptions of people. So, here’s one more. Which would surprise you more if you learned it to be true about me?
I hope you picked #1 on that one (read John 15:18-20). Otherwise, I need to reevaluate what I’m doing.
Why not give it some thought and ask others some questions about yourself? You might be surprised with their answers.
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, General Observations, Life Lessons, Uncategorized
Never forget that the arguments, the hurt feelings, the illnesses, the stresses, and the pains that hit seemingly out of the blue are not coincidence when tomorrow is Sunday. – A. Baker
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Life Lessons, ministry, Preaching, Relationships and Family
A while back I asked the Lord to make me a “characteristic example of a life centered on God.” But as soon as I prayed that prayer, another thought came into my mind…
Maybe being “God-centered” is not enough.
You may be asking, “What is wrong with that?” Well, there is nothing wrong with living a God-centered life, generally speaking. On the other hand, there is more to being a Christian than being “God-centered.”
“Outrageous!” “That’s blasphemy,” you say. Well, is it? Stop and think about it for just a moment. Start with thinking about what being “God-centered” actually means.
Does someone have to be a true Christian in order to live a God-centered life? You may think so, at first, but there may be a few church folk fooling themselves. Don’t believe me? Read what Paul wrote to the Church…
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV
Why would the Apostle tell church people to “examine” and “prove” whether or not they were in the faith? Could it be that there were some who were going through all the motions, but were never converted, never born anew? Could it have been possible that there were some doing all the right things, for the right reasons, but not right with God? He says that the answer to the test will be whether or not “Jesus Christ is in you.”
Can people live God-centered lives and still be lost? To help answer this question, consider the following people (names are fictitious). Do their actions guarantee salvation?
If these people were to examine themselves, as Paul asked, what might be missing? Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Is it not possible that someone could do everything for God’s glory (live a God-centered life), but still die without Christ?
What are your thoughts?
Have you “proven” whether you “be in the faith?”
Do you know of Scripture that supports a “God-centered” life being proof of salvation?
When contemplated what I had asked of God (to make me characterized by a God-centered life), the mental picture of a wheel came to mind. It was the picture of a wheel with a center hub and spokes, much like a bicycle or wagon wheel. As I thought about this, however, something seemed wrong. Something seemed almost selfish.
You see, when you look at a wheel, especially the kind with spokes and a hub, it may not be obvious at first, but there are parts. In such a wheel I can distinguish the spokes from the hub, and the rim from the spokes. I can even see that there are spaces in between the spokes that are empty and not attatched or filled with anything – just empty. If God is supposed to be represented by the hub, the center of the wheel, then the wheel is not really all about the hub, but the wheel itself.
The Apostle Paul told the Athenians (Acts 17:28) that in Jesus we “live, and move, and have our being.” In a letter to the Galatians he said “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). It would seem to me that Jesus should be more than our “hub.” He should be our “ALL.”
That is when I thought of a different picture. This time I imagined a solid circle – a disk. Unlike the other picture where God was the center of everything, yet separate, here was a picture of wholeness. In this picture, if my life is this type of wheel, people won’t notice anything about me, just Christ.
All of the spokes (my life, my dreams, my habits and hobbies, my talents, and my desires); the empty spaces (the areas of my life that seem irrelevant); and the rim (the total expanse of who I am – my identity, my sphere of influence); each part is now inseparable from the life and power of Christ who lives within me.
So, I no longer want to be characterized as a man with a God-centered life. I want to be a man characterized by the life of Christ. When people look at me, I don’t want them to say, “Hey, that guy really knows how to serve God,” or “Hey, that guy really loves the Lord.” Even though there is nothing wrong with those things, how much better would it be if they could say, “Hey, I met this guy… at first I thought he was that man they call Jesus.”
Remember, it was to the Church at Corinth that Paul said, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” There must have been some hearing this letter read who were deceived. Don’t be like them. Make sure your life is in Christ, and He is in you.
May your activities be “God-centered;” but your life “Christ-filled.” May the world see Jesus in you.
For Discussion:
Can you distinguish between a God-centered and a Christ-filled life? What characteristics would you expect to see?
Do you think someone could live a God-centered life and still be unsaved?
Your comments would be appreciated.
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, God, Jesus, Theology
Regardless the success of his contemporaries, no man is a failure whose life is a positive reflection of Jesus Christ. – A. Baker
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, Depression, Jesus, self-worth, Struggles and Trials
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
As I have mentioned on numerous occasions before, we have been in the process of moving – in all things praise the Lord. Unfortunately, as you might imagine, we’ve gained a lot of “stuff” over the last eight years of living in the parsonage.
The next time you take a long, hot shower (if you do that kind of thing) in order to ease your aching joints, think of me; there’s not a joint or muscle that doesn’t ache after all of this! As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to scratch the back of my shiny head with my right hand…my shoulder is just too messed up.
Essentially, moving contributes to less movement.
I am not going to try to fool you; we are not the best at keeping a spotless house. I can truthfully say that our home never has bugs and it is sanitary; however, don’t expect every square inch to be dust-free…ever.
But as I was l looking at the floor in the empty living room where all of our comfy furniture used to be, I noticed some bits of debris on the floor. It seems that even after a sweeping of the imitation hard wood there were still tiny pieces of stuff like grass, a crumb or two, etc. I guess a little piece of us will always be there somewhere.
It just goes to prove that no matter how often we cleaned, there were always going to be places where we missed…places like under a cabinet, in between a cushion seam, or against the baseboard in a corner.
Aren’t you glad our salvation is not based on getting rid of every little bit of debris in our lives? I mean, seriously, there are some people who believe that we can become, through a life of total sanctification, clean from all the debris of sin. Some people think that unless every sin is confess before one dies, then one’s salvation is lost. What they don’t realize is that there’s always going to be something somewhere, something hidden and forgotten, that never gets swept away.
That’s why we need grace.
Filed under Christian Living, Christianity, legalism
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