Pastor Gene's Blog (Page 10)

Pastor Gene's Blog (Page 10)

The Well

Be What You Want Them to Become

The power of modeling godly behavior is indisputable. Over and over again believers are encouraged to act wisely, to love generously and to live our lives with God ‘out loud’ so that others can see. Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it…

Love to a Thousand Generations

There’s a beautiful and oft-overlooked promise in the book of Exodus. There, God describes Himself as “a jealous God” who visits “the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate” Him, but shows “steadfast love to thousands of those who love” Him and keep His commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6). It’s an interesting and…

Comfort In What Can’t Be Copied

In theology, we love to put things in boxes! We do this with the things that make up God’s character, the things that make God God. We generally divide them into two categories which we call the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God. The communicable attributes of God are the ones that we can and should desire to imitate. For example, God is love and calls us…

Editing God

There is a ‘profaning’ of God in our culture, have you noticed it? To profane something is to make it common, to blur the line between the sacred and the ordinary. This has been one of the criticisms of Canadian author William P. Young’s 2007 book, The Shack. The Shack went from being a self-published novel to being a cultural phenomenon. Back in 2009 it won the “Diamond…

Imitating Jesus in “Smaller Ways”

Christian author Kelly Balarie posted an interesting blog about imitating Christ that I wanted to share with you. I haven’t read any of her books, so I can’t recommend them personally. However, she is published by a very reputable Christian book house (Baker), which has taken far too much of my money over the years! That said, she writes, “When I think of imitating Christ…

God Is Speaking, Again

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). What could be more intimidating than this? Such a short verse too – deceptively short! Just a few words. Be.     Imitators.     Of.     God. That’s all. But, imitate God? The One for whom there is no substitute. The “alone” One? “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,…

Lessons from a ‘Christian’ Labyrinth, Part 2

There is no question that the most famous labyrinth to be found in a church is the one built into the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. It was created by stones set carefully into the floor of the cathedral’s nave. And yet, while it’s the world’s most recognized path, it’s shrouded in mystery.…

Lessons from a ‘Christian’ Labyrinth, Part 1

A labyrinth is a flat circle or square consisting of a path that winds around to its center. They’ve been found all over the pagan world. But, interestingly enough, they’ve also been found in churches (!) as far back as the 4th century. The earliest known example of a labyrinth in a Christian…

‘Being’ the Lights

“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-9). Think about light again. God is light and, in Jesus, the true light, which gives light to everyone, came into the world. “And,” John wrote, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus made it clear: “I…

‘Seeing’ the Light

“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “In Him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [the Baptist]. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about…

Wise Words to a Stubborn Ox

Do you know the old hymn, “I Love to Tell the Story”? It’s just great. I love to tell the story of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love; I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true, It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.  Refrain: I love to tell the story, ’Twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story Of Jesus and…

‘Father, How Do You Want to Use Me?’

God not only has a general will for our lives, but He has a specific will for us too. God’s general will is found in Scripture: don’t steal, don’t lie or be dishonest, speak gracious words, be filled with the Spirit and walk in His light, bear witness to all of God’s goodness, put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh, let your reasonableness, your…

Are We Too Easy on Our Flesh?

It’s not a message we hear too often from Christian pulpits today: You have to be harder on yourself! But, here’s what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Now, I’m not loving this translation! It’s TOO soft! I think the problem is that the translators aren’t sure…

You Gotta Serve Somebody, Yes Indeedy Doo

Bob Dylan wrote some really great songs during his so-called ‘born-again’ period. Perhaps the most famous was, You Gotta Serve Somebody. The lyrics are pure gold: You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. But…

A Rest for Every Season

As God leads us through the various seasons of life, He wants us to know that there’s always a rest available. Some of life’s seasons are clearly more difficult than others, but God’s rest – and internal Garden of Eden, a place where we can retreat in the calm of His presence – is never far away. The Children of Israel never quite got this! When the seasons changed,…

God Shepherds Us Through the Seasons

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 may be one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible, familiar to believers and non-believers alike. It talks about the times and season of life. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:      a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a…