Our Relational God

Tonight I was thinking about my relationship with God. I fail daily like most guys to read my Bible everyday and pray. I got to thinking, how great is my relationship with God going to be in let’s say the next 5 to 10 years if I am not doing even the simple things that I should have already been doing years ago?

     I mean, how great would our relationships in life be with those that are closest to us if we only spoke to them, listen to them speak to us, or read an email from them every few weeks for years at a time? Probably, our friendship really wouldn’t be that close. We wouldn’t know them that well and they would barely know us or worse yet, not know us at all!

     That is why I am asking God to change my heart and give me a stronger relationship with Him. He love us, right? So why not respond to that love and become more relational with Him? After all, if we have a “personal”  relationship with Christ, why not make our relationship with God, “personal” again? Men of God, Jesus desires our heart. Why not give it back to Him today?

In Christ,

Tim C.

What We Can Learn From Great Men Of God

Lately, I have been thinking about what to write for my next blog post.  Writing about great men of God from the past came to mind. How I have looked up to the men in my life who have greatly influenced me in my relationship with Jesus. Whether male or female we all have strong influences in our lives. Maybe it was a teacher who actually believed in us to finish school or maybe it was an outstanding coach who pushed us to succeed in a given sport. Maybe it was a mentor, pastor or someone as close as a family member. Whatever the case may be, we’ve had other men step in and help us in our life’s journey.

When I think about great men from the past, I think of Abraham in the Old Testament and how he had great faith to believe everything God had told him. Abraham’s faith was so great that when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, He was going to do as God commanded  until God intervened telling him not to do it. When I think of Abraham’s life I think of the verse in the New Testament that says that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. From Abraham’s life we can learn what it means to have faith and to truly live out that faith.

I think of Noah also in the Old Testament who God told to build the ark. Many people mocked Noah and thought him foolish for building the ark. Despite what others thought of him he did as the Lord commanded and God spared him as well as his family from the flood. Noah believed what God told him and He was obedient, no questions asked. If we do today what the Bible says, ask God’s forgiveness and turn away from our sins, accept the free gift of eternal life God offers through Jesus Christ, will He not then spare us from eternal hell and give us eternal life in Heaven? Of course He will!

Another man from the past that also comes to mind is David. Even with his many mistakes (mistakes we all made or make) he was regarded as a man after God’s own heart. Who has not been where David stood, in need of God’s grace? What man cannot identify with David’s struggles? David’s life is an example of how God extends His grace as well as how we can be healed and find forgiveness after being away from Him.

The greatest man of course we can learn something from is Jesus Christ. There is no greater person who has ever lived  that we can learn more from, than the Lord. Many times in the Gospels, we can learn great compassion towards people. How we desperately need more compassion and grace in this world! Jesus was obedient to God even unto death. How many of us need to be more obedient to God in our daily lives as we live for Him? He reached out to the blind, the sick, the cripple and brought them healing, not just physical healing, but spiritual healing. He is a King who stepped down from His high throne and came down to live with us, His creation. From the Lord we can identify with his example of humility, His love, Grace and kindness.

So, who are the men God has placed in your life teaching you? What can you learn from their failures as wells as triumphs, that will make you more like Christ?  I would love to know. Until next time, God bless you men of God as you seek after Him wholeheartedly!

In Christ

Stepping Out in Faith….

 

photo by Andrew Steinle

Well, it has been 4 years since I have left my small Midwestern town for  another small town below the Mason-Dixon line. I moved away from my small town because I wanted to live in the city. When God opened up a door for me to move my family to Kentucky, I stepped out in faith leaving the city for yet another small town. So, here I am in Kentucky, in a small quaint little town with my two kids and my wife.

My step of faith four years ago to leave everything I knew and move to a place where I didn’t know anyone, reminded me of what God calls us to do in life for Him. In Exodus, God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses stepped out in faith and did as the Lord commanded.

Abraham in the scriptures (starting with Genesis 12), believed whatever God told him and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Both men on different occasions had to take steps of faith in order to do what God had called them to do so that God’s will would be done in their lives. Countless other men and women in the Bible stepped out in faith at times in their lives when things were uncertain or not as they should be to the will of God and fulfill something God had planned, like Noah for example.

So, what is God calling you to do that would enable you to step out in faith for His name’s sake? What have you been sitting on that the Holy Spirit has been tugging at our heart to do, that you have yet to do?  Be obedient to God and step out in faith trusting Him completely. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ God promises that He will be with you for He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

In my own life I know that if I hadn’t stepped out in faith, my trust in God that He will be with me wherever I go wouldn’t be as strong as it is today. Likewise, my faith in God would not be what it is today if I had not took a leap of faith and trusted Him in moving away from my hometown. Do I know why I am here in Kentucky? No. Do I know what plan God has for me here? No. But I do know that God has a plan and that is all I really need to know. Right? For the scriptures say, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

So step out in faith and do what God is calling you to do for Him.  If you know Him as your Lord and Savior He will be with you, He promises. For when you step out in faith you will see Him on the other side waiting for you!