Today is the first Sunday since March that I'm unable to attend worship services....I'm in the Canadian military and sometimes my shifts fall on a Sunday. Usually I'm given permission to leave and attend worship when I'm scheduled on a Sunday, but today we're undermanned. Oh well, duty calls. I started my slow walk back to faith about 12 years ago in 2007 and its only over the past year that I've become much more intentional in putting Christ at the center of all things...and I still have a long way to go. Old habits die hard. Part of my testimony is acknowledging the person I was before I was saved, before I accepted the healing Grace that God provided me with the sacrifice of His Son.
Even though I can't get to church I can still dive into His word, Sundays are not at all busy. Acts 22:20 says this: 'And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
Saul (aka Paul) didn't participate in the stoning of Stephen, but he approved. Sin isn't just what we do of course, its also what we fail to do. This is a sin I've been guilty of, I still have trouble defending the faith in some circumstances although I'm getting much better at it of late.
The broader culture is so "ME" centered these days...and even the simple belief in a power beyond oneself is ridiculed. How often do we see Jesus ridiculed in popular culture, on TV shows like South Park and the Simpsons....followers pushed to the margins as simpletons who believe in the invisible man in the sky. In today's world we're all supposed to be masters of our own destinies, the belief that we're all part of a larger story is not something that has much traction and hasn't for a long time now.
I'm going to share a song I hear often....that speaks to this point. The persistent lie that we're fed is that we're in charge.
Of course testifying here is easy....we're all preaching to the choir to use an old phrase. But it is good practice, if we can do it here we can put on that armor that we need to do it when it counts, at times when the reaction is at best indifferent or at worst hostile.
Even though I can't get to church I can still dive into His word, Sundays are not at all busy. Acts 22:20 says this: 'And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
Saul (aka Paul) didn't participate in the stoning of Stephen, but he approved. Sin isn't just what we do of course, its also what we fail to do. This is a sin I've been guilty of, I still have trouble defending the faith in some circumstances although I'm getting much better at it of late.
The broader culture is so "ME" centered these days...and even the simple belief in a power beyond oneself is ridiculed. How often do we see Jesus ridiculed in popular culture, on TV shows like South Park and the Simpsons....followers pushed to the margins as simpletons who believe in the invisible man in the sky. In today's world we're all supposed to be masters of our own destinies, the belief that we're all part of a larger story is not something that has much traction and hasn't for a long time now.
I'm going to share a song I hear often....that speaks to this point. The persistent lie that we're fed is that we're in charge.
Of course testifying here is easy....we're all preaching to the choir to use an old phrase. But it is good practice, if we can do it here we can put on that armor that we need to do it when it counts, at times when the reaction is at best indifferent or at worst hostile.
