Christian Living

Psalm 130:1-3 “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord who shall stand?”

Why are so many churches struggling to have a healthy church life? This is a question I have often asked myself. As I look at the conservative churches across the country it concerns me. The purpose of this article is to look at this question and to look into God’s word for some answers to it.

What had started as perhaps just an ordinary day for us, had become a day with a most unusual happening. We had been hearing strange stories of a rabbi in town. Everyone said he was a different sort of rabbi. His teaching was captivating, his demeanor was gentle and kind, but something was uncommon. We decided today we take some time off to see if we could find out more.

Revival movements in history have been catalysts of movement and change in the church. What lessons can we learn from the most recent one in North America?

A man comes up with an idea to start a business. He sees a market for an item. He puts a lot of energy and time into getting his business off the ground. He works long hours and comes up with creative ideas. He’s willing to step out and lead his business, but soon he grows older and is no longer able to put the amount of energy into his business that it needs. So he hands it down to his son who has been helping him. The son does well with the business but eventually grows old and needs to hand it down another generation.

The US Interstate system and secondary roadways are lined with thousands of miles of “rumble strips”. These carved indentations in the asphalt and concrete are designed to produce a sharp rumbling noise to alert drivers they are drifting to the edge.
There are many reasons one would drift off the road. These may include drowsiness, carelessness, eating, being deep in thought, mobile device distractions, etc. There are many driver distractions that take the driver’s mind off the focus of navigating his vehicle in a careful and safe manner.

I surveyed the young man who had just entered the garage I was working in. He was a typical figure on any construction site with scuffed work boots, faded jeans, a muscle T-shirt, and baseball cap. As he neared the ladder I was working from, something caught my eye. On one suntanned shoulder he had a small tattoo. Looking more closely I made out the figure of a large buck and between his antlers were the words “Archery Hunter”. The rattle of my impact wrench made conversation nearly impossible, so I merely smiled and nodded as he passed.

Every neighborhood has them, probably every congregation—those people who carry around a spirit of grievance. “I have been wronged,” they say. They develop a self-pitying, complaining spirit.

We believe the Bible teaches that righteousness and peace in church life must be a working reality, not merely a distant, unattainable goal. The Bible also calls the Church to be a healthy, properly functioning body, not a sick or broken one (1Cor 12). We find these requirements sadly lacking at times among conservative Christians. One worldly, sinful culprit responsible for the chaos in many churches is the MTO church mentality.

Like thousands of other Nigerian Christians in recent years, John Yakubu and his family fled their home to escape repeated attacks by Boko Haram terrorists. But, unable to feed his family in the refugee camp, John returned home to collect some of his livestock. There the terrorists seized him and demanded he convert to Islam. On his refusal, they tied him to a tree, cut his head and body with large knives, and left him for dead. However, he was later rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment.