Category: John

  • The high cost of stubbornness

    black lamborghini hurricane
    Lamborghini Hurracan

    Some years ago, I was driving down Anthony  Henday Drive (part of a ring road system that encircles Edmonton) when a new-looking Lamborghini blew past me at an incredible rate of speed. The traffic around me was traveling about 30km over the posted limit, and I was keeping up with the flow of traffic. He blew by us by at least half our speed again.

    Just down the road, we all passed him as a police officer was writing him a ticket. It wasn’t long before he passed us again. Five minutes later, he blew by and hadn’t slowed down.

    I passed him again, stopped for the third time, and got what I assumed was his third ticket. I wanted to see if he would go for number four, but I had to take the next exit and never saw him again.

    Maybe he had so much money that he didn’t care about the cost of the tickets and the increased insurance premiums. Perhaps he thought the law didn’t apply to him. Maybe he was leaving the country never to return and didn’t care. Whatever his reasons, he struck me as being slow to learn. 

    Sometimes, we’re stubborn and slow to learn. That is generally not a good thing.

    Being stubborn and slow to learn is often a problem in our Christian walk. We complain we don’t understand everything the Bible says, but if we took the blinders off and put the little bit we understand into practice, we would see the world transformed.

    God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He does expect us to work diligently at what He’s told us to do.

    You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:14-15 NIV

    We’re called to do what He’s told us to do. There’s a reason for that command. Obedience brings joy.

    As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11 NIV

    In what areas of your walk have you been stubborn or slow to learn? What are you going to change today (with His help)?

    Until next time, remember that there is joy in obedience and pain in disobedience. My prayer is that you opt for joy.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Some other content you might enjoy

    Right belief or right living?

    Celebrate your identity in Christ

    Baseball – an analogy for our faith walk

    The high cost of stubbornness

  • Clash of Values

    Jesus didn’t come to change our value system.

    Can we talk?  

    There is plenty of hot and heavy debate and venting going on concerning issues such as gender identity and its many related issues, prayer in school, abortion, etc.  That’s not even considering the political falderal that seems to have been going on forever.

    There’s a wide diversity of opinion on these and many other issues. Public policy in these areas in North America often opposes what orthodox, historical, evangelical Christianity holds as truth.

    It shouldn’t surprise us when our beliefs clash with the world’s. When that happens, we need to remember that the world isn’t Christian, so we shouldn’t expect them to act as if they were. That doesn’t mean it won’t break our hearts, but it shouldn’t be a big surprise. Even as believers, we often behave in ways that contradict our beliefs.

    The whole concept of “Judeo-Christian values,” which seems to be increasingly slipping from the system, was based on a misunderstanding.

    Jesus didn’t come to change our value system. That truth is so important and overlooked it is worth repeating. “Jesus didn’t come to change our value system.” He came to change our hearts and make us pure and holy. The result of that heart change is the change in our value systems. It’s a consequence, not the goal.

    It’s a mistake to expect those with unredeemed hearts to hold the same values as a believer.

    The time for us to worry is not when we’re at odds with the culture around us. The time for us to worry is when we’re in sync with the culture. Sometimes, that happens because there are some universal truths that even the world gets right now and then. More often, it’s because somewhere along the line, we’ve compromised our own beliefs.

    If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  John 15:18-19 

    We belong to the kingdom of Light. The world is under the authority of the Prince of Darkness. The two are seldom going to agree. That should neither surprise nor discourage us. The victory is ours, even when we feel like we’re losing a battle.

    Knowing the truth doesn’t give us the right to be unloving or bigoted. We hold fast to that truth, but we speak the truth in love.

    Part of having a transformed heart is learning to love others. We need to practice grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We set aside our judgmental natures. We share the love of Jesus and let the Spirit transform the hearts and values of others. Only God can do that.

    Until next time, take heart … I’ve read the book.  We win.

    Kevin

    Some posts to consider

    Called to be bridge builders

    The gospel – the best news ever

    Tribulation produces perseverance

    Herded – an old border collie reminds me of the truth