FAITH COLUMN: The Joy of the Journey

Center-Up

Our lives are very involved on many levels! We are busy people, with family, occupations, and the day-to-day routine of living!  Nevertheless, without Christ, life is not life, living is not living!

Apathy is a disease that is crippling people, and especially Christians today.  This is in part because we all live in very confusing and disturbing times. The amazing thing is we think that it’s going to get better. I agree it will get better, but perhaps not the way we think.  “Better”; in the minds of most people would be an improved economy, stable government, steady jobs, and peace throughout the world. However, better in the eyes of God would be for this nation and this world to turn to Him! For this nation and this world to accept salvation through the cross of Christ!

I am convinced the only thing that will move us forward and out of this grip of Satan is for us to somehow center-up our lives. The truth is we get moved for a moment, however, change seems to never really come. We get stirred for a second, but struggle the rest of the week trying to hear the voice of Jesus! It is not that we do not want to change, but we struggle with how to go about real change.

I invite you to join me on a journey; a journey to recapture our amazement, wonder, and affection. A journey to a place where passion is set ablaze!  A place where commitment is confirmed and there is power for living that can be found! A place where focus and direction are given!  A place where every sin meets its demise and is remembered no more. A place of grace and mercy! I invite you to come to a hill that was called the place of the skull and behold the CROSS!

The cross is not just a one-time event in a believer’s life. The cross is our moral compass, our true north, so to speak. It is the place that we must return to when all seems lost. It is the place to find a reference point in our walk with Christ so that we can be brought into a deeper relationship with Him.

There is no deeper theology, no greater confidence to be found than in the fact that God the Father sent his son to restore a broken relationship between man and God.  Jesus takes the hand of sinful man and reunites it with the hand of a holy God! Praise the Lord!

There is no greater call, than the call of Christ for us to go deep into a relationship with Him and our Creator God.  It is time for true Christians to refocus on what really matters. I had a professor in college who used to say, “I have never seen a hearse with a luggage rack pulling a U-Haul trailer!” In other words, you’re not going to take it with you. The Bible declares to store up your treasures in heaven.

So, take a moment to ask God to help you realign your heart and life with the cross of Christ! Everything else will flow out of your experience and devotion to Jesus!

In His Love,

Pastor P.