Snapshots and Synapses

I've had many well-intentioned people tell me (directly or indirectly) that once you become a Christian, your life becomes wonderful. All the old problems go away as we come into the Kingdom, right? We no longer live under the spiritual and material poverty of the past, because God comes in and fixes all that. Well, it's true that God's principals lead to blessings in this world as well as the next, but it's not without struggles. Sometimes the Father takes us from our life of destitution and lifts us into a position that we couldn't have attained. Other times, He lets us struggle with the opposition. For example, one person may come to know the Lord and immediately be cured of their alcohol addiction. Another comes to know the Lord, yet struggles with alcohol for life. Does God love one more than the other? Or does He allow us to struggle? This I know: God will not give us more than we can handle Every time I expect that life is somehow supposed to be easy, I...

There's a disease that has been eating away at the Body of Christ like an aggressive cancer. It's subtle and seems to spring up from out of nowhere. Any part of the Body is susceptible to this disease, and although it's relatively easy to notice it in other parts of the Body, it's really hard to diagnose when you're close to it. It's called "RELIGION". It doesn't matter what Christian tradition you come from... it's always there. Sure, we can point the finger at others and say: "Those poor ______ believers are so caught up in _______ that they're missing out on God's fullness for them." But the reality is that we're all missing out. Even non-traditional denominations can catch the disease. No one is immune. Fortunately, there are some symptoms that can help you diagnose yourself: Control . Do you find yourself trying to control others? Conformity . Do you find youself trying to get others to conform to your way, styl...

Are you striving for something beyond what God has said to do? Jesus told us to "abide in Him" as He abides in the Father. Paul wrote that we are changed from "glory to glory". The early Christians were first known as followers of the Way, implying a process rather than a destination. Jesus also told us to come to Him like the children. Maybe all Our Father wants is for us to be like a child in His Presence (like Mary)... no need to strive or "do" anything (like Martha) except as He directs (Luke 17:10). Meanwhile, the original sin, committed also by Lucifer, was to become like God. I'm learning to become satisfied with the fact that God is God and I'm not... and that's a real good thing. I strive to do what's right in order to please the Father, knowing that I'm always in the process of "becoming" rather than reaching a "completion" point. If I know that I'm in a long distance race, I can set a pace and keep...