I am not a person of change. We lived in the same house the entire time I was growing up. My parents bought a new home once I left for college- they may have been trying to tell me something. I like stability. I like to have people around me that I can trust and are not going to find a reason to leave when tough times come. This is such a paradox in a Christian's life. We are constantly changing to become more like Christ. We are constantly surrendering to the will of Christ which usually means change. The great aspect of a Christian's life of change is that Christ never changes. In church changes are hard. Most of the time they are me with opposition. But if we are constantly changes into what Christ wants us to be shouldn't the church be open change! I am not talking about abandoning the Gospel or our doctrinal truth but maybe we should be a little more open to change! Are you allowing Christ to change you-day by day? If you are not-maybe that is why change is so hard for you to accept. I was just thinking.
My Beautiful Wife!
About Mark
- Pastor Mark's Blog
- Just to let you know who I am. I am the husband of a beautiful lady! She is beautiful inside and out! Her name is Debbie. We have been married for 34 years and have three wonderful children. Lynsey, who is married to Jacob Riggs, and lives in Royal Oak, MI where they serve the Central Community Church. Matthew works with the American Heart Association and Andrew is an electrician and is married to Erika. Both of the boys are active in the ministry of our church. God has blessed me to serve the First Free Will Baptist Church in North Little Rock for over 28 years. In August of 2013 we celebrated the birth of our first grandchild, Caroline and in 2016 Meredith Jane graced us with her presence! Our third grandchild was born in 2017 to Andrew and Erika, his name is Grayson God is good! All the time!
1 comment:
Hello Pastor Mark,
I trust all is well with you and your family.
Great topic for your blog. I happen to be just the opposite -- perhaps because of 23 years in the computing industry where technology change was rapid and a company response was required to change or die.
As I read through Acts last year, I posted a related thought:
Often times, our natural tendency is to criticize when we witness or hear of an event that contradicts our personal belief system or perspective. When we encounter change to our norm, we often resist it. The early church was no different. Following the experience with Cornelius, Peter was criticized by many of the believers in Judea. "The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." (Acts 11:1-3)
But after Peter explained what had happened, they accepted this as part of God's plan. "When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)
But why did they begin with criticism? Many of these believers were present when Jesus explained what would happen when they were filled with the Spirit (Acts 1:8). They would reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Yet, they criticized Peter. Why didn't they simply ask him about the "incident?"
Our perspective is generally from a narrow frame of reference. We should be very careful of assumptions. I believe Philippians gives us the best way to avoid the tendency to judge or assume. Paul says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." If we're thinking of others, we'll at least attempt to gain their perspective before we act or comment.
In their book, Breaking the Missional Code, David Putman, and Ed Stetzer write:
"At the end of the day, I have to remember – we all have to remember – that it is not about me, it is not about you. It is about Jesus sending us to peoples to proclaim the gospel in a way that they can understand. Our churches often struggle because we put our preferences over our call – our preferences over our mission."
Some of the leaders in the early church had placed their Jewish preferences over the mission. Let us be reminded to "consider others" so that we can understand them, connect with them, and reach them. And, with regards to fellow believers, lets live out the "one another's" listed in God's word loving one another, encouraging one another to love and good deeds.
Live LOUD,
Russ
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