Hot Topic for Believers Part 1

Here's a goodie for ya: if you are currently a believer (ie: believe that Jesus Christ has died thus forgiving your sins and have accepted Him as Lord and Savior of your life) how do you view our modern day churches? Should we be pouring our resources into buildings and programs to bring more people in to our churches or should those $$ be going toward feeding, clothing and providing for the needs of the lost? Should we bring them in (to our church buildings) or meet them where they are at? Have our church services turned into performances or are they really all about growing disciples? Should we be meeting in homes instead of costly buildings, as the early apostles did? Are we still effectively training people in our congregations to "go ye into all the world, teaching them and baptizing them..."? Have we become too comfortable? Why is it that our North American churches seem to be lacking in power? The kind that results in massive change. When did we stop believing (not just knowing but taking action) in miracles and the fact we ARE to be doing "greater works than these"? Where's that line? Tell me what you think friends.

Reality Check

Ever thought about how dependant we are? Dependant
on the electrical companies to provide us with power, on the natural gas companies to use their fuel to heat our homes, on our water treatment plants to pump clean, potable water into our homes, dependant on the stores to provide much of what we eat. It's kinda scary when you think of it. What if those services were cut off or the price was too high to be able to afford them?

This week we had a bit of an issue with our power going out here in our small town. Not just a 2 minute power surge, but a whole evening of no lights, heat, and (yikes) computer! Even our land line wasn't working quite right as it is connected electrically. (If we'd had an emergency, the cell phone was charged, thankfully). But it really did make us think a bit about our world and our part in it. We are far from self sufficient. Our family relies heavily on the goods and services we pay for. Now that winter is upon us with it's nasty -30 Celsius days, having no heat for an extended period of time would be an issue. Purchasing anything could be even harder without the use of electronic debit machines in stores. (I don't know about you, but we seldom walk into the grocery store with enough cash on hand to do our "big" shopping trip.) How long would the items in the pantry last us? We have often talked about installing a wood stove for those just in case times (and Michael loves to chop wood and play with fire...) but we're definitely not prepared to outlast an energy crisis.

This sounds a little dramatic, dooms- dayish I suppose, somewhat like the craze of Y2K, but when you're responsible for your children's well being, ones train of thought often gets derailed on how to best take care of them.
But you know, with all that being said, I am reminded of the fact that our Heavenly Father is in control. I am not. (Thank goodness or we'd all be doomed!) And just as He provided His children with manna, quail and water in the desert, He will not let His children starve today. He cares enough to know when a sparrow falls dead, and we are worth more than many sparrows. He promises to never leave us or forsake us.

Somehow I still find it hard to shed my human-ness and clothe myself in trust. Somehow I think I need to work on that so my kids will see that instead of learning to worry. Somehow I think we should live a prepared life, being good stewards of what we have, instead of living blindly. And I also think I need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to me about all of this.

How about you friends? What's your take? Are you prepared? Have a great Monday!

Music...can you dig it?!

Today in the life of me, not much too exciting is going on. Just the regular happenings around our house on the weekend...house cleaning, small group Bible study last night, church this morning and of course, relaxing with the family. But just so you don't think I've given in to an utterly boring existence, please know that I've been doing a bit of digging and researching a couple of my favorite Christian music artists. If it where not so late I'd link a few more, but do check out the blog roll on the right, you're sure to find a couple of names you'll recognize. Their blogs are very interesting, at least they were to me on this very chilly, stay inside cuz it's -30 Celsius today. How about your friends? What are you listening to lately?