Sunday, November 11, 2007

This Sunday was a little out of the ordinary. Hopefully, we were all challenged by the video footage of the Vietnamese underground church service. I saw true joy on their faces as they had passed over that threshold of being fearful of men. I am sure that they prefer not being caught and beat for singing praise songs, but I am sure that they are ready and willing to sacrifice their own lives if necessary.

One of the reasons that I struggle in my search for Jesus in my own life is that I have so much. Jesus' words about the difficulty for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven reverberate within my spirit. Not that I am wealthy by the standards of Anchorage or the United States, but I have enough that the fear of losing what I have can overrule God's leading in my life if I do not conquer that fear. Another option is to simplify my life, which I challenge you to do also.

It seems that as soon as I attain one possession, I immediately begin to think of the next one that I will attempt to purloin. What if we reversed this trend and started looking around our own personal sphere for things we could live without?

May this Sunday form the way that you live until we are perfected by the King!

The Pastor who is no faster than his Master.