For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
Hebrews 4:12 ESV

I know too many who’ve left church. I’m not talking about people who’ve stopped following Christ. No, individuals who have kept their faith but, have discarded church. For some, their spiritual needs were not met. Others were hurt by well meaning or not so well meaning church folk. And still some just got tired of the culture/environment. The list goes on. On the other hand, I know even more who attend church who feel they aren’t being fed properly spiritually, have been hurt, don't like being there and who instead of leaving, silently grumble. When made aware of such stories our first reaction is to point at the church and determine what wrinkles leaders need to iron out. I’m not saying this is bad because in fact it isn’t. However, I propose that as a second step we stop giving church leaders, organizations and denominations so much responsibility over our contentment and satisfaction in church. That we stop being consumers and start being co-laborers with Christ. Let’s not wait until someone else will step up and fix the problem. Let’s prayerfully ask God what we can do. Not just for our benefit but, for the benefit of others.

A consumer attends church with a shopping list, solely concerned with what they can get out of their church experience. While a co-laborer is not only concerned with their own interest but, that of others. 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
Philippians 2:4-6

How is God leading you to give to others in your church?

How is God leading you to aid in the mission of your church?

Where is God asking you to serve in your church? 

By God’s grace, I will graduate from Oakwood University on May 12, 2012 with a B.A. in theology and a minor in English. I must say, I have benefitted greatly from studying theology in connection with English. In fact, the title of this blog is a product of my experience in both departments.

I Want to Go to Heaven…

Out of the various maxims related to my future that I’ve developed while studying theology, this is primary. There are various reasons why I want to go to heaven. I long to be reunited with family and friends who’ve died and are awaiting the return of Jesus (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). I am looking forward to living a life of which temptation, sin, sickness, and death will no long be apart (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26, 51-57; Revelation 21:1-4). To be honest, I desire to live in a mansion uniquely and specifically prepared for me (cf. John 14:1-3). MOST OF ALL, I want to see Jesus face to face and hear Him say “well done” (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2; Matthew 25:21, 23).

Yes, I want to go to heaven. “So do I”, you might be thinking. That’s good for both of us, and we are a part of a larger community who truly desires to go to heaven. We believe that the promise of a better day is legitimate and available to all who believe and accept Jesus Christ.

But…

Although I’ve been exposed to literature from some of the best authors the world has ever known and received compositional training par excellence, it’s the little things, such as conjunctions, that still have a peculiar impact on me.

You, like me, probably learned about conjunctions in elementary school. When connecting two or more ideas use “and”. When comparing two or more ideas use “or”. When contrasting two or more ideas use “but”. Of course there are exceptions and variations to each rule.

My favorite conjunction is (you guessed it!) BUT. Simply explained, the presence of this contrasting conjunction informs the reader that the following idea(s) is more important than, and at times completely negates, the preceding idea. So, based on this definition, one could infer from the title of this blog that I have a want that totally negates or at least is more important than my strong desire to go to heaven. One is right….

I have some competition…

I want to go to heaven, but I have some competition. I wish I could say that at this point in my Christian experience my desire to see Jesus face to face is unrivaled. Every now and then, there are a few things that vie for my primary attention. As mentioned above, I’ll be graduating from college on May 12, 2012 at 8:00 PM in the Von Braun Center located on…you get the point. My family, friends, and I have been looking forward to this day for five years. Hey, I want to go to heaven, but I want to graduate first!

The Bible says, “It is not good for the man to be alone…for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:18, 24, NIV). I agree! Is there anything wrong with wanting to be a faithful husband and loving father? My parents have been married for nearly three decades. I, too, want to experience the joys of marriage, and all there is to “know” with my wife and experience with children of my own. I want to go to heaven, but I want to have a family first!

To be continued…

-Richard

Richard Martin is a student at Oakwood University

It seem that, as it pertains to ministry or anything else God instructs or calls us to do , Finagle’s corollary to Murphy’s law is especially true.  Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment. Volunteers don’t show, whatever funds you thought you had coming don’t come in and the list goes on. You take one step forward and then two steps back but, the beauty of it all is that, in the end, God gets all the glory.

From the beginning, the book of Ezra is incredible because “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing...The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (1:1,2). Moreover, 42,360 came out captivity, who were of the exiles taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, thus fulfilling God’s promise to restore his people using Cryus.

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed...For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:1,4-6)

As as the narrative continues, the Israelites began rebuilding the temple and are making progress until the Samaritans set out to stop them and are successful at it. I don't know about you but, whenever I set out to obey God and huge obstacles get in my way, I start to wonder if I heard God wrong. However, I've come realize that God doesn't promise smooth sailing. In fact, the obstacles we face help us and other realize that we aren't successful in our own power. God gets all the Glory! Our struggles keep us dependent on him. The Israelites do eventually rebuild the temple and you too, through God's grace and power, will triumph.


God is not a man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
Numbers 23:19


-Sydney


Sydney is an independent gospel artist 
and executive director of Uprise.
Find her music at sydneyandpaige.com