Unfortunately, many of us will believe God in faith to keep us out of hell, but we would never ask Him to help us fix our marriage, help us raise our kids, or trust in Him to provide for our needs if we were to give sacrificially to others. There seems to be a huge disconnect between saving faith (I believe Jesus died and rose again for me) and daily faith (I'm believing God to help me find a good job).
I'm afraid that the majority of well-meaning believers (men especially) have drawn the faulty conclusion that they really don't have what it takes to be a tool God can use for His purposes. Grant it that American Christianity has, for many years, exalted the professional minister to the point that the average Christ-follower feels that all they can really do is cut the checks and let the professional do their thing.
What is the driving force of your life? For some, it is working to provide a great income so that their family can enjoy the best comforts in life. For others, it is the pursuit of power, and yet for others, it is living with the overwhelming fear of failing. Something drives all of us to do what we do, say what we say, live how we live. For the Apostle Paul, the driving force of his life was the simple fact that he would one day stand before God and give an account of his life to Him. "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12 ).
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19 ).
I have found it very disturbing that the one thing that was designed to help bring non-Christians into a relationship with Jesus is often the very thing that has been the barrier to people finding Jesus - the Church. By Church, I'm referring to the assembling of believers in a specific location. Let me emphasize that I am speaking as an ordained minister who has served for several years on church staff and now am very involved as a lay person in my local body. Mainly I am speaking from a broken heart for the people I've seen turned away by the Church or turned off to Jesus because we as the Church made it too difficult for them to get to Jesus.
One of my greatest concerns is knowing I will one day stand before God and give an account of my life to Him, and realizing only then that I was more "religious" than changed. According to Romans 8:29 , God's ultimate goal for my life is to transform me into a person that looks, thinks, and acts as much like Jesus as possible until He takes me home.
Unfortunately, many of us will believe God in faith to keep us out of hell, but we would never ask Him to help us fix our marriage, help us raise our kids, or trust in Him to provide for our needs if we were to give sacrificially to others. There seems to be a huge disconnect between saving faith (I believe Jesus died and rose again for me) and daily faith (I'm believing God to help me find a good job).
I'm afraid that the majority of well-meaning believers (men especially) have drawn the faulty conclusion that they really don't have what it takes to be a tool God can use for His purposes. Grant it that American Christianity has, for many years, exalted the professional minister to the point that the average Christ-follower feels that all they can really do is cut the checks and let the professional do their thing.
What is the driving force of your life? For some, it is working to provide a great income so that their family can enjoy the best comforts in life. For others, it is the pursuit of power, and yet for others, it is living with the overwhelming fear of failing. Something drives all of us to do what we do, say what we say, live how we live. For the Apostle Paul, the driving force of his life was the simple fact that he would one day stand before God and give an account of his life to Him. "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God" (
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God" (
One of my greatest concerns is knowing I will one day stand before God and give an account of my life to Him, and realizing only then that I was more "religious" than changed. According to 
