Struggle and Overcome

We hate change. We despise, fear, and avoid it at all costs. But change is not only inevitable, it is a mandatory part of our relationship with Christ. We must change in order to follow him. We must be continually changing to follow him. It is not a one-time event. Real change lasts.

In Genesis 32, Jacob has quite a life-changing encounter with…someone. God himself…angel…we don’t really know for sure. What we do know is that Jacob was changed forever. Jacob wrestles with this man through the night, loses, and then says he will not let go unless this man blesses him. Then we get this in 32:28: Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” In 29, the man blesses Jacob.

The first condition for change that we see in Jacob is that he wanted it. He begged the man for a blessing and was willing to fight for it. He wanted to be changed, he wanted to be blessed. Next, the man tells him that his name will be changed, which was an extremely significant event in biblical times. It signified not only a change in name, but a change in character and personality. The man tells him he will be changed because he has struggled with God and with humans and he has overcome. Jacob struggled with God. He struggled with his faith. He wrestled with God. He also struggled with humans. He struggled in his relationships. Then comes the key part: he overcame. He overcame his struggles.

In order to be changed and blessed, you have to want it. You have to fight for it. You have to search for it. You will struggle with God and you will struggle with men. It will not be easy and will not be without pain, lets not forget that Jacob got his hip snapped. Then, in the end, you must overcome. You must overcome your struggles with God and with men. Only then can you be changed, and only then will you be blessed. True change doesn’t come easy, but it lasts forever and is worth fighting for.  

What does it mean to be a Christian?

         Over and over again I see pastors preaching and teachers teaching about what it means to be a Christian. They say “These are the things you do” and “These are the things you say” and “This is how you respond in this situation”. We hear these things all the time, which are by no means bad things. But these statements should prompt the Christian thinker (which we all should be) to wonder "what does it really mean to be a Christian?" Another thing that I hear over and over again is that it is your sin, or lack there of, that defines your Christianity and spirituality. 

       
 Really church? My lack of sin makes me a Christian? No person has ever lived without a lack of sin except Jesus. Everyone around you has done worse things than you’ll ever know. We have ALL sinned and ALL fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). In this world we cannot escape sin , even as followers of Christ. Until the day we die, we will be tempted and we will fail. We will sin and we will deserve death for it. It is not your sin that defines who you are or your Christianity; it is your repentance. All men sin, not all repent. Repentance is the defining factor. Genuine repentance comes from a realization of your sin and a confessing of your sin before God. After that, you pray to God to give you the strength to turn from your sin.

It is an absurd notion that if you don’t sin that makes you a good Christian. No Christian avoids sinning and no amount of good deeds or lack of bad deeds will buy you a ticket to the Kingdom of God. Repentance defines your Christianity.  

Women in Ministry

           The topic of the role of women in ministry, specifically pastoral jobs, is one of the most debated today that creates divides in Christianity. There are three primary views taken when it comes to this topic: conventionalists, dependents, and equivalents. 

           Conventionalists believe that women ought to be valued and loved just as men are. Women can and should play important roles in the church. Women can lead one another and teach one another. Yet women must also submit to their husbands that love them. God created men first and then created women from men. Women should not teach or have authority over men in the church. Women must dress modestly and submit as they would to God. Women are called to love God and serve him with all of who they are.

            Dependents also believe that women ought to be love and valued. Women are essential to the growth of the church. There are times when women are permitted to lead and have authority over men. Some dependents lean more toward conventional views while others lean more toward equivalent views. The common denominator that dependents own is that under the right circumstances, women can lead just as effectively and biblically as men.

            Equivalents believe that there is neither male nor female in Christ. Men and women are one together and ought to have authority as one. History and biblical evidence show that women can and have led effectively in the name of Jesus. God created both men and women in the image of God, therefore both have equal dominion over creation. Women should be encouraged to become pastors and missionaries, because that is what God has called humanity to do, not just men.

            Despite the vastly differing opinions when it comes to this issue, the church must not let such disagreements get in the way of the call of Christ. Paul addresses the issue of unity in the church far more than he discusses the role of women in ministry. If it was not a major concern for Paul, then why should it be today? Paul was concerned with the lost and the least of these. Paul wrote to almost all of the churches that he was related to about unity within the church. The church today is perhaps less unified than it has ever been. There are hundreds, even thousands of denominations in the United States alone. Christians let their views on topics such as homosexuality and women in the church distract them from what really matters, Christ’s redeeming death and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. While it is good and perhaps necessary to have differing opinions on this topic of the role of women in the church, we must not become so divided that we are hurting Christ’s cause. One thing is certain, that both men and women are made in the image of God and that they both are to play vital roles in the story that Christ has written for humanity.

Question Authority

What is your first reaction when you hear the word “obedience”? What about “authority”? Most likely your first thought went to some person who has had authority over you and you hate their guts and everything that they said, did, and stood for. While that may be harsh…maybe…we have all had to deal with that leader at some point in our lives. We have all had to submit to authorities that we can’t stand; yet we must obey them.

People of authority in church have wronged many of us. There are many leaders in our churches today who are not Godly figures of authority. There are many leaders who are not even real leaders by God’s standard. Maybe your pastor is one of them. Maybe your teacher or professors are one of them. Maybe you are one of them.

If the word “authority” ticked you off and made you immediately angry, then you have most likely let a worldly view of authority conquer your Godly view of authority. What we as a church have forgotten is that God and Scripture are our ultimate authority. They do not seek to bind us or limit us, but set us free. Jesus came to set us free, not hold us down. The problem with our postmodern society today is that we believe that authority can’t mesh with freedom. Instead of holding a traditional view of authority, we have given ourselves authority. We say, “Whatever we believe is right, whatever they believe is right.” We don’t want to listen to other people because we assume they are like us, self centered and corrupt.

Proper, truthful authority in the church is rare. So often, pastors become God’s replacement. People listen to the pastor and not God. They follow the pastor and not God. Pastors are intended to be God’s transparent voice, his vehicle, and his truth. Good pastors do not speak their own words, but God’s. Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. He told his disciples that whoever is last will be first. True authority comes from a dispossession of power, not a longing to possess it. True authority points away from itself and toward God. True authority does not require obedience to its own will, but to God’s. True authority claims no power, but disperses it. True authority has no desire for authority.

Obey those who have authority over you. Listen for the voice of God through those leaders. But…be discerning, be wise, and be a Godly follower. Listen to what you are being told and listen to see if it is the pastor’s voice or God’s. Look at your leaders. Do they claim authority and desire power? Or do they exhibit God’s authority and give power, rather than take it? True, Godly leaders are rare. Find them. 

Dear Sin, You Don't Own me

Listen to this song by Disciple and then continue reading. This song conveys powerful truth that we all need to hear.

Romans 6:6 says: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” 

As Christians, our old selves have been crucified with Christ on the cross. Sin has been overcome and destroyed. And the best part of it…we are no longer slaves to sin. Sin no longer owns us. Pain, shame, hate, and anger have no control over us anymore. Though sin is not far and it is crouching at our door, we are no longer subject to its power. Having been crucified with Christ, we are no longer slaves to the former power that controlled us. Christ death has set us free to run straight into his arms. Laugh at sin and boldly proclaim that it does not own you anymore and that Jesus Christ is the ruler of your life.