+ The Good Life

Fashionable Living

The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts...

 

An Editorial on Judah

In this picture from "Walk Thru the Bible," we see 2 Chronicles, and this time the newspaper has an Editorial on Judah. Offering a second "editorial" on the events covered in 1 and 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles spans Judah's history from its highest peak to its lowest ebb - from Solomon's reign to the Babylonian exile. First comes the building of the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. Following years of power and fame in the world, Solomon dies... and the spiritual, moral and military fortunes of the nation rise and fall with the quality of leadership on the throne. The few righteous rulers cannot stop the nation's downward slide, and God's judgment ultimately falls: invasion, defeat, captivity.

Powered by Prayer

For the Apostle Paul, faith and love is our vital life force.  It’s what connects us with God and with one another.   Faith and love is what can energize a person’s life and move us to action. Faith and love is what gives our lives meaning and purpose.  Faith and love is what offers hope for humanity and helps make the world go around.  

We grow in faith and love as we embrace mindful prayer.

My Personal Mission Statement

 My life purpose is to be a loving and joyful servant of God, wholly committed to my Lord's will and way.  I understand God through the life and teachings of Jesus, Christ.  I seek to allow Christ's Spirit to shine through me so that I can impact this world with the grace, truth and justice of our loving God.  Each day is a new adventure of faith and reliance upon God's Spirit.  I am fully committed to the regular study of Scripture and to prayer in order to better experience God’s guidance in my life.

With appreciation to God for the gift of abundant life, I seek to keep my mind alert, my body fit, and my character pure.  I therefore participate in activities and relationships that bring honor to God.  I abstain from things that stifle my effectiveness for my Lord.

The single most important relationship in my life is my marriage to Cindy.  I seek to develop our relationship through regular, warm and open communication, loyal encouragement, a forgiving spirit, and an open mind.  I desire to share myself with her in such a way that we grow  individually and as a couple.  Together we explore God's love and share it with others.  United with my wife, we have sought to nurture our children toward a devotion to their creator, a concern for others and a joy in life. We want our family to be a circle of love that stretches beyond us to embrace a widening sphere of love and grace. Teamwork, loyalty, compassion, honesty, service, scholarship, stewardship, justice, truth, acceptance and creative self expression are important qualities we embrace, nurture and model in our family.

I seek to be a supportive friend, a loyal colleague, a loving presence in my broader family, an encourager to the downhearted, a motivator to the able, and a leader helping bring about positive impact in society.  I seek to always affirm those with whom I join together in mission and service. I provide special encouragement to young people. My desire is to use my gifts, talents and skills to transform hurting situations, heal broken relationships, offer spiritual support, repair damaged lives and bring vitality to institutional structures.  I eagerly pursue opportunities to be of the greatest service to others.  I want my life to be pleasing to God and make a difference for good. 

God's Providence and Personal Guidance

When I was seven years old, I put my trust in God and was baptized. I have come to understand the God of my childhood as the creator of all things. I believe that in the creation process our Maker lovingly shaped humanity, marked us with a touch of the divine and fashioned us to live as children of God. Laboring to this end, Almighty God established a covenant with the people of Israel. 

I believe the work of God in history reaches its apex in Jesus. My life was positively shaped as I embraced Jesus as my Lord in my teenage years. My growing understanding of Jesus has helped me see the heart of our loving God and paved the way for a relationship with my Creator. I consider Jesus the man of full deity and God of full humanity, who lived a righteous life in total identification with this hurting world, died an atoning death on the cross and rose from the dead with supreme authority over everything. Through Jesus Christ, I have gained confidence to face life and death with the assurance of God’s eternal presence and goodness.

I now seek to place myself daily in the hands of the Holy Spirit, whom I worship as one with Christ and our Creator. I believe that the Spirit was calling me to God long before my baptism. God’s Spirit continues guiding me in ways that shape my life and empower me for service. Even when I fall short of faithful obedience to my Lord Jesus, the Spirit works to remind me of who I am and what God calls me to be. 

I have developed my views of God through the Bible and in the fellowship of the church.  I devoured scripture cover to cover in my youth and continue to go to it regularly for life direction and as our chief guide. I see it as the trustworthy record of God’s gracious activity and as the prime authority for our faith and life. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through it.

I consider the church a forever-fellowship of people called by God to be the body of Christ.  I am committed to the church through engagement with my local congregation. The sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism that we share together in worship are holy signs of our place in God’s family and they serve as a way for us to thank Christ for his redemptive life, death and resurrection. Through sharing the sacraments, Christ’s real presence is with us.

I believe that God summons us to be a servant people. We are commissioned to show and tell the compassion and justice of Jesus to everyone, everywhere.  I have a pervasive hope that one day the resurrected Jesus Christ will return to earth as supreme, depose evil for good and establish his kingdom of righteousness for all to see.  Until that time, I live in daily delight as a child of God and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to honor Christ in all I do.