Blogs for Christian Living
Read some devotional thoughts from prior church planters & lifelong pastors. Mark & Dallas share what they learn daily in their journey walking with God.
Be inspired to live in the fullness of purity that God has set as the standard for His children. Be encouraged to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and the implications of living in relationship with God.
Hannah was greatly distressed in 1 Samuel 1:10-20. Instead of stewing and pouting and turning away from God she poured everything out before Him. We see that she was “bitter” (v. 10). This is not the picture of a prim and proper worshipper of the Lord coming before Him and singing praise songs. This is a woman that has a very deep, burning wound and she is bitter about it. Life is not fair. Things are not going right. This is NOT the way that they should be! This has gone on for too long, God. Enough! She “wept severely”. Crying out to God Hannah moped and was depressed (see…
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God has designed us and is equipping us to be successful. But what is success? In America we often define success by our position and possessions. The higher our position at work or school or church or the social club then the more “successful” we are. The more stuff we have, then the more we are a success; be that houses, cars, name-brand clothes, exotic vacations; fancy this or that. However, position, possession, or even our number of followers is not God’s standard for success. And if that’s not how God defines success, neither should we. Scripture gives us a definition of success quite contrary to the expectations of this…
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There is a part of our house about which we often don’t think; a part that some of us probably never think about. Yet, it is a vitally important maintenance item from which we need to apply some principles to our spiritual lives. It’s not something that we prize or cherish, but when it doesn’t work properly, we surely aren’t pleased. It is the sewer line that takes everything from our sinks, showers and toilets to the city pipes. Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of assisting my father-in-law with cleaning out his lines. As I was on my knees over a pipe that was emitting less than…
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“Why flags?” Well, because there is Scriptural basis, complimented by abundant symbolism in color and movement, and because worship is part of our spiritual warfare arsenal. Synonyms for flags include banner, sign, signal, standard, standard-bearer, and symbol. While flags as we know them today are not mentioned specifically in Scripture, the present day versions are adapted from the standards that were raised over each camp. (Numbers 1:52) The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard. The use of flags invites others to engage in worship in a different way than lifting hands,…
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Where does the use of praise banners and worship flags come from? Yes, flag worship is biblical, although there is no specific Scripture that commands us to use them in worship today. Think of the flag bearer or standard bearer in biblical times. We can even look to Scripture to see God in a position of being the standard bearer. A standard is not only an emblem but a level of expectation to be attained. God sets the Holy standard and covers His children with the blood of the Perfect Sacrifice, Jesus Christ. All the rest of us fall short of God’s standard and Scripture says He will lift…
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Fabric, Fabric, and More Fabric “So, how much fabric do you need?” It was a question loaded with the additional sentiment, “Don’t you think you have enough?” The thing was, all I knew was certain fabrics were standing out, but I didn’t have conceptualization of flags to be made from the fabrics. There was still a drive to purchase another color in another texture. Yet being around the colors and textures of the fabrics is one of my happy places. On one particular day, I was standing in a fabric store and heard God say, “This is the last piece of fabric you’ll be buying for a while.”…
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The Process of Making Worship Flags “So, if you’re going to make a flag for someone, do you have to spend a lot of time with them first?” she asked. I wasn’t prepared with an answer. After all, to that point I’d only made flags for myself and given some as gifts to friends. “Let’s see how the next few days go, and I’ll let you know if I know what your flag should look like.” I said. That’s what we did. I had some mutual friends and acquaintances weigh in on what they thought this flag should look like, but that wasn’t how God had arranged the creative process…
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