God Owns It All

What's the opposite of "God owns it all"? Perhaps "I can do whatever I want since it's mine." If we aren't living as though the first one is true, are we living as though the second one is?

My thought from Pastor Verne's message on 3/13/11 at Waukesha First. Listen online.

Don't Choose a Church for Yourself

I Love Ephesians 2:8-10. Whenever I hear it, my ears perk up... Oddly, the churches that I enjoy most use this verse often. Are they geniuses like me, or is it Selection Bias?

If I'm comfortable (in life, at church, at work), is that a sign that I'm healthy (physically, mentally, spiritually) or that I'm merely paying attention to the few items that I value?

(*Pastor Verne, Can you use Ephesians 2:8-10 more often? That'd be great.)

Making Decisions

We're not too good at making decisions. We make decisions based on our available knowledge, but if we were to think about the outcome of our decisions, we’d make better ones. I want to think about all sorts of decisions and situations in order to be ready for them or for similar ones in the future.

God's Measurement

I hate it when you get suprised by a boss's assessment - thankfully it's been rare in my life. It does make one wonder though...

Do we measure the same thing God does? When we get to heaven, will we be suprised by His assessment?

He has told you, oh man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you.
To Do Justice
To Love Kindness
And To Walk Humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Measuring the Unseen

In the preface to the REVEAL study, Greg Hawkins points out that churches need to measure the unseen. Whatever we equate with spiritual growth is what we'll work on at church.

If we think Spiritual Growth is somehow equivalent to church activity, we'll generate even more church activity. REVEAL did discover that "Church activity IS NOT a blueprint for spiritual growth." An interesting implication...

Measuring Importance

Everyone measures something.

How many people like me or don't like me?
How does my income compare to those around me?
Am I at least as good as everyone I know?

The thing we measure is given importance just by the act of measuring it. Changing what we measure will change what we do.