Impact What's Eternal

Have you ever had a moment in life when something occurs to you that almost sounds insultingly simple but you realize that you never intentionally thought of or inquired about it until that moment? I don't know if it had to do with me growing up in a Christian environment, or because my personality is fairly easy going, but one day I had this type of "moment of clarity".


Several years ago I was sitting in a class at EBI during the last semester, and maybe even the last month of my senior year. My instructor was talking about purpose and creating foundations around our calling so that when times get tough we could have a place to come back and say "I know God lead me here because He spoke this in my past." I realized at that moment that I couldn't really clarify or define what "my calling" was. So I took that moment to ask God, "Lord what is my calling?"


I doubt that I paid much attention to the rest of the class, but God began to give me and understanding of what He created me for and what my calling is. He spoke to me of the importance of human souls as one of the few things that are eternal. As I reflected on the words of Solomon, "meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless, what do people gain from all their labors..." God spoke to me about the the value of spending my life pouring into other people and the eternal benefits that would bring. He gave me Ephesians 4:12 as a guide and clarified what seemed liked such a common question, but with one of the most profound outcomes.


I encourage and even challenge you to ask God what your calling is and keep in mind that we are living out an eternal existence. He has created us to be eternal beings and there are countless ways to to accomplish the meaningless, but very specific ways to have an impact on eternity.


- This blog was written by Rob Hagstrom as a part of the Radical Series. Rob is the Children's Pastor at Elim Gospel Church.

When I don’t Want to Obey

The commitment of a disciple is to listen to Jesus, believe Him, and obey whatever He says. But what about when He asks something that we don’t feel like doing? What do we do when he tells us to do things like giving up everything to follow Him, walking in purity, and loving our enemies?


The truth is, we are incapable of following Jesus in our own strength.


One of the concepts that has most transformed my walk with Christ is described in Philippians 2:13 (NLT) – “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”


God is working in you and me to change our hearts’ desires and to give us the strength to obey Him. Our obedience isn’t rooted in our own strength, it’s found in the grace He gives us.


Because of this, I’ve discovered that I don’t have to be ashamed to tell the Lord when I don’t feel like obeying. He expects it, and He’s committed to helping me!


My commitment as a disciple is to refuse to settle for disobedience. Even when my heart is hard and I don’t want to obey, I must be committed to persist in prayer until I receive the strength I need to obey.


This understanding birthed a new category of prayers in my life, the “I want to want to” prayer:


“Lord, I just don’t feel like forgiving so-and-so, but I know you want me to and I want to want to obey you. Help me!”


“Lord, I want to want to read my Bible. Please change my heart.”


“Lord, I want to want to share the gospel with my coworkers. Please help!”


I have found that the raw honesty of these simple prayers is all God needs to come soften my heart and give me the grace I need to obey.


“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6


- This post was written by Tom Warsaw for the Radical Series. Tom is an elder of Elim Gospel Church.

Radical Gratitude

“Clear!”

Several hundred volts are necessary to resuscitate an unresponsive human heart and restore it to normal function. Jolting words like ‘radical’ are apparently necessary to resuscitate an ungrateful human heart. Some think radical means ‘extreme,’ but the dictionary primarily defines it as ‘a return to the basics.’ God is simply taking our pulse and restoring us to normal Christian gratitude. But what characterizes the healthy heart that He is listening for? Simply this: “Give thanks always and for everything.” (Ephesians 5:20)

“Always? And for everything? I don’t think so – that’s absurd and impossible!”

So it seems… but consider the theological flipside of Romans 8:28. If we really believe what we freely confess (that God is working “all things together for our good”) then why don’t we thank Him for “all things”? Why do we accept good from His hand, and not bad? (Job 2:10) But what is good? or bad? When we establish ourselves as judges to decide what is good and bad, and what we will thank God for, we base those decisions on the limited perspective of our own understanding and feelings. Since we only “know in part,” our conclusions will inevitably be, at best, incomplete and precarious.

Ann Voskamp (‘One Thousand Gifts’) says that to thank God “always and for everything” is extending faith to “a God who wastes nothing… to a God who alone knows all.” And that “when I only give thanks for some things, aren’t I likely to miss giving God glory in most things?” Biblical gratitude is not simply a feeling but a radical action of trust, expressing the conviction that God is truly at work for our good. The choice is ours: “That which I refuse to thank Christ for,” Ann says, “I refuse to believe Christ can redeem.” That’s radical.

- This blog was written by Dick Grout, the Director of Worship at Elim Bible Institute, as a part of the Radical Series at EGC.

The "Bread & Circuses" Coma

A few years ago the Lord spoke this promise to me, "Out of a land of great distraction, I will raise up a people of great devotion." I want to be a part of that promise but realize that it won't come to pass without some serious spiritual and cultural opposition.

The term "bread & circuses" originated during the times of the Roman Empire. Although the term is rarely used today, I believe the strategy is prevalent in our Western culture. I am susceptible to it and I think you are as well.

Back in the day emperors would provide food & entertainment to keep the common man entertained, appeased, and distracted from civil affairs. A definition of the term "bread & circus" means to provide mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace leading to an erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man.

You don't have to step foot back in time or visit a Roman Coliseum to slip into a "bread & circuses" coma.

A video game obsession that gets all encompassing....a daily TV routine that becomes guarded or "sacred"....constant news and social media updates barraging your mind and pounding on the door of your heart, vying for your attention. It is not hard to become dulled and distracted by all the “bread & circuses” going on all around us.

Radical Christianity doesn't require that I live in the desert eating locusts and honey like John the Baptist. It doesn't mean that I can never look forward to a night of Netflix with my wife to temporarily escape the demands and pressures of the day.

But it does mean that I seriously take to heart Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God.

"The divided heart tries what the undivided heart does." -Lance Wallnau

I am praying the prayer of David for myself and our church family, "Lord, give me an undivided heart that I may walk in your ways."

As Christ-followers we want our lives to count for all eternity. We want to bring our Father's Kingdom down from heaven to earth. To live that kind of intentional lifestyle requires making small, conscious decisions to not live an over-entertained and under challenged existence.

Which areas of your life are you fighting off a "bread & circuses" coma?

- This blog was written by Pastor Joshua Finley as part of the Radical Series at Elim Gospel Church. Pastor Josh is the Lead Pastor at EGC.

Excess or Absence

Just the word “Radical” brings up all kinds of imagery and ideas like “overboard”, “outrageous” or “off the deep end”. So what is this series really all about?

All too often, when people hear something like the word radical in reference to Christianity, they get nervous. Thoughts come pouring in like a flood with extremes like people with signs on the street yelling at others or requests to give away ALL your money or possessions or time if you really are a believer. It’s easy to just shake your head and dismiss such behavior as unattractive to others and unrealistic as a lifestyle.

While these excesses are certainly negative, how many of us disregard real and meaningful inklings from the Holy Spirit by making excuses that our culture has introduced into our thinking? Maybe God doesn’t necessarily want us to yell at others on the street, but he does want us to actually talk to our neighbors or co-workers about Him and not just “be friendly.” What if He isn’t really asking us to give away all our money, possessions or time, but He does want us to carefully consider what we do have as His and chose to live on a faith adventure with Him. Perhaps instead of having such fear of being too extreme and dismissing any “radical” ideas as ridiculous, we should stop and actually consider them. What if an absence of devotion should be more of concern than an excess?

Just saying… maybe we should think this through.

- This Guest Blog was written by Cindy Scott, the Care and Community Life Director. Cindy is also the founder of Bridges to What Could Be, a life-coaching ministry based in the Rochester area.