Life Between Sundays

What Kind Of Man Are You?

wcorym — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:38:52 +0000

The following post is intended for men. After watching the recent episode of “The Office” titled “After Hours” I just had to share some thoughts. Feel free to watch the episode that I have provided for you here via Hulu. (Warning: This show has adult content. I realize that I may be judged by some for admitting that I watch this show. However, I truly feel that there is a real lesson for all men to be found in this particular episode.)

http://www.hulu.com/embed/gHvYA-ytRUuOEsN2bHzAfA

Honestly, a real man is a faithful man. Can you Sir, say that if you were put into the following situations that you would handle them the way the Lord would call of you to…with integrity? If you are married and were away from home on a business trip, would you behave like Jim or like Stanley? If you are trying to seek success would you behave like Dwight or Packer? Is a relationship with a woman about love, commitment, and purity…or is it about just filling your selfish desires like Ryan? If you are a follower of Christ, you are called to be a man of integrity. Integrity is a quality that is lacking today in our society and especially in the church.

If we want to break free from the self-gratifying ways of many “Christian” men in the world today, then we have to get back to sound doctrinal teaching in the church. We must practice Titus 2:1-2 & 6-8: ” ¹ As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. ² Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience… ⁶ In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. ⁷ And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. ⁸ Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us” (NLT). If we truly want to be pure faithful men, then we have to truly fall in love with Jesus more then we love ourselves. When we are in deep love with Him, then letting go of the temporary pleasures of the moment aren’t perceived as losses, but unwanted trash that we gladly through out of our lives. To be a man of God, means that life is really lived all for Him. Come on men, think about.

Sometimes Funerals Bring Bad Theology

wcorym — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:20:12 +0000

Before I begin, please do not hear in my words a tone of insensitivity. I know at the loss of a loved one, theology is not at the forefront of the mind. However, over the last several days I have witnessed two different funeral services that both had hints of wrong biblical teachings. The first funeral was one I personally attended and officiated. The service was beautiful and moving. Two friends of the deceased spoke before I brought the closing message of the gospel. During the second friend’s speech, I caught a phrase that made me uncomfortable. He said, our friend “is in heaven now, where we will all be someday.” While his motivation may have been pure, his message was not. Neither he nor I knew if everyone in that room would be going to heaven. The Bible makes it quite clear that salvation is not universal, not everyone will be going to heaven. Two verses from the New Testament that points this out come from Jesus Himself: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6 (NKJV). And “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV). Jesus truly is the only way to heaven and unless everyone in that room that day had received Jesus as their Lord and Savior…there were people there who weren’t going to be in heaven when they died.

The second funeral service that I witnessed bad theology presented was a clip I observed from Whitney Huston’s “Home Going” service. The news broadcasted as small clip from Kevin Costner’s eulogy for Whitney. During this particular clip Costner said, there is now “a lady in heaven making God wonder how He created something so perfect.” As a pastor when I first heard that my ears perked up. I truly thought I miss heard the phrase, so before writing this blog I Googled Costner’s eulogy and listened to it in full. Sure enough, those where his exact words that came near the close of his message. Surprisingly for the most part Costner’s eulogy was very touching and heartwarming…but this sentence is wrong on so many levels. First of all no one makes God do anything. Second, God doesn’t wonder about anything. Third, only God alone is perfect. (Again, please don’t hear me being insensitive to the passing of Whitney Houston.) However, the Bible makes these truths about God quite clear. First we must understand that the Scriptures teach that God is sovereign. “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.” – Psalm 33:10-11 (NKJV). Thus, God is free to act and do according to His plan alone. If and when God does take actions to and for mankind it is in accordance to His grace and mercy. Second we must see that the Bible declares the omniscience or all knowingness of God. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” – Romans 11:33 (NKJV). God’s knowledge is infinite, therefore it is without limits. He never wonders, because nothing surprises Him nor is outside of His understanding. It is impossible for God to create something or someone that would cause Him to wonder about. After all, He is the One who made them. Finally the third truth about God that we must understand is the biblical teaching of God’s perfection. “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.” – 1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV). God alone is holy. “Holy” means to be sacred or set apart, thus holiness is the standard of perfection. God is that standard. Sure we are all called to live holy and perfect…“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” – Matthew 5:28 (NKJV). But because of sin no humanity cannot reach perfection on his own. Since we can’t reach the Father’s level of perfection, if we die in our sins we will “fall short” of the standard for heaven. However, if we find salvation in Jesus Christ, His righteousness is credited to our account and thus the believing Christian is looked upon by God through the perfection of Christ. “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” – Colossians 2:10 (NLT).

So as each of us approach a funeral service, whither we are asked to speak at the service or if we are just talking to friends, we must use caution about what we say. Emotions may tempt us to water down the truth for the sake of others, but we are accountable for what we say, especially on behalf of God. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” – Matthew 12:36 (NKJV).

Revival Could Go “VIRAL” Through Social Networking

wcorym — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:30:40 +0000

When Leonard Sweet‘s new book Viral is released this March, I recommend all pastors and ministry staff set a while at the feet of a messenger who has his finger on the pulse of the today’s culture. In this book Sweet introduces the reader to the TGIF (Twitter, Google, iPhone, and Facebook) culture that we now live in. A captivating case is presented on how today’s Christian needs to seek the efforts of social networking to share the gospel message. You will be challenged to step out of the “Gutenberg” (life before TGIF) ways of thinking and approach people in the culture and context they are now currently in. Sweet will inspire you to stretch your own opinions and uses of social networking for the glory of Christ. It is refreshing how Sweet doesn’t compromise biblical truth, while at the same time challenges the reader to make the “Story” of the gospel real to people in the 21^st century. If the church is going to fulfill the Great Commission then we must do it in the ways and times we live in and Viral will show you just how to do that.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Grasping For Wisdom

wcorym — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:24:46 +0000

I read a great quote this week, “Many a man pursues wisdom, but he doesn’t always catch up with it.” Unless there is something wrong with you, we all long to grow in wisdom. This explains the enormous explosion of information in the past few years. We live in what is now called the TGIF culture (Tweeter, Google, iPhone, and Facebook). Through the power of handheld devices, the information super highway known as the internet, and social networking, we are all looking for wisdom. But what is wisdom? Webster defines it as “accumulated philosophic or scientific learning, or ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, or good sense, or generally accepted belief.” In other words humanity thinks wisdom is a process of growing in knowledge about stuff. However, why don’t we let Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, tell us what wisdom really is. “Respect for the Lord will teach you wisdom” – Proverbs 15:33a (NCV). If we truly want to pursue wisdom, it must come with respect for the Lord. As a follower of Christ we must grow in what God wants us to know. If we are still searching for where we stand with God, then real wisdom starts with a loving relationship with Christ. So with the flood of knowledge that comes with the TGIF culture, let us all be sure that we seek the truth Source of wisdom.

Women, Men, Parents, College Students, & Teens – Go See OCTOBER BABY on March 23rd!

wcorym — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:01:12 +0000

Feeble Attempts At Making Lasting Accomplishments

wcorym — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:20:10 +0000

Someone wisely said, “After a man makes his mark in the world, a lot of people will come around with erasers.” How true this is everyday. Just this week we have seen on the rise and fall of two major companies. On Thursday news broke that Facebook has gone public making it one of the most lucrative companies in the country, while American Airlines is falling apart in bankruptcy & massive layoffs. In the 1930’s E.L. Cord formed American Airlines and made his “mark” on society, however today that “mark” is fading into the sunset with the accomplishments of a new generation like Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook. Why is all this important? We must all realize that any accomplishment in this world is only temporal. People each day spend unknown amounts of time and resources trying to make their name legendary, but honestly no human efforts are ever eternal. Just listen to the words of Jesus; “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” – John 12:25 NKJV. What Jesus was say is that if we come into a relationship with Him where we love Him so much that we are willing to give up the temporal luxuries of this life, we will follow Him to eternal glory. Really from Jesus’ point of view, life isn’t about making our names great, but to make Him great in our life. Is this true for your life?

Time Is A Family Necessity

wcorym — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:09:52 +0000

It’s been said, “The best way to bring up children is never to let them down.” As a father, that statement cuts right to my heart. Too many times we mistake the good for the best for our families. What I mean by that is sometime we may think that spending more time away from home to “provide” for our family is the best thing to do. When in reality, the best that we could do is to spend more time at home, instead of grabbing at a few more dollars. I believe that this principle to true for any relationship in the family. Husbands need affection, wives need a listener, and children need play time. If there is someone other than you living in your home, make it a priority to spend quality time with them each week. After all they have a whole world around them that will let them down in many ways.

A Funny Commentary On Super Bowl XLVI

wcorym — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:33:56 +0000

What if football was really played this way?

Great Video To Prepare For Sanctity Of Life Sunday

wcorym — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:23:09 +0000

How Do You Go Home On Sundays?

wcorym — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:14:16 +0000

It has been said, “There is plenty of heavenly music for those who are tuned in.” As I thought about that statement it reminded me that this should be true for each of us as we approach Sunday worship services. Many times we leave a worship service and have nothing but complaints. Maybe the building was too cold or too hot. Maybe the music seemed too fast or too slow or too new or too old. Maybe the sermon was too long or too dry. We find ourselves leaving focused on our complaints. However, that’s not the way it is suppose to be. If we come to church “tuned in” we won’t miss out on the real blessing of worship. The reason we may leave church with complaints, is because we have come to church with a selfish heart. Honestly, we aren’t to come to Sunday worship to see what “we” can get, but what we can give. Worship is all about God and when we come into His house our hearts and minds need to be tuned in on Him. Having the right focus will cause us to leave with fewer complaints.