Is life a test or an opportunity?

There are many milestone identifiers used by those evaluating and observing our lives as to our character and substance from which our lives derive both purpose and meaning. Milestones are those clearly visible moments, events, statements or actions which define us as an individual. It could be said that life and the living of life is a challenge and that every step of the journey is a test. When the words: challenge; journey; or test; are written, these could trigger an array of different reactions and or individual responses. A challenge by my definition is something that causes everything within me to get ready. Whereas a journey, I would describe as a trip that could end up landing anywhere, it has no set location goal. Along the journeys of our lives we leave markers indicating we were once here. Each of these milestones can be highlighted differently. Sometimes the achievements in our lives are bright shiny signs that leave lots of information about how our journey brought us to this point while others dictators of our travels would be best described as clues leaving those observing the responsibility of putting the puzzle pieces together. There are individuals who live life as if it is like a basketball game which provides network tv timeouts, you can call your own team time-outs, others teams can call their own time-outs and you've even got an extended break at half-time to recover, re-think and even re-evaluate your 'life' game plan. If you are the type of person that likes to be in control then living your life through the trust of faith will never be easy. Letting go, (or more clearly written so there is no misunderstanding in my meaning of 'Letting go', means you have released your grip and you no longer are maintaining any control) and you are facing every challenge and life not as a test, but all the unexpected things in life as an opportunity for you to live another day of your faith in the view of others to evaluate and observe. Until then

All the dots coming together

There are many questioning today the power of the church. Actually the question might best be understood by asking what is the relevance of the church in today's society. After all the power of the church resides in the omnipotent power of God and the church is a unique tool for the assembling, equipping and sending mechanism for followers of Jesus to go and make a difference. Surrounding the local church today is the questioning by society as to its importance, value and even relevance in our daily lives. This question has encompassed the work of the church because so often the church seems to be out of step with society, and stuck in a cycle of tradition and ritual that just doesn't have any impact or relevance. This lack of influence by the church seems to be a given especially when one considers how fast the world moves today with all her modern technology, advances in communication and fast breaking news that can happen in any remote location yet known around the world in minutes. To accept the fore written as a valid truth is easy for many because the questions surrounding, encompassing and considerations of the churches value is being asked by many of our neighbor's, co-workers and friends. Our lack of answers or relevant examples of the important work of the church that does impact and change lives seems to be, in many congregations, non-existent. Nevertheless even without a response from us God's love and plan are in play, active and alive for every individual on planet earth. The power of the church today is best witnessed when Christians are actively involved in sharing the impact of God in their lives because of the personal relationship shared with the creator of the Universe. The church with the founder Jesus Christ is the one resource that provides meaning to life, value to existence and answers to questions. And when all else seems to be void the gifts of faith and hope rule as guides in our lives with the fact of His love, the greatest gift, providing the connecting point, bring all the dots together. Until then