“Ambition is Expected” – The Holiness Project – Day 45

The problem with “ambition” is that it is a dirty word among Christians. It is intrinsically bad, or sinful, or wrong in the eyes of many people. It sounds selfish. It sounds worldly. But it is not.

There. I said it. The cat is out of the bag. I am an ambitious person. And I believe that God wants me to be.

Apparently Paul was fairly ambitious as well. His famous statement that he forgets the past and strives towards the future is quoted by many Christians and self-help gurus alike. Ambition is a normal part of our human existence. What makes our ambition “spiritual” has more to do with the rest of Paul’s quote. He says that his ambition is to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV).

Now we’re talking…

“Discipleship is Warfare” – The Holiness Project – Day 47

This argument against God is as old as time itself.  If God is love and evil exists, either God is weak or He is not as loving as we make Him out to be.  It usually comes in a more philosophical form, but you get the idea.

The problem is that God has an eternal perspective (and we do not).  The central message of the Bible is that our rebellion against God (sin) has eternal consequences that are so horrible that it is almost beyond belief.  The very fact that God, Himself, came in the flesh to be tortured and killed in a painful death on the cross in order to save us should give us some indication of how serious the situation is. 

God’s love compelled him to sacrifice Himself to save us from the results of our alliance with evil.

“Stewardship is Accountability” – The Holiness Project – Day 48

The original title of this post was “Stewardship is Simplicity” and you can imagine why.  After all, we are talking about success and the world likes to define that in terms of resources.  What is that bumper sticker slogan that seems to make people smile?  Oh, yes.  “The one who dies with the most toys, wins!”  We know it’s a bit childish but the truth is that success has been defined that way since the beginning of time.

We define success as relational in terms of our relationship with God.  Some people would, no doubt, agree that success is relational but in terms of human relationships – with your spouse, your family, your friends and having the respect of your community.  Good stuff, just not enough for Christians.  For us, success is “pleasing God by becoming like Christ through a lifestyle of effective ministry.”