Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Get Understanding

We would be wise to heed the Biblical proverb, "Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

I will be quick to tell you that there are many things that I do not understand. When I was in elementary school, some of the hardest things for me to grasp were the concepts of color and taste. I don't mean the difference between yellow and blue or between sweet and sour. My parents were great teachers when I was pre-school age, so I had that part down already. What I did not understand was how color and taste were functions of my brain. I thought that a stop sign was actually red and that chicken tasted like, well, chicken. But I digress...

As I said, there are many things I do not understand. If you would like a better understanding of something, have a conversation about it with someone smarter than you, or read a book.

Here are three books that have my attention this week.


 



Church Diversity by Scott Williams (center) former campus pastor of LifeChurch.tv
All through the planning and planting stages of Transformation House, we have prayed that God would save us from being a segregated fellowship. We feel strongly that on Sundays the church should resemble the church Jesus died to build. Church Diversity is a tool that helps keep us on track.

Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince (left) pastor of New Creation Church, Singapore
God has given me an opportunity to live in grace and to help others find accept the grace God offers them. I do not believe that grace needs a balance. Grace is balanced all by itself. To call grace unbalanced is to call God unbalanced. Destined to Reign is the best book I have read on a biblical approach to grace.

The Necessity of an Enemy by Ron Carpenter Jr. (right) pastor of Redemption World Outreach Center, Greenville, SC
Our family attended RWOC for 13 months before planting Transformation House, so I have heard Pastor Ron powerfully preach some of these concepts. I am just two chapters into this book and I have found many great statements. For instance, he says that all battles pertain to our future, never our past or present. Lord, help me remember that. I will allow the struggles of this day to keep me from my destiny, or I will allow them to propel me toward it. We often ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  This books explains that some bad things are good things in disguise.

These books are helping me be a better pastor and a better person. I am thankful that there are resources and people who can help educate me and help raise my level of understanding. Grab a book. Let's read.

1 comment:

  1. Before we came to Christ we thought we knew it all, but it wasn't until after having this relationship with Him that we realize we didn't know what we thought we knew. Now when we read the bible we are to ask for understanding. AMEN

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