Living in light of eternity

In 1 Cor 11:1 Paul makes a rather audacious statement: "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."    This admonition also appears several more times in his writings. (1 Thess 1:6; Phil 3:17; 4:9; 2 Thess 3:9) At first glance it seems hard to believe that Paul actually meant what he said.   Was he really claiming he was a good example of a follower of Christ?   Yes! A careful reading of 1 Thess   2 shows he definitely meant every word.   He lists various character qualities he possessed: boldness to speak the Gospel, persevering amid opposition, not as man pleasers but pleasing God, without flattery or greed, not seeking glory, gentle, affectionate, hard-working, devout, blameless, encouraging, and thankful- to name a few. The Thessalonians were well aware of the truth of these claims. The thing is, Paul did actually demonstrate these qualities as he walked in the power of the Holy Spirit.   He never claimed they came from himself alone, but as Christ ...

How easy it is to neglect goal-setting in our family life- especially in the spiritual area.   We set financial goals, scholastic goals, even weight goals.   But how easy it is to neglect spiritual goals. Four questions often come to mind... 1.        Is it appropriate to set goals in the spiritual area of life?   When Jesus challenged his disciples to "count the cost", He encouraged careful planning… Lk 14:28-32 "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, whil...