Why Things Happen the Way They Do

There are 13 reasons why things happen the way they do -- good things and bad. Our conflicts and blessings all occur because God has a plan for our lives.

The number one reason why things happen the way they do is:

God is bringing us into conformity to the image of Jesus Christ.

What makes Jesus the Lord, the Savior, the Messiah is not the healings, the miracles, and all the caring He showed to humanity. What makes Jesus, Jesus to me, is the cross -- the sacrificial suffering and death of Jesus!

Now if we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus it will require adversity, conflict, betrayal, disappointment, and suffering. Jesus warned us that for us to be like Him -- to follow Him -- we will have to "take up your cross daily". 

God wants us to be like Jesus. It will not happen without conflict and adversity!

There are 12 other reasons why things happen the way they do, but it will always include reason number one: to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

You can follow this series at www.gracekaufman.org -- the messages in this series are available for viewing or for downloading to your MP3 player.

The Church Ain't a Service Center

Maybe it's because we live in a "what's in it for me" world; or maybe it's because people just expect to be given things without accountability or responsibility; but for whatever reason, many folks think the church is a service center...a place where handouts are freely given to all who ask.

People that never attend our church will call and ask for assistance with gasoline, their electric bills, or other financial emergencies. Of course now we send them to the Christian Help Center where other local churches assist in meeting these kinds of needs. The point I want to make is this: people think it's okay to just show up on our doorstep and ask for money. Some even get angry if we don't!

But often church members have the same worldly attitude toward the church. They act as if the church is here to service them, meet their needs, massage their ego, tickle their fancy. And if it doesn't, they'll just go to another one -- or maybe not even go to church at all. How short-sighted. They may even be deceived by Satan himself into thinking the church owes them something.

When will Christians learn the true nature of the church -- it's not where you come to get served; it's where you come to serve! It's not a place where you come to get anything; it's a place where you come to give. 

Where in the world is the sacrifice for heaven's sake?!!

The Way Things Ought to Be -- a Trip to Connecticut

I know Rush Limbaugh wrote a book by that title, The Way Things Ought to Be, but there are times when it is clear how things should be working out. 

Dawn and I have been taking a long weekend to visit New England. It's beautiful here. We hit the leaves right at their peek time. The glowing reds, yellows, and oranges are beyond words. Yesterday (Saturday) we went with friends from Connecticut on a drive into southeastern Massachusetts. We went through Sheffield, and Stockbridge (where Norman Rockwell painted), Lee and Lenox. We stopped at little shops and inns along the way. The kind of places you can only find in New England.

Today we visited Friendship Baptist Church, where I was the pastor for almost 12 years. We greeted and hugged a lot of good friends. Many of these folks we led to Christ or was used by the Lord to help them grow into Him. The church is still involved in all kinds of missions -- the way things ought to be. They still have strong discipleship groups on Sunday evening and throughout the week in people's homes -- the way things ought to be. And they are in the process of calling a new pastor from Ohio who preaches the word, loves doing missions, and wants to be innovative -- the way things ought to be.

Tonight, we had dinner with a couple that I had the privilege of marrying. I remember when they came to me for counseling. The young lady was a Christian but her pastor would not even consider performing the wedding because the man wasn't a Christian. But I didn't want to miss an opportunity like this and agreed to talk with them -- even though they had never been to the church before.

   The young man said that he as a computer techy and thought in concrete, scientific terms ... and he could not see how believing the Bible's idea of God was logical or see the need to "receive" Christ. I made a deal with him. I promised I would marry them, no matter what he did -- whether he believed or not -- if he would allow me to share the gospel during counseling and agree to ask me the hard questions with the chance to respond. He agreed.

   That man is on the pastor search committee that is helping to lead the church in finding a pastor. My heart gave God praise as he talked about seeking a pastor that studied and taught the Word rightly. His spiritual growth the last few years is clearly evident -- the way it ought to be. 

You know, a man does not need to have a building with his name on it, or have a town named after him, or hold a world's record in something. The deepest satisfaction comes when a pastor can see the work of God in the lives of other people. There is no substitute for knowing that people have come into an eternal relationship with God because of your ministry. There is no greater affirmation of a person's ministry than to see young people growing up to serve God and make the commission of Christ their life priority. That's the way things ought to be. 

May God continue to bless Friendship as they call their new pastor and move forward in obedience to Christ. 

But I also pray that Grace Fellowship, the place God has me serving right now, will also move forward in obedience to Christ. May all of our members be able to see the eternal, supernatural working of God in the lives of many, many people who pass through our wake. May we rejoice in the continued service of growing, obedient disciples of Jesus -- that 's the way it ought to be.

May God bless your ministry today. He has certainly blessed mine!