My Tuesday Three started out as a means to showcase the blogs of my fellow Christian bloggers, but it has morphed into so much more. Today I decided to take it back to its roots and share with you three of the blog posts I’ve “liked” this past week or so. As I begin to write this I have no idea how they will be connected, but I trust that God has been creating those connections all week.
The first post I want to showcase is by my dear friend Deb over at Deb’s Blog. Every day (except Sunday), Deb writes a short devotion that ends with a “simple poem.” She works her way through a book of the Bible from beginning to end, and is currently in Judges. Her Monday post was titled “Who Shall Rule?” It’s a great question. In the Bible passage Deb was working from, the Israelites wanted Gideon and his sons to rule over them, but Gideon said that God is their ruler. Deb’s wonderful poem is a reminder that it is Jesus who we need to rule our hearts.
The second post I want to showcase was written by Pr. A.C. Baker over at The Recovering Legalist. It is a book review titled “Barriers to Church Growth. # 1.” Pr. Baker promises to blog further about additional barriers to church growth from the book he reviewed, but it seems to me if all one ever thought about was this one, churches would be growing and not shrinking. The point of the post is that churches need to glorify God, and often these days they don’t. Churches seem more concerned with creating programs that will draw people in or singing just the right songs to keep people happy.
The third post I want to showcase is by Amy Barlow Liberatore over at Sharp Little Pencil. I found this post because I was intrigued by one of Amy’s comments at Deb’s Blog. The post is titled “Whose Side Are They on Now?” It is a thought-provoking poem about the tendency of Christians to claim that God is on their side. As I read it, I pondered whether a better question for us to ask is whether we are on God’s side? Although I may not agree with everything I’ve read on Amy’s blog, she is always open to a civilized discussion about things and does, indeed, make one thoughtfully consider the basis for their beliefs.
So, now that the selecting and showcasing is done, what’s the connection? Don’t you see it? It’s plain as day that God is the center. We must allow Him to rule in our hearts. We must glorify Him in our churches and in our lives. We must always, in all that we do, consciously decide to be on His side.