Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

“But I say,   walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify   the desires of the flesh.   For   the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other,   to keep you from doing the things you want to do.   But if you are   led by the Spirit,   you are not under the law.   Now   the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,   idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,   divisions,   envy,   drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that   those who do   such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.   But   the fruit of the Spirit is   love, joy, peace, patience,   kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness,   self-control;   against such things there is no law.   And th...

I just started working my way back through the book of Romans by the apostle Paul. It is a rich letter and appears as if it could have been written today. I'd like to share 3 myths I observed that Christians believe and should change. Myth 1: We are too bold with the gospel. Paul writes in Romans 1:14-16 "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." He was under obligation to all people to share the gospel. For those he knew best (Jews) and those he was called (Greeks). Today, there is a myth in Christianity that says, "Christians are too bold with the gospel. Just a bunch of Bible thumpers." This is a myth, if not a lie. The problem is not an overabundance of proselytization, but...

*Updated 12/19* Good news: this blog series is coming to an end. We are trying to look broadly at Jesus’ teaching and lifestyle as it relates to socialism. It is not uncommon to hear both secularists and Christians ponder if Jesus promoted socialism. The past three weeks we've looked at Jesus' teaching about how we are to care for the poor. In case you haven't read these yet, you can go read Part 1 , Part 2 , or Part 3 at your convenience. This week we’ll address how Jesus handled the sick and next week we’ll look how Jesus dealt with taxes. The Sick “Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon h...

How did we get here? This is the question I have been pondering for some time and not just since the Supreme Court gave their landmark decision to redefine marriage. I have been pondering the question for years as I watch the American culture…and even the American “Christian” culture change. I know the answer is multi-faceted. There is no one reason why we are here. As far as a secular culture, we can expect nothing less. God has given mankind free will to choose what they think, believe, and behave. Since mankind is inherently sinful (Romans 5:12, Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9) we cannot expect the culture to behave any different.   When we as a society move farther away from objective morals and moves toward naturalistic thinking, a deeply amoral society emerges. So in short, the secular shift is expected. What I really am asking is, “How did we as Christians get here. How have we maneuver the path to secular Christianity. In other words, how have some Christians come t...

Now we turn our focus to important areas of disagreement between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. The goal here is not to be divisive or to put down anyone. Rather it is to take an honest look at the key differences and why each denomination holds to their views. On that note, let the fun begin. Apocrypha - A serious divide between Catholics and Protestants is over the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is an additional eleven pieces of text that the Roman Catholic Church add to the Protestant canon of Scripture. It was adopted and made infallible at th Council of Trent in1546. Any who reject these are anathema. Issues are both doctrinal and canonical. Doctrinally the Apocrypha supports prayers for the dead resulting in a belief in purgatory. Canonically the Apocrypha does not test the true test of canonicity. Catholics support the Apocrypha for eleven reasons: 1) There is reference to events mentioned and mirrors some general thoughts found in it. 2) The New Testament quotes the Septua...