Important: This content originates at CNB: Christians in Business, but is carried by feeds and displayed on other sites, which may not necessarily agree with all that is contained here.

In my battles against the unknown weed I named froblemacz, I am learning a number of life lessons. Today, I recount one of the most recent.

I was out working in my garden, trying to prevent the vegetables from being overrun by the weeds. I've been battling one particular weed (the one I named froblemacz) since October or November and seemed to have finally gained the upper hand. But then a number of other weeds sprung up. My carefully cultivated garden turned into a wild meadow of unknown and unwelcome plants. The froblemacz had called in its allies.

In real life, the problems and situations you deal with will not be so tangible or easily perceived. But examination will show you, even there, that you will deal with one thing--such as alcohol abuse--and be completely surprised when its companions--such as drug abuse, overeating, or sexual sin--show up. In order to live a Christian life, one must learn to watch for the signs that reinforcements from out of town are about to arrive.

Many a believer has been sidelined and sidetracked by something that appears out of nowhere. But we know those things are actually lurking in the background, waiting to spring up. As James said, "And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15, NLT)

That's a very important thing to understand. For the most part, you aren't dealing with temptation that comes from outside yourself. You are tempted because your inner desires are corrupt and sinful. Like with the weeds in the garden, you can deal with them at a surface level--chopping them off once they appear--or you can dig down deep into the soil of your innermost being and start exposing the roots of the weeds. I ask you: which one is more likely to allow you to live a Christian life?

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Important: This content originates at CNB: Christians in Business, but is carried by feeds and displayed on other sites, which may not necessarily agree with all that is contained here.

Over the past several years, I have worked in a number of different locations. I typically seek out and attend a local church while I am there. Being a Black man, I am acutely aware that many congregations are not welcoming toward those whose ancestry or primary language differs from that of the congregants.

In Acts 2, one of the things that got the attention of crowd was that the Holy Spirit ministered to people of various ethnic backgrounds and languages without ignoring others. Ministry, according to this pattern, is sensitive to the needs of ethnic groups, nations, and speakers of various languages, without being unwilling or unable to accommodate those outside of a particular group. At a time when ethnic and national concerns threatened to erupt into riots and rebellion at any time, the company of Christ-followers were a diverse group from the start.

Later on, resentments arose over the treatment of a minority group. This led to the foundation of the deacons. Your church may imbue deacons with the power to run the church (the equivalent of the board of directors), but the Bible does not. Deacons were brought in to manage the church's charitable works--feeding, clothing, and housing the poor, for example--so that the "sent ones" (apostles) could focus on prayer, studying the Word, and communicating spiritual insights.

The purpose of this was to prevent any appearance of ethnic or language-based discrimination in those charitable works. Obviously, even though the characteristic isn't mentioned in the text, the men selected needed to be people who loved others without regard to their ancestry.

Now, having said this, I'm currently working in an area that is probably nine-tenths Hispanic. I would expect churches to focus on meeting the spiritual and other needs of the local population, which naturally means that most local congregations need to emphasize areas that pertain to the Hispanic population. Likewise, in a mostly-Black area or a mostly-White area, churches should emphasize things that pertain to their local population. However, none of this should prevent said congregations from being receptive to people outside the local majority group, nor of seeking to meet the needs of local minorities.

I used to wonder why the apostle Paul kept trying to minister to the Jews, when he repeatedly wrote about being sent to the Gentiles. I thought that if he'd stuck to his target market, he might not have suffered imprisonment and might not have lost his head. Now that I'm older, I know better. When he went to city X, there were Jews, Greeks, Romans, and local citizens. It was his love for people, given from God above, which caused him to seek to spread God's grace into every ethnic group in every place he went.

If we truly wish to serve Christ, we should reach those of a particular group, but not to the exclusion of those outside of the group. When I was in Missouri last year, there were a few churches with White-only congregations where I really felt uncomfortable. There were others where I fit right in. The difference? Being sensitive to the needs of the individuals around you. If your community is ethnically mixed, one way to see how inclusive your church is, would be to watch the ethnic composition of the attendees. If everyone is from one group, there's a good chance that your church isn't receptive to people outside your group.

Finally, all ministry is person-to-person. Organizations help to direct resources where needed, but individuals do ministry, not groups. Are you receptive to establishing and strengthening relationships with those outside your own background? Do you inwardly bristle or inwardly cheer when you see an interracial couple? Are you praying for your family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers--even those whose background differs from yours--asking God to intervene in their lives and bring them to a transforming experience and relationship with Christ? If race plays a part in your decision to pray for someone or to actively display God's love to them, you are the problem that the church needs to overcome.

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We know that the only way to sustain and grow our spiritual sides is to feed on God's Word and his presence regularly and frequently. But we very often find ourselves doing everything but reading and studying the Bible or praying. How can we break through and do what we know we need to do?

Like most of us, I don't live alone. What this means is that my home environment is interruption-prone. People, pets, and irritating devices (telephones) regularly come between me and whatever task is at hand.

When I am at work, it isn't unheard of to work twelve to fourteen hours per day, six days per week. When you're spending that kind of time working (and that doesn't count commuting time or other work-related tasks), it can be difficult to take the time to do the things you need to do.

I have often found that no matter what else I do, I don't get up early enough to have my daily devotions before work. No matter how often I promise myself that this will change, it doesn't. I have to find a time later in the day when I can clear my schedule. This makes it harder, because I have to guard it fanatically. There will always be tasks that need doing, people that need talking to, blog articles that need writing, website configurations that need altering, weeds that need digging, and pets that need feeding, watering, walking, brushing, bathing, etc. There will always be the unspecified deadline of my body's natural bedtime, when further efforts become unfruitful.

And yet, many times, it isn't any of those things that gets in the way. It is my dawdling and delaying. I find myself doing everything in the world, but not fitting Bible time into my day.

I wish I could write that I found some magical formula that will help get someone through these times. In fact, I have no such formula. Like me, you're just going to have to take control of your own actions and behaviors and do what you need to do.

You have to make the effort to figure out how you can do what you need to do. I cannot make the effort for you, just as you cannot make the effort for me. In this, we should appreciate the reality that neither myself nor you is alone in this. We, as humans living in today's activity-packed society, all face this issue. You are not being singled out for special hardship.

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We know that the only way to sustain and grow our spiritual sides is to feed on God's Word and his presence regularly and frequently. But we very often find ourselves doing everything but reading and studying the Bible or praying. How can we break through and do what we know we need to do?

Like most of us, I don't live alone. What this means is that my home environment is interruption-prone. People, pets, and irritating devices (telephones) regularly come between me and whatever task is at hand.

I have often found that no matter what else I do, I don't get up early enough to have my daily devotions before work. No matter how often I promise myself that this will change, it doesn't. I have to find a time later in the day when I can clear my schedule. This makes it harder, because I have to guard it fanatically. There will always be tasks that need doing, people that need talking to, blog articles that need writing, website configurations that need altering, weeds that need digging, and pets that need feeding, watering, walking, brushing, bathing, etc. There will always be the unspecified deadline of my body's natural bedtime, when further efforts become unfruitful.

And yet, many times, it isn't any of those things that gets in the way. It is my dawdling and delaying. I find myself doing everything in the world, but not fitting Bible time into my day.

I wish I could write that I found some magical formula that will help get someone through these times. In fact, I have no such formula. Like me, you're just going to have to take control of your own actions and behaviors and do what you need to do.

It isn't easy. It isn't quick. It doesn't happen without a mighty and sustained effort on your part. But that effort may be just what you need to develop into the kind of person Christ died so you could become.

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