Twenty Years A Christian

I was fifteen years old. Lost. Unaware of the road ahead.

I first trusted Jesus Christ in June of 2006. The Lord had been explicitly drawing me to Himself for months prior. In the first half of December 2005 I was invited to the church I lived next to -- a non-denominational, Bible-based community church. Though my family moved there when I was five, I attended my first service there about a month after I turned sixteen. That Sunday morning I saw joyful faces and heard a joyful noise. I'm sure I heard the gospel. It was different, and I was interested.

That June, though, is when I first expressed personal faith in the Lord. It came about through dramatic circumstances that I wouldn't have chosen for myself if God had consulted me. Praise Him that He didn't.

The Greatest Love

Last year our church studied John 15, covering verse 13 which says, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." It was a good time to dwell on this verse, as it was just before Veterans Day in America, when we remember the great sacrifice that so many servicemen have made so that we may live in freedom.

Christ's great love for us is a sacrificial love for His friends. It's also a sacrificial love for His enemies (see Romans 5:6-11). This sacrifice liberates captives, releases prisoners, and frees slaves. Sinners are forgiven of all of their sin and law-burdened weaklings are emancipated.

By Faith, Not By Sight

How do you effectively live for God when you can't see Him working? 

At times, we can start to live under the impression that we should see and understand God's works in all of our dealings. We begin to think that what God is doing should be relatively obvious, and, if we can't see it, there must be something wrong with us. Or perhaps God is not involved in that particular situation. Or maybe He has abandoned us to one degree or another.

Church: An Essential Service

There are some professing Christians in the world who have a very poor attitude toward the church. Sometimes they have been hurt by others; other times they have just never come to understand the purpose of the body of Christ. I always hate to hear someone claiming the name of Christ out of one side of his mouth, while down-playing the importance of regular local church fellowship out of the other.

More Ideas for Better Fellowship

Fellowship is the life of the church. Without fellowship, our gatherings are just mere meetings instead of being corporate worship experiences. Without fellowship, we are merely associates instead of being brothers and sisters. Without fellowship, God's word ceases to have the effect it should--our common goal being to "love one another" even as Christ has loved us.

Below are some ideas you could employ to deepen your fellowship with the members of the body here this week.

The Gospel Must Be Proclaimed

"Proclaim" is a good word. Like any word, it can start to sound and look strange if you repeat it too many times or stare at it long enough. But in English, it comes from the Latin words for "forth" (pro) and "shout" (clamare; think "clamor"). The Greek is similar, as it combines "from" and the base word for "angel," or "messenger." This verb then carries the sense of declaring, announcing, and preaching. 

The Apostle Paul used the word in this wonderful verse: "Him (Jesus) we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ," (Colossians 1:28, LSB, emphasis added).

Draw the Line on Prayer

In my eighth grade drafting class, my teacher taught us that the best way to draw a straight line when you don't have a straight edge is to keep your eye on your destination point as you draw the line. Straight edges are best, of course, but many times in life while working in an active job site, you don't have access to one. Often, the project doesn't require perfection anyway.

Bringing the Divine to Bear on All Things

Scripture says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God," (1 Corinthians 10:31).

"Whatever you do..."

Is this really as broad as it sounds? I'm going to say Yes, as the two examples Paul gives before "whatever" are the ultra-common tasks of eating and drinking. If we are to glorify God in our three meals a day, along with our likely overpriced and probably-not-so-healthy drinks and snacks in-between, then we certainly should seek to glorify God in everything.

How to Hear from God

"God told me..."

It's an ear-catching phrase. It makes us pause what we're doing to make sure we pay attention to what follows. After all, God is the sovereign creator of the universe who holds all authority and power. We better listen.

But did God really say a new thing?

God's Kind Sovereignty

This past Sunday, I preached about the importance of going to the feet of Jesus with the cares and concerns of this life. I briefly stated that our prayer lives reveal how we are doing with this. Scripture says:

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Four Principles for Better Fellowship

Hebrews 10:23-25 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

As we assemble for fellowship, we are to consider how to stir up one another toward the two goals of love and good works. The word translated "stimulate" in the passage above literally means to provoke or contend. These are words that are typically associated with negative events in our minds, but it need not be that way. Proverbs 27:17 tells us that just as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another--sparks and all.

The Whole World in His Hands

"If it weren't for the sovereignty of God, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning."

That's a statement my favorite theology professor from Bible College would say all the time. What he meant by that was that if God wasn't in control, he would be hopeless and crippled with anxiety. Conversely, he was also saying that because God is in control, he can get up each day and move forward, trusting in the Father's care.

Go to the Expert Craftsman

I've been on another one of my "This Old House" kicks lately. Roku has two channels that play old episodes non-stop, and I find the shows to be equally entertaining and informative. And I appreciate the irony of watching guys slave away to build a house while I recline with a snack, watching them. One day, the information will come in handy, I'm sure. But I digress.

One of the most amazing aspects of the show is how the experts seem to know everything about every issue they encounter. They are able to diagnose and advise on the spot with thorough observations and plans, along with great precision. There is seemingly no problem that can stump them.

Get Out of Your Spiritual Rut

 

There are times when we find ourselves in a rut. At times, it happens to one of our skills (also known as a "slump"). It can also happen to our relationships (one might call it a "rough patch"). It can even happen to our relationship with the Lord. How are you to live for God when you feel like your relationship with Him is in a rut? The answer we need is not too complicated or too deep. In fact, the most basic and well-known advice is "just what the doctor ordered" when we find ourselves slumping in relationship with God.

What It Really Means to Love

Out of all of the "Christian words" out there, "love" might be the one that needs defining the most. For many, love is nothing more than a pitter-patter in the heart, or a warm, sensational feeling. For others, love is a romance word, associated with intimacy and Valentine's Day tokens of affection. Others more consider love to be a bad word: either a figment of man's imagination--an idea that hasn't worked out in personal experience--or a word that should just be avoided altogether because of its childish or effeminate overtones.

Life in the Thought of Death

We naturally seek to avoid too many thoughts about death. It's dark and depressing--a grievous reality. Whether we consciously recognize this fact or not, we all know that death is not the way it's supposed to be. The fall of Adam, bringing sin into the world, has brought in death through that sin. Our minds don't want to dwell on it.

The Things That Never Change

How would your life change if the economy crashed?

If another pandemic broke out?

If grocery stores emptied?

If you lost it all?

Habakkuk has something to say about this. If you're wondering who Habakkuk is, he's a prophet in the Old Testament who has a Bible book named after him. He's right there between those other well-worn books in your Bible, Nahum and Zephaniah.

All Things In Common

The fellowship room in our church building has been dubbed "The Koin." Some might wonder if we are terribly bad spellers, since "coin" starts with a "c." Others might wonder why we're naming rooms after loose change anyway.

Well, the fact of the matter is that this room's name comes from the Greek word koinonia. It's the word for "fellowship," as in the following verses:

Praying Is Believing

 

Prayer is always the most difficult subject within "Christian living" to write about. It's certainly the most convicting topic for me to think through because I'm so bad at doing it faithfully. There are many Christians who would agree that prayer is a struggle for them, but I can't help but think that I struggle more. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak indeed.

God's Treasure

 

How would your life change if you didn't have access to the Bible? Take a brief moment to ponder a real, genuine answer to that question.

If we aren't cherishing, memorizing, and applying Scripture, then it is unlikely that our lives would change much if we lacked access to it. All three of these actions are essential to a vibrant relationship with the Bible and, consequently, the God of the Bible.