The Gospel Defines You

“For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1)

Paul was a prisoner at the time of writing this letter to the Ephesians (Acts 28). Paul was a prisoner in Rome because he had been preaching the gospel. And Paul writes that he is a “prisoner for Christ Jesus” here in this passage. That is interesting to note, because he could have said “a prisoner, held captive by these filthy Romans.” It’s interesting because he doesn’t once place blame on anyone for his being held captive. Paul views his imprisonment positively. His imprisonment was definitely a hardship. His imprisonment was an embarrassment. But to our surprise, he gives little focus to his difficulty. He doesn’t blame the Romans, he doesn’t blame God, but you can almost hear a tone of honor in his voice as he says, “I am a prisoner for Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s theology of hardship never focuses on the hardship itself, but on the Christ, His gospel, and His people. We know this all too well from the pen of Paul to the Philippians: “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14). Yes, Paul is aware of something much larger than his own circumstances. He is aware of something of infinite worth. Something on which no value can be placed. Something worth giving up everything for. Something that is worth losing everything for—and that something is Someone, and He is Jesus. Was Paul’s imprisonment life-threatening? Of course. But Paul’s imprisonment did not define who he was. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ defined who he was.

If you are a believer, no sin defines who you are, no past shame defines who you are, no difficulty in life defines who you are, not even death defines who you are—but only the gospel of Jesus Christ defines who you are and that gospel says that you are God’s forever, to enjoy Him forever and make Him your infinite delight.

So Easy a Cavemen Could Do It

Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 HCSB)

One thing  I've noticed in my ministry is the lack of witnessing. Its very easy and its not something we "should" do...its a commandment! Whether you like it or not we have a task from God, and when we ignore those commands we sin.

The Roman road or John 3:16 is all you need to share Christ with someone. Really any verse will work. The Bible from start to finish shares the plan of salvation. Get out and share with someone this week. See what God will do. 

Bro. Austin

Religion and Politics...

Oh. Religion and Politics - the most widely debated and discussed topic in America. Everything on the news seems to revolve around "religion and politics" somehow. Everyone's got their own opinion and each person wishes everyone else would agree with their opinion. At least, you'd think so from watching the news wouldn't you?

          Today, I'm not going to try to tell you what you should vote for or what you should believe in when it comes to the area of politics. I just want us to look at the Bible for a few minutes.

First of all, we should follow Jesus. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." That's simple enough, but that's not the end of a political discussion. It's too easy for so many in the church today to say "Well, I follow God first and put everything else second, but (insert government official here) doesn't." Then, these people will proceed to bad-mouth and disrespect that official while ranting about things like "revolution" or "freedom."

Like it or not, that's what happens so often nowadays.

Newsflash folks: the government doesn't owe Christians anything. The government honestly doesn't owe anyone. We don't have any "right" to "freedom of religion" or anything else. I have yet to see in the Bible where God told his people "make sure you remember that you have the right to freedom of religion." Nope. It's not there.

However, we do have the right and the obligation to follow God and keep his commandments, regardless of what everyone else says, thinks, or does. With that in mind, let's look at what Jesus says about the governing officials.

Romans 13:1-7 - Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 

Matthew 22:17-21 - Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

          And then let's look at what Paul said.

Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


1 Timothy 2:1-2 - First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 - But we urge you brothers...to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Wow. So that's what the New Testament says about the government. Let's break it down.

1. Rom. 13:1-7 - We do what the government says and follow the laws, and resisting is resisting God's appointed. 

2. Matt. 22:17-21 - However, even though we are supposed to give the government what they expect from us, we are supposed to give to God what He expects from us.

3. Matt. 6:33 - In fact, we should always seek God first. We shouldn't do anything that goes against this command.

4. Col. 3:17 - Everything we do or say should be right in the sight of God - no exceptions. We should follow the government, but only as long as it does not cause us as Christians to do something we shouldn't or prevent us from doing something we should.

5. 1 Tim. 2:1-2 & 1 Thess. 4:10-12 - We should, while putting God first in everything - including politics and government issues - always pray for those who are in office. We should work with our own hands and pray that we can life quiet, peaceful lives. We should mind our own business and live the Christian life.

          We should put God first in everything we do, including political issues and the government. We should give God everything that He expects from us and to our best to ensure that everything we do or say lines up with His word. We should also work to live quiet, peaceful lives, and mind our own business. A part of living this type of lifestyle also includes working with our own hands so that we don't have to depend on others to do things for us.

However, once all of those qualifications are filled, we should give the government what they are due and follow them, for the leaders that we have are there because God wants them to be. Even if we don't understand why they are in office, we still owe them everything that their positions of power entitle them to receive as long as we don't go against the will of God. These include: taxes, respect, and following the laws. That means no cheating on taxes, no bad-mouthing or openly disrespecting those in power, and no speeding, for example.

That's what God expects from us.


          Next time politics are a part of a conversation, you are voting, or you are in the presence of a government official, remember how important the things you say and do are to God. Whatever happens in the sphere of government, we are always expected to put God first. He wouldn't include politics in the Bible if they weren't important.


Thank you for reading!
- Ethan

The Two Spirits, part 3

Two "spirits" (attitudes) seek to control the believer's mind.

The first is fearfulness. In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul says,

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness...

This was good news for the timid, insecure Timothy, who needed the encouragement of his mentor Paul. As children of God, we don't have to live our lives characterized by fear. We serve someone who has already overcome the world!

Last week, we began to look at the second spirit... a three-fold spirit, just like God is a three-fold God.

Here's the second part of verse 7:

...but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

Last week we looked at the spirit of power... the ability, boldness, and confidence you have through the empowering strength of Christ.

Look at the next part of this spirit...

Love.

Do you ever find some people hard to love? Sure you do. Some people mistakenly think that becoming a Christian will instantly enable them to hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" with everyone they meet.

But love can be hard. How can you love an abusive parent who has left scars that still haunt you to this day? How can you love a terrorist who seeks to end your life? How can you love another flawed human being day in and day out, when you see their warts and hangups?

The spirit of love. God has actually instilled in you a supernatural ability to love people. The Greek word is "agape," the sacrificial, giving, unselfish love that only God is truly capable of providing.

It is only through Christ that we can harness and give this type of love. It's supernatural. It flows out of His love for you.

You see, your ability to love is directly tied to your realization of how much you've been loved. And forgiven. Look at what Jesus said about the sinful woman who washed his feet:

Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little. - Luke 7:47

Having trouble loving? The remedy is found in realizing how much God loved you and forgave you.

As the Holy Spirit works in you, He will fill you with the spirit of love.

Let me leave you with something practical. Think about someone you're having a hard time loving or forgiving. Consider praying a prayer like this:

Dear Lord, you know how much _____ has hurt me. You know how difficult it is for me to love and forgive them. Right now, I ask that you help me to love and forgive just as you have loved and forgiven me. Thank you for loving me when I was unlovable and forgiving me even though I didn't deserve it. Help me to love ______ just as I have been loved. In Jesus' name, amen.

Some hurts take time. Some scars run deep. But I promise you, on the power of the Gospel and the truth of God's word, that you can find the ability to love and forgive those who have hurt you the most.

God bless you, friend.

By His Grace,

Adam

Is 'Quiet Time' Still Relevant?

   My students & I have been at Student Life Camp (highly recommend it)this week.  Just like any other camp, there are morning time slots for 'quiet time'.  Don't freak out on me because I'm not advocating against spending time with Jesus.  However, what I am asking is: should we call it 'quiet time'?
   I love spending time with Jesus, but for those of you who know anything about me you will know that I struggle to be quiet sometimes.  Praise to The Lord that I'm not the only one who struggles with that.  But because some of us do struggle with this, we may be hesitant to not have a 'quiet time' because we associate it with being quiet.
I believe that it is biblical to spend time with The Lord & to be isolated when we do it.  We read in Mark 1:35 that even Jesus rose up early before anyone else & even before the sun came up to spend time in prayer.  I will be the first to tell you that I don't like getting up early, but I know the value of it.  I hope & pray that you do too.
   So here's what I am saying, spend time with Jesus, have times where you are alone with Jesus, but evaluate your language that you use when talking about it.  I was convicted of this some time ago because I have a lot of students who haven't grown up in church, so they don't even understand the terminology.  I also have students who have been in church for a while, but think that they have to be quiet when they spend time with Jesus.  Because of these convictions, I refer to it as personal time with Jesus. Personal time with Jesus consists of Bible reading, prayer(talking & listening), worship thru song, etc.  Don't get stuck on being quiet because you don't necessarily have to be.


Saved by grace,

Bro. Eric

Going Overboard

“He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you”” (Jonah 1:12).

We all know the story of Jonah. God called him to preach a message of repentance to the Ninevites, but he ran from God. He boarded a ship to Tarshish to get away from the Lord, and the account tells us that God sent a storm on the sea (1:4). The ship was threatening to break up, the sailors didn’t know what to do. They are in fear of their lives.

Jonah knows that God sent the storm because he ran from Him. Jonah doesn’t have the will to jump himself, so he asks the sailors, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you”” (1:12). Jonah knows that he has sinned against God by running from Him, so why doesn’t Jonah just seek forgiveness from God and ask Him to calm the storm? He could have made things right with God and committed himself to go to Nineveh and preach.

But he doesn’t. Maybe Jonah believes that he has messed up too much already—and forgiveness isn’t going to happen for him. Maybe he is not sure if God can forgive him. Jonah prefers to believe in a God who only judges. Not in a God who also forgives (that’s why he ran in the first place; see 4:12). He would rather die in the sea than to suggest to the sailors that they turn around and return him to Joppa so he can fulfill his call to Nineveh.

Maybe you are like Jonah. Maybe you believe that you have gone too far for God to forgive you. But God has something to say about that. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). God’s love is not based on who you are, or what you have done. There is nothing you have done that makes God love you any less, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more than He already does. If you believe that God can forgive you, what should you do now? “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Bro. Brandon

I'm Suppose to Love Who?!?!

Bro. Michael is out and isn't able to post today so I'll be posting on his behalf today. 

“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28 HCSB)

Loving our enemies is probably the hardest thing to do. Not just to tolerate the enemies but to truly embrace them in love. The word love here means to love them like Christ loves them. Make it a goal this week to not show favoritism in loving friends vs. enemies. 

Bro. Austin

What is Love??

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16 HCSB)

What is love? Love is Christ. Love is self sacrifice. He laid down His life, a sacrifice for us and our sin. We have the chance to show our love by being a living sacrifice. Putting His Will above our own. Sharing Christ with every breath. What will you do??

Bro. Austin

The Relationship between Truth and Unity pt. 6

          In this post, we will conclude our series on truth and unity by discussing modern Christianity. Most of Christianity today revolves around how the teachings make people feel. For example, if someone doesn’t like the type of music that is used in the worship service, they can rally some friends together and try to change it or drift to another church where they like the music more. If the atmosphere in a church is displeasing to someone, it’s easy to just go find a church that gives off that “feel-good” vibe instead of hanging around and working to improve things where they are.

You know what I mean. This stuff is so common today.

I daresay that people rarely leave a church, switch denominations, etc. because they are in earnest pursuit of the unadulterated truth. Most people seem to decide where to worship on Sundays and how to live their lives based on how it makes them feel with no thought of “absolute truth” or “serving.”

          One time, after visiting a small congregation full of older people, a guy I know told me that “yeah, the people are nice and they’re teaching truth, but I just don’t…feel good…when I’m in there. I don’t…feel…like…uplifted ya know?” I understand, believe me, but since when was worshipping God about you? I’ve been a Christian for years, and it’s definitely never been about me. Sometimes, being a Christian means that we have to do things we don’t want to do. Other times we have to choose not to do things that we do want to do. That’s just the way it is. That’s part of it.

That’s life. Sometimes things don’t go your way.

The man who told me that he didn’t “feel good” when he was at church doesn’t attend services while he’s at college. He looked at a few different places and he gave up. He goes on Easter and on Christmas, and that’s it.

“How could he? I would never do that.”

Some of us might have already done exactly that. When we place our own wants before Christ, we have changed the ultimate example of absolute selflessness into a social event. It’s no longer about worshipping God “as it is written,” it’s about filling an addiction to a feeling. When the good feeling is strong, we’ll be at church and we’ll be living right with God outside of church too. When it’s gone – we’ll stop.

The point I’m trying to make here is simply this: Christianity is radical in 2014. We have to actually do things that we don’t feel like doing. We have to actually choose not to do things that we do feel like doing. That’s just the way it is. Christianity has always been, and will always be radical in the cultures that coexist with it. Christianity is a sub-culture all its own – it’s a culture of selflessness, doing the right thing even when nobody’s around, and constantly pursuing personal perfection. Christianity changes you by permeating your social life, your family life, and your personal “thought bubble.” It makes us different from everyone else who’s not a Christian, whether we like it or not.

          When Christianity was born, it was groundbreaking. God came to Earth to deliver His word? Wow. The belief in a monotheistic God that would come to Earth and die without a fight in order to save people’s souls, well, that was definitely new. Gentiles and Jews could both be saved? That was unheard of. You can see what I’m saying – at any given point in time, Christianity calls its followers to step outside of the culture that they live in and rally together under a shared set of beliefs and practices to live differently than they used to.

Even though modern culture has taken many of the things condemned as sin in the Bible and removed most of the physical consequences (birth control, for example, makes pre-marital relations much easier to get away with), we are called to rise above that. That’s how its radical for us. Christianity calls us to not live the modern “American” lifestyle.

America says “if it feels good, do it at any cost. If it’s illegal, we’ll legalize it. No such thing as consequences, as long as you’re happy.”
Christianity says “if it’s spiritually based and scripturally correct, do it at any cost. It doesn’t matter what the laws say or don’t say, you do what God says and you'll be happy.”

          There’s a huge difference, and it’s time for us to realize that. Christianity is radical, whether we like it or not. That means that we’re called to be radically different from the world around us. Let’s stop chasing that next “feel-good” feeling and buckle down to worship God, in everything we do, in spirit and in truth. Only once we choose, as a Christian nation, to rise above the carpe-diem culture that holds us down and live lifestyles based in divinely-inspired truth will we ever be able to find unity. Only then can we change the world.

Thanks for reading! This concludes the series on truth and unity. I’ve really enjoyed creating it and I have appreciated your support and suggestions. We’ll pick up a new topic next weekend.

- Ethan

The Two Spirits, part 2

An old hymn by Lewis E. Jones says,

There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.

Power. Men crave it. Some work hard it, some steal, some lie, some kill for it. Many men and women will sell their souls to achieve it.

Yet it's something the believer already has.

Paul tells his beloved friend Timothy that there are two "spirits" which seek to control the child of God. In 2 Timothy 1:7, he states,

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness...

"Do not be controlled by fear," he tells his protege. "You don't have to fear. You have Jesus. Fear is NOT the spirit that God gave you."

The spirit God DOES give us is a three-fold spirit, much like God is a three-fold God.

Verse 7b -

...but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

Power. That's the first aspect of this spirit or attitude. The Greek word is dunamis, from which we get the word dynamite.

You, like Timothy,  have a spirit of power. Of ability. Of boldness. Of confidence. This power doesn’t come from you. It’s not your ability. You have access INTO this power. You can tap into the power of the one who created the universe and the one who saved you from all your sins.

It’s this spirit of power and boldness that helps you overcome the fear. Overcome timidity. When God asks you to step out in faith, you can do that because you have God’s power. That power gives you a boldness and confidence that He will never leave you. He’s got your back.

You don’t have to fear the devil, fear what others will say, fear whether you’ll be able to sustain yourself and survive. Because you have God’s power. As God’s child, you have access. Access to His throne.

It’s this confidence in our position as God’s child that gives us the power to do whatever God has asked us to do.

That’s what enabled Paul to endure the many things he endured during his ministry. He preached to the greatest minds of the 1st century on Mars Hill. He gave defense before Nero himself, although that account is not recorded in the Scriptures. How could a man experience so much, yet handle it with such composure? How could he say “I know how to be content whether I’m abased or whether I abound”? Because he had the spirit of power.

You have it as well. You may not have tapped into it. God empowers you to step out in faith when He calls you. He empowers you to stand for your faith against those who oppose you. He empowers you to endure suffering and hardship, because you know He is greater than the tribulation you’ll face.

Next week, we'll take a look at the spirit of love. Be of good cheer, friends. God loves you very much.

By His Grace,

Adam

How do you pray?

   Hey everybody!  I know I am 1 week & 1 one late and 1 post short since I last posted.  Let me let you in on what has been going on.  I spent 15 days on a mission trip to Zambia at the end of last month.  I've adjusted fairly well since being back.  However as soon as I got back, it was back to the grind of student ministry here in the states.  Then last Tuesday, a little boy (almost 2) in our church was involved in a lawnmower accident.  My wife & I along with other pastors & church members spent a long night at the hospital with the family.  It has been a long couple of weeks.
   I wanted to share with you something that God has been teaching me over these last weeks.  It has to do with my prayer life.  It's the phrase: 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done.'  This phrase is something that I & many others often just slap on the end of our prayers.  The question is do we really want God's will to be done?
   What if God's will was for you to sell everything & move to a foreign land?  What if God's will was for you or your spouse to be unable to have children?  There are so many 'what ifs'; but the reality of it is do we really want God to do what He is going to do or do we want Him to do what we want Him to do?  God's desire is for us to lean in to Him/to rely on Him & trust that He knows what we need.
   Don't let this phrase be a slogan that you slap on the end of your prayers.  Let it be what you truly desire.


Saved by grace,

Bro. Eric

What If I Sin as a Believer?

Everyone one of us sin (Rom. 3:23) and are born with a nature inclined to sin (Eph. 2:1-3). So we naturally choose sin over good, more specifically, idols over God: “And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols. . .” (Rom. 1:23 NLT). If you are a believer, you will still continue to sin even after you are saved. However, this is not an excuse to continue living in sin: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2, emphasis mine). In fact, if you continue to sin without remorse, guilt or sorrow, then God is not disciplining you and you are not a child of God: “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). The Scriptures teach very clearly that you cannot live in unrepentant sin and be saved (1 John 1:6), but the Scriptures also teach that struggling daily with sin is a real problem for real Christians (Romans 7).

Now before Christ, we were completely slaves to sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:20), but now that we are saved, we have the freedom to serve Christ (Gal. 5:1). The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we have the ability to live for Christ (Gal. 2:20). Still, however, a problem that all Christians face is temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). Satan presents the opportunity before us to sin, and often times we take that opportunity. When we give in to temptation, we sin against God. In 2 Samuel 11, we find the story of King David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the tragic events which followed. David gave in to temptation and committed a horrible, heinous, hurtful sin, yet he was a child of God. He was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), and yet he committed awful, terrible, horrible sin. What we see is this: if a person is bound to sin, he is bound to suffer. Sin always brings consequences; even for the believer.

We are completely and totally made accepted in God’s sight based on the justifying work of Christ (Gal. 2:16). And there is nothing you can ever do to make God love you more. Nothing. There is also nothing you have done that makes God love you any less. Nothing. But when we give in to temptation and sin against our Father, our fellowship with Him is hindered. For example, if a son does something wrong to his father—falling short of his expectations or rules—the son has hindered his fellowship with his father. He remains the son of his father, but the relationship suffers. Their fellowship will be hindered until the son admits to his father that he has done wrong. It works the same way with God; our fellowship with Him is hindered until we confess our sin (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sin to God, the fellowship is restored. This is relational forgiveness and we need to seek it when we give in to temptation.

Confession of sin will help to keep us from the discipline of the Lord. If we fail to confess sin, the discipline of the Lord is sure to come until we do confess it. As stated previously, we are totally justified in God’s sight (our sins are forgiven at salvation), but our daily fellowship with God needs to stay in good standing (relational forgiveness). Proper fellowship with God cannot happen with unconfessed sin in our lives. Therefore, we need to confess our sins to God as soon as we are aware that we have sinned, in order to maintain close fellowship with God.

Bro. Brandon

Taken from You've Got Questions: What Happens if a Christian Gives in to Temptation? by Brandon Bramlett

The Almighty Creator

Hey gang, its me Austin. Bro. Michael is unable to post so I'll be filling in for him today. 

Oh, Lord God! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! (Jeremiah 32:17 HCSB)

When life gets you down its easy to lose focus, fall away, and sometimes even blame God for our unfortunate situations. We forget that God is the Almighty Creator, the Beginning and the End, the Author and Finisher of our faith. The next time life throws you a curve ball don't blame God, instead turn to Him for strength. 

Bro. Austin

One Thing

I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple. (Psalms 27:4 HCSB)

Do you know any one track mind people? Maybe thats you. For me I tend to overload myself and work on too many projects at the same time. When I do that I fail or don't give it my best effort. The beauty of tackling one task at a time is that you are able to put all your effort into reaching that one goal. 

For David his one goal was to be with God. Instead if focusing on the difficultly of life, the trials he faced, or anything else, he decided to focus all his attention on the Lord. Imagine how much more enjoyable life would be if we quit worrying about the problems of life and instead focused on the problem solver, Christ. 

Bro. Austin

Taking a Break...

For the past several Saturdays, we have been discussing truth and unity. The conclusion of this study is coming soon - but let's take a break from that topic. As a matter of fact, let's talk about taking breaks. 

Sometimes we wear ourselves out - we're so busy with jobs, studying, or doing things for others that we neglect to take time for ourselves.

The point is - you need to take time to stop, relax, and collect your thoughts so you can solve any internal problems that you may be facing. God has blessed us with so much, especially here in America. I'm not advising that we become lazy or complacent, I'm just saying that we need to take a break. 

As an example, I make cabinets during weekdays with a local cabinetmaker as a summer job. The other day, we got completely caught up with where we wanted to be on filling orders so we stopped to get a drink of water and discuss what to do next. We had planned on working until 4 p.m., but we finished at around 11 a.m. My boss's first reaction was to go ahead and find something else to do so he could get ahead, like he always does when he gets caught up. That's awesome! What a great attitude.

However...

That day was his grandson's birthday and his grandson really wanted his grandpa to take him to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday. I mean, the grandson reallllllly wanted grandpa to take him to Chuck E. Cheese. I could tell my boss was struggling with whether or not he should work - he wanted to go with his grandson, but he also knew that getting ahead at work is security. Being over-prepared is better than being under-prepared. Seeing him conflicted, I brought the subject up as we were sitting there, sipping water, and we came to the conclusion that he should go with his grandson. 

Our conclusion was something like this: "These cabinets are right where we wanted them to be, and your grandson is only going to be young once. In 10 years, it's going to matter more to you and to him if you go with him to Chuck E. Cheese than it's going to matter if we're 5 hours ahead on building cabinets. Family comes first." He went and they both had a blast.

That's what I'm talking about in this post. Make sure that you take time to relax and enjoy your blessings. Whether it's 
your parents, 
your grandparents, 
your children, 
your grandchildren, 
your husband, 
your wife, 
your boyfriend, 
your girlfriend, 
your best friends, 
your dog, 
your jacuzzi,
your season tickets; whatever it is that you have, take the time to enjoy it. 

Make sure you say a specific prayer tonight to thank God for giving you those blessings. You see, that's the thing about physical blessings... Nothing in this life lasts. Everyone dies and everything deteriorates. If you wait until a more convenient time to enjoy your blessings, you may not even have them anymore. 

In other words, you make time for what's important to you. We all do. Make time to enjoy the little things in this life. Make time to enjoy the little pieces of your own personal Eden as you go through life and always remember that God is with us. He loves us. And he wants you to relax.

He wants you to take a deep breath and enjoy the good in the world. Stop being so busy for a few minutes and remember who and what you're putting in all of that effort for.

What's it all worth? 

Thanks for reading! We'll pick up with the Truth and Unity series next week. Have a great weekend!
- Ethan

How Do You Know if You're Doing What God Desires?

I student asked me once, "Brandon, how do I know if I'm doing what God wants?" I'm sure we have all asked this question before. "How do I know if this is pleasing to God," we've often thought. When I was first asked this question, I was a bit unsure as how to answer that question biblically, but after study and thought, I will share with you my answer:

There are a few practical questions you need to ask yourself in every situation that will help you determine whether or not you are doing what God wants. Here are a few:

1) What would be the best way to glorify God right now?
2) The classic: What would Jesus do?
3) Does the attitude or action please God?
4) Would God say it is good?
5) Would it cause me or someone else to lose touch with God?

All of these questions must be asked in light of God's revealed revelation: the Bible. And while these are essential questions to ask yourself in every situation, I think there is a green-light indicator that shows whether or not you are doing what God desires. Fruitfulness. Fruitfulness is the evidence of our doing what God wants. Fruit is the direct result of whatever controls our hearts (Matthew 15:19). The fruit of a life not surrendered to Jesus includes “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,” and many more evil acts (Galatians 5:19–20). In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit of God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). In addition, God the Father is the gardener (John 15:1), and He desires for us to be fruitful. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As branches cling to the vine, we cling to Christ, drawing our very life from Him. The goal is “much fruit,” as Christ uses us to bring about blessed, celestial results in a broken, fallen world.

The evidence that you are being obedient and doing what He desires is the fruitfulness of your Christian life. Are you producing fruit? Fruit-bearing isn’t always winning souls or gaining a greater number in your Sunday attendance, but your attitudes will be different, your desires will be different, and your actions will be different. So how do you know if you’re doing what God wants? It is helpful to ask the questions above in every situation, but we need not forget about fruitfulness in our Christian lives.

Bro. Brandon

Adapted from You've Got Questions: How Do You Know if You're Doing What God Desires/Wants? by Brandon Bramlett

There is only one Gospel!

Galatians 1:6-10

"I am amazed that you are so quickly turning to a different gospel- not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!".

There is no other gospel. All the way from Genesis to Revelations, there is only one message. Believe that Jesus is who He said He was, repent for your sins, and follow Him. Why do we make salvation seem so difficult? Yes, you need to show good works, but those good works should come naturally to a child of God. We have salvation by grace, not of works, so that no one can brag about it. The sooner we get this simple truth, the sooner, I think, we will start to see a revival in out churches, and then our nation. Let's stop over complicating salvation, and let's start at the basics again.

Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is?
Do you repent, or turn away from your sins, so you will no longer be a slave to them?
Will you follow Him, wherever He may lead you?

That's it, that's the Gospel. The end, done. We don't need to add anything to it, we certainly don't need to  take anything away from it. It is just as simple as One, Two, Three.
.
How will you respond to this message God has for you? Continue to complicate things, or go back to the basics of our faith.


Bro. Michael

Train Up: Part 5

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV
“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”


A few weeks ago we started our 5 part series on a VBS that I'm working on. Today we'll look at the fifth and final step in Training Up in Christ. But first let's review steps one through four.
Step 1: Listen to Him
Step 2: Obey Him
Step 3: Submit to Him

Step 4: Serve Him
Our fifth step in Training up comes from the book of 2 Timothy. "Share Him." Timothy is wonderful for teaching this step because everyone can relate in some way. He was a young minister just getting started, not knowing what to do next. Many of us are young in age, young in our relationship with Christ, or just getting started with sharing Christ with others.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 NKJV
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

In this final passage Paul shares the importance of sharing Christ with others. It's important to notice that "preach the Word" in verse 2 doesn't mean you have to be a minister who stands up before a church. The word "preach" here means "to share." Literally this verse means "Share the Word." This is a mission for everyone. We are to be ready all the time, "in season and out of season." We are to convince, rebuke, and exhort, IN LOVE. When we don't share Him, it reflects a sense of shame. Ofcourse none of us are ashamed, but that's how God sees it. When we are ashamed of Him before men, He will be ashamed of us. We can't grow in a relationship we are ashamed of.

These are the 5 steps I found in my studies. Obviously their's more to Christ and a growing relationship with Him. Each of these steps can be broken down into more steps, but these are a great place to start. Use these, build on these, find more steps and have a hunger to grow closer to God. When we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4).

God Bless,
Bro. Austin

The Two Spirits, part 1

I want to take a look for a few minutes at the last letter that Paul wrote… or at least the last one we have.

It is a fascinating, intensely personal letter, because Paul is awaiting death. He’s in prison in Rome, apparently awaiting execution.

As he’s facing his mortality, he decides that one thing he must do with the time that he has left is to write to Timothy.

Timothy was a pastor who had accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys and assisted him in church-planting. At one point, Paul told the Philippians, “I have no one else like him.” Paul was Timothy’s mentor and a good friend.

Paul is basically alone; many have deserted him or are off doing other work. He longs to see Timothy one more time.

He pens some excellent advice for his younger friend.

Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. - 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Historically, Timothy has been considered to be reserved and timid. That was his personality. God calls all sorts of people. God can use anyone.

I’d like to look at this instruction for just a moment.

Paul lists two “spirits,” in this case referring to dispositions or attitudes.

Verse 7:

“For God has NOT given us a spirit of fearfulness.”

Timothy was timid. A little fearful. He was frequently hesitant to step out and take risks.

Paul is thinking about all he wants to tell his beloved “son” Timothy. And the first thing he says to him is this: “Don’t you dare live your life characterized by fear. Don’t you do it. Because that is not the spirit God gave you.”

He’d say the same thing to you.

You don’t have to live in fear. In fear of what? In fear of anything. You don’t have to fear God, because your sins are forgiven. You’re covered. You’re righteous in His sight. You don’t have to fear losing His love or His favor. You don’t have to fear making him angry or making Him turn His back on you.

You don’t have to fear the devil. He’s evil, and he’s powerful. But he’s been defeated. He’s been defeated for over 2,000 years ago. He’s prowling around as a roaring lion, for sure, but he has no teeth. Jesus defeated him. You have the power to overcome every temptation he throws at you. You don’t have to fear him. He can’t touch you.

You don’t have to fear what non-Christians say or do. It’s going to happen. Someone’s going to make fun of you or criticize your worldview or maybe even some day do something to harm you physically. You don’t have to fear them. You don’t have to, because Jesus said it would happen. He said it would happen. He also promised that, even though you’ll face tribulation, He’s overcome the world. You don’t have to fear them, because you’re on the winning side.

You don’t have to fear. Plain and simple. Jesus even said not to worry about what you’ll eat, drink, or wear. Don’t worry about them. God’s got those things taken care of. As His child, He’s going to take care of you.

Paul said, “That’s not the spirit God gave you.” Yet, if we’re not careful, it’s the spirit that will control us. It’s the spirit that we will give the most attention to.

You don’t have to fear, God says. Exchange that spirit for the one God gives you.

Join us next week as we look at how God instills in us a spirit of "power."

By His Grace,

Adam

The Relationship between Truth and Unity pt. 5

            Sometimes, I hear Christians argue. “Well, the Bible says this.” “No, no, no – that’s your opinion. The Bible actually says this.” “See, now you’re taking that completely out of context. If you turn to this other scripture…”

Can you think of some issues which have divided the church over the last 2,000 years?

Let's look at the Bible for a moment. In 1 Cor. 1:10-13, Christians were claiming to follow different people.

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow the teachings of Charles Wesley,” or “I follow the teachings of the Pope,” or “I follow the teachings of this council/convention,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was John Calvin crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of the Pope?

Wait, that’s not how those verses read…

I know. I changed the names to make a point: when we wear different names, go to different churches that teach different things, and argue about scripture and doctrine to the extent that new types of churches are formed based on the disagreement, we have created division.

Look at it like this: if something we do causes another Christian to think we’re sinning, we should go to the Bible first. If what we are doing is scripturally correct (i.e. the Bible specifically condones it), then we should take the opportunity to teach the other person. If we are the ones being taught, we should be willing to listen and learn instead of thumping the Bible the first time someone ruffles our feathers.

If the Bible directly says “do this” or “don’t do this,” we have no choice but to follow it. However, we should be willing to change whatever we can for the sake of unity, even if it means never eating meat again. If something isn’t specifically denoted as being wrong in and of itself and also isn’t a command or unquestionable implication, but yet it still bothers a fellow Christian, we’ve got to ask ourselves who we’re putting first if we continue in our practices. If it bothers his or her conscience, to them…what we are doing is sin. (Rom. 4:21-23)

            As an example, I’ll use something like baptism. You could ask 5 different people if baptism is necessary for salvation and you might get 5 different answers. If we can’t agree on the outright commands – the basic foundation for our salvation – you’d better believe we won’t be able to compromise and agree on matters that require a bit of “reading between the lines.”

When we try to force others to accept a specific point of view, with little to no compromise on our part, it’s no wonder that we aren’t united. If we do something that isn’t specifically stated as being wrong, but it offends someone else (like eating meat sacrificed to idols or a modern-day equivalent), we should be more than willing to compromise in the name of truth and unity. As much as we’d like to think otherwise, it’s not about “me” and what “I” think or believe. It’s about following the Bible and being united. Read 1 Cor. 8. Imagine the topic of eating meat sacrificed to idols if it were debated nowadays…

“I have the right to eat meat sacrificed to idols. It's my right! The Constitution says so! And, the Bible doesn’t say it’s wrong, plus Paul sometimes ate meat sacrificed to idols so your argument is invalid. I’m sorry but you’re confused. Plus it makes me feel good. I’m going to eat meat sacrificed to idols because I’m supposed to provide for my family and that’s the meat that’s the most affordable…” etc.

Let’s do our best to make sure that we’re keeping God first in our minds and putting others’ needs ahead of our own. The time is now, my brothers and sisters. It’s time for us to come together and change the world! There are millions of souls to be saved, and we need to work together to save them. We need unity.

Thank you for reading this long post!
With Christian love,
- Ethan

Fundamentals of Our Faith Pt. 6

   This is our 6th & final post in the Fundamentals of Our Faith series.  We have looked at the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Christ, Inspired Scripture, & Bodily Resurrection.  Now, this morning we look at our last fundamental doctrine: atonement.
   'He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin & live to righteousness' (1 Peter 2:24).  What was/is the importance of Christ's death?  Hebrews 9:22 says that 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.'  So according to that, if Christ's blood isn't shed then there is no possibility for forgiveness.  The Old Testament foreshadowed this by the sacrifices of animals, but that was only temporary because those animals weren't human.
    Christ is the Son of God & Son of Man, which means that He had the power to conquer sin & death, but also was fully human, which meant that He could take our place.  Atonement means to amend for an injury or a wrong.  Sin is the biggest wrong that there is & Christ's death atoned for it.  Through the atonement, reconciliation between God & man is offered in relationship with Jesus.
    Do you have a relationship with Jesus?  Do you recognize the payment of Christ's blood over sins?

Continue in the Faith

"If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard” (Col. 1:23a).

Paul says here that “continuing in the faith” is evidence that you have been reconciled: “Christ reconciled you in order to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach before Him . . . if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast" (vv. 22-23).

Paul is saying here that “continuing in the faith” is necessary to your salvation. Not necessary because you are lacking something that Christ didn’t do. It’s necessary in order to prove your salvation, but not necessary because Christ isn’t enough. Christ is mighty to save, He saves to the uttermost, He is able to reconcile fully, completely, and thoroughly—salvation was not just made “possible” for you at the cross—but it was made actual for you at the cross. Christ actually accomplished, bought, and secured your salvation.

So, “continuing in the faith” is the necessary response and the “out-working” of a life that’s been reconciled to God. And the Scripture teaches that if your life does not show evidence of being reconciled to God, then you are not reconciled to God and you are still “alienated, hostile in mind, and doing evil deeds" (v. 21), and you are not saved.

One of the most sobering truths of the Bible is that not all who profess to be Christians are in fact saved. Christ warned us about it: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23). And John writes in his epistle, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

Can you name some instances of "continuing in the faith" in your life? Are you growing in the faith? Are you more for Christ today than you were last week?

Bro. Brandon

From Christ's Sufficient Reconciliation by Brandon Bramlett

What to do with pain

All of us go through pain, or suffering at some point in our lives. I apologize to y'all I don't have any scripture today. I just really feel like somebody needs this today. What I am about to share with y'all are my notes from Rick Warren's sermon at the Southern Baptist Convention a couple of weeks ago.

Why does God give us pain?
1. To direct us.
2. To inspect us.
3. To correct us.
4. To protect us.
5. To perfect us.





What should we do with this pain that we have?
1. Use pain to draw close to God.
2. Study psalms of lament.
3.Draw close to others.
4.Use pain to become more like Christ.
5. Use the pain to help others.
6. Use the pain as a witness to the world.

Pain is a part of life. I just pray that all of us take this to heart. The best thing we can do with pain, is to use it for God's Glory.




Bro. Michael