Some good news for a change.

     Good news is there.  It's just hard to find some days as there is so much bad news.  Let's look at some good news today.  You (because you are reading this) and I (because I'm writing this) have been gifted with another day!  The sun is shining everywhere even though you can't see the sun because of the clouds.  The clouds make for cooler weather which in turn makes working outside an easier task.  Good news abounds within our lives if we will only take the time to reflect on the good.  For instance, I have a place to live, vehicles, dogs, and people who love me.  God has given me food from the land and from the grocery stores when the land isn't producing.  God has given me the knowledge to build a greenhouse for fresh produce every month of the year.  The chickens do the same.  I have an abundance of clothing (it's time to purge and clothe the homeless and less fortunate) and baseball caps!  I have all of my senses (well sometimes my wisdom is lacking).  I can feel, taste, see, hear, and all the other senses that tell me that I'm alive.  I have been given family and friends who are wonderful!  I haven't hurt myself in over a week!  That's not only good, it's a miracle!
     There are Christian business people who are there to help with their specific trade.  God has brought very good tradesmen to me when I've needed them.  There are good Samaritans all over if we take our eyes off ourselves long enough to notice.  There is a gentleman who for the past 3 years I know of has been picking up trash on the streets around his home pretty much every day. There are so many places that offer what less fortunate people obtain.  Sometimes it's the common everyday items and sometimes it's something greater like housing and transportation.  There are good people who live to do good to and for others.  Often they are silent and in the background.  I'm able to be Christ to my world every day!  Can't say that I always succeed but the opportunity is still before me.  God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can listen to what is important to the God who loves us so much that he sent his Son to die in our place for our sins.  That's really good news!  Then of course there is Heaven!  How much better can it get than going to live with Jesus?!  You see, there are positives all around us all the time.
     It was good news that King David danced, sang and played instruments in his underwear returning home.  Odd, but good.  Jesus took time to gather together the little children showing the world that it's not all about adults!  The apostles all rejoiced when they were sent out by twos and came back with positive results!  The woman with a bleeding disorder recognized the power of good when she touched Jesus' robe.  The widow was blessed when her son was raised from the dead.  She relied on him as she had no one else.  The stories go on and on of the positive and good news throughout the Bible.  One only needs to read the Bible!  Now that's good news and the Bible is in multiple languages, braille, on tape, on video, and written so that all of mankind can read it for themselves.  What would happen if we were ALL (Christians) to only see the good today?  Would our lives and the lives of those around us be better?  I think so.  But, remember that it's always your choice.

Sometimes Christians fight the truth

     Taking a walk on my property really set home the realization that fall is upon us no matter what still needs to be done.  With the trees giving up their last fruit, the garden beginning to do the same and the squirrels having harvested the nuts before they even fell from the tree; I know that the signs are there!  Maybe the seasons aren't so pronounced where you live.  Maybe they are more advanced than in my region of Washington.  Regardless, the seasons come and go with a regular cycle.  The same goes for life.  My youngest of 7 is almost 17 while my oldest has passed the 40 mark.  They are all grown whereas yesterday they were cute giggling babies!  There are 5 grandchildren.  Four of which are almost through high school (one is).  Time has marched on without my choice just like the seasons.  You can really mark your calendar with the summer time tradition of road work!  Everywhere you go there are flaggers just waiting to stop you!  They will soon be gone having completed their project of interfering with our lives.  They too are a seasonal change that we can mark the year by. 
     Wouldn't it be nice to have the power to freeze life in the time you enjoyed the best?  Maybe do the same with our age and the age of our children?  That's not going to happen but many a parent enjoys that season when the kids go back to school.  Without paying attention to the years we find ourselves with an empty house one day and wonder what happened.  Then suddenly I am 64 and that just doesn't feel right at all!  I still feel like I'm in my mid to late 30's.  Of course my body doesn't feel that way so I know it's only in my head.  Time cannot be paused...or can it?  Time is both our friend and enemy.  We fight it while we are here on earth but will rejoice in "no time" in eternity!  Odd how that works.  Solomon's famous writing on time has proved to be right on so many fronts.  There is a season for everything under the sun in the world.  There is a season for everything under the Son if you are not of the world.  The first has limits where the second has none.  The first marks our progress while the second celebrates our life in Christ.  It's not a big stretch of the truth to say that those who call upon Jesus and are saved never age from that point on.  Why?  Because life eternal begins when we invite Jesus to take over.
     Like many of you, I'm not ready for fall much less the other seasons as well.  In Washington we have rainy season and sunny season.  The former is the longest by far.  The latter is to short!  The same goes for our lives.  We aren't necessarily ready to move from one season to the next.  In the Christian's life there is no seasonal movement.  You were dead and now you are alive for eternity.  That's it.  Nothing complicated.  You surrender your life to Jesus and let go of the world.  Maybe that's why Jesus spends so much time talking about the only time we have...the present.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has already been completed.  We are to live for Jesus for today.  If you, like me, have times when you've complicated that equation, there is good news for you!  It's always your choice!
    

While the picture looks good...

     The situation grows dire.  North Korea has launched a missile over Japan.  Harvey is wreaking havoc in multiple states.  America has become more and more divided.  Conspiracy theories abound about various subjects.  There are mini wars being waged by ISIS.  The slaughter of Christians grows in various countries.  There are groups furthering the cause of taking freedoms away from anyone they disagree with.  Finland is killing babies as a way to eradicate children with Downs Syndrome from their population.  As you can see, these are just major stories.  The minor ones are there as well.  But then we knew this would happen as the Bible said it would.  The bad news is that the world and those who live in it have to get much worse before Jesus comes back.  The good news?  The world is getting worse daily.  Yesterday I learned of a movement in California to give prison time to people caught misusing someone's chosen identifying pronoun!  The think police aren't doing such a good job.  Why?  Because they are thinking.  Something God has never intended.  In Jeremiah 29 God tells Jeremiah that the people were doing things that he didn't believe his people would do.  So, God told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people.  Jeremiah's response is:  "I cannot not pray for them!"
     What to do?
     The Christian today really is missing the boat in bringing about change with those around them.  The ideal is that we spend out time on earth serving God and God alone.  When we seek to do only his will, we put aside our will.  We, Christians, have a problem whenever we start thinking outside of what God wants.  That's one of the reasons we have over 200 kinds of Baptists in the world and more denominations than we can ever use.  The Christian church has become a dialed in "what people want" affair.  Don't like what the pastor said?  Change churches.  Their doctrines convict you?  Go to another church where they don't.  Someone disagree with you?  Leave them in the dust.  We live in a do as you please when you please and how you please society.  That's what we've made the world to be both inside and outside the church.  Never mind the physical wars where people are losing their lives.  Mind the church where people are routinely being told that they aren't sinners in need of a Savior.  So, what's the good news? 
     The Kingdom of God has come!  Jesus has come!  His birth, life, death, and resurrection has brought the Kingdom of God to anyone who surrenders their life to Jesus.  We have the Kingdom of God within us in the person of Jesus.  Thus Paul can say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me."  Can you say that?  Jesus repeatedly used nature as an example of life in Christ.  He talked about how the tree that produces no fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.  If you read your Bible, you know he said this.  He tells us it's better to go maimed into life than to live with the sin within us.  If you read the Bible, you know this to be true.  Jesus said that we will be persecuted and all kinds of evil set upon us should we have him living in our lives.  If you read the Bible, you know this is also true.  While the picture may look good in your world...it's not supposed to.  We are to be the sentry in the tower shouting warnings to those who are around us.  Without the sentry, God has to find other means to bring in the lost.  He's asked you and I to love his Son and to bring that love to the world that hates us.  Remember, it's always your choice.

Do you believe the Bible to be true?

     I love it when people tell me: "You can't do, think or say that!" It's been that way all of my life.  Telling me that I can do something, think something, or say something isn't a challenge at all.  Life is lived for the challenges if we are to believe the Bible.  I wish that were true in mainstream Christianity.  Since it's not true for many, the challenge for the rest of us is to do our best to not be like them but be like Jesus. Over the past couple of years I have amassed the makings for my shop I wanted to build but couldn't afford.  People told me that using Craigslist materials won't get what I wanted.  Wanna bet?  I confess that I've had to buy some items that I didn't want to use used materials for.  However, 80 percent of the shop (which is now built) is free Craigslist items gathered from here to there.  The naysayers have seen pictures of the start to finish and now tell me that the project looks very good.  I can't say it's perfect.  What I can say is that I believed in the project, I believed in me, and I believed that all things work together for good for those who loved the Lord and are called according to his purpose.  For me to not believe I could build the shop would to not believe that God is who he says he is and that the Word isn't to believed.  Rubbish!
     The above story has been repeated throughout my life ever since I was a young man.  So has my faith in God and in His Word.  The opening to the book of John begins with "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  Throughout the time span between the Creation and the return of the Lord Jesus this remains true and I believe it.  Because I believe in the Word, I have confidence that what the Word says is true...always!  By the way, that means that the Word points out my sin and where I have yet to surrender to Jesus.  I believe that to be true as well.  None of us are able to engage the Word and not be changed.  This brings me to my beginning argument regarding those who pretend to believe the Word, pretend to be believers and who will fall into that category of "I never knew you." spoken of by Jesus.  Having a "form" of faith is not having faith.  Being in "the Christian lifestyle" isn't being a Christians.  Believing what we want from the Word isn't believing in the Word at all.  Should we fall into any of these categories, so do those we teach to do the same. 
     The Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors.  The Bible tells us that God will take care of all of our needs.  The Bible says that there is only one name, Jesus, by which mankind may be saved.  The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will give us the wisdom to do God's will.  The Bible tells us that the God of creation created us before we were conceived in our mother's womb.  The Bible tells us that we are to not be of this world and yet remain in the world until we are taken home.  The Bible tells us that God paid the penalty for our sin by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.  The Bible tells us to be set apart from the world.  The Bible warns us of the dangers of serving mankind (the world) instead of God.  The Bible exposes the workings of Satan as he tries to win his war against God.  The Bible tells us that IF we overcome that we have our reward in heaven.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming again.  The Bible tells us that believers will be taken out of the world in the twinkling of an eye (one nanosecond).  The Bible tells us the truth!  Do you really believe the Bible to be true?  Are you standing with one foot in the world and the other in limbo?  If you don't believe the Bible and claim to be a Christian, you are in danger.  Knowing all of this to be true, I leave you with your choice.  It's always your choice.

The little things in life do count.

     Along with pretty much everyone else I've the distinct problem of taking things for granted.  Whether it's something/someone simple or complex, we all are guilty of not being thankful.  That is until something happens.  Take yesterday for instance...  There I was minding my own business as I dropped off my cell phone to have the cracked glass replaced.  I had special ordered the glass a week before and was looking forward to a clear phone once again.  I went to lunch and when I came back they informed me that they had removed the glass from my phone breaking it even further and found that the glass they had ordered was defective.  They couldn't put my old glass back in while they ordered yet another glass.  So, here I am...no phone.  It was then that I realized just how much I have depended upon my cell phone to live my life.  I had cancelled the landline a few years ago as it wasn't being used.  No means to make calls or to receive them.  I had things to do, people to contact, and so much more and I was dead in the water.  I searched for an old cell phone to put my SIM card into but have forgotten where I put it.  Finally, I surrendered to the facts and returned to my senses.  The world isn't going to come to an end because I don't have a cell phone.  We may think so, but that is not going to happen.
     It's amazing that I put so much of my life onto and into my cell phone!  Having it gone is so awkward that it feels like part of me is gone.  That's true about raising children as well.  We help them grow and survive the different stages of life.  We teach them the right way and maybe even have the privilege of praying the sinners prayer with them.  Then one day (I don't know how it happened) they are out of the house, off on their own and we are left alone.  This may be true about many areas of your life as it is mine.  We depend on being able to get out of bed, do our thing, go to work, play with the dog and so much more.  One moment in time we are injured and all of it comes to an end.  When we recover all things have changed.  Disease strikes someone you love and you become a caretaker.  It's then that you realize how much you depended on them for their part in your life.  Now everything has changed.  There is no going back.  Like the Father waiting for the prodigal son, we wait.  The son comes home, is restored and life goes on but it's never the same.  The life we once engaged has changed at least or is gone at it's worst.
     Do you understand how dependent we are upon God?  Do we really appreciate how much he has done for us, blessed us and protected us?  The day to day becomes ritual and we don't see the importance of each and every moment.  That moment gets lost in the world around us.  When disaster happens we panic and cry out to God with the wish that everything could go back to the way it was.  Safe, secure and predictable.  But it can't, won't and our world is shaken.  Whether it's my cell phone or the loss of a loved one, nothing is ever the same again.  God's will for us is to have a continued focus on his Son, listen to the Holy Spirit and approach the throne of God with nothing inhibiting us from an intimate relationship with him.  We all have losses and the world goes on.  What we do with the losses determine whether we go on with a deeper relationship with Jesus or stay stuck where we were. I'd love to tell you that I always move forward but that would not be the truth.  Today I'll reflect on what I've taken for granted and not overlook the little things in life that do count.  It's always your choice.

Are you thinking about repenting?

     I am and do so quite often.  However, thinking about something doesn't make it happen.  Pondering the pro and cons of the decision doesn't make it happen.  Lots of people confess their sin and ask for forgiveness.  God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.  But wait!  There's more to this deal than just forgiving us.  The Word goes on to say, "as we forgive those who have sinned against us."  Bummer for most Christians.  Non-Christians don't particularly care about forgiveness for themselves much less for those who have sinned against them.  Christians fall into quite a different category because to whom much is given, much is demanded.  Ultimately I can think of no greater gift than that of new life in Christ.  He chose to die so that he could take on my sins...if I chose to surrender...  Weighing out the price of the gift shouldn't even be part of the consideration.  Weighing out the mountain of sin we have is of consideration.  Why?  Because we keep Jesus from living wherever we have sin remaining in our lives.  Seems simple to correct.  Then why don't we do that?  Why do we keep the sin in our lives?  Simply put, we keep sin in our lives because we love that sin more than we do Jesus.  That's not good!  But we settle on asking for forgiveness (which is granted) while we should be repenting.
     Repentance is quite simple really.  Repentance is casting anything in our surrendered lives we haven't surrendered.  Then we don't go back.  Wow!  Rocket science you might say.  My dogs are a good example.  Whenever the neighbor dogs aren't around there is quiet and peace.  When their dogs are outside, they and my dogs have bark fests.  They don't last all day but keep me from enjoying the quiet.  They don't know better and are doing what dogs do.  All the time their tails are wagging and they are really having a good time.  Then they go back to the peace and quiet only to repeat the process whenever they come together again.  Christians go to church, talk the talk, and walk the walk when it's convenient for them.  They have the outward showings of surrender but inside they have barking dogs that return to their sin.  Jesus tells us in the Word that he has been tempted in all the ways we are.  Yet, he was able to live a perfect life...probably because he is God!  Duh!  We, like dogs return to our vomit (sin) and devour that vomit.  When we ask for forgiveness without repentance, we are not really wanting to change our sin status.  We treasure our sin more than we do that work of Christ on the cross. 
     Repenting shouldn't be something to think about for the Christian.  I have much experience in this area and still struggle with repenting in areas of my life.  If you don't struggle, you aren't alive and worse, you aren't alive in Christ.  In sin we were born and in sin we will die.  We will not be perfect in this world but will be perfect in Heaven.  Some people choose to use this as an excuse to not do what God wants them to do...repent.  If God forgives us our sins, why do we need to repent?  The Word puts "forgiveness of sins" and "repentance" together for a reason.  Forgiveness without repentance is not Biblical.  What!?  Forgiveness without repentance is like putting air into the leaking car tire without having the leak fixed.  Eventually the tire will be ruined.  The tire needs to be fixed.  The fix isn't to put more air into it (asking for forgiveness) but fixing what's causing the leak (repentance).  Many of us have "to do" lists that really don't have any value.  What would happen if you and I had repentance as the goal and not just the forgiveness of sins?  Would we see people and ourselves differently?  We certainly would!  Would we see the power of God to save differently?  Absolutely!  Would we see problems in our lives disappear?  Yep!  Would our lives on earth be perfect?  Nope!  However, people would see Jesus in us instead of our display on Wednesday nights and Sundays.  Remember, it's always your decision.

The cycles of our lives (not a soap opera)

     It's the end of August and right on target my cherry trees and peach tree are losing their leaves surrendering their lively summer to hibernation for the winter.  The vegetables in the garden are finishing their long run of providing fresh veggies for me.  The dahlias are beginning to wind down their season of blooming.  Fall is coming and is already partially here.  The fawns with their mom have grown up and feed on the fresh crop of crab apples their spots no longer visible.  All of nature tells me there is a change of season taking place.  It's not just nature but also the world around you and I.  We too have been changing as our lives cycle from conception to life eternal with Jesus.  The Bible is full of quotes and stories about the aging process as well as what to expect.  Unlike nature we have some choices that we can and do make to either hasten or hinder our own transitions.  The life that we live is either lived well or lived poorly.  Maybe a bit of both.  I'd like to think most of my life has been lived well.  I'm sure you would like to think the same.  We'll get to heaven and find out what He thinks.
     As I survey my family and friends I am acutely aware of lives lived well as well as those not lived well.  Some had more struggles than others and some were blessed more than others.  Those who struggled maybe recognize the blessings more than those who were blessed recognize the need for the struggle in the first place.  With the cycle of life there is hello and there is goodbye.  None of us get out of life unscathed nor do we get out of life unblessed.  What's important is the one we pay attention to.  We aren't promised an unscathed life no matter what the conditions.  We are promised the blessings when we have the focus on Jesus.  But then I get ahead of myself.  I recognize the lives full of trauma just as I recognize the lives of blessings.  They are intertwined in my life for reasons revealed or not.  It's not mine to question God why but to accept that His plan is being played out just as he had planned for me.  Regardless of what I think or what the world thinks; the world is unfolding just as it needs to.  Do you believe that?
     My life reads like a road map of a sojourner on a quest.  That's what it's been.  I've read in Psalm 49 that he knew me before he set me in my mother's womb.  I also read in Revelation that he will bestow upon me a new name when I get to heaven.  It will be the name he has always had for me.  I don't know what that name will be but I will recognize it in my soul when I hear it spoken.  You will too if you know Jesus.  In between I've been on a journey seeking that age old question, "Who am I?"  Not to be without technology, I've had my DNA tested and found some amazing things about me that were previously known that were present all along.  From the predispositions to this or that to the percentage of what nationality I am (English and Irish), I feel like I know a bit more about myself.  Through my spiritual journey I've found where I have strengths and where I have weaknesses.  Both were and are present for my growth and discovery in who I am in Christ.  I still seek who I am but am blessed to know who's I am.  The cycles will and do continue.  The larger question remains what will I choose today.  Remember, it's always your choice.

Christians who lose their way

     This is not hard in the complicated world we live in today.  Almost gone is any sign of the oral tradition of passing on of the Story.  Almost gone is the adherence to what the Word of God says.  Almost gone are the martyrs that have been over history.  The world is changing and certainly not for the better.  The wiping away of history, oral tradition, and the watering down of the Gospel all spell doom for the habitants of earth.  Change is inevitable.  However, those who bring the change and deny the deity of God have much to fear.  Why has it come to the point where Christians are told to keep quiet about their faith and then do so?  Maybe it's because they have lost their way.  Losing one's first love, Jesus, can result in the abandoning of faith.  It's why I write the blog.  It's important to keep our eyes on Jesus and to carry out the Great Commission.  Have you lost your way?  Do you want to know how to get back on track?  Are you as concerned as Jesus about the lost of the world?  If you answer no to these questions you are in bad company.
     Pilgrims Progress was written by John Bunyan.  He had a 5th grade education but penned this masterpiece of Christian literature.  The journey of Pilgrim is told in order to show the way for those who are lost how to get home.  No one is disqualified in bringing their and other's lives to Jesus for repair, replenishment and redemption.  No one.  If you gave your life to Jesus, he's still there.  If you once followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, he's still there.  If you asked the Father for forgiveness of your sins, he's still there.  What has changed in the picture?  The change is that you and I have stepped away from the narrow path that leads to salvation.  We have done that.  You and I.  No one can escape the temptations of the world.  Jesus said that when we are tempted he will always make a way out of the temptations.  But what happens if we like the temptation?  We step away from God and become god of our own world.
     You may have taken many steps away from God but it's only one step back.  He promises to never leave you nor forsake you...ever!  Not even when you are far from his will.  Not even when you have done the unthinkable for a Christian (whatever that may be).  Not even when you have wrecked lives around you as well as you own.  You can never step so far away from God that you cannot return.  He says that we should draw near to him and he will draw near to you.  The word says that he stands at the door and knocks (not just for the unbeliever) and will come in and have pizza with you.  Well, maybe not pizza.  I've lost my way more times than I'd like to think about.  He's always been there when, like the Prodigal Son, come to my senses and return home.  Home to my first love, Jesus.  It would be nice to tell you that I won't lose my way again.  But I'm Steve and my own worst enemy.  Just as it's always my choice, it's always your choice as well.

It's probably been to long.

     Due to hand surgery I wasn't able to type my own blog for some time.  I'm now back and able to do so.  God is healing my hand and I am thankful.  My life has been full of good, bad and everything between the last month or so.  My sister Charlotte and her husband Larry are going through his upcoming death from cancer.  I went to North Dakota to help out for 2 weeks.  I know that the grief process is difficult when encountering death or even just the process of dying.  I've had to stop my building project ( my long dreamed for shop ).  That too will happen when it's supposed to.  The crops from the garden, greenhouse and orchard are being harvested.  The demands of life seem to be at an all-time high.  I don't feel stressed though as I know that God is orchestrating life for me and for those around me.  Without his guidance this world would be really crazy!  The world is going from bad to worse with conflict, wars and rumors of wars.  Just like it was prophesied.  The United States seems to have swung towards another civil war type situation.  Korea is still looming as a formidable enemy.  BUT, God is in control. 
     Living my life in this world seems to be all I'm able to do.  I may as well do it the way God wants me to.  That means that my beliefs come in conflict with all that is anti-God.  I don't fare well with my living in a very liberal and offensive part of the country.  Perhaps you have encountered this as well.  I'd rather stand with Jesus than to lay down and deny him who saved my soul.  Should people judge me because of the Biblical standards that I uphold, so be it.  We will all stand before the only judge of the universe and it's him that will put all things right one day.  Until then, I'll still stand for what I believe.  You should too.  I've been on my quest of reading through the Bible (5th or 6th time) and am in the middle of Luke.  Being in the Word daily reminds me of the Gospel story and my part in proclaiming that story.  It's not a fear thing for me.  The worst that anyone can do to me is to kill me.  That's not so bad because I'll be with Jesus in an instant.  Remember that God is in control!
     While it seems like the world is crashing down around us, let us remember that's what it's supposed to do!  It may be difficult to conceptualize but we should be aware of the connections laid out in the Bible that tell us that the world needs to get worse than the days of Noah before he will come back.  The harvest is ready and the workers are few. People around us who claim to be Christian are doing nothing to bring the Word to the lost.  The orphans and widows go on with no one to care for them.  Entitlements so overwhelm the lives of human beings that all the focus is on what we can get rather than what we can give.  We are all part of prophecy being fulfilled whether we are engaged with God or with the world.  Remember it's always your choice.
     Thanks for your patience while I was recovering.

14 Ways We Are To Be Like Jesus Christ

In Righteousness & Holiness 

• 1 Peter 1:14-16 "So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
  
• 1 John 3:7 "Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous."
  
• John 15:10-14 Jesus says, "When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command."
  
• 1 Corinthians 1:30 "God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin."
  
• Ephesians 1:4 "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."
  
• Ephesians 5:27 "He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault."

2 - In Freedom From This World

• John 17:14-16 "I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do."
  
• Romans 12:1 "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him."
  
• James 4:4 "You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God."
  
• 1 John 2:15 "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you."

3 - In Self-Crucifixion

• Romans 6:1-23 "...And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace..." 

• Galatians 2:20 "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
  
• Luke 9:23-27 Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and FOLLOW ME. For whoever desires to save his life will LOSE IT, but whoever LOSES HIS LIFE MY SAKE WILL SAVE IT. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is Ashamed of Me and My Words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels."

4 - In Walking in Newness of Life

• Galatians 5:16-26...(19) "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another."
  
• Ephesians 4:14-22 "Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception."

5 - In Enduring Persecutions

• Matthew 10:25 "Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!"
  
• John 15:18-20 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you."
  
• Mark 10:29-30 Jesus says, "I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life."

  

6 - In Works

• James 2:14-26 "What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works."

7 - In the Fruit of the Spirit

• Galatians 5:22-23 "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
  
• John 13:34 "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."
  
• John 15:11-13 "I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

8 - In Total Setting Apart for God's Work

• John 10:36 Jesus says, "Why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world."
  
• John 17:17-19 (NKJV) Jesus prays, "Sanctify them by Your Truth. Your Word is Truth. As You sent Me into the World, I also have sent them into the World. And for their sakes I Sanctify Myself, that they also may be Sanctified by the Truth."
  
• John 20:21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
  
• 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 "Therefore, come out from them and SEPARATE yourselves from them, says the Lord. DON'T TOUCH their FILTHY THINGS. And I will be your Father, and you will be My Sons and Daughters, says the Lord Almighty, and I will welcome you."

9 - In Walking in the Light

• 1 John 1:7 "But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."

10 - In Unity With God

• John 17:11 Jesus says, "Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are."
  
• John 17:21-23 Jesus says, "I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."

11 - In Suffering for Others

• 1 Peter 2:21-23 "For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly."
  
• 1 Peter 3:18-4:1 "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority. So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin."
  
• Philippians 3:10 "I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death"

  

12 - In Life & Conduct

• 1 John 2:6 "Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did."
  
• 1 John 4:17 "And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world."

13 - In Enduring Temptations

Keeping the Full Armor of God on! Ephesians 6:10-20

• Hebrews 2:18 "Since he (Jesus) himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested."
  
• Hebrews 4:14-16 "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
  
• James 1:2 "Dear Brothers & Sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."
  
• James 1:12 "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

14 - Manifesting The Fullness of God

• John 3:34 "For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit."
  
• John 7:37-39 Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory."
  
• John 14:12 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."
  
• Ephesians 3:19 "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." 

God’s Family

God’s Family

The identity of God’s family

God ’s family is composed of those persons who live or otherwise exist in a direct relationship with God. The head of this family is God, the Father. The other primary persons in this family are Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, exist and function as one triune unit who compose and manage everything about God’s family.
God’s family also includes individual human beings whom God has invited throughout history to share in a direct relationship with him and his Son and the Holy Spirit. Although human beings were especially created by God for such a relationship with him, this relationship was broken by the sins of Adam and Eve. The refusal of this first human couple to trust God and to obey him turned all human beings into rebellious sinners rather than created children of God (see Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-24 for the account of this rebellion, and see the statement on “Sin” on this website for a further explanation of this matter).

The generation of God’s human children

Since the rebellion of Adam and Eve prevented God from having human children through his act of creation, he chose to have them in a different way through his Spirit. They would be born into his family by the direct and personal action of the Holy Spirit rather than through the action of men and women in sexual procreation and child-rearing (see John 3:1-7 and the sermon on “Trying to Teach Worldly People Heavenly Truth” for the statement of God’s rule regarding the importance of being “born again” and a brief explanation about this matter).
God calls or invites individuals to become members of his family and to share in direct personal relationships with him and his Son and his Spirit and other human children through his Spirit and the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus, who paid the price that God requires to redeem rebels (sinners) into his family (see the statement on “Why Jesus?” on this website for an explanation of Jesus’ role in this matter).

Family is known by experience

Human individuals come to know their mothers and fathers by living with them in daily experiences that express a special level of love that is referred to as the bond that exists between parents and children. It is this bond and the experiences that make it that defines human families. Birth certificates are pieces of paper that certify the specific relationships that initially are created by men and women with the child or children that they produce, but a family is really certified and known by the experiences that individual persons share with each other.
Consistent caring and trust and daily sharing and acts of love are the certificates that define a family. In many human families too many individuals may not experience a high level of these blessings, so they have a damaged perspective on what it means to be a part of a family, or they may not feel that they are part of a family at all, or they may seek to find or create a family to which they can belong. Many human families are severely damaged or broken by too many negative experiences among their members.
So a GOOD family is experienced and known through acts of love and trust, and the bond that ties individuals together in their relationships within a family can be understood as faith. It is sometimes expressed in these words of proclaimed love, “I'll always be there for you”, or “I’ll always love you”, or “I have no doubts about you or questions about your love”. And the daily experiences are filled with a lot of praise and celebrations for the glories of the family, a lot of sharing, and acts of repentance and forgiveness for what threatens the family.

God’s family is also known in experiences of faith and love

God is love. God’s initial commandment to Adam and subsequently to Eve that they not eat of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (see Genesis 2:17) was given to establish a basic level of trust between these human individuals and God, but they disobeyed it and the relationship was broken without a bond of faith being established. God did not stop loving his created human beings, but he continued to work to bring together a family that is generated and sustained by faith and love. And he does this through his love that is constantly expressed to humanity through his Son, Jesus, and his Spirit who are each experienced through faith.
When you reflect upon what certifies the nature and qualities of human families, as described above, it should not be too difficult to understand the nature and qualities of God’s family. Faith and love are not some complicated philosophies that human beings have brought together into various systems of thinking and behaving. They are two basic principles by which God creates and manages his family and lives in relationship to its members forever.
But the faith and love that is experienced and shared in God’s family is quite different from that which is usually experienced in many human families. The qualities of faith and love all come from God, the Father, and they are constantly being dynamically experienced by all of the members, including Jesus, the Son, and each human member forever. Faith in God, or trusting God, is transforming through the truth of God’s word. And the love that is experienced and shared in God’s family is constantly redeeming and strengthening the members of the family, because it is especially sacrificial. (For an explanation of how God uses these principles of faith and love in the management of his family, see the statement on “God’s Work of Redemption” on this website; and to see how faith and love can be implemented in one’s life, see the statement on “What is Christian Faith? (Revised)”.)
Some individual members of God’s family may be known as Christians, or Israelites, or they may not have a particular name among their human associates. They certainly aren’t to be identified by any denominational names, because an individual cannot become a member of God’s family by joining any church or other religious organization. In response to a comment about his “mother” and his “brothers”, Jesus indicated that his family, and of course God’s family, would be composed of those “who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (see Luke 8:19- 21).
Jesus gave this principle of definition for God’s family some very definite emphasis in a discussion that he had with some Jewish critics who were depending upon their lineage to Abraham to make them members of God’s “family” (John 8:34, see John 8:31-47 for the complete discussion). He said to them, “He who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:47). So individual members of God’s family will be known and certified by the special bond of faith and love that they “practice” or experience with each other and with God, the Father, and with Jesus and the Spirit day by day. And they are “sanctified”, made good, in this relationship and in God’s family by the “word” of the “Father” in accord with Jesus’ prayer that the “Holy Father” would “sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

God’s family is not of this world; it is forever

So God’s family is to be known and certified by experiences of faith and love that are shared between God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and its human members in accord with the “word” of the “Father”. God’s family is different than any family of this world. It is not produced by any activity of human flesh, such as sexual procreation, and it is not limited in its duration by the time span of one’s life. It is produced by God’s Spirit, and it is designed and managed by God to be GOOD forever! Do not reject God’s invitation to join his family. It is a relationship of special trust and love!

Victory

Victory

Your problems

If you are constantly frustrated by your inability to overcome bad habits and to resist reoccurring temptations by your good resolutions, you would probably like to achieve a dependable victory over your addictions. If you are daily consuming more drugs and other concoctions to overcome your moods of depression or loneliness or worry, then you would probably like to achieve a dependable victory from a feeling of gloom in your life. If you are regularly engaged in spurts of buying to get more things to make you more comfortable in spite of the increasing debt that they impose on your life and that of your family, then you are probably seeking a victory over your greedy impulses and selfish desires. If you are living with a sense of personal fear from the real or imagined threats to your personal safety from conditions in your neighborhood or place of work or school or even in your home or national enemies, then you are probably looking for a source of courage and strength that can give you a victory of peace over these fears. If you are regularly disappointed in those who have pledged their “love” and friendly support to you, then you are probably looking for the perfect companion with whom you can have a direct relationship that will give you a victory of personal union with someone who is worthy of your trust.

The solution to your problems

According to the words of the familiar Christian hymn, “Faith Is the Victory”, “Faith is the victory…That overcomes the world”. These words are connected to the text of Scripture in 1 John that indicates that “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5). The message of this text is also affirmed by one in 1 Peter where he exhorts his readers to “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the god of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:5-10).
Victories over the various addictions and moods and unproductive impulses and fears and disappointments that are cited above will not be achieved just by seeking them, but they will only be experienced by a daily giving of each of them to God in a sincere expression of your faith that Jesus is “the Son of God” and that God cares for you and that he alone is able to give you a real personal victory over each of them in your daily life. In any moment when you are confronted by such negative threats to your sense of wellbeing and peace in your relationship with God, you must just directly give them to him for him to handle and stop any personal efforts to deal with them in accord with your own abilities. Personal pride in your abilities or wisdom to handle such problems will be the devil’s effort to distract you from the victorious blessing that God is willing to give to you as you express your faith in him. Feelings of bitterness and jealousy regarding the blessings that other Christians are apparently receiving will hamper your humble relationship of faith with God who is the only one who is loving enough and wise enough to know what is specifically good for you in your situation at this time in your life. In your prayers for victory over these problems, don’t tell God exactly what you want him to do, but just give him your problem and trust him to handle it in accord with his loving will and wise timing for his ongoing transforming work in your life.

Summary

Our daily lives are commonly disturbed by problems from addictions, bad and destructive feelings, unproductive impulses, fears, or disappointments, so we have a constant need for a victory over such enemies of our sense of peace and wellbeing. According to the apostle John, the best way to “overcome” these worldly enemies is by “faith” (1 John 5:4). The apostle Peter adds to these words of encouragement by indicating that such problems of our “anxieties” (1 Peter 5:7) come from “the devil” (vs. 8), and when we “resist him” and stand “firm” in our “faith” (vs. 9), “that Jesus is the Son of God” as John declares in his teaching (1 John 5:5), “the God of all grace” will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” us (1 Peter 5:10). So, because of our “faith” in Jesus, God gives us victories over these disturbing problems and anxieties that come from “the devil” in our daily lives in this world. Paul in his encouraging letter to the Philippians gives them and us this instruction: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5-7). This is a victory that is really good.

Hope

Definition of Hope

Hope is a positive attitude of expectation and anticipation regarding one’s future. Although your next moment and all of its subsequent moments into the distance cannot be clearly seen, you still expect the circumstances of your life in the future to be positive and to be beneficial to your well-being. You hope to be relatively comfortable, safe, and happy.

Sources of hope

If everything is great in your current circumstances, you probable expect them to continue in that positive way. After all, you’re not going to do anything to ruin the picture; right? You may even hope that the future will get better because you’re going to work to make it so.
If your circumstances aren’t so good right now, you may hope that they will get better in the future, because they can’t get much worse; right? Your going to do what you can to make some changes that you believe will make some positive changes in your circumstances.
That is a worthy goal, but the fact is that there is a lot in your circumstances that are beyond your control. You can’t control the stock market or even those closest to you in your family. You can’t control the politicians in the nations of the world or even your neighbors next door. You can’t control your boss or even your co-workers, and if you are the boss, you can’t control your competition around the corner or across the world.
There are some aspects of your life over which you have some control, and you may be able to make some changes in respect to some of them that might have some positive benefits in your circumstances. But you are going to get older and you can’t stop the passing of time or control some of the basic effects that this process has on your body and the physical circumstances of your life. This life and its circumstances are terminal for everyone!
The source of your hope for positive circumstances in your future is basically outside of your control. The positive benefits that you hope to receive in the future will come to you generally through your relationships with others! They will provide that future for you. You won’t be able to provide it by yourself. And it is the qualities of the persons in those relationships that will have the most influence on your hope for your future well-being.
The process is much like that of getting good water that is pure, clear of any foreign bodies or pollution. Maybe you regularly buy bottled water just to make sure that it is as pure and as clean as possible. You know that you can’t get good water from a polluted well, and thousands of children and adults in many underdeveloped countries of the world get sick and die every year from drinking polluted water from the streams that run through their villages.
You shouldn’t hope or expect to get positive benefits from sources or relationships that are polluted by the evil of this world or full of selfish sins. They are in no condition to provide you with any lasting positive benefits now or in the future. The stock market responds to the greedy, profit-seeking efforts of those engaged in the businesses and investments of the world. Most of the politicians of the world continue to try to maintain their positions and influence for their self-serving aims of fame and fortune without much regard for the common good of others, even the citizens of their own countries. A lifetime of savings can be wiped out in a moment from a major natural disaster or the fraud of a trusted company executive.
We each live on a battlefield where there are few guarantees for anything positive happening in the future. There is little job security, even in careers that have traditionally been very secure. Maintaining one’s health is a constant struggle, particularly as we get older, and there are new or persistent dangers revealed in our diets and environments and circumstances every day. Change is the only constant factor that we observe around us, and the world doesn’t seem to be becoming a better place in which to live.

Your best source of hope is from God

Your best source of hope for having a positive, safe, and comfortable future will come from God. God is love! He doesn’t change everyday or even every century in accord with market cycles or political polls. He is pure holiness, pure GOODness, unpolluted honesty and truth. He is absolutely in charge of the future. He is almighty, the sovereign creator/owner or all that there is. There is nothing that you can acquire for your future comforts and safety that is not already his! Apart from what God can give you, you have no hope for a positive future.

Only Jesus can provide you with any hope for your future

One day you are going to die or be brought to stand before Jesus, whom God sent into this world and whom he made judge over it, and all of the benefits and resources that you have acquired from this world for your future will be gone. All that you will have for your future of eternity will be what Jesus has prepared for you through your personal relationship with him.
Before Jesus was crucified, arose from his tomb, and returned to God, his Father, in heaven, he told his disciples not to be “troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1–3 in the Bible).
As you and I trust, which is a synonym for faith, in God and in Jesus, Jesus’ promise to prepare a home for us in heaven and to return and to take us there to be with him and his Father for eternity provides us with hope. It is this promise of Jesus that secures any hope for you and me!
Being raised by parents who live in a personal relationship with Jesus may enable you to get to know him. Participating in the services and classes in a church where Jesus is honored and glorified may enable you to grow in your relationship with him. But apart from a personal relationship with Jesus, which you must accept yourself, your future, especially your eternal future, is grim. You are without hope of having a GOOD future. For a definition of what is GOOD see my statement on the index "Introduction to what might be considered “good”" page of this website.
For an explanation of why a personal relationship with Jesus is so crucial to any hope that you may have for your future see my statement on “Why Jesus?”. If you want to know how to enter such a relationship, read my statement on “The Plan of Salvation” on this website.This statement on “God’s work of redemption” is a basic description of this process.
If you want any positive hope for the future, you must get it from God. It is a virtue that he is willing to give to you when you believe in his Son, Jesus, repent of your sins, and accept him by faith as your personal Savior. All of your other possible sources of hope are polluted by this world. They can provide you with no positive benefits for your future, particularly the one that is for eternity. May God bless you with his virtue of hope as you trust him for his ongoing grace, compassionate care, and your final victory over death and the enemies and corrupting influences of this world.

The Church

The Church

Definition

“The Church” is the world-wide gathering of individuals who acknowledge that Jesus is “LORD”, God in human flesh, repent of their sins as they accept by faith God’s forgiving grace through the sacrifice of Jesus upon a Cross, and who commit themselves to live in a personal relationship of obedience and service with their risen Savior, Jesus, in an effort to glorify God, the one almighty creator of the universe.
“The Church” is not to be completely identified with any particular denomination, historic religious movement, or living group of people. “The Church” is Jesus’ “body” in the world (see Colossians 1:18, 24), and Jesus is the “head” of this organism (see Colossians 1:18, 2:19).
No gathering of individual believers anywhere in the world, even if they are identified as “Christians”, can be identified as “the Church”, because no such gathering would be completely pure and free from demonic heresies and accepted personal sins that negate the Lordship of Jesus and his authority as “head” of “the Church”.

Relationship of “the Church” to church buildings

Since “the Church” is a gathering of individuals, it should not be identified with any particular building or buildings anywhere in the world. “the Church” is not a facility for worship, learning the Christian faith, fellowship among believers, social services to a neighborhood or community, or even ministries of evangelism to non-believers.
It should be obvious from decades of viewing the evangelistic ministries of Billy Graham and the study of church history that real ministries of worship and evangelistic preaching of God’s word can be conducted in all kinds of stadiums, athletic fields, halls, coliseums and even in ordinary houses. Many groups of Christian believers start their congregations by meeting in schools or other public halls. The Willow Creek Community Church of Barrington, Illinois was started by Bill Hybels in a movie theater. I personally began my preaching ministry in a neighborhood Christian center that conducted its ministries out of a house. No temple, cathedral, or religious facility as big as or as beautiful as it might be can contain “the Church” of Jesus Christ!

A church

“A church” is a gathering of Christians in a local facility in which they can congregate to praise God and to serve him as an organized body of believers in the Lordship of Jesus. They gather regularly at various times to conduct services of worship and to develop and to implement other services of education and training and mutual encouragement in Christian living, stewardship of their personal and corporate physical resources, evangelistic appeals to non-believers, and particular practical programs to meet various personal needs of their “neighbors”. These gatherings are usually open to the public, and visitors may join them to share in their friendly fellowship, helpful teachings, encouraging counsel, and the benefits of their various practical programs of social services. There are usually no fees or charges that “visitors” must pay to such “a church” for any of these “services”, because they are provided by the freely given financial donations of individual “members” of such local bodies of believers and their committed friends. The local facility in which such “a church” gathers will be designed, constructed, equipped, and funded in accord with the particular detailed features of the various services for which God has called the local body of believers to congregate. Such a facility may be a relatively small and simple structure with different rooms for different functions of service for a relatively small congregation of local “members” and a few expected “visitors” or it might be a rather large extensive facility with many rooms and expensive special equipment that enables the “members” to serve an audience that is much bigger and more dispersed than just would be available from the local neighborhood or community of the congregation. Such “a church” may be part of an established denomination of similarly believing Christians or it may be independent in its basic relationships with other Christian congregations. It will probably have its own constitution that states the rules under which it is organized and by which it conducts its various services. Normally such “a church” will be administered by a board that governs all of its operations, including the employment of its pastor and paid staff. Various committees will usually be appointed by the members to implement and manage the services of such “a church” in accord with the congregation’s constitution. Since such committees are usually given to talking about their particular services without much direct action in implementing them, it would probably be more practically effective to have each of these services designed and implemented and regularly managed by a team of individuals who are personally committed to doing his or her best to make sure that the objectives of the serving team are accomplished in cooperative efforts with the staff and enlisted volunteer workers from the membership of the congregation. No gathering of such “a church” will ever be pure enough or effective enough in its services to be considered to be recognized by God and the Lord Jesus as “the Church”.

Value of going to a church building

Nothing of eternal value can be gained just by going to a building that has been labeled “a church”, even if most of the people there call themselves “Christians”. If Jesus is not the “head” of that congregation or gathering of people, if they are not seeking to serve him and bring glory to God, the Father, then it is not a place where one could easily expect to receive a blessing from God. God can deliver his blessings anywhere, in any circumstances, but they will only be received in a personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, which is most dynamically present in “the Church”.
Sharing in the fellowship and work of a congregation by attending its services and programs in a church building can be beneficial if they bring you into a relationship with God. Worshiping with other individuals who are singing praises to God and giving their attention to the preaching of His Word week after week can generate and strengthen one’s relationship with God. Such worship can even enable a person to hear God’s call to accept his grace in his Son, Jesus, in order to receive God’s forgiveness and transforming power.
Participating in small groups, Sunday School classes, and other gatherings for the study of the Bible can help a person grow in his/her understanding of God’s word and its application in one’s life. Serving with others in various ministries through a congregation’s boards, committees, and teams can bring glory to God and strengthen one’s personal faith by enabling him/her to effectively use his/her personal gifts.
Sharing in genuine loving fellowship and friendships week-by-week with others can be very helpful and encouraging as one seeks to the cope with the trials and tribulations of life. It is not easy to be a part of “the Church”, the “body of Christ”, by one’s self. Even when Paul was in prison for his faith in Jesus, he was in contact with various believing friends, assistants, and congregations from whom he received gifts to help meet his personal needs and words of encouragement in his days of stress and discomfort. (see Philippians 1:3, 7; 2:17, 22, 25–27; 4:10, 14–16)

Joining a church

As you attend various churches and get acquainted with different congregations of believers, you may be invited to “join” “a church”. This usually involves making a personal and public decision to identify yourself as a committed believer in Jesus and a dedicated member of the particular congregation. Different congregations and denominations have different procedures and rules for doing this, but they all result in getting your name on the membership list of “a church”.
If you choose to do this, it is best to follow the congregation’s established rules and procedures. It some cases it may be very easy and quick, and it other cases it may be more difficult and time consuming. In any case it is well to understand that having your name on the membership list of “a church” does not entitle you to get into heaven. It is not the same as living in a vital personal relationship with Jesus who is the “head” of “the Church”, which is his “body” in the world.

Participating in the life of “the Church”

God’s blessing of eternal life and his forgiveness of your sins only come if you are a part of Jesus’ “body”, “the Church”. As you participate in the life of this “body”, experience direct connections with other “members” of this “body”, receive the transforming and energizing power of God’s Spirit flowing through you, and do your work to enable the “body” to serve and to glorify God you will receive many of God’s good blessings. In such a dangerous, chaotic, and confused world as ours, there is no better place, relationship to be, than in “the Church”!

The relationship of Church and State

It is not a necessary part of Christian doctrine or the practice of Church rituals to make the Church a part of the State, the established form of civil government in any location. Although this has been done and is being done in some parts of the world, it often doesn’t work very well. Sincere Christian believers are seldom converted and made into children of God through the application of State laws. Most Christians do not seek to use State laws to force their faith upon anyone else. Some laws of the Bible regarding morality and personal behavior are generally recognized as being basically good for all citizens everywhere, but these are commonly adopted and applied in accord with civic practices and not in accord with the practice of any religious faith. There may be ongoing discussions regarding some of these laws from time to time in any society, for example in regard to the practice of same-sex marriages and abortions, but nevertheless the principle that Christians do not seek to force their faith upon others by civil law still stands.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution includes these words that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,....” The term “religion” is not defined in this statement or in the Constitution, and the term “Church” is not used as a reference to its “establishment”. Although this Amendment has been discussed and interpreted as a statement that establishes the “separation of church and state” this phrase is not a part of the Amendment. This phrase and its application in public life and civic matters has been extensively debated in our social and religious institutions, and it has been interpreted by various courts throughout the United States. Such discussions and court cases are a constant reminder of the complex challenge of this matter. It should be clear from a simple reading of the Amendment that it is intended to enable citizens of the United States to be free to practice their personal religions without any interferring laws of the State. This Amendment does not set up a dividing wall of influence between the Church and the State. The members of various religious congregations, including those in the Church, should still be free to practice the rituals of their faiths and to speak to each other and their civic representatives as they choose to do so as long as what they are saying and doing respects the rights of others for public order and safety.
The ministries of religious people generally benefit the common good of all the citizens of any nation, as long as they are not abusive to human beings or violently forced upon others. And the civil laws of the State also generally benefit the common good of all of its citizens when it allows for the free expression of religion among them. This does not mean that all religions are equally valid before God, but only that the practice of religion has some practical benefits for a society of people and the civic authorities would do well to allow for it. Christian members of “the Church” need not seek to establish the benefits of their faith by civic laws. The benefits of Christian faith and “the Church” are probably most attractive when they are free from civic laws of the State and even religious laws!

The Nature of Effective Prayer

The Nature of Effective Prayer

Definition

Prayer is a conversation between a person and God. This may seem to be too simple a definition, but basically prayer is a “conversation”. It is not a religious ritual, and it should always be personal.

The salutation for a prayer

As it is true for any conversation, letter, or message, it is important that one’s prayer be addressed to the right person. That person must be God, the creator of all that is, who is identified as the “Father” by Jesus, and who is the almighty ruler of earth and heaven. No conversation, letter, or message that is sent to the wrong person or to the wrong address is going to be received or answered.
It is readily understood by most individuals today that if they want to communicate with a particular person, regardless of the format of their message whether by voice, written on a piece of paper to be sent by postal mail or a fax machine, or composed for email delivery over the Internet, the appropriate phone number must be correctly dialed or the communication must be correctly addressed! The same principle applies to prayer. It must be addressed to God, to the one true God whose identity, nature, location, work, authority, and availability is described in the Bible.
A prayer addressed “to whomever it may concern” or to any of the false gods of various religions or the idols that have been created in human philosophies is ultimately not going to be answered, because it hasn’t gone to anyone who can respond. This may seem to be an intolerant statement, but common sense should make it clear that it isn’t. Few individuals would expect a manufacturer to respect a warranty for a product that they had not made or even to make a positive response to an inquiry regarding a problem that someone was having with something that they didn’t make.
If you are having a problem in your life or suffering some infirmity in you body that isn’t being effectively treated, it is necessary for you to contact your “maker”. You must have a conversation with God. No one else can respond to your message. If you want to send a message of “thanks” for everything GOOD that is happening in your life, make sure that it is addressed to God.

The content of a delivered prayer

The usual content for many prayers by Christians or Jews is a list of actions that they want God to take on their behalf, things that they want God to do for them. This is somewhat normal, because most people want to run their own lives and handle their problems and meet their needs on their own. They may be reluctant to address any different message to God in an effort to maintain their own sense of independence.
But this normal tendency to give God a list of one’s personal needs that he/she wants God to supply can be overcome. It is probably most commonly overcome by some training in appropriate and effective prayer during one’s childhood by one’s faithful Christian or Jewish parents, and then it is reinforced and further demonstrated by other individuals in a Christian or Jewish congregation.
It may also be overcome when one realizes in a very real way that God is not the divine dispenser of gifts for one’s needs and wants, but that he is one’s divine creator who wants a personal relationship with individuals who make up all of humanity. It is at this point in one’s life when the content of one’s prayers shifts from a list of needs to that which is going to strengthen one’s relationship with God.
This insight into who God is and what he wants may cause an individual to send God a personal message of repentance and faith. This is a message of repentance for having ignored God or rebelling against him for many years and a personal statement of trust and commitment to seek to live in a relationship with him for the rest of one’s life. It is such a message that really establishes the line of communication between an individual and God. An example of such a prayer can be viewed in my statement on “The Plan of Salvation” on this web page: “The Plan of Salvation” under the heading “A suggested prayer for an experience of salvation”.
Once such a line of communication that includes sincere repentance and a daily life of faith has been established between an individual and God then the range of content for one’s prayers, for one’s conversation with God, is greatly expanded! Such conversation and messages will still probably include some requests for God’s help in meeting specific current needs in one’s life, but the content of one’s prayers will now begin to include more words of praise and thanksgiving for God’s love and goodness and requests for his grace and compassionate care and powerful blessings for others.
Jesus gave His disciples and those who seek to pray to God, the “Father”, some instructions regarding prayer and a model prayer that are excellent guides for this conversation. These instructions and model are found in the Bible, in the book of Matthew in chapter 6 verses 5-15.

The format of effective prayer

As it is true for most messages and conversations, it well to keep one’s prayers brief and well focused. God is not impressed with a long expression of repeated praises or requests in one’s prayers. Before one utters any words of prayer, God already knows what you need, so repetition doesn’t impress God, as Jesus indicated in his instructions regarding prayer that are cited above.
God is available to anyone who sincerely wants to have a conversation with him without that person having to repeat a mantra of words that are suppose to have some sacred significance. Humility is the most appropriate mood for prayer, and personal sincerity is the most acceptable format.
Your expressions of praise, thanksgiving, and petition may be made out loud or they may be expressed silently in your focused thoughts and words. Such thoughts and words will be most effective, will convey one’s sincere message, when they reflect the real vocabulary of the person making the prayer. God does not have a set of religious words that he wants included in everyone’s prayers.
But Jesus instructed his disciples and those who want to communicate with God, his “Father”, that they should pray in his name. He said this: “my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (see John 16:23 in the Bible). This is not a specific formula for the closing of every prayer to God. It is a recognition that it is Jesus who makes valid the message, that gets it through the initial set of filters that God has established for conversations with his human creatures. One’s prayers, conversations with God, should clearly be in a form and with content that is intended to glorify Jesus and contribute to his ongoing work for the redemption of humans to God, his “Father”.
It is also well to include in the format of your prayer or conversation with God a means of getting a response from God. No one enjoys trying to carry on a conversation with anyone else who will not let him or her get a word in edgewise. God doesn’t enjoy such conversations either. Don’t leave your prayers or conversations with God without silently waiting for his response. Keep your focus on God, on your relationship with him, on what is going to glorify God’s redemptive work in Jesus in a mood of readiness to receive God’s response to your message.
God will respond. He may say “No” to your request. Or He may say “Not now”. Or He may say “I have a better way to accomplish what you are requesting my help to do.” Or He may say “Your request is granted and here is your next assignment.” You may have to wait awhile for his response, but it will come.
The best context for discerning God’s response to your prayers is in the study of his Word, the Bible, in regular worship and fellowship with other believers, and in regular efforts of service for his glory and that of his Son, Jesus. So your conversation or prayers with God are not just momentary exchanges of ideas and messages, but they are an ongoing part of your daily relationship with God. Many of you may recognize the fact that you don’t have to be in direct conversation with someone with whom you are well connected to be exchanging messages with him or her. That quality of communication should be part of the format for your prayers to God, if they are going to be effective.

Summary comment regarding prayer

A lot of books, articles, poems, and hymns have been written about prayer, but this statement covers the basics. Prayer is your personal conversation with God, with the God who made everything, including you, and who is identified as the “Father” by Jesus, and whose nature and work is described in both the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible.
The content of your prayers can include requests for God’s help with personal needs, but they should also include words of praise and thanksgiving for God’s love and GOODness and requests for the needs of others.
The format of your prayers should be brief, without vain repetitions, expressed in a mood of humility and sincerity. Your prayers may be audible or silent. They should be in accord with Jesus’ redemptive work with humanity and designed to bring glory to him. For a basic description of this “work” see my statement on “God’s work of redemption”. Your prayers should include a means of getting a response from God, and this may take some additional time. The response will come if you are in a personal relationship with God and your prayers are not just a religious exercise that you are performing. God will bless you as you engage in personal conversation with him.