Christian Living / obedience

True Love

Revelation 2:5 Think about those times of your first love (how different now!) and turn back to Me again and work as you did imagebefore; or else..

While we all have felt love we all know that love is doing more than feeling.

In romantic love the feelings are overwhelming and they cause us to do many acts of good toward the one we love. When those feelings diminish over time too often the acts diminish as well sometimes resulting in a termination of the relationship.

God describes love in a couple of different ways. (more…)

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December 11, 2014
Christian Living / obedience / Prayer

The Temptations of Jesus

Luke 4.1-13 records the temptations of Jesus.image

These were not His only temptations but while they literally occurred they also represent three areas where we struggle to obey God.

First is the temptation to be independent. Jesus had the power to miraculously feed Himself but He waited on God to supply His needs His way. The Christian life is a process toward dependence upon God and away from being independent rebels. We are to look to God for our provision and direction while daily obeying His every command. Christianity is an evolution of doing what we know while learning to know God more. (more…)

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November 20, 2014
Christian Living / obedience

Raising Children

Amos 2:11 observes I chose your sons to be Nazirites and prophets.image

The purpose of parenting is to raise godly offspring.

Fantastic conversion stories, while entertaining to listen to, were not to be the normal experience for most people.

Most people who follow Jesus should have as their personal story of trusting Jesus as their Savior something along the lines of being raised in a godly home where Jesus was seen, taught and heard such that we could never not remember believing in Him and one day I simply decided to follow Him as my Lord.

The work of God in a child’s life becomes increasingly more complicated the less parent’s follow Jesus as Savior and Lord. (more…)

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November 13, 2014
Christian Living / obedience

Getting Better

Hebrews 5:14 encourages we become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practicing doing right.image

The assumption Scripture makes about those who claim to have placed their faith in God as their Lord and Savior is that they will be faithful to obey His commands. Somehow a disconnect between belief and obedience has crept into the Church allowing people to believe in God without surrendering to God’s will for their lives.

When God lived among us as Jesus He commanded that those who would be His disciples, those who would believe in Him as Messiah/Savior, would take up their cross and follow Him. The taking up of the cross is the surrender of self-will in order to perfectly obey the will of God.

This was what God modeled for us as man in Jesus, the absolute surrender to the will of God over the will of self epitomized by Jesus’ statement in the garden, ‘not My will but Your will be done.’This statement is to be the refrain of every Christian. (more…)

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November 10, 2014
Christian Living / obedience / Titus

The Importance of Good Works

Titus 2:1 teaches that there is right living that goes along with true Christianity.image

One of the problems with Christians defining themselves as ‘believers’ is the disconnect that occurs with the responsibility to live ‘rightly’ as a result of right belief. This disconnect is furthered when we discuss our acceptance by God through grace by faith and not by our good works.

While true, it wasn’t that no good works occurred giving humanity the opportunity to be forgiven, Jesus Himself earned our pardon through His perfect obedience to all the will of God. Without His good works we would have none appropriated to us for us to be forgiven. (more…)

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November 3, 2014
Christian Living / evangelism / obedience

What is Your Purpose?

2 Timothy 1:3 declares my only purpose in life is to please Him.image

Why was one man so productive in the work of God? He had one aim.

This shouldn’t be surprising to any of us. Many people are successful in this world for the same reason. The Olympic athlete and the billionaire business man are probably the best examples of having a singular focus combined with dogged determination to produce the desired end.

Most of us just aren’t that committed.

We are content to be weekend warriors and living comfortably. In the things of God too many are content to attend Church weekly and try to be good during the week, whatever that means. (more…)

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October 29, 2014