Category Archives: 2012 Summer Vacation

{Post from the Past} Not Successful, Only Faithful – By: Janaya Richards

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Many Christians find reasons not to share the Gospel.  We often make excuses because we’re scared.  I totally understand: giving the Gospel can be a scary thing!  Why might we be afraid to share the Good News?  Perhaps we don’t know how to start or what to say.  Maybe we’re afraid to “mess up” the Scriptures.

In reality, though, usually our excuses are much less noble than ‘concern for God’s Word’.  Usually we refuse to tell others about Christ because we don’t want to look stupid or be rejected. Simply put, we are more concerned about our reputations than sinners’ souls.

I have used almost all of these excuses at one point or another, but recently the Lord has been changing my mind.  He’s been showing me how important He is and how desperately people need to hear about Him.  This week I’ve been witnessing to a friend of mine, and I have realized for the first time the Benefits of sharing my faith.  As I’ve been searching the Bible to answer my friend’s questions, my faith has been strengthened; I am reminding myself what I believe and why I believe it.  I’ve also been a bit convicted how little of my Bible I know; searching the Scriptures for just the verse I’m looking for reminds me how crucial it is that I know my Bible thoroughly.

I won’t say that my old excuses are non-existent; in fact, they are very near to me.  I am a bit nervous that I will lose my friend; I’m still kind of concerned about my reputation (unfortunately).  However, by sharing God’s truth with an unbeliever, I am being faithful to God’s command.  My pastor once said, “God does not call us to be successful – only to be faithful.”  Even if my friend never talks to me again, she will have heard the of God’s saving grace.

We can only control our actions: will we share the Truth or not?  God controls the outcome.

{Post from the Past} Lost time is never found again – By: Bethany Andrews

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“Lost time is never found again.” -Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1750s.

This proverb is a convicting one. It is not exactly a command, but we can easily draw one from it. Do not waste your time. Use it wisely. Time flies by so quickly; one moment, and it is gone. It continues to rush by us in an uncontrollable river. In vain, we try to grasp it, but it slips out of our reach as it fades into past eternity.

Don’t do things you regret, for you cannot change time’s direction to get it back. It is gone.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” -Ephesians 5:15-16

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.” -Colossians 4:5

“What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” -James 4:14b

{Post from the Past} God’s Grid – By: Janaya Richards

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Most Christians want to be pure and live a life that is honoring to God. We want our minds to be clean and our hearts to be right; but our hearts are “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) If we can’t even understand our own hearts, how can we possibly keep them clean?
The answer is, we can’t – at least, not by ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit guiding us and helping us. According to Psalms 19:14, “The words of [our] mouths and the meditation of [our] hearts [should] be acceptable in [God’s] sight.” But, the world we live in is full of junk! How can we keep our hearts and minds clean?  We need a filter. The Bible gives us a perfect filter. Philippians 4:8 says,

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever thing are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are just, whatever things are commendable, whatever things have a good report, if there is any excellence, and if there is any praise, think about these things.”
Use God’s own Word as a filter for your heart and mind. Don’t let anything into your life that can’t pass through the grid of Philippians 4:8.

{Post from the Past} A Revelation about Prayer

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The way we pray can reveal what type of person we really are. 

  • Selfish people generally pray very little.
  • Selfish people will pray for things that affect only themselves.

But:

  • Grateful people will regularly go to the Lord in prayer.
  • Grateful people thank God for all the blessings He gives to them.
  • Grateful people consistently pray for other people and their needs.

What type of person are you?

{Post from the Past} Elect Exiles – By: Janaya Richards

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“To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:1-2

I read these verses during my devotional time a few days ago, and – at first – these verses appear to be just another of Peter’s opening greetings; but if you take a closer look – and really read what Peter is saying – you’ll learn so much about God’s sovereignty over our lives and our trials.

This letter was written to the “elect exiles.” That almost seems to be a contradiction. The exiles were Jews who had been persecuted out of their homes and countries and chased all over the known world. They probably thought that God didn’t know or care about their plight. However, the word elect means “chosen specially by God”. How does that work?

Read further. Peter says that these Jews were exiled “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” God knew about His people, cared about His people and planned this for His people.

The verse also says that God was working through these struggling Jews to accomplish their sanctification. James 2:2-4 tells us that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness!

Finally, Paul encourages the exiles that through their trials they were identified with Christ. Christ told His disciples, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20) When we are identified with Christ in our trials, we bring glory to God!

When I’m struggling to understand ‘Why?’, I need to remember this: God chose this specific trial just for me! He has put something in my life to sanctify me and to make me more like Him.

{Post from the Past} Reflection

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As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. (Proverbs 27:19 ESV)

What does the reflection of your heart look like? Do others see Christ in you? We call ourselves Christians but are we really reflecting the way of Jesus Christ in our lives? This is a question that we should constantly be asking ourselves. Do we look like Christ? Do we act like Him?

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV)

 

These verses are saying that we ought not live like the Gentiles, in other words… we are not to live like the unsaved! We have been taught about Christ’s righteousness and His holiness… Are we reflecting attributes of Christ or attributes of the world in our hearts’ desires and in turn our lives? Are we living worthy of the Lord?

{Post from the Past} Can They Tell? – By: Bethany Andrews

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“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Can people tell you’re a Christian? This is a question that I often forget to ask myself, but I can’t run away from it; it needs to constantly be in my mind. CAN people tell?

Earlier this year, when I had an eye appointment, the assistant took me in to get my basic eye-checkup stuff done before seeing the optometrist. We made small talk for a few minutes, and then out of the blue, she said, “You’re a Christian, aren’t you?” My heart leaped. “Yes!” She said, “I could tell by your demeanor.” Well, you can imagine, when someone tells you that, you feel like jumping up and down, screaming, laughing, crying, and everything else. She later told my mom that my face radiated Christ. She was a Christian too.

So, can NON-Christians tell I’m a Christian, or at least that something’s different about me? Sometimes, I don’t feel like setting my light on a stand; I feel like putting it under a basket so I can “fit in”. But that’s not what God has called us to do. We have SUCH a privilege to be called His children, and we need to show others that they can share in that same, awesome privilege. That means, be like a city on a hill, be a LIGHT, live worthy of the walk (Eph.4:1) and set your mind on things above (Col. 3:2-4). Someone just might be watching.

 -By: Bethany Andrews

Hymn of the Day – Grace Alone

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Grace Alone – By: Scott Wesley Brown and Jess Nelson

Every promise we can make,
Every prayer and step of faith,
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.
Every mountain we will climb,
Every ray of hope we shine,
Eyery blessing left behind
Is only by His grace.

(Chorus)
Grace alone which God supplies,
Strengh unknown He will provide,
Christ in us, Our cornerstone,
We will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach,
Every heart we hope to teach,
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.
Every loving word we say,
Every tear we wipe away,
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.

Happy 4th of July!

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“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” (Ephesians 3:12 ESV)

May we remember who paid the price for our ultimate freedom.

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV)