Living--Not Just Playing The Part

Read the following passage and be reminded of who we are called to be if we are serious about who we say we are:

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What does it mean for us who so often think we "have this Christian life down?" You mean we actually have to keep living all these Jesus traits? Isn't that kinda hard? But wait--verse 9 says that "if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." How many folks who show up to the church building 3 times as week exhibit this brother or sister who has simply forgotten what they have been saved from? Let us all keep reminding each other and allowing ourselves to be reminded by HIS word daily! We need to live the part--not just go through the motions.

God Speed,

Bruce

Church As Usual?

Do we often find ourselves just "doing church as usual?" We go to the building once, twice, or even three times a week. We make most of the major church functions, fellowships etc. We tithe. And yet, we sometimes find ourselves just flat dead spiritually. Why is that?

We sometimes just seem to have lost our way. We cannot remember the last time if ever that we led someone to Christ. We cannot remember the last time we spent time with a lost person who is not like us. We find ourselves treating God as if HE were some divine diety way up in the sky--and not a loving Father who longs to have an intimate relationship with us.

Our life in Christ was meant to be--and can be--better than this.

With more conversations with God, more personal time in the word, and more time serving other people in love and humility--we can begin to turn the corner. God can then begin to really feed our spirit to become more and more like Jesus. Oh, yeah yeah what day that will be!!

Let us not be about "church as usual." Let us be all about living out God's word every day!

Blessings,

Bruce

Leaving No One Behind

When we sit around our churches and talk about the Great Commission--how much of that charge to we look at as being for foreign nations and how much of that do we look at as our responsibility here at home? Sometimes it is so much easier to send a check overseas and not have to deal with people who have lots of problems and poverty and the list goes on. But Jesus did not just send a check. He spent time with poor people and sick people and prostitutes and all kinds of other sinners.

There are thousands upon thousands of lost people whose children are suffering with no love of Jesus in their lives--right here in our communities where we live!! Will we take on our responsibilities at Christians and go seek those lost and help bring them into the light? Or will we just keep paying others to do our jobs for us?

Jesus told us that the harvest is ripe. Let us go work the harvest in love and help set sinners free from their bondage.

What a God we serve--to love us all enough to give His beloved Son to die for us! Let us daily show our appreciation back to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Bruce

God Is Good!

Do you ever just stop for a moment to think about all that God has done for you? Do you ever just look around and see all that God created? He is so faithful. He is so good. He just keeps changing lives and blessing people. Let us keep praising HIM and telling others how wonderful HE is!

Grace and Peace,

Bruce

Christian Priorities

Tonight I listened to an incredible message from two ministers from a Church of Christ in Detroit. They talked about how their congregation is not in an area where a church would normally grow. They talked about how they have to read the Lord's Prayer everyday to keep focus--that everything is about GOD'S WILL AND NOT OURS! "Thy will be done." They talked about how they are up to three services on Sundays and that there is another service about 10 miles away at a mission work. They talked about how much of their flock are folks who came from a life wanting nothing to do with church. They also talked about how they lost a lot of members over time because of "bringing in folks that made those more established members uncomfortable."

I am always struck by Christians using that word "comfortable." Last time I checked, WE WERE NOT CALLED TO BE COMFORTABLE! Jesus did not live a comfortable life. The apostles did not live comfortable lives. None of the prophets lived comfortable lives.

Perhaps we need to be less concerned about "being comfortable" and more focused on getting out of our church buildings and taking the Gospel message to lost and hurting people!

LETS GO CROWD HEAVEN!

Bruce

Ministers In The Media

If you watch CNN and all the other news networks like I do, you have seen all kinds of "Christian" ministers shouting all kinds of controversial epitaphs and big news statements. Whether it is Reverend Jeremiah Wright screaming out on one end of the spectrum or conservative white evangelicals on the other end of the spectrum screaming out. Certainly it is not up to me to judge what each of those Christians do and I do not make a habit of condemning other Christian leaders or their congregations.

However, sometimes I wonder if we all stopped shouting as much--and just focused on the mission of Jesus Christ--if we might see larger glimmers of hope around us? Perhaps if church leaders spent more time teaching and training their flocks for ministry--more lost people might be brought to Christ? Perhaps if more church leaders went back to the basics of the elementary teachings of Jesus--there might be more love and kindness among us?

Serving the Lord and executing Christ's mission to bring a lost world to redemption and salvation--is NOT ABOUT US! IT IS NOT ABOUT ME! IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! Maybe we all need a little more humility. Maybe we all need to go back and look at the early church leaders in the Book of Acts and see how they were spending their times and efforts.

Just some thoughts?

God Speed,

Bruce

Easter Sunday

I think it is wonderful that so many Christians celebrate Easter Sunday--in a biblical way and not in the worldy way. However, let us all be more driven to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ--everyday! All 365 days of the year! Let us honor God that way and not just on special occasions.

Grace and Peace,

Bruce