What if you were told you only had a short time to live, say a week. Would you live it any different? People who have been diagnosed with a terminal disease usually spend time getting their "house in order". They then live as if evey day was their last day to live. For Christians it is living with the anticipation of seeing Jesus face to face and the comfort that brings wth knowing in your mind and heart by faith where you are going.
What if the hand of God wrote in the sky that Jesus was coming back in one week, would it change anything about the way we live? Would it change the way we act and react to our family members? Would it change the way we see other people? Would it change our understanding of who God is and what Jesus Christ did on the cross as the sacrifice to God for our sins?
What if we lived each day as if Jesus was coming back, just like it says in the Bible? It is something to think about.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Who's Church is it?
Here is something to think about. When Jesus ask his disciple, Who do people say that I am? He went on to tell Peter, after His personal cofession that Jesus is Lord, that Upon this rock He would build His Church. John's gospel teaches that He is the way the truth and the light unto salvation. Then in 1 Corinthians 12 Paul discusses the diversity of gifts that are given for the building up of the church. He finishes that chapter by saying the gifts are given to each christian according to His purpose.
Here's the thought, If Jesus is the establisher of the church, and if salvation is of God, and if He gives gifts according to His purpose for every beleiver, and if they are for the building up of the church. There really cannot be any question as to who's church it is. And if it is His church we are to be about the ministry He has called us to and to serve Him as bondservants.
Here's the thought, If Jesus is the establisher of the church, and if salvation is of God, and if He gives gifts according to His purpose for every beleiver, and if they are for the building up of the church. There really cannot be any question as to who's church it is. And if it is His church we are to be about the ministry He has called us to and to serve Him as bondservants.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Is Revival Relevant?
I was discussing with a group of pastors the question, Is Revival relevant for today? The response was mixed. Some said a resounding yes, while others said not practical. Those who said not practical pointed to the fact that the schedules of the modern family have become so filled with sports and educational activities that time for scheduling a two or one week of services for Revival would be counterproductive. They also sighted that children today are involved with multiple hours of homework every night. Some of the pastors recounted times in their life when churches scheduled two weeks for Revival Services. The first week was dedicated to getting the saints stirred up and the second week was for getting the sinners saved.
All believe that there is a genuine need for revival. The moral decay in the world and the way the world standard has changed point to a genuine need for a spiritual revival of the church. The question needing to be addressed is whether we are talking about placing emphasis upon an event called Revival or emphasizing the process for obtaining revival. In both cases the goal is to see believers spiritually renewed and recommitted to the task of kingdom expansion.
Here is a question I have considered; do you have to have an event called a revival to have a revival? In looking back upon the Great Awakening within the United States there was always the elements of prayer, humility, and the seeking of the face of God that preceded any spiritual renewal of the Christians. When the Christ followers seek the presence of God through humility, the Spirit of God reveals areas of life that individually need confession and repentance. Through confession and repentance the child of God receives a cleansed heart and a reviving of God’s Spirit within their life that prompts them to service. Service to our Lord is evidences by the living out of our profession daily before a world. By allowing Christ freedom to live through the believer others will see and be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is genuine revival. A specific service or series of services referred to as Revival Services may be used as the focal point, but the key to revival is the process used to get the God inspired outcome of the followers of Christ. It can only happen through a renewed relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. The momentum of revival can only be sustained in what is planned for following up the revival process. There is a greater need to focus on what is needed for Spiritual Renewal than about a set event. After all according to Webster, revival is defined as to return or restore to consciousness or life.
All believe that there is a genuine need for revival. The moral decay in the world and the way the world standard has changed point to a genuine need for a spiritual revival of the church. The question needing to be addressed is whether we are talking about placing emphasis upon an event called Revival or emphasizing the process for obtaining revival. In both cases the goal is to see believers spiritually renewed and recommitted to the task of kingdom expansion.
Here is a question I have considered; do you have to have an event called a revival to have a revival? In looking back upon the Great Awakening within the United States there was always the elements of prayer, humility, and the seeking of the face of God that preceded any spiritual renewal of the Christians. When the Christ followers seek the presence of God through humility, the Spirit of God reveals areas of life that individually need confession and repentance. Through confession and repentance the child of God receives a cleansed heart and a reviving of God’s Spirit within their life that prompts them to service. Service to our Lord is evidences by the living out of our profession daily before a world. By allowing Christ freedom to live through the believer others will see and be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is genuine revival. A specific service or series of services referred to as Revival Services may be used as the focal point, but the key to revival is the process used to get the God inspired outcome of the followers of Christ. It can only happen through a renewed relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. The momentum of revival can only be sustained in what is planned for following up the revival process. There is a greater need to focus on what is needed for Spiritual Renewal than about a set event. After all according to Webster, revival is defined as to return or restore to consciousness or life.
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