For every situation and circumstance remember this...GOD IS ENOUGH. Nothing more needs to be said.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com/
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
If you build it they will come
How do we build a church for the Glory of God? It's simple: 1) keep a thriving relationship with Christ, 2) fellowship with other believers, 3) share the gospel in your community.
To answer this let's dive into the Word and look at the 2nd chapter of Acts. Just to set the backdrop the disciples (now called Apostles because they physically saw Jesus) were waiting in Jerusalem on the promise of God's Holy Spirit. Christ told them to tarry in Jerusalem until God poured out His Spirit upon them (Acts 1:1-11). At the beginning of Acts 2:1-13 we find the Apostles praying to Lord and later being filled with God's Spirit, as the Lord pours His Spirit out, the Apostles begin to speak in foreign Languages. The first thing we notice is this rag-tag group of men and women devoted themselves to Christ. These just weren't people who were meeting for brunch or a social gathering. They were actually meeting out of obedience to what Jesus had told them to do. This shows me how devoted these men and women were. It tells me that they loved Jesus because they were walking in obedience. The Word tells us if we love God we will keep His Commandments (John 14:15). These were the disciples who walked with Jesus, broke bread with Him, listened to His teachings, and watched Him ascend into Heaven. This group of Galileans had a personal relationship with Jesus. This relationship enabled them to receive God's Spirit and declare the Gospel. Without a personal relationship with Christ we cannot build a church. It sounds funny and almost silly but it is the truth; think about it, can anyone build a church without Christ as there foundation? If our lives are not devoted to Christ, if we are not submitting to His Lordship, and if God is just close to our lips but far from our hearts how can we build a church. At best we would be considered hypocritical. Would you attend a church if you knew ever member denied Christ Monday thru Saturday but proclaimed Him for 1 ½ hours on Sunday? Probably not, God only builds His Church on a solid foundations because He is a wise builder (Matthew 16:18, Luke 6:46-49). As Christians we have to live a life that lines up with God's Word. We must deny daily ourselves so we can follow Christ (Luke 9:23). We must change the way we think and act all for the name of Christ (Romans 12:1-2). We must live as Christians and not as sinners (Ephesians 5:8). Because this is the kind of lifestyle God has called us to live, He called us to live as His disciples (people who do God's Will [Matthew 28:19-20]). But it is impossible to serve Christ alone, just like one person is not the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:26-27).
This brings us to the second point, we need each other. Christ builds His church in unified places. This does not mean that we will not have disagreements or even arguments. It also doesn't mean we not offend each other from time to time but it does mean we will work to reconcile with one another (Matthew 18:15-20). Look how in Acts 2:1-13 they were together but even look at Acts 2:42-47 how the church enjoyed fellowship with each other. They ensured that no one was in need; they sold their possessions to meet any need that came up, studied the Word together, and prayed together. How did they now someone was in need? Simple they communicated with each other; they showed true concern for one another. This 1st Church understood how important Godly relationship were. They understood that we grow together in the bond of love (Colossians 3:7-14). They studied God's Word together; when we study God's Word together we begin to hold each other accountable. Because we become aware of the truth and are responsible to live that truth out. Accountability helps us grow closer to Christ in our life. When a brother or sister in the Lord holds us accountable it is to our benefit. Because that brother or sister is not sitting in judgment against us, they are standing there to aid us, restore us, and bear the load to help see us through (Galatians 6:1-3). This is why the Word tells us not forsake the fellowship of believers (Hebrews 10:23-26). Because fellowship encourages us to do good and it unties us. Notice how the first church grew in number (Acts 2:47). God can add to a church that is loving towards another, seeking out Godly fellowship, and growing in the Word and Prayer together. Think about it like this, would you rather be a part of a family that has division, constantly bickers, does not spend any time together, and is devoid of love. Or would you rather join a family that cares about one another, spends times together, communicates, and reconcile.
This brings us to the finally point, we build a church by investing in the lives of the community around us. There is no greater love we can show an unbeliever than by sharing the Gospel. Notice how Peter shared the Gospel and three thousand where saved (Acts 2:14-41). He did not promote his awesome speaking skills, give a relative message, or have to compromise his beliefs. He just simply shared the Gospel message of Christ and let God's Spirit do the rest. A lot of times we think we have talk a certain way, have a certain swagger, or even compromise our beliefs to bring someone to Christ. But this is not the case; we build a church by meeting unbelievers where they are and sharing the truth of the Gospel. Jesus tells us all to go out and make disciples of all men (Matthew 28:18-20) by teaching them the truths of God's Word. We do not need gimmicks or compromise to reach someone for Christ; all we need is God's Truth, nothing more and nothing less. We are here to act as ministers of reconciliation to the world so they may come to experience the Love of God. We implore people to turn their hurts towards as their Savior and submit to Him as their Lord ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). I love how the scriptures describe Christ in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" in other words, God became man and lived us." He came among men and shared the Gospel. Here is a question, where did Jesus preach, teach, and do His Miracles? The answer is wherever He was. He fed 5,000 in their home town (Matthew 14:13-21), talked to a woman by a well she frequented (John 4:1-45), and even healed a demon possessed man in a grave yard (Matthew 8:28-34). We are to do the same, we meet people where they are, share truth, and let God do the rest. We build a church by sharing God's truth with our family first and our community second. If we cannot share God's truth with our family, how will we share it with our community? We do not run from our community or hide from them. You can build a church by investing in a community but if you neglect a community you will not build a church.
Personal relationships with Christ grow through fellowship and knowing the love of being in the family of Christ should compel us to bring others in. And in the end a church has been built.
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com/
To answer this let's dive into the Word and look at the 2nd chapter of Acts. Just to set the backdrop the disciples (now called Apostles because they physically saw Jesus) were waiting in Jerusalem on the promise of God's Holy Spirit. Christ told them to tarry in Jerusalem until God poured out His Spirit upon them (Acts 1:1-11). At the beginning of Acts 2:1-13 we find the Apostles praying to Lord and later being filled with God's Spirit, as the Lord pours His Spirit out, the Apostles begin to speak in foreign Languages. The first thing we notice is this rag-tag group of men and women devoted themselves to Christ. These just weren't people who were meeting for brunch or a social gathering. They were actually meeting out of obedience to what Jesus had told them to do. This shows me how devoted these men and women were. It tells me that they loved Jesus because they were walking in obedience. The Word tells us if we love God we will keep His Commandments (John 14:15). These were the disciples who walked with Jesus, broke bread with Him, listened to His teachings, and watched Him ascend into Heaven. This group of Galileans had a personal relationship with Jesus. This relationship enabled them to receive God's Spirit and declare the Gospel. Without a personal relationship with Christ we cannot build a church. It sounds funny and almost silly but it is the truth; think about it, can anyone build a church without Christ as there foundation? If our lives are not devoted to Christ, if we are not submitting to His Lordship, and if God is just close to our lips but far from our hearts how can we build a church. At best we would be considered hypocritical. Would you attend a church if you knew ever member denied Christ Monday thru Saturday but proclaimed Him for 1 ½ hours on Sunday? Probably not, God only builds His Church on a solid foundations because He is a wise builder (Matthew 16:18, Luke 6:46-49). As Christians we have to live a life that lines up with God's Word. We must deny daily ourselves so we can follow Christ (Luke 9:23). We must change the way we think and act all for the name of Christ (Romans 12:1-2). We must live as Christians and not as sinners (Ephesians 5:8). Because this is the kind of lifestyle God has called us to live, He called us to live as His disciples (people who do God's Will [Matthew 28:19-20]). But it is impossible to serve Christ alone, just like one person is not the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:26-27).
This brings us to the second point, we need each other. Christ builds His church in unified places. This does not mean that we will not have disagreements or even arguments. It also doesn't mean we not offend each other from time to time but it does mean we will work to reconcile with one another (Matthew 18:15-20). Look how in Acts 2:1-13 they were together but even look at Acts 2:42-47 how the church enjoyed fellowship with each other. They ensured that no one was in need; they sold their possessions to meet any need that came up, studied the Word together, and prayed together. How did they now someone was in need? Simple they communicated with each other; they showed true concern for one another. This 1st Church understood how important Godly relationship were. They understood that we grow together in the bond of love (Colossians 3:7-14). They studied God's Word together; when we study God's Word together we begin to hold each other accountable. Because we become aware of the truth and are responsible to live that truth out. Accountability helps us grow closer to Christ in our life. When a brother or sister in the Lord holds us accountable it is to our benefit. Because that brother or sister is not sitting in judgment against us, they are standing there to aid us, restore us, and bear the load to help see us through (Galatians 6:1-3). This is why the Word tells us not forsake the fellowship of believers (Hebrews 10:23-26). Because fellowship encourages us to do good and it unties us. Notice how the first church grew in number (Acts 2:47). God can add to a church that is loving towards another, seeking out Godly fellowship, and growing in the Word and Prayer together. Think about it like this, would you rather be a part of a family that has division, constantly bickers, does not spend any time together, and is devoid of love. Or would you rather join a family that cares about one another, spends times together, communicates, and reconcile.
This brings us to the finally point, we build a church by investing in the lives of the community around us. There is no greater love we can show an unbeliever than by sharing the Gospel. Notice how Peter shared the Gospel and three thousand where saved (Acts 2:14-41). He did not promote his awesome speaking skills, give a relative message, or have to compromise his beliefs. He just simply shared the Gospel message of Christ and let God's Spirit do the rest. A lot of times we think we have talk a certain way, have a certain swagger, or even compromise our beliefs to bring someone to Christ. But this is not the case; we build a church by meeting unbelievers where they are and sharing the truth of the Gospel. Jesus tells us all to go out and make disciples of all men (Matthew 28:18-20) by teaching them the truths of God's Word. We do not need gimmicks or compromise to reach someone for Christ; all we need is God's Truth, nothing more and nothing less. We are here to act as ministers of reconciliation to the world so they may come to experience the Love of God. We implore people to turn their hurts towards as their Savior and submit to Him as their Lord ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). I love how the scriptures describe Christ in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" in other words, God became man and lived us." He came among men and shared the Gospel. Here is a question, where did Jesus preach, teach, and do His Miracles? The answer is wherever He was. He fed 5,000 in their home town (Matthew 14:13-21), talked to a woman by a well she frequented (John 4:1-45), and even healed a demon possessed man in a grave yard (Matthew 8:28-34). We are to do the same, we meet people where they are, share truth, and let God do the rest. We build a church by sharing God's truth with our family first and our community second. If we cannot share God's truth with our family, how will we share it with our community? We do not run from our community or hide from them. You can build a church by investing in a community but if you neglect a community you will not build a church.
Personal relationships with Christ grow through fellowship and knowing the love of being in the family of Christ should compel us to bring others in. And in the end a church has been built.
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com/
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Look up!
Always look up to God in prayer when you are unsure of what to do down here, we must be people of prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
He is our peace
We have peace about the situation not because we are hopeful about the outcome but because we trust God will work it out for His Glory.
Philippians 4:6-7
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com/
Philippians 4:6-7
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Shake it don't let it shake you
We can allow ourselves to shaken by the situation or we can shake the situation through a prayer of faith that God will do what He Wills in the situation even if it seems impossible.
Matthew 17:15-20
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://
Matthew 17:15-20
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://
Sunday, October 5, 2014
"We become beautiful when finally deal with our ugly"
We can only hide who we are for so long. There will always come a time when what we are secretly dealing with will come out and we will have to either face it or deny it. But one day we will have to make that choice, until that time we tend to mask it with our outward actions. We tell someone who hurt us "I forgive you and I love you" but inwardly we say "How could you, I hate you with all my being." We go to church faithfully and never miss a service all the while our marriage is falling apart because of the affair we have had for the past 5 years. We smile and tell everyone that we are "Blessed and Highly Favored" even though secretly we are struggling with depression, anxiety, and fear. We quote scripture like a champ but fail to live up to those very same scriptures we confess. We have done everything by the book from birth till now, but we are struggling not to walk in pride. We hide our jealousy of the success of others in false support. We claim to have it all together but we really are discombobulated do to the current circumstances of our lives. Take your pick or insert whatever you will right here, but all of us in some part of our lives (no matter how big or small) are dealing with some issue whether we care to admit or not.
But the truth is God sees it all. The affair and the child that was conceived in it, our marital problems due to our spouses being more tentative to work/church as opposed to us, addiction to drugs/alcohol, our late night obsessions with sexual sin, lying on our taxes, falsely accusing others to hide what we have done, night terrors/post traumatic stress from past events, etc. He sees it all and is well aware it and yet despite the ugly beast that we keep hidden deep inside of us God stands faithfully by our side imploring us to turn towards Him so He can remove the pain of sin, the hurt of our struggles, and the fear that says "I can't let go of this because I don't know what will happen next"
Understand this God wants our ashes so He can give us His Beauty. He takes His Word and cuts us to the core by revealing to us who we really are. His Word shades light on our dark secrets. His Word makes it very clear that we cannot hide from God no matter what we try (Psalm 139:1-8). We cannot hide what we are dealing with from our Lord. In His presence we often find ourselves like The Prophet Isaiah who realized he was a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:1-5) but when He accepted God's Grace and chose to walk in His way, Isaiah became whole (Isaiah 6:6-9).
Even against this some of us rebel, we seek God's Word to make us feel good about our hidden struggles as opposed to seeking it out to change our hearts to a heart that seeks after God. Some of us would rather stay as we are because we are to afraid of what we would have to give up if allowed God to change us. We cry out how much we love Him but we cry even louder inwardly to hold on to pain, sin, pride, etc.
Masking our ugliness with accumulation of wealth, things, or people will never satisfy us. High church attendance will not make us a better person. Following religious doctrine will not bring us one step closer to God. But allowing God's Word (through the power of His Spirit) to transform your heart will. Accepting Him as Savior is great but following Him as Lord is grand. When our heart changes and is more like Him our actions will always follow suit. But we willing to admit our fault in God's presence as we read His Word.
This means we are not reading God's Word to prove our actions are just, we are reading His Word to change our hearts. God's Word is not meant to be used as a sword to kill our brethren, it is a tool used to restore or save a life (you can tweet that!). It also means when other confront us about an issue we are dealing with you do not yell back "Don't Judge me you hypocrite" nor do we say "Well you are just as sinful because you....." No we accept Godly accountability with thanksgiving but we reject worldly judgement with grace.
I pray this lengthy post was a blessing you. Stay focused you can do this!
Hebrews 4:12-16, Psalm 139:1-8, Isaiah 61:1-3
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be accountable.
http://consumedbyjoy.blogspot.com
Everybody plays the fool...except God!
Actions speak louder then words but our hearts reveal the true intent behind our actions. We can fool others but we cannot fool God.
Proverbs 21:2, Luke 18:9-14
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://
Proverbs 21:2, Luke 18:9-14
"In His JOY!"
Read the Word, Share the Gospel, Be Accountable.
http://
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