Five Questions I Ask Myself

In one of my desk drawers, I have a sheet of paper listing five questions I regularly ask myself. Yes, I know what some of you are thinking: “You have a desk?” Indeed I do…and I know how to use it.

In all seriousness, it is extremely important that we take moments during our week to step back and look in the mirror. Open, honest evaluation is so important in every area of our lives, but especially in our spiritual lives. I wanted to share with you five questions I ask myself when I “pop the hood” and take a peek at how things are doing. So here goes.

1. Am I remembering that God is God and I’m not? (Matthew 6:10) Okay, take just a moment to say that out loud to yourself. Go ahead. Do you feel peace settling over you? There is something about acknowledging, we are not in control that is settling to our lives. No wonder in Jesus’ model prayer he said we should start out by saying, “Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done…”

2. Am I listening to what God is saying? (Ezekiel 2:1,2) God has something that he wants to tell all of us…especially if we are believers in Christ. He has plans to use us in his Kingdom—to make a difference. What we need to do is tune him in. That means walking away from the iPod, TV, radio, computer, and book for a while so we can connect to the one who actually has something good to say.

3. Am I guarding my heart? (Proverbs 4:23) I know that God is working on my heart…changing me. My job is to guard it, not allowing sinful tendencies, influences, or the enemy himself to find a foothold in my heart. This means I need to guard what goes into my heart (What I watch, listen to, and think about) as well as what I allow to hang around my heart. (Things like guilt, jealousy, greed, and anger).

4. Am I doing my best? (Number 18:29) Everything I have comes from God—everything! I am responsible for taking my talents, gifts, money, possessions and using them in the best possible way to advance Christ’s Kingdom. So I have to constantly ask myself, “Am I doing my best for the Kingdom?”

5. Am I taking risks? (1 Samuel 14:6,7) Throughout the Bible there are numerous examples of men and women who did the unthinkable, the unimaginable, and the downright crazy. Why? They engaged in risky behavior because they had faith that God was going to do something big when they walked into the unknown. So David kills the giant, Jonathan defeats the Philistine army single-handedly, and a handful of Christ followers influence the world with the Good News of Jesus. What if the most spiritual thing I do is take a risk?

“Without faith it’s impossible to please God..." ~ Hebrews 11:6

The Role of The Church In America

"The Constitution's First Amendment states that the government will make no law respecting the establishment of religion. That is, the Constitution prohibits the recognition of any religious group as the nation's official religion. Most of the nation's forefathers understood this to mean that no Christian denomination would be named the state church. Thomas Jefferson, however, looked forward to the day when those holding any belief system could freely practice their faith.

Much has been made of the supposed "separation of church and state" called for in the Constitution. The Constitution says nothing of the sort. Jefferson referred to a "wall of separation" in his writings to the Danbury Baptist Association. He told the Baptists there was a "wall of separation between the church and state." In the context of the document, Jefferson was reassuring the Baptists the government was not to involve itself in church affairs. " ~ Mike Hines, The Discipler Blog

Read the rest of the article here.

Astronomers Find Huge Hole in Universe

(Aug. 24) - Astronomers have stumbled upon a tremendous hole in the universe. That's got them scratching their heads about what's just not there. The cosmic blank spot has no stray stars, no galaxies, no sucking black holes, not even mysterious dark matter. It is 1 billion light years across of nothing. That's a giant expanse of nearly 6 billion trillion miles of emptiness, a University of Minnesota team announced Thursday. Read the rest of the story.

Do You Like Big Bibles?

What kind of Bible do you like?

Is "New" Really Better?

We live in a culture where new is better. Or maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's just because I'm a man. Yes I know I have issues!

But doesn't it always seem that if you don't have the newest car, clothes, house, or technology that maybe you are missing out. Worse yet you feel "less then" because you are behind the times? Our culture worships at the church of "What's Happening Right Now".

Quite frankly, Christians are no better in this regard. Newer church buildings are better right? Churches that use video projectors are better right? Churches that play the newest worship music is better right? People that have read the "Purpose Driven Life" are better right?

Settle into this verse for a moment and see where God takes you.

"This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’" ~ Jeremiah 6:16 (NLT)

Jeremiah was simply trying to impress upon Israel that newer and different wasn't better or even right. He was reminding them that the ancient ways of the Living God were the only way to live life.

Good words for my heart. Contentment is the ways of God is where life is best...and that is what my heart needs.

So maybe I won't get that extra gig of RAM for my computer...at least for now.

Are You Addicted To Coffee?

Does 58% make mean I have a problem? Because I don't think I have a problem...or maybe that is just denial.

I am 58% Addicted to Coffee

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Do you need a good laugh? Watch this!

Remember: Christians Are Suffering Around The World

I picked up these two stories from my brother's blog and I thought that I would link to them here at WGC. As believers here in the Western Hemisphere we become isolated in regards to what is happening around the world with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be engaged in praying for them on a daily basis.

• Myanmar's Repressive Regime

• Kazakhstan Baptists Fear More Persecution

It Came From Within

This is the introduction from the message I preached on 8.05.07 entitled, "It Came From Within" I wanted to post this because the truths from God's Word are so powerful and life changing. If you were able to hear this message, these scriptures will be a good review and are worth memorizing...especially Proverbs 4:23. If you were not able to take in the message, take the time to dive into what Jesus says about your heart, and how he came to change it.

"All of us here have these filters that we put on our lives. We understand that to function in this world (to get job, get a date, get married, to stay married, to have friends) there is a certain way to act or behave. So we modify our behaviors. Most of us learn how to modify our behaviors when we are kids and we just keep adding on to the filter as we grow up.

What happens is that every once in a while something will slip through the filter. In a moment of anger we will say something very hurtful. In a moment of stress we will look at something on the web that we shouldn’t. In a moment of hurt we will hurt someone back. Then we will say, “Where did that come from?”

What we discover is that Jesus knows where those nasty little things came from, he would say that they came from your heart. Not the muscle that beats in your chest, but your true self, your true identity, the place behind your mask, the place where your conscience lives. Listen to what he told his disciples about where unclean things come from.

Mathew 15:16-20

“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”

So what are we supposed to do? Naturally our inclination is to work harder on our filter. But that just doesn’t fix the problem. The only way to fix the problem in your heart is to enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus.

Listen to how the apostle Paul describes what happens when we connect with Christ.

"He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith." ~ Acts 15:9

So when we enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus, he sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts to begin a restoration project.

Now, some of you maybe asking,

“Well, I’m a believer and things still keep popping up in my life!”

My response is, “Join the club!”

There is a battle going on for your heart. The sinful world we live in is constantly trying to influence your heart. Satan wants to destroy your heart. Quite frankly there are some parts of your heart that you haven’t given completely over to Jesus and he can’t do his work in your life until you do.

That is why we are doing this series because way too many Christians are missing out on the abundant life in Christ because of what lies within. So the theme verse for this series comes from the wisest man who walked the earth.

Solomon wrote:

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” ~ Proverbs 4:23

We can’t fix our hearts, that is God’s job, but we can guard our hearts. That is what we will be doing for the next four weeks; learning how we can guard our hearts from four pesky little gremlin monsters that lurk within."

Security of Salvation--Can You Lose It?

What The Bible Says About Your Tough Questions:

• Security of salvation—can you lose it, if so how?
• Explain Hebrews 10:26,27. If we “deliberately” sin after being saved, will we lose salvation?

The best way to answer these questions is to do a quick review regarding salvation and what it means to be in a covenant relationship with Jesus.

Salvation is best understood when we realize that God is a maker of covenants.

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep you r covenant of love with your servants who continue whole-heartedly in your way.” –2 Chronicles 6:14

A covenant is best defined as a treaty, agreement, will, or testament. It also includes the following parts:

Parties – in this case the parties would be God and man

Terms – what man agrees to do for God in entering the agreement

Promises – what God promises to do in entering the agreement

The Bible records the covenants that God planned and offered to man.

· A Covenant between God and Noah – Genesis 6:18; 9:9,11

· A Covenant between God and Abraham – Genesis 15:18

· A Covenant between God and Israel – Exodus 19:5

God has always been faithful in his covenants. (Titus 1:2; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 10:23; 1 Corinthians 1:9)

WHY THE NEED FOR A COVENANT?

We need a covenant with God simply because we are lawbreakers, sinners (Romans 3:10,23; 6:23; Galatians 3:10). A holy, righteous God cannot be in relationship with lawbreakers. It goes against his character. However, he has made a way for us to come back to him, through his son Jesus (Romans 5:6; 8:1,3; Galatians 3:13; Colossians 1:19,20; Ephesians 1:7; 2:4,5,13; 1 John 5:12).

Through Jesus we are offered a new covenant, a new and living way to come to God.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” –Matthew 26:28

“But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.” –Hebrews 8:6

The parties of the new covenant include God and those who want to live in Christ (Romans 8:1). The promises of the new covenant include:

· Life to the full, John 10:10.

· To have the fruit of the Spirit grow in our lives, Galatians 5:22,23.

· Forgiveness of your sins, Acts 2:38.

· Eternal life, John 3:16.

· The Holy Spirit, Act 2:38.

· The ministry of God, Ephesians 4:11,12.

· To be with us to the end, Matthew 28:20.

· To work in all that happens in our lives to help us become like Jesus, Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:6.

· The power to live for him, Ephesians 1:19,20.

· Wisdom and truth, James 1:5; John 17:17.

· To meet all our “needs”, Philippians 4:19.

· To be a part of his church, Ephesians 1:22,23.

· Reward for faithfulness, Galatians 6:7-9.

· Renewal and refreshment, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

· Persecution, 2 Timothy 3:12.

The terms of the new covenant are to; 1) Worship him alone (Mark 12:30), 2) Grow to be like Jesus (Philippians 2:5), 3) Love one another (Romans 12:5), 4) Serve in ministry (1 Peter 4:10), Make disciples of Jesus (Colossians 4:5).

HOW TO ENTER THE COVENANT

Faith is the first step in entering a covenant relationship with God.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” –Hebrews 11:6

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” –Romans 3:22

This faith is more then just an intellectual belief (90% of Americans believe in God), but also a response. In the Bible, faith that is not illustrated in action is not acceptable faith to God. Faith literally means response. Faith is agreeing with what we hear and responding to what we have heard. You are not deemed faithful in your marriage to your spouse or your relationship to your friends by what you say. You are called faithful by what you do. “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” –James 2:17

Repentance is the next step toward our covenant relationship with God. Repentance means to change one’s mind, to regret, feel remorse. In other words repentance means turning from having rejected Jesus as Lord and submitting to his authority and Lordship.

“In the past God over-looked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” –Acts 17:30,31

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” –Acts 3:19

Confession is the third step in entering into a covenant relationship with God.

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” –Matthew 10:32,33

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” –Romans 10:9,10

Baptism is the fourth step in entering into a covenant relationship with God. The word “baptize” means to dip, plunge, or immerse and was practiced this way in the early church. Baptism is a visible, God-chosen, and God-commanded response of my faith. Baptism:

· is my union with Christ. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” --Galatians 3:27

· represents my identification with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection; guaranteeing my own resurrection. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” –Romans 6:3,4

· assures me of the cleansing forgiveness of my sins. “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” --Acts 22:16 (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21)

· is also my union with His Spirit. In baptism, we give ourselves to Him, and He gives himself to us through His Spirit. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” –Acts 2:38

· is my pledge of allegiance to God of my devotion and life. “And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” –1 Peter 3:21 The word “pledge” in the Greek is the same word that was used when two businessmen would enter into a deal. The seller made a proposition and the buyer considered it. If he accepted it, he stood and said, “I pledge that I am going to live according to the terms of this agreement.” This was done before witnesses, and that pledge finalized the agreement and made it binding.

Baptism is to symbolize the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. When we are presented the Good News about Jesus, we can either accept it or reject it. There is no neutral ground. We answer yes or no. If we choose to say yes, we finalize the covenant by being baptized. The agreement is then binding on both parties. This pledge is like signing your name on the dotted line of the covenant.

So, can one lose their salvation? First, we have to acknowledge that no third party can remove a person from God’s family (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:31-39). Satan can’t. The Pope can’t. The government can’t.

Covenant relationships are to be lived and engaged in. When we look back at the covenant relationship that Israel possessed with God, it was possible for people to be “cut-off” from the covenant by certain acts of unfaithfulness. It is very evident that membership in the old covenant required the maintenance of an on-going relationship.

In the New Testament this same idea of covenant faithfulness is continued. Neither Jesus nor the apostle Paul said that salvation was so irrevocable that the person himself could not walk away from it. One chooses to live and abide to the covenant terms or to walk away. It is a choice.

Hebrews 10:26,27 points to this idea.

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

Probably a better translation of the verse would be, “For if we willfully go on sinning.” The author of Hebrews is not directing believers towards one particular sin, but instead toward an attitude that leads to repeated disobedience. This is really the main idea behind the letter of Hebrews—a concern that people would drift away (2:1) from the faith and would neglect their salvation (2:2,3). So again, one comes back to the concept of abiding or engaging in the terms of the covenant to receive the blessings of the covenant.

Lastly, when one studies the New Testament there are numerous warnings that only make sense if it were a real possibility that salvation could be lost. For example, why is endurance so important? Jesus taught that those who endure to the end would be saved (Matthew 24:13). That doesn’t jive with the idea that once you’re in; you’re in for good. The apostle Paul taught in four passages that believers in Christ who continued in sinful actions would not inherit the kingdom of God (Romans 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5).

So what does this all mean? It means that one’s standing with God is not based on a one-time moment when we said a prayer or were baptized. One’s standing with God is based on an ongoing relationship with Him. Paul says,

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” ~ Philippians 2:12,13

If one so chooses, he or she can walk away from the covenant relationship with God. In doing so they will forfeit the blessings and promises of being connected to God through Jesus Christ.

So to answer the questions, we can lose our salvation if we do not abide by the terms of the covenant we agreed to when we first believed. What this means is that we (those who believe in Jesus) need to take our faith very seriously. We need to be in constant evaluation of our growth and in our following the leading of the Holy Spirit.