Well, there is not much time left before I leave for Haaretz Israel(The Land of Israel). The last few weeks have been full of buying equipment and clothing, getting in shape, and asking for lots of prayer.
This is part of the race the Lord has in store for us. This is one of the hurdles placed before Shannon and me. As we strive to overcome this hurdle we grow closer to our goal - Christ!
What is your goal in life? Is it to be obedient? Is it to love your neighbor as yourself? Those are great things but they (as well as other things) only lead one to being closer to Him. Strive for the goal of growing closer to Him!
Five weeks in Israel is what He has placed before me. It is my responsibility to do the best I can while facing this challenge.
Please continue to pray for us!!
Striving for the Goal...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Determine in Your Heart Part 2
The last post was directed at Christians. You might be thinking, "Well, I'm not Buddhist, and I'm not Muslim, and my grandmother went to church all the time - so I must be a Christian, right?"
Well not necessarily. In my opinion, the biggest lie Satan has roped people into believing is that Christianity is a religion. (Some of you just gasped.) Let me explain.
Christianity is not a religion - it's a relationship.
A religion says you must do this and you must do that, oh but you can never do that... and on and on and on. There are strict rules one must follow in order to live up to God's standard. Well, give up because no one can reach that standard on their own. So what is the alternative?
The alternative is the correct approach. One must have a relationship with Jesus Christ who provides salvation for all who are willing to receive it. See God has put certain laws in place. One of those laws is called gravity. If someone jumped out of a second story window they would experience gravity with a sudden stop at the bottom. Another one of those laws involves the requirements to get into heaven. God's standard is perfection. There is no divine set of scales that have your good deeds on one side and your bad deeds on the other and if your good outweighs your bad then you're in. Nope, it doesn't work that way. Romans 3:23 states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That means you and me.
So what is the penalty God has set in place for the bad things, or sin as the Bible calls them? Well, Romans 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
If God were to simply wipe away the bad things you and I have done in our lives without us paying the penalty He put in place then that would make God someone who was not just. Look at it this way, if God is perfect then He will not break His own rules He set in place. So by allowing someone to get away with sin in their lives without the price being paid would make Him not perfect anymore. That is why He sent His own Son to die in our place!!! Read that verse in the above paragraph again. Did you catch that part at the end? "...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The gift Paul writes about here is Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins and for mine!!!
Romans 5:8 states, "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!" Through Christ's free gift of His death, burial, and resurrection we can be in a right standing with God. So how does one receive this free gift of salvation? That's simple - it's as easy as A, B, C.
"A" stands for admit. You must admit you are a sinner. If you are like me, that won't be hard to do. We can all think of numerous things we have done that would not be considered good.
"B" stands for believe. You must believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He did live a perfect life here on this earth, that He did die on a cross for your sins, and He did rise from the dead and ascended to Heaven. But most importantly - He did all of those things for YOU!
"C" stands for confess. Pray to Jesus right now. Confess to Him you are a sinner in need of His gift of salvation in order to get to Heaven. Ask Him to give you that free gift of salvation and He will.
If you have just prayed that prayer congratulations. You have just started out a new relationship with the Creator of the universe. Now that you are a Christian, email me at strivingforthegoal@gmail.com and I will help you find some other Christians around you that will help you out as you begin your new relationship with Jesus.
Striving for the goal...
Well not necessarily. In my opinion, the biggest lie Satan has roped people into believing is that Christianity is a religion. (Some of you just gasped.) Let me explain.
Christianity is not a religion - it's a relationship.
A religion says you must do this and you must do that, oh but you can never do that... and on and on and on. There are strict rules one must follow in order to live up to God's standard. Well, give up because no one can reach that standard on their own. So what is the alternative?
The alternative is the correct approach. One must have a relationship with Jesus Christ who provides salvation for all who are willing to receive it. See God has put certain laws in place. One of those laws is called gravity. If someone jumped out of a second story window they would experience gravity with a sudden stop at the bottom. Another one of those laws involves the requirements to get into heaven. God's standard is perfection. There is no divine set of scales that have your good deeds on one side and your bad deeds on the other and if your good outweighs your bad then you're in. Nope, it doesn't work that way. Romans 3:23 states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That means you and me.
So what is the penalty God has set in place for the bad things, or sin as the Bible calls them? Well, Romans 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
If God were to simply wipe away the bad things you and I have done in our lives without us paying the penalty He put in place then that would make God someone who was not just. Look at it this way, if God is perfect then He will not break His own rules He set in place. So by allowing someone to get away with sin in their lives without the price being paid would make Him not perfect anymore. That is why He sent His own Son to die in our place!!! Read that verse in the above paragraph again. Did you catch that part at the end? "...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The gift Paul writes about here is Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins and for mine!!!
Romans 5:8 states, "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!" Through Christ's free gift of His death, burial, and resurrection we can be in a right standing with God. So how does one receive this free gift of salvation? That's simple - it's as easy as A, B, C.
"A" stands for admit. You must admit you are a sinner. If you are like me, that won't be hard to do. We can all think of numerous things we have done that would not be considered good.
"B" stands for believe. You must believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He did live a perfect life here on this earth, that He did die on a cross for your sins, and He did rise from the dead and ascended to Heaven. But most importantly - He did all of those things for YOU!
"C" stands for confess. Pray to Jesus right now. Confess to Him you are a sinner in need of His gift of salvation in order to get to Heaven. Ask Him to give you that free gift of salvation and He will.
If you have just prayed that prayer congratulations. You have just started out a new relationship with the Creator of the universe. Now that you are a Christian, email me at strivingforthegoal@gmail.com and I will help you find some other Christians around you that will help you out as you begin your new relationship with Jesus.
Striving for the goal...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Determine in Your Heart
We all have so many differences. Just think about all of the different jobs, hobbies, and interests our friends and family have. But with all those differences most of us still have one thing in common - we want to know what God's will for our lives is. If the doorbell rang and the mailman was standing there with a certified letter from the Lord most every one of us would sign for it and be interested in what it said. For the most part, we want to be in a right standing with the Lord.
I don't know about you, but I haven't received a certified letter from the Lord yet. So how do we know what the Lord wants us to do? If you are interested in learning how to know what the Lord's will for your life is keep reading.
Ezra 7:9b-10 states, "The gracious hand of his God was on him, because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey [it], and teach [its] statutes and ordinances in Israel" (HSCB). Did you catch that? The gracious hand of the Lord was on Ezra because of what he did in verse ten.
Let's start with the end of verse ten. Ezra was a teacher. He taught the statutes and ordinances in Israel. That's what he did. Ephesians 4:11 states, Jesus gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 tell us of numerous spiritual gifts we are given when we are saved. Ezra taught - that's what he did. What are you supposed to do for the Lord?
In order for Ezra to teach he first had to obey. Obedience is key to being in the will of the Lord. As Christians we must be willing to die to self and live an obedient life for the Lord. But what are we supposed to obey? How do we know we are being obedient or not?
Before Ezra taught (because that is what he did) he first obeyed the Lord, but in order to obey he first studied the Word. In Ezra's day they only had the Old Testament, but now we have the full and complete Word of the Lord. We must study the Bible and study it often!
But there is one more thing Ezra did. What did he do before he studied? He determined in his heart to do so! I can't make you determine in your heart to do these things, but if you are willing to follow the Lord and want to find out where your place is in the Kingdom, I can help with how to study. But I first have to ask you - how's your quiet time? Do you have a regular time when you study your Bible and pray? If you need to clean up your quiet time try using the S.O.A.P. Method (1).
“S” stands for Scripture. Get into a regular routine of Scripture reading. Use a regular method of reading, either through a book of the Bible or a schedule that takes you through the Bible in a year. Whatever works for you stick with that!
“O” stands for observation. When you complete your daily reading look back over what you just read and revisit what stood out at you. Ask yourself what you think the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you in the verses that seemed to jump out at you. Write these down. If you like, do a more in depth hermeneutical study of these verses.
“A” stands for application. Ask yourself, “How can I apply the principle of this set of verses to my life today?” Remember we have to study the Scripture and obey it before we can be effective at teaching or preaching it. So how can you apply this to your life today? Write this down as well.
When Paul wrote about carrying out one’s salvation with fear and trembling, in part, this is what he was talking about. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. If the believer is not willing to actually apply what the Holy Spirit is leading one to do, then what’s the point? Do you really want to be disobedient to the one that rescued you?
Lastly, “P” stands for prayer. Pray about what how the Lord will use these verses in your life today. Remember prayer is a two-way conversation; so remember to listen to what He is trying to tell you. Don’t forget to write down what He tells you.
By following these steps and applying them with the proper attitude on a consistent daily basis you will grow closer to the Lord.
I don't know about you, but I haven't received a certified letter from the Lord yet. So how do we know what the Lord wants us to do? If you are interested in learning how to know what the Lord's will for your life is keep reading.
Ezra 7:9b-10 states, "The gracious hand of his God was on him, because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey [it], and teach [its] statutes and ordinances in Israel" (HSCB). Did you catch that? The gracious hand of the Lord was on Ezra because of what he did in verse ten.
Let's start with the end of verse ten. Ezra was a teacher. He taught the statutes and ordinances in Israel. That's what he did. Ephesians 4:11 states, Jesus gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 tell us of numerous spiritual gifts we are given when we are saved. Ezra taught - that's what he did. What are you supposed to do for the Lord?
In order for Ezra to teach he first had to obey. Obedience is key to being in the will of the Lord. As Christians we must be willing to die to self and live an obedient life for the Lord. But what are we supposed to obey? How do we know we are being obedient or not?
Before Ezra taught (because that is what he did) he first obeyed the Lord, but in order to obey he first studied the Word. In Ezra's day they only had the Old Testament, but now we have the full and complete Word of the Lord. We must study the Bible and study it often!
But there is one more thing Ezra did. What did he do before he studied? He determined in his heart to do so! I can't make you determine in your heart to do these things, but if you are willing to follow the Lord and want to find out where your place is in the Kingdom, I can help with how to study. But I first have to ask you - how's your quiet time? Do you have a regular time when you study your Bible and pray? If you need to clean up your quiet time try using the S.O.A.P. Method (1).
“S” stands for Scripture. Get into a regular routine of Scripture reading. Use a regular method of reading, either through a book of the Bible or a schedule that takes you through the Bible in a year. Whatever works for you stick with that!
“O” stands for observation. When you complete your daily reading look back over what you just read and revisit what stood out at you. Ask yourself what you think the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you in the verses that seemed to jump out at you. Write these down. If you like, do a more in depth hermeneutical study of these verses.
“A” stands for application. Ask yourself, “How can I apply the principle of this set of verses to my life today?” Remember we have to study the Scripture and obey it before we can be effective at teaching or preaching it. So how can you apply this to your life today? Write this down as well.
When Paul wrote about carrying out one’s salvation with fear and trembling, in part, this is what he was talking about. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. If the believer is not willing to actually apply what the Holy Spirit is leading one to do, then what’s the point? Do you really want to be disobedient to the one that rescued you?
Lastly, “P” stands for prayer. Pray about what how the Lord will use these verses in your life today. Remember prayer is a two-way conversation; so remember to listen to what He is trying to tell you. Don’t forget to write down what He tells you.
By following these steps and applying them with the proper attitude on a consistent daily basis you will grow closer to the Lord.
The beginning.
I have been pondering just how I could journal what the Lord has, is, and will do in our lives. I would hope some (more like 'a few') people will be interested in following our adventure in Christ. As we more through our lives, I have to let you know that we are striving for the goal.
So what is the goal when it comes to Christianity? Some would say obedience, others would say it is love, but I say those only lead to the goal. The goal is to grow as close to Christ as possible.
So this blog will journal and catalog the race Shannon and I are running as we strive toward growing closer to Christ.
The next couple on months this site will be mostly devoted to my five week trip to Israel.
Visit www.gezerproject.org for more information on this.
This is only the beginning.
Striving for the goal...
So what is the goal when it comes to Christianity? Some would say obedience, others would say it is love, but I say those only lead to the goal. The goal is to grow as close to Christ as possible.
So this blog will journal and catalog the race Shannon and I are running as we strive toward growing closer to Christ.
The next couple on months this site will be mostly devoted to my five week trip to Israel.
Visit www.gezerproject.org for more information on this.
This is only the beginning.
Striving for the goal...
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