God's Way IS the Best Way!

Last week I found a news article put out by livescience.com that talks about factors that bring true happiness. I was going to include it in my sermon on Sunday but time constraints prevented it.

The article's author Robert Goodier writes: Wealth, fame and good looks may be a formula for anxiety rather than happiness, a new study suggests. You can read the entire article here.

It is interesting that the findings of the study of what actually does bring happiness correspond with the teachings of the Bible.

Really, God is all about having meaningful personal relationships; with Him and others. He is also committed to helping us grow as people, conforming us into the image of His Son.

Do what God says and you'll find that maybe God does actually know a thing or two about how to get an abundant life after all.

Fan or Follower?

Last week I heard a news report about a pastor of a church who started a website called "Not a Fan." Its purpose is for Christians to be able to discern whether or not they are truly a follower of Christ, or just a fan of his.

You can get more information here at his website: http://www.notafan.com/

Although the packaging of the concept is fresh, the concept itself comes from Jesus himself. He wants us to not just be converts, but disciples who will follow him even to the ends of the earth. That was the goal when he said to his disciples, "Follow me."

Don't just read this blog entry and forget about it. Take time to ask yourself: Am I just an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus, or do I truly follow him? What is one thing that you can do this week to help you be a better follower of Jesus?

Starfish

I was at Costco last night and as I sat at the table waiting for Theresa to pick up our food, I was looking around the store, in awe of the sheer numbers of people there. I wondered how many of those people I saw would end up separated from God for eternity.

I prayed for them but was honestly overwhelmed at the sheer number of people. I wondered what just one person could do and whether or not I could make a difference. . .



Yes, one person can make a difference. But what if an entire church decided that they wanted to make a difference? What if it was our church?

Interestingly enough I had already started a draft of this post last week, with this video already attached. Isn't it amazing how God works?

Love Your Enemies, Part II

It would be tempting to just gloss over last week's post and forget about it, but I ask again: Can you imagine how much better God's church would be if we all strived to do this?

Maybe it might be more powerful to hear it said in this manner as opposed to a stick-figure cartoon:



It really is a shame that even in churches, God's people don't always do it for one another. Even sadder is the fact that rejecting Jesus' command is ultimately rejecting Jesus himself!

But do you want to know something funny? All it takes is one person to take Jesus' command seriously for God to unite people in Him. Ideally it would be from both sides but if just one person in an adversarial relationship decided to love their adversary and pray for him or her, it is easy to see how resolution can and will take place.

Are you willing to obey the one whom you call "Lord" and be the one?

Love Your Enemies

A short cartoon made by a friend of Shawn Kwon's...

Difficult to do, but how much better off would this world be if God's children took this command seriously? How much better off would churches be?

Luke 6:27-28
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus lived what he taught:
Romans 5:6-10
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Sometimes we can get intimidated by not knowing the Bible very well (a situation that you realize that you have the power to remedy, right? but i digress...) but really Jesus' commands were not rocket science.

It's just so difficult to obey sometimes that we go through all kinds of mental gymnastics just so we can feel better about our disobedience with tough commands like these.

Don't settle for mediocrity - be a disciple and obey all that Jesus has commanded.