In Christ.

     To be in Christ is a theme repeated throughout the writings of Paul the Apostle. In Christ we find life and salvation. It is vital that we understand what it means to be in Christ.
     Picture yourself standing next to a lake. You now put one foot in, but you are not in the lake until you are standing in it with both feet. But this is only the beginning. To really be in, you go out into deeper water and dive in, fully submerged. Now you are properly in the lake.
     To be in Christ is to be fully submerged in Him. It involves the full surrender of your life to Him. It means He is your life, you live for nothing else but Him ( Col 3:4). Many people add Christ to their lives, they want Him around for what He can do for them. as long as it is convenient. They still retain control over their lives. Such people are deceived. They have no more of Christ as an atheist does. It is all or nothing. We take all of Christ, and He gets all of us. There can be no holding back.
     I think baptism illustrates this well. You go down into the water completely, fully submerged, and then are brought up again. We are completely immersed in Christ, and then raised up to newness of life in Him!
     This is where we find everything we need, in Christ.
   

How do we talk about others?

     Do not speak evil of one another,brothers. The one who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
     James 4:11,12 ESV.

     It is so easy to talk about others. Even among Christians the temptation is strong to gossip and backbite. We tend to look at others with a judgemental eye, finding out there faults and failures, and then sharing them with others.
     James puts it bluntly. If we do this, we are not acting according to the law, that is the law of love. In fact we are actually saying that we are above the law, the law really does not matter! We are actually putting ourselves in the place of God! This is a sobering thought, something to remember next time some one comes with a "tidbit".
     Love looks out for the other person, does nothing to harm others, protects, and looks for the good in every situation!

The pattern for the Church.

     The teaching, and practice set forth in the New Testament, is the pattern for the Church today. The teachings of Jesus in the gospels, the teachings of the Apostles in the epistles, as well as the actions of the early church in the book of Acts, are what we need to come into alignment with.
     The faith has been delivered once for all time to the church. There is no new doctrine. We must be careful that we do not add to biblical revelation. We also must not detract from the standard set forth in scripture. This includes the gifts of the spirit. Many today believe that the gifts have ceased, miracles have ceased etc. This is far from true. The church is to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, doing the works that Christ did when He walked the earth.
     Let's get up to the standard!

A means to an end?

     "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seekining me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.
     John 6:26,27 ESV.

     Jesus had miraculously fed five thousand individuals with two fish, and five loaves of bread. The next day, the people were searching for Jesus, wanting more. They had an encounter with God Himself, but were only interested in what He could give them. He was only a means to an end for them. They cared nothing about knowing Him, loving Him, and serving Him.
     Many today have this same attitude. People are seeking God for things: even necessary things. People are encouraged to come to Christ for happiness, a better life, finances, and a host of many other things.
       It is true that God will provide. He cares for us and desires the best for us. He encourages us to come to Him with our needs and burdens. However He is not a means for our ends! He is the end! We are called to live for His glory, His plans, His purposes. We come to Him for salvation, not so we can be happy, or bettered, but so we can be reconciled to Him, so we can know Him and fellowship with Him. It is about Him!
     Jesus said if we seek His kingdom and righteousness first, that is to make it our consuming priority, He will provide all that we truly need (Matt 6:25-33). We are called to abandon our lives, to live for Him. He is our purpose, not the other way around.

God's firm foundation.

     But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and "Let everyone who names the name of  the Lord depart from iniquity."
     2 Timothy 2:19.

     We can fool others, and we can fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God. Many call themselves Christians, but yet live for the world. Their lives show little or no change. They still enjoy a sinful lifestyle, and do not desire to change.
     God is not fooled. He knows who are His. Those who are His, hate sin with a passion. They love Him with all their heart, and now desire to live lives that please Him.

Faith not sight.

     We live in an age where many doctrines abound. For some, truth is whatever they want it to be. There are no absolutes, whatever works, whatever does not offend is truth, for the time being.
     Others base their doctrine, or lack thereof, on the lives and experiences of others. They loook at those around them and form their opinions as to what constitutes Christianity, what constitutes sin, how God works in the world today,etc.
     The truth is only found in the word of God! Walk by faith, and not by sight!

Watch out for false teachers.

     The Bible warns us of false teachers who will come and deceive many. The individuals in this video have a soft appealing message that attracts many, but does nothing but lead them on to a Christless eternity. The sad thing is their books can be found along side of other Christian books in bookstores and mail order services.  Instead of standing for the truth, and having nothing to do with false teachers, the "christian book industry" seems to carry whatever sells.
     These teachers do away with much of what the Bible teaches on salvation, holiness. hell, judgement, and paint a very distorted image of God. Many teach that we are individual gods. Worship practices from other religions are all incorporated into their teachings, creating a kind of new age religion that teaches all roads lead to heaven. Universalism is a common thread, as well as tolerance and acceptance of all manners of lifestyles no matter how sinful they are.
     Watch and be warned of what is out there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTH1lvdJJNw&list=UUrcrDXK620kopfSffPxrdTA&index=11&feature=plpp_video
    
   

Neglecting your salvation.

     Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
     Hebrews 6:7,8 (NIV).

     Every spring we till a small piece of ground, and plant a garden. We get out there and pull weeds, hoe, water, fertilize, looking forward to the vegetables that we will enjoy in the fall. It was different this year. We were expecting another baby and it was hard for my wife to get out there like she wanted to. We also got serious about burning wood, and I spent most of my spare time cutting and splitting, trying to get a good jump on the winter.
     I still tried to find time to pull a few weeds, hoe a row of potatoes, get the soaker hose out there etc. as the summer went on however, we noticed that the weeds were begining to take over. It does not take long, a few days of neglect and you have a big problem in your garden. By the time it came to dig potatoes, I had to really look to find where my rows were!
     We felt bad, but consoled ourselves with the fact that we had some good reasons for not getting the job done right this year.
     It is the same with our salvation. the writer of Hebrews warns us about neglecting our salvation (2:1-3). This letter is not written to lost people, warning them not to put off getting saved, it is written to born again Christians who were on the verge of falling away from their faith!  Jesus tells us, in the parable of the sower, what the thorns and thistles represent (Matt 13:7,22). The worries of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, like weeds, will choke out and destroy our spiritual life. It may not be a deliberate falling away, something that we do in an instant, but a gradual drifting away, as life's cares and pursuits spring up in the freshly tilled soil of our hearts. A little neglect in the garden leads to failure at harvest time. A little neglect of our spiritual life leads to a failure that will last for an eternity. Life will always throw cares and worries our way, and the world has plenty of things to tempt us with. We need to stand firm in our faith, casting our cares upon Christ. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. This is how we pull up these spiritual weeds, by faith. No one intends to backslide, no one plans to fall away, it gradually happens before we realize what is going on. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Heb 2:1 NIV). How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? vs 3. Do not neglect your salvation!

Stopping on the brink.

     God is present. You can feel it. He is speaking. Conviction begins to fall. Individuals come to the altar, others kneel in the pews.The church is not where God desires it to be, and Christ is now beginning to knock at the door. Perhaps this is it, the revival we have prayed for. We are at the brink again. Will we push through all the way this time? Then the time for announcements comes. It is time for the offering and special music. Everyone gets up,intimacy with God is forgotten for the time being. Church must go on. We stop right at the brink......

God's warnings.

     We as parents warn our children. We warn them not to talk to strangers. We warn them to look carefuly before they cross the street. We warn them not to wander off in a busy store. We warn them that there are consequences to their actions. We do this because we love them and are looking out for their well being.
     In the same way God warns us. The Bible is filled with warnings. Warnings to the saved as well as the lost. The book of Hebrews contains several warnings written to Christians, exhorting them to stand firm in their faith, exhorting them to press on to maturity, exhorting them to encourage one another. We neglect these warnings at our own peril!
     Down through the ages people have tried to explain these passages away, tried to soften them, and tried to make them fit into their theological systems. This is what our children often do with the warnings we give them. They want to do their own thing, so they disregard the warning. God did not place these passages of scripture in our Bible to scare us, or to confuse our theology. He loves us! He desires the best for us! He wants us to be safe so He warns us!
     We see countless portions of scripture that encourage us of the saving and keeping power of Christ. One of the ways we are kept, is by being warned. Do not fall into the trap of manipulating scripture to accomodate a theological system,or to feel "safe". Heed the warning, God is protecting you by it!