Archive for Salvation
It you could meet Jesus how would it be? I would hope spectacular. I know I would be so excited. Over vacation the family went to a play called the Miracle. AWESOME!!!!!! It told the life of Jesus in such a powerful way…it was spectacular and exciting. After the show my littest one could not wait to meet Jesus. She was so excited. If you know her you know that she is shy. Normally she would not take to a stranger. But in this case I believe she felt comfortable because she truly thought it was Jesus. It made her vacation. In her mind she was with Jesus.
Should it not be that way for us? The faith of a child teaching us what is so important. To trust Christ. To feel comfort in His presence. To desire to be no where else but with Him. May we all have the faith of a child. May we all trust Jesus a little bit more!
PC
This is a simple but profound blog…HE IS RISEN!!!!
The one thing that sets Christ above all is the fact that He is the real deal. He is God! He came to dwell among us! He loved us! He made a way to reconcile us! He is involved in our lives! He is the one true living God! It does not get any simpler than that…HE IS RISEN!!!! CHRIST IS LORD!!!!!
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6
Okay…I just got out of the car with my kids. We went driving around looking at lights. Pretty neat and yes, it has become a part of Christmas tradition. That and an article I read today making Christmas out to be appauling to Christ got me thinking…what is CHRISTMAS TRUTH?
I am not going to be able to do a historical review of every Christmas tradition…nor am I going to try and say every Christmas tradition is Christ-centered. However, is it evil? Is Christ appauled by Christmas? My answer may shock some of you…yes and no!
Yes, Christ is appauled when Christians turn Christmas into something that bears His name but is not wholesome to Him. When we let the world and secularism defeat the true meaning of Christmas…that is the birth of Chrsit…then we have failed our Lord.
However, does this mean Christ does not want us to celebrate Christmas…I think not! As much as I disagree with Christmas being so materialistic and secular…or having the values of Christmas stripped and replaced with “Happy Holidays.” I am equally in disagreement with some denominations who try to say God is not in Christmas…they miss the whole idea of using the events of culture to reach others for Chrsit. Christmas provides a perfect opportunity to do jsut that.
So what is the truth? First the true story of Christmas is found in the Bible. Both the Gospel of Matthew and Luke record these events we are to celebrate. Our focus needs to be there. All that we do should remind us of this…when we see a tree, lights, presents and even a nativity…this is where our minds should go…this is all about Him. Secondly, whatever we embrace that is pagan, secular or part of our culture we should try to use to bring people to a saving knowledge of and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Lastly, the truth is found in the motivation of our heart. God knows are hearts. Are we doing this for His glory.
In the end I don’t think Jesus wants us to be a Grinch…nor does He want us to be so worldly that we forget about Him. I think the truth is that it is a good thing to have a date in which we RECOGNIZE the birth of the Savior. I also don’t see any harm in having wholesome family traditions and values that are associated with Christmas. The songs we sing, family gatherings, church services, peace and good will toward all men are good things…in fact God things.
This Christmas keep Christ in the heart of it all. That is where the truth lies. Tell others about the reason for the season…let them know that Christ has come. Celebrate this as a family. May you be blessed with a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Pastor Chris
Halloween is upon us…what will we do?
I hope we share Jesus. This is a time to reach out, that is why our church for the 5th year straight is having “Tract” or “Treat”. We have tracts to pass out at your doors to kids this Halloween and we have a chili supper for those who want to go out into the community and pass out tracts as we “Tract” or “Treat” this year.
Come out and have a Christ shattering experience and we give people the opportunity to have a “Ghostly” experience…the Holy Ghost of course!!!!!
This past weekend I had an awesome experience. For the first time in my life I stood on the sidelines of a Division I NCAA Football team (KSU Golden Flashes) as their team chaplain. To make it even sweeter they played the University of Kentucky.
It was a great expereicne to see all that goes on behind the scenes in practice and pre game and so forth. The experience is one I will never forget.
I was honored and blessed to boldly proclaim the GOSPEL during the pre-game devotion. To speak to the football team about the game plan for the game and to turn it to the GAME PLAN GOD HAS FOR US ALL> the GOSPEL!!!!!
I don’t know how Kent State will do in football this year…I think they have a good team and have a great shot at winning the MAC. They have great heart and talent. Regardless of win or loose…I will pray for God’ glory everytime the team steps on the field. And I will serve my Lord for His glory and to help this team out however I can.