My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #12!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #12 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #12: The Blessing of a Permanent Joy

Joseph Haydn was once criticized for the gaiety of his church music. He replied: “I cannot help it. I give forth what is in me. When I think of the Divine Being, my heart is so full of joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle. And as I have a cheerful heart, He will pardon me if I serve Him cheerfully.”

“Count your blessings – Name them one by one . . . ” I sang this song as a young Christian. In thinking about my unsaved friend Mike, I’m counting the blessings I have in Christ. My heart goes out to him – for he doesn’t have these blessings because he doesn’t have the Lord.

I long for my friend to have this next blessing. And I want to remind my family in Christ that —

12. WE HAVE A PERMANENT JOY!

THE BLESSING My friend Mike seems to be a happy person. He is outgoing, generous, and kind. I imagine he would describe himself as a relatively happy individual.

But joy is quite different from the kind of temporary happiness our world offers. Happiness, as someone has said, depends on happenings. Joy in Christ is not dependent on what takes place in our world — or in our lives.

Joy for the believer is solid and lasting and eternal, for it comes from the everlasting God! Dr. Willard S. Krabill has said that “The mentally and emotionally healthy are those that have learned when to say Yes, when to say No, and when to say Whoopee!”

THE BIBLE Jesus had much to say about joy. He promises a complete joy in John 15:11 when He says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” He challenges His followers in John 16 by saying, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (v. 24). I wonder how many of Jesus’ followers are living with an incomplete joy? Perhaps an incomplete joy may be defined as a joy that does not center on the Lord Jesus and all He has done for us. Jesus also promises that the disciples’ grief will turn to joy in John 16:20 and He assures His followers that no one can take away their joy (v. 22).

Spiritual leaders like C.S. Lewis and John Piper focused much of their ministry on the concept of pursuing joy in the Lord. “Joy is the serious business of heaven,” Lewis said. He also wrote,

“Either the day must come when joy prevails and all the makers of misery are no longer able to infect it, or else, for ever and ever, the makers of misery can destroy in others the happiness they reject for themselves.”

Pastor John Piper so aptly wrote,

“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don’t want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel.”

ACTION STEPS

1. List several joy killers that you have experienced recently. These may be circumstances — or people! What steps can you take to not allow those issues or individuals to steal your joy?

2. Unit-reading is reading an entire book of the Bible at one sitting. Unit- read the book of Philippians each day this week, and take a few notes on the topic of joy.

3. “The joyful Christian is an arresting advertisement of the gospel,” someone once said. We all have different personalities. Would your friends and associates describe you as a joyful person? Why or why not?

4. PRAYER How do I pray for my unsaved friend? First I need to show that joy in Jesus that my friend does not yet have. Second, I need to pray that he would sense a lack of true, biblical joy in his life.

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #11!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #11 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #11: The Blessing of a Defendable Worldview

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has said, “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

God’s Word is filled with blessings that belong only to the saved. My friend Mike is lost and, therefore, doesn’t enjoy any of these benefits. Do I? Am I aware of all that I have “in Christ”?

In thinking about the many blessings which our unsaved friends don’t have, we need to think about another blessing which we followers of Christ have been given and it is this —

11. WE HAVE A DEFENDABLE WORLDVIEW!

THE BLESSING Not to get too philosophical, but any worldview other than that given by God in His Word is susceptible to attack and eventual overthrow. Wow! What a dogmatic statement! But, seriously, if biblical Christianity isn’t true and the Bible isn’t God’s Word, why should we bother following Christ? There are clear and strong evidences of the Bible’s truthfulness; Christ’s life, death, burial, and resurrection; and the fact that the God of the Bible is real and holy and angry at sin.

Because biblical Christianity is an organized system of truth, we can set forth evidence, examine alternatives, and draw reasonable conclusions about the most critical issues in life. Contrary to what the Dalai Lama says, we are not our own gods. The God of the Bible stands outside us, is independent of us, and has broken into His creation through the person of Jesus Christ.

Biblical Christianity answers the most important questions of life. What is the meaning of life? What do I do with my sense of guilt? Have I really been made in the image and likeness of a personal God? What is God like? How can I have a relationship with Him? Is the Bible really God’s Word — and can I trust it? These and other critical questions are given sufficient answers in biblical Christianity.

THE BIBLE The Bible presents many examples of believers defending the truth of the gospel. Acts 17 is a great illustration of a philosophically- informed Apostle Paul presenting the truth about Jesus. In fact he presents the gospel with five different groups of unbelievers using pagan literature as his contact point.

Jesus’ followers are commanded to be ready to give reasons for their faith in their Savior. We read in I Pet. 3:15: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect . . .”

Please notice in this passage that the defense of our faith (1) begins in our hearts! We revere, show proper respect for, the Lord, when we are ready to stand up for the truth. Notice also that (2) we are to always be prepared to give an answer. Preparation takes effort and study and intention. Notice as well that (3) we should expect people to ask us about our faith! It’s a lot easier to witness when we are asked about our walk with the Lord. And, lastly, this passage teaches that (4) our attitude (gentleness and respect) are really important to our witness.

ACTION STEPS

1. Our society suffers from what one writer calls “truth decay.” Another has said that “Apart from blunt truth, our lives sink decadently amid the perfume of hints and suggestions.” Study at least ten verses on truth (perhaps two per day) that you find in the Scriptures. How might you practically stand for the truth of the gospel?

2. If you’ve been a believer for a while, become friends with someone from a different religion or even a cult. Ask them a lot of questions about their faith and graciously share with them what you know about Jesus’ identity and His being the only way to salvation.

3. Consider offering a group study on a book like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. And make sure some participants aren’t yet believers!

4. PRAYER How do I pray for my unsaved friend? First, I need to understand his present worldview. Second, I need to do whatever I can to challenge it in light of the gospel. And, third, I need to pray for God the Holy Spirit to open my friend’s eyes to how he ought to view life and eternity and . . . Jesus.

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #10!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #10 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #10: A Healthy Perspective on Getting Old

“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” (George Burns)

My friend Mike is helping me become more aware of what I have as a believer and what he doesn’t yet have. I’m certainly not gloating, but he inspires me to take stock of what I have in Christ. And what I long for him to have!

My friend is in his 80s. And, like the rest of us, his body is wearing out. He’s had two knee replacements and several other surgeries. Each day he gets older (as we all do) and, unless the Lord convicts his heart, closer to being forever separated from God and His love. To me that is terrifying.

Let’s think about a tenth benefit of the believer as we recognize a truth about ourselves and about our unbelieving friends. And it is –

10. WE HAVE A HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE ON GETTING OLD!

If this is the only life one gets, then getting old has got to bring some sadness to the one outside of Christ! Sure, there are joys in seeing one’s children grow up, but if in the final analysis one only gets old and dies, that is about as depressing as life can get!

Our culture seems to worship youthfulness. Some cultures seem to honor the aged. What do we learn from the Scriptures about this unavoidable topic?

THE BIBLE: I’ve recently been going through Psalm 16 with my friend Frank and there we read in verse 6:

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;! surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

That’s what growing older for a believer involves – “boundary lines” in “pleasant places”. And for the Christian there is a “delightful inheritance”! We often think about the inheritance we’re going to leave our children and our grandchildren. The psalmist focuses on the inheritance he is going to receive from the Lord!

As one person put it, “Forget about aging gracefully. Focus instead on aging gratefully.” The believer in Christ can be thankful every day above ground. Each day provides numerous opportunities to serve the Lord, reflect on His goodness, seek to influence others to consider the gospel, grow in one’s godliness, etc. For the unbeliever there is only getting older.

In Psalm 21 we read of the godly person, “He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever” (v. 4). The believer in Jesus not only has life. He has eternal length of days to worship and serve His Savior. Later the psalmist writes in this same Psalm, “Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence” (v. 6). That’s what the believer in Jesus has — unending blessings! And his gladness is rooted in the joy of God’s presence.

My lovely wife recently picked out an emoji (a cartoon picture) to represent herself on the internet. Cute hairstyle, fashionable glasses, adorable face. And she asked me what I thought of her emoji. I said, “She’s very cute — but don’t you think you need to add some wrinkles?” I really don’t remember much after that. We need to have a biblical view of aging, don’t we? I appreciate C.S. Lewis’ statement when he said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

ACTION STEPS

1. Have you thanked the Lord lately for His presence in your getting older? Express to someone today your gratitude for God’s sustaining grace in your life. Don’t complain about getting older. Praise God — out loud! — for His granting You another day to walk with Him.

2. Have a conversation with someone much older than you in your church one day this week about getting older. What lessons has the Lord taught them over the years about aging? What are some of the “unending blessings” that they have experienced in walking with the Lord?

3. Psalm 37 has the very famous verse: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (v. 25). Read over this Psalm every day this week and ask what lessons there are in this Psalm about being “old” in the Lord.

4. PRAYER: How do I pray for my unsaved friend? I can pray that he would see his days and months and years as a gift from God and that he would turn to the Lord for salvation! Eternity – not nothingness – awaits. And we can use our time here for honoring Him!

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #9!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #9 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #9: The Blessing of the Help of the Spirit

“You will find a certain type of preacher and evangelist who claims that he is entirely dependent on the Holy Spirit. It is a blasphemous thing to saddle the Holy Spirit with the blame for rambling, wearisome, and unprepared effusions.” (William Barclay).

My unsaved friend Mike is helping me become more aware of what I have as a believer and what he doesn’t yet have. This list is not given in any sense of gloating, for I grieve for what my friend doesn’t yet possess because he isn’t yet in God’s family.

The Bible is quite clear about the doctrine of the Trinity (even though the word “trinity” isn’t in the Bible). The God who exists is triune — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is described in Scripture as having various ministries. Let’s think about the third member of the Trinity, the One who is often neglected.

One of the greatest blessings for the believer is that –

9. WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO HELP US UNDERSTAND AND APPLY GOD’S WORD!

THE BLESSING: The third member of the Godhead is personal and divine and we can have a relationship with Him. His deity is made abundantly clear in Acts 5 and His personality (intellect, emotions, and will) is shown in numerous Scriptures (Romans 8, Acts 13, Ephesians 4, Galatians 5, etc.). Although His primary ministry is to direct our attention to Christ and to apply the Word of God to our lives, we can — and should — relate to Him. We are not to grieve Him or quench Him. And we can learn to please Him.

I’ve written a book (The Forgotten Third: Developing a Biblical Relationship with God the Holy Spirit) specifically challenging believers to grow in their connection with the Holy Spirit and to do so by recognizing His ministries in their lives. He is the One who brings conviction of sin (John 16:8-11), bestows spiritual gifts upon God’s people (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4), reminds us of our place in God’s family (Romans 12), and directs our primary attention to Christ.

One essential ministry of the Spirit of God is that of helping us understand and apply the Word of God to our daily lives.

THE BIBLE Believers should be dependent on God the Holy Spirit to lead them as they study God’s Word. But this is not a substitute for the serious study of the Word, and we are to bring our best hermeneutical skills to the task. The Spirit of God will work with us as we pour over God’s truth.

We learn of the Spirit in Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse. Jesus says in John 16 — “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (v. 13). We also learn in I Corinthians 2 that the Spirit of God helps us warmly embrace the truths of God. The unsaved person considers God’s Word foolishness and can’t understand it because it is discerned only through God’s Spirit. (vv. 14-15).

ACTION STEPS

1. If the Holy Spirit is divine (and He is), we should worship Him. And if He is personal (and He is), we should talk to Him. Prayer is talking to God. So, write out a prayer to God the Holy Spirit each day this week, asking for His help as you study a passage of Scripture.

2. Sometime this week read J.I. Packer’s article on the illumination of the Spirit entitled “THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING” available through the Monergism website.11 How is illumination to be understood? What should we say to someone who claims “This is what God told me this passage is teaching”?

3. Read my short book The Forgotten Third: Developing a Biblical Relationship with God the Holy Spirit. Discuss what you have learned with another believer.

4. PRAYER: Pray for your lost friend that his heart would be open to the Spirit’s work in his life, especially as he reads God’s Word. Pray that he would understand — and warmly embrace — the truths of God’s Word.

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #8!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #8 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #8: The Blessing of a Longing to Know God

“Whatever keeps me from the Bible is my enemy, however harmless it may appear to be. Whatever engages my attention when I should be meditating on God and things eternal does injury to my soul. Let the cares of life crowd out the Scriptures from my mind and I have suffered loss where I can least afford it. Let me accept anything else instead of the Scriptures and I have been cheated and robbed to my eternal confusion.” (A.W. Tozer)

My friend Mike is unsaved. That’s biblical language for his condition before God. In trying to reach my friend, I’m becoming more aware of what I have as a believer and what my friend Mike doesn’t yet have.

He believes that he is “fine” with the Lord. But the critical issue isn’t what he thinks, but what God declares. And there is so much more to the Christian life than simply being “fine” with God. The born again believer, by default, begins a quest of growing deeper in his or her relationship to the Lord.

Let’s consider an eighth benefit of the believer which we have and it is that –

8. WE HAVE A LONGING TO KNOW GOD THROUGH STUDYING HIS WORD!

I heard the story of a professor who was questioned by the police about a student who was being charged with a serious crime. The professor said, “Oh, yes. He did attend my class. But he was never my student.” Some Christians are just “in the class” and haven’t yet realized they are now lifelong students of the Word of God!

THE BLESSING: The believer in Christ has an incredible resource for life in the Word of God, the Bible. He or she can read and study and meditate on the 66 books in the Bible – and be changed in the process!

BIBLE: When I became a believer as a teenager, the elders of my church would share a verse with me from the King James Bible: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Their motive was pure. They wanted me to become a student of the Word. The word “study” in this verse is really a word that means “do your best” or “be diligent” or “make every effort.” This same Timothy is commended in 2 Timothy 3 verse 15 with the following words: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (KJV). Yes, God’s Word can lead one to salvation. But it also inspires a lifelong quest to know the Lord, as the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3 verse 10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (KJV).

When I was in my first year of study at a Bible college, my attitude toward study was, shall we say, severely lacking. If it was a Monday, I’d flip a coin. If it landed heads, I’d play chess with my roommate. If it landed tails, I’d watch Monday night football ’till the wee hours. But if it landed on its edge, I’d study for my classes! The believer in Jesus may not realize it or not, but he or she has enrolled in an eternal class that will never end!

ACTION STEPS

1. Complete the following sentence: “I want to be a student of God’s Word because ___________________.

2. Have a conversation with another believer this week who clearly lives to know the Lord better. What are their habits? How do they interact with the Bible on a daily basis? What choices do they make on a daily basis that help them move on in their Christian lives?

3. Read Psalm 63 every day this week and take notes on what it means to long to know the Lord.

4. PRAYER: Pray for your unsaved friend that he would begin to long to know God. Pray for yourself that the two of you would be open to studying the Word together.

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #7!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #7 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

BLESSING #7: The Blessing of a Training Community

Seen on a church sign: “This church is not full of hypocrites. There’s always room for more.”

I believe it is critical for the Christian to have unsaved friends. And one of the many benefits (other than being like Jesus, “the friend of sinners”) is that they remind us what we have in Christ that they don’t yet have. My friend Mike got me thinking about what I have as a believer and what those who are lost don’t have.

Asked about his status before God, Mike thinks he is just fine. But God’s Word says we are lost and under God’s judgment without Christ. However, after salvation, there is a world of learning to take place and a lot of training to undergo.

Let’s think about a seventh benefit of the believer and it is that –

7. WE HAVE A COMMUNITY (BEING BUILT BY JESUS) WHERE WE CAN BE TRAINED TO DO GOD’S WORK!

THE BLESSING: Here, of course, we are talking about the local church. But it’s important to remember that the believer in Jesus is part of the universal Body of Christ (another meaning of the term “church”). And the local church is an expression of that universal Body.

The local church is not to be simply a gathering place of like-minded people. It is to be a training ground for serious disciples of the Savior.

Unfortunately, it seems that for many Jesus-followers today the local church has become optional. Some serve only when convenient, attend only when the weather is too bad to go to the lake, and contribute only when there’s a bit of extra money or time. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be!

THE BIBLE The local church – imperfect as it often is – is part of that universal church which Christ is building! Jesus declared to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19:

“. . . I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Peter had just professed his faith in Christ. And now he is invited to join Jesus in building something that even hell itself can’t overthrow! But please don’t miss the point that those who join Peter in this building project are given the authority to declare peoples’ sins forgiven or unforgiven based on their response to the gospel! That’s a blessing you and I have if we know Christ. We can declare authoritatively — based upon a person’s reception or non-reception of the gospel — that their sins have been forgiven and not forgiven. All believers are priests of God and have that God-given authority! We read in 1 Peter 2 verse 9 the following: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

I want to be part of His building project. I want to give my best – my best abilities, resources, time – to what Christ is building. Don’t you?

ACTION STEPS

1. Thank the Lord that you as a believer get to do your part in building this hell-conquering project called the church! Text or email someone in leadership in your church this week and express your appreciation for their work.

2. Read Phillip Yancey’s short book Church — Why Bother? and discuss what you learn from it with another believer.

3. Ask yourself the hard question — How can I more fully support what Jesus is doing in my local church? And am I being trained to do what He wants me to do? Pray every day this week for wisdom in serving in your local church.

4. PRAYER: Pray for your unsaved friend that he will see that the church is for those in the family of God. The family needs to worship together, serve together, and be together. It may be valuable to have some “seeker” events in your church to which you can invite your lost friend. Pray that he will see his need of Christ and join the family!

 

Bless-ed! 52 Blessings You Have As a Believer! (Blessing #7)

BLESSING #7: The Blessing of a Training Community

Seen on a church sign: “This church is not full of hypocrites. There’s always room for more.”

I believe it is critical for the Christian to have unsaved friends. And one of the many benefits (other than being a friend of sinners like Jesus was!) is that they remind us what we have in Christ that they don’t yet have. My friend Mike got me thinking about what I have as a believer and what those who are lost don’t have.
Asked about his status before God, Mike thinks he is just fine. But God’s Word says we are lost and under God’s judgment without Christ.

Let’s think about a seventh benefit of the believer and it is that —

7. WE HAVE A COMMUNITY (BEING BUILT BY JESUS) WHERE WE CAN BE TRAINED TO DO GOD’S WORK!

THE BLESSING: Here, of course, we are talking about the local church. But it’s important to remember that the believer in Jesus is part of the universal Body of Christ (another meaning of the term “church”). And the local church is an expression of that universal Body.
The local church is not to be simply a gathering place of like-minded people. It is to be a training ground for serious disciples of the Savior.

Unfortunately, it seems that for many Jesus followers today the local church has become optional. Some serve only when convenient, attend only when the weather is too bad to go to the lake, and contribute only when there’s a bit of extra money or time. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be!

THE BIBLE The local church — imperfect as it often is — is what Christ is building! Jesus declared to Peter in Matthew 16 —
18 “. . . I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Peter had just professed his faith in Christ. And now he is invited to join Jesus in building something that even hell itself can’t overthrow! But please don’t miss the point that those who join Peter in this building project are given the authority to declare peoples’ sins forgiven or unforgiven based on their response to the gospel!

I want to be part of His building project. I want to give my best — my best abilities, resources, time — to what Christ is building. Don’t you?

ACTION STEPS: 1. Thank the Lord that you as a believer get to do your part in building this hell-conquering project called the church! Text or email someone in leadership in your church this week and express your appreciation for their work.
2. Read Phillip Yancey’s short book Church — Why Bother? and discuss what you learn from it with another believer.
3. Ask yourself the hard question — How can I more fully support what Jesus is doing in my local church? And am I being trained to do what He wants me to do? Pray every day this week for wisdom in serving in your local church.
PRAYER: 4. Pray for your unsaved friend that he will see that the church is for those in the family of God. The family needs to worship together, serve together, and be together. It may be valuable to have some “seeker” events in your church to which you can invite your lost friend. Pray that he will see his need of Christ and join the family!

 

An Incredible Dog Video . . . Just for Fun!

 

“Continuing the Race”: A Message for the Supporters of Dayspring Bible Camp Part 2

On August 3-5 I get to work with a group of young people in a “Theology Matters” weekend at Dayspring Bible Camp in Ironton, Mo (here‘s their website).  We will be studying the issue of friendship evangelism.  But I will also get to share a message with the supporters of the camp who have chosen the theme “Continue the Race.” So we want to look at the running metaphor as it is used by Scripture as I work on a message for these believers.

Schreiner and Caneday’s The Race Set Before Us examines five uses of the running metaphor in the Scriptures.  We’ve noticed the first challenge based on the running metaphor and that is that God Calls Us into This Race (Phil. 3:14).   That verse reads, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  

The second reference to running the race is found in I Timothy 4:7-8 where we read, “7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”  The challenge here is

II. We Train for This Race!  Notice some specific aspects of this training:

1.  Training is not just what one does; it also involves what one doesn’t do!  The runner in this race is to have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales!  The race is both physical and mental. We are not to fritter away our time with stories and issues that don’t matter! Exhausting our mental energy on useless arguments and debates will not help us run the race.

2.  Training is for a specific purpose: to be godly!  We are to work hard at becoming like our Savior (see 2 Peter 1 if you think that godly virtues come automatically to the believer).

3.  Training for godliness has eternal value!  We read that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”  My best friend growing up was Ronnie who got into body building.  His father did not approve and quoted this verse to him from the King James Bible “For bodily exercise profiteth little!”  Actually, he misquoted the verse, for it says “bodily exercise profiteth a little . . .”  Physical exercise is fine — and important — but these bodies are going to wear out, aren’t they?

Are you training for your race?  Are you in training right now? That training won’t be complete until we see the Lord and He finishes the job of making us like Himself!  But, may I ask you, how’s the training going right now? (to be continued)