Not conformed, Be transformed!

 As a church family we have been going through what we call, "redemption road". It is one of the Bible reading challenges we have undertaken as of late, reading a chapter a day, Monday through Friday with weekends of. The scripture for redemption road is the book of Romans. Romans is known for its rich theology and clear gospel. There is so much for us to learn and apply in these 16 chapters than to just read a chapter and cross it off our to do list. Already we have learned so much but today as I opened my Bible and began to read the 12th chapter I was reminded of one of the most important truths a believer in Jesus can understand. Paul starts off stating that we are to present our bodies, a living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God.... This is our spiritual act of worship. That is quite a statement but he continues in verse two with a most profound truth, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

I love the do and don't contrast. Do not be conformed to this world..... Take a moment and let that sink in. How often do you go along with things because, well, thats just the way things go? Or how often do you blend in with the world and its corruption because you don't want to be one of those stuffy Bible thumpers?

The reality is that for a regenerated heart, it will increasingly become more difficult to live in the world. On the one hand you will begin to take on its character and corruption but on the other hand Paul finishes by saying that you, "are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Transformation is a process and it comes from the renewing of your mind. In other words, putting spiritual truths above the worlds suggestions. Embracing the righteousness of God in the face of corruption and continually seeking God in everything. In so doing you will prove the will of God, which Paul says is good, acceptable and perfect. Something we know the world and its corruption can never claim, even though it tries. 

Paul goes on to speak about using spiritual gifts, behaving like a Christ follower and ends with a warning. Verse 21, Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. 

So why don't we use today to do good? Give that person a smile, greet that person who you never talk with, let someone go in front of you, buy someones coffee, or ask if you can sit with someone who is alone. These are pretty minimal in effort but will read great opportunity to show the will of God. After a few days of doing these things you might just find out you are being transformed into the image of our savior. There is no going back, let us push through striving to do good works, not for salvation but because of salvation. Till next time

P.M.

Living by Faith

This week we will be discussing chapter 6 of Joshua which is well known for the battle of Jericho, the walls coming down, Joshua's victory and most everything but what the main point is about. Truth is it is a completion to chapter two. Yes Joshua has victory and yes Rahab is safely brought out, but what about God and what about Rahab and Joshua's faith? Seems like we overlook it pretty quickly with the focus on the physical. Remember the preincarnate Christ with sword drawn in chapter 5, encouraging Joshua that He would win the battle for Israel not any tricky military strategy. And have you ever "wondered" why the red cord isn't mentioned when Joshua sends the spies to get Rahab out? (o.k., I'll give you this one early this one time. It was the only part of the wall that did not collapse. makes it pretty easy to figure out which house was hers huh?) Chapter 6 is full of faith, but did you realize that the word faith is only found four times in the O.T. and each time is a different Hebrew word, and none are found in Joshua, let alone chapter 6? This seems to defy the rules of Bible study. Normally you look for repeated words to get an idea of what is important and I would still encourage you to do just that, but in this case if that were all we did, we may miss the point altogether. This week read through Joshua 6 and come back again for the extra points for deeper study.
Till then keep in the Word!!
PM

Unity is sweet fellowship

When we come together there is always the potential for hazardous results, especially if we have strong personalities in the same place. This past weeks sermon on "me Church" was a comical look at a very serious subject. How do two Christians get by our differences in a way that not only glorifies God but brings the two closer to each other and God? I mentioned three elements in Philippians 2:1-4. The right motives and the right markers were discussed but the third point was left off or church would have gone another hour. Although some are fine with that, others get fidgety and begin to lose interest. I wanted to quickly list out some of the main points to the third element, the right means.
The right means has 5 sub points and I will briefly touch on them.
First is "rejecting selfishness", and is listed first because it is a root of all other sins. Look at the example described in Isaiah 14:12-17. Seeking his own will above Gods, Satan fell. Selfishness comes with the idea of building oneself up by tearing others down. 1st Corinthians 3 Paul expresses his disappointment in the church in Corinth, still on milk when they should have been on solid food. Because of their jealousy and strife they were restricting their growth and unity. Jerry Bridges in his book "Respectable Sins" suggests four categories of selfishness. They are selfishness with our interests, selfishness with our time, selfishness with our finances, and selfish through our inconsiderateness. Pretty accurate from my point of view. Which of these do you find yourself challenged with? What are you willing to do to take care of it. Paul gives the solution in our featured text, PH 2:1-4. Check it out and let me know what you see and what your doing about it. I would love to hear from you. We will take a look at the second of these characteristics of the "right means", tomorrow. Until then humble yourself before the Lord.
Mark

What do your itching ears want to hear?

Paul warns Timothy in 2nd Timothy 4:3-4, that there will come a day when men will not tolerate sound doctrine but instead will surround themselves with a great number of teachers that will say what their "itching ears want to hear", and furthermore that they will turn their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths. Does this sound like today? And what about us? Do we fall into this category on certain topics or at certain times? Do you stand firm or try to water it down as to not offend anyone. I would like to challenge us to consider the time for "political correctness" is over, not that I ever really thought that it was right anyway. As we draw nearer to the glorious return of our Lord, is it not worth taking a stand and firmly planting your feet on the foundation of scripture. Take a chance to share with those around you. Remember that the only link in many cases between Jesus and the lost is you!! Be bold and fear not because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
I know of a couple who took political correctness to a fault. Friends from a foreign country had come to stay with them and were Muslim. At meal time in an effort to keep piece the hostess not only prayed to Jesus but also to Allah. How shameful for any Christian to lift up any other name but the name that saves us. This is the very type of thing Paul is trying to protect the church from. Its time to join him with all our might and speak truth, unapologetically, winning the lost and building the body for the glory of Jesus! Are you in?
Till next time.
Mark

Review on Herman Who

One of the joys of my job is keeping up to date on resources. Most of the time this can be overwhelming. Making certain that the author or publisher are solid, the information is accurate and what kind of setting would be best for it, not to mention how it stacks up against the other similar resources. Often times in this process I run into quality resources that would be highly recommended. That is just such the case with my current review. When I heard the claim, "Give us 75 minutes and we'll give you a masters level class on hermeneutics", of course I was skeptical. I know Todd Friel and respect his ministry but come on it takes a lot longer than that to get to a masters level in studying scripture. Hermeneutics of course is the art/science of studying scripture. This is an important tool for the Christian as we study, that we come to correct conclusions at the end of our study. I have read many books and debated many people in regards to the studying of scripture and have narrowed it down to one main resource I recommend. That is until now. Herman Who? is the title of Todd's systematic training on hermeneutics. He is very thorough and clear as he teaches us a proper way of studying scripture. He walks the viewer through step by step and sure enough at the end of the video he has equipped the lay person with some heavy arsenal to dig in and study scripture. The claim is for the most part accurate. The thing they don't mention is it will be a lifetime of perfecting as are all methods. Although some think they have "arrived", we never quite growing, learning and perfecting our studies. The thing I really appreciate with Herman Who? is the emphasis on understanding the context and historical setting in which the author writes. Its kind of like the difference of reading today's town newspaper, or a Chinese paper from the mid 1800's. We would immediately understand the context in our local paper but to look back into a time and place we are not familiar with we have many hurdles to jump. We must understand the customs, political, economical, and social aspects to name a few. The more we understand about the author and the surroundings in which he wrote the better we understand the text.
Herman Who?, is well worth the time and effort and would be a valuable addition to your video library.
Until the next time
Pastor Mark
2nd Tim 2:15