During the past 5 days of readings, I couldn’t help but think back to the last 2 weeks of ‘Heartbreak Warfare’, when many people passed from death to life by making decisions to accept the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ offers us. My spirit rejoices when I see hands go up as people proclaim they are now Christians.
The authors of these Scriptures are writing to believers to encourage them, guide them, and correct them as they live their everyday lives. I think these writings could even be considered ‘what now?’ a guide for new believers. We read about love, being made new, hope for the future, and putting faith into action- all important stuff to learn about and grow in.
I remember back when I truly gave my heart and my life to Christ. I had many years of church under my belt. What was a revelation to me is that doing all the right things was meaningless unless it’s a result of my faith in God and wanting to be more like His Son Jesus Christ. Verse 17 of James Chapter 2 says “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” I actually had this backwards. I had many good deeds but no faith. After many years of trying to be good enough, smart enough, and independent enough I finally realized there was this huge whole in my life and my heart. That is what broke me and brought me to my knees before God- I finally admitted that I couldn’t do ‘it’ in my own power.
At Southbrook, we encourage new believers to attend church regularly, read their Bibles, pray, and to get into community with other believers through LifeGroups. These few things can make the difference between “accepting this marvelous gift of God’s kindness then ignoring it” (2 Cor. 6:1) and becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus. There is no ‘easy’ button for growing as a Christian. In fact, we are guaranteed some difficult times (Acts 14:22, Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 2:21). The Apostles’ Teachings show us some essential truths and contain encouraging words, for new believers and long time Christians. Here’s what I got from this group of Scriptures:
- love isn’t just a fleeting emotion, but acts on behalf of other people
- those who have accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation have been made new in mind and spirit and are no longer controlled by their past
- while we live this earthly life as reflections of Christ’s love, our real focus is on the hope we have for the future- eternity with God in heaven
- we serve others because Jesus came to serve, it overflows from our hearts, and
- God’s Spirit lives in you and can empower you to love, resist evil, and be obedient to His Word.
It’s hard to believe our 100 Day Challenge is over, only 5 more days! Keep up the good work and finish strong! It’s been awesome to hear stories of how God has been using this challenge to work in the lives of the people of Southbrook.
Jen
P.S. Parents, follow along with your kids here
Life of the party? Yup. That’s Jen. She has the monstrous responsibility of supporting all of the adult and connecting ministries.