The Holy Spirit is God and we shouldn’t neglect Him

As we are studying this week, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send His Spirit to give them power and comfort. Jesus said in John 16:7, “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” It’s amazing that He would say that it was to their (and our) advantage that He was leaving so that the Holy Spirit could come into our lives! He is a person sent to us with numerous promises about all that He is able to do in and through us. It is so vital that we embrace the Spirit of God as the person He is and do not simply ignore His presence in our lives. When we do allow ourselves to forget Him, we can also forget the role He plays in our lives every single day. I’m including a non-exhaustive list of what the Bible says is the role of the Holy Spirit—read these verses and pray through them! Ask the Holy Spirit to do these things in your own life.

He creates and gives life (Job 33:4; Gen 1:26)

He appoints and commissions ministers (Isaiah 48:16; Acts 13:2;20:28)

He directs people where to preach (Acts 8:29;10:19-20)

He directs people where not to preach (Acts 16:6-7)

He instructs people what to preach (1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16)

He spoke in, and by, the prophets (Acts 1:16; 1 Peter 1:11,12; 2 Peter 1:21)

He convicts people of sin (John 16:8)

He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10)

He comforts (Acts 9:31)

He helps our infirmities and helps us pray (Romans 8:26, Eph 6:18)

He teaches ( John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10)

He guides ( John 16:13)

He gives gifts to believers (1 Cor 12:4-11)

He sanctifies (Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11)

He testifies of Christ ( John 15:26, 1 Cor 12:3)

He glorifies Christ ( John 16:14)

He has a power of his own (Romans 15:13; 2 Tim 1:7)

He empowers believers to do His work (Zechariah 4:7; Acts 1:8; 1 Tim 1:12)

He searches all things (Romans 11:33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11)

He works according to his own will (1 Corinthians 12:11)

He dwells with saints ( John 14:17; Rom 8:9; 2 Tim 1:14)

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May you be filled and empowered with God’s Spirit!

Pastor Daniel

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

The Gospel is amazing! God loves us, He forgives us of our sin and shame, He gives us His righteousness by His grace, we now have a new purpose in life and can now have a relationship with our Creator God. As we start to be transformed by God, we start to realize ALL the amazing implications that The Gospel brings into our personal lives. One of the ways the Gospel impacts our lives is that we receive God’s Spirit to transform us, point us to Jesus and empower us to follow Him. We believe that The HoIy Spirit is God, and it is vital that we embrace God in our lives daily. I want to give you some verses for you to study this week on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Enjoy His presence this week as He helps you learn more about Him. 

• Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to us (John 16:1-15; Acts 1:8)
• Jesus’s promise of giving the Holy Spirit is fulfilled (Acts 2)
• We receive God’s Spirit when put our trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord (2 Tim 1:17; Col 1:27; 1 Cor 6:19-20)
• The Holy Spirit empowers us to do His will and glorify Jesus (Acts 1:8; 1 Tim 1:12; John 16:14)
• The Holy Spirit gave us the Bible ( 2 Tim 3:15-16; 2 Pet 1:20-21)
• The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible (John 16:12-13; John 14:26)
• The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts (Romans 12; Eph 4; 1 Peter 4; 1 Cor 12-14)
• The Holy Spirit helps us pray (Romans 8:26-27; Hebrews 4:16)
• Jesus was filled with The Holy Spirit and embraced Him in His life (Acts 10:38)
• When we embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will bear fruit (Gal 5:16-26; Gal 6:8; John 15:4; John 7:37-39)
• We can ask for God’s Spirit today! (Luke 11:9-13)

Be Blessed,

Pastor Daniel

Recommended Bible Helps by Pastor Daniel

We have been studying the first chapter of Matthew at our Thursday night Bible Study. As I was studying this passage, I was amazed to read again the geneology accounts as Matthew wrote them—such an amazing testament to the nature of our God to keep His promises to us—even to sending our Savior, Jesus in the exact bloodline that He had promised. To most of us, finding some sort of relevance, application, or even understanding of a passage like this can be extremely difficult and discouraging. This is why I wanted to pass on a few study helps that can be helpful when studying through the Bible. Several of these, I use on a regular basis and have found to be very accurate and useful in understanding the Scriptures. Hopefully they will be a help to you as you read God’s Word—not just to read it, but to apply your whole self—heart, MIND, and strength.

Bible websites:

www.biblegateway.com

www.blueletterbible.com

www.youversion.com

Commentaries:

Warren Wiersbe Be Series: http://www.christianbook.com/the-bible-exposition-commentary-6-volumes/warren-wiersbe/9786125030474/pd/030474

Bible Knowledge Commentary: http://www.christianbook.com/bible-knowledge-commentary-new-testament-volumes/9780896938007/pd/693800X

Chuck Smith’s commentary: http://www.twft.com/

ESV Study Bible: http://esvstudybible.org/

Logo’s software: http://www.logos.com/

Podcasts:

Calvary Chapel Pastors: http://www.calvarychapelpodcasting.com

Mark Discroll at Mars Hill: http://marshill.com/media/sermons

Judah Smith at The City Church: http://thecity.org/media/

Steven Furtick at Elevation Church: http://www.elevationchurch.org/archive

James Mcdonald at Harvest Bible Chapel: http://www.jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/podcast/

2 Tim 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

May you study well,

Pastor Daniel

Amazing Evidence For The Trustworthiness Of The Bible

This article is taken from Charlie Campbell’s website which you can find at: www.alwaysbeready.com

DOWNLOAD this article as a PDF

The word Bible comes from the Greek word “biblos,” which means “book.” The Bible is unarguably an incredible book! The Bible is the best selling, most quoted, most published, most circulated, most translated, most influential book in the history of mankind. Now these are interesting facts, but do they prove that the Bible is actually true? No. Why should anybody believe that the Bible is actually true? Might not the Bible be a fraud? Might not it be an ancient book of mythology, filled with the fanciful, yet deceitful writings of men? Why should I trust the Bible? Those are questions that intelligent, critical thinking people are asking today. Those are the questions I used to ask about the Bible. We need to, as Christians, be able to answer these questions (1 Peter 3:15). So, I’d like to share with you some of the evidence that I think demonstrates that the Bible is indeed what it claims to be, the inspired, trustworthy Word of God. 

1. Fulfilled Prophecy   

Fulfilled prophecy is something that sets the Bible apart from every other religious book. The Bible is filled with hundreds of specific, detailed prophecies that were written hundreds of years before their fulfillment! In fact, an amazing 27% of the Bible (more than 1 out of every 4 verses) contains what was predictive prophecy at the time that it was written. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Peter Stoner, a mathematician, and Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, in his book Science Speaks (Moody 1963) calculated the odds of a single man fulfilling just eight of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled as the mathematical improbability of 1 in 10 to the 17th. That is a HUGE number. One in ten to the seventeenth power. That’s a one with seventeen zeros after it (100,000,000,000,000,000). If we had 100 quadrillion 1” x 1.5” tiles we could cover every square inch of dry land on planet Earth. The fact that these prophecies and hundreds of others have been fulfilled, even though they were spoken hundreds and even thousands of years before their fulfillment, is strong evidence that a God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, orchestrated the Bible’s completion (Isaiah 46:9-10). 

2. Archaeological Discovers 

“Archaeology can never prove divine inspiration, and we are not claiming that it can, but archaeology can help establish the fact that the Bible is a historical document” Quote by Charlie Campbell

For the past 150 years archaeologists have been verifying the exact truthfulness of the Bible’s detailed records of various events, customs, persons, cities, nations, and geographical locations. In every instance where the Bible can be, or has been checked out archaeologically, it has been found to be 100% accurate. The Bible has proven so accurate that archaeologists often refer to it as a reliable guide when they go to dig in new areas.

3. The Bible’s Internal Consistency  

The Bible addresses life’s most controversial questions. The Bible is a collection of 66 different documents. It a compilation of books: 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The Bible was written by approximately 40 different authors. Many of the Bible’s authors came from different educational and cultural backgrounds. The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1500+ years. Many of the authors were separated by hundreds of miles geographically. The Bible was written in three different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. In spite of these seven different factors, when we look at the Bible as a whole, we find it to be a consistent, harmonious, perfectly unified account of how God is seeking to reconcile sinful mankind back to Himself through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ! 

4. External Verification 

Many people don’t know this but there are dozens of writings outside of the Bible that verify the historical accuracy of many of the names of people, places, and events mentioned in the Bible. In fact, external sources verify that at least 80 persons were actual historical figures, 50 people from the Old Testament and 30 people from the New Testament. 

A great book for those of interested on reading more about external verification of the life of Jesus, is The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ by Gary R. Habermas.

5. The Bible’s Amazing Scientific Accuracy and Foresight 

Even though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, long before the invention of the microscope, the telescope, satellites, etc. it does not contain any scientific errors. Not only is the Bible free from scientific errors, it miraculously makes known numerous, accurate scientific facts about the universe thousands of years before modern scientists caught up.  For 101 examples you can go to www.eternal-productions.org/101science.html

6. The Manuscript Evidence 

A manuscript is a hand-written copy of an ancient document that predates the invention of the printing press in 1455. Today there survives more than 24,000 partial and complete, ancient handwritten manuscript copies of the New Testament alone, not to mention hundreds of Old Testament manuscripts that survive today dating back to as early as the third century B.C. There are enough quotations from the early church fathers that even if we did not have a single manuscript copy of the Bible, scholars could still reconstruct 99. 86% of the New Testament that we have today. 

7. The Bible’s Forthrightness About Its Author’s And Hero’s Failures 

Its forthrightness in this regard makes it absolutely unique among all other religious books. Unlike the authors of other religious writings the authors of the Bible did not seek to cast themselves in good light or to elevate themselves at all. The author’s openness about these kinds of details helps me to believe that these men were being honest about the things they wrote about.

8. The Willingness Of Jesus’ Disciples To Suffer

The disciples went to their graves, one by one, suffering and dying martyr’s deaths for their on-going belief and preaching that Jesus’ resurrection was an absolute fact of history! The disciples sealed their testimony that Christ was alive with their own blood. They went to their graves still affirming that the events which they had witnessed had actually occurred. I find it hard to believe that these men were lying. People may be willing to die for something that they think is true, but nobody willingly dies for something they know is a lie. 

9. The Bible’s Transforming Power For Good

The Bible claims to be living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12 , Psalm 19:7-10) and that has indeed proven to be the case. Millions of people, who would testify that they were immoral, vile sinners, drowning in drug addictions, alcoholism, pornography, gambling and the like, have been transformed into godly men and women as they have studied and followed the teachings of the Bible.

10. The Testimony Of Jesus, The Son Of God

Another reason that you can be sure that the Bible is trustworthy is because Jesus said it was! Jesus did not just claim to be the Son of God, He proved that He was the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4), fulfilling hundreds of Old Testament prophecies, living a sinless life, and performing a multitude of miracles. If Jesus is the Son of God, we can trust what He had to say about the word of God.

The force of this evidence is cumulative. If I was to present these arguments individually one might be inclined to argue that the evidence was inconclusive (that mere archaeological evidence does not convince them that the Bible is truly the Word of God). And that is valid. But, all ten of these evidences, when taken together, build a strong case for the trustworthiness of the Bible.

Money: Godly vs Worldly Mindsets

This week, I taught on the subject of MONEY. Money impacts everyone: rich, poor, old, young. We all spend money, but how do we manage our money wisely? And what does God require of us?

Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, we will all possess money at some point in our lives, and God speaks on this subject throughout the Bible. What God has to say is not the same as the messages the world is sending out on how we manage our money. This is why it is so important to go to God and His Word to consider what He says about  the many practical subjects we face on a weekly if not daily basis. As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you many discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” When we apply what Jesus has said to our lives He tells us that we will be blessed (John 13:17).

The Bible teaches that we are to use everything for God’s glory, and this includes our finances! We are to use our money and possessions for God’s glory and not our own. As Peter said, “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11) As we use all we have to glorify Jesus, we need to examine our time, our talents, and our earthly “treasures” and steward them with this in mind.

A helpful synopsis of a Godly perspective on money is found in a book called “Financial Freedom” by June Hunt.  We gave these booklets away for free to those that attended our service and I like them because it is a very practical booklet full of scripture. In it, she reminds us from a Biblical standpoint how a worldly mindset is different than a Biblical mindset on money. As you read it, I hope you are reminded and challenged to examine how you are viewing and managing your finances. Is it according to the world’s standard or God’s standard? 

WORLDLY MIND SET: To get what you want — GODLY MIND SET: To give you what you need 

Matt 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will beadded to you.

WORLDLY MIND SET: To be used in whatever way you wish — GODLY MIND SET: To be used only in trustworthy ways 

Luke 16:10-11 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?

WORLDLY MIND SET: To gain temporary treasures — GODLY MIND SET: To gather eternal treasures 

Matt 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

WORLDLY MIND SET: To be valued above the soul — GODLY MIND SET: To be used to bless the soul 

Mark 8:36-37 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?For what can a man give in return for his soul?

WORLDLY MIND SET: To trust in the power of possessions —GODLY MIND SET: To trust in the power of God 

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

WORLDLY MIND SET: To obtain personal power thru possessions  — GODLY MIND SET: To demonstrate the Lord’s power to provide

Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you ablessing until there is no more need.

WORLDLY MIND SET: To selfishly build a personal Kingdom — GODLY MIND SET: To sacrificially share in God’s Kingdom 

2 Cor 8:3-5 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,begging us earnestly for the favor[a]of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

WORLDLY MIND SET: To supply all of your needs a part from God — GODLY MIND SET: To look to God to supply all of your needs

Phil 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Practical Ways To Share Your Faith (Pt 3)

As the final segment in this three part series on sharing our faith, I wanted to address the final practical step that we can engage in as we pray for and pursue those people that are in our lives and need Jesus. This third topic is one that may bring out a negative response from you at first, but give me a couple of minutes to explore this idea with you. Our last topic is: PERSUADE! 

PERSUADE

Perhaps you are thinking…Three P’s is a cute thing to remember but I should have picked a different word than persuade. Persuade is a strong word, and when I first considered this as a means of sharing our faith in Jesus, it didn’t seem quite right.  This is because when I think persuading, I think of “arguing.” But let me give you a few other synonyms for persuade: influence, convince, plead your case, win over, or change somebody’s mind. I literally want you to think of persuading as pleading your case about Christ to someone, or influencing your friend in such a way that it leads them to Christ, or convincing your friend that God is real in your life and loves them, or changing your friend’s mind about the way they are living and submitting their lives to Christ. Persuading is not arguing at all in this context, but influencing people in their thoughts about Jesus.  The ultimate goal of persuading someone is to change their mind about a certain subject. We as ambassadors of Christ, want to share who God says He is and what He has done to reveal Himself to the world and to us personally.

We can persuade many people about God by how we live.

Are we practicing what we preach at work, at home, at church, or wherever we go? We are told in by the apostle Matthew that we are to live in such a way that unsaved people will glorify God and submit their lives to Him just by looking at our lives (Matt 5:13-16). A practical way you can persuade someone to follow Christ is by living for Jesus in the choices you make and the way you live. You can invite them to spend time with some of your Christian friends to see what people who follow Jesus are really like. The Bible says that when two or more are gathered in Jesus’ name, He is there. Are your friendships a place where unsaved people can come and see Jesus living? You can invite some of your unsaved friends to church or community group. As a pastor, I want you to know that I WANT UNSAVED PEOPLE TO COME TO CHURCH!!! Why wouldn’t we want people to come to church and hear the word taught and have a chance to worship God and have an opportunity to pray with people and even accept Christ?

We can also persuade people to understand the truth about Jesus by clearly explaining who He is and what has done.

The apostle Peter said “in your hearts set apart 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 (1 Peter 3:15).” We as Christians are told to be able to explain the gospel to people and what we believe with love and respect. Paul asked the Roman church, “How will unsaved people know how to have a relationship with God unless you tell them (Rom 10:14-15)?”  Paul also lived out this principle and “reasoned” with the people of Athens and clearly explained the Gospel to them (Acts 17:16-34). Sadly, God has been misrepresented to a lot of unsaved people, and we, as Christians, are told to share the truth with these people so they can get a clear and accurate picture of our Savior. So we need to know what we believe and why!!! Can you clearly explain the gospel to someone? Will you allow God to use you to share with people that God loves them and wants to have fellowship with them?

So, as we continue to do the work of the ministry, I want to encourage you to make the most of every opportunity you have to share the love of Christ with people. I hope this series of blogs has helped you see that you can reach people in wherever you are. Remember that God wants to use you and has empowered you with His Spirit and will give you the words to say (John 14:26-27). These are just some practical tips and principles and nothing here is set in stone. The reason why I wrote these blogs was to get you thinking about sharing your faith with others! Hopefully you can think of other ways as well. This is great because my heart is that people would come to know and love Jesus Christ, and I believe that God wants to use EVERY Christian to share His love with as many people as possible.

Could you imagine if every Christian in our community began to PRAY for at least one friend, PURSUE bringing God up in conversations, and PERSUADE them to come to Christ by clearing explaining the gospel to them and THEN made disciples for Christ?

Matt 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

Be blessed,

Pastor Daniel

Practical Ways To Share Your Faith (Pt 2)

Last time, I wrote on the necessity of prayer being the first step in practical ways to share your faith. I hope you were able to take that to heart and have begun to lift up your friends and people you know who need to come to Christ. We will now move on to the second very practical step in sharing your faith in Jesus with those around you, and that is: PURSUE!

PURSUE

We must pursue those relationships we have on a deeper spiritual level. This means we need to actually bring Jesus into our conversations. This can be done in a very natural way and we need to understand that there are many opportunities to talk about God in normal conversation, but we have to be willing to do so. There are many different ways that you talk about Jesus in your conversations, and here are three examples for you: 1. Asking questions, 2. Sharing what God has been doing in your life, and 3.Using relevant issues.

Practical Ways To Share Your Faith (Pt 2) By Pastor Daniel
Last time, I wrote on the necessity of prayer being the first step in practical ways to share your faith. I hope you were able to take that to heart and have begun to lift up your friends and people you know who need to come to Christ. We will now move on to the second very practical step in sharing your faith in Jesus with those around you, and that is: PURSUE!

PURSUE

We must pursue those relationships we have on a deeper spiritual level. This means we need to actually bring Jesus into our conversations. This can be done in a very natural way and we need to understand that there are many opportunities to talk about God in normal conversation, but we have to be willing to do so. There are many different ways that you talk about Jesus in your conversations, and here are three examples for you: 1. Asking questions, 2. Sharing what God has been doing in your life, and 3.Using relevant issues.

1. Asking questions. 

Whether you know this or not, people like to talk…especially about themselves. So a great way to bring God into conversations is to ask questions. Ask your unsaved friends what their spiritual beliefs are? If they were to die today would they make it to heaven? Are they afraid of death? Who do they think Jesus is? Now when you ask these questions, remember to actually listen. Love your friends and don’t get ready to attack them and say that they are wrong. The point of a question is to find out information and learn more about the person you are talking to—many times, this will you give you a direct opportunity to share about Jesus. So if you respond respectfully and lovingly, they might even ask you some of the same question back.

2. Sharing what God has been doing in your life. 

We talk with our friends about our relationships with our family, our spouse, our kids, and so on, so what is so weird about talking about our relationship with Jesus? If we have a relationship with Jesus it should be easy and natural for us to explain what He has been teaching us or how He loves you or what you have been doing with Him or whatever. An easy way to bring God up in your conversation is when your unsaved friends ask you what you did over the weekend. Rather than just talking about how you mowed the lawn, went to the mall, and updated your facebook, you could also mention that you went to church, read your Bible, or prayed to God about a certain situation. Just talk about God like He is a real person, and don’t always try to hide Him and what He is doing in your life with your unsaved friends.

3. Using relevant issues. 

Did you know that Christians watch movies, listen to music, ride skateboards, read books, play X-Box 360, play sports, read the newspaper, go to the mall, and even have a facebook page? I know it is hard to believe, but you are a culturally relevant person just like most people in your life. So, that means you can probably talk about a lot of relevant topics that happen in your job, your town, and even in the world. You can talk to your friends about Whitney Houston’s recent death. Then explain that nothing has satisfied your soul like having a relationship with God, and you don’t need to be rich and popular to have joy. Or maybe you can talk to your friends about the Grammy Awards, and explain that you agree with the mentality of rewarding someone for a good job, and that God promises to reward those of us who diligently seek HIM! And you can’t get there by your own good works but by faith in Jesus. You can totally talk about many relevant issues without approving of them and still point people to Christ. Paul used this principle when he went to Athens. He “perceived” that the city was given over to idols and “considered” their objects of worship. Basically he found out a little about their culture and used the relevant topics of their many gods to preach about Christ the true and living God (Acts 17:16-34).

I pray that you will take the time to consider and act on some of these ideas as you’ve read this blog and will begin to pursue people in your life in Jesus’s name!

Whether you know this or not, people like to talk…especially about themselves. So a great way to bring God into conversations is to ask questions. Ask your unsaved friends what their spiritual beliefs are? If they were to die today would they make it to heaven? Are they afraid of death? Who do they think Jesus is? Now when you ask these questions, remember to actually listen. Love your friends and don’t get ready to attack them and say that they are wrong. The point of a question is to find out information and learn more about the person you are talking to—many times, this will you give you a direct opportunity to share about Jesus. So if you respond respectfully and lovingly, they might even ask you some of the same question back.

Practical Ways To Share Your Faith (Pt 2) By Pastor Daniel
Last time, I wrote on the necessity of prayer being the first step in practical ways to share your faith. I hope you were able to take that to heart and have begun to lift up your friends and people you know who need to come to Christ. We will now move on to the second very practical step in sharing your faith in Jesus with those around you, and that is: PURSUE!

PURSUE

We must pursue those relationships we have on a deeper spiritual level. This means we need to actually bring Jesus into our conversations. This can be done in a very natural way and we need to understand that there are many opportunities to talk about God in normal conversation, but we have to be willing to do so. There are many different ways that you talk about Jesus in your conversations, and here are three examples for you: 1. Asking questions, 2. Sharing what God has been doing in your life, and 3.Using relevant issues.

1. Asking questions. 

Whether you know this or not, people like to talk…especially about themselves. So a great way to bring God into conversations is to ask questions. Ask your unsaved friends what their spiritual beliefs are? If they were to die today would they make it to heaven? Are they afraid of death? Who do they think Jesus is? Now when you ask these questions, remember to actually listen. Love your friends and don’t get ready to attack them and say that they are wrong. The point of a question is to find out information and learn more about the person you are talking to—many times, this will you give you a direct opportunity to share about Jesus. So if you respond respectfully and lovingly, they might even ask you some of the same question back.

2. Sharing what God has been doing in your life. 

We talk with our friends about our relationships with our family, our spouse, our kids, and so on, so what is so weird about talking about our relationship with Jesus? If we have a relationship with Jesus it should be easy and natural for us to explain what He has been teaching us or how He loves you or what you have been doing with Him or whatever. An easy way to bring God up in your conversation is when your unsaved friends ask you what you did over the weekend. Rather than just talking about how you mowed the lawn, went to the mall, and updated your facebook, you could also mention that you went to church, read your Bible, or prayed to God about a certain situation. Just talk about God like He is a real person, and don’t always try to hide Him and what He is doing in your life with your unsaved friends.

3. Using relevant issues. 

Did you know that Christians watch movies, listen to music, ride skateboards, read books, play X-Box 360, play sports, read the newspaper, go to the mall, and even have a facebook page? I know it is hard to believe, but you are a culturally relevant person just like most people in your life. So, that means you can probably talk about a lot of relevant topics that happen in your job, your town, and even in the world. You can talk to your friends about Whitney Houston’s recent death. Then explain that nothing has satisfied your soul like having a relationship with God, and you don’t need to be rich and popular to have joy. Or maybe you can talk to your friends about the Grammy Awards, and explain that you agree with the mentality of rewarding someone for a good job, and that God promises to reward those of us who diligently seek HIM! And you can’t get there by your own good works but by faith in Jesus. You can totally talk about many relevant issues without approving of them and still point people to Christ. Paul used this principle when he went to Athens. He “perceived” that the city was given over to idols and “considered” their objects of worship. Basically he found out a little about their culture and used the relevant topics of their many gods to preach about Christ the true and living God (Acts 17:16-34).

I pray that you will take the time to consider and act on some of these ideas as you’ve read this blog and will begin to pursue people in your life in Jesus’s name!

We talk with our friends about our relationships with our family, our spouse, our kids, and so on, so what is so weird about talking about our relationship with Jesus? If we have a relationship with Jesus it should be easy and natural for us to explain what He has been teaching us or how He loves you or what you have been doing with Him or whatever. An easy way to bring God up in your conversation is when your unsaved friends ask you what you did over the weekend. Rather than just talking about how you mowed the lawn, went to the mall, and updated your facebook, you could also mention that you went to church, read your Bible, or prayed to God about a certain situation. Just talk about God like He is a real person, and don’t always try to hide Him and what He is doing in your life with your unsaved friends.

3. Using relevant issues. 

Did you know that Christians watch movies, listen to music, ride skateboards, read books, play X-Box 360, play sports, read the newspaper, go to the mall, and even have a facebook page? I know it is hard to believe, but you are a culturally relevant person just like most people in your life. So, that means you can probably talk about a lot of relevant topics that happen in your job, your town, and even in the world. You can talk to your friends about Whitney Houston’s recent death. Then explain that nothing has satisfied your soul like having a relationship with God, and you don’t need to be rich and popular to have joy. Or maybe you can talk to your friends about the Grammy Awards, and explain that you agree with the mentality of rewarding someone for a good job, and that God promises to reward those of us who diligently seek HIM! And you can’t get there by your own good works but by faith in Jesus. You can totally talk about many relevant issues without approving of them and still point people to Christ. Paul used this principle when he went to Athens. He “perceived” that the city was given over to idols and “considered” their objects of worship. Basically he found out a little about their culture and used the relevant topics of their many gods to preach about Christ the true and living God (Acts 17:16-34).

I pray that you will take the time to consider and act on some of these ideas as you’ve read this blog and will begin to pursue people in your life in Jesus’s name!

Practical Ways To Share Your Faith (Part 1)

Colossians 4:2-6 

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

As we are joining together as a new church plant, I want to encourage you to make the most of every opportunity you have to share the love of Christ with people. There are going to be many opportunities to share your faith and tell others about the glorious good news of Jesus Christ. But for many of us these conversations that occur in the grocery check out or local coffee shop about God do not feel like opportunities at all—they become more like panic attacks! Many of us want to share our faith with our unsaved friends and people we meet, but have aren’t quite sure how to go about it.  So I want to share with you a practical strategy that I just found a while back from dare2share.org on how to be an ambassador for Christ and share the gospel with your unsaved friends in a very practical way. There are three steps to this strategy: 1.Pray, 2.Pursue, and 3.Persuade. This first segment will address the first topic: PRAY!

PRAY

This makes sense doesn’t it? There are so many promises from God’s Word (Matt 7:7-11; John 15:7; Phil 4:6-7; Luke 18:1; 1 Thes 5:17; James 5:15-18) that confirm the power of prayer, yet it seems that many of us (including myself) forget to go to God first about our situations and try to take control of them ourselves. We will try to talk to people about God without talking to Him first. In Romans 10:1 Paul said that his “heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” The word in this verse literally means begged. Paul wanted so desperately for his friends and brothers to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior that he begged God to save them from their sin. When was the last time you begged God to save one of your unsaved friends?

There was a study done to find out what made an effective student evangelist. After studying, they discovered that the most effective student evangelist (meaning that the student reached the most of their unsaved friends for Christ) prayed every single day for his unsaved friends to come to know Christ. We are not all students, but we can see the same principle at work in our lives whether we are professionals, parents, or students. Paul said to the Colossian Church to devote themselves to prayer and to pray for him to have an opportunity to share Christ clearly with those that have not received Him. Before we start sharing with our unsaved friends, we need to start praying for them! Andrew Murray, South African minister and author, wrote, “Reading a book about prayer, listening to lectures and talking about it is very good, but it won’t teach you to pray. You get nothing without exercise, without practice. I might listen for a year to a professor of music playing the most beautiful music, but that won’t teach me to play an instrument.” So even as I write this article now and am praying that you might receive it and apply it, it is up to you how you respond and make your request known to God. I challenge you to pray for at least one of your unsaved friends every day and wait to see how God answers your prayers!

Love One Another

We are studying through the teachings of Jesus, and it is amazing that God not only wants to restore our relationships with Him, but with others as well. When we accept Christ, we are brought into the family of God—He uses words like “body with many members” or “brothers and sisters” to describe the type of relationship that we are to have with ONE ANOTHER. When we become more like Jesus and grow in our relationships with Him, this will spill over into our relationships with people as well. Jesus is the perfect demonstration of what it looks like to love perfectly, and we know that when we obey the command to love ONE ANOTHER, we are blessed! As you read through these verses, ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you seek to love others as Christ has loved you!

Much Love,

Pastor Daniel

Luke 10:37

27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Zechariah 8:16-17

16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.”

Roms 12:10;16

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

1 Cor 6:7

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Gal 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Eph 4:1-2

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Col 3:13-14

13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

1 Thes 3:12

and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,

Heb 3:13

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

James 5:9

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

1 Pet 4:8

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Phil 2:3-5

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

1 John 4:7-11; 20-21

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 Cor 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,but have not love, I gain nothing.

QUEST FOR JOY by John Piper

Have you ever known true joy? Do you have this joy in your life right now? If you are longing for fulfillment, for true joy, please read on—this blog may assist you in your quest.

1. God Created Us For His Glory

“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth… whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6-7). God made us to magnify his greatness—the way telescopes magnify stars. He created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on display. The greatest display of God’s glory comes from deep delight in all that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

2. Every Human Should Live For God’s Glory 

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If God made us for his glory, clearly we should live for his glory. Our duty comes from his design. So our first obligation is to show God’s value by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4). It is the root of all true obedience, especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).

3. All of Us Have Failed To Glorify God As We Should 

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). What does it mean to “fall short of the glory of God?” It means that none of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our satisfaction in other things and have treated them as more valuable than God, which is the essence of idolatry (Romans 1:21-23). Since sin came into the world, we have all been deeply resistant to having God as our all-satisfying treasure (Ephesians 2:3). This is an appalling offense to the greatness of God (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

4. All Of Us Are Subject To God’s Just Condemnation 

“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above him. By our ingratitude, distrust, and disobedience. So God is just in shutting us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever. “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The word “hell” is used in the New Testament twelve times—eleven times by Jesus himself. It is not a myth created by dismal and angry preachers. It is a solemn warning from the Son of God who died to deliver sinners from its curse. We ignore it at great risk. If the Bible stopped here in its analysis of the human condition, we would be doomed to a hopeless future. However, this is not where it stops…

5. God Sent His Only Son Jesus To Provide Eternal Life And Joy 

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15). The good news is that Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). This means God can acquit guilty sinners and still be just (Romans 3:25-26). “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Coming home to God is where all deep and lasting satisfaction is found.

6. The Benefits Purchased By The Death Of Christ Belong To Those Who Repent & Trust Him 

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Repent” means to turn from all the deceitful promises of sin. “Faith” means being satisfied with all that God promised to be for us in Jesus. “Whoever believes in me,” Jesus says, “shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We do not earn our salvation. We cannot merit it (Romans 4:4-5). It is by grace through faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a free gift (Romans 3:24). We will have it if we cherish it enough to receive it and treasure it above all things (Matthew 13:44). When we do that, God’s aim in creation is accomplished: He is glorified in us and we are satisfied in him—forever.

Does This Make Sense To You? 

Do you desire the kind of gladness that comes from being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus? If so, then God is at work in your life.

What Should You Do? 

Turn from the deceitful promises of sin. Call upon Jesus to save you from the guilt and punishment and bondage. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Start banking your hope on all that God is for you in Jesus. You can break the power of sin’s promises by putting your faith in the superior satisfaction of God’s promises. Begin reading the Bible to find his precious and very great promises, which can set you free (2 Peter 1:3-4). Find a Bible-believing church, and begin to worship and grow together with other people who treasure Christ above all things (Philippians 3:7).

(Source: goodnewstracts.org)