Humans are creatures of habit. It doesn’t take long to look into our lives and see this is true. I see it every Sunday. From my vantage point of standing in the pulpit, looking out over my congregation, I am able to take “visible” attendance by where people usually sit. We also are creatures prone to forget things. We forget God has proven to be faithful to help us in the past when facing other trying circumstances.
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Psalms
Psalm 73:25 – Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. THEME OF THE DAY. FIGHTING FOR CHRIST’S SUPREMACY. I think we would be hard-pressed to find a more appropriate verse than today’s scripture as the goal and daily pursuit in the Christian life. Is it not the cry of our hearts…
Psalm 73:25 – Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You! THEME OF THE DAY. THE WHOLE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. If I were restricted to one sentence describing today’s nugget theme, it would be this . . . “The whole of the Christian life is an ongoing relationship of holy intimacy with Jesus Christ…
Psalm 112:1 – Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! THEME OF THE DAY. HAPPY CHRISTIANS. One of the definitions for the word “blessed” is “happiness” or “to be happy.” Isn’t that the innermost cry of every human being, Christian and non-Christian? If we went out to a mall or place of…
I want you to be honest. Real honest. Are there ever any Sunday mornings you don’t feel like going to church? If you were to tell me, “Nope. I have never once had a Sunday I didn’t want to go to church.” If that is you, I am envious. I cannot say that . . . I’ve experienced a Sunday or two when I wasn’t too thrilled about going to church. And I think each of you would be in my camp, but before I offer the strongest motivator possible to be faithful to church, week-in and week-out, I want to identify four reasons or excuses for missing church.
I often ask myself self-examination questions like this, “Jim, are you growing in grace? Are you getting closer to Christ? Is the Fruit of the Spirit blossoming more in you now than last week, month, or year? Is spiritual maturity something you recognize happening in you?” These are difficult questions because they require honest, unhurried time with the Lord to mediate and listen to His voice through His Word in order to answer them. They also are difficult because we need another input outside of ourselves because of the treachery and self-deception in our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). So, what are some signs that we may see in our lives that we are growing in Christ and exhibiting spiritual maturity?