Calvin Synod Herald, 2013 (114. évfolyam, 3-12. szám)
2013-03-01 / 3-4. szám
6 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Continued from page 5 courage other Christians in the daily battle with sin and Satan. We never know when our words will be the encouragement someone needs to keep going! Hebrews 3:113 tells us to do so! “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Our church is a healthy church to the degree we speak about Jesus Christ’s greatness to one another INSIDE the Church as well as tell of His greatness OUTSIDE the Church. Key Concept: Wholehearted followers of Jesus joyously SPEAK about God’s goodness to encourage others inside and outside the Body of Christ! Trait 3 - BLESS others in response to HIM. As we seek Christ in His Word, we learn more and more about all that He graciously does for us each day. He redeems us from bondage; He intercedes for us; He heals us; He helps us; He provides for us. The things we do to bless others (usually called “works of mercy”) are only reflections of and responses to what Jesus Christ does for us already. Our “seeking” Christ and “speaking of Him” spurs us on to “bless” others as Christ has first blessed us. 1 John 4:19 puts it this way “We love because He first loved us”. Learning to follow Jesus means we participate in concretely showing mercy to other people. Whether we do it as individuals, families or as small groups of believers, our goal is to bless others as we have been blessed already. Key Concept: Wholehearted followers of Jesus BLESS others because Jesus Christ daily ministers to and blesses us first! Trait 4 - PRAY. As we discover more about Christ, our prayer life changes. Instead of prayers that boil down to “Lord, bless me and the people I love”, we also learn to pray more and more that God’s purposes will be fulfilled “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). The truth of God that engages us when we “seek” Christ in His Word... the same truth that moves us to “speak” encouraging words about the greatness of Jesus to others... the same truth that moves us to be a blessing to others because we have learned how Christ has blessed us... this same truth also transforms our prayer. Instead of praying only for our immediate needs, we begin to pray “hope based prayers”. Instead of simply asking God to “fix our mess”, we ask the Lord to “fulfill His plans”. Instead of praying as “consumers” at God’s “buffet”, we learn to pray as “combatants” in God’s ongoing war against sin and evil. We learn to pray that what Jesus came to accomplish is fulfilled in the world. Key Concept: Wholehearted followers of Jesus PRAY for God’s kingdom purposes to be fulfilled! Trait 5 - OBEY. The same truth that seeks us as we seek it comes to change us. It changes us when we speak it to others. It prompts us to minister to others. It also changes us as it changes the way we pray. But no Bible study is complete until we ask ourselves “If this is true, what does it mean for my life?” When we can say “In light of God’s Word, I will_____________” and then list appropriate and concrete steps we will begin to take within the next 24 to 48 hours in response to God’s word, we are finally on the path to be deeply transformed! As God speaks and we listen and struggle by His grace to obey, we learn what it finally means to “Discover God” for ourselves and what it means to actually “have a relationship with God” based on His Word. Jesus promised in John 14:21 that “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” We obey not to EARN a relationship with God, but because we have RECEIVED a relationship with Him. In obeying, that relationship only deepens and matures as our love for God grows. Key Concept: Wholehearted followers of Jesus OBEY God’s Word in order to pursue a living relationship with the Father! Those are the 5 traits... Wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ Seek, Speak, Bless, Pray and Obey in response to their regular engagement with God’s Holy Word. To be a church of “wholehearted followers of Christ”, we must learn what it means to be a people who increasingly reflect these 5 traits. Here is how to begin. Prayerfully spend enough time reading God’s Word each week to find one new lesson about the greatness of Jesus Christ you can share with others. From there, it is as simple as doing everything else that flows from this transforming encounter with God in His Word. With God’s help, we can all learn to be wholehearted followers of Christ who Seek, Speak, Bless, Pray and Obey! Rev. Chuck Huckaby Minister of Congregational Life First Protestant Church 172 W Coll Street New Braunfels, TX 78130 Office: 830-609-7729 x 18 Cell: 931-629-3516 Email: chuckaby@firstprotestant.com
