From the Blog
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A Simple Faith
There are a lot of things in this life that are very confusing or very difficult to figure out. Life is filled with these types of things. Things like “What will I do in life … Is what I am doing now the thing I should be doing for years to come … Who should I marry … Is this person I am with now the right person … Where should I live? Even deciding on what to eat for dinner can be difficult sometimes.
But, faith really isn’t one of those kinds of decisions. Although many have tried to overcomplicate God and faith since the beginning of time, faith really is quite simple. In fact, in today’s Scripture we will see that faith simply hinges on one thing … Jesus. -
A Simple Story
Don’t you feel the tug towards something more simple? The Christmas season has become so chaotic and busy. Don’t you long for less chaos and more meaning? Something less fleeting and more lasting? Don’t you think Christians ought to know how to celebrate Christmas best? It seems that the world should be at our door at this season, but we’ve lost our distinctiveness. We’ve joined the world’s celebration instead of inviting them to ours.
Let’s go against the consumer Christmas culture this year by focusing less on giving presents and more on being present. Let’s get back to the simple story about Jesus. -
A Simple Response
Every invitation deserves an RSVP, a response. Christmas invites us to respond to this word: the Son of God, the Savior, Christ Jesus has come. And He is coming again. This is what we mean when we speak of this Christmas season, this season of Advent. The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming.” Advent speaks of the incarnation and the return of Christ Jesus. He has appeared and will appear again.
How will you respond? People respond in different ways. Some come to faith immediately. Some reject believing outright. Some go through a long season of searching and stumbling before finally believing, while still others remain skeptical or even apathetic their whole lives. Don’t you wish you knew how to respond?
Let’s look at the story of Mary’s simple response of faith to God’s Word to consider our response. -
A Simple Invitation
The Christmas season has become one of the busiest and most expensive times of the year. Retailers spend millions every year inviting us to spend our time and money at their special Christmas sales events. The sales “invitations” from retailers to spend our money with them fill our newspapers and mailboxes every Christmas, but now they increasingly fill our email boxes and social media.
How many of you long for something simpler? What if there were a simpler invitation that you could RSVP this year? What if we could say yes to a simple invitation to spend less and love more. To feel less exhausted and overwhelmed and more filled with a life better than we’ve ever dreamed of? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today… God’s simple invitation to believe in His Son. -
A Psalm for Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving is not an attitude for one time a year but a consistent mindset for life.
The celebration of thanksgiving is not a new thing nor is it an American thing. No this goes back to ancient times in Hebrew culture, in fact, Thanksgiving feasts are God’s idea. If you look back in Leviticus you will see instructions for how to do thanksgiving sacrifices and they had festivals for thanksgiving like the festival of booths or tabernacles. God instituted regular times of thanksgiving for a reason. Why? Because our thanksgiving doesn’t come from our circumstances but it comes from knowing and experiencing God.
In Psalm 100, the psalmist instructed all the earth to offer thanksgiving to the Lord because of who He is. We too can offer thanksgiving to the Lord. -
The Mystery of God’s Mercy
Not all mysteries are fun. Sometimes the unknown causes fear and anxiety. Or it can cause some to avoid thinking about it or even to reject it. That’s how some respond to the mystery of God’s mercy. Some are apathetic about it. Some say they don’t see God’s mercy at work in the world today. Some feel they don’t need it.
When Paul uses the word “mystery,” he doesn’t mean it like the novels, movies or games mean it. It’s not something we can put on our Sherlock Holmes hats and deduce on our own. He means a divine truth previously hidden that can only be known by God’s revelation. God revealed the mystery of His mercy to Paul and in chapter 11 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he wanted believers to understand the mystery of God’s mercy towards all people, both Jew and Gentile alike. We can understand the mystery of God’s mercy. -
God’s Salvation Plan Revealed
Do you ever wonder what God is up to in the world today? Things seem to be getting worse in the world. Pandemics, natural disasters, terrorism, wars, economic turmoil… Where’s God? Have we stumbled and now God is just going to let us fall?
That’s the question Paul posed concerning Israel. Did God let them stumble because He wanted them to fall? The answer is No! Instead, God has a plan for our salvation and He wants to reveal it to us. It’s a plan of hope! In chapter 11 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he reveals God’s plan of salvation for the world. We can understand God’s salvation plan for the world. -
God’s Preserving Grace
Most of us understand that we are saved by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that we couldn’t save ourselves, so we needed Jesus to save us. But many of us aren’t certain that God’s grace will preserve us, keeping us right with Him. We wonder whether God might reject us someday because we don’t work hard enough to stay right with Him, that we might lose our salvation. So we are filled with doubt.
Is that you today? Either you’ve never trusted Christ Jesus for your salvation and therefore you haven’t experienced His saving grace. Or you’ve believed on Him, but now you’re plagued with doubt because you haven’t understood God’s preserving grace. You think He might save you, but then reject you because of your lack of faith or continued struggles with sin?
In chapter 11 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained that God had not rejected Israel, but by His grace, had always preserved a remnant of Israel for Himself. We can trust that God not only saves us, but preserves us by His grace. -
God’s Salvation through Faith in Christ Alone
How have you responded to God’s plan for our salvation, for making us right with Him? Many of us are like the Jews of Paul’s day. We believe that we can be good enough to please God. You can knock on most doors in this city and ask people to answer, “If you died today and stood before a holy God and He asked, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ What would you say?” Most will answer, “I tried to be a good person.” They think they can climb into heaven by their own self-effort, their own “trying to be good.” Or they think it’s by be religious: “I go to church/synagogue/mosque.”
Yet, the Bible teaches that we can only receive God’s salvation through faith in Christ alone. However, even this triggers our flesh. We hate being told there is only one way to do a thing. In chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained why Israel had failed to receive God’s salvation because they had sought to establish their own by keeping the law, rather than placing their faith in Christ alone. We can see why God’s salvation can only be received through faith in Christ alone. -
Questioning God’s Justice
Perhaps you’ve heard people question God’s justice and goodness. Questions like: If God is good, why is there evil in the world? If God is just, why does He allow suffering? If God is truly loving, why would He send anyone to hell? If God is fair, why is faith in Jesus the only way to be made right with Him? Aren’t there many paths to pleasing God? What about the person who has never heard? Many see these and other questions as reasons not to believe in God’s existence or to believe in some man-made version of Him instead.
Have you questioned God’s justice and goodness? Or have you learned that your arms are too short to box with God? In chapter 9 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he dealt with the question “Is God unjust?” The Spirit inspired Paul to answer that God’s justice is beyond question. We can understand that God’s justice is beyond question.