Worthy Theology

 

    Theology gives you your since of worth.  When you know your worth to God you can find happiness and see how you are blessed.  As you go through your journey with God pray for blessings and to be able to see the blessings that He is giving you.  To be blessed you have to turn away from your sins toward God.  You can't expect to be blessed by merely existing.  That is a blessing of it's own, but to really be blessed in life you have to choose God over your own selfish desires.

    You know your worth when you are able to delight in God's instruction over your life.  You have a hunger or need to know God better.  You spend time in His Word, so your spirit is nourished and strengthened.  You find fulfillment in following Jesus instead of doing things your own way.  You learn how to trust God and the path He made for your life.  

    Worth is discovered in the wisdom of glorifying God.  All things that are loving and good come from Him.  It help you trust that He is watching over you because he protects what He makes righteous.  This should be encouraging and convicting.  The more of you that you pour into God the more your soul is nourished and you find approval from God.

    You can't just read God's Word.  You need to pray over it, think about it, and meditate what the Holy Spirit speaks to your soul.  It has a lasting affect when you start memorizing scripture because you will have it at hand when you need it.  His word will live in your heart and mind.  In time it will produce fruit.  You don't have to try or force it.  It will happen in God's timing because you trust Him.  It also help protect you from Satan's attacks.  

    The more you learn your worth in God's Word the more you become equipped to defend it.  It takes spiritual discipline, but knowing God's love is enough motivation.  You are commanded to obey God, but it is not hard work.  If you love God, then you obey because it is a privilege not a chore.  You find delight in obedience and submission because you don't have to work so hard.  You get love displayed in protection, guidance to safety, and wisdom.

    Worth that comes from God is displayed in delight in God's Word, joy in all seasons, ability to forgive, humility to serve, and spiritual flourishing.  He gave you rules and regulations to benefit you not limit your life.  When He rebukes, instructs, and educates it is because He loves you and finds you worthy.  When you fight Him for rule over your heart and life you are rebelling against what He is trying to give you.  It is your choice to accept or reject what God offers.  You can have spiritual freedom or you can be enslaved to your sin.

Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 1, Matthew 4:1-11, 5:17-20, & Romans 3:21-26, 8:26-30

Eternal Theology

 

    Part of Theology is what you believe about eternity.  You have to define what forever means to you.  How to you view eternity?  How do you define eternity for you?  How you endure your life will depend on how you answer these questions.  

    Eternity is Biblical.  The soul never passes, ends, or stops existing.  The soul is the part of you that is eternal.  While you live in this life God sustains, protects, and heals the soul.  Life is a gift from God, but eternity is a long time.  You have to figure out where you want to be for eternity during this short life. 

    Christians have been persecuted since Jesus' trials and sacrificial death.  He instantly created the one and only way to eternity with God.  It is easy to have salvation, but living it out is not always easy.  God's Word prepares you.  It can be trusted.  It is never irrelevant.  

    God's Word is timeless.  It speaks to everyone who is willing to listen.  It resonates and changes lives.  It helps a lot if you learn the history and cultural context to scriptures, but it can still speak to you as you journey through your faith.  You will find correction where it is needed in time.  As long as you hold onto the never changing truths without altering them then you are doing fine.  Faith is a journey that begins with accepting the truth of salvation and ends when you join God.

    The Bible instructs how to live, rebukes sin, corrects erroneous thinking, and trains in self-discipline through  decrees, precepts, statutes, commands, history, promises kept, and everything else that the Word gives you to learn God's character.  Life may feel messy or out of control, but trust that God is working things for the good of all His people.  He sees the eternal picture.  

    God never promised security in work, relationships, health, or financially.  His security comes with what happens after this life.  When you put your trust in those things you replacing them on your throne.  The throne belongs to God, so trust Him over the seasons of your life.  Choose what you believe and hold on.  Allow it to help you endure during the temporal hard times. 

    Life success means nothing in the eternal.  Give all your accomplishments to God.  Sacrifice them to glorify Him so that you can start seeing the bigger picture.  Your relationship with God is your most vital relationship that you will ever have.  It will make your life thrive even in the hard times.  God is sovereign over eternity.  His Word has stood the test of time and stands firm that it is true.  

Psalm 119:89-112, Isaiah 40:6-8, & Matthew 24:32-35

Active Theology

 

    Christians believe things that seem impossible.  If you are true Christian, then you believe that there is only one God, but He is in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  You believe that He spoke this world and everything involved in life into existence.  You believe that Jesus came to live among people to be the final and true sacrifice that death could not defeat.  He rose back to life after three days of death.  You believe that God's Word is a living love letter to all people.  It holds the secret to the power of eternal life: Jesus is the only way.

    What you believe you live out in your life.  Your faith is dead or it makes you bold.  Your theology is an active part of your life to find rest, peace, discernment, and endurance.  When you rebel you lose out on these powerfully holy tools.  Faith requires in believing the impossible and knowing that God can still do anything as long as it matches up with what He said in the Bible.  He can't lie.

    Living theology hold a sense of urgency.  Scriptures are not just words, but the powerful voice of God.  You can't fake your way in faith.  God's Word divides, penetrates, convicts, and reveals truth.  You can only take God for granted for so long before consequences will be faced.  The Bible tells you what happens to the hard hearted.

    The Bible is active because of the Holy Spirit.  He works in and through it.  He provides understanding and wisdom.  He helps you see the truth.  He leads you toward repentance, humility, correction, obedience, and joy.  He reveals your selfish motives and helps reshape them to be pure.  In this way you are able to judge yourself to avoid being judged by God.

    God's Word produces fruit if it is heard, read, studied, and lived out.  You have to tend and cultivate your relationship with God.  It can't be one sided.  If you lack spiritual fruit, then it is on you not God.  Do not get so busy in life that you can't make time for God.  He took the time to create and pursue you.  You can give a little time back.  In the long run you are the one that benefits from it.  No moment spent with God is ever wasted.  

Psalm 95, Isaiah 55:8-13, & Hebrews 3:12-15, 4:6-13

Theological Scripture

 

    God's Word is broken down by scriptures found in 66 different books that make up one book:  the Bible.  Scriptures are authorized by God to empower people, bring them closer to Him, teach, correct, and be truth in this world.  It shows that God is consistent, loving, and truthful.  He commanded that His words never be altered and enforces consequences to those who reject His authority.

    Theology is important because what you believe is foundational to who you are.  Scriptures help shape you as you learn God's character.  God's Word has sustained itself for hundreds if not thousands of years.  It is reliable.  It has proven itself over and over again.  However, it is the personal touch that makes it real.  When you believe you are changed from the inside out.  It heals wounds that you may never have known you had or the world could not heal.

    Scripture is inspired by God.  It is God breathed, but written by man.  It holds power unlike any other book in existence and it is assessable to anyone who seeks it.  It is empowered by the Holy Spirit's connection with God and your heart.  The power is personalized, but offered to everyone.  God created you with your personality.  He is not trying to change who you are, but to enable you to be better, pure, and stronger.

    God has authority over every aspect of life, but He also gifted you with free will.  He will never force Himself on you.  It is your choice to believe and embrace scripture.  It is up to you to find the value in salvation.  Scripture is used to help you see more clearly.  It is your choice to submit to God's authority or to reject it.  

    Theology is learning and understanding scripture.  Some passages are very hard to really understand.  Sometimes you have to accept certain things on faith.  Sometimes you have to accept that you will not fully understand on this side of salvation.  However, God has revealed the truth to you and is not keeping it secret.  God's truth is timeless and for everyone.  

    Theology helps you endure the persecution that comes from following Jesus.  It helps you embrace it and understand why it is important to endure.  Scriptures help prepare you to follow Jesus and understand what it means.  It helps you stand against false teachings, ignorance, or only embracing the good parts.  Salvation is free, but following Jesus cost you everything.  It is dangerous to not understand the truth.

John 1:14, 16:12-15, 2 Timothy 3, & 2 Peter 1:19-21

Personalized Bible Study

 

    Studying the Bible will only work if you make it personal.  One style does not work for everyone.  You need to find your place, time, and atmosphere to be able to focus and really get into the Bible.  You have to read it like it was written just for you.  

    You can have a prayer closet, office desk, kitchen table, space on a porch, or any place that makes you feel comfortable and closer to God.  You can journal, read other people's journals, specified Bible Studies, or something else as long as it reaches your soul and you learn truth.  You can highlight, annotate, read straight through, or jump around.  Over the years that method is likely to change as you grow.  You do whatever you need to do to memorize verbatim or get the jest and not all the words perfectly.  As long as you don't change the meaning or message, God cares more about your heart than being perfect.

    The purpose of studying the Bible is to deepen your understanding of who God is and bring your soul closer to Him.  You can't know the truth until you learn it, so that is why you need to pray over what you read.  Meditate over what you read for the day.  Don't read to just get it done or check it off your to-do list.  Read to absorb, think, and learn life lessons.  If you tread the Bible to be closer to God, then it should change your heart.  

    Resources you can use is a physical Bible, Bible App, internet, study guides, glossaries, groups, and more.  God did not make time with Him one size fits all, but there are certain truths that never change.  If you are going to use the guidance of another person, then make sure they are a mature Christian that is in God's Word daily.  That means they are still learning, but understand the core truths.  The more you learn about the history, the more it makes sense in the context it was written.

    The key things you need to get out of your personalized Bible study is scripture is true, God is the father, Jesus is the son, The Holy Spirit dwells in all true Christians, humanity fails on it's own, Jesus is the only way to salvation, Christians are the church, and the world will end one day.  It doesn't matter what your read in the Bible, you should hit at least one of those truths every day to gain a better understanding.

Joshua 1:6-9, Isaiah 26:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, & James 1:5-8

Theology

 

    Theology is the study of God's nature and religious beliefs.  Theology comes from the Greek words theos (god) and logia.  It evolved into the Latin word theologia then French theologie and translated into English to theology in the middle ages.  It is something that is systematically developed, but to be a Christian you also have to have faith.  Theology is supposed to support your faith and help strengthen it. 

    Theology is important because what you believe is important.   It affects your day to day life: decisions, attitude, love, thinking, time, money, and more.  It affects how you view things in life and what drives you.  It directly affects you respond to blessings and disasters in life.  Basically your theology shapes who you are and how you relate to the world.

    Theology doesn't have to be fancy or complex. You can keep it simple.  Center it on who God is to you and what He has done in your life.  It will help you shape your worldview to align with scripture, principles, behavior, and worship.  

    As you study and develop your theology you are gaining knowledge.  When you apply that knowledge to life you are developing wisdom to honor God.  The key is that you have to study God's Word to develop your theology.  How can you live it if you don't know it?  Theology will become your foundation to defending your faith and helping you mature as a Christian.

    Theology also needs people.  If you don't have people to discuss ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and defense then you don't have growth.  You need other people so show you where you are lacking, need to study, and where God has been working on your heart and mind.  Being in God's Word and prayer is how you will know God, but other people help you have a well rounded perspective.  They help strengthen and broaden your horizons.

    It starts with your desire to know God and imitate Jesus.  You have to surrender who you were before you met God, so that you can become obedient to Him.  The Holy Spirit will help you discern, defend, and proclaim what you learn and believe as you grow in affection for God every day.  The more time you invest into the relationship the more you become like Jesus and live out your theology.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, John 1:1-14, 10:25-30, 14:23-26, Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, & 1 Peter 1:17-20

Be a Spiritual Leader

 

    Every Christian has a calling.  Every Christian is a leader, but not all Christians stand out to look like a leader.  Your focus in on serving God in whatever capacity that He leads.  It is all about the Great Commission and making disciples.  

    A spiritual leader is using the Bible and prayer to guide them to mentor and encourage new and growing believers in the gospel.  God honors their sacrifices to be obedient and for trusting Him.  You have to be willing to sacrifice time, things, and even comfort to be a leader.  That may not be appealing when you are not able to describe or see the benefits.  Being a spiritual leader is all on faith and being driven by the Holy Spirit to fulfill your calling.

    A spiritual leader invest into people and into their relationship with God.  They have strong prayer partners that will help them not be led astray.  They invest in time to prepare spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually to be there for other people.  They regularly evaluate their own heart and mind to look for weak points or vulnerabilities for Satan's attacks.  

    A spiritual leader does not force anyone into anything, but encourages and speaks truth into people's lives.  They meet people where they are which might not look churchy.  It is not about how it looks.  It is about connecting people with God.  They uphold integrity and righteousness, but do not worry about their reputation.  They know God will take care of them there if they are doing it His way.

    Spiritual leaders learn communication skills: verbal, body language, observation, and reactions.  Their time is important like yours, but they make time for people.  They are motivated by the Holy Spirit to be obedient instead of giving into personal desires.  This is what makes them a good role model.  They do not act on emotions, but feel their emotions.  They chose faith over feelings.

    The spiritual leader invest time in prayer and studying God's Word.  They do not just read it, but they dig into it to prayerfully see how it applies to today, circumstances, relationships, and more.   They use what they learn to help other people, teach, correct, and love other people.  

    Many spiritual leaders may not even realize that they are spiritual leaders because it is not about them.  Some are obvious: pastors, Sunday school teachers (life groups), missionaries, and deacons.  However, some are leading their families, teachers, in government, and more.  They are out in the community living and leading without any recognition.  God sees and that is all that matters.  

    Spiritual leaders need to celebrate the wins and learn from the loses.  You do your part and God will do everything else. It all starts with salvation.  They you learn to pray and study your Bible.  Then you start having conversations with people.  It is that simple.  You don't need to over complicate it.  

    The difference between a leader and a regular Christian is a leader tries.  They do not just sit and learn.  They are willing to be obedient to God when He ask.  Being a spiritual leader is challenging.  You need support.  You need to be prepared, but the reward outweighs the discomfort.  The reward last for eternity.  The job of the spiritual leader is to build bridges of like Jesus did.

Psalm 78:65-72, Matthew 28:18-20, John 13:12-17, Ephesians 4:11-13, 2 Timothy 2:1-2,& 1 Peter 5:1-4

Faith Growth

 

    To have your faith grow you have to be involved.  You have to pursue God and do your part.  He does the heavy lifting, but you have to be willing to go into the unknown, unpredictable, and uncomfortable places.  The first question you need to ask yourself is am I really saved?  If the answer is no, then you need to step into faith.  If the answer is yes, then you need to ask yourself if you are willing to talk to people about Jesus and your faith.

    Faith starts and ends with believing the truth about Jesus and prayer.  You pray to God about all the aspects of your day, intervention, intercession, healing, peace, and so much more.  You discover who you are to God in prayer and time in God's Word.  It is really beneficial to find a prayer partner or two.  These are people you can bare your soul to without fear of judgment.  They will not condone sin, but they will help you overcome it.

    Prayer partners become your best friends in life.  There is a bonding that happens that is similar to a sibling, but possibly without the toxicity.  Your sibling can be a prayer partner and it will only make you closer.  A prayer partner will pray for you in ways that you don't see.  They may see your blind spots.  They speak truth into your life.  They love you like Jesus loves you.  In return you do the same for them.  This will help your faith grow because you are able to see God work in different ways than if you were alone in your spiritual journey.

    A prayer partner will encourage you to take healthy risk.  They see the best in you.  They know your limitations and potential.  Not anyone can be a prayer partner.  No one can assign one to you.  You have to find each other and choose to be transparent, honest, and vulnerable with each other.  When you are struggling with direction, they can help make things more clear.  

    A prayer partner will not tell you what you want to hear to spare your feelings.  They will not tell you that you are doing good when you are not.  They will not lie to you.  They will tell you the truth in love.  If they do not do the following, then you may need to pray for a new prayer partner or have a hard conversation about how to move forward in your relationship.  

    Faith growth takes people in your life.  This include the people that you may not like or make life harder.  You tend to grow the most when you are under persecution or struggling in an area.  If you are comfortable, then you think all is well.  It is easy to become complacent when you are comfortable.  

    You are in this world for a reason.  God created you to really live, but with responsibilities.  The main responsibility is to spread the Good News and make disciples.  You need to learn your spiritual gifts and how to use them to help the church grow.  They were not given to you to make your life easier.  They were given to you to spread God's message in a personalized way.  Faith growth requires true faith, submission, and loving action.

Psalm 16:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 14:12-14, Romans 10:16-21, Galatians 6:7-10, Ephesians 4:14-16, Colossians 2:6-7, James 2:25-26, & 2 Peter 3:17-18

Difficult Faith

 

    Living out your faith is not always easy.  Life has a lot of distraction: people, activities, difficulties, and more.  The goal is to stay in tune with Jesus no matter the problem or difficulty.  Face your questions by digging into the Bible for answers.  Seek guidance from mature Christians, but do not rely on their understanding.  Allow the Holy Spirit reveal personal aspects to you.  

    Each challenge is unique.  Find a mentor and become a mentor to keep yourself sharp and focused.  Prayerfully work through your questions, so you will be prepared on day when it comes up.  There is normally a lot of down time in Christianity, so you have time to study, pray, meditate, discuss, and work on your faith.  You can be prepared for anything you may face with God backing you.

    You will have people in your life that do not believe in the Bible or God.  Maybe they do believe in God, but never feel like they need them or reject them because they choose their sin over Him.  You need to know how to love those people without judging them.  God loves them.  He is pursuing them.  You need to be intune with God enough to know when to speak and when not to discuss Him.  Sometimes if you push the situation you can cause more harm than good.

    Live out your faith trying to love people the way God does.  It is His job to judge.  It is your job to be a living testimony.  You can't expect nonbelievers to act like Christians.  It is unfair to them and you.  Get to know them where they are and find your common points.  Trust that God will work through you as you are a friend, college, or associate with the people.

    Learn a little about science, archeology, prophecy, and history of the church.  It will strengthen your faith and give you interesting discussion points.  It will only be beneficial to understand the people of the Bible and find points that apply to life today.  

    When you are being intentional and want to have a Christian discussion it may be best to mute or turn off your phone to eliminate distractions.  Turn off background noise: tv, music, radio, or anything that you are able to get rid.  If the person has something time sensitive coming up, then it may not be the best time to start a deep conversation or discussion.  

    When you eliminate all the distractions that you can be prepared for push back and for a heart response.  If a person gets mean or aggressive remember that it is not about you.  It is their problem and their response to God.  Remember how Jesus handled those people.  You will never have a response that will suit them, so ask them questions and leave it at that.  Let them think through their own answers.  

    Jesus always honored the people that saw the value in God.  He stayed focused on his message.  He used every situation to teach.  He began with his inner circle and then spread out to other people.  He led people to self-examination because it is their choice.  His power and God's message changes lives, but only if a person allows it.  Jesus entrusted people with salvation and discipling.  

    Jesus showed the way to handle all types of people.  It is your job to live blamelessly so that people do not have a valid reason to reject Jesus as you introduce them.  Know what is happening in the world, so you are prepared to communicate with people where they are.  Be prepared to share your faith and defend it at all times.  Be patient and remember it is not about you.  It is about Jesus.  God is working on them, so all you need to do is be faithful and pray.

Psalm 23, 46:1-3, Isaiah 41:8-10, Romans 8:26-30, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, & Hebrew 4:14-16

Practice Faith

 

    Faith should cultivate relationships with God and other Christians.  It provides confidence to go out into your community or circle of people in your life due to circumstance to sow the gospel and nurture it.  If you live out your faith, then you are talking to people about Jesus.  You may only be leaving a seed, but you may also be the person that brings them toward conversion.

    In evangelism you you practice your faith through cultivation.  It becomes natural to invite people to church, your Sunday School (life group), and acts of ministry.   You train yourself whether formally or just talking to people to speak about Jesus and be prepared to lead them to Jesus.  

    You live in a secular world.  You are more likely to talk to an unbeliever than a believer unless you cocoon yourself in a small circle and never venture out to talk to anyone else.  When you are talking to unbelievers you need to get rid of the churchy words to have real talk that they can connect with.  

    People are more concerned about human affairs, politics, world events, personal life, and other things than they are about God.  You may have to be creative to bring Him up.  You may just have to be known for your faith and they may bring it up to you.  Either way, they are not likely to see the importance of church, so you need to be the church that they see.  Reaching them will take persistence, resilience, and faith.

    To practice faith you need to be genuine to build trust.  You are an ambassador for God.  You represent Him in this world, so make sure you are living life with Jesus.  Listen to the Holy Spirit to live out holy love.  Show genuine concern for people to establish meaningful relationships involving Jesus.  Practicing faith is being genuine, open, creditable, listener, risk-taker, having conversations, sacrificial, knowledgeable, integrity, responsible, and committed to Jesus.

    It may take time, but living your life working with Jesus will impact unbelievers one way or another.  They will not be able to say you never told them about the choice of salvation.  If you are living out your faith you are living out the great commission.  

Matthew 11:28-30, John 4:34-38, Acts 2:41-47, & 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, 9:22-23

Take a Step of Faith

 

    Taking a step of faith can be scary.  It may feel risky, but it is the safest thing you will ever do in your life.  You face who you are, who God is, how much He loves you, and who you can be when you let go of your sin to follow Jesus.  

    Taking the first step of faith requires some imagery.  Imagine Jesus on the cross.  He is naked, bleeding, bruised, and being mocked.  It is a difficult imagery, but allow your mind to go there.  He is on that cross for your sins.  It should produce feelings of remorse, grief, shock, horror, and more.  Your sins put him there, but he went willingly because he loves you.

    Your sins, my sins, and every other sin put Jesus on that cross that day.  He died the most horrific death to become the bridge for you and God.  He rose again bringing forgiveness and salvation for everyone who wants it.  No matter your sex, race, culture, or nationality you can have salvation.  You can be a friend of Jesus.  

    Taking a step in faith requires trust.  You have to trust the truth about Jesus.  You choose to turn away from your sinful nature to follow Jesus and allow him to transform you from the inside out.  Jesus has invited you to join his family.  You don't need anyone's approval or permission.  He has given it to you.  All you have to do is accept.

    To have salvation all you have to do is pray.  It is not complicated.  It is like a text message to God, but all you have to do is focus your thoughts into words.  You never have to pray out loud.  Your prayer life is the key to how close you will be to God.  The more you think about Him and focus your thoughts toward Him, then the closer you will be.  If you never pray, then you will never be close to Him.

    The step of faith prayer is basically saying I believe in you, and I commit my life to you.  Who you are is now God's vessel to use for good, not evil.  Confess that you are a sinner and you no longer want to be.  It doesn't need to be eloquent.  It just needs to be real.  The words are not as important as your attitude and heart.  

    Faith requires commitment that leads to action.  Your life will change.  How you change will normally be a slow process, but there should be a noticeable difference in how you live your life.  If you lead someone to Jesus, do not abandon them.  Make sure they have what they need for discipleship, even if you will not be that person.  No one should have to go through their Christian life alone to figure things out without direction, but they do have to put in the time and effort for themselves.

Psalm 16:9-11, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 10:32-33, Mark 8:34-38, Romans 10:5-13, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Hebrews 11:1-3, & James 2:17

Faith's Hope

 

    Faith is hope and trusting Jesus with your lived now and for eternity.  It gives life beauty, Heaven glory, and your heart joy.  Faith is having fellowship with God for eternity.  You get God's presence now through the Holy Spirit living in you.  You have expectations for eternity without sin and all the trouble that it brings.

    Jesus gives you the capacity to live a complete, full, and purposeful life.  You are a prized creation of God's and hold great potential if you can get out of your own way.  Your life can be abundant with blessings and joy.  All you have to do is chose to live out your faith boldly and trust God to take care the details.  

    Faith's hope provides an abundant life.  That means it the it hold Jesus at the center and blessings pour out of your life in great quantity.  Your life is more than adequate.  It is well supplied, abounding, and rich.  An abundant life will still have sorrows, crisis, disappointments, defeats, and hurts.  It does not mean that sin will not get in the way at times.  However, when you pray, you can expect things to happen.  God makes you stronger than you think you are.

    As a Christian, you are meant to live life now.  Do not wait for eternity to start.  You are free to live now.  Life is a gift, so use that gift to serve, love, and peace now.  God is in control, but you have choices on how your life will look.  You either trust Jesus or you do not.  

    Faith's hope for eternity is how you find connection to God in Heaven.  Eternity is hard to comprehend, but you do know that it is a long time.  Be grateful that you can see the benefits now.  Thank God for the security that you will not have an eternity in agony.  There are only two options and you get to choose which location you go.  Eternity with God is victory over sin and death.  You get to be with Jesus in his glory and never be separated.  Your hope will be fulfilled.  

John 3:16-17, 10:6-10, 14:1-4, Romans 8:12-30, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, Galatians 2:17-21, 3:6-14, 5:22-26, Ephesians 1:9-14, 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-9, & Revelations 21:1-7

Turning to Faith

 

    The Bible can be confusing for some people because they do not understand the culture, dialect, and history.  The original languages were Hebrew, Greek, and then Aramaic.  Hebrew and Greek are abstract concept languages.  Aramaic made the Bible tie together a little better by adding in distinguishing logic without altering the stories.  The way the Bible is told is significant in helping a person turn toward faith over logic.

    God wants you to have a full and fulfilling life.  If you do not have that, then it is due to the choices you have made in life.  God offers forgiveness to those willing to turn away from their sin.  You can never achieve fulfilling relationships on your own.  You need God's help.  It all starts with your relationship with Him and will spread out into your other relationships.  God Chose you.  He intervened for you.  All you have to do is turn to Him in faith.

    Turning to God is realizing that the path you are on is not the best path.  That getting on God's path is a far better path for you even if it is not easy.  It will allow you to see the world, people, and everything in a different way.  To turn to God is to repent.  It is to choose to turn away from your sinful nature to trust Jesus and listen to the Holy Spirit.  

    To turn to God and salvation is to turn away from idols, selfishness, and hate.  You turn from unrighteousness to mercy and love.  You turn from death to life (this includes eternal life).  You turn from self interest to compassion for other people.  You stop trusting yourself and start trusting God.  Faith gets you through everything that life throws at you because you know you are not fighting your battles alone.  You know that God is fighting some battles so that they never touch you.  

Psalm 34:11-18, Isaiah 45:20-22, 55:6-7, Ezekiel 33:10-11, Luke 13:1-5, 15:8-10, Acts 3:17-23, Romans 10:5-13, 1 Corinthians 15:3-9, & 1 Peter 3:8-12

Faith & Sin

 

    You can be a Christian and sin, but sin cannot enter Heaven.  When you become a Christian you are able to see sin for what it is in a new way.  It should grieve you to sin to the point that you repent quickly if not immediately.  If you continue to live in your sinful nature, then your life is not producing fruit.  From the human perspective it will look like you never really got salvation, but God is the judge.  Salvation is between you and Him.

    God is holy, righteous, just, and sinless.  He will never allow sin or anything unholy to enter His home.  He is perfect and if you are a true Christian once you leave this world you will go live eternity in perfection too.  No more influence from Satan.  No more misrepresentation, divided hearts, or confusion.  There will be no more pain, suffering, or misery.  There will only be peace, joy, worship, and love.

    You are commanded to control your thoughts because your thoughts turn into words and actions.  Your words and actions will bring you closer or drive you further from God.  God wants a close relationship.  He sent Jesus to be the bridge.  He sent the Holy Spirit to help you in this world to stay close to Him.

    Sin deserves punishment, but God is judge to sin.  Sin causes division between you and God.  Sin is what leads you to eternal death.  Jesus is the only interception that comes through faith to stop eternal separation from God.  Sin always cost more than you are wanting to pay.  Faith always brings life to the soul.  Salvation is impossible without Jesus.

    God's love is perfect and will drive you to live faithfully.  Sin is the gift from Satan where he twisted your heart to want to do evil things.  The contrast is vivid.  Faith brings life and sin brings death.  God love for you is merciful because He gives you time.  God's judgement on sin is not merciful.  If you face Him on judgment day without ever accepting His gift of salvation, then your eternal fate is bond.  There will be no getting out of it.  If you choose sin over faith, then you choose eternal death.

    Faith comes with urgency.  If you are a true believer, then you should feel urgency to make sure that everyone you know has the opportunity to know God.  If they reject God, then it should grieve your heart because you know what they face.  In time your heart should yearn to tell strangers about Jesus, so they can become a part of your holy family. 

    Fear can triumph over faith if you are not careful.  Fear of consequences will keep you silent if you do not fear God's displeasure over people's opinions.  To deny God means you will be denied one day when you face God.  Be careful about what gets the majority of your attention and heart.  Make sure you keep God in the center.  

    Faith is Jesus is the only way and you need to live that truth proudly.  Everyone deserves to know that truth.  You can tell anyone.  God will put people in your life to give you the opportunity to introduce them.  If you miss the opportunity, then God will bless someone else with the opportunity, but you missed your blessings.  If people don't hear about Jesus, then how are they supposed to believe and turn away from their sins.  If they don't turn away, then they will die eternally.  A real relationship with God is what everyone's soul longs for even if they don't know it.  It is wrong to keep Jesus to yourself.  

John 3:16-17, Romans 3:23-26, 5:12-17, 6:20-23, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-11, James 1:12-15, & 1 John 1:8-10

Impossible Faith

 

    The Bible is full of things that are impossible to believe, but to have faith you do believe.  You know that anything is possible when God is involved.  Just because it is impossible for humans or logically does not mean it did not happen and will not happen.

    Some things are impossible.  God cannot lie.  He does not evil.  He cannot allow evil into Heaven because He declared it and cannot lie.  You know it is true if you understand God's character.  God is loving and just.  His justice makes many unhappy, but His justice is unbiased and can't be manipulated.

    Humans are sinful by nature.  The first sin revealed that truth and the fact that no one has stopped sinning since has confirmed it.  Sin was invented by Satan, but nothing happens without God's permission.  That means God allows us to be influenced by out sinful nature, but He never wanted you to sin or made you sin.  It is your choice to sin or turn away.  God allows it or there would be no point in free will.  The battle of purity versus sin is the battle between God and Satan.  You were never meant to be in it, but Satan wanted to hurt God through you, me, and everyone else.

    When sin feels like it is consuming the world or you, remember that God is stronger than sin.  He told you to flee, so flee from sin.  He will always give you options.  You may not like the options, but you do have options.  If you choose to follow Jesus faithfully, then your options become a little more clear.  They are not easy, but they are simple.

    God is love, just, and righteous.  He gives you the ability to be all these qualities too.  The closer you move toward Him the further you get from your sinful nature.  God is merciful to those that come to Him, but there is no mercy on judgment day for those who rejected Him.  God has to judge sin because of who He is.  

    Sin is missing the mark or being ethically wrong.  Basically it is falling short of God's standards either by rebellion, or transgression.  If you refuse to obey even one command, then you are a sinner.  If you wrong someone else, then you are a sinner.  If you knowingly do not do what is right, then you are a sinner.  If you do not believe, then you are a sinner.  If you betray trust, then you are a sinner.  If you chose your desires over God, covet, lust, or hold hatred in your heart, then you are a sinner.  Who has never sinned?  Jesus.

    When you meet Jesus, you are in an impossible situation because you can't escape sin without Him.  You will never be able to walk away from your sinful nature.  It has to be rooted out and you can't find the roots without the Holy Spirit.  It normally starts with asking questions to seek understanding.  Then a person may visit church, look into Biblical literature, listen to Christian broadcasting or songs, and/or seek fellowship.  

    Salvation is a one time decision, but ridding yourself of your sins takes a lifetime.  You repent and chose faith over logic.  You are cleansed and all your sins before that moment disappear from existence.  After that you can never lose your salvation, but you do need constant spiritual cleaning or renewing.  You get to start over, but you are still human with a sinful nature that has to be starved and destroyed.  It becomes a life long journey, but with hope and new understanding.

Deuteronomy 32:1-4, 1 Kings 8:22-24, Psalm 9:13-16, 25:4-7, Jeremiah 31:3-6, Matthew 12:33-37, John 3:16-17, 15:9-17, Romans 5:6-11, Ephesians 2:4-7, Hebrews 11:1-6, James 2:12-13, & 1 John 4:13-16

Available Faith

 

    Faith is available for everyone.  Not everyone will accept the opportunity.  Faith is not automatic.  It is a choice that becomes a lifestyle.  God is holy and good.  He makes those that chose faith holy and good.  That means if you are a true Christian that you are set apart in the world.  

    You are God's most prized possession.  He enjoys blessing you and having fellowship.  However, He will not force Himself upon you.  If you choose to rebel, then He will allow you to but you will also face the consequences.  When you face consequences you can't blame God.  He set boundaries and you chose to cross them.  It was your choice, so your consequences are all on you.  Sin will never be allowed to enter Heaven.

    God is perfect.  He choses you in your imperfection and sinfulness to have a relationship with you.  He pursues you.  You don't start pursing back until you accept faith.  This is why it is impossible to make it to Heaven without Jesus.  

    Human nature is rebellious.  No one is without sin.  It doesn't matter what the sin is, you have sin that needs to be rooted out and destroyed.  Sin is what separates us from God.  It doesn't matter if you see yourself as a good or moral person.  Unless you accept salvation, you are still lost in your sin.  Sin is not defined by people.  God has told you what sin is and you chose to accept it or not.  

    Jesus is the proof of God's love for you.  Jesus communicated what righteousness and God's justice is.  He lived and died to display God's love for you.  This made salvation available to you and everyone else.  Faith is available.  It is your choice to accept the gift or reject it.

Psalm 86:8-17, 94, 99:1-5, 130, 139:1-16, 145, Isaiah 6:1-7, Romans 3:9-18, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-11, Titus 3:3-7, James 4:17, & Revelations 1:17-18

Faith in Discipleship

 

    The Great Commission lays out what is expected out of discipleship.  It is repeated in a few places, but it is short.  There is a reason it doesn't go into great detail.  Jesus lived his life with those men for three years.  He was with them day and night.  He had taught them how to disciple during that time.  The Great Commission is just the commandment not to stop and teach others how to continue until he returns.

    Discipleship begins with leading someone to salvation.  The next step is forgiveness.  God forgives you for all your transgressions at salvation, but you have to learn how to forgive too.  You have to learn how to forgive like Jesus to be able to be a disciple.

    Discipleship is acknowledging God's authority over you, willingness to go out into the world in Jesus' name, teach others about Jesus, and live life with the Holy Spirit in you all the time in all ways.  It comes down to telling the world that Jesus is the only way to God and eternal peace.  Forgiveness is offered to everyone, but not everyone will have forgiveness.  It is a personal choice that no one can make for anyone else.

    Part of discipleship is learning your Bible.  You study it.  You find the connections for yourself.  You work through doubts, confusion, and life questions.  You memorize Bible verses that will help you in your daily life and to lead others to Jesus.  It comes down to making yourself available for God to use and investing in your relationship with Him.

    Discipleship requires true faith in Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and his appending return.  Jesus is the only way.  There are no alternative routes to eternal peace.  This truth should give you urgency to be a disciple in the world today.  

    Discipleship is going to where the lost are not expecting them to just show up where you are.  You go to them and meet physical and emotional needs, so you have a door to meet spiritual needs.  You want them to want and seek a relationship to their true provider.  

    You have to devote time to the lost just as much as you do investing into your personal relationship with Jesus yourself.  Otherwise you are vulnerable to fall into trap and lose your witness.  Show the lost that Jesus is loving, warm, and welcoming not aloof, standoffish, or an unattainable thing that only a select few get.

Matthew 7:13-23, 28:18-20, Luke 9:21-27, John 3:16-17, 8:31-32, 13:31-35, & Philippians 4:10-14

Faith for the Lost

 

    How do you reach people in your life that are lost?  You can't do it on your own.  You need to pray for them, live out your faith unapologetically, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.  You need to remember the life you had before your leap of faith.  What drove you to Jesus?  What did your have to give up of your own life to follow Jesus?

    Living life without Jesus is fun, but it doesn't go anywhere.  It leads to momentary satisfaction, but never fills your soul with peace.  For the people who do not want to let go of their fun time, you have to show them that Christians know how to have a good time too.  It just looks a little different.  

    Some people may not even realize that they are lost.  They are living a good life thinking that they will go to Heaven or don't care about eternity.  Everyone is lost until they are not.  Even after you become a Christian it is easy to fall off the path.  You have to walk hand in hand with Jesus and trust the path that he laid out for you.  If you don't you are a Christian, but your faith has no fruit.

    You can't force anyone to be a Christian.  All you can do is tell them the truth and pray.  The Holy Spirit will do everything else.  However, faith is a personal choice.  If they reject it, then they will have to live with the consequences.  Their choice may hurt you, but it is their choice.  One of God's greatest gifts is free will.  Do not try to take that from anyone.

    If a person admits that they are lost, then you have a window to introduce them to Jesus.  Do not over think this.  If you know the person, then you know how to talk to them.  Do not go through a check list or try to be perfect and go by some exact plan.  Be natural.  Be yourself and follow the Holy Spirit's guidance.

    Do not assume that a lost person is stupid.  Many are highly logical.  It is their logic that works against them.  Meet them where they are.  Use intellect to counter their arguments.  It may get through or it may not.  All you can do is what you are directed to do by the Holy Spirit.  You can then walk away with a clear conscience.

    It may be tough to talk to strangers, but if the Holy Spirit directs you then you need to try.  People need help in life.  If you don't step up, then you never know if anyone else will.  Salvation may be confusing for some people, so take the time to invest in your testimony and how it happened for you.  Keep it simple.  Make sure they understand that salvation is free, but following Jesus can cost you everything.

    Avoid confusing talk.  Don't go too deep into the Bible.  The faith journey is a life journey.  You can't get everything on the first day.  Take it slow.  It is a life long race not a marathon to get a prize.  Show them what really matters in life and then eternity because salvation starts here and now.  You don't just wait until you die to enjoy it.

    Part of discipleship is to teach them how to follow Jesus after salvation.  It is teaching them how to prioritize God.  You teach them how to search for God's truth, promises, and love on their own.  You teach them the urgency to share God's Word without being perfect.  You teach them to use what they have and be grateful.  

    Teach them how to deal with discouragement, waiting, prayer, and not always getting the happy ending they wanted.  Success looks different on everyone, so teach them no to compare themselves to you or anyone else.  Celebrate the victories where you find them and let go of the disappointments.

Isaiah 41:8-10, Matthew 11:25-30, Romans 10:1-4, & 2 Peter 3:8-10

Saving Faith

 

    Faith is the only way to redemption with God.  Redemption with God is the only way to salvation.  Jesus became human to form real relationships with people.  He became the bridge for people and God.  He sacrificed His perfect existence to live among people who hate Him to give you the opportunity to have eternity in perfection with Him.

    The only way to find salvation is to believe.  Salvation gives you regeneration as a new pure soul that lives in the same beautiful body God created.  When the Holy Spirit moves in, it changes your heart and you begin to see the world differently.  

    Repentance and faith is the only path to true grace.  Repentance must be genuine because God knows your heart.  You can't lie to or fool Him.  God's grace gives you justification for your past and the ability to start fresh with Him.  The relationship gives you inner peace and favor with God.

    The salvation experience gives you sanctification.  It starts with regeneration of your life.  It sets you apart from the people of the world that are following their own drives that are led by Satan.  You are now led by the Holy Spirit.  The two do not mix.  When you try it causes confusion, pain, and anguish.  Your morals will start to transform to motivate you in new way of living.  

    Glorification is your life as a Christian.  It leads to blessings here and now, but the ultimate gift is eternity in Heaven.  It all starts with faith.  Saving faith separates you from your sin.  It gives your restoration.  It makes you holy.  In time as you invest in your relationship with God, you will discover wisdom in how to live out the laws in a way that serves God and helps other people.

    Salvation requires you to see your sin for what it is.  You come to agree with God about sin and you decide to submit to His authority in love.  You submit because you know He loves you more than you will ever be able to love Him.  He loves you in a way that is beyond any kind of love another person could give you.  His love with your faith makes you righteous.  This is saving faith.

Matthew 19:16-30, John 3:16-17, Acts 16:31-34, Romans 2:1-16, 3:23-26, Ephesians 2:8-10, & James 2:14-17