The Simple Truth

Starting the New Year Right

As we approach the dawn of yet another year I thought I'd make a quick post and encourage you to use this new begining to make a fresh start in your reading of the word of God.  In order for us to have a thriving and abundant walk with God we need to have a consistent relationship with God's word. Reading/studying the Bible needs to be part of our daily routine. I can honestly say nothing has impacted the consistency of my Christian life as much as spending quality time in God's word each morning.  So, if you're not already reading the Bible I would invite you to make 2012 the year you turn over a new leaf, or page as the case may be.  In fact, let me challenge you to read thru the entire Bible over the next 12 months. You can do it! I know you can.  Go for it!

There are many different resources you can use to aid your time in God's word. The are numerous reading plans from which you can choose.  Let me recommend one resource that I have found to be incredibly useful - especially if you are more of a techy type (smart phone, internet, ipad, etc.).

Check out Youversion.com. On this site you will find a plethera of reading plans. There is no doubt you can find something that will suit you.  Get the new year started right by starting a new reading plan in the word of God.

Christmas Eve Service

Join us tomorrow night (12/24) at 7pm for our annual Christmas Eve Service. Service will be in the beautiful Bristol Chapel - love that place at the holidays.  We'll be singing your favorite carols, and talking about the purpose of Christmas. At the conclusion of service we'll help put together plates of Christmas cookies for the always fun Christmas Cookie give away.  After service I encourage each of you to take a plate (or two) of homemade Christmas cookies to a local service provider working on Christmas Eve. All those who receive these cookies are so appreciative and you get blessed in the process. 

All He Does Is Win...

I thought this was hilarious...

 

Makin' a List

He's makin' a list. He's checkin' it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming' to town.  He knows if you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. 

Based upon this song here's how Santa operates. If you're on the nice list you get toys. If you on the naughty list you get coal.  In other words your gifts are based upon your works. You only get what you merit. You have to earn your presents.  

I'm so glad God doesn't operate like Santa. God has a naughty list too, and all of us are on it (Romans 3:23). Despite our sinful condition God has offered us the gift of eternal thru Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). We don't merit it. We can't earn it. We certainly don't deserve it. But God offers it to us anyway (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Through faith in Jesus Christ we are put on God's good/nice list called the book of life (Philippians 4:3).  We make the list not because we are good, but because Jesus is good.  We should be good for goodness sake - our life should be filled with good works (Ephesians 2:10) not to gain eternal life but because we already have it.

So, during this Christmas season as we're threatening to take away your kids gifts (which we never do by the way) when they misbehave, don't forget that God offers you the greatest gift ever given in-spite of your naughtiness.

Sorry vs. Repentant

Being a parent to two children has taught me so much about myself and my relationship with God. The most recent lesson came about a week ago.  The lesson came in the midst of a fairly typical episode in our home when one of my children "misbehaved" and received a consequence.  A few minutes later the child, who shall remain nameless, came to me and said they were sorry. I accepted their apology and then they preceded to ask if their privilege could be restored to which I replied, "No". They were dumbfounded - "what do you mean, I said I was sorry!" Of course, then we had a conversation about how apology doesn't necessarily eliminate consequence.  That wasn't well received to say the least.

What became very apparent throughout this experience was that my child's expression of sorrow was driven by a desire to have their pain stop.  They weren't truly repentant for their actions.  There was no remorse over the sin that had been committed, there was simply sadness because what they wanted had been taken away.

I'm afraid we are sometimes guilty of approaching God in the same way.  We come to Him saying we are "sorry" for a particular sin motivated by nothing more than a desire for our pain to stop. There is no doubt we can come to God confessing our sin and He will forgive us (I John 1:9), however, our confession must carry with it an attitude of repentance (Proverbs 28:13). Our sorrow, our confession, our forsaking of sin must be driven by a brokenness and an acknowledgement that we have sinned against God and damaged our relationship with Him. Coming to God in this way may or may not relieve whatever consequences we are experiencing but one thing is sure - we will be forgiven and fellowship will be restored.

How I Start Each Day...

Every day some time between the hours of 5-6am you'll find me in my house doing the same three things...

• Sitting in "my" big comfy recliner.
• Sipping on a cup of Dunkin Donuts joe.
• Reading the pages of God's word.

That is how I start each day with very few exceptions.  There is little doubt that this daily habit has made all the difference in my walk with Jesus throughout the years.  My reading plans have varied over the years from thru the Bible in 30 days, to reading a few passages a day on a particular topic. However, one thing has never changed, the desire to have God speak into my life and to be changed by my time in His word.

If you desire to have a healthy, thriving walk with Jesus you must have a consistent relationship with the Bible.  Find a reading plan that works for you and spend time in God's word every day. Enter this time desiring Him to speak to you and change you. Schedule this time into your daily routine and make it non-negotiable.  I promise you it will make all the difference in the world.

Maybe you are think where do I even begin. Here is a great resource for you to check out - Youversion.com.  On this site (and Smart phone app) you'll find every reading plan imaginable. Check it out.