Tag: advice

Don’t Complicate Things

Don’t Complicate Things
In speaking to the teens on Tuesday Night we have been in Colossians 2 and this will be our 3rd week on the following passage. Colossians 2:6-7 i want us this time to look at in the message.

6-7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

i like this rendering because it is straightforward. He doesn’t mince any words, getting right to the heart of the matter. i don’t feel i need to add much to this accept that he isn’t saying we shouldn’t continue to learn and grow…but what he is saying is that we need to take the knowledge that we do have and begin to live it out in our daily lives. We know what it means to love someone…we don’t need much study on that Luke 6:31-34

Jesus said, “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.”

Let’s not make it more complicated than we need to.

Die and Live

Die and Live

Colossians 2:6-9 CEB

“So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received Him. Be rooted and built up in Him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught. See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to the human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body.”

We are to die and live in Christ. The letter to the Colossians is a great educator to this fact.  Even as much as we are all individuals and our lives are starkly different from each other; our circumstances and history, our influences and struggles, these all differ…it is still true that in the eyes of Christ we are the same. In that He loves us, died for us and calls us to live in Him.

Therefore, although we are different we are all on the same journey and have the ability to speak life into each others lives.  We are the same even with all of our differences. Lets us all have the mind of Christ. Rooted and built up in Him.

You are loved,

cj

Only a Man

Only a Man

There is a part in the telling of Jesus ministry that catches my eye every time i read it. This account is found in Matthew 9:35-38 and reads thusly:
35 Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. 38  Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”

Jesus saw the people and had compassion. His heart was broken for their helpless, and troubled spirits. His desire for them was that they would become part of the harvest. That they would give their hearts to Him completely. His heart is for us too. His desire is for us to be more than a part of the harvest but to be workers in the field. Taking the good news to the world that is wandering, troubled and helpless. To shepherd them to the Great Shepherd.

This song by Jonny Lang is one of my favorites (listen to it here). It is the song of a man who finds himself helpless but returning to Jesus. That is our story too…let us have compassion on those around us…let our heart break for what breaks the heart of the Lord and be workers in a vast field where the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

You are loved,

cj

A bit of advice

A bit of advice

i have spent the better part of my life seeking Jesus. Raised in a Church going home, spent a lot of time traveling to Churches to sing with the family. Went to summer camps, retreats, youth events. Although i gave my “heart” to Jesus at a young age; i didn’t truly understand what that meant until i was 19 when i rededicated my life to Him and was baptized. From that moment on i have continued to serve Him, prior like i stated i served with my family singing, after as a pastor in various roles. Jesus is all i know. i have dedicated my life to Him.

It hasn’t always been easy, i haven’t always given my best, i haven’t always felt as though i had the greatest relationship with Him. In fact i have found in my estimated 34 years of service that high’s and lows, ebbs and flows, strength and weakness, are a normal part of life. Faith is at times all i feel i have had, routine saw me through, going through the motions kept me afloat. When i have found myself just bobbing up and down in stormy seas its been the name of Jesus that has saved me.

Here are just a few bits of advice, things i have found that have helped me weather the storms. When i found myself in ruts, apathy, or sin.

< Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God ~ Micah 6:8
< Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” ~ Genesis 3:9
< But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
< Love the Lord…Love your neighbor ~ Mark 12:30-31
< Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. ~ James 1:27
< Repent of your sin ~ Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 20
< I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting the past…I press on… ~ Philippians 3:12-14
< For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ~ Ephesians 2:8

> Sometimes Faith is all you have
> Routine isn’t always bad but if you find yourself in a rut its time to change the routine
> Going through the motions isn’t always bad either, it can be a squeaky wheel, it will eventually draw attention to the needs, its when you give up the motions you dull the voice of God.
> Don’t put your faith in any “person” except the “Person of Jesus, God in flesh”
> Always choose Jesus, only always Jesus
> When all else fails, Jesus Jesus Jesus is all you need to remember

 

You are Loved,

cj