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Good service this week.  It was based upon the fact that we need to develop circles of fellowship rather than just sitting in the rows, or pews of a church, unattached.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 says “If one falls down, his friend can help him up.”  This isn’t just physical falling, but spiritual falling as well.  If we are alone, we may have a hard time getting up, but if we have others in our circle of fellowship, we can get help and lean on the support of others who are there to help us to grow.  We need to leverage the concept from Ecclesiastes 4:9 where it says “Two are better than one”.  Our spiritual journey will be better if it is done in a community rather than as a singular person trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.  That saying is great except for the fact that WE don’t really have the ability to do anything that is lasting.  Christ gives us the power and strength to do those things that will last for eternity.

I really like this concept as it reminds me of my marriage to my wife.  Our wedding theme from 25 years ago was Ecclesiastes 4:12 “A cord of three strands is not quickly torn asunder.”  In the case of our wedding, we looked at those three strands as the husband and the wife having their lives inter-twined with God.  Just like a rope, our lives are braided together, and if one of those strands is also Christ, you have an incredibly strong line that will help you to live in such a way that God is Glorified.

Don’t try going through life alone, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.  You can’t do it.  You need other Godly and righteous people who care and are willing to help you do what is best for you in Christ.

If you aren’t in one already, join a small group.  If you are already in a small group, challenge those around you to stretch themselves a little and get out of their comfort zone.

See the post below from October 20, 2012 called “Get out of the Boat” and consider what your next steps are to step out of the boat and join Christ walking on the water.

 

We often allow those times to go by rather than seizing upon them when we have an opportunity to share our faith.  We get nervous that we will be rejected, or worse yet, we may get asked questions we don’t have an answer to.

Why do we fear something so petty?  The worst thing that will happen is that we get rejected, or we have to tell someone that they have a great question, and we need to research that and get back to them.  Is that so bad that we would rather preserve our “pride” in front of someone rather than serve and obey the God of the Universe?

We fear people more than we fear God.

This has been bothering me a lot lately, and I am realizing that where God is concerned, I need to be fearless in my willingness to share my faith and no longer be afraid of what someone may think.  When I am alone at home thinking about this, I often think that I don’t care what other people think, so why when I’m in the moment do I choke?

I’m praying daily to God that He will help me to be “Fearless” as I go through life and become a substantial influence for Him.  I’ll pray for those of you who read this too.

Got this from a book by Tony Evans called “Kingdom Man” that my men’s group is going through together on Saturday Mornings.

Let’s talk about football now.  Really, a professional football game is just a monster “worship service”, and nobody ever complains about all the “stuff” that they complain about regarding Church.

A football game is 60 minutes long, but there is only 17 minutes or so of actual playing time, as the clock keeps running while the players are in the huddle and between plays.  But people are so dedicated and reverent, that they don’t mind having a 17 minute game expanded to take up 60 minutes of their time, and they don’t grumble about the breaks in between quarters or at half time that turns it into a 3 hour commitment, or the couple hours they have to drive to the game each way that turns it into a 7 hour commitment to “Worship” in a crowded, cold stadium with 50,000 other people to watch 17 minutes of action.  I also don’t see too many people deciding that the amount they have to put “in the plate” as a mandatory offering ($45 ticket price) to attend is too high and it keeps them from going.  Then there are the additional contributions they make at the concession stands, $9 for a $3 beer, $6 for a $2 hotdog, etc.

YET, people complain about going to Church where the offering is 100% voluntary (we can talk about our willingness to give God His first fruits another time), or where the service is an hour long and the “action” or the sermon typically is 20-30 minutes, not just 17 minutes like an NFL game.

Why are we so much more committed to the NFL than our God?  After a game that took WAY more committment to attend than our Church service, we then tune in to the after game show to listen to some guys talk about the game, then we read with interest on the internet or the newspaper the next day about the game we saw and the analysis the newspaper writer wants to give.  Do we make the same time commitment to our Church Service, or follow up during the week with the same time commitment reading the Bible as we do checking out the sports pages to check on our Fantasy Football Team?

Think about it . . .

Take a read of Matthew 14: 22-36 and think about the story.  This is the story of Jesus walking across the lake, and Peter getting out of the boat to join him.

Peter is often looked down on by people because once he got out of the boat, he showed little faith and started to sink, but let’s think about this for a bit . . .

There are 12 guys in a boat, and the wind is howling, the waves are HUGE and these professional fishermen are nervous because of the weather.  Jesus shows up, walking on the water and Peter was the only one to get out of the boat and walk on water too.

So a few things to think about . . .

ONE guy got out of the boat to join Jesus walking on the water.  He then took his eyes off Jesus and sank.

ELEVEN guys stayed in the boat . . . They chose comfort rather than growth.  Peter chose growth in his faith.  We have that same choice, we can choose the comfort of a boat, or we can step out of the boat and grow in our relationship or commitment to Christ.  We need to remember where Jesus is, He is out on the water, He is NOT in the boat.

Peter did take his eyes off Jesus and sank, but he still succeeded in getting out of the boat and meeting Jesus where He was.

What about you?  What about me?  Am I and are you willing to choose growth and commitment over comfort?  Will you get out of the boat and join Christ, or will you stay in your comfort zone and watch others step out and join Christ out on the water?

It’s time to stop being afraid of failure or what other people may think, but to step out and try.  Get uncomfortable and go Walk on the Water . . .

“Credit goes not to the people pointing out failure, but to those who dared to step out and try.” – Teddy Roosevelt

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Jesus Christ

Credit to John Ortberg for his book “If you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat”.

We had a good sermon this week.   The gist of it was that while Catholic saints are just dead people, the new testament says WE are saints due to Christs Righteousness covering us.

As Saints, how are we acting?  We need to be showing Christs Love for others.  We need to remember that we are robed in in the righteousness of Christ and we can’t continue to do things as we did before we knew Christ.

We should remember that we need to “Put to Death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” Colossians 3:5.  This is pretty violent, we need to violently eliminate the old clothes we used to wear and remember that “What happens in Vegas” is likely to cause you or those around you to stumble in the future.  We have been brought to life and we need to put to death our old way.  Check out Romans 8:11-13 “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies … if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

So just do it . . . Get Undressed and put on the Robe of Righteousness that only comes from Christ.  Be renewed in Christs Image and become different so you don’t cause pre-Christians to stumble.

Are you a Christian Atheist?  Am I?  Do you go to church, say you believe in God and try to act like it?

What about really believing what you say you believe?  If we believe in God, that Jesus Christ really

died and rose again to save us from our sins and that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, then why do we

have so much trouble acting like it?  Nothing should be more important in this life than us furthering

His Kingdom.  We should be ready and willing to live a minimalist life and use all of our resources to

grow the Kingdom of God, to bring Him Glory, to do His work.  Why do I (we) have such a hard time

not giving Him everything?  Our Time, Our Finances, Our Children, Our everything.  We should be seeking to

do His will every moment and we should be in love with Him.  I still am trying to figure out how to make

this commitment to Him.  Why can’t I get there?

So, in our Men’s Group on Saturday Mornings, we are reading a book called “not a fan.”  The beginning question is “Are you a follower of Jesus?”

Of course, as a Christian, we just continue reading because this is such a basic question and it is so obvious what the answer is.  But if you really stop and think, it is not a rhetorical question . . .

The answer to the question isn’t automatically “Yes” just because we go to church, or our grandparents are Christians, or we raised our hand at the end of a sermon one time.  It isn’t automatically “Yes” if we repeated a prayer after a preacher or sunday school teacher once, or if we walked forward during a 12 minute version of “Just As I Am”, or we own more than one Bible or have a Strongs Concordance in our house . . .

You need to stop and think.  You need to Define The Relationship.  Are you just a fan?  A fan in it’s most basic definition in the dictionary is “An enthusiastic admirer”.  Are you an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus?  Kind of like the football fan, they seem to live eat and breathe the game and their team.  They seem extremely devoted, but they are never in the game.  They are a football fan, or even a fan of a specific team, but they may only last a few losing seasons prior to jumping off the fan wagon and maybe picking another team or sport to get “enthusiastic” about.

 

This first chapter made me really think . . .  Am I really a follower of Christ, or am I just a fan?  I guess I need to be sure that I’m “In the Game” in order to be sure I”m a follower.

I don’t think being “In the Game” means I have to go into full time ministry, but I do think it’s time for me to really look at what I’m doing to further the Kingdom of Christ.  I need to be in the game all the time.  I know that I’ll fail at times, but God can help me to continue to grow.  That what this is, a Continuous Improvement Process, just like we have at work.  We always set our safety goals at zero, though it isn’t possible that we will go forever with no mistakes and not get someone hurt, even if it is just a stitch in a finger or something.  But we do set the goal.  We go for the gold, not just the minimum.  Am I going for the gold in my spiritual walk?  We love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind and with all our soul.  So am I doing this?  I look at my income, and have to decide, am I going for the gold in giving to God?  Have I set my goal of giving back to God at the minimum tithe, or have I gone beyond and said, let’s try for 80%?  I realize that at this point, I probably can’t do 80%, but I can sure begin to incrementally improve from where I am and continue to grow the amount I give back to God.  After all, it’s His anyway, right?  At least if I really believe and am a FOLLOWER and not just a FAN . . .

This will be an interesting study.  We’ll see where it takes us.

Well, I think maybe I’ll use this to remind myself about the things that I’m learning from God.  Maybe a summary of what I may have heard in a sermon, or just a short point I got from one of my small groups, who knows.  I’m not much of a journaler because I don’t see a reason for a private journal, but if I do it here, maybe someone else can learn along with me.  Who knows, we’ll see how this goes.