Recently I have been assessing my relationship with Christ. I feel that this is something that is necessary with every follower, on a frequent basis. As I considered it there are some passages of Scripture that I believe come together to point to a way that our relationship should work. I highly doubt any of this is revolutionary, however I do feel obligated to share.
When the Bible talks about people doing things, they are typically doing them in pairs. From Genesis in the beginning with Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:18), to the disciples (Luke 10:1) and Paul's ministry (Acts 13:4) going out by two. This concept of it's not good for man to be alone, is not simply for emotional well being. I believe this is for spiritual well being. This concept of the accountability partner. Think about it. When we are surrounded by Christ followers we are going to be digging deeper, drawing closer to Christ. We need this fellowship in order to have a deeper relationship with Christ.
When I say fellowship though we aren't talking about our current modern idea of fellowship, where we all get together "to relax and enjoy ourselves." The fellowship that I speak of is New Testament fellowship, where believers met together to worship God, through song and the studying of Scriptures. They enjoyed doing this so much, they found such joy in this, that worshipping was their fellowship, it wasn't all fun and games like modern Christianity has turned it into.
As Christians, if we could grasp the need to hold each other accountable, the idea of being in constant connection with Christ, no telling the change we could make.
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Friday, January 21, 2011
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thoughts on Joining a church
As college students, you are becoming young adults and encouraged to branch out outside of your family and "be on your own" so to speak. This includes finding a church.
Several things factor into finding a church, including what is the ideal church like and what should I look for in a church.
A great way to look at the church is through the Acts 2 model in verses 42-47. This seems somewhat extreme however, if you pull what comes from it other than "they met everyday" you can see things that should be evident in what kind of church you should join.
A side bar to this, if you are involved in a church you should be a member of that church, meaning if you spend the majority of your time at a church here in town, and are allowing yourself to be used by God at that church, you should be a member there and be tithing ect.
Other examples of churches in NT scripture come from Revelations 2-3.
As you look at these things, weighing what it is that needs to be evident in the church you should join consider these things.
It's not about the music.
It's about the Holy Spirit, granted we enjoy worshipping to modern music, but if the Holy Spirit is evident in a church that uses hymns, and the other factors line up, then don't allow this to hold you back from joining that church.
Join where your gifts are being used.
If you just show up on Sundays and Wednesdays and have no affect on the church other than your number, then you may need to question why you are there. Part of being an active member of a church is being involved there. If you know what your spiritual gifts are then that would mean using them in effective ways. If you don't know what those are, come back next week, that's what we will be talking about.
Several things factor into finding a church, including what is the ideal church like and what should I look for in a church.
A great way to look at the church is through the Acts 2 model in verses 42-47. This seems somewhat extreme however, if you pull what comes from it other than "they met everyday" you can see things that should be evident in what kind of church you should join.
A side bar to this, if you are involved in a church you should be a member of that church, meaning if you spend the majority of your time at a church here in town, and are allowing yourself to be used by God at that church, you should be a member there and be tithing ect.
Other examples of churches in NT scripture come from Revelations 2-3.
As you look at these things, weighing what it is that needs to be evident in the church you should join consider these things.
It's not about the music.
It's about the Holy Spirit, granted we enjoy worshipping to modern music, but if the Holy Spirit is evident in a church that uses hymns, and the other factors line up, then don't allow this to hold you back from joining that church.
Join where your gifts are being used.
If you just show up on Sundays and Wednesdays and have no affect on the church other than your number, then you may need to question why you are there. Part of being an active member of a church is being involved there. If you know what your spiritual gifts are then that would mean using them in effective ways. If you don't know what those are, come back next week, that's what we will be talking about.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Transformation
So I'm not rich by any means. I mean I am a college student. But within the past year I have noticed and even documented how I have succumbed to the American culture. This culture of pleasing self.
As I began to notice this I began to take preventative manners. I pledged in March to not purchase any new shoes for myself until I had no more shoes to wear. Before that I decided that due to the amount of cloths that I wear I would no longer purchase any article of clothing that caught my attention, unless it was less than $10.
I'm sure I've probably saved some money doing this. But that's not the point. There are several other points. Saving money is just a byproduct of these actions. First off as God's children we are called to be stewards, and following up with that we are called to care for those in need. So as I considered these things, and I have been considering them a while, (I wrote something along these lines back in my freshman year as well) I realized that this is a really positive thing to do.
I'm not saying this to blow myself up, because there are still things where I am living the American lifestyle in, for example, disc golf. As I have grown into the sport I have spent money on it an so forth. It's really grown on me, but at a monetary price that I am slightly ashamed of.
Today I was approached about attending a conference. Also Catalyst is this week. I am also actually attending a separate conference this weekend (which I get to attend free). But I was considering how much that conference would cost. As I considered this I realized that really I should probably spend that money on something more productive, then going and experiencing a ton of great worship, and hearing speakers that I have already heard before.
This mindset, is a transformation for me. I believe it could be a transformation for many people. As you can tell I'm still working on it. However, I think that if Christians today could grasp this simple point, that we would see a radical difference within the church and within outsiders perceptions of us.
As I began to notice this I began to take preventative manners. I pledged in March to not purchase any new shoes for myself until I had no more shoes to wear. Before that I decided that due to the amount of cloths that I wear I would no longer purchase any article of clothing that caught my attention, unless it was less than $10.
I'm sure I've probably saved some money doing this. But that's not the point. There are several other points. Saving money is just a byproduct of these actions. First off as God's children we are called to be stewards, and following up with that we are called to care for those in need. So as I considered these things, and I have been considering them a while, (I wrote something along these lines back in my freshman year as well) I realized that this is a really positive thing to do.
I'm not saying this to blow myself up, because there are still things where I am living the American lifestyle in, for example, disc golf. As I have grown into the sport I have spent money on it an so forth. It's really grown on me, but at a monetary price that I am slightly ashamed of.
Today I was approached about attending a conference. Also Catalyst is this week. I am also actually attending a separate conference this weekend (which I get to attend free). But I was considering how much that conference would cost. As I considered this I realized that really I should probably spend that money on something more productive, then going and experiencing a ton of great worship, and hearing speakers that I have already heard before.
This mindset, is a transformation for me. I believe it could be a transformation for many people. As you can tell I'm still working on it. However, I think that if Christians today could grasp this simple point, that we would see a radical difference within the church and within outsiders perceptions of us.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Decisions: Application
As followers of Christ we feel an inherent need to please Christ. After all if we did not feel this need then we would probably need to reconsider whether or not we are truly followers of Him.
At the core, pleasing Christ comes through our decision making. If we are pleasing Christ with out decisions then we are not sinning and we are enacting life change in ourselves and others.
So how do we begin in seeking Christ in our decision making? We must first be willing to abandon ourselves to those decisions that Christ has planned for us. Then we must listen for those plans. This is where the prayer and supplication comes into action. God guides our decisions through other means of communication with Him, however if we are not grounded in prayer then we will question whether we are doing what we want or what Christ wants.
You may sit back and think, Christ making decisions for me; that's crazy. However I can tell you from first hand experience as well as second hand stories that following Christ direction is a real thing. Not only can his confirmation of decisions come through prayer, it can also come through scripture, worship, communication with other believers, and communication with nonbelievers as well.
I say all of this knowing full well that this is something that I myself need to work on. Most of the time when I blog about things, they are thoughts that apply to myself, and I feel the need to share.
At the core, pleasing Christ comes through our decision making. If we are pleasing Christ with out decisions then we are not sinning and we are enacting life change in ourselves and others.
So how do we begin in seeking Christ in our decision making? We must first be willing to abandon ourselves to those decisions that Christ has planned for us. Then we must listen for those plans. This is where the prayer and supplication comes into action. God guides our decisions through other means of communication with Him, however if we are not grounded in prayer then we will question whether we are doing what we want or what Christ wants.
You may sit back and think, Christ making decisions for me; that's crazy. However I can tell you from first hand experience as well as second hand stories that following Christ direction is a real thing. Not only can his confirmation of decisions come through prayer, it can also come through scripture, worship, communication with other believers, and communication with nonbelievers as well.
I say all of this knowing full well that this is something that I myself need to work on. Most of the time when I blog about things, they are thoughts that apply to myself, and I feel the need to share.
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