ESSENTIAL #26 Pure Religion

James 1

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1&version=NIV

The psalmist David says: “A father to the fatherless, defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5). The small word “is” reveals that being a father and defender is not something God does, but rather it proclaims who He is.

As Abba/Father He is giving us a glimpse into the very center of His heart. He gives us this glimpse so that we may respond back to Him with what James 1:27 calls “pure religion”.

The dictionary defines “pure” as:

1. unmixed with any other matter

2. free from dust and dirt
3. containing nothing that does not properly belong

4. being thus, and no other

Caring for orphans and widows in their distress is putting our faith into action in a way that God Himself considers “pure” in form. Think of the pleasure we can bring to the Father's Heart as we live it out before Him.

Let us be about our Father's business.

By Jeni Smart

ESSENTIAL #25 Putting On The New Self

Colossians 3 : 1-17

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A1-17&version=NIV

The Bible tells us “take off this, put on that”, “don’t do this, do that”, “throw away this, keep that”, “don’t choose this, choose that”. How do we approach this new life with success? The same way we would approach a new eating plan, business, or exercise program, with vision, excitement, expectation, and most of all with the help of the Holy Spirit! We know that old habits have to die and new habits must replace them. Every day we are faced with choices that will determine the outcome, no matter how little they are. The more we make the right choices, the easier it becomes. Is it hard at first, absolutely! Without a goal there’s no reason to continue. We must keep our eyes on the prize…Jesus.

I’ve been thinking about the passage for a while and the picture I keep getting in my head is one of a person standing in front of a dresser with layers and layers of shirts on. Those shirts are ….well you name them, whatever it is that keeps doggin your heels, holding you back from being who Jesus wants you to be. Every time (I’ll make it a he) he makes the right choice and gets freed just a little more, he walks over to the dresser and opens the “drawer of no return”, he pulls a shirt over his head and tosses it into the drawer and shuts it. He’s a little lighter, he can run a little faster, feels good about himself. Reminds me of the Biggest Loser, each pound they shed, they can run a little faster, their attitude changes for the better. When we toss those shirts in the drawer, we’ve just shed a little spiritual baggage.

We can walk a little lighter, sing a little louder, have a “happier heart” knowing that we did what was right in His sight….which after all, is WHAT matters!

By Diana Shibilsky

ESSENTIAL #24 Christ's Example

Phillipians 1:18 - 2:18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%201:18-%202:18&version=NIV

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Say what? If we state one of our main goals as Christians as being --- “becoming more like Jesus” --- then we have a LOT to work on ahead of us! And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could spend the rest of my life working on this one little directive from scripture and still never have it mastered. Consider others as more important than me? Who can DO that? Of course, some people are better at it than others, but we’re talking about true humility here. And the best example we have to point to is, of course, Jesus himself.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!”

There can never be another act of humility to match this one. The very Son of God in all his sovereign power, perfection, and holiness willingly putting on this stinking, corrupt, sin-sick flesh and coming down to dwell with the likes of us so that He can give His life that we might find life. And yet we sinners so often think so highly of ourselves that we look down our noses at others, put our conveniences before the needs of others, and turn our backs on one another when help is needed. All because we come first! Hey, it’s part of our sin nature and it’s something we need to constantly pray about and do battle with. Let’s all remember that James 4:6 says that God “…resists the proud and gives grace to the humble”. Let’s remember the supreme example of Jesus laying down His precious life to rescue ours. And let’s follow His example by not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should and doing a better job of “…considering others better than ourselves”.

By Dave Thompson

ESSENTIAL #23 The Whole Armor Of God

Ephesians 6

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6&version=NIV

As Christians we forget far too often the battle we're supposed to be fighting. We don't put enough stock in the spiritual realm, and specifically our enemy, the devil. We think that going to church every Sunday and listening to "Christian music" during the week is enough to carry us and keep us from sinning. But Paul warns us that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

In other words, there is a battle raging RIGHT NOW for our souls. Even if we are saved, the enemy is still alive and trying to do whatever he can to thwart the plans and purposes God has placed over our lives. He does this in a myriad of ways on a daily basis, even to those of us who think we are "safe." Paul reminds us here that we are not safe and in fact, we are at war! So let's make sure we have our uniforms on and our gear in place, and that we are trained for what's about to come our way. In the midst of battle, soldiers don't sit around on the battle field joking about their weekend, but instead they are crouched down and ready for the next bullet that may be coming their way. A wise soldier isn't going to walk into a mine field, where he knows there are bombs about to explode. He will avoid them. So why do we walk into mine fields in our lives, right into the traps the devil has set for us, and don't' even realize it?

The Bible says the devil is cunning and knows our weaknesses. So we need to be proactive in making sure that he doesn't succeed in pulling us away or distracting us from our purpose -- to glorify God. So lets get on that gear and go fight this battle!

By Lisa Brown

ESSENTIAL #22 Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+5&version=NIV

Coming Soon!!

ESSENTIAL #21 Unity In CHRIST

Ephesians 4: 1- 16

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A1-16&version=NIV

The miracle of the unity of the body in Christ is nothing short of that, a miracle. What the world struggles to do through seminars, motivational speakers, various company policies and even some fairly ridiculous Federal laws (all of which attempt to tame the outer man), the Holy Spirit accomplishes with ease, working through the heart of man (irresistibly reaching in and changing the inner man). Only the Holy Spirit could possibly take a group of former spiritual rebels and criminals, all basically known for their self-centered agenda, and knit them into a community of believers who genuinely care about each other. It’s nothing short of incredible.

So how is it even possible? That’s just it - it’s not possible, not unless God in His mercy and grace reaches down and shocks our spiritually cold and dead hearts back to life. But once He does, we find ourselves capable of doing all kinds of things that were formerly impossible for us, not the least of which is operating in unity to further the cause of the Great and Mighty Messiah. Unity is a real blessing and just one of many, many proofs of His unspeakable love for us, all part of the greater miracle of our surprising Awakening and completely unmerited Redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ.

By Gordon Smart

ESSENTIAL #20 The Power Of The Resurrection

I Corinthians 15

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIV

Recently I have been preparing for a Triathlon with some members of the church. We have been meeting up a couple times throughout the week and biking and running together. We have become teammates in training. A number of times we have made plans to train and unforeseen circumstances, and some not so unforeseen, have risen to interrupt our training. Although we have had the best of intentions in aiming to stick to our training regimen, we do not always come through and fulfill our promises.

Lots of people make claims and promises throughout our lives that do not come to fruition. But our Hero, our Leader, and our Lord Jesus Christ delivered on His promise. He singularly rose again from the dead. And had the Offering of his life not been acceptable, our Great Priest would never had emerged from the tomb on Easter Sunday. Because Jesus rose again, we know that the Offering took; we know that His sacrifice was accepted; and we know we are forgiven. As the Apostle Paul states “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” The resurrection validates His claim and its what makes Jesus unique in history. And most thankfully it means our sins are forgiven.

By Tyler Blocher