August 2008

08.04.2008

ne Parson’s Opinion
by Danny Rogers, Minister of Education


Do you want a vibrant and exciting walk with Christ? I sure do! But how? The truth is there is no sure-fire, 100% plan, but there are some things you can do that will help you have that kind of relationship with Christ if you remain consistent in doing them. Let me give you three:

1. Genuine love for Christ. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God. When you place the Lord first in your life, you will want to serve within the church, read your Bible daily, tell others about His love and His plan of salvation. Remember how you felt when you met your spouse (or boyfriend/girlfriend, if you’re single)? You wanted to spend as much quality time with them as possible. This is how you should feel about the Lord. If you truly believe the Lord is God, then give Him everything you have. Take a moment and honestly examine your life and discover how you really feel about Christ.

2. Recognize the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. By this I mean that you live the truths that are taught in the Bible. We cannot pick and choose what we want to believe because it’s either all true or it’s all false. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword…” You will never have the power to live a full and fruitful godly life until you choose God’s Word as your final authority. Do you have a draining circumstance that you can’t conquer on your own? God’s word has the power!

3. Serve. Every Christian has been given a spiritual gift to be used within the church and on the mission field (outside the church walls). I have a pastor friend in his upper 80’s who preached from the pulpit sitting down; I’ve known church members in their 90’s who still served by encouraging others in the church. Christians don’t retire – they serve!

The truth is you will never have a vibrant walk with Christ if you are not serving in some capacity. When we stop serving we become like the Dead Sea. There are no fish in the Dead Sea, nothing grows or lives in this lake – it’s DEAD. Have you ever learned why the Dead Sea is dead?

About 60 miles to the north is another lake called the Sea of Galilee where they still catch fish; this sea is not just surviving, but thriving. How can one sea be alive and one dead and yet be so close to each other? How can one Christian’s walk be vibrant and another’s stagnant?

Here’s why – Fresh water flows into, through, and out of the Sea of Galilee, and then that fresh water flows down into the Dead Sea, but there it stops. There is no outlet. It just flows into the Dead Sea and then dries up.

For all Christians, God’s Living water flows into them, but (and here is the difference) for some Christians, the Living water flows out of them when they serve the Lord with a sincere heart and they become alive like the Sea of Galilee. Others just soak up God’s Living water (God’s Word) and never give away anything they have received from God. They hear and learn, but never do anything for others. They don’t serve, and they have become like the Dead Sea. So which do you want to be like and what steps do you need to take to have that vibrant walk?

Posted by arbc at 03:35 PM