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First of all when looking for a church it helps to have a little Bible knowledge. After all there were several New Testament churches that God was not happy with. Not happy at all. So it makes sense to see what kind of church God did not like.
You should want to be a member of a church that will help you grow as a Christian. That kind of church will hold you accountable for when you are falling a little short and encourage you to do better. When you do good they’ll slap you on the back and be so proud of you and it will make you feel so good you’ll want to do even better.
You should also want to be a member of a church that doesn’t tolerate open and willful sin. I see plenty of churches where men and women are living together outside of vows of marriage. Thats just not right. God doesn’t like it and neither should we and you shouldn’t want to be part of a church that tolerates anything like it.
When you look at a church look at it’s people. A church ought to have people in it that have some long marriages in. People who are true to their vows. Sometimes divorce can’t be helped but a church should have some marriages in it that have weathered some storms. A Church should be full of friendly welcoming people. Hospitality is big with the Lord… real big. If a church doesn’t care about you when you visit, chances are she won’t ever care much about you after you are a member there. A Church ought to be full of people who have great Bible knowledge. After all it is just one book isn’t it? God’s people should love God’s book and know it inside and out.
In short look for a church that is producing people who look like Jesus Christ. If it’s not then, well… it’s not much of a church.
In 1 Peter we read a letter that was written to Christians who were having their faith assaulted by persecution and trials.
In the first chapter we read of three actions of faith. In verses 4 and 5 Peter tells them that they have an inheritance that no one can take away because God is guarding their promised salvation through their faith. No one could take away their salvation (including Satan) because God promises protection to the faithful.
In verse 7 we read that faith is proved through the overcoming of trials and temptation. What happens if faith consistently fails in the face of temptation? It’s not faith… it’s fake faith because it has failed the test.
In verse 9 we read that we can receive “the end of our faith”… the salvation of our souls. Faith has a beginning and it has an end. It can’t stop half way through the race it has to cross the finish line to reach the prize of salvation.
There are three actions of true faith. True faith carries with it God’s promise of protection. True faith overcomes trials and temptations and true faith continues to the end to receive salvation.
Only true faith results in salvation. Don’t be deceived by the fake faith that Satan peddles.
Back when dad was alive he and mom used to mentor and help several young families. When we were moving mom out of her home I had the opportunity to read some of the personal letters of gratitude that were sent to my parents. One family had a young child that died of leukemia another family had some drug problems, another was about to lose their home, etc. In the end several of these families got things straightened out and in turn… help other people.
Recently a woman and her adult child traveled from Houston to Bulverde just to see mom. They brought food and visited with her and went to church with her. My brother is the one who reported this to me and he said the woman told mom… “you were always my rock”.
It stirs my heart just to think about it and encourages me to be involved in the lives of others… and I hope it encourages you. Mom is going to be 80 years old this year and I dread losing her but knowing that so many love her and care for her is very heart warming. Thank you for not forgetting about her.
Matthew 13:23 is the last part of a parable that describes the effect God’s word has upon the hearts of men.
“And he that was planted upon the good ground is he that hears the word and understands it: who bears fruit and brings forth one hundred fold and sixty and thirty.”
I used to think that to be fruitful meant that I had to have some notches on my belt that represented people I had helped save from Satan. That is “converts”. So I was very motivated and can say that I helped lead many to the waters of baptism because I was worried that if I didn’t there might be a problem with my salvation.
What I see now is that God’s seed, that is his word, is perfect and when planted in the right soil conditions can’t help but be productive. It will produce… guaranteed… every time.
Just be a Christian. Live the life. Work hard to be just like Jesus Christ and you can’t help but be fruitful and productive. Our part is to believe and obey. God will take care of the rest.
Usually when you run a race you run just for yourself and ignore all the other runners unless they get in your way. The race that Christians run is a little different. In this race the runners help the other runners when they don’t feel like they can run anymore.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews was administering God’s chastening (12:7-11). That was part of his race… the responsibility that all Christians have for each other. To help the runners who don’t think they can keep on running. To re-direct the ones who are running the wrong direction. And to encourage them to finish the race by reminding them of all the others who had already finished their race.
The reality is if you are helping others… you’re running pretty good.
In Hebrews 12 we read that the life of a Christian is like a race. Not a race with one winner but more of a marathon type of race where you win by just completing the race.
These Hebrew Christians were failing in the race. They were carrying extra things with them that weighted them down and didn’t allow them to run freely. Their knees and legs were getting tired. Moreover they were getting distracted by sin and doubt. Some of their Jewish friends were encouraging them to re-route back into Judaism. It was attractive to them. The memory of it was better than the reality of it. And they had lost patience in the race. They thought the race would be shorter and easier. They thought that Jesus was waiting just around the corner to gather them up into Heaven. But every time they rounded the corner they just saw more race track.
The author encourages them to look at someone else who had run a race… Jesus Christ. He ran his race and had joyous times and hard times. He chose to allow himself to be nailed to a cross. He allowed people to verbally insult him. But he had *patience* and *joy* because he knew than in a few short days he would be sitting right next to God the Father himself. And whatever happened before that was hard but OK because the glory and happiness of eternity was waiting for him.
Sometimes we make this life bigger than what it is. It’s kind of like driving to Corpus Christi from San Antonio. San Antonio is a big city but when you’re watching it in your rear view mirror it gets smaller and smaller until you can’t even see it and Corpus gets bigger and bigger the closer you get to it.
Our race starts when we arise out of the waters of baptism and doesn’t finish until we take our last breath. Run to Jesus Christ and don’t let anything distract you or get in your way.
