Daily Life

Set an Example

January 27, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Many of us have walked with God for a long time. My faith journey now spans over 45 years. There have been trials, but I have never regretted my decision to follow Christ. I cannot imagine life without Him, nor do I comprehend how people survive what life throws at them without having Jesus as their rock, fortress, and their deliverer (Psalm 18:2).

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While I appreciate my current relationship with God, I must note that it comes with a heavy responsibility. If you are a mature Christian, you share the same burden. The responsibility entrusted to us is not only to model the life of Jesus to those who do not yet know Him but to be an example for those who are newer to the faith.

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Explaining God’s Will for Your Life

January 23, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Love God, love others. That is the will of God for your life in four words. Our problem is not we don’t know God’s will for our lives, it’s that we lack the conviction to live it. For fun, I searched Amazon.com for books on God’s will for your life. The search came back with a staggering 3,000 results. Going with a conservative estimate of 40,0000 words per book, that’s over 120 million words written to help people discover God’s will for their lives.

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It makes me wonder how much money Christians spend trying to determine God’s will. Now you know it in just four words: Love God, love others. And that’s for free. You’re welcome. It gets even worse when you plug the same phrase into Google. That search yields over 224 million web pages discussing the topic.

The Gift of Salvation

January 20, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

You don’t have to hang out among Christians for very long before hearing about the “free” gift of salvation in Jesus. It is amazing how we owe Jesus nothing in return for His saving us for all eternity and sending His Spirit to live inside us. We marvel at this gift, and with good reason. But, in truth, the gift isn’t free. No gift is. Every gift will cost the giver something. The gift of salvation is no different.

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Around Easter, we take the time to ponder what it cost Jesus to save us. But we rarely think about or discuss what this “free” gift of salvation cost God the Father. Can you imagine volunteering your child to die on behalf of a multitude of ungrateful people, most of whom will refuse the gift, anyway? What the gift of Jesus cost God is beyond human comprehension. Perhaps it’s why we choose not to think or talk about it.

Losing Loved Ones

January 16, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

One of the greatest pains we can experience is losing loved ones. We ache because they are no longer with us. Gone are their smiles, their wit, and their wisdom. We miss the conversations and even their proximity. Life is finite but we don’t think of it thus. Death is always the cruelest surprise. For our loved ones who share our relationship with and love for Christ, we need not be sorrowful.

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Jealousy may be the more proper emotion as they are seeing Jesus face to face, held within his arms, while we continue our toil in the physical realm on earth. To experience true joy instead of sorrow when losing loved ones, we need a change of perspective, a new way to envision their life with us before their inevitable passing.

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Jesus is Not an Institution

January 13, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

A pastor shared a cartoon drawing of Mary and baby Jesus. In the cartoon, Mary is comforting Jesus and asks if he had a nightmare. Jesus replies, “Yes, I dreamed I became an institution!” I don’t know what your reaction is to this, whether it’s laughter, disgust, or ambivalence. For me, it cut me to the core. What would Jesus think if He came back today to assess the state of the Church?

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What are we doing with and to the plan He has for our redemption? He spent His life showing how we should love and care for others. That is the essence of why the Church exists. God intends for us to represent Him here on earth. Instead, we’ve become just another business organization complete with heavy debts and ever-increasing administrative budgets.