Daily Life

Sin is Not Okay

June 23, 2016 by Tim Sherfy

I’m seeing a disturbing trend in Christendom… Somehow sin is becoming “okay”. I’m not picking on any individual sin because it’s all equal in the eyes of God. Jesus demonstrated this when He said anyone who has lusted has committed adultery in their heart and anyone who has harbored anger has committed murder in his heart. I don’t think I’d be going too far out on a limb to then conclude, if not for the merciful covering of the blood of Christ, we would all be adulterers and murderers in the eyes of God.

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I say this to make it known up front I am the worst of sinners. What’s worse than an adulterer and murderer? So I am throwing no stones at any other sin or sinner. My only premise is it should never be acceptable or even possible for a Christian to find sin acceptable. Sin is not okay.
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Tools for Building the Kingdom

June 20, 2016 by Tim Sherfy

I was listening to a recent message by Andy Stanley (you can listen to the message here) and he introduced the topic of everything we own being a tool for building the Kingdom. Our money, our car, our house, our kitchen table – everything – can, and should, be thought of as tools for building the Kingdom.

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I have long understood the time and money we are blessed with should in turn be used for God’s purposes here on earth. But I admit, I had never considered how everything we own should also be seen as tools for building the Kingdom. It’s a bold way of thinking with the possibility of opening new avenues of service to our King.
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Simple

June 16, 2016 by Tim Sherfy

It occurs to me Jesus lived such a simple life because He knew by limiting distractions, He would maximize His focus on His Father. I think we often overlook the simple teachings of Christ because we are always looking for something deeper. Like everything else in His life, Jesus kept it simple. He didn’t complicate things. He confounded the wise so the simple could plainly understand what He was saying.

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The so-called learned and wise people (much like us) missed it because they were convinced it couldn’t be that easy. Certainly issues as large as salvation and eternal life could not be so simple. We continue to make this mistake today and suffer the same consequences of those in Jesus’ day.
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No Matter the Cost

June 13, 2016 by Tim Sherfy

While I risk sounding like a broken record, I continue to be convinced a large number of people who profess to be Christians want to serve without it costing them anything. We want the ticket to Heaven as long as we can maintain a reasonable comfort here on earth. We sing, “No matter the cost” but balk at giving up a Saturday to minister to the poor or homeless. We proclaim we’ll go wherever God sends us but renege when the call leads to Uganda instead of Austin or San Diego.

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When we say surrender, we tend to put guardrails around it rather than giving ourselves in reckless abandon to Christ. Unless we are willing to serve Him no matter the cost, I fear we may not even be actual followers of Jesus.
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Give it Up

June 9, 2016 by Tim Sherfy

Why do many who profess to be Christians hold back from becoming disciples, fully fledged followers of Jesus? I think it is fear, but probably not the kind you’d expect. I don’t think they fear persecution or even death. From my study and observation, I believe Christians stop short of discipleship because they are afraid of giving up personal pleasures. They don’t want to sacrifice their comforts and selfish desires. This isn’t a new phenomenon.

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It can be traced back to the early church. Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD) is recorded to have said, “There are quite a few persons who hold back from becoming Christians—not because they are afraid of losing their lives— but because they are afraid of losing their pleasures.” How have we made almost no progress in over 2,000 years?
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