Acts

More Than Emotions

August 29, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

Modern churches place an enormous amount of focus on the emotional experience of being a Christian. Worship teams craft songs and services to evoke an emotional response from those listening. Sermons focus on engaging stories rather than the plain truth of Scripture. And I don’t know about you, but it’s a rare day when my mailbox (physical and virtual) doesn’t find an impassioned plea for help from some ministry or another.

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Social media adds to the play for our emotions by hyping the latest heresy or cause to which the church should be attending. Humans are emotional beings and Christians are no exception. But following Jesus involves more than emotions. Jesus said we must love Him not only with all our heart (emotion) but also with all our strength, mind, and soul (Mark 12:30).

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What Can You Do?

August 19, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

What can you do about the increasing evil that is penetrating every corner of our world? To be realistic and blunt, not much. The fall of this world was a foregone certainty before the Lord spoke the first word to create it all (Isaiah 46:9-10). None of what is transpiring is surprising to God. Every bit is part of His mysterious but sovereign plan (Ephesians 1:11-12). I don’t get it.

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This isn’t in any way how I would write this grand story. Then again, I am so obviously not God. My “perfect plan” would fall apart within seconds. No, that’s too long; it would immediately fail because I am not omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, or omnibenevolent. It’s not all bad news though. While we can’t stem the tide of evil flooding our world, there is something we can do.

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Cultural Christianity

July 25, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

I am seeing a lot of talk these days around what is called “cultural Christianity”. The term has been around for a long time, although sometimes taking on different names such as “nominal Christianity”, or even “carnal Christianity”, but it always manifests in the same way. A so-called “cultural Christian” is one who either grew up in a Christian home, or was at least exposed to the teachings of the Bible, and still leans toward those life principles they remember from their youth.

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Many who identify as cultural Christians walked away from all things Christianity but are returning to its tenets later in life. There are two important things we must know about cultural Christianity: first, there is no Biblical basis for it, and second, it is rare for those professing such a belief to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Persecuted for the Sake of Jesus

June 24, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

Vineet is a follower of Christ in India. When he was younger, Hindu militants forced to him leave his parents and home because of his faith. Since then, he has twice more been kicked out of towns and had his property seized. All because of his faith in Christ (Matthew 5:10-12). This isn’t unusual in India, a nation that is growing ever more hostile to Christianity. What struck me about Vineet was his courage and faithfulness.

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Older now, he leads a Bible study deep in the jungle away from the eyes of forces who wish to silence him. After years of suffering and injustice, Vineet simply says, “I have dedicated my life to serve and be persecuted for the sake of Jesus. I will do this until my last breath. Nothing can separate me from the love of God” (2 Timothy 3:12; Romans 8:38-39). This man’s life is inspiring and should encourage each of us to examine our commitment to Christ.

Are We Really Any Better?

June 20, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

As you read the Bible, it’s easy to shake your head at some of the characters. We think we would never behave that way or make the choices they did. Knowing what we know of Jesus today, I think it’s easy to be confident we would react better if we were in their place. Let me assure you, none of us would. I know this because I know myself and I know what I observe in others every day.

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Perhaps our actions are even worse than those of our ancestors. We have the complete Word and revelation of God in our hands and our native language (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This phenomenon is only a few hundred years old. None of those we read about in the Bible had access to the Word like we do. Despite that, our commitment to Jesus is no better than theirs.