commitment

Diverse and Eclectic

January 30, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Most of us hang around people who look like us, think like us, and share the same beliefs as we do. Being charged with furthering Jesus’s mission to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, I find it difficult to believe Heaven looks like our homogeneous gatherings. No, I think Heaven is the most diverse and eclectic bunch of people we can imagine. If that’s true, why don’t we strive to surround ourselves with similar gatherings now?

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This life is our only chance to prepare for our eternal one. We may as well practice now. Paul encourages us in Romans 15:7 to accept others just as Christ accepted us. Jesus takes us as we are. We should also accept others as they are without demanding they become like us. God loves them just as they are, and so should we.

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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 Cost of Following Christ

January 9, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Wang Yi is the pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church in China. The Chinese government arrested Pastor Yi, along with his wife and over 100 members of the church, in December 2018 after a period of prolonged harassment of the church by the Chinese government. While the official charge was “Inciting subversion of state power,” in reality the government arrested them for following and proclaiming the truth and good news of Jesus. Such a charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

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After being later released, Yang’s wife and church members spoke of being tortured while under arrest. Police ransacked their homes and have kept them under close watch since their discharge. The release of Yang’s wife, Jiang, was conditional on posting bail and she lost considerable weight during her time being held in detention. She has been under house arrest with her young son for the past six months.

Sleepwalking

January 6, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Did you ever wake up and realize you’ve been coasting through life? Suddenly, you recognize while you’ve been living, life has been passing you by. As followers of Christ, we should live soberly and with intention. Our time is limited, and when it runs out, those who have not chosen to surrender their lives to Jesus will be out of options. Their destiny will be eternal separation from God. They will spend eternity in Hell with the devil and his demons.

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We have the truth and a responsibility to share that truth. It has never been more important to break out of the malaise in which we’ve been living because time is shorter today than it was yesterday. If we don’t begin living with urgency, I promise we will one day face a horrific surprise as we discover we are out of time.

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