I Peter

Do Something

September 23, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

We Christians in the West are very talented excuse-makers. There are always a million reasons why we don’t do something to further the Kingdom of God. Behind all the excuses is the simple reality of we’re too busy looking like and buying into the culture around us to have time to build the Kingdom. With so much darkness, so much pain and suffering, so much hunger and need all around us, how can we not do something?

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Jesus had a habit of taking time out of His day to reach put and supply the needs of those around Him. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and protected the weak. Jesus was never to busy to do something. He never made an excuse to not do something.

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Drifting

August 15, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

I recently heard David Platt say, “no one drifts towards holiness.” I have observed the truthfulness of this statement in my own life. When we aren’t intentional in the way we are living, the tendency is to drift into sin, not holiness. Unless we are vigilant, we will allow ourselves to be distracted and the drifting will begin. Life is rarely static.

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We are always moving in some direction. Even when we think we’re standing still, the currents of life are still compelling us in the direction of their own choosing. Unless we are purposefully setting a course, we will soon find ourselves drifting to places we never intended to go.

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Don’t Give Up

July 1, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

God has chosen You. He is pursuing You. There is work for which You have been uniquely designed to do. This work will be done if we will only hold fast, keep our eyes on Jesus, and don’t give up. Satan roams around like a roaring lion seeking to destroy you and your dreams (1 Peter 5:8). The devil will do whatever it takes to take you down. Through trials, temptations, anxiety, fear, and discouragement, he will pull out every stop to dissuade you from pursuing Christ and all He has given you to do.

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Don’t give up. Don’t give in to the lies of the adversary. Only you can do the work God has created you to do. While your talents and gifts may seem insignificant to you, they are a vital part of God’s plan for building His Kingdom here on earth. So, stay strong and don’t give up.

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Absolute Surrender

April 15, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Surrender is a word which causes mixed emotions for me. My independent and ferocious side wants to scream out, “Never! I won’t quit, won’t stop, won’t ever give in.” Surrender implies I’ve failed in some way. I didn’t complete the task or achieve the mission. I’m not one who likes to be beaten. On the flip side, surrender is the most beautiful word I know and is the aspiration of my life.

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I know I cannot win until I surrender. The mission will fail unless and until I surrender. While my prideful self resists surrender, my love for Christ demands it of me. So, in a paradoxical sense, I must refuse to surrender to ever stop surrendering to Jesus!

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Never Expect Smooth Sailing

January 21, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus never let His circumstances dictate His behavior. No matter what was happening around Him, He stayed focused… and there was a lot going on around Him! As followers of Jesus, we should never expect smooth sailing. If following Jesus was easy, I’m guessing a lot more people would choose to do so. Peter, one of Jesus’s closest friends, said we shouldn’t be surprised when fiery ordeals come upon us; we shouldn’t consider it to be unusual or unique to us (1 Peter 4:12).

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In other words, struggles and temptations are always going to be present in our lives. They are a given. What is up to us is how we will respond. We can stay focused as Christ did, or we can allow ourselves to become distracted and choose the easier path.