Luke

Going to Hell

August 26, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

In our day, the phrase “go to hell” is thrown around flippantly in anger. It is common for many to joke they are “going to hell” for something they said or did. Without a doubt, culture has done much to desensitize us to the brutal and horrific reality of Hell. We’ve allowed forces outside the authority of God’s Word to convince us the Bible doesn’t mean what it says. And we’ve allowed this to happen to the point Hell is now a joke at worst or at best a casual curse.

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Going to Hell is not a trivial phrase, it is the most pressing and urgent subject we need to address as followers of Jesus. Since Christ doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell (2 Peter 3:9), we should spend our lives doing everything we can to keep every person we meet from going to Hell.

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The Purpose of Life

August 22, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

What did you do yesterday to build the Kingdom? What will you do today? Those two questions may be the most important you can ever ask yourself. Indeed, these questions frame the purpose of life. There is nothing else worth living for other than Jesus. We will spend our lives building His Kingdom or building our own. The Kingdom of God is eternal.

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It will exist long after our own little kingdoms have faded in history, washed away by the tides of time. But Jesus remains. His Kingdom endures forever. Why would we spend our lives pursuing things which will not last when we can spend it for that which lasts forever?

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Golden Handcuffs

August 8, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

The story of “The Rich Young Ruler” is one of the best-known parables told by Christ (Luke 18:18-23). For years, scholars and laypeople alike have debated its meaning and application. What are the implications for a 21^st-century audience? Should we all sell everything we have, give to the poor, and follow Jesus? Perhaps, but at the risk of executing somewhat of a bait and switch, such will not be the topic of this post. Instead, I want to focus on the lesser discussed conversation Jesus had next with his followers.

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In that conversation, Jesus stated it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to enter Heaven (Luke 18:24-27). In other words, it was virtually impossible. Why did He say this, and what implications does it have for those of us who are incredibly wealthy by historical standards?

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Not Gonna Bow

July 25, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Years ago, Russ Taff wrote a song called, “Not Gonna Bow”, based on the well-known Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The theme of the song was how we as Christ-followers should refuse to bow to any idols, regardless of the consequences. There is nothing more important than to keep Jesus first in your life. It is the essence of surrendering our hearts to Christ. If He isn’t first, then we aren’t surrendered.

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Every day we are tempted to bow down to someone or something other than Jesus. When we put anything other than Christ first in our hearts, it is an idol and needs to be thrown out of our lives. Idolatry is subtle and creeps in constantly if we are not diligent to guard against it.

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Where is Your Treasure?

July 11, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke12:34). As I have written previously, a good test of where you are placing your treasure is to look at your bank and credit card statements. Where you are spending your money is where you are placing your treasure. While this is true, it recently occurred to me there is a much deeper meaning to Jesus’s words.

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It’s not just the specifics of where we are spending our money which reveals where we are placing our treasure, it’s much bigger than that. We will spend our money on things of this world or for God’s Kingdom. Our treasure is being amassed in earthen containers (banks, possessions, and brokerages) or in Heavenly realms. We are either building up things we cannot keep or investing in what we cannot lose (Luke 9:24).