Luke

Following Jesus is a Choice

September 1, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

When you committed your life to Christ, this was a choice you determined to make. No one can do this for you; following Jesus is a personal commitment and a personal decision (Joshua 24:15). For many, this is the only choice they will make. In reality, we must choose repeatedly throughout our lives to follow Him. Being a disciple is not a one-and-done kind of deal.

commitment,discipleship,following Jesus is a choice

We choose to commit our lives to Him, and then we must spend the rest of our lives choosing to follow Him because following Jesus is a choice we make every day (Luke 9:23). When the rubber meets the road, many choose to take the off-ramp. Making a one-time decision is easy; a lifetime commitment is something exponentially more.

How Do You Know You’ll Go to Heaven?

August 29, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

Do we really love God with all of our heart, strength and mind? Jesus said this was the most important commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). He went so far as to say that if we did this, we would inherit eternal life with Him (Luke 10:25-28). Love is a verb, something we must actively do. Saying a prayer to commit our life to Christ is a fine first step, but it is not what gets you to Heaven; we must actively love the Lord with all that we are. There are many ways to demonstrate that love, many of which are detailed in Matthew 25:31-46, a passage in which Jesus tells us that if we don’t feed the hungry, care for the sick and shelter the homeless, we will not inherit eternal life.

The Christian and Self Defense

August 18, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

Gun sights

Photo courtesy of Brian Lary

I’ve been reading John Howard Yoder’s little book entitled, “What Would You Do?” which deals with the philosophical question of what would you do if someone were threatening your spouse or child. It’s always been a difficult question for me to think through, as it is for most followers of Christ. To start with, I’m a jumble of contradictions when it comes to violence. As an American citizen, I believe in the individual right to bear arms as written in our Constitution. I own multiple guns and am a card carrying NRA member. Yet I’m anti-war and anti-hunting. I’m very much for animal rights and a massive lover of all of God’s creation. I suppose you could say that I own guns in hopes I never have to use them. Still, I’ve worked to become a very accurate shot should the need ever arise. It’s a dichotomy I’ve never really been able to unravel.

The Unqualified Commands of Jesus

June 21, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

I read a recent quote from Greg Boyd in which he referenced the unqualified commands of Jesus. When you read the passage in Luke 6:27-35 you find Jesus commanding us to love, serve, bless and do good to our enemies. All of these commands were given without condition. We have become brilliant at rationalizing why we shouldn’t do something for God, but Jesus left us no wiggle room.

Following Without Qualifications

He said to love, serve, bless and do good to our enemies – period. There is no excuse for ignoring the commands of Christ. If we would be a true and devoted follower of Him, we have no option other than to do what He instructed us. [Read more…] about The Unqualified Commands of Jesus

The Curse of Prosperity

June 14, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

I watched a video of Haiti this morning and was struck by the looks of desperation in the eyes of the people. I saw very young children in alleyways looking lost and mothers sitting in makeshift clinics, their faces stoic and without hope. The earthquakes of 2010 exacerbated the problems in an already failing infrastructure.

Prosperity

These are our brothers and sisters in Christ; they should be full of joy, but the ravages of life in a sinful and broken world have relegated them to a life of despondency. [Read more…] about The Curse of Prosperity