priorities

Three Requirements for Following Christ

May 14, 2026 by Tim Sherfy

There are three requirements for following Christ. They aren’t the only three, of course, but these three serve as the foundation for all the others. Jesus spelled out these commands in Luke 9:23: “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’”

Three simple rules, all with massive implications and responsibility. If you wish to follow Jesus, this is what it takes. Most will say, “It’s too much, it’s too hard, and it’s too far.” Remember what Jesus did for you. He gave up everything. He suffered, bled, and died. These three requirements are nothing compared to what He already did for you.

Making Deposits

April 30, 2026 by Tim Sherfy

No matter what we do, we are making deposits into an eternal account or throwing away the time given to us. We fill our days with decisions ranging from what to wear, what to eat, what to say, what to think about, or what to do. Every moment carries with it the choice to honor God or worship ourselves. Satan chose to worship himself, and look how that continues to turn out for him.

Despite being the most beautiful of all the angels (Ezekiel 28:12-15), he considered himself greater than his creator. (Isaiah 14:13-14) The tragic results of such pride are eternal separation from God, unending torment, and no hope for the future. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10) The same fate awaits all who refuse to bow their knee in worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Hypocrisy

April 20, 2026 by Tim Sherfy

If you paid a stranger to watch the way you live for a week, what would they say was the focus of your life? Would they see Jesus? Would they understand what it meant to be a Christian from watching what you did and listening to what you said? We Christians can talk a pretty good game, especially when we’re cloistered safe inside our places of worship or surrounded by like-minded believers.

The manner in which we exercise our faith is less convincing. There’s an old word for that: hypocrisy. Nobody I know ever wants to be called a hypocrite, but if your actions don’t align with your words, what else would someone call you? To behave like this is the same as looking at yourself in a mirror and then forgetting what you look like the moment you turn away. (James 1:23-24)

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4,000 Weeks

March 26, 2026 by Tim Sherfy

I came across a book called “4,000 Weeks” and read a brief sample of the introduction. The premise of the book is that the average human has 4,000 weeks of life from birth to death. While I have not read the book, it was obvious the content would be about maximizing that time and understanding how short a time 4,000 weeks is in the grand scheme of things. It was also clear that the book was coming from an evolutionary starting point, which meant it was flawed from the outset, so it isn’t something I would recommend.

But the idea stuck with me. Given health and family history – and knowing only God knows and controls how long I will live – at 58 years old, I figure I have somewhere between 1,040 and 2,080 weeks left. That’s how much time I have remaining to serve the Lord in this body. (Psalm 139:16; James 4:14–15)

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Unpopular

March 19, 2026 by Tim Sherfy

From the earliest days of adolescence, almost everyone aspires to be popular. I never met anyone when I was younger who told me they wanted to be unpopular. As beings created in the image of God, we all desire relationship and communion with others. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:18) Some personality types desire this more than others, but we all need it. In our formative years, popularity is something we crave. We all want to fit in, to be liked, and to have others respect our opinions.

Such desires don’t vanish when we finish school. It continues to resonate with us as we enter the workforce, move into neighborhoods, and develop social relationships. Even in our church communities, no one wants to be unpopular. When everyone desires something, it should set off warning bells in our minds. (Romans 12:2)

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