Psalms

Deliverance

January 21, 2013 by Tim Sherfy

faith,perseverance,patience of Job,facing trials,tribulation

Have you ever had periods in your life where you felt like you could relate to Job? There are seasons in all of our journeys where, to the best of our knowledge we are following well, yet everything seems to be crumbling around us. Maybe a job loss or financial difficulty will arrive. Perhaps we will lose someone close to us or have an internal battle threaten to rage out of control. We are doing the things God told us to do but still our lives seem to be spiraling downward and picking up speed. These are the times of character refinement, and it is these moments that determine our true loyalty. Will we give up because it is too hard? Or will we say with Job, “The Lord gives and He takes away… I will never curse my friend” (Job 1:21-22; Job 2:9-10)?

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Zeal

January 17, 2013 by Tim Sherfy

Zeal is an interesting word. Scriptures tell us that zeal for God’s house consumed Jesus (Psalm 69:8-9; John 2:17). We see it played out when Jesus tossed the merchants and money changers out of the temple (John 2:13-17). In doing so, I believe Jesus set an example as to how we should react to things that stand in contrast to God’s design. While tolerance is preached today, Jesus demonstrated none of it towards those who were blatantly ignoring and abusing God’s commands. When was the last time you were so consumed by zeal for God that you took action regardless of what people thought and without thinking of any possible ramifications?

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Take Action

December 31, 2012 by Tim Sherfy

proactive,putting God first,Jesus first,2013,goals,goal setting,discipleship

Today is the last day of 2012. The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time for me, as it presents a clean slate and a fresh set of opportunities. I’m a goals fanatic and have found it useful to have a theme to guide my planning for each year. Last year’s theme was, “Consume Less, Contribute More.” This year I have selected, “Take Action”. As a follower of Christ, nothing could be more important. As James said, we must be doers of the word, not merely hearers (James 1:22-25). If we are going to grow in our faith, we must act on the things Jesus told us to do.

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Pursuing Holiness

October 10, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

As you go throughout your days, are you pursuing a life of holiness? Are you consciously striving to be the person God created you to be, a person who is consumed by the love of Jesus? This isn’t a new concept, but it has been brought to my mind in fresh ways through recent teachings by Bill Hybels and David Platt. Not only has God placed a unique combination of passions and skills in each of us in order that we might do the work He created us to do, but He has also charged us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to Him (Philippians 1:27).

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Freewill and the Sovereignty of God, Part I

October 6, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

I should have known when we embarked on our “Tough Topic Thursday’s” that there was no way a single blog post on any subject would be sufficient! Today we will dive into the topic of freewill. This might get a little heavy, but stick with me; we need to lay the groundwork for the next week or two on this issue.

So many have questioned why bad things happen to good people or why a loving God allows evil in our world. To understand the answers to questions like these, we first have to understand the concept of freewill. Let me state first and foremost that God is sovereign over the outcomes in our world(Psalm 103:19; Acts 2:22-23; Acts 4:27-28); He is in control and no matter what occurs on earth, He is able to bring His overarching plan to pass. God is all powerful (Jeremiah 32:27; Revelation 19:6 ) and can bring anything He desires into reality. However, He chooses to give humans freewill and to work with them in bringing about His plans.