To be honest, I wasn't planning on writing a post for you all today but since Easter is just a couple days away and God wants everyone to feel His resurrection power, I believe this is a message God has put on my heart to share. It is also a message that I have been hearing a lot over the course of this past week and even though it is simple and somewhat a given, it is still powerful and sometimes taken for granted.
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
What would your response be if someone asked you: "What is Christianity?" or "What does being a Christian mean?"
Would you quickly respond back that "It is a religion in which we believe in the One and Only God who created the world and everything in it." or would you take the time and advantage of the opportunity to share with them what Christianity REALLY IS? God didn't send His only Son to walk this life alongside of us, just to create another religion, but to create a RELATIONSHIP.
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love[,] He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.
His Word is not dead, boring, or useless on any other day but Sunday, however it is:
. . . alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
My mom directed me to a sermon from Rev. Canon J. John called Reasons to Believe in Jesus. This message was aired on the Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast show and if you want to check it out (which I encourage you to do), you can find here part 1 and part 2 (both roughly around 30 mins).
In J. John's message, he brought to attention that all so familiar verse, John 3:16, and emphasized on the little phrase: ". . . that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Adding to that verse John 17:3:
Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
We can clearly see that believing in God and becoming a Christian is so much more than going through the motions, going to Church, and praying because it is what we do. It is realizing who God is, what He has done in our lives, how He has transformed us, and so much more! The experience or journey of becoming and being a Christian for each individual is such a unique story that you won't find any two alike! There is no "master formula" that a person can use to make the journey easier or the hardships more tolerable. If there were then, we would never get the opportunity to grow, to see God work in our situation, or to experience His divine presence walking this life with us.
As most of us probably already know, Christmas and Easter are the two major holidays when people get invited to Church and are more likely to say yes than any other time. This is because there is a tradition behind going. Even people that don't really believe or fully walk the walk any other day will go just because it is that "religious" activity they can check off for that year.
But as Christians we don't want people to come to Church just so they can check off that box, do we? I hope not!
Maybe someone or ones have been heavy on your heart to invite to church this Easter Sunday. If that is the case than that is great! I am not writing to tell you that inviting people to church on Easter is bad, but I want to share that it is the way you share that can make all the difference.
Last week I listened to a message from Pastor Dale Satrum on Going Beyond our Hindrances and in his message he talked about the hinderance of religion. I would recommend that you also listen to this sermon, as he had so many good points that I cannot list them all!
One of the points he did make was that "when we simply talk about 'church' the world hears religion." How we need to move away from just talking about church or serving somewhere but to engage in spiritual conversations that share how Jesus has worked in my life, in some particular area. That is what people need to hear, for we all long (even if it's deep down) for someone to come lift us up, dust us off, and make the load lighter. We are also all broken or hurting in some area, and nobody would want to live injured if they could be healed, would they? Of course not! Living in Jesus' presence and glory is being FORGIVEN of all wrongs, REDEEMED to our inheritance of everlasting treasure, and to be HEALED mentally and sometimes physically of our earthly hindrances.
I know that it can be scary or sometimes hard to invite/share with others and trust me in the beginning you will have doubts if sharing is really worth it or if they will ever come or listen because the devil doesn't want you to share with them. But also hear me when I say that God will give you the words to say, He will direct the conversation if you just give Him control of it. Let Him work/speak through you and after the conversation, you will feel so much better for taking that step of faith rather than staying in your comfort zone. As Pastor Steve Blair (Church of the Highlands) said in one of his messages, ABANDON SAFE AND LIVE BY FAITH.
So I encourage you, not only for this Sunday (for everyday for Christians is Easter or Christmas) but for anytime you share, to share with the mindset of IT'S MORE THAN A RELIGION.
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| A free image found on Canva, that I edited :) |
Have a wonderful and blessed Easter!!
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