Pastor's Pen
by Pastor Jimmy Sharp
September 2004
What are You Convinced of?
I believe that the Church is vitally
important for today. I am convinced that the Church offers to the world the
clearest view of God available. The world is seeking after God and the Church
is the element in this world that God has chosen to to demonstrate God's self
most clearly. The Church is of God. Those persons that have accepted Jesus
Christ as their Savior are the Church and God demonstrates Himself through
those persons. The Church has a purpose in the world.
When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their
personal Savior they become a part of the body of Christ. This is not the end
of the journey. It is at this point that the journey begins. Establishing a
relationship with Jesus Christ is the beginning point. It is at this point
that we receive forgiveness of sin. At this point we begin an incredible
journey toward knowing God.
As a person continues in this relationship
with Jesus, they will also discover an increasingly clear perspective of
themselves. Some of the things discovered will not be pleasant discoveries.
These persons will become aware of their sin and what sin has cost God. These
persons will come to a much different perspective of Jesus and what Jesus has
accomplished through the cross. Sin extracted an enormous price from God and
yet God is willing to claim again that which He created for Himself
originally. You are of value to God.
The promises of God in the Scriptures are
comforting, encouraging and even exciting, but they don't make consequences go
away. Poor investments of money and time and energy are still poor investments
and the consequences will remain the same whether or not a person comes to
Jesus or not. Can Jesus change circumstances? Yes!--- Is that the reason you
come to Jesus? The Scriptures teach us that God will be with us in life, all
of life, even the consequences of our poor choices. Jesus does not take away
our God given ability to make choices. In our continuing journey to know God's
will, God will grow us into the likeness of Jesus and we will make decisions
that grow out of that likeness. This likeness that I am suggesting is not in
outward appearance. It is a likeness of the character of Jesus, the Christ,
the Son of God, the Savior of God's creation, the Heir of God, the Son of man,
my friend.
I believe that the Church, the body of Christ
is vitally important today. I am convinced that God is as much in love with
you today as God was in the day that Jesus lived on this earth. What are you
convinced of today?? The answer is of eternal value and so are you.
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