For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:16

Lately I have been really confronted with the fact that all too often I downplay the good news (Gospel) in my own life. I can tend to think; the gospel is for the world, the gospel is for the unbeliever, or even the gospel is for people new to the Christian faith. Now the the truth is that the gospel is for all those people, but the gospel is also for me and those that have been christians for years. The reason christians begin to think that the gospel is no longer for us, is due to a misconception of what the gospel truly is and what it does for us. The first thing I do that lessens the power of the gospel is to view it as a moral story that tells me how to live my life, and a list of do’s an do not’s that if I keep these rules I will be a “good person”. The second thing I do that downplays the importance of the Gospel is to compare myself to other people, then through this I begin to believe that “I’m a pretty good person compared to others.” The problem with both of these tendancies is the fact that when I begin to believe that I am a “good person” then the “Good News of the Gospel becomes just the news of the gospel.” To quote my daughters favorite bedtime book; “The Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what He has done.” (JSB) You see the Gospel reveals the fact that You and I are both sinful beings; and in and of ourselves there is nothing we can do to become “Good People”. Romans says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God,” it also says “the wages or result of sin is death.” So as we read the Bible we begin to realize there are no good people just a good God, at this point some people will be offended and ask what about, Noah, or Abraham, or David, or Peter, and what about Paul? To this I will answer with a few stolen lines from a pastor I really admire, “Noah really; he became a drunk exabitionist, Abraham pimped out his wife twice, that is at least one too many times, David impregnated a guys wife then murdered him to cover it up, Peter denied Jesus and later became racist, Paul Killed Christians!” The Bible is not a book about heroes, its a book about bad evil people that God chooses to love inspite of the depravity of their hearts. We need to become very aware of the depravity of our own hearts, because as we realize how bad we truly are, the Gospel goes from “just news to really really Good News.” The really really Good News that God came to earth as the man Chirst Jesus, and lived the perfect life we could not live, died the death we could not die and rose from the grave and lives today as our Savior, Lord and King.

For our joy and His glory,

Eden

God’s solid foundation.  I have been on sinking ground many times in this life, but it was before I knew Christ, or was walking with my Savior and Redeemer.  You see there is no slipping or sliding off God’s foundation.  His foundation is solid, and unchanging.  It is there for us whenever we need it, holding us up and keeping us from drowning in our sin.  Just knowing that should make us fall on our knees and thank Him for His Grace and Mercy.

Oh, what a loving God we have.  He already knows those who belong to Him.  The challenge of course for us is to realize that He does know who belongs to Him.  We take our Lord with us wherever we go.  He doesn’t care where, He doesn’t get bored or tired of us.  He just wants us to know that we belong to Him.  I’ve often thought back about where I have taken my Lord.  Dirty, dark, nasty, awful places before I accepted Him as my true loving Savior and Redeemer.  However, this verse tells me that though I had not accepted Him yet, He still knew that I belonged to Him.  You see, the Bible says that we are all created by Him, but for us to truly belong to Him we must accept Him.  His heart breaks when we won’t accept Him.  You see that’s what our Lord wants.  He wants us to be part of Him, to know we have Him with us wherever we go.  What He wants is to love us, care for us, walk with us, and for us to want Him as much as He wants us.

Praise God for loving us this much.  Praise Him, and humble yourself before our God because we truly do belong to Him!!!  If you are reading this and you don’t feel like you are on a solid foundation, ask Him, pray for His solid foundation, His mercy and grace that we can only find in His Son Jesus Christ.

Joe Ferris

One evening, I was able to take a group of high school students to the passion play (the story of Jesus’ final days of His life).  I was extremely touched by the scene at the cross.  As I watched the three men on the crosses, the Lord laid on my heart that each of the two criminals next to Jesus were given time to make a decision (Luke 23:39-43).  Because of their different decisions, they both have eternal futures in different places.  I couldn’t help but think how grateful the man who accepted Jesus in the final hours of his life must be today, while the other man has eternal condemnation.  I also believe this is the decision people must make today.  Many people fail to see themselves as “thieves” in need of a Savior and death may be at their door unknowingly.  Unfortunately, many people today don’t have a few hours at the end of their lives next to Jesus to repent and accept Him.  This is the reason we must be willing to share the love of Jesus with people.  I believe many Christians today (myself included) don’t have the sense of urgency needed to share the gospel with people.  Most studies show that only 2% of Christians share their faith regularly.  Each day approximately 200,000 people die in this world.  Have you ever sat down to think about how big that number is every day?  That means 139 people a minute step into eternity.  Let’s say 25 percent are Christians.  That could mean over 100 people a minute, or close to 150,000 a day, leaving earth without Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior.  Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.  Romans 10:13 says, “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved “… Christian who do you know that needs Jesus?  Are you willing to step out?  Are you willing to be one of the 2%?  We all have a decision to make.

Mike Wulfert

We pick up the story of the life of David in Chapter 7. The account tells us that David was having a period of respite from waging war with the enemies of Israel and God. David was not one to just lie around and do nothing. His love and dedication to the Lord was as strong as ever. He felt that he was ready to honor the Lord by building the Lord a house at least equal to the cedar home David had. The Lord had resided in a tent since the building of the tabernacle. But the Lord had other things in mind. Through Nathan God told David he did not need nor had ever asked for such a house. Rather the Lord was going to make David into a house. Huh? Yes, the Lord was going to do a work in David that would change the history of the world and men would be talking and writing about it until the end of time. From David’s lineage would come the Messiah! David was amazed and grateful for the mercy and grace that the Lord was showing him and had shown him from his youth. We are treated to a prayer of such wonder and gratitude. David was a changed man. Always when the Lord works in our lives we are changed. So often we are so determined to serve, fight, plead, stand and be for Him that we miss what is even more important. The most important thing is not what we can do for Him but what He can and will do in us. David then goes on to more military victories. But it is when he gets home that I am amazed by what the Lord has done in Davidís heart. David takes in the crippled son of Jonathan ñ Mephibosheth. Although David loved Jonathan Mephibosheth was from the house of Saul arguably the greatest foe of David. For the rest of his life Jonathanís son would eat at Davidís table! Who is eating at my table? Have I been transformed by mercy and grace so that those who are foolish, rash and in rebellion against God can be in my sphere of influence until = He moves on their hearts!

If so, we can be amazed who will be sitting at our table!

Dennie Krivo

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In chapter 7 of Deut, God was laying out the future of His chosen people including the conquest of the Promised Land. The actual details of the conquest are in the book of Joshua, but in Deuteronomy, Moses was preparing the people probably via a type of sermon. The words of verse 22 indicate that the people are probably going to face some very strong opposition, but that God is going to be, not just with them, but among them. Verse 22 goes on to say that the conquest of the Promised Land will be completed, but not all at once. It will be little by little. He then gives a reason why it will not occur all at once…..lest the wild animals overtake you. In that area we know that there were animals and they were a threat to humans. If a huge area was immediately opened up, those animals could flourish and make the area dangerous to inhabit. So God said it will progress slowly. As you push the boundaries of the conquest you will grow into that land of milk and honey.

When I read this passage, I can’t help but see the parallels in my own life. If I have a concern (Evangelicals don’t have problems, they have concerns) or maybe multiple concerns that are (or at least seem to be) very threatening, I immediately ask God to take them away. I want immediate relief….the peace of God that has been promised. Realistically, if God suddenly took all my challenges away, I wonder what would fill their space…wild animals no doubt. God truly does want me to have peace, but not on my terms.

As we have been studying the life of David in the Tuesday night men’s study we see how David went through trial after trial as God shaped him into a great leader. As we have looked at James Chapter 1 with Pastor Andy we see that trials are meant to grow us up so that we may be thoroughly equipped to face any challenge

Maybe it is time to change our mind about how we interact with the world. On Easter, Pastor Andy related that before Christ, his God was himself. As we accept Christ and launch on the journey of walking with Him, We need to have a change in who is the center of our lives. Are our challenges a way that we are being shaped for God’s service? Are our challenges so that we can walk closer with our Saviour? Is God really showing us his mercy by allowing our challenges to persist so that the wild animals don’t overtake us? I think we all know down deep that God is doing what is best for us…that is God’s love. We can always rest on that, especially in times of trials.

Denny Miller