When Jesus Barely Matters

ALL – Psalm 119:156-176
ALL – Proverbs 28:23-24
OT – Daniel 7:1-28
NT – 1 John 1:1-10

Interesting passage for the day: So if we say we are his friends, but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. – 1 John 1:6, The Living Bible

Thought: If we want to make friends with someone, we will usually try to fit in with them. We will relate to them. We will do what pleases them, and if we’re doing things that upset them, we’ll stop.

Would our lives say that we’re friends with Jesus? Jesus lives in truth and righteousness and joy and grace. Are we fitting in with Him? Are we relating to Him? Are we doing what pleases Him?

If not, you may need to consider whether or not your belief that you know Him is true. You are deceiving yourself if you say that you know Jesus but your life isn’t conforming to His.

On the other hand, some of you are super-sensitive. You love Jesus very much, and your life has changed greatly because you have received His gift, the Holy Spirit. You are doing everything you can to please Jesus. But you are deeply aware of the times you have not pleased Him. You pretty much despise yourself because you’ve sinned against Him. And when you hear that those who aren’t pleasing Jesus are lying about a relationship with Him, you begin to fear because you know you haven’t walked perfectly in His light.

Take heart. For you who love Jesus and give yourselves wholeheartedly to Him, sensitive to each time you fail Him, there is an encouragement for you a few verses down (v 9): “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

So let’s not be half-hearted about our relationship with Jesus. Living as though Jesus barely matters to you is a good reason to question whether you know Him at all. But for us who are devoted to Jesus, grace is available even when we hurt Him and sin against Him. What a wonderful, kind God! Why give Him any less than our best?

Question: If Jesus were not a part of your life, would you be any different? Ok, you probably wouldn’t attend church. But would there be any differences from Monday to Saturday? How do you believe Jesus would like you to demonstrate your friendship with Him?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Push Back the Darkness

The message, preached on October 31st, 2010, covered Romans 15:20-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Our ambition to push back the darkness calls us to lay new foundations, talk to strangers, and make tough choices. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Thankful or Confused

Interesting passage for the day: Yes, they knew about him all right, but they wouldn’t admit it or worship him or even thank him for all his daily care. And after awhile they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what he wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish minds became dark and confused. – Romans 1:21, The Living Bible

Thought: One of the most important responses to knowing that God’s alive and well is not just to say so, but to thank Him for His daily care. God created each one of us. He saw us through the nine months in our mothers’ wombs, He helped us out the birth canal, He provided us with fathers and mothers, with protection and care and nourishment. God has given us every breath we’ve breathed. He’s seen us through sickness. He’s helped us grow in every way.

Thankfulness is so important. From Romans, you can see that when people refuse to thank God for His blessings they begin to pretend they know how to go through the paths of life on their own, and their lives become muddled, senseless and confusing.

Question: How long has it been since you have thanked God for anything? Especially for His “normal” daily blessings? Would it be hard to thank Him because it’s been so long? Would it help if you sat down and decided to write out a list of at least ten, fifteen, or twenty-five blessings, and then spent time thanking Him? Share a few snippets of how God has blessed you.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.