We are well into the Winter Olympics as I write this. I find myself pondering the reality of the life of many of these great athletes and how much they focus and train as well as the amount that they compete. I find myself being challenged by this concept of their lifestyle.
Don't worry, sure I try to exercise and eat right but I am not going to be writing today about some new training kick I am on to become a great athlete. Instead I have found myself being challenged about how we as Christians are to be like those athletes in our Faith.
We are to be training and equipping ourselves and one another to be able to walk well in our lives. We are to receive strong Biblical instruction so that our minds are renewed and we are prepared to share the Truth of the Gospel to those we encounter. We need to practice these things with others in the Church, fellowshipping well in the Love of Christ, sharing testimony of how the Gospel has changed us, praying with and for eachother. We are also to compete, not against each other but with each other, it is a team event. We compete together as we put this all into practice seeking to intentionally give the Gospel to the lost around us. This means we need to apply our lives to this endeavor, it is not a simple religion or a one day a week go to church type of idea. Instead this is a life commitment to be an active and radical disciple of Jesus.
So I urge you to be one who truly loves Jesus as the Lord of your life, displaying that love in your obedience to Him and His Word. Hold fast to the community of Faith, the local Church and serve the Lord together, not in a ritualistic and empty way, not in traditions that no longer have effect, but with a fresh view to engage the culture around us with the living Truth of the Gospel as taught in the Bible. May we actively love others and serve one another as a display of what the Gospel does in our lives. If Jesus died for your sins and mine, if we have repented of our sin and received forgiveness through His name and placed all our faith and trust in Him, then we are to live in thankful response to this great gift by following Him and His teaching. Do what He says, read the Bible and go to a Bible teaching Church that holds to the True Gospel as its core. Be a part of serving Him.
For those who have made up their minds that they do not need to be a part of a local Bible believing Church and that they do not need to actively serve Jesus or talk about the Gospel. Read John 14 and ask yourself "If Jesus said that those who love me will do as I have commanded" then do I really Love Jesus if I refuse to follow what He has said about His Church? About His Mission for us to make Disciples to follow Him?
May we take seriously the life we have been given and not loose heart but apply ourselves diligently to the task we have received.
Amen
Pastor Bruce
