These are the final recorded words of the apostle Paul. And they drip with grace. Through them we can prepare now for the inevitable final hours of our life. It happens as we receive grace. And then live in grace for the rest of our days.
Life can be lonely. Times can be hard. Needs can be many. Friends walking through it all with us can make all the difference. 2 Timothy 4:9-15 is all about cultivating close friendships and admitting needs. While we have no greater friend than Jesus Christ, we also need one another.
One of the greatest reasons I can think of loving and following Jesus is that he is a God of grace. A God of forgivingness. In Him we truly have someone who can help us with our regrets. One who can make all things new. He, alone, has the ability to free you from the bondage of your memory and remove the stains of our sin.
There is a message to be proclaimed. It isn’t our message or our word. We don’t twist it or soften it or change it. We can’t even make anyone like it or believe it. We are given a divine charge to make a divine message known. Even if it doesn’t make people feel good. Even if it’s an offensive message to the culture. Even if you don’t think it will work in bringing change.
People who finish well do so because they live lives based on a core set of beliefs and convictions. This guides their lives. God has given us those beliefs and convictions in his word.
All of God's people want to make a big difference for God. God wants that for us too. It won't necessarily mean size, visibility, or applause. But it will mean impacting the lives of those around us as we remember the past, anticipate the future, and continue in our present.
We have been made for our times and our times are made for us. We have God's promises and power to live with discernment and decisiveness. Awareness and action.
Competence is what a person can do, and that they do it well. Character refers to who a person is, what they are like morally. In the case of Christian leadership character always is more important than competence. It's character that God is developing in his family.
God can be trusted to speak truth and keep his promises. We know this because of the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ. As diligently stay faithful to both we can stand firm against the tide of our times.
Not only is life difficult, the Christian life is a hard and narrow way. I want to set the record straight on that once and for all. The journey God has us on is full of valleys, setbacks, danger, unexpected detours, and obstacles. It is neither easy or simple. That isn't popular to say. It's not God's desire to make us feel good, but his desire is to grow us up.
There are only two things on this earth that are eternal. The first is God’s word. The second thing is people. It does something to us when we realize that the Word of God and people are eternal investments. In light of that. God calls us to guard the word and refresh people.
Christ calls us to think straight and stand tall. Refuse to bend and bow to pressure. Swim up stream rather than drift down. Live without hesitation or laziness. Fully committed to Jesus Christ and his mission.
It's amazing how God's grace, mercy, and peace transform our attitude, perspective, and conscience. We become freed up to serve others in prayer, discipleship, and encouragement.
This is a call for all of us to step up. To get into the fight without fear. Our culture is hurting and being fed a way to life and happiness that will lead to death and sadness. And they won’t hear about Jesus unless we regularly sacrifice for the cause of Christ. Let's be and do what God has called us to.
We are in God's hands. The choice to find meaningful connect in the church family is ours to make. We have 3 options. Either choose community, reject community, or postpone the choice. What will you choose?
God is love. So he gives love away. He gives us Jesus as a demonstration of his love. When we take Him we are receiving God’s love. But love isn’t put in our heart to stay. It’s to be given away to one another.
We don’t automatically relate to one another. Meaningful connection is the direct result of time, energy, and cultivation. True community will only result as we give ourselves to it's pursuit, motivated by our faith in God.
There are serious consequences to isolation. There are invaluable benefit to deep relationships. Our church must overcome present barriers to community and involvement. This will not only facilitate growth, but it is essential to our survival. Are you willing? Are you available?
We can have infinite joy in the midst of terrible times if we know Christ is proclaimed, even death is gain, and our salvation is obtained, here and now.
Every Christian was once a fugitive from God. Our guilt was great and penalty severe. In Jesus we have a Mediator. Through grace, we are now reconciled to God not as slaves, but as sons and daughters.
You looking for the meaning of everything? You looking for all of God? You have it in the person of Jesus Christ. Beware of any teaching that undermines the sufficiency and deity of Jesus Christ.
Being “a different kind of man” is one of the highest and hardest callings you will ever receive. So be on alert, stand firm, be strong, act in love, and God let do extraordinary things for his glory and your good through your ordinary, faithful, different kind of life.
To live in joy, I need the right hope. That’s Christ. To serve with joy, I need the right attitude. That’s Christs. To be on mission with joy I need the right message. That’s Christ. To rest with joy then I need the right resources. That’s Christ.
God has established our core identity in Jesus Christ, placed us in his family, and given us every thing we need to live for Jesus.
Jesus is the message, Christians are His messengers. The church's task is to faithfully make known that Jesus is the King of the world and calling all into his kingdom. Today is the day to take Jesus as Savior and Lord, if you haven't. If you have, today is the day to tell someone about Him.
If you’re dependent on your circumstances for hope you will never have hope. But when the object of our hope is God, we always have hope. For the Christian, hope isn’t an optional way to live, it’s essential. Because hope is a person. Jesus Christ.
We aren't a perfect church, but can be a real one. We don't have all the answers, but can care. We may not be smart, but can be wise. A people who cry and understand those who do. All because we bring it to Jesus who hurts with us and has been hurt on our behalf.
When journeying through storms remember the presence and promise of God, the importance of practical encouragement, and the necessity of complete faith. We have Jesus who says I love you and I died for you. I will be with you and never leave you on your journey. Your world may break apart but I will hold you fast.
You know where you stand with God. And how you’ve lived your life is not the issue of whether you're right with Him or not. Instead, it’s whether or not you will accept or reject Jesus as your God and Savior. So ask Jesus, right now, to forgive you and give you peace with God.
God chooses to use trials to redirect us, sharpen us, to make us wiser, to teach us patience, to slow down our foolishness, to quiet our spirit. The hope is that God does it out of love and succeeds in bringing about his purposes.
