We Are Here (Christmas)

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Blogging BCM: Worship Part 1

This is the video Tim shared a couple weeks ago at BCM. I think it sums up the night and what our feelings need to be regarding worship.



As always, if you have any questions feel free to talk to Tim, Mike or myself.

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Blogging BCM: A Passionate Charge

Last Tuesday night Dan spoke on 1 Timothy 1:18-20 in a message entitled A Passionate Charge. For me the title was completely fitting to the message that Dan gave. There were so many things Tuesday that challenged and deeply convicted me. At one point Dan shared:

We must fight because so many things in this world are contrary to the Word of God.

How true is this statement. How often do we as believers stand up and fight against the things that are contrary to God's Word. To be quite honest, how many of us even read and study God's Holy Word so that we'll know what's contrary and what needs to be fought against?

For me this is what stuck...it is what I believe we all need to ask ourselves. Do you cling to the Word of God, like that of the Psalmist in Psalm 119? Do you seek God's Word so that you may discern what the constant contradictions the world is bombarding us with? Do you value your opinion more in regards to culture, politics and education or do you compare all of these things to the Word of God and base the things you stand on upon His Truth?

The prophet Isaiah said very powerfully; "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8) Seasons come and seasons pass, the shifting winds of our culture and it's current trends and political landscape will be gone before we know it, but God's word will last and endure beyond all time. Are you willing to stand up and be a fighter, fighting for the things of God's Word and standing firm against everything that is contrary? The Bible warns very harshly against those that stray from God's word and preach a false gospel. No where is this more evident than the passage that Dan preached on Tuesday night. Let us all make an effort to plant our feet upon the Word of God and dig down so deep that no power of this world can pull us away from the conviction and foundation that God gives us in His word.

Thoughts For Daily Devotions:

1. Read and study 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Isaiah 40 and Luke 11

2. In what areas of your life do you see a need to center yourself more upon God's Word?

3. What areas of your life might God be calling you to stand up and fight, holding fast to His Word and in repentance of your sinful nature that by His grace He has redeemed you from?

As always if you have any questions, feel free to talk to Tim, Mike or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Proclaiming the Gospel

This week due to schedule difficulties, Dan Hardesty agreed to guest blog on Tim's message from last night.

Last night, we had the opportunity to hear Tim teach on 1 Timothy 1:12-17. During our time together, Tim stressed the importance of being able to proclaim the Gospel and live out the Gospel in our lives. In the midst of this passage we see the great truth of the Gospel “that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners” (verse 15). We find this section of scripture situated where Paul is talking about his own sinfulness. Let’s look a little bit more at the facts behind the sinfulness of Paul.

As Tim mentioned, Paul “was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of God and the glorious Gospel. Paul was a man who was so truly opposed to what God had done in Christ that he was willing to go to the extreme to make sure that this move was limited. But God still worked around Him, and ultimately through Him. He became an apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13). In spite of all of his past and his own predisposition against Jesus, God saved Paul and Paul impacted much of world in some way for Christ.

Paul though refers to himself as the foremost of sinners – and not in a past tense way. “Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Why does he refer to himself in the present tense as being the foremost of sinners? Was Paul being humble in his sinful past? Was Paul owning and admitting his sin? Could Paul have possibly been continuing in this sin?

Tim rightly asserted that Paul was being humble in his sinful past. In doing so, he gave hope to all of the sinners this world has seen. Now to say that Paul was the “worst” of sinners would be a stretch. We could bring up countless examples of other ruthless men and women in the world who have done terrible deeds, some of them even in the name of a god. However Paul’s salvation gives hope that God will save many different types of people, people from all sort of sinful and not-so-sinful backgrounds. Therefore we have hope that He will use us to help save some from all backgrounds.

Paul was also owning his sin. Just this past week there have been multiple incidents of public scrutiny in the world of sports, music, and politics. Now it is easy to criticize in these situations, so I will try not to be harsh. But it has taken some of these erring individuals multiple times and interviews for them to say anything more than “my passion got in the way” or “I handled it poorly.” Few of them have actually taken the time to apologize to the people that they wronged, and if they have, it has taken multiple days and too much time for them to own up to their sin. I know little of these individuals’ spiritual lives, but I do know that we, as Christians, are to own our sin, as Paul has done in this passage.

This is certainly not to say that Paul continued in his blasphemy, persecution, and opposition to the Gospel. On the contrary, Paul became the biggest advocate for Christ that we see in the scriptures. Paul’s sinful past was now truly wiped away and he was living for a different reason and different cause. He was truly “sold out” for Christ. “As for me (Paul) to live is Christ, but to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). He was no longer living for his own desires of persecuting the Way of Christ. He was no longer living for any other sin in his life. He was living for the only thing that truly matters, our faith in God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In his life we see a great truth. He shares it with us in Romans 8:9, “You, however, are not in the flesh” (the sinful nature) “but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” We are living and running and going by the Spirit of God if we are in Christ. We are empowered to live differently than we did before we came to Christ. That is not to say that we will not struggle with sin – Paul deals with this in Romans 7. But our sin is no longer who we are and how we live – that is Christ.

Finally Paul says that he “received mercy because (he) had acted ignorantly” (verse 13). The root word for ignorant and agnostic is the same. An agnostic is literally someone “without knowledge.” Much of this world is without knowledge of our one true God found in Christ. How will the people gain knowledge of our God? Ultimately the two main channels are through His word (if they are so inclined), but maybe even more so, through His people.

Through your devotions this week:

1. Read about the life of Paul. Examine especially those passages Tim shared Tuesday night, Acts 9:1-22, Acts 22:1-21, and Acts 26:9-18.

2. Read Romans 7 and 8. What implications does this have for you as a believer in Christ?

3. Pray for opportunities to share what God has done in your life, and ultimately, the Gospel. Target certain individuals as God directs you. If you aren’t a believer, get together and talk to a BCM leader about their faith.

As always, if you have any further questions, you can always talk to Josh, Tim, or Mike.

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Blogging BCM: Sound Doctrine

Tuesday night Tim shared from 1 Timothy 1:3-11 a message entitled Sound Doctrine. He stressed the importance of sitting under sound doctrine in the church and called out many churches today who lack sound, Word-centered teaching. He also cited this flaw as one of the main reasons many are turned off by or have had bad experiences in the church. In addition, Tim talked about the fruits of sound doctrine and walking with a good conscience. In this post, I want to dig deeper into a certain verse from these passages. As is the purpose with this series of posts throughout each semester, I want to take a passage that, due to time, was not able to fully be examined and and look at it in more detail. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:5:

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What Paul states in this one verse is absolutely crucial to understanding our need for sound doctrine and why he presses it so much throughout his letters to Timothy. As stated in the beginning, this is the whole aim (or goal) of this specific section of Scripture. He says that the aim of their charge is love. The charge Paul is speaking of is seen in verse 3, stating that Timothy is to charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine. So therefore, the charge is to not teach anything contrary to the sound doctrine that has been entrusted to Timothy. So the goal of not teaching any different doctrine is love. Love therefore, should pour out of sitting under sound teaching. How does this love come from enduring sound doctrine?

Paul continues writing that this love:

issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What the conclusion of this verse shows us is that when we sit under and endure sound teaching, we will develop a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, therefore resulting in love. We might ask, "well how is this possible?" When we seek out and long for sound teaching, when we listen to sermons that are doctrinally sound and find churches that preach in a Word-centered way, we will be transformed by the Truth of God's Word. We will be thoroughly convicted, be challenged to repent of our sins and therefore develop consciences that are no longer laden with guilt. We will grow in sanctification and our minds will be transformed by the renewing power of His Word (Romans 12:2) in a way that we will no longer seek the desires of our flesh, but seek to glorify God in all that we say and do, therefore developing a pure heart. Through the power of His Word being taught in a doctrinally sound manner, we will be challenged to not only speak Christ and Him crucified, but to live it out with a complete, sincere faith.

Paul cannot stress to us enough the importance of seeking and undergoing sound teaching. If we do not sit under teaching that convicts and encourages us in our faith and that is doctrinally sound, we ultimately will not be able to love to our fullest capacity in Christ. The goal of our need to sit and endure sound doctrine is that we may love by the grace of God to our fullest potential through the developing of a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith as a result of the sound doctrine we absorb. There is a lot riding on who we listen to and where we attend church. Our spiritual maturity is at stake. Our spiritual growth is at stake. Our ability to love others is at stake. Paul stresses it. God's Word demands it. We must seek out and endure sound teaching.

Throughout Your Daily Devotions:

1. Read and Study 1 Timothy 1:3-11, Galatians 5:16-26 and Romans 12

2. Are you currently sitting under sound doctrine that is centered upon God's Word?

3. In what areas of your personal life do you need to seek to be more doctrinally sound?

As always if you have any questions, or need help finding a church body that is Biblical and doctrinally sound, feel free to talk to Tim, Mike or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Introduction to Timothy

Tuesday night, Tim shared a message introducing us to the subject of Paul's letters we will be studying throughout the semester. The part that stood out most to me, was when Tim shared the characteristics of Timothy and how Paul wrote these letters to encourage, enrich and train Timothy in the ministry God called him to. Tim shared that Timothy was called to be a messenger and how we are all called to be messengers ourselves. Therefore this journey that we are embarking on this semester, will prepare and strengthen us as messengers, just as Paul's letters prepared and strengthened him throughout his missionary journey.

Through this post, I want to focus on three of the key aspects of Timothy's life Tim touched on and how as messengers, like that of Timothy, we are called to display these characteristics in our lives as well.

First, Tim shared that we must have hope. If we are going to be true messengers of Christ, we must have hope in our Lord and Savior and the mission that He has called us to. God's Word speaks of this hope we are to have and how we received it (Colossians 1:27), as well as exhorts and calls us to be ready at any moment to speak for the hope we have. One of our greatest assets as a follower of Christ in reaching people for His purpose, is the hope that we are to display and our answer when people ask about our hope.

Next, we learned that Timothy was faithful to the Lord. If we are to be messengers for Christ, we must, as Timothy did, remain steadfast and faithful to what God has called us to do, no matter what direction He may take us in or what trials may arise. God rewards those who are faithful, and will work more fully through us the more faithful we remain to His purpose and calling in our lives.

Finally, as messengers of Christ like Timothy, we must not only show a deep concern for the lost, but a deep concern for God's people as well (Philippians 2:20-22). Throughout this semester we will discover that Timothy's role as a messenger and his ministry in Jesus Christ, calls him to have a deep concern for the people of God. If we are to be messengers ourselves, we must first and foremost have a deep concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ, because if we cannot love and care for them, then there is no way we will be able to love and care for the lost in a way that reaches them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

As we take step on this journey together through the teaching of Tim through Jesus Christ, it is my hope and prayer that we all heed this calling to be true messengers of Christ, and look for ways in studying His Word to grow in the characteristics God calls us to have as His messengers.

Things To Consider During Your Devotions:

1. Study 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Colossians 1 and Philippians 2:20-22.

2. In what ways do these Scriptures give us an example of how to have hope, remain faithful and have a concern for God's people.

3. Think about the ways you may need to work on these areas in your life in order to be a greater messenger by God's grace for Jesus Christ.

As always, if there are any questions you may have or you need someone to talk to; feel free to contact Tim, Mike or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand Firm

Tuesday night Tim gave a message that revolved around our theme for BCM this year; Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand Firm. Revolved around Isaiah 7:9b, our theme serves to help challenge ourselves and one another to make it a daily effort to stand firm in the faith that Christ calls us to, whether it be while on campus, in our dorms or in any other facet of our lives.

Tim read from Luke 8:11-15 and talked about The Parable of the Sower, through which he described the different types of faith that we can have. Perhaps the one that all of us should strive and seek out by the grace of God, would be the last one which bears much fruit. Tim challenged us to think about which type we fall into.

For me this message paralleled greatly with 2 Peter 1:3-10 which reads:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, bothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

This passage of Scripture illustrates what the life looks like of a follower of Christ who falls into the fourth path Tim discussed on Tuesday. We must seek to supplement our faith we these qualities so that we bear fruit, show ourselves to be His followers and ultimately never fall. As Isaiah 7:9b says, if we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all; that is we will fall.

If we are to stand firm in our faith and not fall, we must seek out these qualities. We must make it a daily priority to dive into God's Word, to search it and go to it, so that we may develop and cultivate these qualities that are described in 2 Peter. Our faith is not something that we must proclaim and not live. We must cultivate it and make it the number one passion we have in life; think about all that is at stake...if we don't stand firm in our faith, we will fall!

Things To Think About Throughout Your Daily Devotions:

1. Read, Study and Meditate Isaiah 7:9b, Luke 8:11-15 and 2 Peter 1:3-10.

2. What category, that Tim discussed, do you fall into?

3. How can you better seek to stand firm in your faith?

If you have any questions or need someone to talk to; Tim, Mike and myself are always available and more than willing to meet with you.

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Blogging BCM: What Is Sanctification?

Last night Tim spoke about sanctification. For me, this message was powerful and was something I really needed to hear. Perhaps the greatest thing Tim said that needs to remain a challenge to all of us was:

Maybe the world is satisfying you more than God is.

How often do we let the things of the world satisfy us more than the Creator who created us. I felt this message and this challenge specifically brought our semester focused on worldliness to a great close. We must not let the things of this world satisfy us more than our God. Today I want to look at sanctification and its implications for moving away from the satisfactions of this world to being satisfied only and truly in Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is a term referred to greatly in Scripture. 1 Thessalonians even goes as far to say in chapter 4, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification." We must realize that it is God's will for us to be sanctified. When Christ enters our lives through the process known as regeneration, we are made anew and begin the process of sanctification. It is this process that requires us to move away from the things we do that please this world, to only those things that will please God. Tim shared a great verse from Romans 6 last night that talks about this process:

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Once we are in Christ, we no longer are regarded as sons of lawlessness (1 John 3:4), but sons of obedience (Romans 16:19, 2 Corinthians 7:15, 1 Peter 1:22). So therefore we must present our members as slaves to righteousness. Now what does it mean here by our members? The Greek word for members means our bodies. We are to give our bodies over to be slaves of righteousness. Seeking to use our bodies for that which glorifies God, leading to our sanctification.

Throughout our walk as Christians, we will go through the long process of sanctification. We must realize that this is a long process. We will not be fully sanctified over night. We will make mistakes. It is in this that we understand that it is not us who can sanctify ourselves, but it is the process of the Holy Spirit, through the power and work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In His high priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus Christ cried out to God:

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

It is in these verses that we see a true picture of sanctification. It is here we see that Christ calls us to not be of this world, and to not be satisfied by the things that this world will offer, but to be satisfied in the One True God. It is here that we see how we are sanctified. We are sanctified in truth, which is the Word of God. We must constantly dive into and remain in the Word of God for the process of sanctification to abound in our lives. Ultimately though, these verses show us that Christ came to be consecrated, to die, that we may be sanctified in His truth. We ultimately find our sanctification at the cross, where as I have said in previous blog posts, we see the depraved creatures we truly are and see our full need for Christ as Savior in our lives. It is when we read these verses, we see that Christ came and died on the cross that we might be sanctified. That we might move away from the pleasures and grips that this world offers us and grab on to God. It is when we realize and move towards this fact that we move closer and closer to God in Christ through the process of sanctification.

Things to focus on in your daily devotions:

1. Study John 17 and Romans 6.

2. In what ways do you need to stop satisfying this world and start satisfying God?

3. Dwell on the things God has done in your life and the things, through His power in the process of sanctification, he has enabled you to let go of.

As always, if you need to talk or have more questions regarding sanctification or worldliness, do not hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Not All Paths Lead to God

Last night Dan spoke on the subject of not all paths lead to God. This message was very timely in the fact that our culture so often believes the opposite of this. Dan shared at the beginning of his message:

This is our cultural current. You can do whatever you do if it feels right to you. As long as you don't infringe on others you can do it.

Dan touched briefly on the fact that so often our culture is too tolerant. We don't want to infringe on others beliefs. We don't want to offend anyone with what we say. So we mosey through life, protecting this thing we call "the Gospel" from reaching anyone around us. If we were to even think about sharing the Gospel to those in our lives, it would be offensive and might push them away. We might loose them as a friend. Question...if we lose a friend because we try to share with them the greatest news they could possibly ever receive, are they truly a friend we want to have? This is our culture. The culture of "coexist." I hate that term so much. Let us coexist in this world, not bothering each other with what we believe. We can be friends and not even discuss what we believe. As long as we're tolerant of each others beliefs and I don't offend you and you don't offend me, we are good. I am going to make a pretty bold statement. We, as Christians in this coexist culture, must stand firm in proclaiming the Gospel. If we buy into the lies of Satan, if we sit back and remain tolerant, we are coexisting people into hell. Hell is a reality. A very, very real and dangerous reality. I am sure that if we all knew exactly, descriptively what hell was like, we wouldn't just sit back and withhold our precious Gospel. Christ came to this world claiming He is the only way. He says in John 14:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How much more plain can it get that Christ is the only way...only path...to God. Who is this Christ, one might ask? What is this Gospel that we hold so dear. I think the passage Dan used in Colossians last night explains it very well. Colossians 1:15-22 reads:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

That is the picture of who Christ is. That is the Gospel. That in Him, through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, we might be reconciled in order to be presented as holy and blameless and above reproach before God. Through Him, we have our path to God. No other path will lead us to God. No other path will lead us to Heaven. So why do we sit around and tolerate this coexist nonsense, when we should be proactive in going out and proclaiming this Truth that we have. We must be passionate and stand firm in knowing that Christ is our only path to God, and it is our duty to proclaim this Truth to the whole world.

Things to reflect on throughout your personal devotions:

1. Study Colossians 1:15-22. How does this describe the person and work of Christ? How does this relate to Him being the only true path to God?

2. Are you tolerant and afraid to offend people? In what ways do you need to stop being tolerant and start proclaiming?

3. Who in your life has yet to realize that Christ is the only way to God? In what ways can God use you to help them see this truth?

As always, if you need anything or have any questions, do not hesitate to ask Tim, Dan or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Baptism

Last night Tim talked about baptism and the Biblical basis for our practice of baptism. Today I want to share a quote from Daniel Akin's book entitled A Theology For The Church summarizing what baptism is, then briefly explain why I believe this is true and an outlook of baptism that I hold. Akin writes:

The Bible's teaching on baptism is clear in institution, command, and fulfillment. People enter the new covenant by God's grace, and the means God has graciously chosen to use is faith. Faith is not caused or created by baptism. Rather, baptism is the public confession of faith. It symbolizes a commitment by both God and the believer (1 Pet. 3:21). The submission of the believer to the water of baptism represents his or her humble request to God for a conscience cleared of guilt because of Christ's atoning blood (cf. Heb. 10:22). Baptism is an act of confession and utter dependence. In summary, baptism in the Bible is neither elevated to be the cause of conversion nor diminished to be a mere marker of inclusion in a nonsalvific convent. Rather, baptism is a public profession of God's saving work in the life of the believer.

It is clear that we understand that baptism is not required for salvation and that our salvation lies only in the fact that Christ came into this world to save us, as sinners, and died on the cross in substitution for our sins. It is only by the saving power of His blood, that we are able to inherit eternal life.

Baptism, though, is the outward expression that we received the gift of eternal life. Upon proclaiming Christ is Lord, we then are baptised (immersed) in the water to show our union with Christ in death, cleansing and resurrection. Although, I recognized and affirm that baptism is not a requirement for salvation, there are a few claims I have in regards to why I think it is an important act of the believer following their profession of faith.

First, baptism follows in that of what Christ Jesus himself did on earth. Before beginning His ministry, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This is recorded in Matthew 3 which reads:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

I believe that baptism is a step which Christ took as an example for us, as believers to also take. Next, baptism was the step Christ took just prior to beginning His ministry. Following His baptism, we see that Christ was led into the wilderness to be tempted, then immediately following He began His ministry. Baptism is a public profession that we are in Christ and that we are committing to a life of ministry, whatever that may be. I firmly believe that if you cannot publicly proclaim Christ through baptism, how can you publicly proclaim Him throughout the world. Baptism therefore, is the first step in the life of ministry Christ calls us to upon receiving Him as Savior and Lord.

Finally, baptism is a physical example of the spiritual baptism that has taken place. Through baptism, we are public showing the baptism that has taken place in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in Colossians 2:

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

What Paul is describing here is not the physical baptism of being immersed in the water, but the Spiritual baptism that takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit when Christ comes into our lives. The act of physical baptism is an outward proclamation of those throughout the church and in our lives that we have been baptized with Christ by the power of the Spirit. Therefore the baptism of a new believer should be the celebration of the fact that they have died with Christ, been cleansed by His blood and are made alive in His resurrection. Oh the power and glory of such a proclamation, especially as we reflect and celebrate these Truths throughout this sacred week.

Questions to focus on in your personal devotions:

1. Study the different passages that discuss baptism in the Bible and think about the Biblical calling of the act of baptism.

2. Have you been baptized? If so, think about your baptism and how you felt through the profession of your faith. If not, is it something you feel God calling you to do?

3. Throughout this week, remember to dwell (as we should every day) on the final days of Christ's life, especially His death and resurrection.

As always, if you have any questions regarding baptism or anything else, do not hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

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Blogging BCM: What is Faith?

Last night Tim discussed the question; What is Faith? It was a great night, with a different take. He shared a few verses and in between shared a moving video and we had an awesome testimony of true faith from a man named Juan from Nicaragua. What I am going to do today is a little different than usual as well. I'm going to post the two verses Tim used and then post the video he shared. I think it speaks for itself and will help show what true faith in Christ can do.

Hebrews 11:1 reads:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Matthew 17:20 reads:

He said to them,“Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Questions to focus on in your personal devotions:

1. Read Hebrews Chapter 11 and study more in-depth the kind of faith we should have in our walk with Christ.

2. In what areas of your life can your faith be improved?

3. In what areas of your life do you need to give your faith away from yourself or things that are worldly to Christ?

If you have any questions regarding the topic of faith, or anything in general, please don't hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

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Blogging BCM: My Heart and Materialism

Last night Tim talked about my heart and materialism and once again I was deeply convicted and challenged. Tim said at one point that "materialism is fundamentally a focus on and trust in what we can touch and possess." He said later that we're either a slave to God or a slave to something of this world. How challenging was that for you? I know for me it hit pretty hard. So often we get caught in this rut where we focus on our own desires, needs, longings, problems and shortcomings that we forget to focus all of our attention and trust to our Heavenly Father. Today I want to look at the verses I read from Hebrews at the beginning of BCM last night and examine how they teach us to live our lives trusting in God and not the materialistic things of this fading world. Hebrews 13:5-6 says:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

The writer of Hebrews begins by saying keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. So often we as college students focus on the tangible, the things that can be bought with money. We need the newest clothes, the newest movies, the newest books (OUCH!) and the most expensive food. For us it's about an experience. We want our young, college years to be an experience we will never forget. These are the last days we won't have to worry about real life finances and the things that are rapidly approaching upon walking across the stage to receive our degree. So what do we do? We love money. We love possessions. We love new things. We love expensive things. Why? Because we really don't have much to worry about. We are told in these verses though the complete opposite. To keep ourselves from the love of money and to be content with what we have. And why are we to do this?

Because He will never leave or forsake us. It is this part of the verses that explains that our love of money, our problem with not being content, is because we're worried about not having enough. The writer is telling us here that we have a trust problem. We fail to realize the full reality that Christ is there and will provide all our needs. So instead of trusting in Him, we trust in the tangible, earthly, materialistic things. We are told though that He is there, and thus are told that we have nothing to worry about. And what happens when we fully trust and realize the fact that because He will never leave or forsake us, we can be completely content?

We can confidently say “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” So often our materialism, our sinful desire to acquire more and more is a problem in our relation to others. We think that if we acquire more or if we have more money, others will like us and fail to see our brokenness. When we come to the realization that God will never leave nor forsake us, and thus fight against the love of money and start being content with what we have, we stop pleasing others. When we trust fully in our Father, we will realize that man cannot do anything to us. If we have the outlook of "what can man do to me?" we will no longer seek to be materialistic, but seek to glorify God in everything. Recall the verse I've shared in the past couple of posts. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

This applies to our possessions too. Whatever we do, whatever we buy, we do all to the glory of God. So when we buy clothes, are we buying to the Glory of God? When we go out to eat, are we doing it to God's glory? When we buy books, movies and whatever else, we must purchase to the glory of God. At the end of this series on our heart and these issues, we must come to the final realization that the problems that arise between our heart's desires and the things of this world are ultimately a glorification problem. Are we going to give glory to the things of this world are we going to give glory to whom all glory is due...God!

Questions to focus on in your own personal devotions:

1. Study Hebrews 13:5-6, Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 and 1 Corinthians 10:31 and mediate on how they relate to materialism and our heart's desires.

2. What things do you have a problem with getting in the way of you glorifying God the way you should?

3. Focus on the activities Tim gave for you to do throughout the week in relation to my heart and materialism.

As always, if you need anything and are struggling in any way, do not hesitate to come and speak to Tim or I. We are always available to listen and talk.

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Blogging BCM: My Heart and Music

Last night Tim continued his series on Worldliness and Christian Worldview with My Heart and Music. What I want to focus on today is digging deeper into the subject and realizing how we should go about choosing our music and the things we listen to. Once again, as with last weeks post, I really want to focus on 1 Corinthians 10:31. It reads:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

We must realize that whatever we do (whatever we listen to), we must do to the glory of God. We get so wrapped up in music most of the time that we forget that we are supposed to be listening to and using music to the glory of God. Bob Kauflin writes in Worldliness:

Music is meant to be a means of bringing glory to God, one more way in which we can "proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

For us to realize how we are to look at music, we must start by having a clear understanding that when we listen to and enjoy music, we must do so in a way that brings glory to God. So often we get set on the need for music to help with our emotions. We want to listen to soft, soothing music when we're depressed, sad or tired. We want to listen to heavy, fast music to pump us up. We listen to hard, blatant music when we're mad. How often do we think of music though in a way that we say, "I want to listen to this because I know that it will bring glory to God." We most often listen to music for our own enjoyment, rather than for God's enjoyment. A lot of times our music choices reveal the hypocritical, sinful nature that lies inside of us. Kauflin writes:

It's not uncommon for Christians on Sunday mornings to worship Jesus for his substitutionary death on the cross, then sing songs during the week that exalt the sins he died for.

How powerful is that? Is that you? I know so often it has been me. We get so wrapped up in the music that we want to listen to and so many times it's the music we want to listen to because it pleases our sinful hearts. Kauflin says:

Music, like all of God's gifts, is meant to draw our hearts and attention to his glory, his power, and his love.

Music is supposed to draw our hearts to God, not please our sinful nature. Music, like anything, is a battleground for temptation. Music has become a prime tool for Satan to use to draw our hearts away from God and into the sinful desires of this fallen world. We must resist his temptation and fight to make all of our musical choices in light of the knowledge that they are to bring glory to God. We must take the time to evaluate our musical choices and whether or not they truly bring glory to our Savior or bring glory to us and the sin that's inside.

Tim talked last night about the possibility of giving up music, getting rid of your music or making some serious music changes in your life. Kauflin writes regarding the possible need for such things:

Giving up, reducing, or changing your music diet may feel like a sacrifice. It might be. You may have to sacrifice looking cool to your friends to please your heavenly Father. You might have to sacrifice slavery to earthly appetites and pleasures so you can pursue and enjoy eternal ones. (Can we even call those sacrifices?)

But no sacrifice we make compares to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He redeemed us to purchase our forgiveness and to earn us a place among those who "no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised: (2 Corinthians 5:15).

That means music is no longer ours to use however we want. It never was. It was never meant to provide what can be found only in a relationship with the Savior. Music is a precious gift, but it makes a terrible god. By God's grace, may we always know the difference.

That's what I want to end with. Music so often is used by us as a god, one that pleases us rather than the Only True God. May we stop listening to music for our own needs and desires, and start using music as a way to only glorify God in everything we do.

Questions to focus on in your personal devotions:

1. Has music become to you something that pleases you and your sinful nature, or something you enjoy to the glory of God?

2. Take time this week to read through some of the Psalms and notice how they use music to the glory of God and praise in all walks of life.

3. Take this week to just listen to music that glorifies God. I know it may be hard, but is the Christian walk meant to be easy? Put away all of those secular music for a week and listen to some hymns, praise songs and other forms of music that do nothing but glorify God and Christ's death on the cross. Take the commute in your car as a form of worship instead of a time to please your sinful nature.

As always, if there's anything you ever need or want to talk about, Tim and I are always available.

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Blogging BCM: My Heart and Media

Last night Tim spoke on My Heart and Media, a message regarding Christian worldview and stemming once again from the book Worldliness by CJ Mahaney. I think out of all the chapters of this book, this one challenged me the most and Tim's message once again did the same. Media is the thing I struggle with most. At one point in my life it would not surprise me if I spent a third or more of my day consuming media. In recent months, I've recognized the hold media has in my life and have taken measures to break that hold and move away. Although it's hard and I still struggle, I feel in regards to media I am in a much better place than i was several months ago. The following are my new thoughts regarding media and how we must view media and it's impact on our lives from a Christian perspective. I am in no way an expert, but God's Word is and it clearly defines the things that should be important and that should take precedence in our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

I firmly believe this has to be a starting point when looking at media and it's impact on our lives as Christians. Paul tells the Corinthians that whatever you do should be done to the glory of God. That means when we eat it should be to the glory of God. It means our relationships should be conducted in a manner that is to the glory of God. Our schoolwork should be done so that it is to the glory of God. When we are at work, we work in a manner that is to the glory of God. Most importantly at this time in our lives it has a clear pulling and weight on the issue of media. The media that we take in and the media that so often consumes our lives, according to this verse, should be viewed and consumed to the glory of God. WOW that's hard. That means that whatever movies we watch should glorify God. Whatever TV we watch should glorify God. Whatever music we listen to (more on this subject next week) should glorify God. Whatever magazines we read should glorify God. I could go on and on about the different aspects of media that need to be consumed to the glory of God, but I think you get the picture. Craig Cabaniss writes in Worldliness:

Glorifying God is an intentional pursuit. We don't accidentally drift into holiness; rather, we mature gradually and purposefully, one choice at a time. In the Christian walk, we can't just step onto the right path and figure all is well. Christian discipleship is a lifelong journey consisting of a series of countless steps. Each step matters, and thus our viewing habits matter.

Glorifying God is not something that just happens. As Cabaniss says, it is intentional and we must make every effort to concentrate in our lives on making sure that whatever we do, we do it to the glory of God. The hardest part on our walk towards spiritual maturity and holiness is that Satan knows where we are weak and for most that is in the media that we mindlessly take in everyday. Cabaniss continues:

The drift towards worldliness is subtle, gradual, and internal. And if we assume we're immune to it, that's a sure sign the drift has begun.

We as Christians must realize this fact and take heed. We must be on constant guard to the sin that infiltrates our lives everyday due to the media that is provided to us. We so often do not consider what we're watching or reading to have an impact on our lives. We somehow think that by watching or consuming the sin in others lives, we can remain holy and blameless before God. Let me ask you this...how often do we sit at home and watch programs on TV or movies that deal with issues of extramarital affairs, vulgarity, premarital sex, homosexuality and other things that are dishonoring to God? How often are we entertained by these things? Quite often we think that although we are called to glorify God in our own lives, it's OK to be entertained and view other people do the exact opposite. We must be on a constant pursuit to view to the glory of God. Cabaniss writes:

Viewing for God's glory requires responding to temptations as they arise. This means we press the remote, click the mouse, or walk out of the theater when we discern that our entertainment displeases the Lord. We must resist the temptation to think, "There's nothing else to watch," or "I'm only looking for a moment," or "It would be stupid to waste the money I spent to see this."

It is in these moments when we compromise our pursuit to glorify God for the entertainment of our fleshly desires. It is in these moments that Satan knows he has us and begins to strike harder than ever, slowly drifting us out into the sea of Worldliness. Let us take a stand and say no to Satan's lies that we need to watch this to relax or to take a break from the struggles of life. Let us say know when Satan tells us there's nothing else to watch. Let us sacrifice the money out of our pockets and leave the movie when we make a poor choice of what to watch. Let us, as 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "do all to the glory of God."

Questions to focus on this week in your personal devotions:

1. Does the media you consume glorify God in any manner?

2. Do you find yourself making statements and remarks from media you may have consumed that are dishonoring and therefore not glorifying to God?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17 and Philippians 4:8. How do these verses relate to the media we consume and how do they relate to the sin of worldliness?

As always, if there is any questions you may have or need to just talk, Tim and I are always available.

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Blogging BCM: What Happens When a Christian Sins?

Last night Tim talked about what happens when a Christian sins in the final part of his three part series on sin. One of the statements Tim made that stood out to me the most was when he said that it is so easy to play Christian. How true is this? Too often we put on our facade and march in to church like we're holier than thou, but really we're just faking to the world. When we do this we not only hurt ourselves, but more importantly those around us who are sincerely living out their lives for Christ and trying to advance the gospel. The thing we must realize is that every one of us, whether we're putting on a mask or not, sins. It is imperative though that when we do sin we do not dwell on that sin or continue in it. We must repent. The following are verses that speak on the need for us a Christians to repent:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. [Revelation 3:19]

Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out. [Acts 3:19]

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless your repent. [Revelations 2:5]

So we see in God's word the need to repent, but what does this repentance actually mean. This morning I happened to stumble across a great definition of repentance on Joshua Harris' blog. The definition is by J.I. Packer from page 87 in his book Keep in Step with the Spirit and it reads:

Repentance means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know of yourself to as much as you know of your God, and as our knowledge grows at these three points so our practice of repentance has to be enlarged.

WOW. How powerful is the definition in the believer's walk. You may like me at first be thinking, "I have no idea what any of it means." Let's walk through the definition piece by piece to fully understand what repentance is and how it applies to our Christian walk. We're going to look at each point in the context of our knowledge growing in that area.

First, Packer says it "means turning from as much of you know of your sin." What Packer is saying here is that the more of your sin you recognize, the more your realize you are sinful, the more you understand the weight of your transgression, the more you will see the need to repent. This is why when a believer comes to Christ, they repent because for the first time they recognize and feel the weight of their own sin. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of realizing and recognizing one's own sin is that of the psalmist David. He writes throughout the Psalms:

There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. [Psalm 38:3]

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. [Psalm 51:3]

Second, Packer says we do turn from as much of we know of our sins to give as much as we know of ourselves. The more we realize the weight of our sins, the more we will want to give ourselves over to God. As we continue to grow in recognizing and learning of our sin, we will realize more and more that we must give ourselves to the Living God. The more we see our sinful nature and the wickedness of which we were brought into this world [Psalm 51:5]

Finally, Packer says we give ourselves to as much as we know of our God. The greater knowledge we have of God, the greater we will recognize the need to repent. Last week I talked about how the study of God and the more we gain a knowledge of who God is, the more we will grow in godliness. This rings true here as well. As we study God and read His Word, we will be so appalled by the sin that is in our lives that we will move towards repentance. In doing so, we will continue to be strengthened in godliness.

The more we realize the sins we have committed against God, the more we will recognize the need to give ourselves over to the knowledge we have of the One True God. Ultimately all three of these points lead us to the cross. It is at the cross where we truly see the weight and cost of our sin. It is at the cross we fully see the need to give ourselves as a living sacrifice and it is at the cross where we see a full picture of who God is.

CJ Mahaney talked this past weekend of a quote by Charles H. Spurgeon. Spurgeon said:

The more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard the more noble our lives will become.

Mahaney asked a great question upon reciting this quote. "How often do you dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard?" Ponder this question. We must recognize that the more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard, the more we will recognize our need for repentance, grow towards godliness and away from this world.

Questions to focus on this week throughout your personal devotions:

1. Read Psalm 51. How does this apply/relate to what Tim talked about Tuesday night and what we've just discussed?

2. "How often do you dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard?"

3. For further focus on the cross and realizing the weight of what was accomplished, read the parts of the gospels that give an account of Christ's death and resurrection.

As always, if you have any questions regarding the subjects that are discussed or anything you need, please talk to Tim or myself.

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Blogging BCM: God's Wrath

Last night Dan talked about God's wrath and the many parts of Scripture that speak to that subject. In this post, I want to dig deeper and gain an understanding of why it is imperative that we come to study and accept this prevalent attribute of God. In an introduction to an article on Biblical Doctrine in the ESV Study Bible, Erik Thoennes writes:

The study of theology is considered by many to be dry, boring, irrelevant, and complicated. But for those who want to know God, the study of theology is indispensable. The word “theology” comes from two Greek words, theos (“God”) and logos (“word”). The study of theology is an effort to make definitive statements about God and his implications in an accurate, coherent, relevant way, based on God's self-revelations. Doctrine equips people to fulfill their primary purpose, which is to glorify and delight in God through a deep personal knowledge of him [refer to Ephesians 1:9-11]. Meaningful relationship with God is dependent on correct knowledge of him.

Any theological system that distinguishes between “rational propositions about God” and “a personal relationship with God” fails to see this necessary connection between love and knowledge. The capacity to love, enjoy, and tell others about a person is increased by greater knowledge of that person. Love and knowledge go hand in hand. Good lovers are students of the beloved. Knowledge of God is the goal of theology.

Knowledge without devotion is cold, dead orthodoxy. Devotion without knowledge is irrational instability. But true knowledge of God includes understanding everything from his perspective. Theology is learning to think God's thoughts after him. It is to learn what God loves and hates, and to see, hear, think, and act the way he does. Knowing how God thinks is the first step in becoming godly.

You may be wondering, how does theology or being theologically minded have anything to do with God's wrath? If we as Christians are on a path to godliness and striving to be more and more like Christ, we must start by striving to understand how God thinks. We must, as Thoennes writes, strive "to learn what God loves and hates" and by studying His attributes to begin "to see, hear, and think and act the way he does." If we want to grow closer to God, it is imperative in our walk to study His attributes. Where we study His attributes is in His Word. God's Word is the place we go to gain knowledge and understanding of the things of God. In order to understand His wrath, we must go to His Word. One Scripture in particular that stood out to me last night was Romans 1:18, 24-25. It is this Scripture that I want to focus on to help us to understand this idea of wrath from God's perspective. It reads:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

These w=Words have an inherent message; they are filled with meaning. They are the Words of God Himself explaining His wrath. Read these verses again. They blatantly state what God's wrath and its prevalence in this world. God's wrath...His righteous anger...is cast upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness. By being ungodly and unrighteous we are suppressing His truth. Because of His holiness, His wrath is default, and His mercy through Christ gives us exemption. So how does God show His wrath? Does God just get angry and kill everyone? NO! God gives man over to the lusts of their hearts...their desires. Why does He do this? Because they are not doing the one thing He created us for...to glorify Him. Those who bear the wrath of God are those who buy into the lies of Satan. Those who decide to glorify things of this world rather than the one Being that created it.

When we as Christians begin to study who He really is and recognize His undeniable traits exposed in Scripture, we will then begin to grow closer to Him. When we realize that the wrath of God is real and is present in the very world we live in today, we will be so struck with fear and humility that we will strive to not love this world and the things in it. We must fight the sin of worldliness. We must realize and understand that God's wrath is present around us. We must study and strive to understand God and who He is, for when we do this, we grow in godliness and grow farther from this world.

Questions to think about regarding God's wrath throughout your personal devotions this week:

1. Study Romans 1:18-25 and 1 John 2:15. How do these two passages relate to each other? How does God's wrath relate to the sin of worldliness?

2. In what ways is God's wrath displayed in the world around us?

3. How can you strive to work at understanding and learning more about God, so that you can grow more in godliness and less in the world?

If you have any questions regarding God's wrath, worldliness or anything else, do not hesitate to talk to Tim, Dan, myself or any of the leadership.

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Blogging BCM: Sin Part 1

Last night at BCM Tim began with part 1 of his series on sin. He defined sin and went into a greater detail of what sin is. I want to expound on these two myself today giving a definition of sin and the different parts of that definition. Next week, just as Tim will in his message, I'll go into greater detail of how we as Christians must respond to sin and what happens when we do sin. The following definition and explanations I will use in quotations were written by Erik Thoennes in an article on sin contributed to the ESV Study Bible. Thoennes defines sin as:

Anything (whether in thoughts, actions, or attitudes) that does not express or conform to the holy character of God as expressed in his moral law.

You might be saying, "OK I've heard definitions like these before. We shared a few last night and I basically kind of have the gist of what sin is." Let's take this definition a little deeper. In his article on sin in the ESV Study Bible Thoennes breaks this definition down into five elements that encompass what sin is. The first element Thoennes gives is:

Sin is moral evil (e.g., murder) as opposed to natural evil (e.g., cancer). Moral evil is personal rebellion against God, and it is what brought natural evil into the world.

Adam and Eve brought moral evil into the world when their pride caused them to sin against God for the first time in the garden. As a result, natural evil, such as death and disease, entered the world. The next element is:

Sin is always and ultimately related to God. While sin has devastating societal, relational, and physical ramifications, the central problem of sin is that it offends and incurs the wrath of God...Sin is a personal attack on the character and ordinances of God.

We must realize that when we sin it is ultimately God who we are sinning against. Thoennes uses the best Biblical example of this when he shares Psalm 51:4 where the psalmist David says, "Against you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." We must come to the realization, just as David did, that when we sin it is God whom we have sinned against. Thirdly Thoennes says:

Sin is breaking God's law, which can take several forms. There are sins of omission (not doing what we should do) as well as sins of commission (doing what we should not do).

When we realize that when we sin it is a moral evil and that when we sin we are ultimately sinning against God, we then need to see that by sinning against God we are either not doing something we should be doing or doing something we should not be doing. For me, it is so hard to keep this in balance and fight against the struggle to either not do something I should be or do something I shouldn't be. There are so many times we commit an act of omission or commission and sin against God. It is in this struggle that we find Thoennes' fourth element:

Sin is rooted deep in our very nature, and sinful actions reveal the condition of a depraved heart within.

We must realize that sin is in our human nature. Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and into human nature when they ate the fruit off of the tree. Ever since, we have struggled as humanity with the problem of sin that is in our being. We must however, not use this fact as an excuse against God. We must repent our human nature and work diligently on fighting and overcoming the temptation to sin. Finally, Theonnes writes:

Sin has brought about a guilty standing before God and a corrupted condition in all humans.

When we sin, we feel guilt and shame. Because when we sin, we are not expressing or conforming to the holy character of God, we stand guilty in front of a holy and pure God. It is because of this that Jesus Christ entered the world and was crucified on the cross to pay our ransom. In our place, condemned He stood.

We will expound more on the saving grace of Christ next week. For now I hope this definition and explanation has helped your understanding of sin. I challenge you this week to think about the definitions of sin we have given you and to search for yourself in the Word of God for different scenarios of sin that would help you better understand what sin is. Ultimately I challenge you to do two things this week:

1. Mediate and think about what sin is and how it separates us from God.
2. Think about areas in your life where sin has pulled you further away from God.

I also want to challenge you to read Psalm 51. I think it is a great cry out to God from David that helps us see what sin really is.

Again, as always, remember if there is any questions you might have regarding what we discuss or anything you need, do not hesitate to ask Tim or myself.

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Blogging BCM: Cut and Paste

Probably the most convicting statement during last night's message for me was when Tim said that he had seen a lot of previous BCM'ers forsake their faith and fall into the seduction of the world, and that most of us probably would too. I woke up this morning still reflecting upon that. Take a moment and think about where you are right now in your faith, where you are spiritually and try to imagine yourself falling away. Is it hard? You may say that it's impossible, there's no way you will be one of those "most" Tim was talking about. We fail to realize though how easy it is to fall into the seduction of the world. CJ Mahaney writes in Worldliness of how subtle it can be to fall into loving the world without hardly realizing it:

A love for the world begins in the soul. It's subtle, not always immediately obvious to others, and often undetected by the people who are slowly succumbing to its lies.

It begins with a slow conscience and a listless soul. Sin does not grieve him like it once did. Passion for the Savior begins to cool. Affections grow dim. Excitement lessens for participating in the local church. Eagerness to evangelize starts to wane. Growth in godliness slows to a craw.

We are all susceptible to easily falling in love with the world. The slow seduction of the fallen world is powerful. Satan wants to deceive us into thinking we are immune, but we aren't. He wants us to think we aren't doing anything wrong by the steps we're taking as we're being pulled to the world, but we are. Satan wants us to believe in our hearts we're still doing good, while he slowly pulls and pulls and pulls and before we even realize it, we're in love with the world. Mahaney describes this fight for the world as being an every day battle.

Every moment of every day we're making choices - whether we realize it or not - between love for a world that opposes God and love for the risen Christ.

This struggle with Satan between loving the world and truly following and loving our Savior Jesus Christ is an every day war. The decisions that every day pop into our heads.

Should I really read my Bible today? I just don't have the time and I can just pick back up tomorrow and nothing will happen.

This movie doesn't have that much wrong in it. A few images won't really do much to affect my walk in Christ.

I'll pray as I go to sleep and if I fall asleep in the middle of praying, God knows my heart is right and knows who and what needs prayer.

It starts with questions like these. Before we know it, we haven't read our Bible in over a week. We fall into the entanglements of lust by the movies and media we infiltrate our lives with. We haven't truly had good prayer time with God in over a month due to our exhaustive nature. These are daily decisions that either pull us slowly but surely to developing a love for the world, or draw us closer and closer to the relationship with God we were created to have.

You may say these scenarios do not necessarily describe you. First, you're probably lying to me and yourself. Second, if they truly don't, you have your own scenarios. You know what decisions you're faced with daily that can turn you're harmful ignorance into a love for this world or bring you into a stronger communion with Christ. Mahaney concludes almost by saying:

Worldliness is so serious because Christ is so glorious.

How true is this statement?! Worldliness is serious and therefore we must be serious and diligent in our everyday fight against it. We must one by one, face our decisions head on with the attitude like that of Christ Jesus. We must think about what choice we make will bring us closer to glorifying Him. We must resist Worldliness by seeking him. If we do this, not just alone, but together as brothers and sisters in Christ, we could be the group that Tim might one day say did not fall away to the world, but chose to seek and serve Christ instead.

This week as you go throughout your classes and the many things you have to do, do not let busyness become an excuse to be slowly taken into the grip of the world. Prayerfully face every decision knowing that it could help drag you into having a love for the world. Reflect on Tim's message and about the areas of your life that may not be reflecting a love for Christ, but a love for the world. For deeper reflection, study and application, think about these things throughout your week:

"Are the lines between Christian and worldly conduct blurry in your mind - and more importantly, in your life?"

"Is your lifestyle obviously different from that of a non-Christian?"

Read 1 John 2:15 and Galatians 6:14. What are these verses telling us and how are they related to one another?

Just to let you know as a final thought, the fight against worldliness is a battle that does not need to be fought alone. If you ever need someone to talk to or have questions regarding worldliness or even Christianity, Tim and myself are always available to talk. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask.

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