Reach Out: Why so Complicated?

Reach Out: Why so Complicated?: "Why do we complicate something that Jesus intended to be so straight forward that a child could understand? Last night I listened to a mess..."

Why so Complicated?

Why do we complicate something that Jesus intended to be so straight forward that a child could understand? Last night I listened to a message/sermon by a minister/pastor that I have known for many years and after hearing the message I was left thinking 'man if I wasn't a born again Christian I definitely wouldn't become one after listening to that message!!' So complicated, so may things we have to live up to, so much we should do and shouldn't do. It left me wondering, is that the way non-believers view Christianity?? I don't know but I am sure sermons like that don't help the cause any!

If we read through the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, Jesus presents the love of God in such a way that even a child can understand. And some of my new favorite Pastors that I listen to each Sunday online do the same thing!! I watched a service from Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday morning and after the sermon was given I saw about 5 children go forward to receive Christ as their Savior. That's what its all about!!

When we read the story of the crucificxtion the thief that was hanging on the cross next to Jesus who asked for forgiveness was forgiven immediately. "Today you will be with me in paradise" was Jesus words to him.

Sometimes I think we can get so deep into theology that we loose sight of what matters. Now remember I did a Major in Religious Studies at MUN so I know a lot of the complex nature of how the bible came to be the book we read today... I don't tend to think shouting at people and saying they are stupid and blind will win them over to Salvation very fast lol. At least it doesn't do much for me.

I am also thankful that no where in the Bible does it say I have to memorize "x" number of bible verses in order to make it into heaven. While I can recite many verses, ask me to say the book chapter and verse number and most times I can not. It doesn't make me any better or worse a Christian than someone that can rhyme off chapter and verse number and it doesn't mean that I don't consider it important to memorize scripture. I am just one of those people that know verses and may even know the book they are found in but that's about it. But really when it comes down to it when I am afraid, lonely or sad, or needing some words to encourage myself or a friend its not the book, chapter and verse number its the words contained in that verse that matter the most. And so I may have to look up online to find the correct reference but that's ok.

I am so thankful today that the Gospel message is meant for everyone to understand. Its not about who can do the most good, who can behave the best, but its about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

When Jesus died on the Cross He died so that whoever calls on His name will be saved. If you believe in your heart that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins, that 3 days later he rose again and that now he is in heaven and will one day return to earth. If you admit that you have sinned - done things that are wrong that are not pleasing to him - if you ask Him to forgive your sins He will. That's the Gospel message in a nutshell.

If you want to know more about the 'Plan of Salvation' I encourage you to start with the Gospel of John. Find a translation of the bible you can understand - there are lots available online too - and begin reading so you can discover for yourself just how much Jesus loves you.

Its only as complicated as we choose to make it!!


God bless!!

We will Remember

A couple weeks ago I discovered an amazing song called “We Will Remember” by Tommy Walker. If you have never heard it before check it out on youtube. Here are the words to the song:

Chorus

We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness

You’re our creator, our life sustainer
Deliverer, our comfort, our joy
Throughout the ages You’ve been our shelter
Our peace in the midst of the storm

With signs and wonders You’ve shown Your power
With precious blood You showed us Your grace
You’ve been our helper, our liberator
The giver of life with no end

[Chorus]

When we walk through life’s darkest valleys
We will look back at all You have done
And we will shout, our God is good
And He is the faithful One

Bridge
Hallelujah, hallelujah
To the one from whom all blessings flow
Hallelujah, hallelujah
To the one whose glory has been shown

[Chorus]

I still remember the day You saved me
The day I heard You call out my name
You said You loved me and would never leave me
And I’ve never been the same

[Chorus]

(inspired by Neh. 9:16, Ps. 77:11, 12)
Tommy Walker WeMobile Music ©2005 CCLI #4556277

The words of the last verse really spoke to me:

I still remember the day You saved me
The day I heard You call out my name
You said You loved me and would never leave me
And I’ve never been the same

“I still remember the day You saved me” I can not tell you the exact day or date because I was only 7 years old. But I do remember being enrolled as a Junior Soldier and reciting my Junior Soldier Pledge which at the time said something like this (I may not have it exactly word for word).

“Having asked God for forgiveness I will trust Him to keep me good because Jesus is my Saviour from sin I will be His loving and obedient child and will try to help others to follow Him. I promise to pray, read my bible and by His help to lead a life that is clean thought, word and deed. I also promise not to take intoxicating drinks, harmful drugs, and tobacco.”

I didn’t fully understand the importance of those words at the time, but what I did know was that Jesus was now my friend and Saviour and that He loved me and He lived in my heart.

As I grew older and graduated from Junior Soldiers to Corps cadets and then in May 1994 was enrolled as a Senior Soldier and the years since then through many changes, challenges and struggles the one thing that has been real and constant in my life has been and continues to be my faith in God. I can not imagine my life without the Lord and His daily presence!

Today I am so very thankful that as a child someone took the time to teach me about God and now I have the same opportunity to share with children that God loves them! What a wonderful privilege!

Do you remember that day Jesus saved you? If so why not share it with me or maybe with someone you know who needs to know about the saving power of Jesus and the difference He can make in their life.

And if you have never asked Jesus to be your Saviour and forgive your sins, or if you remember serving Him as a child but you since walked away, you can still come back to Him. He will forgive your sins all you have to do is ask Him!

Ok now its your turn to share… Do you remember the day Jesus saved you?

Unexpected Blessings

Some of the greatest blessings I have received as a Youth Worker at church have often come at the most unexpected times. In teaching a Sunday school class of often hyper3 to 8 year olds one never really knows what to expect from one week to the next. Some classes go by pretty smoothly and other time I am left wondering if I have any hair left in my head!!

A good example of the 'unexpected' blessings occurred today. On Wednesday afternoon I had a short after school practice with the children to go over their Parts and hand bells songs for this morning. The children were hyper and it left me to wonder how things would turn out on Sunday morning when they stood before the congregation. Well of course as I am sure you can guess, the children all did wonderful during the service - said their Parts and played the Bells without any mishap. That in itself was a blessing but not the 'unexpected' blessing of the morning....

After the children did their Parts we sang the song 'Jesus loves me' 3 of the children decided they wanted to sing the chorus at the mic up by the pulpit. To hear those little voices singing "Yes Jesus loves me the bible tells me so" made up for all the headaches and frustrations. What a wonderful reminder of why I do what I do!! I don't teach Sunday school because I have to... as in I feel obligated or because I am bored on Sunday afternoon and have nothing else to do. I do it because I HAVE to, because children need to know that Jesus does love them and that the Bible tells them about His love! I do it because I am called by God to teach them. Its not always easy and there are lots of challenges along the way but I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

So that was my 'unexpected' blessing today. Did you have an 'unexpected' blessing today? Why not share it with me either in a comment or send it to my inbox.

God bless!!

The Real Meaning of Easter

At Christmas time we often hear of people talking about the ‘real’ meaning of Christmas. We see slogans like “Keep Christ in Christmas” & “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”. This is done so that children and adults will remember that Christmas is not just about Santa, gifts and decorations but we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour - Jesus.

Have you noticed though we do not have the same slogans for Easter. There is no - Jesus is the Reason for the Easter Season, or Keep the Empty Tomb in Easter. Why is that? Is it because we figure that everyone knows the ‘real’ meaning of Easter? Is it because the Easter Bunny doesn’t get as much focus as Santa so we figure the children know that there is more to Easter than the bunny? Or have we taken it for granted that people know the real meaning behind Good Friday and Easter Sunday because of all the Holy week services?

A couple Sundays ago I had the opportunity to talk with my Sunday school class about Easter. Several of the children are 4 years old, one was 6 and the other 7 I was curious to know their thoughts and ideas about Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Why do we as a church celebrate Easter? What happened on Good Friday? Aside from the Easter bunny what happens on Easter Sunday morning? I was a little shocked and saddened to discover that the children who were there that day did not know what happened on Good Friday and did not know much about Easter Sunday. It was an eye opening time for me.

We take it for granted I think that because we know about the Cross and the empty tomb that the children know it as well. But many of them don’t. And for many they will grow up never really knowing the ‘real’ meaning of Easter. Sadly our faith in God is not something that we can just pass on to our families. They have to learn about Him themselves. But if we don’t teach them how will they know? If they never attend Sunday school or a church service how will they learn about God and His love for them? As adults who attended church as children we can make the educated choice on whether or not we want to now attend church, believe in God, etc. But what about the children who never attend a Sunday school or a church service? How will they choose when they have never been taught? I think those are important questions that we all need to think about and answer for ourselves in these days.

Whether you are single like me or have children or even grandchildren we all need to know and share the real meaning of Easter. Jesus loved each of us so much that He was willing to die on a cross, was buried, and rose again 3 days later. And that by believing that He died for our sins and asking His forgiveness we all may have eternal life.

May we share with our family and friends this Easter the ‘Real’ meaning of Easter! God bless!!

Thought to Ponder

I remember when I was in University and whenever I would come home for summer vacation I always looked forward to seeing some of the Officers who would be home on vacation as well. One officer in particular at some point during the summer would ask me, "So Jennifer, how's your soul?" It was usually asked on a Sunday nite as we were waiting in the lobby to sake the officer's hand as we were heading out the door. My response was usually something like 'good' or 'great' or 'something along those lines... It wasn't a question that stirred a theological debate it was simple and straight to the point.

As I was thinking about this tonite I thought about how that simple question stayed with me through the years. This person didn't know the challenges I faced, the burdens I carried, how my week went, if I was close to God or walking far off... He just cared enough to ask 'How's your soul?' A simple but powerful witness!

Sometimes we feel we can't witness because we don't know what to say or how we would answer questions if asked. Why not try the question "How's your soul?" For someone who is struggling in their walk with God it may be the means of starting a conversation that could help bring them back on the right path. For someone who isn't a born again Christian it could be the means of explaining the gospel story and to a born again believer it could be a means of encouraging them in their journey of faith as they share what God is doing in their lives. The possibilities are endless!

So tonite I ask you, my friends who read my blog from time to time, how is your soul?

How would we rate?

I don’t know how many who read my blogs have read the book of Revelation. It is the last book in the Bible. I am attending a Bible Study each week that is focusing on the book of Revelation. On Friday we looked at chapters 2 and 3. These chapters contain letters to seven churches. Some of the churches were described as ‘lukewarm’ others were suffering but encouraged to hold fast to what they believed, and others were told they needed to ‘shape up’ - repent and return to the Lord.

I can’t help but wonder, if someone were to write a letter today about my church and the churches in the area where I live what would the letters contain? Would we be seen as lukewarm? Or people who have forsaken the Lord and need to return to Him? Or would we be seen as persevering, holding steadfast to the gospel in spite of hardships and difficulties.

I am sure we would all like to think that we would fall into the third category - standing firm to the gospel. But I wonder, is that what Jesus sees when He looks at us? When we gather on a Sunday to worship Him and then how we live throughout the week are we ‘lights in the midst of darkness’? Or is our lights hidden and dimmed by the world in which we live?

What about your church? What do you think ‘John’ would say about the congregation at (fill in the name)? While we can not control what others say and do, we need to be sure that we are among those who are found faithful - standing firm, persevering, not swayed by the world but determined to live out our faith each and every day, not ‘lukewarm, sitting on the fence people.

I like how Paul describes it in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. Ephesians 6:10-21 (The Message Translation) says:
10-12And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Wonderful words of encouragement from Paul! Words that applied to the church in Ephesus in his day and apply to my church and your church today.