Simple Faith

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It has always been my belief that Christians have made the Christian walk much too complicated. As much as I love them, go into any Christian bookstore and take a look at all the Christian self-help books. You would think that there is so much to know that no one could possibly master what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I am writing about what it means to be that kind of follower in the simplest of terms. It is what I like to call, "Simple Faith." So, if you are a little overwhelmed where to start, then this is for you.

Before listing the basic steps, I want to share a caviat, The Christian life is a glorious, wondrous ride that can never be defined by anyone. Your life can and should be more than this, but this is where you must start. That is to say, this is not a restrictive, legalistic type of list, but an open and free start to the most wonderful life you could ever dream of having. Don't skip over and do the complex until you start worth the basic. Otherwise, you crash and burn, and that's never a pretty sight. 

1. Go to Church. 

Yep, that's right... get out of bed, and get yourself to church. I don't mean watch a youtube video or a Christian TV show (even if there is preaching). Go to a church building this Sunday morning. This is the simplest, but usually the most argued point of all that I will say. Somehow, we tend to think that in and of ourselves, we are spiritual enough to make it on our own, but no one is able to go it alone. It has been my belief that if you can't do this easiest of steps in simple faith, you are going to have a tough time making forward motion in your faith walk.
So, get to church. Find a church. Ask your friends for suggestions. Make sure they believe the Bible and love people. Then, get in the car. Go sit in the church. Sing the songs. Listen to the preacher and take notes. It won't happen immediately, but soon you will experience growth and strength in your spiritual journey as never before. What we call "church" is actually a gathering of believers who come together to worship Jesus, hear the Bible preached, and encourage one another in our Christian lives.

As the Bible tells us, "Not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more" Hebrews 10:25 HCSB

Okay, that's your home work for the week. Find a church and get there. You'll be glad you took the first step in your life of simple faith. This can begin your wonderful life in Christ.

It's All about What You Have

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Possessions are a good thing. Most of us like to have stuff. The problem comes in when we like stuff more than people and our Lord. Note that Jesus never said that money is the root of all evil. He said the love of money is the root of all evil. So, there is to be a balance in most of our lives. I think one philosopher once said, we are to love people and use things; we should never love things and use people. Whether we are keeping up with the Jones's or keeping up with our mortgage payments, we can all fall into the trap of working to get, so we can work, so we can get, so we can work...and the vicious cycle goes on. I have to ask...is that what life is all about?

Yet, there are some incredible things that every Christ-follower possesses. Not because we deserve it or worked for it, but because our God gave each of these wonderful, luxurious items that help us make it in a world where we can feel unwanted. What are these incredible gifts? Let's go to 1 Peter 1:8-12.

The first luxury item
1. We Are Given the Opportunity to Worship Jesus, 1 Peter 1:8-9
You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls
To us, we think of worship as a time and place we go to church. But it is so much more. It is experiencing God. When we worship God, there is a connect that creates in us a passion and pleasure found only in God. It is true love and pure joy.
We should relish every moment we can spend time worshipping our Lord and God. When you truly worship Him, you will never be the same.

The second luxury item
2. We Are Given the Full Understanding of Christ, 1 Peter 1:10-12a
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you.
The prophets longed to know what you can be fully aware of. What they saw in their prophecies were the mountain peaks. We see all of Jesus and know who He is and what He did. That is a gift that so many longed for for so many years. Now that is available to you. We know all that God wanted us to know about His Son, Jesus. We know it because it is in that wonderful, supernatural book, the Bible.

Are you getting to know the God of the Bible? Take time to study this week. Use a pen or pencil. Jot down what you are learning or what God is saying to you. Some of you use the margins of your Bible. Some of you use a journal. Whatever you use, write it down. Another simple way to study is to use the cross references your Bible has built into it. Study is how we can begin to understand what God is up to. That is something the prophets tried to do, but we never successful at. That kind of knowledge is yours for the reaping.

The third luxury item
3. We are Given More Access than the Angels, 1 Peter 1:12a
These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.
Doesn't say that the angels will look into these things...but that they want to. We have access directly to the Father because the Son lives in us. The angels cannot boast that kind of privilege, therefore they cannot have that kind of access. The Psalmist wrote that were created a little lower than the angels. However, that was 1000 years before the resurrection of Jesus. We have more than even the angels have. They long to know and experience what we have been freely given. 1 Corinthians 4:9 tells us, "We have become a spectacle to the world and to angels." They can only experience redemption through what they see in us.

Our access to God is made possible through the Son living in us. Avail yourself of that kind of incredible access to God as you boldly approach His throne. Pray this week to your heavenly Father. He so wants you to access Him. He is available to you.

You see, through Jesus Christ, we are not only aware of these things. We possess and are possessed by these things. That's what you as a Christ-follower have. Lay hold of all that God has given you.


Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside

-I am excited about the upcoming block party at Seagull. How can you best be involved? We need greeters, people that will head up games, people that can sign up our guests, chefs, and anyone who has a servant's heart. We want those people to see Jesus flowing through us. That will be Sunday, August 28th at 6:30 p.m.

-How is your child doing? How are you doing with your child? John Rosemond can help you with "Parenting by the Book". That book is the Bible, and it works. Our child rearing seminar will be Saturday, September 24th. You need this if you have children, toddlers, babies, teens, or grandchildren. Registration is now open. See Kelly Rhodes for more information.

-Your giving continues to be wonderful. This Sunday, we are making a card reader available for your convenience. Because so many of you use debit cards rather than checks, you have asked about the possibility. All you need do is swipe your card, type in the amount of money you would like to give, and sign your name. No registration necessary. In moments, you will have given to your Lord and His church all using this wonderful technology.

Living in His luxury,

Pastor Trey Rhodes