Church Health

All churches inevitably have problems that need to be dealt with. While reading in Revelation today I read of the seven churches and their strong points as well as their weak points. We too can take from these strengths and weaknesses and try our best to glean from them as churches today. A few things we should take from these churches are:

-Hold to strong scriptural doctrine
-Endure spiritual persecution
-Put full trust in the name of Jesus
-Grow in love & service
-Stay pure and loyal
-Keep God's word front and center

These are the essentials for a church body and also the things that Jesus commended the seven churches for. There are also rebukes to these churches that we should learn from as to not fall into them today. They are as follows:

-The loss of our first love Jesus
-Any false teaching
-Poor discernment
-Tolerating heresy and wickedness
-Dead works
-Being spiritually blind
-Being lukewarm

As we strive for healthy churches in todays world we would do well to look at the very things that Jesus commended & rebuked these churches for. These are the same things that sadly get into churches today and cause all kinds of strife and dissention. Let's hold fast to the very things that Jesus looks at in all of us. Look at these churches and let's repent of anything we have allowed in that have caused us to be less than effective. The church has the power to change the world for Jesus if we strive to be healthy and focus on these very things.
Be blessed today!

Golf and Life

I love to play golf. It is one of my favorite things to do with my free time. I have played all around the Pacific Northwest and there are so many great places to play. A few of the favorites I have played are Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains OR., Trophy Lake near Tacoma WA., Persimmon G.C. in Gresham OR., and Tokatee G.C. in Blue River OR. There are many more I would love to play, but haven't been able to yet. Maybe someday. The thing about golf courses is that a person can tell right away how well they have been taken care of. It only takes a moment to look at the course and be able to see whether it is green and lush or whether it is brown, dry and hard. I have seen both kinds.
There are many times we can look at a persons life and see either green lush or see it brown, dry and hard. It doesn't take long for us to be able to see what is really in a persons heart. Just a few short minutes of sitting and talking with a person reveals much about where their lives are at. In Colossians Paul talks about being "rooted, and built in Jesus Christ, established in the faith". Being rooted means letting the roots of your life run deep down into Jesus and allowing His character to shine through in our lives so that we can be green and lush. Our goal isn't to just imitate Jesus, but to allow His character to be shown through us. This is why we must let our life roots run down into Him because we can't be green and lush without drinking from His water, the kind that never leaves us thirsty.
Be blessed today!