Reality Check

Discipling, Fellowshipping, Ministering, Evangelizing – All to Honor God!

Posts Tagged doubt

Give life a Reality Check

Mar 6

Posted by Justin in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

To be a follower of Jesus Christ is a life that is full.  Full of Joy.  Full of meaning.  Full in all areas.  The reason this life is full is because to know God is to know who created us, why we were created and what the point of creating is.  This allows us to live a life full of joy as we give all that life has to offer a “Reality Check”.  When we give our life a reality check we stop and ask if we are doing what is best.  This is not a chore, but it is a joy.  A joy to  agree with God and His purpose and plan.  I want all of us to experience this joy in making our life in line with our purpose.

I am reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell.  In his book he says. . .

“Being a Christian is about engaging the mind and heart more and more, not shutting them off or letting someone else think for you.  The writer Peter urges Christians to be alert.  Paul tells his listeners in Thessalonica to test everything and hold on to the good.”

“The danger of labeling things ‘Christian’ is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we have been told are safe and acceptable.”

I don’t want us just to accept things that are called Christian and to reject things that are called non-Christian.  I want us to seek God and follow Him.  When we give our life this type of “Reality Check” we will find ourselves being deep thinkers and enjoying all that life has to offer.  Don’t spend your life making an “us” and “them” list.  Instead follow the plan God has for life and you will be filled with joy! 

Is there anything in your life that you have tried to get in line with God and now you are experiencing that joy?  What are you doing to find that joy that comes from following God?

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Satan: Opposed To The Things Of God

Feb 24

Posted by Justin in Uncategorized | Comments off

At Reality Check on Wednesday evenings we have been looking at doubt.  One of the biggest doubts people have is how a loving and all powerful God can allow bad things to continue to happen.  This is a great question.  This question led the youth group to talk about who Satan is and where he came from.  We will continue to talk about this on Wednesday, but there are a few important things that each of us should remember.

First, the Bible does not go into great detail about Satan and his band of followers we call demons.  The reason we do not have great detail about when Satan fell and how all of the details worked out is because the Bible is telling the story of how God is redeeming humanity or calling us all back to a relationship with Him.  The main goal of the Bible is not to understand what Satan is up too.  When we read the story of the Bible we see a God that loves us and does not want bad things to happen to us and that is why Jesus is the main part of the Bible.  We have a lot of details about Jesus and what He did because that is what God is doing.  God has made it possible for us to have a relationship with God through Jesus.

Second, I think it is important that we remember that Satan is opposed to all things that are of God.  The word for Satan literally means “the adversary”.  Without knowing any details about Satan’s fall, we still understand that Satan is opposed to who God is.  This reminds us that God is not happy with evil and suffering that results from Satan.  These things are all opposed to God.

Last, we might ask why God does not just take care of the problems.  The quick and easy answer is that God already has.  Our short life on this earth will have difficulties and problems, but we already have victory in Jesus.  If we pray and ask God why bad things are in this world we are asking a question He has already answered.  God is going to fully wipe away evil one day but He is giving us a chance to turn to Him.  That is the biggest lesson we can learn when we think about evil.  Evil is the opposite of God and the only reason it has not been wiped away is because God is giving me, my family, my friends, my enemies, the whole world, a chance to chose Him.  Have you turned from evil and turned to God?

We might not have the full details about the fall of Satan, but we do have the details about what God is doing about evil and we know that one day God will get rid of all evil and then we will be free of the results of Satan and his followers.

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DOUBTS ABOUT GOD USED FOR GOOD!

Feb 16

Posted by Justin in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

I grew up near a railroad track that was supposed to be used for trains, but I thought it was mainly made to ride my bike on.  It had places that were difficult to ride over and other places that were impossible.  There was one particular place along the path that I was told could not be ridden over.  It was very rocky, steep and skinny.  Even though my friends told me it was too difficult I did not believe them.  I had to figure this out for myself.  I did not try to go accross when my friends were around.  I took my black bmx bike with very cool front spring suspension and two hand brakes up to the trail when it was just me and my doubt.  I decided to get a run at the “impossible” part of the trail so that my speed would carry me to the other side.  It all went well except that I did not stay on the trail.  I went down into a ditch that was about twelve feet deep and full of big rocks and water.  I will not tell you whether it hurt or not, I will just tell you that I then believed what my friends had told me.  It was indeed “impossible”.

How about your faith in God?  Have people told you about God and you are just not sure?  I encourage you to trust in God and go to Him.  You will find that God is indeed true and trustworthy.  In the same way I proved for myself that the bike trail was “impossible” to ride across, you can prove that God is real and true by trusting in God and watching to see how He proves Himself.  Make your doubt work out for good by watching and seeing if what God says is true.  Trust in God and watch for Him to prove Himself true!

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