Berean Journeymen

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20090526/NEWS01/905260307/-1/newsfront2/Lexington+grad+will+provide+care+in+Tanzania

God has done so much work in me to be comfortable in her doing this. Hope you all enjoy.

Tim

Jesus asked this very questions to the man at the healing pool in Bethesda. The man at the pool had been an invalid for 38 years, and Jesus asked him if he wanted to be well? You may be thinking that is an irrelevant question, "Of course he wanted to be well, why wouldn't he want to be healed?"

What if Jesus Christ asked you this very question today, "Do you want to get well?" What would your answer be? Would you immediately say "YES"? Or, would your response be more like "What's wrong with me?", "Why do I need to be well?" "I'm good, I've got no problems" We have become so comfortable in our lives, that many of us don't even realize we are not well. We become defensive when someone questions are salvation or our faith.

I had some opportunity lately to reflect on this very thought. Recently I was around a large group of people with the realization that most of them don't even realize they "Need to be made well. They were a group of "good" people, and many attended church, yet most looked more like the world than Christ. We've become so much a part of this world, we don't even realize that we aren't healthy.

We've even redefined "healthy"

Healthy is:

- I go to church
- I'm a good person
- I work hard
- I'm a nice person
- I have compassion and help others
- I give to the church and other charities
- I serve at church or volunteer and help people
- God has blessed me therefore I must be healthy
- I don't commit the "BIG Sins"

If we are believing these things earn us ANYTHING, then we are believing a LIE. Those are the deceptions that we are falling for in this country and they are all FALSE. Not one of those things saves us or gives us eternal life with Jesus Christ the Son or God the Father. Our sin is making us comfortable and we are justifying our sin because of those things. We are not good enough, not even one of us, according to Romans 3:12 which says "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

So if "No One" is good enough, then why do we believe that we are doing okay? Are you still believing that because you are a good person, that you are doing okay?

We've become so comfortable in Sin in this country that we don't even recognize it when we are doing it. We believe that because 80% of us are healthy by worlds standards that 80% of us our Christians. We've grown to believe that if we've "accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior" we've got a "get out of jail free card" and can continue on sinning and we're good. We have shifted the image of God from our Master, to our servant. We believe that God exist to only serve us and our needs, and provide for "US" We believe that he Owes us happiness and success and unalienable rights. We even believe the Worship Service is about "US".

Are you comfortable in your Sin? Does your life Monday through Saturday match the life you put on Sunday when you come to church? Or, is Sunday just a mask you put on to impress your Sunday friends and Pastors? Are you desperate for God or are you desperate for success, and money and material things? Satan will have you believe you can have both? Gods word is clear, that you must choose one or the other, you can't have both.

So, Jesus is asking, "Do you want to be HEALED?"

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. "

Are you blessed? Are you really? How are you handling life's struggles? How is your job? Your marriage? Your kids? Your finances? Your health? What areas in your life are you throwing your hands in the air and saying "I give up, I don't know what to do"

As I look back on this past year or so, we've heard some powerful messages from our pastors and guest speakers such as Ryan Loving and the Life Action people. We've had some great studies and groups in the Monday Night Men's Study. We've learned some great truths and powerful life applications. There have been some great relationships being built over the last year. I'm sure many of you have read some great Christian books, or seen some great movies or programs, or even listened to some inspiring pod-casts or messages on-line. A few of you may have attended a conference or event such as Promise Keepers.

While, each and every one of these are great things to do as a Christian none of them replace getting into the Word of God.

If you are not in the Word of God then you are missing the most powerful life changing thing you can do. No sermon from our pastors, or Christian book or activity can replace picking up the Word of God and reading it daily. All these other activities are in ADDITION to reading the Word of God.

I'm sure you've all heard the expression "Kid's don't come with an instruction booklet" I'm telling you that not only do we have an instruction booklet, it is an instruction booklet that applies throughout ALL of OUR lives; the "Word of God".

James MacDonald says that when people come to him with a problem he can tell almost immediately if they are reading their Bibles, and if not he listens to their problem and thinks to himself "Not in the Word, Not in the Word, Not in the Word" Is life throwing you a curve and you don't know how to deal with it? Are you in the Word?

Many men are saying "I don't know how to be the Spiritual Leader of my home" Well this is the first step. To be a spiritual leader of your home, you have to be reading your Bible daily. If you don't know where to begin, or need guidance, then don't hesitate "Ask" The people and resources to help you are all available to you if you seek them out. You can even email this blog and we'll respond.

In order to hear the Word of God we must read it. In reading it, God will reveal application for each of our individual lives. When we apply and obey those applications to our lives, then God's promise to each of us, is we will be blessed. In other words, we will benefit from it 100% of the time. How much greater of a guarantee do we need? Some of those blessings may be small blessings, but some of those blessings may be huge blessings.

I encourage you to take the first step and see what God has for you. He may have a solution for your marriage, or your finances. He may give you guidance on how to deal with a child or co-worker. He may help you through a trial or struggle in which you feel you are all alone. But, if you don't take the first step and open up his Word, you will never know, because as God's Word states, If "you read my word and obey" Then "you will be blessed".


See You at the Altar,


Tim

Men of Berean,

Our next Monday night Bible Study is set to begin on September 14th. We will taking the 30-day holiness challenge with Dr. Bruce Wilkinson’s series Personal Holiness in Times of Temptation.
We had about 135 men here last Monday night and the entire evening was anointed. Make plans now to join us this fall.

So, what are you doing on Monday nights right now? Let me suggest our Berean Golf League. We play at Pebble Creek Golf Course on Monday nights with tee times starting at 5:30. The first practice round is Monday, May 11th, and there is an organizational meeting on Sunday, May 10th after 1st service in room 215 (the church library). You can sign up this Sunday between services in the foyer. If you have a partner, you can join as a team. If you can’t make it every week, you can add your name to the sub list.

Golf is a great way to fellowship in the beauty of God’s creation, and get to know some other men in the church. If you have any questions about the Berean Golf League, contact Jeff Freitag at 419-610-5474 or send him an e-mail at jeffandjudi@neo.rr.com.

One more reason to join….you could probably use the exercise. Get into the swing of things, and have some fun with your brothers in Christ this summer!

Happy putting,

Pastor Craig


P.S. Our next Second Saturday Men’s Prayer Breakfast is Saturday, May 9th at 8:00 am in the Community Room.