Being a Christian is not a status to be enjoyed; it is a work to be done. Some of this work is done individually, but some of it is done collectively with our brothers and sisters. The local church is where Christians worship and work together.
Let’s observe how many ways faith can help us. Belief in God is a wonderfully practical thing — there are benefits of faith that we have never tapped. Let’s learn more this week about how the faith God wants us to have produces the good life.
The goal of life is not to see how well rested we can be at the end or how many of our resources we can have in reserve. God blesses us in order that we might use His blessings. Paul said, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.”
By studying Jesus Christ, we can learn God, our Creator, in very personal terms. We can come to know Him and love Him. We can emulate Him and mold our characters to His. We can learn to think and act as He would if He were in our situation.
Sometimes a thing may be both right and easy, but often the right thing is not easy, and at such times a choice has to be made. When difficult choices arise, we need to be people who have disciplined our wills to do as we ought, however hard it is.
There is an inherent attractiveness to the truth, and if we practice God’s truth, others will be drawn to its goodness. If we serve others in the strength that God supplies, those who are served will be moved by love and gratitude to glorify God.
Let’s pause throughout this week and think how we can use the stories of God’s faithful people long ago to strengthen our faith as we live today. If we faithfully obey the Lord as they did, one day we will go to be with the Lord as they have!
As Christians, we are more fortunate than we know to have people who love us. In God’s family, we are blessed to be surrounded by brothers and sisters who will not only try to help us, but who will attempt to do it in the very best way possible.
Life’s greatest decision is this: will we submit to God or reject Him? Let’s be warned by the picture of the wicked in Psalm 1, but let’s also be encouraged by the blessing and happiness of the one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord.”
There is nothing that impacts the spread of the gospel any more than the way Christians treat each other. Let’s learn how we can better relate to our “siblings” in the Lord’s family. The Lord Himself has some wonderful things to teach us about this.
