To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
It is good to be back home. Enjoyed a wonderful time in Spokane, where we ended up in an amazing hotel downtown by the river. Not only did we get to watch some great ball games, we had the opportunity to enjoy river walks, and so many other holiday fun things. It is good to get opportunities to take breaks! It is also good to be home, although it seems I have a very serious MAN COLD, so not sure if I will live to the end of the week (okay, a little more dramatic than reality, but not fun being sick). It is great to be home!
Over the summer we have been reminding ourselves of the importance of spiritual growth, and our responsibility in this to choose to grow. Who we are is more important than what we do! Who we are will always show in what we do, in fact the heart always overflows into our speech and actions, so training the heart, growing the relationship we have with God is the most important thing we can do!
So often other priorities can threaten to remove the time we should be taking in our spiritual growth. My challenge for us this summer is to be putting into practice the disciplines of grace, to be choosing to prioritize our relationship with Jesus, as life in the summer some times slows down enough for us to take an honest look at our lives.
We have been working through the acrostic, A.L.I.V.E., and have seen that to grow in our relationship with God, we must be: A: All Out For God; L: Longing to Know God's Word; I. Inviting God Into All Of Life;
V: Very Committed To God's People:
The local church is the centre of God's plan to impact the world. This means that our love for one another, and commitment to being a healthy part of the local church is essential in the way we set up our lives if we are authentic Christians. This is difficult in our world, where we swim in a culture that demands things for self, as the church is a place where we love others, and glorify God. The benefit of committing our lives to God's family is immense, but the passion to serve is about others and God!
What does it mean to be very committed to God's people? Well, it means the simple things like being committed to come consistently, exalting God together with our voices, giving, serving with our gifts, and where we see needs, praying, and this list could go on and on. These things are very important, and easy to forget, or grow lazy in our commitment to the local church with so many other things demanding our time and attention.
As important as the simple common things, is the commitment we are to have to encourage one another.
Hebrews 3:12-14 states, "take care, brothers, lest there be in you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."
This passage teaches that we need one another, and that this need has eternal consequences. Your active participation in the life of a fellow believer could help them not be deceived into sin, and could cause them to be joy filled in all of life! We need you, and you need us, and this is about God and one another.
Take the time today to look at your commitment to the local church at CBC, and ask God where He would have you more involved for His glory (Ephesians 4:11-16). The church is a part of the eternal plan of God, and you have a part to play in her!
PRAYER MEETINGS:
Our summer prayer meetings start TONIGHT at 7. My longing is that we would pray together, and see God move to accomplish great things. APART from Him we can do nothing, and with Him we can do ALL THINGS. Please join us Tuesday nights this summer for times of praise and seeking God's face as our Elders lead us in active dependence on Him.
Sunday Is Coming:
One of the great privileges we have is to gather and worship, and to prepare our hearts to do this so that our time together is maximized!
Title: The Cross & The Christian
Text: Mark 15:16-41
We are celebrating communion this Sunday, and the greatest way to prepare our hearts for this is to bask in His grace and focus on the cross.
As you read through this text, let your hearts be driven in awe to worship Jesus!
It is helpful for us to review all that Jesus did so we can understand the depth of what He did for us:
What did Jesus endure? (Physically, emotionally, spiritually?)
Why did Jesus do this?
How must we respond to the greatness of this love?
I am privileged to serve a church family like this! May our God continue to grow us wider and deeper, and may the impact of our lives be profound and eternity shaping!
Pastor Rob