Get back on track!

 Christianity is concentrating on the wrong things and we need to get back to the basics. Churches seem to be more concerned with how we vote, how we look, what cause we are supporting or against, and we are missing out on one fundamental thing: HOW we change the world.

1 John 1 is a complete playbook on how to get us back on track:

1. Return to the word of God with passion. We need to concentrate on "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which he have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the word of life;" (1 John 1:1)
• Roughly interpreted? We need to get our hand on the Bible (the word of life) and read it, study it for ourselves, wrestle with it. Confirm what we have heard, been taught, really dig into it so we can understand if what we are doing is really in alignment with what the Scripture teaches.
2. Really get to know who Jesus is and his desire for our lives. Once we understand how real it is, it will impact our lives and the way that we treat others. "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness and shew unto you the eternal life, which was with the Father and manifested to us;" (1 John 1:2)
3. Stop being divisive and return to the primary mission of sharing the Good News! "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3)
4. Only then will our world know what Joy is. "And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full (1 John 1:4)
5. As Christians, we should unify on one key thing: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

It's not our stance on politics, abortion, prosperity. It's our hope in who Jesus is and what he has done that will change those around us. This is the unifying thing about the gospel that brings all Christians together regardless of denomination.

Christ died for us - cleaned us of our sins - and because of that - we share this with others who in turn understand what freedom in Christ is.

Christianity in America

 

I started writing this October 28, 2020... really, I should have written this before then. But I have been watching the state of Christianity with disbelief. I have seen ministries fall, icons become tarnished, people struggling to make sense of Christianity in a country that seems to be morally shifting. As I talk with friends of mine, they seem to be struggling with how to pursue Christ.

Christianity in America has become small. It has lost sight on its purpose and has become entangled in the cares - not of the world - but the cares in America. It has lost sight of this key things:

1. Remember what the baseline is:
• As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-15)
2. Hold each other accountable:
• Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
3. Love each other well
• By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
4. Recognize what is right
• ...If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:23)
5. Do what Christ did - remember why he came
• To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:79)

Over the next few days, we will dive deeper into each of these.

Christianity is action is called out in God's Holy word, the Bible. Let's take this time to renew our minds.

 

When God moves slowly...

One of the challenges with Christianity is that God has a history of moving slowly. It's been that way from the beginning... 

• His chosen people were in captivity in Israel for years. 
• His chosen people wandered in the wilderness... for years. 
• There were years of where no prophet spoke before Jesus came.

Even after Jesus was crucified on the cross over 2000 years ago, His disciples believed he was coming back soon.

Sadly, we live in a country where people want thing NOW! And if it doesn't happen, we get distracted, we lose hope, we struggle with our faith.

So, what are we expected to do when God delays? Continue to trust!

Let's look at the Book of Daniel for a moment.

1. Israel goes into Babylonian captivity
2. Chapter 1 - Daniel and his friends are faithful in honoring God with their diet and are rewarded almost immediately
3. Chapter 2 - The next year the king has a dream, and God gives Daniel the interpretation
4. Chapter 3 - The king misinterprets the dream, throws Daniels friends in a furnace - God intervenes
5. Chapter 4 - The king has a dream, and God gives Daniel the interpretation
6. Chapter 5 - God sends the king a message, and God gives Daniel the interpretation
7. Chapter 6 - Daniel is persecuted for praying and sent to the lions den. God delivers
8. Chapter 7 - Yet and still another king, Israel still in captivity, God gives Daniel a dream and the interpretation
9. Chapter 8 - 3 years later, God gives Daniel another dream and interpretation
10. Chapter 9 - Daniel prays and an angel comes to discuss his prayer
11. Chapter 10 - The delay

Let's discuss the delay for a moment. Through all the kings and the years of captivity God has spoken with Daniel and shown himself faithful almost immediately. In chapter 10, nothing happens for 3 weeks!

3 weeks may seem like a short time, but when you are used to seeing God move miraculously, 3 weeks can seem like forever.

What does Daniel do? He continues in prayer and fasting.

There are many reasons why prayers are delayed. I am not going to be so presumptuous as to claim to know the mind of God. But here is what I know:

• God has a plan
• God has a timing
• Our job is to be faithful

What do we do in the meantime?

• We pray - pray that we remain in Gods will
• We pray - that there is repentance and a turn towards God
• We pray - that God's will is done
• We show love and compassion to those around us

Let's put Christianity in action and allow hold fast to the things that we know are true, even when times are difficult.

Back to the basics

Sometimes we need to perform a spiritual reset and get back to the basics. Let's consider prayer for a moment. What do you pray for? Who do you pray for?

One of the key things that we are supposed to do as Christians is make disciples. Are we praying for those that God has entrusted us with reaching and mentoring? That is one of the key things that Paul did. Check out these key verses from Colossians:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with  the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:9-13)

There is a LOT in there that we should be doing as a part of our own spiritual action. So, let's put Christianity in action. Consider the following

1. Who are you helping grow?
• If you aren't helping anyone grow as a follower of God, ask Him to send you someone
2. Who is helping you grow?
• If there is no one in your life helping you grow as a follow of God, ask Him to send you someone
3. Examine what you pray for regarding those who God has placed in your life
• Who do you pray for
• What do you ask for them

Let's get back to the basics...

What is abundant life?

Those of us that live in The United States are blessed beyond measure. We can go to McDonalds and buy a meal from the Value Menu for less than $5 and consume more calories in a single meal than many families in other parts of the world have in a day... or in some extreme cases, a single week.

Most families have televisions that are 65" or larger and more channels available than is feasible. If you want to "cut the cord" there is no shortage of streaming options.

Radio, internet radio, satellite radio.

Is this abundant life? Is it measured by the size of your house, the amount of credit that you're allowed to have, the money in your bank account, the vacations that you take?

Biblically, I think it's pretty much the opposite. Abundant life isn't based on things at all.

Jesus casually mentions abundant life while talking about His mission. In typical fashion he's talking about being a shepherd. How His sheep hear His voice. In John 10:10 He says:

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that you may have life more abundantly. (ESV)

If you read further, Jesus explains exactly what abundant life is!

• abundant life is that He knows you (I know my own, and my own know me - John 10:14)
• I lay down my life for my sheep (This is the essence of the Good News - John 10:15)
• I have sheep that are not of this fold (Salvation is not limited to the "chosen ones, but is available to anyone who He claims as His own! - John 10:16)
• I have the authority to lay down my life and take it up again! (This is the completion of the Gospel... John 10:17)

Abundant life begins with recognizing that we belong to the only one who has overcome sin, death, the grave and as a result has the ability to lead His flock... His people into the Kingdom of heaven! More importantly, this Kingdom life that we live... we can live now!

Let us put Christianity in action and realize the gift of God that we have in abundant life. Let us boldly follow the  our good shepherd!

How do you know???

As Christians, sometimes we stop at the cliche' and fail to take it further to where it's practical and meaningful. For example: for years, I have heard people say "You must be born again!" Then when you ask them how to do this, it stops being about what God does and about we do!

• You must believe!
• You must be baptized!

Then what? Does it stop there? Are we set for life?

Even if you have read this a million times - stop... slow down... read this carefully again.

Let's take another look at the conversation that Jesus has and see if we've missed any truths:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named hNicodemus, ia ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus1 jby night and said to him,k“Rabbi, lwe know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do munless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is nborn oagain2 he cannot psee the kingdom of God.” John 3:1-3

In this conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus does what we all do... struggle with understanding what Jesus is trying to explain.

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” John 3:4 

Jesus responds with the fact that He is not talking about something physical, He is talking about something spiritual!

 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born qof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 rThat which is born of the flesh is sflesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:5-6 

But Jesus doesn't stop here... as a matter of fact, He almost trivializes this statement. He says "don't marvel at this... this is how you really know.."

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You4 must be born uagain.’ 8 vThe wind5 blows wwhere it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8 

What does that mean???

Here are some examples given to us in Scripture:

• Jesus, who is always surrounded by a crowd, or at least His disciples has a one on one conversation with Nicodemus. Although Nicodemus came to Jesus, the "Spirit" moved Jesus to be there for this conversation to occur.
• Jesus, who is always surrounded by a crowd, or at least the 12 apostles has a one on one conversation with the Woman at the well!

Okay... that's Jesus... what about the rest of us mere mortals?

•  Acts 8:26 - Philip encounters an Ethiopian Eunuch because the Spirit told him to... as a result, he explains the scripture and the Ethiopian is baptized!
• Acts 9:10 - The Spirit of God comes to Ananias and tells him to go to Saul who has been persecuting the church!

If we believe that God is sovereign, and that we are His followers then we must believe that he has a plan! Our job is to listen to His, go where He wants us to go, meet the people whose hearts He has been working in, and we will see great results!

Express your Christianity in Action today - listen to God... follow his wind (Spirit) and be amazed at what God will do!

Remember this...

We live in a very busy world where we are inundated with information. Smart phones, the internet, cable tv, work, family, to-do lists, honey do lists, me time, quality time... the sources of things trying to grab out attention seem to be moving at light speed.

When you couple that with the things that are going on in the world: ISIS/ISIL, the end of President Obama's administration, upcoming elections, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, stabbings in Israel, terrorist attacks in France and in The United States, it can become really easy to focus on what's happening and lose track of the big picture.

Honestly, it can all be overwhelming.

Sometimes, it becomes hard to hear God and sometimes even remember Him, but here is what He said in Isaiah 46:9-11

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose,' calling a bird of prey from the east, the man f my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."

In the midst of all the chaos, God has a plan!

This morning, I was drawn to a Bible that I hadn't picked up in ages and the following verses where highlighted as I was making my way to Isaiah 46:

1. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine had, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles... (Is 42:6)
2. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. (Is 43:11) 
3. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye re my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. (Is 43:12)
4. Yea, before the day was, I m he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand; I will work, and who shall let it? (Is 43:13)
5. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King (Is 43:15)
6. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. (Is 43:21)
7. Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I m the last; and beside me there is no God. (Is 44:6)

Everything seemed to be shouting that God is sovereign, He is in control. He has a plan. He has a history of showing himself mighty.

Sometimes in the grand scheme of things, we tend to look a little inward. Let's take action and look upwards. Let us remember that God is sovereign, that He has a plan, that He alone is the Savior, and most importantly to praise Him because He is worthy!

Is the truth ambiguous?

We live in an age where "the truth" is slightly more ambiguous than ever before. In the United States, you would think that the Republicans and Democrats never read the same documents that outline the vision for how the country should be run.

Even in the churches, there are differences in option on what is allowed, whether hell actually exists, whether we should actually ever use the word "sin" in a sermon... the list goes on.

When Paul writes to the church in Galatia, he starts by saying:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-4)

This is a powerful statement! Since we have been delivered from sin, why would we voluntarily become slaves to it again? He also provides the reminder that the reason that we should not wallow in sin is because it's the will of God.

It is important that we read the Bible for ourselves. That we meditate on it, that we make it a part of the way that we live. It is more than just a moral compass or a book of suggestions. In the pages of the Bible we find life!

We find the model of what love is, how to not live an immoral life, how to share the love of God with others.

Let's put Christianity in action and not just listen to what the pastoral staff or the minister on the radio and television broadcast says... let us read it and meditate on it and ensure that what they are saying aligns with the Bible ourselves.

Why suffering?

The Christian church in America has been fortunate in that it has not really suffered the persecution like many of our Christian brothers across the globe. There are places in the world where it it illegal to be a Christian or to own a Bible, but this the church continues to grow!

When Paul starts his second letter to the church in Corinth, it has a different voice than his first.

He first reminds them to bless God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who

• comforts us in all our affliction
• so that we may comfort those who are in affliction

and reminds them that we are comforted by God (2 Cor 1:3-5)

Paul then writes:

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same suffering that that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Cor 1:6-7)

The big question is why?

I don't claim to have the answer, but Paul does say something that is worth considering and meditating on:

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Cor 1:9-10)

I think one of the dangers of living in a world where all of our needs are met is that we forget to rely on God from time to time. We lose site of the fact that God provides for us so in turn, we forget about those around us who may be less fortunate, or those that are in need.

Paul links both his suffering with their suffering. His comfort with their comfort.

As a church,.. no, as Christians, we need to be aware of what is going on with our fellow Christians and engage ourselves with their mission - which is the furthering of the gospel.

We have just finished Thanksgiving, the ushering in of the season of excess. We celebrate with a large meal then many people start their "black Friday" and Christmas shopping. During this advent season, let us not forget those who are suffering. Let us take action and show the life if Christ to those who need to understand that regardless of their station in life, Christ loves them, gave himself for their sins, and has a home in heaven for them forever more, Selah.

... this is the truth...

When Paul greats the churches in Galatia he starts off reminding them that we have grace and peace from God who:

• gave himself for our sins
• to deliver us from the present evil age
• not because we deserve it, but because it is the will of God (Galatians 1:3-5)

He is absolutely amazed that although this miraculous event happened people are turning away from Christ to a different... which provides a distorted view of Christ.

Christianity has the ability to change lives. It's not through our own efforts, but through the prompting of God's Holy Spirit that comes in and radically changes out lives. The Bible teaches us that there is only one way to the Father. Through believing in the fact that His son, Jesus, not only died for our sins but was risen again on the third day. (1 Cor 15)

It doesn't end there... because He died for our sins, we are no longer bond by the curse of sin, if we believe in this, we are a new creation, our old sins have passed away... we are a new creation and have been adopted into God's family where we can call Him Daddy (Abba). (Galatians 4)

It doesn't end there either! He has called us to do great things... displaying His love to a world that desperately needs to hear salvation, and as a result, we share the gospel as He leads us to, and lives are changed bringing others into the Family of God. (John 4)

Any church that never reminds us of this, that does not have a sense of urgency to reach outside of its doors to reach the lost is in danger of just being a social gathering where we just work on ourselves!!

When we look at the life of Christ, He was constantly talking to those who needed a savior. We are called Christians because we do the same thing that Christ did.

Let us take action and remember who we are!

 

What does real look like?

When asked "What does Christianity mean to you" a lot of people reduce it to statements like:

• ... well I go to church on Sunday
• ... I pray
• ... I try to read my Bible
• ... I try to be a good person

I love to read the greetings in Paul's letters because it's  reminder of us as to who we are called to be. 

Over the next few day's let's look at how Paul greets the various churches. Today, we'll start in 1 Corinthians. He reminds the church that they are:

1. Sanctified in Christ Jesus
2. Called to be a  saint (holy people)
3. It's not just the people in Corinth, but everyone that believes in Jesus should b sanctified and holy
4. That they are enriched in Jesus in speech and knowledge
5. Not lacking any gift
6. Sustained until the end (1 Cor 1:1-9)

Sanctification and holy indicate that we are set apart. Our lives should be distinguishable from our culture. 

Can we articulate out faith?

Do we demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - Galatians 5;22-23)

Are we hanging on to our faith and our beliefs?

Although I am not a fan of reducing Christianity to a list, sometimes it's beneficial to take a step back and ensure that we are living up to the standard by which we are called.

1 Peter 2:9 affirms that

[We]... are a chosen race, a rotal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness and into His marvelous light. [1 Peter 2:9]

There are people in the world that need to hear this message. Let us take action to ensure that we remember who we are and that we continue to consistently share this with those who are in dire need of a Savior!

Two Doors

There are two doors that a Christian faces in his life. The first one, we have to chose to open. The other one, we need to choose to walk through. Both are completely life changing, but most of us only tend to think about one most of the time.

What's behind door #1?

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come i and eat with that person, and they with me. (Rev 3:20) 

At the beginning of our Christian journey, we all heard Jesus knocking on the door of our heart. We were brave enough to answer. This began our Christian journey! It's important that we continue to realize that the Holy Spirit has taken residence inside us and that we need to spend some quality time with our house guest.

What's behind door #2?

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matt 16:18

Jesus spoke these words to Peter just after Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the son of God and Jesus recognized that "flesh and blood" did not reveal that to him.

A lot of times, we think about this being a defensive statement... but when the enemy attacks - they do not bring their gates with them! That's right! We are to be standing at the gates of hell waging war through prayer and through sharing Christ with those that are trapped behind the gates.

Let's remember how great it was when we opened Door #1, and lets not forget that we are daily standing in front of Door #2!

Welcome Home!

For the past few weeks I have been meditating on the parable of the Prodigal Son. For those that are unfamiliar with the story, it's about a son who asks his father for his inheritance now - then moves to a city, squanders the money away, ends up working on a pig farm and starving.... then after all of that decides that it's best to go home and work as a servant for his Dad because the servants at his own home are treated better than he's currently being treated.

If this were to be told today, the story would be about a person who moved out on their own, got a really good job, was living a comfortable life and decided that church or the fellowship of believers weren't important to their spiritual well being because they're "comfortable."

Instead of feeding pigs, they might be involved with drinking too much, sexual immorality,  or any other number of things that we do that we are ashamed to talk about with those that are closest to us.

The fascinating part of the story to me is that the son recognizes that his Dad will always take him back. That is the nature of God. The thing that I wrestled with is - why does it take us so long to see this?

Regardless of where we are or what we have done, God is waiting with open arms for us to repent!

Take action today and ask yourself how far you are from home, and whether or not you need to return to a pure relationship with God. He's waiting!

Spiritual or Spare Ritual?

Every Sunday, millions of Christians leave the comfort of their home to gather with other believers to worship. The fact that we can do this freely in the Western world is nothing to be taken lightly especially since there are many places in the rest of the world where the church is still persecuted.

The challenge is to prevent this from becoming a meaningless ritual that we perform that we either take for granted or treat casually.

When Jesus met the woman at the well they had a conversation... it appears as though she views worship as the "ritual" - the when and the where.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. John 4:20

Jesus' reply gets to the heart of the matter:

 But the hour is coming, and is here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship hum. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24 

In no way am I implying that you should not go to church. On the contrary... Christianity in Action is realizing that we are the church, and it's not about a ritual, or a time or a place. We should always be worshiping God in spirit and in truth.

Let's spend some time this week meditating on our relationship with God and allow Him to show us whether we have gotten complacent and our relationship has been reduced to a check box, or whether we are truly worshiping God as we should in all aspects of our life.

Don't rock the boat!

"Don't rock the boat" is a metaphor that is used to say "don't do anything that will jeopardize your safety."

In our lives, most of us have the tendency to stay where it's comfortable. We don't like to risk things. Even if it's a situation that we don't like, if it's familiar, we tend to stay there. I think that's why some of us have friends that we know are toxic, or we still go to familiar places that we visited before we were saved.

"Don't rock the boat!"

"Go with the flow"

"It isn't that bad, is it?"

These are all things that we tell ourselves just to get by sometimes... but... what if God is calling us to get out of the boat?

When Jesus began his ministry there were two brothers... I won't tell you the story, I'll let you read it for yourself:

And going on a little father, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. - Mark 1:19-20

James and John had a family fishing business that provided them a reasonable amount of safety. They were doing well enough to have hired servants that worked with them! But when they heard the voice of Jesus, they immediately left everything to chase after God.

I don't think this passage is saying quit your job today, but I think this passage is asking us if we have this place of safety that we are relying on that is preventing us from hearing the voice of God and moving into action when He calls us!

Let's spend the day listening to the voice of God, and answering the call when He asks us to get out of the boat! This may look like different things to different people. He could be asking you to take the kids to a different park today because there's someone there that needs to hear from Him...

Selah

The Walking Dead

Right now, zombie movies and television shows are very popular. Zombie are essentially dead people who don't know that they are dead. Their animated corpses wander around aimlessly with one goal in mind. EAT. FEED. The problem is that they consume and consume and they are never satisfied!

This is what life is without Christ. As Christians, we see the walking dead around us every day. We see people who are dead inside, but try to fill their lives with alcohol, sex, relationships, going to the gym, work... the list goes on.

They try the same thing over and over expecting happiness, but it just doesn't happen!

Ephesians 2:1-9 explains it this way:

 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a]and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b]4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

In every zombie movie I've seen, the "survivors" are in one of two different camps:

• those doing what it takes to survive
• those working on a cure

Christians doing what it takes to survive are missing out on great adventures that God has in store. We have the cure to life and were even commissioned to take this cure that we call the gospel and share it with the world!

Let's put Christianity in action and let's cure the walking dead!

What are you looking for?

Almost everyone that I know is looking for something: acceptance from friends, a promotion at work, the love of their life, to loose weight, retirement, vacation... the list goes on forever.

For most of these people, these things consume their day. They are absolutely preoccupied with this never ending quest. The problem is, they are never satisfied when they get what they are looking for. There is always something else around the corner that is pushing them towards the next thing!

To me, this begs the question: what will make you happy? What will give you peace?

Peace is a concept that has been lost in our day. It's turned into a tag line, or a greeting, or something that people do to look cool.

The Bible uses the word "shalom" for peace. Shalom not only means peace, but it's this kind of peace that comes through completeness. The big question is where does this completeness come from?

In the book of Hosea, God asks Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman. This unfaithful woman symbolizes how the relationship between Israel and God had become. Israel had left their first love and were seeking after other gods in an attempt to find peace and happiness.

The following is said about Hosea's wife:

She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them.Then she shall say, "I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now."

His wife would continually try to find happiness - shalom - and never find it! She was seeking after the wrong thing. In the New Testament, Jesus shares the same idea but slightly differently. He says:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying "What shall we ear?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Imagine how your life would change if you chased God instead of chasing things? God understands what your needs are, but if you seek Him first ask for His strength and guidance how would your world change?

My challenge to you is to take a few days and put this in action and see if your peace... your shalom increases.