Moving From Sunday-Only Christians

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. - James 1:22(NKJ)

I've heard about a week of messages, starting last week, pertaining to this very topic...on my favorite radio station, KWVE, the message I heard on Sunday (Sept. 7) at Revival Fellowship, and friends and bloggers like Yvette... seemingly everywhere else I stop and listen!

This from Yvette Nietzen at Fresh Wind Ministries:

BE DOERS OF THE WORD

My husband was speaking to a friend of ours who went to do some work at a couple´s home. The worker commented that the couple did not portray their Christianity, and that he is routinely treated very poorly.

It is sad to say, but these stories are common today. We act like Christians on Sunday, and during the rest of the week we are someone completely different. We behave and say the right buzz words with our Christian friends, but then face the world and act like them during the week.

The word above says that we are to be doers of the word. In other words, be Christ-like in every area of our lives.

I am particular when it comes to treating people. We are all God´s creation, saved or unsaved, and when we interact with others we portray Christ in us. We portray Christ with our words and actions. We are Christ´s representatives on earth.

I would be saddened to hear of someone speaking about me, that person not having a clue that I have Jesus in my heart. I then began to think; If I was belittling a fellow Christian, don´t you think that the Lord would be saddened as well?

Let us learn to be doers of the word in all areas of our lives. Our speech, our manner of treating others, and our actions towards strangers. If we struggle, we have a helper with us that will teach us and guide us every step of the way.

_______________

Fresh Wind Ministries has been birthed with a passion to serve the Body of Christ. Our desire is to impart and teach the deeper things of God to the believer and to lead them onto a new path where they will rise up in the authority that the Lord has already given them.

Our goal is to reach the English speaking people living in Latin America, as well as other countries where the Lord leads. This way we can minister to them in their native language, and have them be refreshed by His Spirit. We believe the End Times Church will rise up in power and authority, and that signs and wonders will be manifest on the earth.

Fresh Wind Ministries believes that we will see a great outpouring of His Spirit upon the earth, and we wait and listen to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. - Fresh Wind Ministries

Rev T Asks: Dead or Alive?

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. - Revelation 3:1-6

GUEST BLOGGER
This from Rev. T at The New Covenant:

It is interesting to note that the problem that Sardis had to overcome was one of being a dead church. Notice that Christ says that they have the reputation of being alive, but they are dead. Sardis was a very well known, and prosperous city. The Church had a good reputation; they were doing works that Christ points out as not complete. Great at the start, but no follow through.

The problem that had to be overcome is that they were Christians in name only. They were going through the motions, but not working with the Holy Spirit, they were not letting Christ lead the church. As we look around today, do we not see the same things happening? We see dead churches, led by dead pastors, full of dead church members. A church quits living when it starts paying more attention to the world around them, than to their salvation. A pastor, or leader of a church becomes dead when he forgets that the Holy Spirit is the one that directs him and leads the service; he starts to believe that people are showing up because of him, not the Lord. Or when he becomes more concerned with how much money is in the plate, and not the condition of his congregation’s souls.

The worst death in my opinion is the death of the members. When the church becomes a place for the latest fashion show, or the gathering place for the gossip workshop, that is when the members start to experience spiritual death. It is up to each and every member to look after the health of the church. We have to remember that each one of us makes up the church, so the best place to start for a healthy church is within each of us. As this scripture shows a church can be healed, but the members and leaders must wake up! People live life on “auto pilot” every day. However our spiritual journey has no auto pilot switch. We are in control of how high we will fly, or the level we will descend. There is nothing in life that we cannot overcome with Christ; we all can wear robes of white. We just have to make sure we stay awake, and spiritually alive.

Peace,
Rev. T

The plan is to take a daily scripture passage, and put it in to a current perspective. I will keep it as plain and simple as possible. Man has done a wonderful job of making religion far more complicated than it should be. We get so lost in what we want it to mean, we overrun the message. - Rev. T, The New Covenant

Versical: Restoration

Peace has fallen on this person
In a static place, no less
It’s a lull before the storm breaks
Restoration time, I guess
To the state that He created
Undefiled by human touch
Like an onion, we’ve gained layers
Some a few, but many much.

Take a painting, sad and lifeless
Vibrant colours dulled by time
You can damage hidden beauty
As you scrub away the grime
So He takes His time about it
Lovingly He cleans away
Years of dead and poisoned foliage
In our cesspit of decay.

So I offer up my secrets
Some remembered, others not
Like a time lord reaching backwards
He is in a land forgot
But I know that when He’s finished
I will be His child renewed
Thankful that He loves me dearly
Restored, refined, no longer crude.

- Versical

Find Versical at Mike's Blogs

About Mike
I’m Mike and I am a Christian. I’ve been this way for over twenty years and praise The Lord for the way He has stuck by me and changed me. These blogs are my personal wanderings through life as the world formed me. Nobody is to blame as we are all subject to influences which distort the perfect creation that we were designed to be. May these poems and blogs bless you and you are welcome to use them.

Add DeKalb

Why is it that when tragedy strikes close to home we often look to God so much quicker and more intently than ever before? Thank you ThirstyJon for giving us this snapshot of your life, DeKalb, Illinois, and a call for prayer after yet another campus shooting -- this time at Northern Illinois University.

Trouble in DeKalb

This from The Thirst for Freedom blog:

I was born in DeKalb, Illinois and grew up in Sycamore - the neighboring town. We ate lots of corn in the summer where I lived. I worked for the DeKalb Ag in the Corn Fields “de-tassling” corn when I was in Junior High...

...My wife and I were driving along an Australian Freeway between Mt Gambier and Adelaide with a group of fun young people when we got a call from a friend back in Illinois. A mad-man has shot up the campus at NIU. Just hours ago. The police were there in less than a minute (I am not surprised by their quick response!). People have died. The university whose political science program had helped produce liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, and helped produce missions author Ruth A. Tucker, and even had a small part in indirectly influencing the relatively unknown Founder and Chief (only) blogger of Freedomthirst.com (ThirstyJon!) has been attacked! The city where I (and Cindy Crawford) was born has been added to the growing list of towns that have faced this kind of disastrous violence...

...Then for a brief moment I wept. The world is a crazy place...

...We need to produce a generation that sees the world through God’s eyes as best they can.

Banning guns won’t work. A generation of heroes will.

Join me in prayer for the families of the victims at Northern Illinois University and the grieving town of DeKalb, Illinois.

Then join me Seeking the Kingdom of God on Earth, as Jesus commanded us to do when he taught us how to pray:

“Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven.”

Read full post at Trouble in DeKalb