Tag: self-doubt and hopelessness

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Are you a Just a Church Goer, or an Actual Spiritual Member?

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The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, ” is on sale now at the bookstore on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping is cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to take a look.

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Today’s excerpt is asks the question, ” Are you just a church goer, or are you you an actual spiritual member?” Many people come to church just to let others see they are going. They may not even bring a Bible. The spiritual members come to worship and praise.

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Chapter 30

 

God Doesn’t Want Shares of Your Life;

He Wants Controlling Interest

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

 

I’m sure there are people in your church who make you wonder why they’re even there. They’re critical about everything—the music, the organist’s clothes, the length and wording of the prayers, the color of the rug, on and on ad nauseam. They gossip about others or sit through the service without listening to the sermon.

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about these types of people. He says there are two types of people who go to church: the church attendees and the church members.1

The churchgoers come just to be able to say they go to church in order to impress their clients or neighbors—or as a promise to their mother. Often the churchgoers don’t even bring a Bible with them. Instead, they study the church bulletin the whole time, whisper to the person next to them or make out next week’s to-do list. They come only to show others they are going to church—and then they leave. You could ask them right afterward what the sermon was about, and they wouldn’t be able to tell you. They come in order to meet up and go out to lunch with someone from the church after the service is over.

“It is not what you show on Sunday that counts. It is what you show on Monday!”

The other type of church people are the spiritual members. They are members of the body of Christ. They are the ones who come humbly to church to truly worship God. They have their Bibles. They listen carefully to the sermon, taking notes to learn from it. They also are the ones who reach out to the “churchgoers,” to try to help them learn the true joy of learning about God.

When the church attendees come before God on judgment day, God will not ask them if they went to church. (He already knows everything you do.) He will ask them what they have done to deserve to be a part of His kingdom. What close encounters did they have with God? Did they totally worship Him not only on Sundays, but on Mondays also? They will try to convince God that they were very loyal, but He will say, “I do not know you; be gone!”

True members of a church reach out to those in need. They spend hours praying. They get into small groups to study the Bible. They help in the church by being an usher, singing in the choir, greeting at the door, etc. They also worship with the whole body when they are done serving. The members of a church are all part of one body, and we need to help the weaker parts of the body realize that if we lose even one finger from our body, we will suffer. We need the whole body being strong together.

I want to make sure you understand. I am not talking about a person who joins a church by having his or her name added to the membership list. I mean a member of the body of Christ.

I learned from one of the members of my Bible Study Fellowship group that a pastor of a church he knew had borrowed some money from one of the members and then never paid it back. The pastor tried to avoid the church member every Sunday so he wouldn’t have to talk to him about the money he owed the other member.

This member—even though he’s the pastor—isn’t a healthy functioning body member. Instead, he is one of the weaker parts of the body that needs help. Just joining a church “on paper” doesn’t make you a part of the body. All believers are part of the universal (transcending time and place) body of Christ and hopefully also healthy functioning members of a local body of believers called a “church.” It is too easy to “join a church” and then live off the title without ever being a part of the body of Christ.

We each need to decide if we’re going to be a church attendee/churchgoer/“pew sitter” or a true member of the body. If we are a part of the body of Christ, we will want to be in fellowship with other believers in a local church where we can be consistent in our worship of God and service to others. 

Each of us can become a prayer warrior, or be part of a Bible study group. We can help people find their seats or greet people at the door. Or we can just come humbly before God to worship each Sunday. After all, it is called a worship service.

Then we need to take God with us on Monday. Each day we can thank Him for His love. And we can look at others who might be simply “church attendees” and help them to grow into healthy functioning members.

It is often very difficult to approach the church attendees because they seem to resent anyone who challenges them. We need to convey to them that we love them enough to want them to take further steps in their live, to become a stronger part of the body. That may anger them at first, but they may thank us later when they become an integral part of the body and love God more than they ever dreamed possible.

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

 

Further Adventures

Take a “home inventory” of your own family. Are they all “members,” or is there one who is only a church attendee? If all families worked on having all their family becoming church members, there would be no need to have other church members try to help you. Even your children can be strong parts of the body of Christ by being examples to the other children in church. They can also get involved by being counselors at youth camps, singing in the youth choir, or helping in a Sunday school class.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything?

Remember: Never, ever, give up!

 

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Many Come to Church on Easter. Where are They Other Sundays?

Thanks to those of you who have been signing up for the RSS feed t0 www.dougbolton.com. It has helped us move up the Google Search Rankings, which is important for growth. If you haven’t already signed up, please do it today. Just click on the icon right after the title.

_________________________________________________________

The year 2011 was a good year for me in selling my book. I sold over 300. In 2012 I will be digging in and trying to top that, plus hopefullyhave another book published. Stay tuned for updates on my first book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” and all future books.

________________________________________________________________

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

The book is on sale right now in the sites bookstore. It is normally $19.99 in the bookstores, but on this site it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

______________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt is about how people only seems to go to chruch on special occasions like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. Where are they the rest of the year?

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Chapter 28

 

Without Jesus, You Don’t Have a Prayer

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

 

When I went to church yesterday, it was exciting to see so many people. We had 2,565 people there. It was Easter Sunday. We normally have about 1,000 on an average Sunday. My question is: Where are the people the rest of the year? They are only there at Easter because they have accepted the ways of this world and have become churchgoers and not church members. That is what they do: Go to church at Easter.

They have Easter egg hunts at home. They have big family gatherings, but they do not know the meaning behind Easter. They want the Easter bunny to fill their baskets to bring joy to their faces, caring nothing about having Jesus in their hearts.

            As we go through life, some think they can survive on their own without Jesus. They conform to the world around them and think that life is going to be kind to them, because they are “good” people, and surely (I know—don’t call me Shirley!) they will be blessed in their “afterlife.” But when they have finished the race, and face the judgment, God will say, “I do not know you because you rejected My Son.”

We must learn that without Jesus, we do not have a prayer of being with Him in heaven. We have to go the extra mile and let Him into our lives. Then the time of judgment will be different. When we finish the race, God will say, “Come in, My good and faithful servant.”

When it was time for Jesus to be crucified for our sins, He went through many hardships. Others before Him (like Joseph) and after Him (like Paul) also faced hardships. The similarities show that whenever we go through trials, some good can come of it, if we stay close to God and keep the faith.

Joseph went to find his brothers because his father asked him to go to Shechem to look for them. They were out tending the sheep. He didn’t find them there, and asked where his brothers had gone. He was told his brothers had gone on toDothan. He could have stopped when he got to Shechem. He had gone as far as his father had told him to, but he went the “extra mile” (actually about twenty) to find his brothers inDothan. When he found them, what did they do? They threw him into a deep hole called a cistern, tore off his robe and then sold him into slavery. The robe was a richly ornamented one that his father had given Joseph. His brothers hated Joseph, so they betrayed their own brother.

Paul spent many years being persecuted, facing torture and spending time in prison, but he never wavered. He continued to preach all over the world of his time, telling people about salvation. He was a loyal servant of God. He kept on serving the Lord. Even though he had many hardships, he finished the race.

Jesus could have saved Himself when He was put on the cross. But He allowed the soldiers to pound the nails into his hands and feet, crushing the bones and letting the crimson blood flow to the ground. He could have sent for a thousand angels when He was hanging on the cross and have them destroy the people. Instead He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” He said He was thirsty, when He could have opened up the skies and let rainwater fall into His mouth. Instead the soldiers gave him bitter-tasting vinegar wine. He could have set Himself free at anytime, but instead He said, “It is finished!”

The soldiers took Jesus’ robe off just like the brothers did to Joseph. It also was a specially made robe with no seams in it. It was woven in one piece from the top. The soldiers threw dice to see who would win the robe. It must have been Jesus’ finest possession. It was a great “collector’s” item for the soldiers.

Jesus walked all over the country teaching about salvation. In the end He was persecuted, beaten, marched through a mock trial and put to death. He went through many of the things Paul went through.

Yes, Jesus could have saved Himself that day. He could have done many things to stop what was happening to Him, but He went on to walk the extra mile. He went on to finish the race. He went on to the cross to pay the supreme sacrifice for our sins.

Have you walked the extra mile? Is Jesus your Lord? Will you finish the race with Him and live an eternal life of joy? He paid the price for the ticket to get you in. He wanted to die for you because He wants you to be in heaven with Him.

 

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

 

Further Adventures

Study the book of Romans. Read it to see how wonderful life can be when we follow God. Also find some books that tell about the life of Jesus. Here are two I recommend, both by Philip Yancey: The Jesus I Never Knew and What’s So Amazing About Grace? Yancey digs deeply into the life of Jesus and shows us much more about Jesus than we could ever understand on our own.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how someone can say, “I believe in God,” on Sunday, but on Monday follow Satan (who, by the way, also “believes” in God)?

 

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Why do it Now? There’s Always Tomorrow. Maybe Not!

Thanks to those of you who have been signing up for the RSS feed t0 www.dougbolton.com. It has helped us move up the Google Search Rankings, which is important for growth. If you haven’t already signed up, please do it today. Just click on the icon right after the title.

_________________________________________________________

The year 2011 was a good year for me in selling my book. I sold over 300. In 2012 I will be digging in and trying to top that, plus hopefullyhave another book published. Stay tuned for updates on my first book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” and all future books.

________________________________________________________________

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

The book is on sale right now in the sites bookstore. It is normally $19.99 in the bookstores, but on this site it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

________________________________________________________

Chapter 27

 

Don’t Wait for Six Strong Men to Finally Take You to Church

 

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

For I command you today to love the Lord your God, and to keep his commands.

Deuteronomy 30:15–16

 

“I’ll do it tomorrow.” “There’s always time.” “Why should I hurry?” Pretty common responses. I have witnessed—too many times—young people falling before their time, and they never took the time to let the Lord into their hearts.

The Bible says we have our appointed time to die, and then will come the judgment. It doesn’t say when our appointed time is. It could be tomorrow or even tonight after you fall asleep.

A tragic example for me was some students of mine who died before they were 15. All of them thought they were going to live for many years to come. They were cut short in their prime, and never thought of the consequences of waiting. I pray that each of those young adults had a close encounter with God and received the Lord before their last breath.

As parents, it is our obligation to nurture our children with the love of the Lord. Children raised in a Christian home have a much better chance of joining the Lord at their “appointed time” than those raised in a home where conversations about God and His salvation aren’t important.

None of us wants to take a chance with our children! We need to introduce them to the ways of the Lord and trust Him that they will respond positively to the message of salvation.

How about you? You also have an appointed time. Don’t keep waiting. Some have waited too long and never got around to giving their lives to God.

I’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “Real men love Jesus.” If we men think we are too macho to be a Christian, we need to think about what Jesus went through for us. Have you been spit upon? Have you been flogged with whips that have nails on the end? Have you had a crown of thorns put on your head? Have you had nails driven through your hands and feet? Have you agreed to die for someone else?

I expect you said no to all of the above questions. Jesus can say yes, and He did it just for you. If He was man enough to do that for you, don’t you think you can be man enough to at least give your heart to Him?

Traditionally at a funeral, six people carry the coffin into the church. I hope that isn’t the first time you go to church. I hope that on that day for you, God, your friends and your family will be able to acknowledge you as one of His good and faithful servants.

 

The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

Psalm 116:6

 

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that

leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road

 that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:13–14

 

Further Adventures

Visit the sick and dying to help them through their fear. It will give them peace, and it will also draw you closer to God. Whenever I’ve done this, it has been very difficult. But each time the person I visited was happy I had stopped to see them. It gave them a good feeling and brightened their day, even though it was near the end of their journey.

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how people read the Bible more as they get older? They must be cramming for their finals!