According to statistics in about 5 years time approximately one third of Christians in your C.U will claim that their faith was nothing but a "passing phase".
Another third will be luke warm, nominal Christians.
But the final third will have continued on the narrow path with Jesus being at the centre of everything they say and do.
These statistics seriously scare and sadden me. They make me wonder how many of us are as passionate as Jesus' disciple Peter saying "Lord Iam ready to go with you to prison and to death." (Luke 22v33) and yet it is inevitable that some of us will deny Christ just as Peter did.
And so Iam writing this blog because I realise that I may one day be a "Peter" and therefore need to be constantly reminding myself, of the goodness of Christ, and the importance of not falling away but instead glorifying Him with every minute of my live.
Hebrews 3v12 Tells us to make sure that none of us have an unbelieving heart. The Israelites...they caught a glimpse of Gods awesome power in Egypt (the plagues, the parting of the red sea) and saw His faithfulness in leading them out of slavery, yet they still had unbelieving hearts! How can this be?
The problem is with the sinfulness of the human heart.
It is inclined to constantly wander away from Gods good ways and from the belief that He has everything under his absolute control.
Christians...we'r good at "faking it". It is possible to look like you love Christ from the external, to do and say all the right things, even to turn up to all the right events but internally have an unbelieving heart. We are deceivers. This deeply saddens me-it is not how we should act towards one another.
Instead as a family in Christ we need to "encourage one another daily" and hold one another accountable in our relationship with God.
Things WILL present themselves as more valuable than Christ, be that a job a relationship or even "good works" that simply promote self more than Jesus.
Whatever it is, it may look more valuable right now but I want to encourage you that NOTHING is more valuable than Jesus.
For who else created the universe yet stepped down to become a mere human? Who else loved us so much that he put all his glory aside to be tortured and put to death a horrendous Roman cross?
Who else has defeated death so that we can be saved from it and have everlasting life?
To satisfy the righteous anger that God has towards sin, Jesus was separated from his Father, this is why he cries out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" because at that moment, Jesus took all of our past sins, and our future sins and bore the punishment that we rightfully deserve. And so I ask you, where is his superior and where would we improve him? I have not yet found anyone who begins to be more valuable than Jesus, have you?
Preaching Jesus Christ and the Gospel to yourself is the only anecdote to drifting away.
So I encourage you to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so entangles easily, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith....Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12v1-3)
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