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Draw a line ~ with conviction in your heart declare to the world [and to yourself],
“I am a Christian, Jesus Christ was sent to the world for me a sinner, I am saved by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, I am alive because he has redeemed me. I am a Christian and I make a commitment to live by his promises, live by his power, amazed the Spirit of God is dwelling in me. I am a Christian, a follower of Christ, committed to growing in faith, learning constantly, living as a forgiven imperfect soul. I am a Christian, putting Jesus Christ on the throne of my heart, the center of my thoughts, the motivation for living, the strength in my bones. I am a Christian that is excited about sharing with others the good news of Jesus Christ that all can turn to him and be transformed by his power. I am a Christian.” It’s time to draw a line. Over the years people have asked me if there are any good books that would help them grow in faith, or something they could study to help in their Christian walk. Guess what? Faith is a verb. Faith is a living dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, with an emphasis on the living. Studying is great. Inspiration by a host of great writers is a blessing. But the only way to grow in your faith is to live your faith. We are saved by grace which is evidenced by a changed life.
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 Any of you ever let your mouth get you in trouble? Perhaps you can relate to Ann Landers: “The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet.” Everyday, we speak 1000’s of words. Some are carefully chosen; others are impulsive. We get in trouble when too many of our words come out of our mouth without thought about how they will affect others. The solution for many is to practice biting your tongue, or maybe you are good at talking your way out of your unkind words, like this person…
“A man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, “Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that’s how we sell them!” “You mean,” she persisted, “after all the years I’ve shopped here, you won’t sell me half-ahead of lettuce?” “Look,” he said, “If you like I’ll ask the manager.” She said that would be good, so the young man marched to the front of the store. “You won’t believe this, but there’s a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce.” He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, not realizing she’d followed him. Without missing a beat he continued, “And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half.”  The Story is told of President Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. One of the ministers said, “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s replied, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”
This message is about faith ~ doing the will of God, aligning ourselves with God. The little phrase we sometimes add to prayers is larger than life: “not my will, but your will be done.” Lincoln reminded those ministers that religion is not a tool by which we get God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to being and doing what God wants. I found a great outline to help organize this message ~ three kinds of faith: dead faith, demonic faith, dynamic faith ~ Warren Wiersbe, the man of the outline said: "No man can come to Christ by faith and remain the same, anymore than he can come into contact with a 220-volt wire and remain the same." Faith in Jesus Christ will change you! The message is simple: be fair to all people. Don’t discriminate. Treat others with respect and dignity. Years ago there was a well known and much loved essay by Robert Fulgham, “All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten.” At my graduation from N.V. ‘79 the superintendent, Leo Groves, read it The essay included advice such as Share everything, Play fair, Don't hit people, Take a nap every afternoon, and When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.…. James is like that. All people are loved and precious in God’s sight. The message is simple: James 2:1 READ.
James is the brother of Jesus. I imagine James heard his brother talk about the importance of loving your neighbor; he saw with his own eyes Jesus put the walk to his talk when he died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. James may have heard Jesus tell the parable of the Good Samaritan and what it means to love your neighbor. Jesus gave himself without expecting anything in return.  I’m always learning….this week I was able to spend time with Becky R., counselor at N.V. We talked about the community we both love… Becky gave me a chart, “A Measure of How Families are Doing.” nine categories… and symptoms in three levels of how the family is coping: “At Risk, Safe, and Thriving.” The idea is to help families move up the scale… for example, under the category of Family Relations/social networks and At Risk is... Safe is… Thriving is… This is what I learned: For several years I have thought in terms of being a safe place…. That’s important, but there is life beyond safe. Safe is good. Thriving is better…. Let’s pray for the people we meet through the church, in your life, to go beyond finding a safe place….the guys that come to the Men’s breakfast, the women who show up at “She Loves to Color”, those who gather on Sunday, Potluck dinner, S.S. classes…. Impact others for Christ with the goal of thriving…I like this chart, it’s helpful, but they left off the most important category ~ Spiritual Health. Faith. What’s a family/person look like that is At Risk, Safe, and Thriving in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Safe is a good starting point, but to thrive is the goal… James is not only a Survival Manual, it is a Thriving Manual.
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Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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