January 10, 2010

Bulletin Thought

A Thought from Pastor Bryson,

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sin.”

                                                                                                                                   (Ephesians 2:1)

We are into the second week of a brand New Year and I would imagine that we’re thankful to be alive to continue our journey through life.

But how alive are we?  At one time I worked as a nurse and we had patients who were on life support, they were alive but barely.  Their heart was beating, they were breathing with the aid of a ventilator.  They were alive but not to the point where they could engage in conversation or enjoy all the beauty of creation.  It is safe to say that their quality of life was lacking.

Unfortunately today there are many people who are alive but their quality of life is lacking.  To be sure they are up and about, breathing on their own which is a blessing.  But many fail to realize just how blessed they are.  Many are dull to God speaking to them or God’s work around them.  They are in one sense alive physically but dead spiritually.

The GOOD NEWS of faith in Jesus is that through Jesus we become alive spiritually.  Sin, being disobedient to God slowly but surely alienates us from God.  But when we come to know Jesus as Savior, we become alive spiritually – which only enhances our quality of life.  When we are alive physically and spiritually, our lives are characterized by certain qualities.  Such as:

• We are alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11).  In other words, we see the handiwork of God all around us.  We are sensitive to Him speaking and moving in our midst.  Because of Him, we have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

• We are filled with joy (Romans 5:11; 1 Peter 1:8).  The Bible clearly teaches that joy is a fruit of the Spirit meaning that not just some Christians are to have joy, but all Christians are to have joy.  This joy has nothing to do with external circumstances.  It simply comes from our walk with Him.

• We are filled with gratitude (Colossians 1:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).  When we think of the goodness of God toward us, how can we not help but be thankful?

• We are filled with hope (John 14:1-3).  No matter how bad things may get, we know that God is and that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

Of course, there are a lot of more qualities that we possess that only help us to be alive.  THANK GOD I’m alive.  How alive are you?

1/11/2010 8:47:21 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)    Comments [0]