January 17, 2010

Bulletin Thought

A Thought from Pastor Bryson,

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:25 NKJV)

The above verse found in the ninth chapter of the gospel of John centers around a man who was blind since birth.  One day he met Jesus and Jesus healed him of his blindness – sight was given to him.

The religious leaders who should have been rejoicing at the healing this man received were upset at what Jesus had done.  Rather than spend energy celebrating the blessing this man had received, they wasted energy in trying to find fault with Jesus and the man.

The religious leaders questioned him vigorously as well as his parents.  During another round of questioning in which the religious leaders were trying to discredit the work of Jesus by classifying Him as a sinner, the man who had been healed simply responded – “Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”  Unfortunately, the religious leaders banned this man from the synagogue.

He knew what had happened to him.  He couldn’t explain how it happened nor could he tell much about who was responsible for his healing.  He just knew that he could see.  What little he did know was enough for him to enjoy his blessing and live his life differently.  Eventually, he came to know the identity of Jesus and began to worship Him.  But until that happened he was sustained by what he knew.

I’m convinced that what we know can sustain us as we make our journey through life.  We will not know everything there is to know about God or His Word, but there is enough for us to know that can make a difference as we make our journey through life.

Let us not spend so much time focusing on what we don’t know, rather let us focus on what we do know.  What we know can dispel hopelessness and despair.  What we do know can give us strength and a reason to go on.  We might not know much, but we ought to know something that leads us to say – “One thing I do know…”

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart.

1/16/2010 6:43:55 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)    Comments [0] 

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]