CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:MINISTRY OF WAITING

Pastor John Piper has a blog "Ministry of Waiting" in which he describes the beginning part of a worship service (worship in song and prayer) as a 'sacred moment'. He goes on to say that our love for one another should make us eager to help one another to experience this 'sacred moment' to the fullest. John Piper says that if we arrive late for church, we should not go in to the worship service and interrupt this special time. We should wait outside and pray that those inside. That's why he calls it a "ministry of waiting"! Once the worship time (the 'sacred moment') is finished, the doors can be opened and those waiting outside will be allowed into the service. It's an interesting ministry!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:CRY TO THE LORD

It's exciting to be around new Christians because they have such a strong desire to live for God. But they are often not fully aware that sin still lives in them, Satan will tempt them, and the world will constantly be influencing them. So when they find themselves struggling with sin, they begin to doubt if they are really Christian at all. In the Old Testament, as we see the relationship between Israel and God, we see Israel constantly struggling with sin, yet God is always there to restore the relationship when they cry out for forgiveness and repent. If you are a new Christian, don't listen to Satan's lies. God will not reject you. Know that God desires you to cry out for forgiveness and respond with repentance, and then you can be sure that your relationship with Him will be completely restored!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:REMEMBER

A new Christian is often so full of joy, so excited, a so on fire for the Lord. But often something happens to a Christian over time. They fail to remember that they were hopeless without Christ. This results in a lukewarm Christian life. But there is a way to get the fire back! By remembering what you have been 'saved from', and remembering what you have been 'saved to', the joy and excitement can and will come back!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:LIVING HOPE

When there is deep stress and anxiety in your life, how can you live with joy and focus on loving others? The answer is "Living Hope", a confidence in God which has power to produce changes in desire and changes in life!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:GOD'S PROMISE TO DO GOOD

Do you want to turn your discouragement into rejoicing? There are a couple of passages in the word of God where God promises to do good to His people. He actually rejoices in it....always!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:THE FIGHT WITH LUST

Pastor John Piper explains his experience with high school students and their attitude that 'lust' is not a big deal. He explains that if there is not a fight with lust, one can lose their soul and not go to heaven. Even some people who think they are Christians, say that because they are saved they don't have to worry about losing their soul. John Piper says that if they are not fighting lust in their lives, their faith is not real.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:TRUE FAITH REQUIRES ACTION

True faith (or true religion) involves #1 hearing & doing (James 1:22), and #2 worshiping & doing (James 1:27). If there is no action (no application), then that faith is worthless. If your faith has action, praise God that He will be glorified through your life!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO BEING HURT

If a Christian is hurt by another person, what should be the proper response? There are two basic responses, a response of humbleness or a response of pride (which can lead to bitterness). The Bible says God is against the proud but gives grace to the humble. Let's make it our goal to be humble people!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:IS GOD ACTIVE IN OUR LIVES

Did God create the world and then withdraw to leave us on our own? Or is God active in this world and in our lives? The Bible shows us that God is indeed active in our lives. Praise the Lord that He is there for us!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:READY TO GIVE UP

Are you ready to give up? Have you had enough? Is everything falling apart? If you said "yes", then put your hope in God's promises and shout joyfully to the Lord. You can't be immersed in shouting joyfully to the Lord and be ready to give up all at the same time!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:KEEP WARM

The Bible says to 'pray without ceasing', but what exactly does that mean? Martyn Lloyd-Jones says it simply means to keep your spiritual life warm. Part of keeping your spiritual life warm is being careful there is not an unbalanced emphasis on doctrine and theology...because it leads to a neglect of spiritual things...which leads to a coldness.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:HE'S WATCHING

Do you sometimes feel that God is far away, not watching you, and doesn't seem to be concerned about your life? Actually, if you're a Christian, God is always watching you. In fact, He may withdraw His love, joy and peace temporarily...so that you will learn to go searching for Him. God never takes His eyes off His children!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:DEFRAGMENT YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE

If you have a computer, you probably have experienced those times when your computer is running really slow. What do you do? You probably defragment your computer so that the files are cleaned up, and then it starts running good again. Well, our Christian lives are like a computer. When we have sin in our lives, our Christian lives don't run very well, but when we confess our sin to God, He will cleanse us of our sin so that our Christin lives run well again! Praise God that we can defragment our Christian lives!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:PEACE OF GOD

Are trials robbing your Christian life of joy and happiness? If your answer is yes, you need to read Philippians 4:6-7. In this passage there is a promise for the peace of God and instruction on how to receive it.

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:IT'S ALL ABOUT WORSHIP

Worship is more than going to church, or singing praises before the sermon. Worship involves everything we do in life. We are made to worship, however because of our sin we tend to worship wrongly. In fact, the reason we have so many problems in live is because we have a worship problem. It's all about worship!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:CHILDREN OF GOD

Are all people born into this world children of God? The Bible teaches us that only by faith in Jesus Christ do we have the right to become children of God. Also, only those who have the Holy Spirit living within them are truly children of God. If you have saving faith and have the Holy Spirit living within you, you are united to all the blessings of God!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:DON'T WAIT

Have you ever wanted to become a Christian, have your sins forgiven, belong to God's family, and experience the grace, love and mercy of God...but felt that your life was too messed up? Did you postpone surrendering to the Lord because you wanted to clean up your life first? Well, don't wait! Come as you are to the Lord and let Him wash you, make you new, and begin the process of making you like Jesus!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:GRACE, LOVE & MERCY

For many people, when looking back into their past, they find it very painful because of things they have done which they deeply regret. But when someone surrenders their life to Jesus, all that is washed away. All that's left is grace, love, and mercy!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF FAITH

You remember the story of Superman? Remember how Lex Luthor tried to get Superman to be near Kryptonite so that he would become weak? In the same way, Satan tries to destroy our faith so that we will sin and become weak in our relationship with God. Satan knows that all sin comes from failing to live by faith..which means the number one aim of Satan is the destruction of faith. The issue of faith is much more important than we realize!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:MINISTRY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE

How important is ministry? How important is serving God? Do you realize that God wants every Christian involved in ministry? Pastor John Piper says, "Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life."

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL GROUPS

If you are a Christian, your sins are forgiven, the holy Spirit lives in you, and you have the promises of God in His word to stand on. You have everything, right? What more do you need? But there is still something that you need for your Christian life! You need to be meeting regularly (in small groups) to encourage each other, so that your heart doesn't become hardened from sin and you don't go astray. It's God's will that we excite each other to love and do good deeds. Small group are important to accomplish this!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:SPIRIT OF LOVE

Why do many Christians have a fear of living the Christian life and serving God? Why is there a fear of failure? One reason is that they are too focused on 'self'. But when they focus on the love of God, and loving brothers and sisters in the Lord, and loving the lost...the fear melts away. God has given us a spirit of love (2 Timothy 1:7), so let's use it to live confident Christian lives!

CHRISTIAN JOURNEY:SPIRIT OF POWER

Many Christians have a fear of the Christian life because they are afraid of failing. But 2 Timothy 1:7 tell us that "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." When Christians realize that the Holy Spirit is living in them and working through them, it should lead to confidence in living the Christian life!

OUR JOURNEY:JEHOVAH-ROHI

In Psalm 23:1, in the original Hebrew, David uses "JEHOVAH-ROHI" to describe the character of God. JEHOVAH (which is the covenant name of God) joined with ROHI (which describes a shepherd that carefully cares for the needs of an animal)...expresses the idea of God feeding us, protecting us, leading us, and comforting us. Praise the Lord that our God shepherds His people!

OUR JOURNEY:BLESSING THROUGH FORGIVENESS

Christians often struggle with the issue of forgiveness. When someone hurts them, they don't feel like forgiving, and yet God requires it. The problem is, many Christians feel that forgiveness means that they must accept the wrong done to them. Actually, the wrong should be confronted and resolved, but with a proper attitude and in a prayerful way. God blesses those who forgive!

OUR JOURNEY:WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO PRAY FOR

Do you sometimes go to God in prayer with a heavy burden on your heart but you don't know what to pray? It is the Holy Spirit that is leading you to pray, and even though there are no words (just groaning), God knows what your prayer is, and accepts your wordless prayer!

OUR JOURNEY:GOD'S GRACE

Should a Christian fear going to hell if there is sin in his life or if he has struggles with sin issues? The truth is, if a person is united to Christ (through faith & repentance), he is united to God's grace, so the punishment of Hell is removed. It's all about God's amazing grace!

OUR JOURNEY:THIRSTY

Have you ever been really thirsty? In the same way our soul can be really thirsty and desire to be satisfied. As we get closer to God, God get closer to us, satisfying our soul with a sweetness that will truly make us want more and more!

OUR JOURNEY:SIN'S POWER

We often see sin as doing something wrong, the breaking of God's law. But sin is much more than that. Sin is something powerful that is alive in every person. As we grieve over family relationships, we need to remember the power of sin that controls many of their lives. Only one thing can break the power of sin. That one thing is God!

OUR JOURNEY:THANK YOU

The most important word in the Christian life is "Thank You". The word "Thank You", when said to God, expresses dependence and trust, and God loves to hear it! It could be your new favourite word!

OUR JOURNEY:A POSITIVE LOOK AT TRIALS

Most of us don't like going through hard times, but trials are often how God causes us to grow strong spiritually. Trials lead us into prayer and to depend on God. It is often as we are going through trials that we experience the love, peace, comfort , and closeness of God. Maybe we need to change our attitude about trials. If God is leading us through a trial, He is doing it for our good and for His glory!

OUR JOURNEY:YOU BELONG TO GOD

If you are trusting in Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, you belong to God! But what does it mean to belong to God? Fortunately, there are analogies (or pictures) in the Bible that help make it clear.

OUR JOURNEY:HALLELUJAH

The word 'Hallelujah" is used by Christians all around the world. But what exactly does the word mean? How is it used in Scripture? The answer is really cool!

OUR JOURNEY:LIVING FOR HIS GLORY

Can a person be a Christian and live for his own glory, instead of the glory of God? Can a person believe on Jesus just to be saved from hell, and yet ignore living a Christian life? If we are to glorify God in everything we do, how can we make sure we are on the right track?

OUR JOURNEY:TRUST & OBEY

When you face disaster in your life, do you question why God allowed it to happen? Do you feel that maybe God is not being fair? That's how Job felt! When disaster hit his life, he complained, questioned God, and challenged God's wisdom and justice. Job later repented, trusting and obeying God, realizing that he lacked the understanding and the knowledge that can only come from God! We can learn a valuable lesson from Job!

OUR JOURNEY:A FRIEND THAT MAKES US SPECIAL

Do you realize how special you are? Anyone who is a friend of Jesus is special!

OUR JOURNEY:EL QANNA

Many Christians believe that God is only luke-warm toward them. But that is not true. One of the names of God (which reveals His character) is EL QANNA, which means He is jealous for His children. He has a deep passion for them. The proof that God is EL QANNA is that He sent Christ to die for you! PTL!

OUR JOURNEY:GOD IS WITH YOU

Did you know that when you (a child of God) go through trials God is with you? If we live with this truth in our minds and hearts, trials will be much easier to go through!

OUR JOURNEY:WHY SOME TRIALS NEVER END

Sometimes we go through trials that never seem to end! How should we respond to them? Christians should respond differently to trials than non-Christians, because they know God is in control of their trials, has a purpose for their trials, and is sufficient for their trials. God does not promise to take away our trials but He does promise us Himself when we face our trials!

OUR JOURNEY:A BEAUTIFUL BRIDE

"You cannot claim to love Christ while refusing to love His bride, the church. To love Jesus is to love His bride. To accept Jesus is to accept the church. You cannot receive Jesus and reject His church. He loves it and if you love Him you will love what He loves. You cannot practice a churchless Christianity." Trent Griffith