1 Corinthians 9:19-27 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

While it is truly a glorious time of rejoicing when a person decides to put on Christ in baptism, all too often they are left with a lingering question that needs an answer: Now that I have been baptized, what do I do next? It then becomes our responsibility, as seasoned Christians to help answer that question for them. The answer to this question can very well become the anchor that holds the new Christian from falling away in his or her spiritual infancy. We must be clear as to the things that we instruct these new babes to do at this important stage. First of all they must love God with all their being so as to adhere to His protection. Then they must fervently study the Word so as to make it a part of who they are. They must stand firm in prayer to keep their minds clear and focused. They must not forsake the assembling together with the other saints, so as to gain encouragement and training. And lastly, they must begin to seek and save the lost so as to show their excitement to those around them and fulfill the “Great Commission” of Matthew 28. It is at this time in their spiritual life that the new Christians are most vulnerable, but these things will help keep them grounded and prepared at all times.

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 Now that I’m Baptized, What’s Next? May 30, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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2 Peter 2:20-22 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.  For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.   But it has happened to them according to the true proverb:  “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

When you hear the word backslider what picture comes to mind?  If the answer is, “none whatsoever” don’t be ashamed there are many in the church today that are unfamiliar with the term.  A backslider is a person that once had salvation, but has since turned away from the Lord Jesus to the point that he is now spiritually lost and dead again, just like he was before becoming saved.  Now that you know what it is, it isn’t hard to see the importance in staying away from that sort of trap, and the way you do that is by following the advice of a former backslider, Peter.  Peter tells us throughout 1 Peter that the way to stay clear of this trap of backsliding is to stay humble, diligent, to glorify God, to abstain from the world, and to always be ready to give a defense as to why you are a follower of Jesus.  Peter gives us the formula to keep us within the arms of the Lord, always.

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 What Makes You A Backslider, May 23, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Whether you believe it or not “You are what you wear!”  What I mean by that statement is that the way you dress tells people that you are or are not prepared to do the job before you.  If you work in an office, you wear a suit.  If you work on a construction site, you wear jeans and work boats.  If you are a doctor, you wear scrubs.  People see you as fit to do your job based on the way you cloth yourself.  I actually know people who have been offered jobs based heavily on the way they came dressed to the interview.  What you wear is important.  Now how about us as Christians?  Do we have to dress a certain way to show that we are ready for our work?  The answer is absolutely “yes”, but not how you might think.  As Christians we don’t have to always be dressed in our Sunday best because attending the assembly is not our job.  Our job is to go to battle against the evil forces of this world, and to do that we have got to dress the part.  Paul tells us in Ephesians, that we must put on the armor of God as we prepare to go into battle.  That armor, our dress, will not only tell the world that we are ready to go to work, but it will also protect us from the dangers of the job.  So before you go about your Christian work put on your armor of the Lord, and show Satan that you are able and willing to battle with him today!

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 Dressed For Success – Put on the Armor of God, May 16, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

Whether you are close to your mother or not there is no doubt that God put her in a special light.  We are told to honor her or face the consequences of our actions. And we are also told that the only sin frowned upon more than dishonoring your mother is to carve for yourself an idol.  And for those of you that are mothers, the Bible also gives many examples of how you should act and feel about that role.  Hannah and Mary are probably the best of those examples because they both showed that to be a good mother you must have great faith and be willing to listen to God.  While the role of Mother can be daunting at times, there is no job on this earth that can give you the kind of satisfaction that comes from raising a child to be a follower of Christ.  Be proud that God has given you this amazing opportunity.

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John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

As we continue looking into the character of Jesus some might be surprised to see that we would include the trait of courage.  All too often the world viewed Jesus as this quiet, compassionate, weak individual, and while he was absolutely compassionate and sometimes quiet, he was never weak.  I attest that Jesus was the most courageous man to have ever walked this earth.  You simply need to take another look into the last day of His life to see that courage seemed to seep from His every pore.  This man knew full well how His life on this earth would end, and yet still came down here and endured it anyway.  Weak?  No way!  Courageous?  Absolutely!

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Acts 26:16-18  But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.  I will deliver you from the Jewish  people, as well as from  the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order  to turn them  from darkness to light, and from  the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.

When we really look into the idea of becoming more like Jesus, we have to discuss the addition of faithfulness.  We have got to learn that to prove ourselves as Christians we have got to display some sort of faith.  While this is essential it is not easy.  The concept of truly letting go and allowing God to drive the car can be a daunting task for many because it asks us to give over the control that we hold so dear.  And once we are comfortable with the letting go part, then we are asked to act upon our newfound ideal.  We must not only put all of our trust in Christ to control our lives, but we must also live our live as if He has already been doing this.  We must live like Abraham and go when He tells us to go, and do it with assurance.

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 Quest for the Character of Jesus, Faithfulness, April 25, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Philippians 2:1-5 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,  fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

I’m sure we have all heard it said that attitude is everything, well when talking about our quest for the character of Jesus this statement has never been so true.  So much of our struggles in life have to do with our attitudes.  If we start our day off with a bad attitude, then it is safe to say that the rest of our day will probably follow.  With that in mind, we must make the decision to control our attitudes at all costs, and that begins by understanding that it is an act of 18 inches.  That is the distance between your heart and your mind, and that 18 inches can make or break your attitude.  Jesus always kept His attitude in check because His mind was all focused on the task ahead, and His heart was always focused upon the will of the Father.  With us it is no different.  We must keep our minds focused on Jesus’ work, and keep our hearts focused on the will of the Father.  You see when you break it all down, it really is very simple, you just have to choose to have an attitude like Christ.

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 A Quest for the Character of Jesus – Attitude, April 18, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 John 3:13-24 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.  Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?  My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.  And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.  For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.  And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.  And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

All of us Christians should have as our goal in life to be more like Christ, and that is not that we begin to look more like Him but rather that we begin to act like Him.  We need to strive to take on His very character and begin acting as He did especially when it comes to our treatment of others.  While there are many parts to Jesus’ character, one of the most difficult has got to be the trait of compassion.  Compassion is so difficult because it involves us treating others as Jesus would, expecting nothing in return.  While treating others well should be easy to the Christian, it’s the receiving nothing in return that is so hard to grasp.  Jesus made the showing of compassion important because it is the essence of who He is, and we need to also see the importance.  It can be done by simply caring enough for a fellow human being that we would be willing to show a little kindness or offer a little help.  The true problem is that we have a hard time taking our eyes off of ourselves and focusing on another.  But if we are ever going to put on the character of Christ, then we have got to become comfortable being compassionate to all mankind.

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 A Quest for the Character of Jesus – Compassion, April 11, 2010: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Matthew 7:7-11 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?   Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

When looking into this passage it becomes clear that we may not actually know what we are to ask for, seek after, or which doors we are to knock upon.  Let’s make this plain and simple.  We are to ask with a belief in receiving, we are to ask with the right motives, and we are to ask for what will fulfill the Lord’s will.  We are to seek for the good of others and not ourselves, we are to seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and we are to always seek the Lord.  And we are to knock upon the door of opportunity to do the work of the Lord.  Now let’s stop making excuses, and start making a difference in the lives of others. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

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Colossians 3:12-13 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;  bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

When I was a young boy, and began asking those important questions about Christianity, my dad let me know that one of the most difficult things for us as Christians to master was forgiveness.  As I have become a dad myself, it has become even more difficult.  Now with all that aside, it is also absolutely essential to us receiving the salvation that we are working so diligently for.  That’s right; you will never receive forgiveness from God if you can’t learn to forgive others.  That’s just how it is.  As tough as it may be for us to do, we have no other option, if salvation is our goal.  Our forgiveness for others will be the measuring stick that Jesus will use the day we stand before Him on judgment day, so we had better get it right while we have the chance!

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 Forgiveness: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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