Glory of Christ Fellowship

The Apostle Peter drew his second letter to a close with these wise and pastoral words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The word “grow” is an exhortation and a command, and it implies that if we’re to progress in Christ we must play an active role, by the grace of Christ, in building habits that nurture that progress. Therefore, I am offering a series of devotionals this summer and early fall on eight essential habits that help us to grow in grace. For today, let’s consider the place of evangelism in the Christian life. To grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, we must flow with the grace and knowledge of Christ toward others. To be shaped into the image of him who saved us, we must join in his mission to seek and save the lost. We must learn to be rivers rather than reservoirs, for reservoirs stagnate and breed death but rivers thrive and breed life. On...

Each year the GCF youth group ventures into northern Minnesota for our annual camping trip. This is no ordinary camping trip, mind you. We hike, jump cliffs (safely) into pools of water, cook and eat delicious meals over an open fire on a giant steel griddle...to name a few. Did I mention bacon. Bacon! Its about time I write a little bit about why hiking in particular is so good for a youth group to do together. Here are four reasons: Hiking Improves Your Physical Strength and It Is Great For Your Health Walking is a healthy activity. Hiking is even better. I have thought to myself many times while hiking, isn't hiking merely taking a walk in the woods? Actually, it isn't, especially on the trails that we hike on Minnesota's North Shore where there are mountains involved (and yes, technically, Minnesota has mountains, the Sawtooth mountains to be exact).  The main difference has to do with the surface and how that affects your health. When you walk on a pave...

Spending a week serving at Joni & Friends left me interacting with a lot of young people and their families who were affected by disability. Some were more extreme than others.  In many ways it was such an awesome week that was filled with joy and God's Spirit. In other ways the week was challenging me to wrestle with truth that was easier to ignore than to agonize over. I can tell you are curious and want me to expound on that. Here are two things I wrestled with the most while I was at camp. Warning, some of this is very raw, don't read it if you want to keep pretending that I really don't struggle as much as I do with my faith at times.  What Is The Meaning of Life, Anyway?  I am glad I required our team to read Joni: An Unforgettable Story , which is Joni's autobiography. Preparing for this camp is the second time I read this book and both times I came away thinking that this is a must-read Christian book. Joni documents her journey of faith through ...

The Apostle Peter drew his second letter to a close with these wise and pastoral words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The word “grow” is an exhortation and a command, and it implies that if we’re to progress in Christ we must play an active role, by the grace of Christ, in building habits that nurture that progress. Therefore, I am offering a series of devotionals this summer on eight essential habits that help us to grow in grace. For today, let’s consider the place of Christian community in our walk with Christ. So far in this series we have considered the place of the Word of God, praising God, praying to God, fasting, and giving in the life of the growing Christian. Today I want to add a simple but very important idea, specifically, that we are designed by Jesus to grow in these and other ways together. Life in Christ is life together . This idea is not ha...

The Apostle Peter drew his second letter to a close with these wise and pastoral words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The word “grow” is an exhortation and a command, and it implies that if we’re to progress in Christ we must play an active role, by the grace of Christ, in building habits that nurture that progress. Therefore, I am offering a series of devotionals this summer on eight essential habits that help us to grow in grace. For today, let’s consider the place of giving in the Christian life. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in al...

The Apostle Peter drew his second letter to a close with these wise and pastoral words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The word “grow” is an exhortation and a command, and it implies that if we’re to progress in Christ we must play an active role, by the grace of Christ, in building habits that nurture our progress. Therefore, I am offering a series of devotionals this summer on eight essential habits that help us to grow in grace. For today, let’s consider the place of fasting in the Christian life. Midway through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to his disciples, “And when you fast...” Later he added, “The days will come when the bridegroom [Jesus] is taken away from them [Jesus’ disciples], and then they will fast” (Matthew 6:16; 9:15). The Lord said “when” not “if,” and “they will” not “they might.” Jesus assumed that fasting would be a regular part of h...

August is many things to many people. It is filled with things that make us excited and sad. Swimming, family vacations, the State Fair, camping, warm weather, to name a few. Those are exciting, by the way. On the other hand, Summer is the funnest season of the year and August is when we see the beginning of the end of that: back to school sales, pools begin to close, beaches begin to close...sometimes leaves begin to change! Even if you love fall thinking of trees with no leaves on them is a little sad.  Having said this, August brings the excitement of a new beginning. Even though we celebrate a new year on January 1st, any kid or anyone with kids will admit that September 1st feels more like new years than January 1st does. A new school year, a new curriculum, new classmates, new teammates, new teachers, new clothes! Lets face it, most of the most important shapers of a student’s life begin in August, not January. To the extent that this is true, August is truly the real ne...

The Apostle Peter drew his second letter to a close with these wise and pastoral words: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The word “grow” is an exhortation and a command, and it implies that if we’re to progress in Christ we must play an active role, by the grace of Christ, in building habits that nurture our progress. Therefore, I am offering a series of devotionals this summer on eight essential habits that help us to grow in grace. For today, let’s consider the place of prayer in the Christian life. Paul writes in Colossians 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” The words “continue steadfastly,” like Peter’s word “grow,” implies that we who love Jesus must put forth effort by the grace of Jesus and learn to talk to him about everything. And this is, of course, the essence of prayer: talking to Jesus. Prayer is not some k...