Glory of Christ Fellowship

When Jesus taught about love he quickly distinguished it from the common understanding held by just about anyone with a heartbeat. What was this common understanding? "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy" (Matthew 5:43). Just a few verses later Jesus engages this sentiment when he says: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" (v. 46). Since we don't have anything equivalent to a tax collector in our day imagine a greasy politician sprinkled with a slippery lawyer contorting the law to defend a serial killer. Thus, the point Jesus makes is that if you love those who love you, namely, those whom you naturally have affinity with, your love is on par with a tax collector. This isn't exactly a compliment and it certainly isn't a kind of love you need the power of the Holy Spirit for. Thus, the profound point that Jesus makes about love here is that true love isn't mutually beneficial. T

In last week’s devotional, I drew our attention to Revelation 15:3-4, and 16:5-7 where the people of God rejoice in the wrath of God poured out upon the nations of the earth. I then asked you to ponder why God’s people would rejoice in this, and I promised that I would share a few answers of my own. So, what causes joy to rise up in the hearts of those who love God when they contemplate and even see his great and terrible wrath poured out on others? First, the people of God rejoice in the wrath of God because his deeds are great and amazing (15:3). The essence of worship is delighting in the glory and greatness of God, and thus seeing a visible display of the same, even in terrible wrath, strikes awe and joy in the soul for those who love God, and it causes them to worship. Second, the people of God rejoice in the wrath of God because he is holy and his ways are just and true (15:3; 16:5-7). Indeed, as the Psalmist has written, “You are good and do good” (Psalm 119:68). Even in his wra

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” Proverbs 22:13 It is a short Proverb but there are many ways it addresses us as human beings. Here are ten things we can observe from this Proverb: 1. There is such a thing as a sluggard. The proverb suggests there are different categories of people.  2. The proverbs present types of people. The proverbs invite us to become certain types of people while it warns us from becoming other types of people. We are being warned not to be like the sluggard.  3. There is a particular way the sluggard deals with life.  4. The proverbs teaches us how the sluggard deals with life and assumes that it is not a godly way to approach life. 5. The sluggard is selfish. "'I' will be killed in the streets." Clearly, the sluggard is concerned with only his welfare and seems to be his driving motivation.  6. The sluggard is skilled at deceiving himself. The lion outside was probably a reasonable fear within his

This Sunday we resume our study of the book of Revelation and within the first eight verses of chapter 6 we will encounter the wrath of God being poured out upon the world. In one sense, being confronted with the reality of God’s wrath is uncomfortable at best, but in another sense, it fills the believing heart with joy.  One of the first essays I wrote in college was on the wrath and love of God, and probably the main effect it has had on my life is to cause joy to rise up in my heart whenever I contemplate God’s wrath. Sometime ago I shared this with a pastor friend of mine and though he said nothing in response, he looked at me as if to say, “If you knew anything about the wrath of God, you would not rejoice in it.” At the time, I wasn't sure how to respond, but I knew that the joy in my heart was not stemming from a belittling of the horror of the wrath of God. Then several years ago, as I was reading through Revelation, I came across a couple of passages in chapters 15 and 16

  When we think about our mission to make disciples for the Glory of Christ we want to be as effective as possible, right? Assuming you answered "yes" and I am sure you did since you are such an outstanding person who reads this blog, there are a few things we should consider in order to become effective. What do we know about who we are working with?  What obstacles need to be overcome? What are their strengths and their weaknesses? What is the nature of the problem that they face? These are but a few considerations.  Today I would like to raise and try to answer a question about sin. The question goes like this, and just beware, it's a real doozy: "In what way does sin impact an individual?" I'll admit, at first glance it doesn't seem like a whole lot but it may be easy to assume that we know the answer when we really haven't given it much thought. If you stew on it for little bit you might come to agree that it it's worth some special consider

Near the end of his first letter to the church of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul issued an exhortation that seems both inviting and impossible. He writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This exhortation seems inviting because it calls us into an ideal and fruitful way of life, and it is a fitting response to all that God accomplished for us and granted to us in Christ. However, it also seems impossible because the standard is so high and our tendencies are so contrary to it. Can you think of even one day in which you have literally rejoiced always, prayed without ceasing, and given thanks in all circumstances? Perhaps I’m blind to the grace of God operating in my life, but I can’t think of one day on which I’ve reached this standard in more than thirty years of walking with Christ. Yet, perceived impossibilities aside, this way of life is the will of God in Christ J

“Listen! We have come—you and I—once more to the parting of the ways. All our past failure, all our past inefficiency and insufficiency, all our past unfruitfulness in service, can be banished now, once and for all, if we will only give prayer its proper place. Do it today. Do not wait for a more convenient time” (35).  This is the clarion call of the third chapter of The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). Our anonymous author had earlier stated that he was setting out to do the impossible in this chapter, namely, to exhort Christians to a life of prayer by relating stories about answered prayer. He thought this task impossible, “For if men will not believe, and act upon, our Lord’s promises and commands, how can we expect them to be persuaded by any mere human exhortations?” (29)  But he quickly pointed out that even the Lord once urged his followers to believe in him on account of his works if indeed they were unwilling to believe on account of his

What should we say about discipling children at GCF? There are many things that we can say and should say if we were to gain a biblical vision for how and why we should invest into them. Here are a few considerations for how we start building biblical convictions in discipling the next generation. First, children are a gift and a “heritage” from God (Psalm 127:3). A heritage is defined as valued objects or qualities that have been passed down from previous generations. In God’s mind children are a means of passing on the knowledge of God from one generation to another.  Second, children present a unique opportunity. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Clearly children have differences from adults that adults should learn to emulate. In this example a child is exalted by Jesus for their un-inhibited dependence that idealizes faith for all believers. The point, however, is that a child

Thanksgiving is the firstfruits of a heart that has been lavished with the grace of God in Christ. At one time, we were alienated from God and hostile toward him in our minds (Colossians 1:21). For some of us, this hostility was obvious and visibly intense, while for others of us it was subtle and well-concealed. But whatever the outward appearance, we were in rebellion against God and doing things he considers to be evil and profoundly offensive to his glory.  But thanks be to God, because he is rich in mercy and abounding in grace, he made a way for our sins to be forgiven and our hostile hearts to be transformed. Indeed, Christ Jesus “has now reconciled [us to God] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present [us] holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22). And even as God the Father accepted the all-sufficient sacrifice of his Son and forgave us of our sin and its consequences, so he has been pleased to grant us the fullness of his Son so that we

“I am quite certain of this fact: God wants me to pray, he wants you to pray. The question is, are we willing to pray?” (27). So writes the anonymous author at the close of the second chapter of The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He had just laid out for his readers the stunning nature of Jesus’ promises regarding prayer in the gospel John, skillfully drawing attention to the fact that Jesus repeats his promise seven times in the hours before his death—seven times.  The first iteration is found in John 14:13-14: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The final iteration is found in 16:26-27: “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”  These promises are truly stunning, and so is the fact