Category: christian living

• What do people see when they look at you?

  Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on July 20, 2018

  Ezra 7:10 (LB) This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the laws of the Lord and to become a Bible teacher, teaching those laws to the people of Israel.

  Ezra’s hearts desire was to learn God’s word and then apply and obey the commands he discovered therein. Because of this desire, he had a direct effect on how God used him to lead the 2nd group of exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra made a personal commitment to serve God “today” even before knowing what God would request of him.

  A skilled scribe (Ezra 7:6), Ezra taught the Jews of his day through speaking and by the way his lived his life (obedient to God’s word). I want to influence the people around me just like Ezra influenced the people of his day. To follow his example, I need to make sure I am:

  • Learning the Word of God, obeying and applying it to my daily life,
  • and teach others to do the same not only by what I say…but by the way I live my life (the things I do).

  Even if you don’t have a desire to be a bible teacher, the way you live your life is influencing someone. People are always watching the way you live your life. So the question becomes, how are you choosing to walk out your Christian faith? Are you getting into God’s word, learning what it says and then changing your life so that it aligns with the commands therein? Or, are you reading the word and choosing to remain unchanged?

  Related reading: Mark 4:1-20 (The parable of the sower)

   

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  Posted in Christian growth, christian living, living a life of influence | 0 Comments

• Walk!

  Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on July 18, 2018

  One of the things I’m learning as I read through the gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) is how Jesus interacted with people while he was here on earth. For example: In John’s gospel, we see Jesus as he meets the needs of people where they are. In John 5, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for a special feast. The Bible doesn’t tell us that it was necessary to take the route around the pool of Bethesda in order to get to the fest but that is the route he and his disciples had chosen to take. Near the pool were five covered porches where sick people were lying.

   

  In John 5:5 we read that there was a man who had been sick and lain under the cover of one of those porches for 38 years. Can you just  imagine? The Bible doesn’t tell us what his illness was. But can you see the struggle of this man? He wanted to get into the pool but there were others who beat him to the punch. This man had to be tired and worn down by his illness. Jesus saw his struggle and asked “do you want to be well?” SIDEBAR HERE: I know if I had been sick for 38 years I would have probably been a puddle of tears trying to get the word “YES” out. But this man said “there is no one to help me get in the pool.” My human response to that is “what?!?” 

   

  Someone asks you if you want to be well and all you come back with is “I just want to get in the pool.” I didn’t really understand the man’s response at all. Maybe it’s because he had been sick and overlooked/outcast for so long the thought of being “well” was a mere pipe dream; something too good to be true.

   

  In an instant Jesus changed this man’s life forever. “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk.” I don’t know about you, but have you ever put yourself there at the scene? Would you have thought Jesus was for real? What do you think your response may have been? Perhaps something like:

   

  “Come again? You want me to just get up? Ummm, I’ve been lying here for 38 years!”

   

  Can you hear that inner voice?

   

  Scripture says that IMMEDIATELY the man was well and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Whoa! This man acted WITHOUT HESITATION and was made whole. Did you notice that this guy knew something miraculous had just happened and he acted immediately? He didn’t second guess what had happened; he was well for the first time in 38 years.

   

  Jesus met the needs of many people when he walked this earth. Everything he did was to give us an example of how we should live and walk through our lives.

   

  Even today, He can meet the needs in our lives. Pick up your mats and walk! He doesn’t want us paralyzed by our doubt and fear. He wants us to be free to live the abundant life He has given us to live.

   

  If you are struggling to “pick up your mat and walk” I encourage you to find a Christian friend or mentor you can share your burden with and pray for healing in this area of your life. Jesus will meet us where we are when we call on His name.

   

  Don’t need healing in a specific area at the moment? Are you helping to meet the needs of those people in your community? Can you see where Jesus is working? The needs around us are great. When given an opportunity consider doing something to meet a need for someone in your community. Jesus came to serve; so it is up to us to be his hands and feet and serve as he did. Who knows, you just may point someone to Jesus in the process. 

   

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  Posted in Christian growth, christian living, needs vs wants; Jesus meets our needs | 0 Comments

• Walking with Jesus

  Posted at 8:10 am by sneuhofer, on June 22, 2018

  Proverbs 14 gives a contrast between the life of the wise vs. the life of a fool (or the unwise). As I read through this Proverb, there were several verses that caught my attention and forced me to ask the question “Am I choosing to live by the standard of God’s word in every area of my life?” and if not “Am I changing to align every area of my life with the word of God.”

  Our life is a daily journey to learn what God’s word says and then walk it out-loud for others to see so they may come to know the saving grace of Christ’s love. So the first verse that stopped me dead in my tracks to do a little self assessment was verse 9.

  “Fools don’t care if they sin, but honest people work at being right.”

  I got out my journal and wrote down my thoughts to the following questions:

  • Is there anything in my life that doesn’t align with the word of God and if so, am I staying there?

  • Do I refuse to accept God’s truth about an area of my life? Maybe it’s not a refusal to accept the truth, maybe it’s just not trusting God to know what’s best for my life in that area.

  • Have I fallen into repeated patterns where I know my actions, words and deeds speak negatively about my walk with Christ? [I guess what I mean by this question is: what do others who don’t know the truth of God’s word see when they watch the way I live my life? When I come to realize what others are seeing in me that don’t line up with God’s word, I ask God to forgive me of (the specific sin) and give me the courage to  to change so my belief align with His word.]

  Verse 12 also had me looking inward,

  “Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death.”

  Is there anything in my life that I think I’m doing right, but I haven’t checked  against God’s word?

  Since accepting Christ as my Savior, I have so desired to live the abundant life He has for me and I strive to walk in His truth in everything I do…from the way I act around others, conduct myself at work, raise my child, and treat my spouse. [I know I’m not perfect…and I know God’s grace is sufficient for me every day of my life. When I mess up…I fess up.] My prayer is that I will continue to grow daily in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ so that I may life a life worthy of the gospel. Thank God that my walk with Christ is a “marathon, not a sprint!”

  My prayer is also the same for you. I pray you will live your life according to the truth of God’s word and when sin in your life is revealed, I pray you have the strength to lay it down at the foot of the cross and trust Jesus to help you grow and change.

  Related reading: Gal. 5:22–23; 2 Peter 1:5-6; Titus 2:2-6; 1 Cor. 15:58

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