Wednesday September 22, 2010

Read Colossians 2:5-7

The world is moving away from God at an ever increasing rate. Films, books, academic departments and other religions are increasingly seeking to stamp out Christianity or to ridicule the faith we have. There is a full scale war being declared and ordinary believers, like you and I, are caught in the middle.

There are several things you and I can be doing to help us fight the good fight, to equip each other with the resources to stand firm, to keep hold of the faith and to be victorious in Christ Jesus. Burying our head in the sand is not one of those things!

Firstly, we can continue to live in Christ. The phrase ‘in Christ’ occurs many times in the bible (some 91 times in NIV). It basically means that we have salvation in Him. We are in relationship with Him and through Him we have been adopted as children of the living God. To live in Christ is to acknowledge Him with ever step. It is to walk in unison with Him, to allow Him to walk beside you every day. It means to seek Him in every decision, to call upon Him at every junction and to use His power for everything we do.

We are also to be rooted and built up in Him. This mixed metaphor picks up two common images. Firstly a tree sends roots deep down in the soil to the water. As we immerse ourselves in the Bible and learn and grow in Christ, we are sending roots deep into the soil of the Word. As we grow in love for Christ we are sending deep roots down in Him. The other metaphor picks up  the notion of building a building. In Jesus we are being built up into a spiritual household that serves and loves God. This building up occurs as we sharpen each other, as we teach and admonish one another and as we encourage one another to be more like Christ each and every day.

Thirdly, we are to be strengthened in The Faith. ‘The Faith’ is a technical term that basically means our biblical understanding. We can be strengthened in many ways - attending church, fellowshipping with other zealous Christians, being discipled or discipling another, and reading the Word and praying regularly.

Whatever form our growth and maturity takes (for that is what we are really talking about) there are three common elements -

remain in your Bible and know it more and more

remain in deep fellowship with the Lord and

remain in deep fellowship with each other.

Prayer:-

m The kids mission week is in full swing. We are at the median point. Pray for perseverance for the entire team. Ask God to fill the team with a sense of joy and passion as they do His work.

m Continue to pray for the harvest to come in through this work.

Get Into It!

Think of one way you can help build up another believer today.

Write it down and do it.