Soul Sister Time

Being a Christian is more than making a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior. Being a Christian is a decision to be conformed to the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself explained how seeds of faith that are planted sometimes show signs of growth that don't last. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, stating that it is only the seed that is planted on the good soil that bears fruit. In many Christian circles today, we have developed a one-dimensional Jesus. Jesus is presented to an unbeliever as a good deal . It may sound too good to be true, but all you need to do is make a decision for Christ and you will be saved. We focus on a one-time decision and ignore the long and tedious process of opening your heart, mind and spirit every day in deeper ways so that you move toward actually becoming indistinguishable from Jesus as the result of that decision. Jesus is much more than a ticket to heaven. We actually dumb

              In the short book of Ephesians heaven is mentioned nine times.   J.I. Packer says that it is this phrase, which can also be translated in the heavenlies , that sets Ephesians apart from other letters of Paul.   He defines what Paul was referring to in this phrase to mean the spiritual environment in which we live.   This environment is, first of all, invisible (things that cannot be expected to be seen by vision) and, secondly, transformative (the effect of living out the promises of the Christian life).   The Gospel which testified to the truth of God’s Work, Christ’s work and the work of the Holy Spirit is the power for the vitality of the transformation that takes place in our spiritual environment. Paul describes the reality of the heavenly places and its effect on our spiritual lives in Ephesians 6:12.   For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, agains

 In the early 70’s Flip Wilson, a popular comedian, made the phrase famous—The Devil made me do it!  It’s easy to joke about the devil, ignore him, or make too much of his power in our spiritual lives.  Paul gives us a balanced approach to facing off with the devil in Ephesians 6.  It is unwise to ignore him but unnecessary to fear him.  I had the privilege to be under the teaching of J.I. Packer recently, and his thoughts regarding Paul’s instructions to all Christians from Ephesians 6 were inspiring.  Packer suggests that Christians today are not instructed effectively about our faith.  In this passage, Paul is giving us the Christian instruction necessary to receive the victory we are lacking in our daily walk with Christ.   An explanation of the failure of Christians to live as Christians may be found in their lack of understanding of what the Christian life is about.   Packer’s outline included seven catechismal questions; your answers will reveal if you are living in Christian vi

Ray Boltz has a song whose chorus starts with Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am so glad you gave .   The song is about a man who dreamed he went to heaven and heard from numerous individuals, some he never met, whose lives he had impacted while he lived on earth.   We never know how God is using us when He assigns us a job to do.   Sometimes God gives us special work that may look like a disappointment.   We often have to wait until heaven to understand it all.    There is someone I want to thank here on earth who worked for God and impacted my life in a powerful way.   I mentioned her a few weeks ago as the eleven-year-old girl who had an urgent desire to pray by Brian’s bedside when he was in the hospital.   Her name is Amara.   This one young lady brought hope to my despair through her hugs and support the week of Brian’s memorial.   She burst through the long line of people waiting to talk to us and reac