402 West South 1st St. • Grangeville, Idaho 83530 • Phone: 208-983-2549 • 208-983-0411
Pastor Harold Gott
Email: harold@grangevillechristianchurch.org • Website: www.grangevillechristianchurch.org
Building for Eternity -
New Sanctuary
YOUTH GROUPS
Aftershock - Teen Youth
God's Big Kids - G.B.K.
Kids' Time
Noah's Ark Preschool
Cub and Boy Scout Troops
SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES
Nursery
God's Tots
Kindergarten
Primary
Junior High
High School
Adult
BIBLE STUDIES
Facey Group
Fischer Group
Gott Group
Kudebeh Group
Lusby Group
Women's Group
Christian Women's Fellowship - CWF
Care Through Prayer Ministry - Prayer Chain
Elder's Happenings
Pastor Harold's Ponderings:
The Pastor's Pen
I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one in the movies either. However, what with the heated national debate on health care reform, I feel the need to weigh in on this critical subject. So much of the debate is not about health care at all, but rather is about insurance reform. And I think any robust conversation about health care...ought to be about health care. So, I want to ask an important diagnstic question: How do we know how healthy our faith is? How can we tell if we're doing well? And why does it matter?
Appealing to the methodology my Bible College preaching professor encouraged: Tell 'em what you're getting ready to tell 'em...tell 'em...and then tell 'em what you told 'em! Well, even though I've said it enough times now to be considered almost ill-manneredly repetitive, here we go (again): GOD HAS US HERE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! He has us here to do the good that He prepared in advance for us to do. (See Ephesians 2:10) The idea that our faith is in some way benign or isolated in its impact in our lives is simply not entertained in the New Testament. The Lord is BIG on application and engagement. Conversely, He's not terribly wild about religion held in reserve for use only on an occasional Sunday morning. What He wants is for our lives to be filled with the Fruit of Faith, and for that to be demonstrated in the arena of life in the real world of our right-here-and-right-now.
Which brings me to Paul's prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, "So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." What I think happens is this; as we come into a faith relationship with the Lord He begins lining up good deeds for us to do to the glory of His Name (See above) So it's not whether there's good to do. God is real good at getting gobs of good ready for us to do. The question arises, rather, as to whether we have our eyes open, as it were, to see the good He has in front of us to do. And that about gets us ready to think about how our "Faith Health" is doing. Here's some "Faith Health" diagnostic tools, designed for the purpose of some real "Faith Health Care Reform!"
- Are you unable to remember the last time you had that "Good Deed Feeling" in your heart? That could be a sign of failure to thrive, which is never a good medical diagnosis to receive.
- Do you feel a lot like doing quite a bit of nothing when it comes to the good the Lord has in front of you to do...well if you do, that's a sign your faith is not functioning in a healthy manner.
- Do you regularly pray that the Lord will open your eyes to see the good He's prepared for you to do, and then for the strength to do it? If you do, then that's a sign of robust "Faith Health".
- When you feel the urge to splurge and do some like mega-good-wild-and-crazy-good-deed, or as Paul says it above, "To accomplish ALL the good things your faith prompts you to do" - do you start thinking of all the good reasons (read, "Excuses") NOT to do the good deed? (This is not at all a good sign!) Or do you get right to work getting fully engaged with the good God made up just for you! (This means that you are evidencing nothing less than Robust Good Health!)
- Good Faith Health Checklist:
- Is your faith getting enough exercise? Do you use it enough?
- How's your diet? Is your faith being fed a good diet with adequate "Good Faith Food" to maintain strong and vibrant health?
- Do you need to work with a Personal Faith Trainer (it's called FELLOWSHIP) so that you can really get some muscle development going?
Well, as you can see I may not be a doctor...but I'm sure enough interested in how your faith's doing!!! So how about it...do you need to get a check-up? There's no better time to get going on some Real Faith Health Reform than RIGHT NOW!!! As the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, "Never Grow Tired of Doing Good."
Here's to Healthy Faith!
Pastor Harold
Email: harold@grangevillechristianchurch.org
3:16 • The Numbers of Hope • The message of 3:16
A twenty-six-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same.
Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment,
yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
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