Friday, February 2, 2018

Spiritual Preparation




 


February 2018
Message from Pastor Tom,

While a lot of us are still trying to hang onto some of our New Years’ Resolutions as we have done year after year, Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Valentine's day is like an extension of Christmas. It's a socially acceptable time to talk about love, and that means talking about Jesus! It's also an easy time to recount the things you are thankful for in your loved ones. As Matthew 5:16 states, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (NIV), the more love you express, the more the divine light will shine through you. So let your heart be filled with love, as it is the foundation for everything you do.
Valentine's day also reminds me of the old favorite movie Ground Hog Day, where they keep reliving the same actions day after day. Let me ask you this… in your spiritual preparation of your personal walk with Christ, are you still doing the same actions over and over again feeling you are Serving Jesus the best you can? Or ask yourself this… are you really striving to be more like Jesus? I find it helpful in one's spiritual preparation to take the time to read the life teaching of Paul’s principles and behavior, both personal and social, as they were above reproach. Our parents or other role models are typically the first to teach us our ethical boundaries, instilling a strong sense of right and wrong, teaching us how to love. How they behave has a strong impact as well, contributing to our sense of morality. Personal ethics are also developed by our feelings. When we do something that is against our morals, we feel bad, guilty or ashamed, and possibly even feel unloved. When we do something that fits into our ethical idea of what we consider “right” we feel good, proud or happy. These personal feelings help us make ethical decisions. Ethics is simply a code of conduct based on our moral principles, or what we do when no one is looking. Some people act one way when they are in a group of people where their actions can be judged, and entirely another way when they are alone. As Christians, the more we love, the more we study the Bible and develop our personal relationship with God, our moral integrity grows as the Holy Spirit drives this within us. Therefore our ethics, or code of conduct, should guide us in doing the same thing whether we are alone or in a group, because we as Christians know God is always watching and we are never truly alone. Remember, "We love because he first loved us," 1 John 4:19.
The last thing I would like to leave you in this Valentines message is this. A lot of people are empty during this time of year. They need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s expend our energy there. Let’s expend our energy in proclaiming the Gospel, because the heart of the matter is that people are lost. They need Christ, and we need to take that message to them.
Heidi and I would like to wish you a very happy Valentine's Day filled with God’s love and peace. We would like to share with you again the Valentine's quotation we did last year from Gilda Radner, “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you.’" Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it spiritually enriches you. As always, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment if I can be of assistance to you in any way.
Blessings from a Pastor and his wife,
Tom and Heidi Bumgarner
"Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."  Proverbs 21:21

No comments:

Post a Comment