Tag Archive for 'Commitment'

Keeping Spiritual Decisions!

by Jonas Harley | July 19, 2010

Summer Bible Camp is such an exciting and needful time! I’m so thankful that my church as the opportunity to take teens and juniors to camp at The Wilds for an entire week where they receive solid Bible preaching, consistent devotions, encouragement and rebuke in their walk with God, and biblical counsel about life decisions.

Summer after summer the teens come home “on fire for God” with the desire to be a pace setter in their realm of influence. However, camp decisions often become just that…camp decisions…and not life decisions. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

The Bible states in 2 Timothy 3:14, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” How can one keep his or her camp decisions? Here are few things to implement.

Inform your Parents – Saved or unsaved let your parents know what God is doing in your heart. Allow them to see how God is working in your life and that you want to do right. This will speak volumes to your parents! Oftentimes, teens will come home and just tell their parents about all the fun they had and friends they made, but don’t overlook the most needful thing (and really the whole point in going) and that is the spiritual lessons you learned. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel in your home!

Focus on the Long Term – Discouragement seems to be Satan’s favorite tool to destroy any zeal Christians have for serving God. When you decide to put God first in every area of your life Satan works to place obstacles in your way to hinder you from godly living. One of those obstacles is to get discouraged with the short term struggles in hopes to derail you from the long term view. Keep your eyes on the prize! When you establish a high level of concentration on the long term view you will maintain daily obedience.  Remember, spiritual growth takes time. It’s not an overnight process. As you remain focus on the long term you will stay encouraged with the present day.      

Accountability – Two are better than one (Eccl. 4:9-12)! Seek out someone who will strive to keep you accountable on your decision. Someone who will ask the hard questions, confronts you when necessary, and encourages you in difficult times. I strongly recommend your parents and/or Pastor or Youth Pastor (or their wives) to be your accountability partner. They have a desire to see you grow and stay faithful in your walk with God. Don’t delay. Accountability will help you stay on the right path!  

Review – Many people roll their eyes, deeply sigh, or cry out in frustration when it comes to reviewing. But reviewing is where it’s at! Lessons that you have learned will not become permanent and productive unless you are constantly reviewing them. Do not get caught up in the trap that you always have to be learning something new every day. It is easier for you to be a forgetful hearer than a doer of the word. Therefore, you must take your time and assure that you are truly learning the current lesson by reviewing, reviewing, and reviewing. Action Tip: Listen to the same sermon more than once, look over your notes, re-read through your devotional book, etc.      

Be Spirit-filled – Lastly, do not depend on your own strength to live the Christian life. God never intended for you to be self-dependent. A God-dependent Christian is a victorious Christian. Take a look at some of these awesome promises in the Bible:

  • Zechariah 4:6 – “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”
  • 2 Corinthians 9:8 – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
  • James 4:6 –“But he giveth more grace. Therefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

I pray this will help guide you on making these camp decisions lifetime decisions! Be reminded what Ecclesiastes 5:4 states, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.”

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The Race of Faith!

by Jonas Harley | May 13, 2010

What is neat about reading and studying the New Testament is that the Christian life is often compared to everyday things, events, or practices in order to convey spiritual truth. Many times in Scripture you will find the Christian life illustrated in farming, military, and sports terms.  A good teacher will strive to use illustrations that connect with his or her students. Well…the greatest Teacher of all…Jesus Christ did the same thing as well as many of the writers of Scripture, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Here in Hebrews 12:1-2 you are presented with an awesome metaphor that conveys what you must be doing spiritually every day, and that is running the race of faith! As a Christian, you have been commissioned by God to run the race of faith and it is vital that your run well! However, many times Christians, young or old, can become spiritually distracted or exhausted while running the race of faith. This post is designed to encourage you and to call your attention on how and why you must run the race of faith and will conclude with the rewards! Martin Luther said, “The true, living faith, which the Holy Spirit instills into the heart, simply cannot be idle.”

1. Requirements for Running - God layouts three requirements on HOW He wants you to run the race of faith!

  1. Lay aside all weights (12:1a) -It would be very odd if Michael Phelps in the next summer Olympics wore shoes, baggy jeans, and a poncho to compete for the gold medal. Everyone would think he is crazy and stupid for not taking the time to assure that he is aerodynamic in the water. Same concept spiritually, a weight is often something harmless, and in many cases sinless, that diverts your attention, saps your energy, and dampens your enthusiasm for God. What is slowing (or weighing) you down in the race of faith? Sports? Relationships? Technology? News? Career? Popularity? Fashion? Friends? You must lay aside (cast away) those things in order to run well!
  2. Put off besetting sins (12:1b) - Anything that is in direct disobedience to God’s Word. In many cases the reason sin slows you down. Even Christ’s disciples had besetting sins if unbelief (or lack of faith). They doubted God’s provision (Matt. 6:30). They questioned God’s protection (Matt. 8:26). They hesitated about God’s presence and promises (Matt. 14:31). Sin will always distract you from running the race of faith well! Put off the sin!
  3. Run with endurance (12:1c) - A good athlete will physically and mentally prepare himself to compete with endurance. You must spiritually prepare yourself to keep pressing towards the goal line (Phil. 3:14). Stay focused!

2. Reasons for Running - There are two reasons WHY you must diligently run the race of faith!

  1. Jesus Christ is the Author of your faith (12:2)! - Jesus Christ is the originator/founder of your faith. In Him is the beginning of all true faith, apart from Him there is no true faith (Heb. 5:7-9)! The race of faith starts when you trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior only (John 14:6) for salvation. Please click here to learn more about what it means to be biblically saved. 
  2. Jesus Christ is the Finisher of your faith (12:2)! - Jesus Christ has perfected the way of faith since He reached its end successfully. He displayed a perfect example on how to walk by faith (see Matthew 4:1-11 to get started). Therefore, He cares about how you run the race of faith.

3. Rewards for Running - Any type of competition you participate in there is always a motivating reward. The Bible informs you of at least two rewards in the race of faith.      

  1. Faithful Christians are honored by God -Read through the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11 and give special attention to verse 6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarded that diligently seek him.” God rewards those who have a keen desire to pursue Him.
  2. Faithful Christians receive an incorruptible crown -Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. God gives rewards that do not rust or break. For a brief time I worked as a termite technician, in other words, I killed bugs! Every new start (new customer) I was required to inspect and if needed treat the attic for insects. While doing that I noticed that many homeowners store a lot of “junk” in their attics! Sound familiar? Among many other things I saw many old trophies, plaques, medals, certificates, etc all from the past sitting in a box collecting dust! Something that was of extreme value is not worthless junk! Many times you get caught up in pursuing earthly treasures that you neglect pursing God’s incorruptible trophies that will last forever and bring Him mega-enjoyment! Let’s pursue God’s trophies!

There is no greater joy in living your life by faith proving to God that you daily trust Him. Are you running the race of faith God’s way? Remember, faith honors God and God honors faith!

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How to Keep God First!

by Jonas Harley | May 4, 2010

This past Sunday (5/2/10) my church celebrated 208 years of existence! What an honor to serve in a ministry that has faithfully preached and boldly stood on the truth of God’s Word for over two centuries! During the afternoon service my Pastor, Chuck Woodruff, preached an excellent sermon on how to biblically and practically keep God first place in your life.

1) Plan- Creating and executing a plan is vital if we want God to have first place in our life. We are very good at doing this when it comes to our vocation. Teachers develop lesson plans, coaches design game plans, students carry around day planners, financial planners…well uh…plan out our financial goals. Whatever career path we are in, it requires some form of planning in order to be effective and meet deadlines. Planning is the tool that assures that we keep and meet our top priorities. Planning greatly relieves the pressure. Planning gives us direction. Someone has well said, “Plan your work and work your plan.” Why is it, when it comes to keeping God first in every area of our life we fail to plan? How often do we wake up in the morning and HOPE to have time to read God’s Word and pray? How often do we miss church because we fail to plan? How many times do we neglect family devotions because we fail to plan? Perhaps the reason we don’t have God first in our life is because of a failure to plan to keep God first. We must plan our day around God, not God around our day. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”   

2) Prayer- One of the reasons God gets the “backseat” in our Christian life is because we have committed to things that may not be in His will to begin with. In other words, we are overcommitted, too busy! Someone may be thinking, “Well, 2 Corinthians 9:8, says God’s grace is sufficient in all things.” That’s true; however those “things” must be in the will of God. Spending quality time (that takes planning too!) in prayer asking God’s will in a matter is how we keep God first. We must stop assuming that every opportunity that presents itself must be committed to. Too many good things will keep us from the main thing! Pray! James 4:13-15, “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (see Proverbs 3:5-6).          

3) Proper Perspective- It’s not easy to keep the proper perspective in life when we are too busy or don’t know what the proper perspective is. John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Ok, this will sound really simple, God is the Creator and we are the Creation. Therefore, we lose all prerogatives (rights) to determine how we are going to live our life. As the verse clearly states, we must decrease (humble ourselves) Why? So God can increase (be magnified). When we have this perspective in mind our practice will reflect a God first life!      

4) Prompt- God loses first place in our life when we delay in doing His will. Delayed obedience is disobedience. We must obey and stop wasting precious time that we can’t get back. Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Also see Ecclesiastes 12:1; Colossians 4:5; James 4:14.

5) Persistence- Distractions keep us from focusing on the finish line. Have you ever walked down midway at the state fair? Talk about distracting! It’s very hard to get through there without stopping to look, buy, or taste something!  Isn’t the Christian life like that? If we want God to have first place in our life we must eliminate the distractions and keep our eyes on the prize! Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 12:1-2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

6) Passion- We are always faithful, dedicated, and committed to whatever thing or person we truly love. Think about it…why do athletes play through severe pain? Why does a boyfriend drive many miles to see his girlfriend? Why do employees work long hours to get that promotion? When we truly love something or someone decision making isn’t that hard anymore. We need more Christians who are very passionate about serving God Almighty that everything else in life takes a backseat. Take a few moments and check what you are passionate about? This exercise will quickly reveal your priorities. For example, if you had to choose between attending your church’s Sunday worship service or play in your ballgame, which would you choose? Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer panteth [longs/desires] after the water brooks, so panteth [longs/desires] my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

God can and will have first place in your life if you execute these 6 biblical principles!

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Great News About Church Dropouts!

by Jonas Harley | April 30, 2010

USA Today featured an article on Tuesday’s (4/27/10) front page that stated 72% of 18-29 year olds today state that they are more “spiritual” than religious. You can read the original article here, and it’s filled with plenty of discouraging data. But I would like to draw out two positives that greatly encouraged my heart in youth ministry!

1) The first starts with a negative—70% of young adults who call themselves Christians (Incidentally, the survey was taken among a broad cross-section of “Christians.”) actually stop attending church between the ages of 18 and 23. But here’s the positive. Before they turn 30, 66% of these young adults return to church. WOW! There’s a lot of bad news there, but what a huge reason to NEVER give up on someone! 66% of the young adults who stop attending your church will someday return. Have you loved them enough to leave the door open so they could return?

2) The second positive is this— the article states that 15% “appear to be ‘deeply committed’ Christians in study, prayer, worship and action.” In other words, those who are actively passionate and committed to their faith. Why do I love this statistic? Because I would gladly give a life-time of effort to see 15% of those to whom I minister actually be passionately engaged in living their faith on a regular basis—walking with God, sharing Christ, and serving the Lord. I wish the number was higher—But what a great reason to keep pressing on in ministry—if only for the 15% who will truly be impacted!

Honestly, I don’t know that the Apostle Paul’s ministry statistics would have been any better. People have been faking their faith and falling away from Christ for a long time! Don’t stop fighting the fight for higher statistics, but don’t forget, we don’t serve statistics. We serve God, and the fruit is the product of His Holy Spirit. Many who fall away will someday come back! And there’s always at least a remnant of those who are truly “unfeigned” in their faith.

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