What we are saying when we chose to live for sin over God.

by Dave Welsch

1 Peter 4:2 tells us that we should chose to live this life for God not for sin.

"That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God."

We know that we were born with a nature that knows nothing but sin. It eats, drinks and sleeps sin. At the moment we came to Christ that sinful nature was crucified with Christ and we were given a new man, a new nature that is to be molded into the image of Christ. Unfortunately however sin still surrounds us and we still live in a fleshly body that desires sin. So everyday we must make our choice who will we live for today, sin or God. We of course know that sin is destructive and that its path only leads us to destroy our lives yet so often we chose to live for it. Recently I preached a message on this topic, you can listen to it here. For this article I would like to look at what are some of the things we are saying when we chose sin over God.

1. We are saying that we would rather have the temporary enjoyment of sin over the eternal loving relationship of our Father.

In the moment of our sin all we can think of is the benefit we believe we are going to get from this sin. Whether its pleasure, fulfillment, money or some other self gain but what we fail to see is what we are rejecting. In that moment we are choosing the sin over our relationship with God. Just as when a husband cheats on his wife he is choosing that one time temporary pleasure over a lifetime commitment of love with his wife. God has saved us and has committed to us for eternity by sending His Son to die for us, yet we to often chose sin.

2. We are saying that God is evil and withholding the best from us.

When we sin we are saying something very clear and direct to God - "You are not truly good to me" "You are withholding from me" or "You do not know what I need". Any of these clearly dethrone God and put us in His place. By choosing what God has prohibited from us we are telling Him that He either doesn't know what we need or He doesn't truly care about us. If we have been to Calvary we know better then that.

3. We are saying that the temporal is more valuable then the eternal.

Sin's fruit is temporal. It not only will last a short time but its fruit will not benefit the life to come. We were not made for this world and our focus should not be on enjoyment here but on the eternity to come.

The battle of choosing God over sin is not a one time battle, it is a daily lifelong war. We must make the choice everyday and if we should fall we must immediately repent and put our confidence back in Christ and His strength.

Before the Face of God

by Nick Fox

Coram Deo is the Latin phrase that means "before the face of God." For the past three seasons this has been the team motto of Northland's basketball team. They eat, sleep, and breathe this tiny phrase of "Coram Deo." They were told to live a Coram Deo life, literally to live a life before the face of God. This phrase has become contagious on campus here.

Now what does this Coram Deo life look like? Remember we are not our own, we have been bought with a price… now our response is simply to glorify God with our bodies. We need to recognize that we serve an all-knowing God. How do we then take that truth and plant it deep in our lives? There should be an obvious change in how we go about our lives.

What I'm telling you is stuff that we already know. A Coram Deo life is a gospel-centered life. Think of 1 John 4. It talks about our love for God and our love for one another. The world knows that we are Christians when we love one another. We can't see God, the world can't see God. They can only know God exists by the way we love one another. A Coram Deo lifestyle is one that loves fellow Christians.

Now think of it in regards to our thoughts and our actions. We sin. It is our very nature to sin. God has given us his armor and his strength to defeat this sin. One way to help battle sin is to live day by day before the face of God. You come to a time where you could easily fall and sin, but you refuse because you realize that you are doing this before the face of God. You choose to do the right thing because you are before the face of God.

At Northland, we started selling wristbands that say "Coram Deo" on them. Sure I bought it because it looks cool and it helps support our athletic department, but it’s a reminder to me that I am living before the face of God. How can this be applied to us as believers? We need to remind ourselves of the fact that we are before the face of God. Constant meditation on Scripture, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians are some ways to remind ourselves of this.

In closing I encourage you to live a Coram Deo kind of life. Live a life remembering that you are doing so before the face of God.

The Special Treasures in Life (Part 3 of 4)

The Treasure of Your Faith

by Karen Finn

I heard someone once say that Faith is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised and stretched in order to be strengthened. When faith is not practiced on a routine basis, our spiritual “muscles” become flabby.

Is your faith in “good health”? How sturdy are you, when faced with adversity or discouragement? Are you able to withstand the forces and foes, knowing that your God can move mountains? Here are some suggestions for improving your spiritual condition:

Health Tip #1: Exercising the muscle of faith requires trusting in a Savior for salvation.John 3:16 gloriously proclaims: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The first step of faith in our workout program is to believe that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, that He was crucified, buried and rose again, victorious over death. It is with an eternal hope we can claim Him as our Savior and know that we will see Him in heaven someday!

Health Tip #2: Exercising the muscle of faith requires trusting in the unseen. Perhaps the most well-known Biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God desires us to turn to Him for help and direction. Once establishing a personal relationship with Him, it is upon His name that we must call for strengthening. God is patiently awaiting our petitions, ready to supply us with the wisdom, courage and peace in the midst of the storm. It’s tempting to talk to a friend or lean on someone else when trouble comes---but we will never truly understand God’s Will, nor see His power in our lives, if we rely on others for sole/soul support!

Health Tip #3: Exercising the muscle of faith requires trusting in His character.When we acknowledge that God is the source of our dependence, we can expect blessings in return. Our goal should be to please Him, which requires a daily surrendering of self. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “…without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” God sees the heart and knows His children. His nature is kind, loving and abundant in mercy and grace.

Health Tip #4: Exercising the muscle of faith requires trusting in His promises.Our personal relationship with Him will deepen as we see Him act on our behalf. We can endure the trials and tests because we have assurance of His promises. First John 5:14 declares: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.” Our heavenly Father is our advocate, generous in wisdom and always attentive to our needs. His Word confirms it.

The treasure of your faith is a vital aspect for eternal security. Don’t neglect its application for your life! God has a purpose and a plan for all of us, which requires an attitude of humility and commitment. He is waiting to hear from you!

A Practical Plan for Prayer

Dr. Craig Brandick

Our Sunday School class is studying Paul’s priorities in prayer using DA Carson’s book, A Call to Spiritual Reformation. This last week we studied “Lessons from the School of Prayer,” one point of which was to develop a system for your prayer lists. When we consider the number of things for which we have to pray, the thought of covering them all with any sense of urgency—rather than just reading the list to God—may seem overwhelming. The plan below is adapted from that which was given to me all those years ago by Dr. Dale Linebaugh in Christian Life and Witness class at the Bible college that Liz and I attended. It is offered here as a guide that may help you organize your prayers as well as a few ideas for how to pray. The “STEP IN” part was given to me by a former missionary to the Ivory Coast who also taught at the college.

The plan is quite simple, there are things for which I pray daily—my immediate family, urgent prayer requests, and—always leaving room for the Spirit of God to work—things that God may press upon my heart in my time of communion with Him. Then, in addition to my daily prayers, I have a list for each day of the week. Now, of course, if we get an urgent request on Wednesday for a Missionary we should not wait until the next week to pray. You may still pray for anything that is anywhere on the list on a daily, or even hourly, basis. The plan is to assist us in our prayers—not to bind us. I do hope that you find this to be a help.

Practical Prayer Plan

Daily Prayer: Always include confession of sin, and the giving of thanks and praise.

1. That I would be filled with the Holy Spirit in submission to God’s will.

2. That I would be sensitive to sin.

3. That I would have opportunities for evangelism.

4. Immediate and pressing needs of any kind.

5. My immediate family:

· That they would worship and serve God in reverent fear, in purity, in spirit and in truth.

· That they would have an unshakeable faith in the Word of God.

· That they would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

· That God would grant their prayer requests according to his will.

Monday: Praying for other Family Members

1. That they would worship and serve God in reverent fear, in purity, in spirit and in truth.

2. That they would have an unshakeable faith in the Word of God.

3. That God would grant their prayer requests according to His will.

4. That God would grant faith and repentance to those who are lost.

Tuesday: Praying for Missionaries and Evangelists. STEP IN for them.

1. For their Spiritual growth

2. For their Travel.

3. For their Emotional needs.

4. For their Physical needs.

5. For their Interpersonal relationships.

6. For their Nurturing.

Wednesday: Praying for our Government

Thursday: Praying for Friends

Friday: Praying for my Church

1. STEP IN for the pastoral staff.

2. For Christ to be welcome in every area; that he would be pleased with the church.

3. Areas of discipline.

4. The needs provided in the weekly prayer bulletin.

Saturday: A Day of Praise and Thanksgiving

Grace Unmeasured

The past few weeks I have been practicing this song to sing in my church up here. I first heard it at Northland and have grown to love it. God's amazing grace has set me free. It is unmerited favor that makes me want to be like Christ. Hopefully over Christmas break I will be able to share this song because the words and the music are so God-glorifying.

Grace unmeasured, vast and free
That knew me from eternity
That called me out before my birth
To bring You glory on this earth
Grace amazing, pure and deep
That saw me in my misery
That took my curse and owned my blame
So I could bear Your righteous name

Grace paid for my sins
And brought me to life
Grace clothes me with power
To do what is right
Grace will lead me to heaven
Where I’ll see Your face
And never cease
To thank You for Your grace

Grace abounding, strong and true
That makes me long to be like You
That turns me from my selfish pride
To love the cross on which You died
Grace unending all my days
You’ll give me strength to run this race
And when my years on earth are through
The praise will all belong to You

Happy Veteran's Day

by Dr. Craig Brandick

Today is the day that we honor those who have served in our military. And with Veteran’s Day in mind I would like to share with you the lesson that I gave to the Master’s Club children on Wednesday night. As we show how the Bible sometimes describes Christians as soldiers serving Christ.

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among  many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Second Timothy 2:1-4

Sometimes God’s Word describes Christians as soldiers in the service of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at how the Bible does this. First we see that:

A good soldier endures hardness.

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (vs. 3)

We have a picture there of a group of soldiers in a foxhole. And look at all the mud. One thing I know about mud is that it is wet, and cold, and sticky, and heavy, and it is usually raining a cold wet heavy rain and your clothes get all wet and heavy. And it just tires you out. Sometimes soldiers can go days on end living like this.

• Sometimes God calls us to hard places. I have friends who are missionaries in some pretty bad parts of the world. There are places where there is mud like this, there are places that have snakes and wild animals that could hurt you. Some of the places are very cold all the time, some of the places are very hot all the time.

• Sometimes God calls us to hard people. In a lot of those places, people just do not want to hear about Jesus. In fact some of them will even put you in jail for mentioning his name. But even here in America you may know friends or family members who treat you differently or even badly because you are a Christian. God told us that this might happen.

• Sometimes God calls us to hard problems. As a Christian you may face temptations and trouble yourself. Or maybe God will put someone in your path that is having a hard time. One of the great joys that you may have is to help people with their problems by pointing them to Jesus and telling them what they need to do from the Bible.

So, what does a good soldier do? A good soldier endures hardness.

The Bible also tells us that:

A good soldier is focused on his duty.

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life…” (vs. 4a)

Here is a picture of a British Guard at Buckingham Palace. His job is to protect the Queen of England. Now these guys are very focused. In fact, they stand at attention very straight, and very still, so much so that you wonder if they are even alive, or if they are statues. When Mrs. Brandick was a little girl, she went over to England and saw these soldiers. And she—like a lot of people—made faces at them, tried to get them to laugh, or to smile, or to say something. Sometimes people will tease them to get them to look away. But they can never get them to do anything. They just stand there and do their duty. Because a good soldier is focused on his duty. Now what is that? Well, when I was in the service one of the main duties that we were taught was to receive, obey and pass on to others the orders that we received.

• A soldier’s duty is to obey and pass the orders he received to others. And that was what Paul was telling Timothy.

• Paul told Timothy that he should take the things that he had learned from Paul and pass them on to others as well. He told Timothy, don’t lose your focus or get distracted. Don’t get so busy in other things that you forget what you are supposed to do. Sometimes we get busy in other things as well. Maybe it is with the internet, or video games, or books, or playing with friends. Maybe it is with others trying to get your attention. Timothy was to make sure that he did not get so busy in other things that he forgot to share with others the things he had learned about Jesus.

So, A good soldier—does what?-- A good soldier endures hardness. And a good soldier is focused on his duty. Now why does he do that?

A good soldier wants to please his leader.

“…that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (vs. 4b)

• A leader teaches others to be just like him. When you are a soldier, your commanding officer teaches you how to think like a soldier, and act like a soldier, to do what a soldier does, and to go where soldiers go. And that is the very same thing that the leader does. So he teaches soldiers to be just like him.

• As good soldiers for Christ, our goal in life should be to please God.

• We please God by being like his Son Jesus. God wants us to be just like Jesus in everything that we do. When we are at school, when we are at home, when we are with our friends, when we are alone. We are to think like Jesus, act like Jesus, do what Jesus would do, and go where Jesus would go. And when we do this we please God.

So what do good soldiers do? A good soldier endures hardness. A good soldier is focused on his duty, and a good soldier wants to please his Leader.

The Special Treasures in Life (Part 2 of 4)

The Treasures of Family - by Karen Finn

Webster’s Dictionary defines family as “a group of people connected by blood or marriage and sharing common ancestry,” or “a group or class of like things”. In Old Testament times, family represented a larger body than what we’ve come to define as a family unit. Persons related by blood, marriage, slave-ship and animals (yes, animals!) were considered family, if all resided in the same household.

Your parents, siblings, and extended family members…all are hand-picked by God. We don’t get a choice on the family we are born into, do we? But, make no mistake; your lineage was divinely ordained of the Lord. Ultimately, being born again into His family is the most cherished position of all!

Recently, I observed a number of scenarios which made me

think of the significance of family:

• an elderly man tenderly caring for his wife of sixty years, who is mentally impaired by Alzheimer’s disease.

• a young man, competing in an important athletic competition, encouraged by an audience of loved ones, grandparents and siblings.

• a young mother, preparing for the birth of her second child in a few weeks, eagerly anticipates the arrival of a new family member.

• a teenage girl saying her final farewell to a beloved grandfather, four months after the loss of her father.

Each of these situations shows the depth and demonstration of familial love, the uniqueness of its bond. Many of the challenges and changes that we face are more manageable with the assistance of another human being. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 stresses the benefits and blessings of not being alone: “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

When the Holy Spirit is present in our interactions, there exists a supernatural support system. The common thread of Christianity works in our spirits, cementing us in unity and faith. Verse 12 of the same chapter states an additional claim of strength with this statement: “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Our very

best relationships should include the security and stronghold of

God’s Holy Spirit.

The values and traditions we uphold in adulthood are usually instilled in the formative years of childhood. Our well-being rests upon the very foundation of a family unit. It’s a place of nurture, instruction and discipline, where memories are made and motives are pure. Life’s lessons on dealing with conflict, cooperation and management can be attributed to the experiences and time shared with family members. It takes only one to carry on a legacy…

As the Thanksgiving season approaches, allow thankfulness to abound in your heart, giving praise to God for a most wondrous treasure—that of family!