GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES Byron Hardy

22W

We are called to “…go

and make disciples.” It is

also clear, as we read the

New Testament that in the

process of making disciples,

we are to be disciples of

Jesus. However being a

disciple of Jesus Christ is

not an easy task.

Our Christian

experience would tell each

of us to abandon all for the

sake of the gospel. In our

minds if we do not forsake

everything then we are not

truly disciplined to be a

disciple. As we consider the

richness of this concept,

why do we struggle with the

task of following Jesus?

Where are the disciplines

we need in our spiritual walk

which would allow us to

draw closer to the heart of

God?

K.P. Yohannan in his

book Revolution in World

Missions gives us a glimpse

of the disciplines required

as a disciple of Jesus. He

claims; “We are often

deeply concerned about

people dying without Christ.

We should be as deeply

concerned with people living

without Christ.”

Yohannan is saying that

we all must be concerned

with our spiritual well-being.

We must decide to live our

lives with Christ. We must

pursue a closer walk with

God the Father. We are

placed on this earth for this

very reason. Although K.P.

Yohannan was speaking

mostly about salvation in the

above quote, the principle

for all believers is evident.

You must live your life with

Christ so that others might

not die without Christ.

We see this in 1

Corinthians 1: 18-31; verse

27 being the key verse. The

message of the cross is the

gospel; Jesus shed His

blood for you and for me.

We do not however become

Christians to escape hell,

we become Christians so as

to bring honour and glory to

the sufferings of Jesus.

Christ in us also allows us to

live the victorious Christian

life afforded to all disciples.

The passage in

Corinthians gives us two

categories of people;

perishing and saved. The

Greek word in this passage

for foolishness is moria;

adjective form is moros. In

English we derive our word

moron from this rendering.

The non-believer (in terms

of Christianity) considers the

work of Christ on the cross

as nonsense. There is a

belief by the non-Christian

community that there is not

a need for a saviour and

therefore there is not a need

to be a disciple of Jesus.

They are indeed the ones

who are perishing.

We know however that

God not only disregards the

wisdom of this world, He

has made it ALL to be

foolish. The wisdom of the

world without Jesus

becomes ridiculous,

ignorant, contemptible and

moronic. God’s plan of

salvation was perfect

because the work

performed on the cross was

perfect. It is not foolishness.

You are a fool if you don’t

accept Christ’s sacrifice.

You are not a fool if you

choose to become a disciple

of Jesus.

In order for disciples of

Jesus to be more Christ-like

and place the foolishness of

the world behind us, we

must study God’s word.

Next to prayer, the best

discipline required of a

disciple of Jesus is to

understand His words.

Living Word Ministries (Ch r i s t i a ns o f Eva n ge l i c a l Fa i t h o f Ca na da )

Volume 5, Issue 1

March 2014

The Living Word

LIVING WORD

BIBLE COLLEGE

Equipping Men & Women

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COURSES INCLUDE: OT & NT Intro Bible History

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LOW TUITION FEES $6000/yr

For information:

Ph. 204-734-3836

Email: lwbc@mts.net

Website: www.livingword.mb.ca

CALENDAR OF EVENTS April 4 – LWBC Graduation Banquet at 6:00 PM

April 6 – LWBC – Graduation Ceremony at 1:00 PM

Please join us for these two Important Events Also coming up:

June 8 – 12 - Pastoral Retreat August 18 – 22 – The Heart of

Worship Seminar

LIVING WORD MINISTRIES 319 Centennial Drive

Box 969

Swan River, MB R0L 1Z0

Phone: 204.734.3836

Fax: 204.734.5566

E-mail: lwbc@mts.net

We’re on the Web!

www.livingword.mb.ca

Page 2 The Living Word

Go and Make Disciples (cont.) Byron Hardy

Do you remember that

Bible story found in Exodus

14 about the children of

Israel leaving Egypt and

going to the Promised Land

of Canaan? Did you notice

that instead of taking them

east from their location in

the Nile Delta to Canaan

(which would have been the

most logical route), Moses

took them South to the Sinai

Peninsula? That’s like going

from Swan River to

Minitonas via Benito. It is a

really strange route to take.

They not only went way

out of their way, their path

lead them into real danger.

These estimated several

million Israelites had the sea

on one side, an impregnable

mountain range on the other

and an angry army chasing

them down.

They grumbled and

accused their leader of

being a little obtuse even

though Exodus 14: 1&2 tells

us that Moses was only

following orders; direct

orders from God.

I don’t know about you,

but I can identify with these

Israelites. Like them I

These words are both in

written form and in the

ministry of the Holy Spirit. If

prayer is the foundation to

the journey of the Christian

life, then the discipline of

studying God’s word is the

ongoing work of the

Christian life. We must deny

self. In denying self we will

be disciplined to follow

Jesus.

As Darlene and I have

navigated our Christian

journey here at Living Word

Ministries, we have

completely understood the

need to be disciples of

Jesus Christ. There is not a

half-hearted attempt any

Christian is allowed to use

as we follow the life of

Christ. While we are not

perfect, Darlene and I GET

IT. We understand that

Jesus is the way, the truth

and the life. The message is

clear, concise, and must be

apparent as we complete

the mission given to us. In

the process of making

disciples, we must be

obedient to the will of God

for our lives.

While being obedient is

not always easy it is a

spiritual discipline vital to

the life of a disciple. With

this thought in mind,

Darlene and I wish to let you

know that we will be leaving

Living Word Ministries.

While it was clear that God

placed us in Swan River, it

is also clear that God is now

calling us back to Calgary.

Ecclesiastes 3 claims; “To

everything there is a

season. A time for every

purpose under heaven: A

time to be born, And a time

to die; A time to plant And a

time to pluck what is

planted.” For us the season

is changing; we must be

disciplined and submissive

in order for us to be

disciples.

On behalf of Darlene

and I, we wish to thank you

for four great years here at

Living Word Ministries. We

have grown as disciples.

We have learned about the

providence of the Father

and we have been blessed

knowing that the

constituency of our ministry

has stood behind us. There

will be a piece of us that will

be left behind in Swan

River. God bless you.

As I transition from my

role, I wish to inform you

that Ralf Boettcher will be

the new president. Ralf and

his wife Shelley have a

passion for making disciples

of Jesus Christ. There is not

any doubt that they are

called to Living Word. There

is also not any doubt that

they agree with pursuing the

disciplined life of being a

true disciple of Jesus.

Please pray for the

entire team here and for

Darlene and me. Once

again thank you for your

love and prayers. Be

encouraged as your pursue

the life intended for you.

That life is as a disciple of

Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians

Welcome Ralf & Shelley Boettcher

To the Living Word Ministries Team

HE LEADETH ME

Pastor Ralf Boettcher

The Living Word Page 3

sometimes feel hemmed in.

When through no fault of my

own, sickness, financial

distress or turmoil and

tension come my way I

grumble and complain to

God about how He could let

these problems happen to a

nice guy like me?

In searching the

Scriptures I find that

question is answered in this

very story about the

Israelites fleeing from Egypt

to Canaan.

Firstly, it says that God

took these people on this

strange path because

through it they would be

able to see God’s protection

and guidance as well as

recognize His power and

glory.

Secondly, God lead

these people on such a

strange path because

Scripture tells us they were

not ready to face the

warfare they would

encounter at their

destination as yet. They

needed time to mature, to

toughen up so that they

could face the hardship to

come without wilting.

God took these people

on this strange path for their

ultimate good. He lead

them in order to strengthen

them spiritually and

physically and to teach them

that God alone is the

into that category of small

things, if it can’t be controlled

or manipulated they ignore it;

but in the prayer room, we

take possession of every

request and make it known to

God (Phil. 4:6).

When first timers enter

the prayer room, they are

mesmerized with the sense of

quiet contemplation and

uncertainty, especially after

hearing the Word spoken and

intercessions offered for the

The Prophet Zechariah

described what he heard from

the Lord, “For who has

despised the day of small

things” (Zech. 4:10).

Zechariah lived and

prophesied during the period

following the Babylonian

captivity. He was asked to

describe what he had seen

(4:2), with that opportunity he

confessed the truth as it was

laid out before him. Many of

us living today have that

same opportunity, to confess

the truth as it is revealed to us

through the empowering of

the Holy Spirit. Like

Zechariah, those that enter

the prayer room experience

the Gospel message

witnessed by the articulating

of God’s grace as it is

distributed to them. By

obediently waiting on God in

humble submission they

become the fulfillment of,

“’Return to Me’ says the Lord

of hosts, ‘and I will return to

you’ says the Lord of hosts”

(Zech. 1:3).

For those who have

experienced it, the prayer

room has a distinct flavor and

atmosphere different than any

other church ministry. That

flavor is experienced through

the ebb and flow of

participating in what some

refer to as the heart and soul

of church ministry. Being a

member of an active prayer

meeting for over ten years

now, I have come to realize

that God orders His elect

according to their desire for

actively wanting to come to

the forefront of intercession.

Living in a period of small

things, when interests are

picked up and discarded

faster than you can imagine,

our involvement keeps us in

touch. For many, prayer falls

cares and concerns of the

church body. They soon

experience how the chemistry

of their thoughts change from

their needs to the needs of

the many; they no longer feel

so concerned for their own

well-being as they do for the

well-being of the entire

congregation. In retrospect, I

recently heard a very young

child describe how prayer

reaches God, she said: the

Holy Spirit comes down,

collects the prayer, and then

takes it up to God. It’s that

realization of how the Holy

Spirit works in the prayer

room that opens new-comers’

imagination to a greater, more

powerful opportunity of

spiritual discernment. They

themselves would say that

very young child was not far

from the truth.

In closing, I would like to

address and challenge

readers to help as I undergo a

research project on finding

out what boundaries hinder

the Christian perspective of

the prayer room. Perhaps

personal experience has

precluded you from finding

out more of what God’s inner

circle of friends look like

(John 15:14). Hopefully,

documenting your responses

through this study will

effectively and purposefully

lead more toward the prayer

room and in turn open up a

reservoir of blessing.

Remember, no boundary

whether physical, metal, or

emotional can, as Zechariah

quoted, be despised as a

small thing. The question

remains, have we lost our

zeal for prayer, or have we

been disillusioned through

some deceptive measure that

needs to be resolved? Let us

know what effect this ministry

of prayer has had in your own

Christian experience at

lwbc@mts.net.

He Leadeth Me (cont.) Pastor Ralf Boettcher

THE PRAYER ROOM The Prayer Guy

BY THE PRAYER GUY

NAME

sustainer who can be relied

upon in every situation,

even the seemingly

impossible ones. The

lesson on the strange path

showed God to be worthy of

both trust and obedience.

When you look back at

some of the trials or strange

paths you are living through

right now you may find that

like the Israelites, God was

protecting and guiding at

every step and those

hardships which you now

endure will help you

overcome the difficulties you

will face in the future.

God, the all-powerful, is

a loving God who cares for

His children.

Page 4 The Living Word

HOW NECESSARY IS GENTLENESS Magnar Bremnes

IT’S A GOD THING Pastor Ralf Boettcher

young Christians, anxious to

serve the Lord would be a

dream come true, but as I had

only an undergraduate degree I

“knew” it was simply out of my

reach.

Six years of ministerial work

and Biblical study followed. I

was grateful to be involved in

ministry at Logos Christian

Family Church in Mississauga,

Ontario and frankly I forgot

about my sincere prayer of six

years prior. Then I got the

phone call. It went something

like this:

Byron: “Hello, this is Byron

Hardy calling from Living Word

Bible College in Swan River,

Manitoba.”

Ralf: “Hi Mr. Hardy, this is Ralf

speaking.”

Byron: “We’re looking for a

professor to teach an

Ecclesiology Course at our

school this fall and we would

love to have you come out

here and teach it.”

Ralf: Long pause (stunned

This is the perfect time to

take up the “Prayer Guy’s”

challenge and let you know the

effect prayer has had on my

own Christian walk. As a matter

of fact, my arrival here at LWBC

is the direct and documented

result of prayer.

As I was upgrading my

Biblical Studies degree and

studying a course that

specifically dealt with the many

aspects of an effective prayer

life, I was convinced that for at

least a one year span (2004) I

would be diligent in recording

my prayers in a journal.

Many prayers of Adoration,

Confession, Thanksgiving and

Supplication were recorded but

one particular petition drew my

attention as I reviewed my

journal. It was a prayer that I

was hesitant to record because

it was so farfetched, so beyond

my ability that I was

apprehensive about recording it.

Thankfully I overcame my

hesitancy and recorded my

request of being given the

opportunity to teach, train and

generally speak into the lives of

young people in a Bible School

setting.

To be involved with eager

In our encouragement of

others, sometimes warnings are

needed, especially when we see

someone heading down a

destructive path. Whether

encouraging or warning, the goal

must always be to see someone

built up and strengthened in faith,

love and growth. Others may be

helped to see their need of

repentance, to turn around from a

destructive path and to trust Jesus

as Saviour and Lord. The goal

must always be to see healing

and restoration, as we exhort with

God's Word out of a caring motive

of love from God's heart to be a

blessing. For example, in God's

Word Paul writes to Timothy and

says: “Preach the Word! Be ready

in season and out of season.

Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all

thinks no evil;”

Without Jesus' love operating

in and through us, our ministering

to others would be vain and

empty in God's sight. Since is

clear in the Bible that love is not

rude, if rudeness were present in

our ministries instead of

respectful gentleness, it would

mean that this kind of ministry

would not be pleasing to God.

Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the

prisoner of the Lord, beseech you

to walk worthy of the calling with

which you were called, with all

lowliness and gentleness, with

longsuffering, bearing with one

another in love, (Eph. 4:1-2)

We must ask the Lord to help us

release gentleness in all our

interactions with people.

We ought to avoid rudeness

longsuffering and teaching.” 2

Timothy 4:2.

In our day-to-day interactions

with others, the Bible clearly

reveals that we are to release

gentleness, which is included in

the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit

of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

longsuffering, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control. Against

such there is no law.” Galatians

5:22-23.

We see in this list of the fruit of

the Spirit that God is looking for

gentleness as we relate to others

in all situations.

Concerning “agape” love

operating in and through God's

people, 1 Cor. 13:5 states that it

“does not behave rudely, does

not seek its own, is not provoked,

just as much as we would avoid

any life-threatening plague.

What are some more reasons

we know with certainty that God

strongly desires gentleness in our

lives?

1. Gentleness is necessary for a life of holiness. "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Col. 3:12) 2. When gentleness is absent, harsh, rude words are released which stir up anger. God's Word says, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1) We must let the Lord help us speak with gentle expressions in order to turn away wrath. In this way we will see Jesus' help and blessing released into those He has called us to bless. 3. Our witness for Christ to the lost must be given with Gentleness and Respect. Peter wrote, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear [with gentle courtesy and respect]" (I Pet. 3:15) 4. Restoration of those overtaken in misconduct or sin must be done in a spirit of Gentleness. Paul wrote, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." (Gal. 6:1). The original Greek word for “restore” here was often used as a medical term for setting a fractured bone. The doctor must use gentleness in setting a fractured bone. Without gentleness, the attempt at restoring the bone can create damage.

Restoration must always be done with a spirit of gentleness, with the love of God, not in a rude and harsh manner.

Occasions arise in life where we can be tempted to respond in a manner that does not involve gentleness. On such occasions, it would be good to remind ourselves of the message of 2 Timothy 2:24: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient...”

May the Lord grant us, by His help and grace, the release of this fruit of gentleness consistently in our lives and ministries.

silence)

Byron: “Yes, you were highly

recommended by Marilyn

Nemez so I thought I would

call and see if you were

available.”

Ralf: Long pause (stunned

silence)

Byron: “I know there are a

number folks qualified and

anxious to teach this course

but we’ve prayed about it here

and we would like you for this

course. It’s a God thing.”

As I reflected on that

conversation it occurred to me

that I received a call from a

man I didn’t know, to teach at a

college I have never heard of,

in a town I did not know existed

because of a referral from a

lady that was a total stranger to

me. All because of a small

prayer of years gone by and the

prayers of the Saints in Swan

River, (Incidentally, Marilyn had

heard about me as a result of

my lovely wife bragging about

me while they were on a

business call talking about a

prayer meeting.)

Our lovely Heavenly Father

enjoys getting involved in our

lives. All we have to do is ask.

It’s a God thing!

The Living Word Page 5

Two words that are so

intertwined that you cannot

have one without the other.

We all want to be more

serious about our walk with

Jesus and those take us

being committed to Jesus.

Kyle Idleman wrote in his

book NOT A FAN… “The

biggest threat to the church

today is fans who call

themselves Christians but

aren’t actually interested in

following Christ. They want to

be close enough to Jesus to

get all the benefits, but not so

close that it requires anything

from them.” As we look at the

call of Christ on our lives we

must tap into two verses that

we can hang our hats on.

John 3:16 and Luke 9:23

have to go together in order

for there to be an accurate

understanding of the gospel’s

invitation. John 3:16

emphasizes believing. Luke

9:23 focuses on following.

Those two things must go

together. There is no

believing without following.

There is no John 3:16 without

Luke 9:23.

In Luke 9:23, and it

reads, “If anyone would come

after me, he must deny

himself, take up his cross

daily, and follow me.” That is

serious stuff. The Spirit of

God challenged me in John 6

with the words of Jesus: "You

do not want to leave also, do

you?" Through this question,

the Spirit of God tugged at my

heart. It is interesting that

Jesus used this very question

to challenge His disciples at

the very moment His

followers were dwindling in

number. This is a turning

point in the Gospel according

to John. Chapter Six begins

with many people happily

following Jesus and

benefitting from His feeding of

the masses. It ends with

many people turning away,

until we are left with only the

twelve. The crowds were

leaving Jesus because they

were offended by His

"difficult" teaching. They

couldn't figure Him out. And

rather than put in the effort to

understand Him, they chose

to abandon Him. How many

times have we picked out and

chosen what we want to

follow and what we don’t? It

is so easy to do but Jesus

wants total surrender and

commitment.

The conclusion of John 6

is the grand climax of Jesus'

surging claims concerning His

unique identity - each

followed by the murmurings

and misunderstandings of His

followers. First, He claims to

be "the bread of life" (John

6:35). The people respond to

this claim with complaining:

"But He is only Joseph's son"

(John 6:41-42). Jesus then

ups the stake by proclaiming

that the bread He offers is

superior to the manna God

provided Israel in the

wilderness (John 6:49-51).

The people misunderstand

His teaching: "How can He

give us His flesh to be

eaten?" (John 6:52). Instead

of softening the imagery,

Jesus increases it: "Those

who gnaw on my flesh and

drink my blood live" (John

6:54-58). But this time it is

not just the crowd that

murmurs, but the disciples as

well. They simply cannot

accept such shocking

teaching… "This teaching is

difficult. Who can accept it?"

(John 6:60)

Jesus responds: "Does

this offend you?" Jesus'

teachings about "eating His

flesh and drinking His blood"

offended His disciples. How

could anyone accept such

intolerable language?

Following this, He offers one

of the most touching,

heartbreaking, and haunting

questions of His life… Do you

also wish to go away? The

question hangs in the air with

a sense of sadness, a

searching spirit, a wounded

heart, a desire for friendship,

and an expectation of

disappointment… I wonder

how many times Jesus has

asked us that same question?

Kyle Idleman said in his

book NOT A FAN… “These

religious types were the fans

that Jesus seems to have the

most trouble with. Fans who

will walk into a restaurant and

bow their heads to pray

before a meal just in case

someone is watching. Fans

who won’t go to R-rated

movies at the theater, but

have a number of them saved

at home. Fans who may feed

the hungry and help the

needy, and then they make

sure they work it into every

conversation for the next two

weeks. Fans who make sure

people see them put in their

offering at church, but they

haven’t considered reaching

out to their neighbor who lost

a job and can’t pay the bills.

Fans who like seeing other

people fail because in their

minds it makes them look

better. Fans whose primary

concern in raising their

children is what other people

think. Fans who are reading

this and assuming I’m

describing someone else.

Fans who have worn the

mask for so long they have

fooled even themselves.”

Kyle says… “In fact, it's

true throughout all of

Scripture… Following Jesus

isn't something you can do at

night where no one notices.

It's a twenty-four-hour-a-day

commitment that will interfere

with your life. That's not the

small print, that's a

guarantee.”

JESUS was well aware

that His teaching was hard

and offensive. He knew that

He would not be the Messiah

people wanted, but the

Messiah people needed. He

did not care to pass out

survey forms to discern how

and what He would teach. He

was not subject to the whim

of the crowds. I wonder

sometimes if we do not tell

people about the hard words

of Christ because we are

scared they will walk away

from our pews. Ultimately our

role as disciples is to accept

the teachings of our Master.

Even if we do not understand

what He says, and we find

His words shocking, we

accept them, humbly agree

with them, do what He says,

and live according to His

teachings.

Let us ask God to help us

be true disciples of Jesus.

Let us seek to follow after the

tough teachings of our Lord.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself,

take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23

COMMITTED FOLLOWERS Garth Priebe

NAME

Page 6 The Living Word

IN CHRIST ALONE Sharon Harriman

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Podcasts on-line: www.livingword.mb.ca Click on “Radio/Listen”, select “Podcasts”

All these things can zap us of

strength, joy and peace. Many

verses remind us that our daily

sufficiency is in Christ. We can

look at 2 Corinthians 3:4-6,

Psalms18:2, Psalms 20:7,

Psalms 91:2, and Psalms

118:8.These verses all remind us

of where our daily sufficiency is;

not in ourselves, but in Him.

Throughout the stanzas of

this song we are reminded we

have our strength in Christ alone.

God equips us with strength as

stated in Psalms 18:32-34. Many

circumstances we go through can

either leave us in a flurry of

dismay, or, we can fully surrender

to Christ’s strength in us. Isaiah

41:10 encourages us not to be

fearful or dismayed, for Christ is

our daily strength. The Lord

strengthens us in faith as we are

admonished in Psalms 27:1.

Again, we are reminded to live

with the Holy Spirit controlling our

lives, not of our flesh, as stated in

2 Timothy1:7. We do not need to

live in fear, but in faith or power in

Him, in love and self-control. We

are reminded in Philippians that

we can do all things, not some

things, through Him who

strengthens us.

Another stanza in these

lyrics says, “In Christ alone I can

reach beyond my weakness to

my need.” What are your needs

today? Do you have full

confidence in Him to meet your

every need? Whether your need

is small or massive our Lord is

There is a beautiful song by

Michael English called “In Christ

Alone.” I am going to highlight a

few phrases in these lyrics. In

Christ alone we overcome

battles. It does not matter what

battle we are going through. We

have the assurance in Him alone

that we can overcome these

battles. The question you may

ask is, “How do I overcome the

battles I am in?” This is

accomplished by persisting on in

the Lord. Keep pressing onward;

be diligent; and be steadfast.

Many times in the midst of a

battle, we give up. James 1:12

tells us to remain steadfast even

when you are going through

trials. Carry on in faith. Don’t give

up! 1 Timothy 6:11, 12 tells us we

are to fight the good fight of faith.

We are to remain constant in our

prayer. Romans 12:12 tells us to

remain constant in our prayer; to

not give up and give in to the

battle we are in.

Another phrase in this song

states, “Oh, I could stop and

count my successes, like

diamonds in my hands.” We are

prone to look at things on the

scale of whether they are a

success or a failure. Many times

we live in defeat because of

circumstances we have faced.

We are so prone to measure the

failures in our life as defeat. How

do we count our successes? Are

we looking at them through the

eyes of the Lord? A familiar story

to us is the story of Joseph. What

had been meant for harm and

destruction to him, the Lord

turned the circumstances around

for His good. In Genesis 39:2-6

we see how Joseph had to place

his trust in the Lord to guide him

daily. Do you desire success in

your life? The key to success is

allowing the Lord to daily guide

us. Romans 8 refers to the battle

we have between our flesh and

the Spirit taking control. 1 Samuel

18:14 tells us our success is only

possible when the Lord is with us.

Many times we fail because we

are doing things on our own

without allowing the Lord to

control our life. We all need the

Lord as our daily source. We

need to daily maintain our

relationship with the Lord. One of

those ways to maintain our

relationship is in daily prayer as

stated in Nehemiah 1:1.

Another phrase from the

lyrics of this song is “In Christ

alone I place my trust.” Our daily

source of strength and hope is in

Christ alone. When we place our

trust, our hopes in people or

things, there is definitely a margin

of failure. What false hopes are

you dealing with today? Is it a

failed marriage or relationship;

failure in a job; unhappiness; a

failed decision; or a family crisis?

bigger than all our needs. Do you

have the confidence in Him to

meet your every need? In

Philippians 4:19 we are told the

Lord meets all our needs.

Sometimes we get impatient and

try to sort things out on our own,

instead of remaining confident in

the Lord to meet our needs. In

Matthew 6:31-32 we are

promised that God will meet all

our needs if we seek Him and His

righteousness.

The last stanza of this song

states, “my source of hope is in

Christ alone.” We live in a world

where peoples’ hope is fading.

They are looking for a sense of

security in things, other people,

money, pleasure, their job, and

other avenues. As Christians, as

we get to know Jesus more, we

have a steadfast security in Him.

This security will shine out from

us to the hopelessness many

people are facing daily. We are

able to overcome the daily battles

in Christ alone.

My challenge to you as you

are reading this article is this,

“Are you secure in Christ alone?”

In Christ alone; we overcome

battles, we can count our

successes, we place our trust, we

have our strength, every need is

met in Him, and in Him alone is

my hope! Wherever you are at

this moment, yield to Him and

allow Him to control your life.

Then you can stand and sing

these lyrics victoriously, “In Christ

Alone!”

The Living Word Page 7

WORSHIP Randall Harriman

The Westminster Larger

Catechism asks this question,

“What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief and highest end is

to glorify God and fully to enjoy

Him forever” Wow, what a

statement about worship and

communion with God!

Mark Williams, General

Overseer of the Church of God

in Cleveland Tenn. states;

“Worship is true communion

with God, responding to all that

He is, with all that we are.”

Worship is thanksgiving by

expressing gratitude for the

holy, redemptive love of God

made known in Jesus Christ.

Worship is offering by giving

ourselves to God and one

another in purity and holiness.

Worship is service by become a

living sacrifice, leading a

Christian life in the world.

Worship in a spirit-filled

believer, must be the

foundation of his or her

spirituality and the core of their

heart. Psalms 42:1-2, clearly

shows that worship lives from

and for the presence of God.

As believers, worship forms our

identity, develops our worldview

and draws us closer to the

living Lord. In the Old

Testament, God sought

worship from His people by His

mighty acts. In the New

Testament, He desires worship

from us because of His love for

us, by sending His son Jesus

Christ, John 3:16. True

worship comes from our hearts

to the heart of a living God.

Worship should not be a ritual

or rigid formalism, but a

“continuous, deliberate,

purposeful, active, dynamic

relationship with the true and

living God” a quote from G.O.

Mark Williams.

In this 21st century church,

the word worship to me has

become compartmentalized.

Why? We have divided our

lives between the secular and

sacred, whereby we have

limited the true understanding

of what real worship is, to

something that just happens on

a Sunday morning with a few

songs. This is far from true

reality, Paul reveals to us from

Romans 12:1, what worship

should be. He uses the word

logikos meaning reasonable or

rational, thereby describing

proper worship. Paul uses the

word “therefore” to connect us

the 11 chapters before. Chapter

12 now points the Book of

Romans in a new direction,

revealing to us what

“reasonable worship” looks like

according to what has been

written in chapters 1-11. In light

of these chapters, Romans

12:1 states that we should offer

our bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy, an acceptable to God, this

is our “reasonable service”

(worship). This comes from

how you and I have allowed the

transforming power of Christ,

through the Holy Spirit, to take

root in our lives. Romans 12:2

points out how true worship

comes from us, when we have

been transformed by the

renewing of our minds. This

transformation brings us into a

deeper relationship with God.

Through this our relationships

will be marked with Love,

generosity, and hospitality, both

to those outside the church and

within the church family.

Chapter 13-16 of Romans

points us to how, by God’s

transforming power through the

Holy Spirit, we are shown what

is “reasonable worship or

service” to our Lord. As

believers there is nothing off

limits in our lives, when it

comes to “reasonable worship”.

Our thoughts, actions, ethics

and morality are all part of this

offering of our “bodies as a

living sacrifice” to Him daily.

According to Romans

21:1, holding the concept of

worship as a time slot on

Sunday morning, can and has

limited you and I, “The call out

ones”, who are the church. This

error has caused in my view, a

total disconnect between our

lifestyles and our confession.

Why? We can come to church

and sing, raise our hands,

shout, dance on a Sunday

morning, but still hold anger or

grudges, and still go to work the

next day showing no form of

transforming power. I agree

with the writer who said,

“Worship is responding to all

that God is with all that we are.

Blessings on you this year.... Footnote: Quotes from Nov.2013 Evangel from the Church of God in Cleveland Tenn.

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Page 8 The Living Word

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