Jesus calls us to perfection. In Matthew 5:48 he says "be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." That is a pretty tough order, isn't it?

Often when we read a verse like this we tend to think along the lines of this video by Vintage 21. (if you haven't watched it yet, stop reading and check it out.) We think that life with God is all about following rules and the thought of following them all the time to the point of perfection is a little overwhelming. Jesus is going to point out every little flaw or mistake.

But being a Christian is not about subscribing to a set of beliefs or following perfectly a set of rules. It is about allowing the saving grace of Jesus Christ to completely transform us. When we walk in a relationship with Christ we learn to imitate Him. By imitating Him, we show his perfection in our lives. His life was exemplified through loving God and through loving others.
Right before Jesus calls us "be perfect just as the heavenly Father is perfect" he is asking people to love everyone, including their enemies. He tells us to respect everyone, including strangers. Only then does He give the command to be "perfect". So our being perfect is bound in loving others, not in following rules.

The great commandment that Christ gives us elsewhere in scriptures echoes this command. It says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Do you want to be perfect? First, ya' got to let Christ transform your life. Then you have to love God and love other people with all ya' got .

Peace,

Joey

Life and Death

It has been an incredible few weeks around here! I don't know if you guys are know it, but we have had four folks accept Christ in the past week! Do you know what a cool thing that is? I mean, I'm not talking about people joining a club that we are a part of, or becoming members of our church, or anything like that. I am talking about people passing, quite literally, from death to life!

The Bible is clear that unless we believe in Jesus Christ then we face a life apart from God. In professing faith in Jesus we are saying, "God, we want to belong to you. We are tired of trying to live life on our own, and we need Your help!" In this confession, we are made sons and daughters of the greatest of kings. You and I become princess and princesses in an eternal and perfect Kingdom. That just about rocks my face off!

Just try to imagine this world if it were perfect, without pain, sickness, hurt, heartache, or death. Then multiply what you have thought of by a million. Even in doing that you have not even scratched the surface at how cool Heaven is.

Before we become followers of Christ, we have no part of this incredible Kingdom of Heaven. Romans 6:23 says that "the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." You see, in accepting Christ we go from having to pay the price of sin, which is death, to living forever a life of adventure, joy, and completeness!

If you have never accepted Christ, have questions about what it means to do so, or just want to dive into this God stuff a little deeper then I would love to help out! You folks know where to find me! Come on out this Sunday night, we'll be talking a little bit more about this stuff and a lot of other things.

All right, peace out and I love you all!

Joey