Pastor Norm’s Blog

The Key Aspects of Investment

Do you remember the key aspects of investment that were highlighted in yesterday’s sermon? We were told that the 2 most important aspects of investing are to know the risk (that you may possibly lose something that you value highly) and that you are confident that what you are investing in is worth your taking such risk.

Have you applied the counsel of Jesus today and counted the cost, evaluated the risk, of letting Him lead your life through this day?  There are only two responses you can make to Jesus’ counsel—refuse to let Him lead because the risk is too great, or put aside your desires this day to get in line with His guidance. I pray that you will heed the Spirit’s prompting and get in line with our Savior’s guidance.

“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—Matthew 6:21 (Augusts’ memory verse)

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Monday
“Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies — like strict doctrines — behind.”
This is how USA Today began its article on the new Religious Landscape Survey findings from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life which found most Americans (even Bible believing, church going Americans) have a ‘stunning’ disconnect between their beliefs and practices with the faiths they say they hold to.

As we noted Sunday the God of the Bible challenges us in Deuteronomy 30:19—20 to choose life by choosing Him. But this challenge is based on our truly knowing who ‘Him’ is. It is not good enough to believe in “God” if that God turns out to be a personal invention of our desires. The Pew survey noted that although 92% said they believe in God, only 51% said they were both absolutely certain there was a God and that this God was a person, rather than an impersonal force, with whom they could have a relationship.

What does this mean for us? Here are two key responses

1. Get intimate with your God. Commit to reading Scripture and connecting with the God who is clearly presented in the Bible. There aren’t many roads to God for Jesus made it clear—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”(John 14:6). This means selecting to read through the whole Bible. You can accomplish this by reading 5 chapters each day for a year. You can also learn about this personal God by joining Jesus University classes where He is studied each week.

2. Don’t think that those who ‘talk god’ truly know God. The Bible is clear that even the demons believe that there is one God and that they even tremble at this knowledge (James 2:19). Remember, we have the words that give life, let us not keep them to ourselves. I encourage you to be bold in sharing your faith.