Leadership...

Readings: Philippians 2:1 – 11; Colossians 3:12 – 17; Mark 12:28 – 31; 1 John 2:3 – 11

Meditation and Prayer on Philippians 2:1 – 11:

Meditation:

(Philippians 2:3 - 4, ESV) 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

Have you ever been inspired by the Spirit?  Inspired to the point that the words that come out of your mouth are not your words at all.  Words that have such wisdom in them, you know they could not be of your own?  Have you been in the position where after a conversation with someone about Christ or faith or God, the individual has been so moved, they come up to you afterwards and wholeheartedly thank you for that inspiration?  The pride you feel in that moment is so overwhelming.  The accomplishment is so tangible that your heart is overwhelmed with belonging and purpose.  I have had these moments, actually, I continue to have these moment…”Oh good for me”, right?  I am not saying this so you see in me a Spiritual advisor looking for adoration.  I am not saying this so you remember to come up to me and thank me.  I am saying this, because I am confessing that in my heart of hearts, I actually want that, but it is that way of thinking that feeds my personal pride that I constantly battle with when trying to emulate the character of Christ.  We are all called to live out the character of God, to love, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, to live our life in humility and obedience.  Jesus Christ, born a human, being of God and God yet chose to humble himself to the point of being exposed to the desires, emotions, and fleshly outcome we all face.  Christ came into this world and became a king.  Yet, not a king that exposed himself through flashy clothes or trumpets to announce his presence.  He represented humbleness to the point of death.  Humbleness to the point of taking no credit of the grace and blessings that had already being given to His people.  Credit that was so richly deserved that Christ should have been praised while he walked this earth, praised in a way where his face was splashed on Billboards and his signature sought after, because his inspiring word has more depth than any 10 step help book.  Yet, Christ did not seek that type of publicity, in fact, he always tended to avoid it.  After many of his miracles, he asks that they tell no one.  In his ministry, he did not seek to be glorified as king nor does he admit that he is God all too often.

“All glory to God our Father and Jesus Christ”, a message missing from my repertoire and vocabulary post a Spirit filled conversations.  In many ways, we need validation as humans that what we have said or done in the name of Christ is inspiring.  This validates in some way that we are abiding in what God asks of us.  God knows that we need some form of praise as humans to move forward in our journey, a form of feedback that lets us know we are not off our rocker, and that what we are saying and doing is Spirit led.  We must remember in those times to not dwell on the pride that comes with that validation or praise, but to thank and give praise to God for His inspiration.  A lesson I must learn and live by.  I need to remember that it is gifts from God and the Spirit that provide me the ability to say and do things on His behalf.  That he has put all of you on this earth to hold me accountable to living out the Word of God.  That through your feedback, praise, and adoration, it keeps me motivated to keep living my life in the direction set before me in Christ.  That I must also check my pride at the door and respond with a thank you, but also with “All glory to God our Father and Jesus Christ”.    It is in for the honor of the Father we live in His son Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Dear God,

I come to you with thanks and adoration.  I come to you with love and thankfulness.  I realize that I do not always abide in you even when I say and do what you ask of me.  That I seek praise and adoration for myself, and that my pride gets in the way of accepting praise for your Spirit filled words and wisdom.  I also thank you for giving me the feedback through the friends and peers that you surround me with.  Help me to keep that in mind when I stand in front and lead others on Your behalf.  Help me to honor you in all that I say and do.  That you break down the walls I surround myself with in selfishness and that I take a page out of Your Book and humble myself to the point of kneeling before you and confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that all that I say and do is to the glory of God the Father.

Through thought, word, and deed, may I abide in You…Amen

Meditation and Prayer on Colossians 3:12 – 17:

Meditation:

(Colossians 3:12 - 17, ESV) 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

When I look at the list of attributes set before us in these versus; compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and love, one attribute is set above all, and that is love.  What is love, and what does it mean to put on love.  You see, the way in which love in its Greek form is stated here is ἀγάπην, translated as agapēn.  When alone, the word is usually seen as just agapé, which means love, benevolence, and good will.  It is to represent that of the love of person to person; especially of the love of God toward men, of the love of Christ toward men.  In Colossians, it means to literally to “put on love”.  We are to wear this attribute like a coat.  It is to be the attribute that we clothe ourselves with.  It is the attribute that holds all of the other attributes together.

Have you ever cooked with a lean meat?  Specifically, have you ever tried to make burgers using a lean meat like lamb?  Lamb is so lean, that by itself, if you try and make a burger, all it does is fall apart.  It does not hold its form, because it is missing fat to help keep it together and cook in a way that when finished represents what we would expect a great burger to be.  In order to cook with a lean meat, you must add some sort of fat in order to help keep it together, so it doesn’t lose its shape, so that in the end it does stay together.  Love is that proverbial fat that holds all of the other attributes together.  If missing, none of those other attributes will stick.  They will dry up and fall apart, and what we were all striving towards will not turn out the way we expected it to.

We are to put on love.  We are to put on the desire to do good to others.  We are to put on love so that the other attributes we are called to have can be put to use and not selfishly horded for ourselves.  That “whatever you do, in word or deed” everything be done in love, everything be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, whose name and actions represent that of agape.

Prayer:

Dear God,

Help me to put on the attribute of love.  As said in Philippians 2:4, help me to look not of my own interests, but through love, look to the interests of others.  Help me to rely upon you God, to abide in Your will, to abide in Your love, that my words and deeds reflect that of Your desires for me.  I ask that Your spirit live in me and that Your spirit drives my words and actions.  That all those around me see my love as a reflection of who I put my trust and faith in.  That all those around me are brought closer to you through the authentic living and putting on of your love.

Through thought, word, and deed, may I abide in You…Amen 

Meditation and Prayer on Mark 12:28 – 31:

Meditation:

(Mark 12:30, ESV) 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

“With all your soul” is Christ’s answer.  Christ answers the scribes question by citing the Shema, which would have been well known to the scribes, because it was a central part to the confession of all Jew’s faith.  It would be like us citing from the Apostles Creed, which all Christians would hopefully recognize and understand.  One thing strikes me as I read this verse and that was Christ’s use of the word soul.  In Greek, soul would be translated as psuché, defined as “the vital breath, breath of life, the human soul, the soul as the seat of affections and will, the self, a human person, an individual.  The Greek word has led to our English word of “psyche” which is defined as “a person’s distinct identity, unique personhood”.  Throughout Jesus ministry, His use of the word psyche meant “life” and not what we would think of as “soul”.  With our whole life we are to love the Lord our God.  We are to dedicate our heart, soul, mind, and strength, our life to loving the Lord our God.  Not only that, but with the same love God has shown us, we are to love our neighbor with that same love.  We are to embrace God’s love in a way that allows our lives to be a living sacrifice to the love of God.  We are to lose our psuché so we can follow Him.  We are to take the example of Christ, who came down to give his “life” as a ransom for many.

Prayer:

Dear God,

There are many things in my life that I have not died to that I know I must in order to follow you.  I thank you for sending Your son to give up His life for me.  A true sacrifice where Christ’s purpose was to come down to give us new life.  He came down to give us the ability to actually die to our old self and to be born again.  I ask you Lord to forgive me for not giving my whole life to you.  Help me to make progress in dedicating my mind, body, and soul to you.  That I use what human strength I have to dedicate my whole soul and life to you.

Through thought, word, and deed, may I abide in You…Amen

Meditation and Prayer on 1 John 2:3 – 11:

Meditation:

I personally could not have written or thought of any better way to meditate on these versus than what I read this morning in a devotional from Walk in the Word.  Pasted below is that devotional.

Are You Abiding?

(John 8:31, ESV) 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples”  

You probably can’t remember the last time you used the word abide in a conversation.  Most of us don’t tell our kids, “If you abide in my house, you live by my rules!”  We don’t usually say to our spouses during our wedding anniversary celebrations, “I’m glad we’ve abided together all these years!”

But abide is a time-honored word I like because it makes me stop and think.  I’m also drawn to it because Jesus used this word on some significant occasions with His followers.  In fact, Jesus said abiding is the test of whether or not we are truly His disciples.

The word abide can be translated “to live within,” “to dwell,” or “to take up residence.”  Jesus was basically saying, “If you live in my Word,” or, “If your life is a genuine reflection of what I say, you are truly My disciples.”  This means that our conversations, illustrations, and meditations ought to be permeated with Scripture.  We should live so much in God’s Word that it fills us up and overflows constantly from our lips. The beginning of knowing what God wants you to do is knowing what God wants you to know!

Conversely, if we’re not abiding in Jesus’ words—if we’re not basing everything we believe on the book God wrote—we can’t expect to know the truth or experience His freedom. And we can’t honestly claim to be His disciples. When Jesus spoke of the importance of abiding “to the Jews who had believed in him,” He made it clear that recognizing who He is isn’t quite the same thing as surrendering to Him and living for Him.

Abiding in Jesus’ words involves more than saying we believe certain things about Him and about the Bible. It’s about how our lives represent His life and His words. At the practical level, it’s about becoming increasingly familiar with God’s Word over the course of a lifetime. And it’s also about our lives becoming a more and more authentic reflection of the Author.

Abiding means His words are persistently changing us. We’re discovering through practice what David described when he said, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). He knew how to abide.

There’s a lot about your life today that will be ordinary: driving, working, talking, shopping, listening, and a thousand other things. They can all be done without thinking about God and His glory. But they can also be done while abiding in Jesus’ words, letting His presence and instruction guide your life. The choice you make is an indicator of whether or not you are really one of His disciples.

JOURNAL

• During a typical day, when do you most sense that you are abiding in Jesus’ words? When is abiding hardest?
• What about today’s schedule needs to change in order for you to practice abiding in Jesus’ words?

PRAY

Lord, it’s painfully obvious to me how easily I go about my daily routine without thinking of You. I don’t want to live that way. I want to walk with You and abide in Your words. I want my life to be a disciple’s life. Yet it’s so easy to get sidetracked with my failures rather than rest in the truth that You want to abide in me and live Your life through mine. Please help me sense today that You long to abide in me so I can abide in Your words. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

One Body

Shine Like Stars...

(Isaiah 58:10, ESV) 10 If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

Hunger is one of the biggest and most preventable issues in our day and age.  According to the World Food Program (WFP), Some 805 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth, Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five - 3.1 million children each year, and in 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children.  The crazy thing is, hunger has been an issue forever.  These statistics are staggering to me, however, biblical hunger was just as real.  Deuteronomy 15:11 tells us "For there will never cease to be poor in the land.  Therefore I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land."

God is telling us, this opportunity to shine our light for Him, to show grace and mercy on His behalf in this world where darkness is prevalent, will never cease to exist.  Hunger and affliction will always be here, and God does not command us to ignore it, because we won't be able to break the existence of hunger, but He commands us to "open wide your hand"

It is a little difficult for me to give to the homeless person downtown, especially after seeing the 20/20 show, where it shows these "homeless" people begging all day, then getting up and driving away in a fancy car, living out a luxurious life, feeding off the mercy we are asked to give, but also taking away from those that truly need it.  But at some point, I must become an adult about this, and look at the big picture, that those fakes do not represent the hungry in this world, they represent the evil in this world that wants us to turn away from what God commands of us.  There unfortunate act does not diminish the fact that there are millions of others that are truly homeless, hungry, and afflicted.  Those individuals represented on 20/20 will have their day of judgement with God, however, how we act and represent the commandment of God will also fall upon us in judgement.

God has commanded us to "open wide your hand", "then shall your light rise in the darkness."  Meditate on this verse with me for a moment, Matthew 25:45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."  We must understand that we are presented with opportunities to feed the hungry everyday and there will be those that misrepresent the mercies we provide.  We must be smart and Spiritually discerning, and prayerfully give to those that we see in need.  There will be times we judge incorrectly and someone will misuse our generosity, but there will be more times that you will be giving to someone who truly needs it.

My fellow brothers and sisters, let "your light rise in the darkness" and as Phillippians 2:15 says, "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky."

God's peace to all of you - Joshua

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Confidence and Boldness | It's a Journey

Reflections on: Hebrews 10:33 & 35

"33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who where so treated." ... "35 So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded."

No matter where I stand in my faith journey, I sometimes still find myself tending to lack confidence when trying to speak about or even live out my faith.  Do you ever find yourself in the same position or find yourself in that position right now?

2 Types of Confidence Lacking

It could be that we are new to this whole Christian thing, and we don't feel like we can contribute to the conversation or we feel in adequate because we don't know as much as the person in our small groups feel we can't answer a biblical question if a person asks it.  Can you relate to this?  In this circumstance, we lack the confidence because we feel inadequate.  Well, we shouldn't be so scared, we should gain confidence and boldness in growing in our faith and knowledge.  Boldly stand up and say, "I don't know what that means, can we go deeper in understanding?".  I have a good friend that when confronted with a question, he boldly says, "Well, let's unpack that together."

It could be that we find ourselves in the position where we have confidently and boldly proclaimed our faith only to be challenged, and like me, start to avoid the conflict called "religion".  Remember, your faith and hope may be classified as a Religion by the secular world, but your faith and hope in God is your own.  Have confidence my friends, as we proclaim our faith, conflicts are unavoidable, we must be willing to stand up for our faith.

2 Types of Confidence Growth

If you find yourself in the place of the growing and not feeling adequate in knowledge place, scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 - 21, "20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good,".  When we read God's living Word, especially in prayer, the ideas and beliefs jump out as prophetic teachings from the Holy Spirit.  If you do not have the confidence to dig deeper, trying leaning on a fellow Christian to "unpack" your questions.  More importantly, pray to God for understanding and truth.  This confidence and boldness in testing and questioning is extremely important to growing your faith.  It prepares you for the confidence needed to proclaim your faith.  2 Peter 1:5 - 8 helps us to understand the progression of confidence, "5 For this very, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

If you find yourself in the place of being the Christians that has felt burned by your confidence, let's reflect a little on that and see if there is a way to objectively grow in our confidence.  As Christians, we must be careful when we reflect on those times we have felt burnt, because we can walk a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and one is definitely more productive than the other.  In my reflection of my past, I did not practice the meekness we are called to when proclaiming the gospel of Christ, which means for years I lived up to the persona of being an arrogant Christian.  It wasn't until I personally felt the words from the Spirit of Romans 1:11 - 12, "11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-...", this next part was the part I was missing and the most important lesson to learn, "12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."  I was boldly being arrogant as opposed to being meek with a bold confidence, as is captured in 2 Timothy 2:24 - 25 "24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness...".  The Greek word used in this text is , meaning consideration, gentleness, humility, and meekness.

Final Thoughts

Gain in confidence my friends; ask questions, test your faith, seek for the truth that you may gain in knowledge and understanding.

Grow in in confidence my friends; gently, meekly, and boldly proclaim your faith and hope so that others may have the chance to feel and partake in the loving and saving grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:15

"15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect,"

God's peace - Joshua

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Patience as a Virtue

How often do we live our lives with wanting God to ensure our prayers or showing Himself to us happens NOW?  Well, I think the answer to that question is, yes, everyday. 

It says in 2 Peter 3:9, "...He is patient with you,".  As we look to emulate the character of God, patience is the virtue we have lost track of as Christians.  Verse 9 goes on to say, "...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  We lose track of the fact, we are not the only ones in the race for righteousness, but their are others God cares about and want to provide grace and salvation to. 

Do you feel like today you're doing enough or are good enough to get to heaven?  Do you wish God would just come right now so you don't screw it all up?  Well two things to consider there.  One, God is patient with us, Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by [His] grace you have been saved through [your] faith."  God is grace filled and continuously forgiving us through our repentance.  The second thing to consider is, 2 Peter 3: 14 - 15 instructs us, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him.  Bear in mind that our Lords patience means salvation..."

Be patient my friends, let's lean on God's word and strive to live by His character, knowing that salvation is here, and the answer to our prayers and our time with God will come.

Through thought, word, and deed, continue to be like our lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Peace - Joshua

Intelligence, What is it Really?

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Why do intelligent people find it so difficult to discover who they are, where they belong, and what they are supposed to do?

I think that this is an interestingly posed question. Throughout history intelligence has been measured by how knowledgeable or wise a person is about earthly matters. We have developed the intelligence quotient, which is a score we derive by having and individual take several tests which are designed to assess their intelligence. Heck, I work for a group that is call Business Intelligence. I feel when everyone answers this question, that they will be answering it from the view point of what they deem to be earthly intelligence. Our definition of Intelligence is also based on what we as humans have actually discovered. Because of science and hypothesis, which we take as intelligence, our view of things in the world have been skewed to trust science and the tangible.

I would like to come at this question by redefining what I believe intelligence is to God, and using God's Word to show why what we deem to be intelligence creates such a gap to what God deems to be truth and intelligence.

Last weeks verse that we memorized, John 8:30 was a great verse. What I believe we missed was reading on to John 8:31. John 8:30-31 says,30 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 31and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." So often, we as humans think we are smarter or know the truth better than we really do. At today's debates, it is hard to differentiate between what is truth and what is not. They have actually hired Fact Checkers to follow up after debates to help keep us informed. Imagine, as intelligent beings, if we were in a debate with God. What we deem to be truth would need to be followed up by a Fact Checker. But, if we read God's Word and abide by what Jesus Christ says, the Bible is the only Fact Checker we need. That is intelligence, and that is truth.

Another verse that speaks well to this intelligence definition is Proverbs 3:77 Be not wisein your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

This verse truly answers the question above for me. We think we are wise, especially in our own eyes. We have defined it as IQ, we have created business positions for intelligence, we make "wise" choices. All of this, because we are a proud nation/people that "know". Because of this, we do NOT receive healing to our flesh nor refreshment to our bones.

It is because we think we are intelligent and are knowledgeable that makes it so hard to figure out what we need to do. If we abide by the truths of God and His son Jesus Christ, that is when we will see what God has in store for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, Open my eyes and heart to your truths. When making decisions in my life, direct me to Your word. Direct me to Your wise council. Help me to not measure my intelligence in my own eyes and rely upon you to prophecy through my heart through Your words and not mine.

Gods Peace and Love,

Joshua Gamradt

Reasoning versus Debating

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool

I could write multiple thoughts around Isaiah 1:18, but while reading this verse today, one word sticks out to me the most; reason.  Reasoning is the art of drawing conclusions based on facts.  In fact, Reasoning is defined on Dictionary.com as; 2: the process of forming conclusions, judgements, or inferences from facts or premises. 

One of the most successful reasoners in our Christian faith, besides Jesus Christ, would be Paul.  Paul by far is one of our most influential Christian missionary's.  His success was built largely in part on his ability to reason with those he spoke to.

I have often heard from those that know me, I like to "debate".  That I seek out opportunities to debate with others.  I have always struggled with this perception.  I tend to cling to today's verse, knowing that my love for Christ increases my will to want to reason with God, myself, AND others.  The thoughts and knowledge I use during my reasoning is not built on just questioning the reasoning of fellow brothers and sisters, but continuously questioning my reasoning and seeking the answer through God's word and prayer.  Only then do I feel that my reasoning is sound and that when I speak with others, I am either affective in helping them fill gaps in their reasoning or they may help fill gaps in my own reasoning, thinking, or my Theological views. 

Where I can get in trouble is, and I've spoken with my wife about this, is, I rise and fall to how the mood is set by my following conversationalist.  That is when I become a debater, and reason at a much louder volume of voice.  For those of you that have been caught up in the unthoughtful way of reasoning I have instigated, I do apologize. 

As Christians, we owe it to ourselves to be great reasoners of our faith.  We are asked to go out and make disciples of all nations, and in a time and place where logic and reasoning is very powerful, to hone your skill set in reasoning not only strengthens your faith, but it maybe the deciding factor on how affective you are as a disciple.

As a Christian, how many times have you reasoned with yourself the words of other Christians?  How many times have you been in a conversation you felt uncomfortable, because you could not reason yourself out of a question asked by a non-Christian.  We must own our faith.  We must build our arsenal of truth by reasoning with God, other Christians, ourselves, and non-Christians. 

God's Peace Love and Understanding to all of you.

Colossians 3:17 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Head to Heart

18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The saying, "Christians talk the talk, but do not walk the walk", comes to mind when I read from 1 John 3:18.  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Christians only love in word or talk.  I cannot tell you how many people I know that provide a lot of lip service to our Lord and Savior.

A synopsis of James 2:14-26, which my pastor speaks of as the "Coming to Jesus" book of the Bible, and I whole hearted agree, states that what does it profit us if we say we have faith but we do not have works.  Some may argue that we are not saved by works.  That being saved by works is SO Old Testament.  Well, they are right, BUT...works that are driven by faith in Christ are not works of our own accord.  They are a bi-product of letting the Spirit into our heart.  It is not by those works that we are saved my dear friends.

All can agree that as an individual, you mature as you get older.  Same holds true in our faith.  Hopefully, they are one in the same.  Personally, I see faith growing in understanding, knowledge, and then back to understanding.  As a child, for those that have grown up in a Christian household, faith was so simple, it made its way from our head to our heart easily.  As we grow older, we tend to close the veil of our heart and only let our faith live in our head.  As we grow older or more mature, we tend to start to love in word and talk, because we have pushed it from our heart to our head.  We know what is right to do, but that knowledge lives in the same place that useless knowledge lives.  Useless knowledge that may one day make you a winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?  Let me be frank, faith does not deserve to live in the same place that your useless information lives.

We must make a connection in our faith maturity to start moving our faith in Christ from our head back to our heart.  I picture the painting with Jesus Christ standing outside the door and knocking.  When we were children, it was so easy for us to just open the door and let him in.  As we matured, we have pushed Him outside the door, and it becomes harder for us to open the door again.  It is when you have opened the door to Christ that we have let the Spirit back into our heart.  To me, that is the time in which we have truly given ourselves completely to God, and when we should subsequently be Baptized.

Open the door my brothers and sisters.  Let Christ back into your hearts.  Loving in deed and truth will not be a burden onto your heart alone.  Christ shares that with you, and the deeds and truth you perform on not yours at all.  They are the works for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  They are not deeds that save you.  It is the act of letting Christ into your heart that has saved you.

Amen and God's Peace and Love

Colossians 3:17 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.