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Christian
Education Pre-K-12
Richmond Academy
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Spring Forward or Fall Back?
Now that winter has given way to spring, so death and
lifelessness have given way for cataclysmic life changes to take place. Those
things that lay dormant through the long and cold months must now find strength
to break forth into newness through great transformation. Trees are budding, and
flowers are sprouting forth, and those things that could not live without the
increase of sunlight and rain can now be planted with expectations of a harvest
to follow. Christians go through seasons of change but are not limited by
natural conditions. Fortunately the spiritual elements needed for us to be
changed into the image of Christ are always available.
1. We have been given the life- giving water: Eph 5:26-27 (KJV) “That he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That
he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
2. We have also been given the life-giving light: John 1:4 (KJV) “In him was
life; and the life was the light of men.”
There is only one way that we can increase in the things of God when we just
don’t feel like things are budding so beautifully in our lives: Hos 10:12 (KJV)
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow
ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness
upon you.”
Every year we must change the condition of the ground to accommodate the seeds
we plant so that crops will grow and supply us with food and sustenance. We know
that if we plant only a little, we will harvest only a little. The same is true
for our spiritual increase: 2Co 9:6 (KJV) “But this [I say], He which soweth
sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully.”
If we are to increase in Life and Light we must be seekers of the same; and for
the increase of the new nature of Christ, we must at the same time forsake the
desires of the old nature. All of that will require some of our focus, our time,
and our resources. John 3:30 (KJV) “He must increase, but I [must] decrease.”
Vying constantly for dominion are the desires and needs of our natural lives. In
these changing times, we have to cope with the soaring price increases in gas,
groceries, utilities, taxes, health care, and insurances, along with many salary
and job cutbacks. Multitudes of people have already lost their homes, their
means of transportation, and their comfortable lifestyles. None of these natural
setbacks is as devastating as the spiritual setbacks and loses suffered when we
fail to keep ourselves in Christ. Though it may not seem obvious at first, the
outcome of Spiritual recessing is always a fall. Though the timetable is
different than that in the natural, there are still only two choices to make
each day: Spring forward, or Fall back.
-Kurt Thurston
June
Newsletter 2008 |
Restoration
Pastor's Journal 2007 |
Spring Forward or Fall Back
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Biblical
Counseling for Leaders
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