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29th November 2024
FridayReflection
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'John Stange'
'founder of Bible Study Headquarters and the
Lead Pastor'
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"Jesus will completely turn your life around"
When I'm preaching, I try my best to make good eye contact.
I have one friend who gets nervous if he has to look at the faces of those he's speaking to, so he primarily looks over their heads and at the back wall of the room he's speaking in.
That wouldn't work for me.
While I'm speaking, I'm actually trying to read people's faces to make sure I'm communicating clearly.
Generally speaking, that works well for me, but on occasion, it becomes very clear that certain people really don't want to be there or aren't interested enough in the teaching of Scripture to pay careful attention.
They make that clear by staring at their phones, staring out the windows, or falling asleep. Sometimes they even get a little aggressive.
I still remember when I was a relatively new pastor and catching a glimpse of someone sitting in the back of the church sanctuary on a Sunday morning with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed.
He was visibly angry and I could tell he didn't want to be there, but I also knew a little bit about his backstory.
He had no faith in Jesus and was angry about the fact that his fiancé had become a believer.
He also resented her growing involvement in church and was angry about what that might mean for their life together.
It was a little awkward to preach that morning with that man scowling at me the whole time, but in time, his attitude drastically changed.
A few months later, after reading Scripture that had been sent to him in the mail, he came to faith in Jesus Christ and his life completely turned around.
He went from hating Jesus and resenting the church to loving Jesus and becoming actively involved in church ministry.
Jesus delights to radically transform our lives.
He loves to take a life that's headed in one direction and steer it down a brand-new path.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
(Mark 1:14-15)
Having successfully completed this initial test, Jesus visited the town of Galilee and began making the message of the gospel known.
As He spoke to the people, He made sure they understood that there was no better day than today to trust Him and experience the kind of life transformation that the Holy Spirit delights to foster.
Jesus told them that the "time is fulfilled."
The long-promised day of His arrival had come.
The day they had eagerly anticipated every time they read the prophetic words of the Old Testament prophets had arrived.
Jesus also told the people to repent and believe in the gospel."
That's such a beautiful statement that I hope we'll give thought to as well.
If you're reading and hearing His words, and you don't have a relationship with Him, He's inviting you to turn away from your false beliefs and trust the good news of abundant and everlasting life that can only be found through Him.
And if you do have a relationship with Jesus, the message is the same and it's just as relevant for you today as it was the first day you trusted in Him.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
That's the ideal summary of what we're called to do every day of our earthly lives.
When you were a child, what did you think you were going to do for a career?
Did you get to do it, or did the Lord steer you in a different direction?
When I was young, I assumed I was going to own a grocery store like my father did.
Then the Lord made it clear to me that I was going to serve Him as a pastor, but because He's full of grace, He has also allowed me to teach, work in radio, and do some fun entrepreneurial activities on the side.
Now it may be true that at some point in your life, the Lord may call you to change your vocation because of a specific way He wants you to serve Him next, but for most of us, I believe His intention is to do amazing things through us in the midst of our current context.
Let Jesus transform you.
Don't give in to the tempting lies of Satan.
Repent and believe the gospel daily.
Trust the leading of God the Father, rest in the work of God the Son, and rely on the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit as you honour the work He is doing in your life by completing the mission He's given you in this world.
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This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
'John Stange'
is the founder of Bible Study Headquarters and the Lead Pastor of Core Creek Community Church in Langhorne, PA.
He has been serving in pastoral ministry for 26+ years.
John holds degrees in Bible, Education, and Counselling, and in addition to his pastoral work, teaches at Cairn University.
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