I am going to begin participating in the #weekendcoffeeshare on WordPress. These are going to be special posts going along with the theme shared by the Daily Post –
“Each weekend, bloggers publish posts about what they’d say to their readers if they were sitting down together over a cup of coffee. Some bloggers do it every weekend, while others dip in and out.”
As a point of clarification, I hate coffee. So while you are drinking your coffee, I would probably have a soda or fruit smoothie.. Just saying.
While I sip on my virtual Mountain Dew, I want to share with you a few things God has been teaching me this past week:
1. Pride is subtle yet exceedingly dangerous.
I am preaching this Sunday at The Rescue Church. Teaching the Bible is one of the ways God has gifted me. I absolutely love spending time reading slowly and meditatively through the Scriptures while pondering how God’s timeless Word applies to our lives today. I will be teaching on Exodus 14:10-18 and I am absolutely PUMPED to be doing so!
But can I make a confession?
Often I turn my gifting into my god and seek to worship it.
I released a Facebook status on Monday sharing that I had the honor of preaching on Sunday. Rather than getting one “like” because I forced my wife to do so, over 12 people shared it and invited friends to church (and they weren’t even related to me!) My first reaction was to applaud myself for the platform I had built among my church community… This is simply evidence of pride and spiritual arrogance in my walk with Christ.
The only platform I should be building is Christ’s. If I get opportunities along the way to teach about Him, the teaching should be about HIM.. not my cleverness or preaching techniques.
Pride is extremely subtle and can turn good things into god things. Are you worshiping the gift or the Giver?
2. True faith which brings salvation is practical and full of good works.
I wrote a paper this week for seminary which answered the question on how good works and faith interact when it comes to our final salvation. Specifically, I used James 2:14-26 which SEEMS to contradict that salvation comes through faith alone and grace alone.
Ultimately, faith is a gift that comes from God. The same way that a child does not decide when to be born but it is the will of its parents; Christians do not decide when to be saved but it is the will of God (see James 1:18).
True faith which comes about through the Gospel will reveal itself in practical acts of service to fellow man. If you claim to be a Christian but have a heart that is cold and distant from the pain of humanity, you are deceiving yourself and your faith is useless, dead, and impractical.
We are not saved BY works but we are saved FOR works.
What opportunities has God placed in your life to serve your fellow man?
How was your week? I’d love to have you take a break from the caffeinated beverage you are drinking and tell me about YOU. What has God been teaching you this past week? What was difficult? What brought joy? Let me know by leaving a comment!
Tyler Ramsbey 
So Hi Tyler
This is Aunt Indiana Diane. This week I have been thinking about how it’s not about me or the church as a place but about what we are doing to make disciples for Jesus. If we get too caught up in our building or our programs or our talented muscians or pastors we can forget about why we are called in the first place. It’s easy to have the best intentions and get caught up in the running of the church and lose our joy- the joy of salvation that is our strength.
I agree. The Christian life is simple but not easy! We are called to follow Jesus and love others.. yet its far easier for us to get distracted by secondary issues!
This week I have been reminded of just how generous our God is with mercies and blessings and that He blesses us so we can share those blessings with others. Just as we are to share the Good News, we are to share His blessings daily.
Amen! Thanks for sharing Sue!