Anyone can have a spiritual high.
It is easy to trust God when the prayer is answered, the relationship is strong, the bills are paid, and the future looks promising. It is easy to worship when you just received good news. It is easy to serve when people notice your effort and thank you for it.
Faithfulness becomes harder when the emotions fade, and life does not improve as quickly as you hoped.
There is something about waiting for an important event that changes the way we live before it arrives.
When parents are expecting their first child, they do not wait until the baby is born to begin preparing. They paint the nursery, buy a crib, install a car seat, rearrange schedules, and rethink the family budget. The baby has not arrived yet, but the certainty of what is coming has already begun to reshape their priorities.
That is the picture Paul gives us of the Christian life. Jesus has promised that He will return. We do not know the day or the hour, and we cannot control when it happens. But the certainty of His return should change the way we live right now.
If you've spent any amount of time around church, you've probably heard someone talk about being "saved." Maybe you've heard someone say, "I got saved when I was seventeen," or "Have you been saved?"
For some people, that language feels completely normal. For others, it feels confusing, outdated, or even a little strange.
Saved from what?
In this series, we have discussed what we believe as a church. We have studied and broken down a lot of beliefs and ideas that have existed since the beginning of the world. We have looked at the mistakes mankind has made and how God made a way for us to return to Him. We have discussed what we are supposed to be doing right here and now as the church.
Today and next week, we will be looking to see what God has up his sleeve for the future. What He has promised us is still to come.
Today we are concluding our series of posts about sharing your faith. We have been discussing individuals involved with the story of Jesus going to the cross. Today we will be looking at sharing our faith with people that have Identity Issues. We will approach this through the lens of Mary Magdalene.
