19 WAYS TO TANGIBLY IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD TODAY
BY Neal Pollard
Minister at the Bear Valley church of Christ
1) Try to spend 5 minutes of prayer in which you do nothing but praise Him.
2) Do something for Him that requires you to step out of your comfort zone—initiate a conversation with a stranger, give a tract to a co-worker you’ve been talking with, etc.
3) Have a devotional with your family.
4) Call a shut-in or stop by and visit a widow(er).
5) Write a missionary, expressing appreciation and giving encouragement.
6) Anonymously give a sacrificial amount of money for a family in need or someone dependent upon support (school of preaching student or teacher, missionary, etc.).
7) Contact an elder, asking him something you could do to help them in their work.
8) Make a list of at least 20 blessings God has given specifically to you.
9) Speak to someone at church services you have never spoken to before.
10) Invite a family from church you don’t know well over for dinner.
11) Put a packet with bottled water and granola bar, along with a tract, into a Ziploc bag to give to the person at the intersection asking for assistance.
12) Pick out a Bible book you are unfamiliar with and start breaking it down, looking for key words, purpose statement, and other clues to better understanding it. Take copious notes.
13) Pray for someone you are having problems with, an enemy, critic, or one who has offended you.
14) Alone or with your spouse and/or children, sing several songs of praise and admonition.
15) Carry a meal to a young mother who has had a difficult day.
16) Give a big smile and warm greeting to a fellow shopper or employee at a store or restaurant.
17) Ask the secretary for a list of last Sunday’s visitors and send them each a warm, brief note.
18) Think of an area for spiritual improvement in your life and ask God to help you focus on it, being transparent and sincere as you petition Him.
19) Ask the person closest to you (parent, spouse, sibling, etc.) something they need for you to pray for on their behalf.
Can you think of additional ways?
By Neal Pollard
Minister at the Bear Valley church of Christ
The interesting visitor at our devotional last night, a chocolate lab named Bear that someone dropped off with Aaron and Kylee Melton as she dealt with a personal crisis, reminded me of another “dog at church” story from my youth. Back in the mid-’70s, when my dad was the preacher at the Rockmart, Georgia, church of Christ, there was a Collie dog that apparently knew our schedule of services. Faithfully, rain or shine, summer or winter, she would be out on the front steps greeting all the members and visitors. She wasn’t allowed inside the building, but she’d dutifully lay on those steps until we were finished with services. Then, she would cheerfully bid us all goodbye. When the building was locked up and everyone had left, this convicted canine would make her way back home. I don’t know how many years this went on for, but the notoriety of the “church of Christ” dog was seemingly known throughout the community.
One Sunday, my dad preached a sermon about this dog. His application was brilliant and uncanny. She was always “at church,” no matter what. Surely she was mistreated or had a crossword hurled at her at some point, since, incredibly, not everyone is a dog person. Her faithful presence was a great example to the community. She greeted everyone freely, not just a select few. She didn’t seem to distinguish by age, gender, race, or income status. If she was not there, as it apparently was on an occasion or two, everyone noticed and was concerned. He probably said more, but that I remember this much nearly 40 years later indicates how impressive the object lesson was. Paul told the Colossian Christians that their faith and love was renowned and well-reported (Col. 1:4). The Jerusalem church very quickly had favor among all the people (Acts 2:47). The Thessalonians were a notable example throughout their region of the world (1 Th. 1:7). As we line up our goals and resolutions for this new year, why not determine, as the whole body and as individual members of it, to make that clear and deep an impression on the people in our lives and those who chance to encounter us. Dogs are renowned for their faithfulness. So should Christians be (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).
At the close of the twentieth century, theologians in Germany began discussing “theologie im zeitalter der cafeteria-religion,” theology in the age of cafeteria-religion. (See, for example, the essay by that name in Theologische Literaturzeituug 121 (1996), 415-30)
Cafeteria religion results from believers abandoning a standard authority. They, instead, pick and choose mismatched elements from a variety of faiths. The results can be strange indeed.
Describing the situation in Germany, Ingolf U. Dalferth wrote in the April 2000 issue of Theology Today:
Every seventh person believes in magic and witchcraft, every third person considers the future predictable, and if Der Spiegel is right, then there are more seers and fortunetellers offering their services than all Protestant and Catholic clergy put together. One thing is indisputable: Religion has not lost its fascination, but the church has lost its power of attraction.
Newsweek, in its November 28, 1994 cover story “The Search for the Sacred,” highlights the same patchwork spirituality taking root in America.
Lacking a clear pattern to follow, people wander like sheep without a shepherd. Without the restraining influence of Scripture, religion gets weirder and weirder.
When the Israelites rejected God at the base of Sinai, they worshiped the Golden Calf and embraced immorality. We see the same trend today. When people stop looking to Scripture they fill the void in their lives with religion on their own terms.
By Neal Pollard,
Minister at the Bear Valley church of Christ
Tomorrow, most of us will be able to celebrate the Labor Day Holiday. That means, ironically, that most of us will have a day off from–well–labor. Schools and workplaces across the nation will shut their doors and many will be off for their last “summer vacation.” Friday, an anticipated 3 million passengers took to the friendly skies to enjoy the long weekend. We can either thank Peter McGuire or Matthew Maguire for being the mastermind of this holiday, both secretaries for New York labor unions who made significant efforts to recognize a day for American workers.
The U.S. Department of Labor has published a lot of useful information about this holiday, which it states was started as a “national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country” (dol.gov). It was a local observance in the northeast at the height of the Industrial Age, though Oregon was the first state to pass statewide legislation to observe the holiday. That same year, 1887, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York followed suit. In 1894, Congress made it a legal holiday to be celebrated on the first Monday of September.
In the early days, there were picnics, street parades, speeches by prominent men and women, and “Labor Sunday” which was “dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement” (ibid.). The first parade, in New York City in 1882, had up to 20,000 marchers as well as “Windows and roofs and even the lamp posts and awning frames…occupied by persons anxious to get a good view of the first parade in New York of workingmen of all trades united in one organization” (ibid.).
I find it interesting that we honor works with a day of rest and that the holiday itself has seen a shift in emphasis and expression. That’s neither a complaint nor criticism. I intend to enjoy Labor Day with Kathy, taking the vacation day given to me in my working agreement.
But, as we celebrate this national holiday, it’s fitting to recognize the hard work done by so many in this congregation. When you teach Bible classes, lead in worship, decorate bulletin boards, provide transportation to services, stock our pantry, do work on our facilities, engage in soul-winning efforts, practice hospitality, serve officially as church leaders (whether elders, deacons, or someone else tasked with some work), prepare the communion, clean the kitchen, organize the teacher’s work room, go on mission trips, make visits, handle church finances, coordinate worship, serve as ushers and greeters, host youth devotions, or the many, many other things you do, you are doing honored work. Jesus taught that greatness comes through service (Mat. 20:25-28; Jn. 13:12-17). New Testament writers honored those who work among us, Paul urging us not to “be weary in well doing” (Gal. 6:9) and to “always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58, NIV). Often, Scripture speaks of the Godhead working. It instructs us to be “to the work.” Enjoy the holiday tomorrow. Yet, in the general, ongoing sense, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (Jn. 9:4).
Labor on, brothers and sisters!
Take a Minute to Pray
By G. E. Watkins
It’s Monday morning and you’re a Christian. If you think about it for more than a minute there’s a good chance that you feel inadequate in your prayer life.
For some reason Christians don’t apply principles that work in all other areas of life to their spiritual lives. No one expects a new father to know what a grandfather knows. No one expects a rookie ball player to know what a veteran knows. Yet, for some reason Christians read about Jesus praying all night, and, knowing that they can’t do that, just give up on prayer as a regular part of their lives. They end up only praying in emergencies and at the dinner table. What are those principles that Christians don’t apply?
1.Start with the basics.
2.Practice them regularly.
3.Seek regular improvement.
I’d like to see anyone make the argument that God requires more. Look here:
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11).
God doesn’t expect more than your ability
By Neal Pollard
Marge Singleton and Merle Kilgore co-wrote a song that was a hit for Teresa Brewer at the end of the “doo-wop” era, entitled “He Understands Me.” The heart of the lyrics, which are repeated, is: “He understands me the way you never did. He loves me the way you never did.
He takes the time to notice I’m around. He builds me up, he never lets me down.” This is obviously a song about young love and a young woman who has found somebody much better than her “ex.” This is the age-old complaint of many a man and woman, of feeling taken for granted.
But in the most important relationship, you can have, you have Someone who understands you better than you understand you. He wants a relationship with you and He went further to prove it than anyone else ever will or could. He left a place of safety to suffer. He left a position of supremacy to be a servant. He left the peer-ship of sovereignty for submission. He limited Himself to humanity without surrendering His deity to save the most important of every person, including you. Because He successfully navigated the perils of this life, He can offer you eternal life.
Meanwhile, there are daily benefits for you because “the Word became flesh” (John 1:1-2,14).
Intercession. Paul says, “Who is the one who condemns (cf. lays a charge against God’s elect, 33)? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34). The Hebrews’ writer adds, “He always lives to make intercession for [those who draw near to God through Him]” (Heb. 7:25). He earnestly appeals to God with urgency and intensity for you. Try to picture that. He’s addressing God for you!
