Abiding N Him

One of the hardest things for me to get through my “thick skull,” is the aspect of Abiding in Christ. I believe His Word, where Jesus states to come and Abide in Me -John 15: 4,7. Abiding in Christ is an easy statement to say, and even counsel others to do, but it is an altogether thing to live it out. Abiding in Christ is the greatest place to live; when a person is allowing Christ to rule in one’s life they are truly blessed. It is a place where we are told to remain, but for the most part we seldom do.

Abiding in Christ is living in Christ, and it is all about who is in control of your life. One minute I have found myself in God’s Word and fellowshipping with Him as He is totally in control of my life. And then honestly the NEXT minute I have taken over and I am living in the flesh. I don’t know when the switch was made, but I definitely know it was made. This frustrates the fire out of me! I look back over that specific timeline and try to figure out when and why the switch happened. Ultimately the switch happened when I decided to “take over” my life again. This is a terrible thing to do! Christ has the best for me; He died and bought me, therefore I am to be His. When I am His, I am abiding in Him and Him in me.

Living in Christ brings freedom to your life. I know it sounds backwards, but allowing Christ to rule in your life truly does bring freedom. You are free to not do all the things that ensnare you. Sin ties and binds you, and when Christ is ruling in your life, you are free not to sin. Sin brings heartache; it is the one thing that breaks fellowship with Jesus. Therefore when He is in charge of your life and He is making the decisions for you, you are free.

As you read this think about your day today or maybe yesterday. Did you talk with your Savior? Did you allow Him to rule your life? I can’t say this enough, He has the best for you! He desires for you to flourish. He wants you to live life abundantly. Remain in Him and you will!

Today, be His! Rest in Him; He will not fail you!

Brian

Full Day but a Great Day

I truly don’t know of a more exciting time in the life of a church as when there is a baptism. We had today at Riverbend! We had 3 people come to express a desire for baptism. Each of the three were in different stages in life, but all babes spiritually.

When a man sees the err of his ways and gives his life to Christ is beautiful. Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to share with one such man. A man who has made a mess of his life and marriage by choices that he willingly made. But also one that who a week ago gave his life to Jesus Christ to be his Lord. Seeing the “light” come on, is such a sight and it pumps you up to see it happen more.

Liz Alexander had this same opportunity as she led a fourth grader to Christ. Where one of her questions was, “Are you going to hold me under a long time?.” Well I didn’t keep her down long and all went well.

Today was also a great day in that we presented the church family with the names of men we will vote on in the coming weeks to serve on Riverbend’s Leadership Team. I can’t wait to see these men serve and to serve along side them in the coming days.

Off and Blogging

The summer is coming to an end, even though the heat is still here. As the summer ends that means another “growth time” for church attendance. The start of the fall and spring are both opportunities for folks to get back into the swing of church. What is interesting is that we have averaged more people in the summer for the last two summers than we have during the school year. Most any church growth guru would tell you that can’t happen. Well it has happened two years in a row. I really don’t know what to say as to why it has happened. All I want to see is that Riverbend Church will capitalize on all the guests that we have seen this summer. I know that every guest will not get plugged into Riverbend, because Riverbend is not for everyone. We will continue to stay outward focused so that those who come to Riverbend will be welcomed and will know what our vision/mission is to see if they want to be a part of what God is doing at Riverbend.

We are looking for a new building, and this is a great thing. God has blessed over recent days with a number of new people as well as a great enthusiasm amongst the members. The new facility will be one that almost doubles our space for kids and worship. We are praying that God will open the door for that soon so we can capitalize this fall to see even more come to Riverbend to hear the Gospel.

Riverbend Church has turned a corner this summer in that we constituted as a church. This is huge! We are so excited about the coming days, I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.

I look forward to writing of all the things God is showing me as well as all that He is doing at Riverbend.