Patience during persecution

Corey,

For the first part of 2010, I am going to be writing letters on the book of James, one of my favorite books of the Bible. James 1:2-3 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” When we face troubles and trials it allows us to grow spiritually. In times of national trials or hardships many people start reading their Bibles. For example, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks the number of Bibles sold shot up. But trials do more than grow our faith, they grow our patience.

James 1:4 says, “Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Patience is an important virtue to have. Timothy 6:11 says, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”

James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.” God gives wisdom to us if we ask in faith. Patience and wisdom to understand God’s Word are both good things to have.

The point of this letter is to encourage you to have faith even through trials. We may not know why He allows us to face them, but we know they allow us to grow in Him.

Your BIC,

Nick

Unconditional Love

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." ~John 3:16

Nick,
Praise the lord for His infinite mercy! Praise Him for the greatest Sacrifice anyone could ever imagine! This letter is the last of the TULIP series. Oour Letter for today is "U": Unconditional Love. The whole Bible shouts this out. Even in passages like Num. 16:31-35 we see God's mercy. If you remember the passage, it talks about how the earth swallowed up Korah and those with him and afterwards how a fire consumed 250 men. Though this mainly shows His justice it shows mercy in that everyone there deserved to die. We all deserve to die. Our actions don't save us; they only prove that we do indeed deserve to perish. But God forgives us not seventy times seven, but seven million times seven million times seven million........ We are creations that have turned against their Maker, but instead of crushing us, He turns a few back to Himself. He cares not for what we have done, He knew we would do it before the foundations of the earth/ He instead cares about the heart and transforms it from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. He is truly a great God. We deserved death and He granted us life. we should have been cast from Him forever, but His love is so great that he draws us to Himself. Praise and thank Him constantly for His unconditional love! Praise the Lord!

Your Brother in Christ,
Corey

Tips on Evangelism

“For our Gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.” ~ 1 Thes. 1:5

Corey,

The above verse tells of how Paul preached the Gospel to the church at Thessalonica. While I know that a lot of the letters in the past have been on evangelism, I wanted to share 3 things we can do today to evangelize:

1) Regularly talk about God. In our everyday conversations we can reference God. It is easier to share the Gospel if you talk about God in your conversations. We should be able to share how the gospel has influenced our life.

2) Focus on the impacts. We should be able to share how the gospel has influenced our life.

3) Learn a summary of the gospel. In an earlier letter I talked specifically about a summary of the gospel. We should be able to share the gospel in five minutes.

I know there are more things that we can do, but I believe therse 3 are pretty good. However, when are we called to share the gospel?

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” ~ 2 Tim. 4:2

We are called to share the gospel everyday. We shouldn’t say, “I’ll evangelize tomorrow,” because God has said that judgment day will come as “a thief in the night.” I exhort you to share the gospel everyday, in your actions and words. Be ready to give an answer.

Your BIC,

Nick