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For the past five weeks we have been in the series, “I Want A New Marriage.” I have been amazed at the response. So many people communicated with me that I have lost count, but the majority told me that this series was perfectly timed and it was just what they needed. Yesterday we had a giant wedding/vow renewal ceremony that was just off the charts. It was a fun, helpful, biblical, life-changing series.

Next Sunday we begin a new series called “Unspoken.” This series will be at the McDonough and the South campuses. The series will be out of John 17 and is based on the prayer of Jesus. Our goal is to make you a better follower of Christ, to demystify prayer, and to teach how to have a regular, meaningful, and powerful prayer life. You can pray and have your prayers answered! You do not want to miss it.

See you Sunday.

Ritchie

This past Sunday we began a new message series entitled, “I Want A New Marriage.” It is off to a great start and there is more interest in this series than in any we have done in a long time. I have been literally inundated by couples who have let me know that they need this series desperately right now. We will end the series on August 29th with a wedding/vow renewal ceremony as a part of the services. I really hope you will attend and bring someone with you.

On August 15th we will incorporate a question and answer time at the end of each service. I want you to send your questions to me by writing them on your Communication Card and placing it in the offering on Sundays, by emailing it to me @ newmarriage@avalonchurch.net, or by texting your questions to 678.590.1467.

Have a great day!

Ritchie

Often we complain about work. The truth is some work stinks. (Have you ever watched Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe? Love that show) It is also true that God placed a curse on the ground as a part of penalty of sin. He said that man would earn his bread or living by the “sweat of his brow.” The Bible is filled with stories about people who abused work, manipulated people at work, and made work to become idolatrous because they began to worship their work or what it produced.

However, work is a good thing. God gave man work before the fall. It was a part of God’s plan for man to “multiply and fill the earth” and to “rule over it and subdue it.” Think of this:

• Man is created in God’s image
• God worked (6 days He created)
• God commanded the man and the woman to work
• Work is for God’s glory
• God created us with gifts and creativity to be used for His glory
• When I do not use my gifts it is sin
• Work gives us meaning
• Work makes rest and pleasure possible
• We are to work “as unto Christ and not unto man”
• The NT tells us how to work properly, even for a bad employer
• Work produces economies, governments, money, and products that are to be used for God’s glory
• We will work throughout eternity – serving Christ (I believe the greatest art, music, etc. will be produced in eternity when we are fully redeemed back to God and all creation is fully redeemed)

So get up and work today! Do your best.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

Ritchie

Have you ever asked, “Where did the time go?” Have you or someone you know ever said, “It seems like it was just yesterday…” I know. Time flies. The older I get the faster it seems to go.

Here is the point. Your most precious commodity is time. You only have so many ticks of the clock before you run out. Make the most of your time. Manage it well. Live for a purpose – for God’s purpose. Do not procrastinate. Don’t wait. Do it now. Pursue the degree. Start the project. Go out with your spouse. Take your kids to the game. Go to church. Serve. Give. Get involved now. Surrender your life to God today. Receive Christ now.

If you wait it could be too late.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16-17 (ESV)

Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Hebrews 9:27 (MES)

Ritchie

We all are tempted to compare our life with others. We do it all the time. Put two toddlers in a room full of toys and watch the fallen human condition take over. Is your sweet child content with her toys, even though she has more than she can play with? Are you kidding? In fact, I have seen my own children have every toy in the room but one, the one the other kid is playing with, and go ballistic to try and get that one.

I wish I could say that we grow out of this when we become adults. In many ways we get worse. Our new house, new car, new clothes, new hair-do, new gadget, or new whatever is good until we see someone else’s. It works the other way, too. We get filled with pride, not because we have something, but because we have more of it than someone else – talent, beauty, intelligence, money, position, prestige, or whatever. The Bible is filled with stories of people we look up to who had this problem. Sarah was jealous of Hagar her servant (Genesis 16). Leah was jealous of Rachel her sister (Genesis 29). King Saul was jealous of the teenager, David (1 Samuel 18). Peter was envious of the way John was going to die (John 21)! Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives because they wanted people to think they gave more money than they actually did (Acts 5).

When we compare, we lose. Comparing your marriage, your children, your ministry, your job, your talent, your stuff, you’re your calling, your position, or your title is a losing proposition. In fact, it is sin. It only leads to jealousy, pride, envy, discouragement, or discontentment. We all have a tendency to think that other people have it a whole lot easier than we do anyway. I have been a pastor long enough to know that I do not want to trade problems with anybody.

So how do you deal with this? The Bible says to be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” Notice that the focus in these verses is on God. How can I become content? By finding true godliness and focusing on Him. By gaining God’s perspective on things. Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we do this by giving our body, mind, and will to God as a living sacrifice. We need to read the Bible to let God begin to transform the way we think. When we do this, it changes everything.

Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Have a great day.

Ritchie

I recommend that you read Living By The Book, by Howard and William Hendricks. It will show you how a normal person can read the Bible and understand it. It is a wonderful book and is easy to understand.

Here are some questions that you should ask yourself when you read a passage of Scripture:

1) What does this say about God?
2) What does this say about me and my fallen nature?
3) What does this say about Jesus Christ?
4) What does God want me to know?
5) What does God want me to do?

This should help the Bible come alive to you.

Happy reading.

Ritchie

I think one thing that causes people to fail at being consistent in Bible reading is that they do not pray and ask God for help in understanding it. God does not want the meaning of the Bible to be a secret. He wants you to understand it. The problem is not so much that we do not understand but that we do not want to do what we understand it to say. “Be kind to one another” is not hard to understand but it is hard to practice sometimes.

Before you read, say a prayer and ask God for His help in understanding and obeying what the Bible says. I promise you that this will help the Bible become alive to you (Hebrews 4:12-13). Pray something like this and see if it helps:

Dear God, I ask you to help me to understand what I read today. I ask Your Holy Spirit to reveal to me what You want me to know about Yourself and Jesus Christ. Show me what You want me to know and what You want me to do. Help me to obey it completely today. Thank You for hearing me and speaking to me through the Bible. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Start praying this prayer and let me know if it helps.

Ritchie

Continued from yesterday’s post…

1. Choose a good time.

2. Choose a good place.

3. Choose a good translation.
Just because we have different English Bible translations does not mean that they are “different Bibles.” All English translations come from ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts and are God’s Word. The translations have the same meaning they just use some, not all, different words. My recommendation is that you use a good modern translation or paraphrase for devotional reading. A translation is actually translated from the original languages and a paraphrase, while not word for word accurate, does give us a good rephrasing or summary to help us understand better. While I love the beauty and poetic language of older translations like the King James Version I think a more modern translation is easier to read and understand. That is the point of reading the Bible. If you don’t understand it why even read it? I recommend you choose one (in order of my recommendation) of the following translations for devotional reading: the New Living Translation (NLT), the English Standard Version (ESV), the New International Version (NIV), the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), the New Century Version (NCV), or God’s Word Translation (GW). These are accurate and easy to understand. I also recommend reading paraphrases for devotional reading. My favorite paraphrase is The Message (MES). If you are looking for more scholarly reading use the New American Standard (NASB) or the New King James Version (NKJV).

4. Chose a good reading plan.
This is critical for your success. I think you can start out with five to ten minutes a day. The key is to find a good reading plan that you will stick with for a long time. The problem with random reading is that you do not get the full picture of the Bible and you will not understand it very well. If you are just starting you could start with reading the Psalms and Proverbs. A few minutes a day will help you. Or you could begin in the Gospels and read through beginning with Matthew. My best recommendation is to go to a website that has reading plans and choose one that you think you will stay with. In my opinion the best website for this is www.youversion.com. It has many reading plans and versions of the Bible. You can read from your computer, your phone, or even have it read aloud to you. Other websites I recommend are www.biblegateway.com and www.bible.com.

Have a great day.

Ritchie

Have you ever started reading the Bible and after a few days or a few weeks stopped? Don’t worry; it has happened to most Christians. Why is that? I believe the main reason is that we don’t really have a good plan.

Practical Tip # 2 – Read the Bible orderly.

If you are going to read the Bible you have to have a good plan or you will be inconsistent. Here are some pointers on setting up a good plan.

1. Choose a good time.
I have found that having a consistent time is critical for me to read the Bible regularly. I like to read the Bible early in the morning because I am a morning person. If you are not a morning person you probably should choose a different time. You can get up a little earlier but if you are not awake and aware you don’t get much from reading it. Choose a good time; during lunch, before work, when you get home from work, before you go to bed.

2. Choose a good place.
It needs to be a place where you can have no distractions. It can be anywhere that you have a few moments of peace and quiet.

3. Choose a good translation. (I will write more on this tomorrow)

4. Choose a good reading plan. (More tomorrow) strong>

Have a great day.

Ritchie

This week I will post a series of short blogs on reading the Bible. I am amazed at how few Christians read the Bible with any regularity. I think many are intimidated by it. Some think they cannot understand it. Others think it is dull and boring. Most probably think they just do not have time to read it. That simply will not do.

Think about this. God created the heavens and the earth by His Word (Genesis 1-2). Jesus Christ is the revealed Word (John 1). The Bible is God’s written Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). You could say that the Word created us, the Word was revealed to us, and the Word was written for us. It sounds like God created a “Word-centric” world, doesn’t it? The implication should be obvious. WE NEED TO READ THE WORD OF GOD.

Practical Tip # 1 – Read the Bible regularly.

I think the most important thing about reading the Bible is…reading it. You will never learn the Bible or grow to love the Bible unless you read it. The Holy Spirit will help you learn (John 14).

So make a decision right now that you are going to start or re-start reading the Bible each day. You need to be consistent with the time you choose because this will help you stay disciplined. If you are a morning person, read in the morning. If not, read at lunch, when you get home from work, before you go to bed, or any time that fits into a regular schedule. It does not have to be a lot. Start with five minutes and grow from there. It does need to be consistent, however.

Tomorrow I will show you how to set up a regular Bible reading plan and how to read the Bible orderly.

Have a great day.

Ritchie