Examples of the Kingdom

Colossians 3: 1-2

“Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Paul asks that the Colossians concentrate on eternal things, the things of God, rather than earthly things.  If you read further in chapter 3, you will discover that the Colossians had a whole list of “earthly things” that occupied their time.  

As a people of faith, we live in the world, but we are not of the world.  We belong to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom in which love, and mercy and forgiveness reign.  Our lives are to be an example of this kingdom to the rest of the world.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Examples of Faith

1 Thessalonians 1:3 

“3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When I think back over all the people that I have known in my life I remember a lot of the good things that they did.  These good works have been an inspiration to me over the years.  

But most of all, I remember the love in which they performed these things and the hope that they gave to me that, maybe, someday, I would know Christ the way they did.

Let all of our good works be examples of our faith and our love of Jesus Christ. 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Knowing Christ

1 John 1: 1-4

“1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.”

It is important that we read and study the life and teachings of Christ.  It is equally, if not more, important that we experience Christ; that we have a personal relationship with Him. Our witness to this world is dependent not only on our knowledge of Christ but our knowing Him.

When we know Him, not only will we testify by our words but through our lives. And with our whole being we will proclaim what we have seen and heard.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

What the Lord Wants

Micah 6: 6-8

“6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

We struggle to please God.  What does the Lord want?  Should we give him a clean, well groomed church?  Should we increase our giving?  Should we build a multi-purpose building?  Should we put in new carpet?  Should we start a new program?  Should we develop a new web site?  

The Israelites struggled with these same questions.  And the prophet Micah said (to paraphrase him), what the Lord wants first and foremost is a change in your hearts.  He wants you to be transformed into a new creation.   He wants you to live motivated by love; to become a child of God and to walk with Him daily.

And once this happens, everything else will fall into place.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Be Still

Psalm 46: 1-3, 10a

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult….“10 Be still, and know that I am God!”

Early morning is my favorite time.  Especially if it is raining.  I can sit with my coffee, read, and listen to the quiet sound of God’s voice.

Even though the world may be in chaos, we are to find time that we can be still and listen to God, so that we will know Him.

God can be found in stillness; not necessarily the stillness in nature, but the stillness in us.  If we are not still, if our soul is in turmoil, we will not find stillness anywhere.  

Take time to be still.  Quiet your soul.  Listen for God’s voice.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

The Example of Christ

1 Peter 1: 13-16

“13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

As Christians, we are called to be disciples of Christ.  Being a disciple means that we follow the teachings and the example of Christ.  In fact, we are to model our lives after the life of Christ.   

In order to do this we have to constantly study the life, the teachings, the sayings, and the miracles and actions of Christ.  It is good to know the entire Bible, but our primary example in all of the Bible is Christ.  

As disciples, we are to imitate Christ in the way we live, speak and act. We are to take off our old ways, our old habits, our old temperaments, our old ways of thinking and put on the life of Christ.

To do this takes a lot of prayer, study, worship, discipline and desire.  But we will still fall short if we rely solely on our own efforts.  As you pray and study and worship, invite the Holy Spirit to help conform you to the example of Christ.  

Your invitation will be accepted.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier

Finding the Narrow Gate

Matthew 7: 13-14

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate, and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

As a child I was part of an Easter egg hunt where the Easter eggs were just placed upon the ground for all to see.  There was no effort or ingenuity involved to find an egg.  Soon, everyone had a basket full.

And then there was the egg hunt where I only found a half dozen eggs after an hour of searching.  Some of my friends didn’t find any.  I think I treasured those six eggs more than the basket full that I had collected the year before.

When something is easy to find, many do not treasure it.  When something is hard to find, many lack the fortitude to search.

When we come to faith, it may be the result of many years of searching and wandering.

And then, finally, we are found.  And we are glad to enter the narrow gate and walk the narrow road.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier