The Relationship Choice: Week 5 of Life's Healing Choices

We are already on Week 5 of our life-transforming series. It has been a great experience so far and every week I have more people telling me about the positive impact this is having on their lives.

This is what it means to be a disciple-making church—creating the opportunities for people to take the steps to experience personal growth and transformation.  Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ and in your own personal transformation into Christ-likeness?  Are you helping others to come to know Christ and to grow?

Some Christians are turned off by these types of studies?  Why? Tell me (bmayhew@kbcnet.org).   

If you are a Christian who thinks, “This study is for someone else.”  “I don’t need this.”  It means that you are saying you have already reached maturity in Christ, and you do not need to be a part of helping others to reach maturity in Christ!  Of course this is an absolute contradiction.

You can be an obedient disciple-making Christian, if you are a part of these types of ministries.  By prayerfully and enthusiastically supporting our Sunday morning services and messages you are helping to create an atmosphere in which others can come into God’s presence and be open to what he wants to say to them and what he wants to do in their lives. 

If an unbeliever or someone who is hurting comes into our church, and the “Christians” are not passionate about the power of God to save and transform lives, what kind of encouragement will they have to trust and follow Christ?

By actively participating in the small groups you help to make a place where people can safely open up and share about their hurts, habits and hang-ups.  You help them to understand that God loves them and to know what God is doing in their lives.  You give them the encouragement to trust God and take the next step in their walk with Jesus Christ.

This week is such an important step in our spiritual and relational growth and development. Without making this choice and taking this step you will be never be able to experience true freedom in Christ.  I talked with a man this week who was leading a group in his church through this same type of series.  He said that when he got to this step, people started turning away.  It reminds me of the time that Jesus talked about his death and many of the people following him turned away (John chapter 6:52-66).  Don’t turn back from following Jesus.  This may seem like an impossible choice to make, but it is not.  It is actually a choice that will give you more peace and freedom than you have ever experienced in your life.

Here is this weeks healing choice:

"I evaluate all my relationships, offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me, and make amends for harm I've done to others except when to do so would harm them or others."

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy (Matt. 5:7).

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Matt. 5:9)

I encourage you to stay committed to this study. Victory goes to the ones who persevere. It is easy to start and quit, but don't do it, because you will miss out on so much.

One last thing—I want you to send me an email telling me about what God is doing in your life during this time, or about what you have seen God do in someone else’s life.  Your testimony will be an awesome tool for encouraging others to trust and follow Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Pastor Bruce