January 05, 2022
Greetings and blessings to all of you and a Happy New Year. What does Christ expect of us this New Year? To share the Word because The Word says in 2 Peter 8:9 “He is being patient toward you not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” Know this… nobody goes to heaven because they are good, and nobody goes to Hell because they are bad. Your eternal destiny is determined by whether or not you have believed in Jesus Christ and trusted in His sacrifice on the cross as the one and only payment for your sins. Once we become Christians our sins are forgiven and our salvation is assured. However, as we know we still have our sin natures and we will sin occasionally not as a lifestyle. That is why Christians are told to continually judge themselves in what we call the Believers Self-judgement. “Test yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Examine yourselves.” (2 Cor. 5:6) Christians are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. While we will never achieve a “state of sinless perfection” in this life we as Christians now have the Holy Spirit residing within and thus have the spiritual discernment and capability to live for the glory of God. We are to judge ourselves for our adherence to the principles outlined in Scriptures not living as hypocrites. And when we fall short ask for forgiveness then repent.You and I since we are saved, we have the power of God in us to not only raise Jesus from the dead but us as well. We are now able to live this life in the power of the living Christ who lives in us as the Holy Spirit. God expects Christians to grow. The Lord does not want us to be content with only the basics of the faith, the essential gospel that saves us. As we are able, we should seek to grow in the breadth and depth of our knowledge of the faith. A lack of committed discipleship can dull our spiritual senses and even move us backward in the school of Christ. This year do not let this be true for you. “Though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk not solid food for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child” Heb. 5:11-13
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC