Welcome

Points from the Pastor's Pen

Dear Friend,                                                                                                                                          September, 2021

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5
“For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith.” 1 Thessalonians 3:5
        Great change is all around us! As we move from August to September, the seasons are changing! Summer is over and fall has begun! The atmosphere of our nation has changed! The spirit of fear now controls the
thoughts and emotions of many!
        With all of the changing going on around us, we need to examine this question: How are we changing?

Are we becoming more like Jesus?
Is our passion for Jesus increasing or decreasing?
Are we spending more or less time with Jesus?
Are we spending more time in prayer or less time in prayer?

What about our attitudes?
Are we becoming more generous or less generous?
Are we more patient or more crabby?
Are we more understanding or more judgmental?
Are we more forgiving or more unforgiving?

What about our personal temptations?
Are we gaining more control over our fleshly desires or are they gaining more control over us? As I write this I
am reminded of the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30 when he spoke about Jesus. His words were, “He
must increase and I must decrease.” Perhaps the ultimate question to consider about our personal change is this-Is Jesus increasing or decreasing in my life each day?

So how can we increase the presence of Jesus in our life each day? I only know one way. We must choose to
regularly practice Biblical disciplines. Following is a list of Biblical disciplines which when practiced out of a
right attitude will bring an increase of Jesus in our lives. Ask yourself which of these Biblical disciplines do I
regularly practice?

-Prayer                                        -confession
-fasting                                       -serving others
-The study of God’s Word       -Giving of my time, talent and tithe
-Memorizing Scripture            -Journaling
-Worship                                    -Going to Church

Leo Tolstoy said, “Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.” As the
times and seasons change, we can choose to change also, we can become more like Jesus as we allow the
Biblical disciplines to change us.

Your friend and Pastor

Joel Kallberg