God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit

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Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Authentic and Joy-filled

 Morning folks, I was reading the last chapter of Dale Sellers' book Stalled this morning and He writes about being authentic and joy-filled. He says, "People need to see an authentic and joy-filled church in today's cynical culture." And then he goes on to say, "This happens when authentic, joy-filled pastor is leading it." Wow, I found those word challenging. 

As I read those words I had to ask myself am I authentic? Why do I preach and teach God's Word. What is my heart like when I study His Word or when I pray. Authentic mean genuine, original, real, actual. Am I genuine in my love for God? Am I real when I worship? Do I actually believe what I preach every Sunday morning? Is my relationship with the God-Head real? As I look at that statement, it hits me that these are questions all of us should be asking ourselves as Christians. Is my walk with Christ Jesus authentic?

Now, what about the joy-filled part? I have to confess this part seems to have been giving me trouble lately. As a matter of fact in my journaling I had to ask am I joy-filled or am I freaking out about our churches lower number lately. And if I'm freaking out am I really being joy-filled? Of course I know joy-filled doesn't mean we go around all the time with a smile on our face and a song in our heart. But ask yourself, "Does being a follower of Christ Jesus fill you with joy?" 

I think more times than not lately I tend to be less joy-filled than I should be. Why is that because I lose sight of who it is that I serve and why I serve Him. I let outside circumstances affect my in-side joy. When this happens my prayer is, "I do trust You Father, let me rest in that trust and help me to listen to You."

May the Lord find you authentic and joy-filled today.

A Panhandle Pastor


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