How to Build Up

 Build up. Build up the church. Build up each other. Build up yourselves. When I was little in Bible class every Sunday we sang about how the wiseman built his house on the rock, while the foolish man just built his house on the sand. We don’t want to be fools! Just like the wiseman, our foundation needs to be on the rock - Jesus Christ and his teachings.  

 

So, how can we build up the church? Matthew 28:19 commands, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” If we do this, we are building the church. We can build up the church through sending missionaries to other countries and backing up the work with prayer and support. 

 

There was once a new Christian who was in East Africa who was eager to serve. He and his friend started a church under a tree in his own back yard. The church there grew and now there are hundreds of Christians in that part of East Africa. More than a dozen churches have been established all because one man shared the gospel with his neighbors. Through the love of God this man started a strong church that is still growing. I want to build up a church like that.  

 

A weak church will struggle to evangelize and build up other congregations. So we should work to build each other up. Hebrews 3:13 tells us, “but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Encourage one another. Help each other to constantly stand up to sin. 

 

In recent years covid-19 struck. When the church did video worship it led to some not returning to worship at all. Our work is to build those people back up. We fail them when we choose not to reach out to them. We can avoid such failures by praying for them, talking with them, and even taking them to lunch to chat. We must put in the effort to build each other up. 

 

How do we build ourselves up? We can’t build up the church if we aren’t building up ourselves. Jude 1:20 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most Holy faith, praying in the Holy spirit.” We can build ourselves up by praying, reading the Bible, taking communion, singing, and learning more about God.  

 

I know that I always feel much better focused on spiritual things when I go to Christian gatherings, like devotionals or Bible studies. I also love going to the FHU lectures, Polishing the Pulpit, and Lads to Leaders convention where I can be around lots of other people who love God too.

 

Whether we’re talking about the church, each other, or ourselves, building up takes action. Nehemiah took action to build a wall for Jerusalem. Zerubbabel took action to rebuild the temple. We too must take action to rise up and build!  It may seem like a big task, but as Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

Adoption

Hello! This is the boy king and I would like to talk about adoption. Several years ago my family considered adoption. At first I was a little scared, as well as exited. When we finally got her I had a mix of emotions. She ate whatever you gave her, and wanted to eat ALL the time. She had had a broken leg just before coming home and when she fell or got hurt at home she didn't cry. She would just freeze. She hit herself a lot and couldn't hear in one ear. She has a lot of special needs. At first I was confused about her. She didn't act like a typical 3 year old. Then she became a part of the family. After 3 years she is now just like the rest of us with some speech issues. Our whole family LOVES her. Love sure can change everything!


While I have my opinion of adoption, our golden standard of truth should be the Bible. What does the Bible say about adoption? James 1:27 reads, "religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Also john 14:18, "I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you." I am thankful God chose me as His child and we chose Gracie as ours.

Gingerbread Jo

God cares for us, loves us, and is still working on us to make us like He wants.  Have you ever made a gingerbread man? I have. You know how you have the image in your head for how it will turn out? That's kind of like what God has in His head; He has an image for who we will be, and what we will achieve. 

Just remember to be open to what God wants. Like the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50, nothing ever seemed to go right for him. First, his brothers tried to kill him and sold him into slavery, then he was good for awhile. However, soon, he was sent to prison. Later he got out of prison and became very important in Egypt and with his status saved his people. We see how God used Joseph. Imagine what he could make us into.

Against the Darkseid

        Have you ever seen a super hero movie or read a superhero book? They are all so different but one thing tends to be the same; the epic battle between good and evil. Did you know that it's the same way in real life? No,  I'm not saying that you are going to have to fight Thanos, Darkseid, Or Darth Vader, but you WILL have to fight something much more real and much more scary. Sin. Sin is the most deadly thing known to man or even in comics. All those people I just mentioned didn't their sin catch up with them? In any scenario the result of sin is Death.

Luckily for us there are forces of good too. In comics it may have been The Avengers, The Justice League, Or The Rebellion. It doesn't matter what universe or galaxy you may be in, there is always good. If Sin and Satan are the bad guys in real life then who are the good guys? In our case, our Avengers are the God Head; the Father,  Son, and Holy Spirit. How can we join the fight against evil? We may not have a magic ring or hammer, But we DO have a sword. It is the most powerful sword ever. It is stronger than the force or the infinity stones. It is called the Bible. So next time you see sin on the horizon, unsheath your sword. You'll put sin on the run.

BAPTISM AND WHAT TO DO AFTER

         Hello this is The Boy King. Last Saturday Tennessee beat Alabama 52 to 49. You celebrated, tore down a goal post, and likely did a victory dance while we cried and died. Both teams made good plays but only one team won. 

         Now this is just a game but with baptism you also have to make the right plays, otherwise you lose. This isn't a game you can lose 'cause if you lose this game you lose for eternity. So how do you make the right plays?

Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Be Baptized, and live how God wants you to . How do you live how God wants you to? By following the acts of worship witch are Sing, Pray, Teach, Comune, and Give. Those are the plays to make to win the game.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FELLOWSHIP

             Hello this is the Boy King. Have you ever not wanted to go to church, or wanted to stay home and sleep? Have you pretended to be sick and your parents see right through it as they always do? Have you ever just not felt like going and had that forlorn feeling? 

            I can tell you that you will feel a lot better if you go. Proverbs 27:17 reads, "as iron sharpens iron so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." At church we challenge each other to be better. We sharpen each other even when it isn't pleasant. 

            While we need to sharpen one another we also need to do it kindly. Let's see how Jesus would handle it . In John 4,where He talks to a Samaritan woman, first He talked to her and then he gained her trust. Last, He told her what she was doing wrong . This summer I was playing gaga ball when the ball hit me and I didn't feel it . Everyone was telling me I was out. I didn't listen but then one of my friends told me and I listened . 

Sharpen one another and have fellowship. We need church to be the best christians we can be.