Our only need

Do you want to do a lot of things for God?
Do you talk a lot about what you have done for God when talking to people?
Do you criticize and look down on other people who do not do enough evangelism or do enough ministry?
Do you have trouble listening to what God has to say to you?
Are you easily angered when things don't go according to your plans?
Are you secretly trying to work for God so you can manipulate him into doing what you want?

Realize this, God is not served with human hands. Even stones and nature do a better job at glorifying God than us, because when God tells stones to stay, they do not move, when he tell trees to grow, they grow, when God tells planets to spin in a specific path, they do so, and when God tells the ocean "You can only come so far" they dare not take one step further.

But often times we neglect his will. We will be so set on doing things for him that the things we do might not even be pleasing to him in the first place.

Folks, all we need is Christ. Did Paul not say that he suffered the loss of all things for the sake of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ? Yes he was a man who did a lot of ministry and sacrificed for God, but that's only as much as he saw the glory of Christ and his own weakness. His love was Christ, not doing a lot of stuff.

We are not great people. In fact, even the sins in our prayers and best thoughts are worthy to send us to hell. But thanks be to God, who sent Christ as a sacrifice for our sins, who satisfied God's anger towards us and reconciled us to God. Now we can call God father, if you are indeed in Christ.

So let go of the mentality and tendency to trust in our own efforts, and find rest in Christ, carry this burden of trying to please God by your flesh no more. Ask God to reveal to you the glory of Christ, and you will be glorifying him, because from glory to glory you will be transformed into Christ likeness.

Bible study and theology is a moral spiritual matter, not intellectual.

Please take some time to watch this video, where Tim Conway preaches on Hebrews 5.

Study theology to love

Simply put, theology is the science of God, it requires knowledge and rational thought. and Christians need to study theology. We need to grow in our knowledge of our Lord. The Bible commands it. 2 Peter 1:3-9 puts knowledge as an essential element in a pipeline that leads to love, and the life God desires for us is a life marked by love.

But we do need to keep these 2 things in mind:

• Our motivation of theological studies needs to be to love God and to love people
• We need to be Biblical

People are put off by theology because many theologically buff Christians are jerks. Using knowledge to bash others, looking down on people who have different convictions, seeking and desiring to argue and prove people wrong, and always wanting to fit everything into a system and having all their ducks line up in a row. Sometimes we rely so much on our head we become cold and cruel. It's ridiculous.

But on the other hand, the lack of knowledge destroys people (Hosea 4:6). Not knowing the attributes of God can be a very dangerous thing. For example, when church attenders are not taught the attributes of God because it is assumed that everyone already knows who He is, God will become something to be used to fulfill people's own ambition. People will put up a religious act or be led into behavior modification thinking if they are good enough then God will need to repay their debt. When suffering and misfortune come into their lives, they just walk away from the church.

So go and study theology. Read your Bible diligently. Don't let theologically buff jerks turn you off, but beware, lest knowledge becomes your god. Don't neglect your personal time with God, seek Him daily, commune with Him, see and taste the goodness of God that you have learned and studied. Let Him become more and more the lover of your being.

HCCF Grad Dinner 2012!

Hey CCF!

Grad dinner is coming up!
Let's get dressed up, come together for a nice meal, and celebrate what God has done in the Grads & in CCF.

Check your emails for more details regarding registration :)

A blast from the past... Grad Dinner circa 2011:

Veritas Forum @ Mac

Website: http://www.veritas.org/mcmaster

Ways to get involved:
1. Facebook
a) Change your profile picture to the Veritas poster (above)
b) Join the facebook event
c) Invite your friends!

2. Prayer
Starting Monday, January 9, through the week leading up to Veritas and the week of Veritas, there will be two prayer slots at the Div College Chapel from 10:30 to 11:30 or from 11:30 to 12:30. Pick a time slot, and show up to pray - every day except for Wednesday.

3. Attend Veritas events (bring a friend with you!)
MON (Jan/16): "The Gospel of Luke" performance 7:30pm @ 1280. Tickets are $5 each, sold through CCF or at Compass.
TUE (Jan/17): "4 Views on freedom: What is Freedom? How does one become free?" panel discussion on Jan/17 7:30pm @ ITB 137.
THU (Jan/19): "The reality of human slavery today" presentation on Jan/19 7:30pm @ MDCL 1105.
FRI (Jan/20): "Freedom cafe" coffeehouse on Jan/20 8pm @ CIBC Hall.
(All week): "Freedom art exhibit" @ MUSC atrium

In fear and trembling we are saved

Here are two thought provoking questions:
Is it possible for those who think they are not saved to be saved?
Is it possible for those who think they are saved to not be saved?

God's word is complete regarding our faith.
In one sense, salvation by grace through faith alone is a great truth, but on the other hand, doing good works is a must in a Christian's life. If we have no works and still live as unrighteous and sinful as before, we are deceiving ourselves and have no part in the kingdom.

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul wrote as much, if not more about how a Christian ought to live and act in this life as being saved by faith alone. (you can see this if you read his letters to the Corinthians, Galatians chapter 5, Ephesians 5, Romans, even Jesus says that those who love him obeys his commandments, those who do not bear fruit will be cut off and burned, those who are wicked will be thrown into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth etc...)

I do not write this to scare people or make them feel guilty, but we are called to be sober minded, Brothers and sisters, do not be deceived by the teachings of this world to conform to it's patterns. Do not go after things like status in school and in work, seeking honour from men, money, pleasure, sex, competition, laziness, and youthful passions for fun and games, but pursue Christ and seek to know him, seek to become holy and virtuous people who live with honor, truth, love, kindness, gentleness, and patience(This is a lifelong process of sorrow, hardship, and much struggling with flesh and sin). For Christ is the one whom we need to believe, not theology or ideas about him. These things are dead, and there is so much more to learn in Christ than justification through faith alone, because Christ is alive and is our life.

Constantly check to see if you are still in the faith, working out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works and wills within us. As Paul Washer puts it, this life is like a mine field, we cannot make it out alive unless we listen to God and obey him.

New Year's Resolutions?

If you're anything like me, you've practically given up on New Year's resolutions. You know... those goals that you absolutely convince yourself are going to happen this year: get fit, study harder, share the Gospel with that one person... And while, by God's grace, many of these things do become a reality, chances are, they don't and they just end up on next year's list.

But God put something on my heart this year and I hope it encourages all of you as well: it's ok if we fail, but we shouldn't let these failures cling on to our consciences. Why? Because Christ died to make us righteous in our Heavenly Father's eyes. Our salvation does not depend on our own efforts in improving ourselves, and praise God for that! I echo the words of Paul to the Philippian church when he said:

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thin I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14.

Failed to get jacked this past year? It's ok, Christ died for that! Still struggling with getting the marks you wanted? Christ died for that! Didn't get a chance to talk to your friend / family member about God? Christ definitely died for that! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you don't set goals at all. Set Christ-centered goals and rely on God's strength to get them accomplished. Pursue them, write them down and stick them somewhere visible, don't let yourself give up on them. I'll leave you with John Piper's perspective on New Year's resolutions:

"Renew the New Year’s covenant or make a new one. Write it down. Paste it on your bathroom mirror. Set a limit to it. And be sure to add this contingency clause: “If I fail, I will not mope around in despair. I will encourage my heart in God’s mercy, repent and start up again.” Future life is too precious. The possibilities of joyful service are too great to let yourself be paralyzed by the past."

Happy New Year everyone!! May God bless all of you abundantly in 2012!

With much love,

Your committee

Christmastime

Merry Christmas!!
~Ricky, Chris 3, Victoria & Yvonne

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:9-12

Because He deserves all the glory and honour

This past friday was CCF's last meeting of the year and we had a blessed time of praise and prayer. I was very blessed by the conversations that I was able to have with a few sisters, and was also very encouraged by the sharings that some of our fellow brothers and sisters had for the night. In particular, Matt's sharing about prayer and studying was a great reminder for me about the attitude of prayer and devotions. I find that during exam times, we often like to just focus our prayers on asking God for good rest and wisdom to do well. How easy it is to just rush through prayer and spend the next 10 hours studying and forgetting everything else! However, I was really reminded that we really should be striving to get through our studying because we desire to spend more time with our Lord. We shouldn't come before Him with the mind set that perhaps if we spend more time with Him, He will help us do better in school. But we should be spending time with Him simply because He deserves all the glory and honour no matter how we do in school. May it be our prayer that as exams approach that we will continue to thirst for His word, continue to praise and worship Him simply for who He is!

Worthy is the Lamb

Praise and prayer went a little differently tonight. We still had our time of praise, and we were able to share and pray for each other - but the sharing wasn't our typical 1-on-1 sharing time. Rather, we opened up the floor to the brothers and sisters in our fellowship to share about how God has been working in their lives, and also how God has been working through CCF to touch them.

Some notes from the sharings:
1.  Don't try to get your devos over quickly, so you can study; rather, get your studying over quickly so you can do your devos ~MCY
2.  Doing your devos should not be something you do grudgingly - find joy in doing devos! ~EL
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:3-7) ~CP
4. Take a moment to enjoy the sunset; Give praise to our creator ~YY
(n.b. or the sunrise, for the morning folks in our midst)
5. Challenge: learn something new about God every day ~CL
6.  The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Do you have a passion to seek God, to truly want to know him?~DW
7. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3) ~RZ

What a blessing and encouragement it is to hear from our brothers and sisters! All the honour, glory and praise be to God for his work in our fellowship. Truly, he is worthy of all our praise.

Worthy is the lamb

Seated on the throne

Crown you now with many crowns

You reign victorious

High and lifted up

Jesus son of God

The darling of heaven crucified

Worthy is the lamb

Image source