John Markum

Signs that you ARE getting it

At the end of last week I shared a list of signs that you might not be getting it when it comes to your walk with Christ. I encourage you to check that out here. But today I wanted to share some of the signs that you are getting it:

  1. You are excited about bringing people you know to your church, and pray for them to receive Christ.
  2. When you hear the Word on your own or in church, you ask yourself, “What does this mean for me?”
  3. You feel guilty when, for one day, you miss out on your prayer time.
  4. You can’t be satisfied with status quo.
  5. You genuinely feel as though giving your tithe is an act of worship. (If you don’t have a relationship with Christ, we don’t want your money. Honest.)
  6. You willingly forgive others who hurt you.
  7. You humbly seek forgiveness when you hurt others.
  8. Your moral standard is not based on a set of rules that you should keep, but in a relationship that you should honor.
  9. You seek to obey God in your actions, regardless the cost of others’ approval.
  10. You are whole-heartedly sold out to the work of God in your church.
  11. You acknowledge that faith requires action.

Notice that none of this had to do with how much Scripture you could quote or how many services you attended this week. That’s because getting it, is a heart issue. And your actions will always follow your heart. When my heart is right with God, I want to hear from Him more in His Word, be in His house, and act like Him to the people I come in contact with.

Blessings,

John

Baptism Crazy!

In case you missed it, Edgewood had an incredible Easter this year! We had 4 worship experiences, with 1,880 people in attendance. Many people gave their life to Christ and many others came back home. In staff meeting this week, we were discussing the wave of momentum that has been upon Edgewood, and as a result, we have baptisms scheduled every week for at least the first 3 weeks after Easter, and maybe as much as 5 weeks straight! And we’re not doing 1 per week to stretch it and make ourselves feel big and important; 2 weekends ago, we baptized 5! Last weekend we baptize another 7 to 9! Within 6 weeks after Easter, we will see a total of 20-30 people go public with their faith through baptism!

I’ve said many times before, but there is no place like Edgewood! It is amazing to experience God’s hand of blessing and power on our church and to see lives being impacted as a result of it all. It never gets old! To everyone in our church family: DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED! Let us celebrate all that God is doing and be active in reaching more people for the Kingdom of God. When we see God change a life, it is nothing short of the miraculous, and we must never get to a place where we treat the extraordinary as mundane.

If we give God our praise for all that He is doing, and do our part in leading people to Him, then 20+ baptisms in 6 weeks is just the beginning!

Let’s turn these cities upside-down with the Gospel!

Blessings,

John

Signs that you don’t get it.

Regardless of how much Bible you know, how long you’ve been in church, or how intelligent you sound during a Bible discussion, below are a few of the signs that you are just not getting it:

  1. You read the Bible or hear a message, and think of other people that need to change.
  2. You’ve believed the myth that Knowledge = Discipleship.
  3. You talk about people’s problems to other people.
  4. You come to the conclusion, “They’ll never change.”
  5. You have a good memory of others’ short-comings, but a bad memory about your own.
  6. You make excuses for your actions.
  7. You’ve spent more time on facebook this week than in THE Book.
  8. The last time you were in church was your last crisis. The next time you’ll be in church will be the next crisis.
  9. You attend 3 churches, but are committed to none.
  10. You’re more concerned with how people see you than how God sees you.
  11. You’ve read the first 10 signs, and still think you have nowhere to improve.

James 1:22 tells us, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If we can have all the right responses to every spiritual questions, but live in a way that is not like Christ, and think that God approves, according to the Bible, we are spiritually delusional! Let’s be humble enough to take on the attitude and actions of Jesus. Only when we humble ourselves will we start to get it. Later this week, I’ll share some signs that you are getting it.

Blessings,

John

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