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This question puzzled me for years. I grew up in the Methodist church (before I started going to The Shepherd's Way) and every week we recited the Apostle's Creed and I never understood why in the world we said that we believed in the "Holy Catholic Church" and we were Methodist. Funny thing though, is that the answer is quite simple, if only you look for it, you'll find it... So here's a funny/corny video that explains it all better than I ever could.

I found this great video that explains how things happened and how we ended up with the Bible that we have today. ENJOY!



Also, check out the "anti-workbook" (which gives activities instead of work) that goes with it...
Anti-Workbook - Individual Activity
Anti-Workbook - Group Activity

One of the most famous stories from the Bible is where Jesus walks on the water. We have seen everything from shirts stating "The next time you think you're perfect, try walking on water." to a Jesus walking on water figurine to the picture above. It's just a famous story and a famous part of Jesus' life, but I think that for most of us, we miss something very important in it.

I have always focused on a few different things in this passage (Matthew 14:22-36) and yesterday when I heard Debi Tengler teach on this subject, something new jumped out at me. For years, I concentrated on the fact that Jesus didn't just call Peter to walk on the water, He simply said "Come." He invited them all on to the water. I also concentrated on the fact that Peter was able to walk on the water until he took his eyes off of Jesus. Yesterday, something new hit me that kind of floored me.

In verse 31, Jesus asks Peter: "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" I always thought that Jesus was coming down on Peter pretty hard, that Peter only had a "little faith." It always seemed to me that Peter had great faith because he walked on the water with Jesus and that Jesus was just tearing him down because he doubted, but yesterday this became new to me.

Just a little later, in Matthew 17, Jesus tells the disciples that "...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." You see, this has a tremendous impact on the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. Jesus tells all of the disciples that if you have even a little faith, you can do anything.

Let's jump back to Matthew 14. Jesus says to Peter "you of little faith." Is this a rebuke or an encouragement? All of my life I thought this was a rebuke. I thought that Jesus was scolding Peter for doubting. But when we read on in chapter 17, we can clearly see that Jesus isn't scolding Peter, but He is encouraging him. He is telling Peter, "Man, you had enough faith to walk on water! You did it! Way to go! Nothing is impossible for you! So why did you doubt?" When we put these 2 passages side by side, we see that Jesus is really telling Peter that he has what he needs to accomplish anything. The problem wasn't the amount of faith that Peter had, it was that he let doubt creep in on his faith. Jesus wasn't scolding Peter, but encouraging him to continue to put his faith in to action. That by acting on faith, he can accomplish anything.

Every month or so, the teenager that the youth group sponsors sends us a letter telling us about his life and how things are going. It's always great to hear from him and to hear that everything is going well. It's great to know that, even though we may not be sacrificing much to help him, God is using the little to make a big difference in his life.

Our monthly contribution of $32 (jumping up to $38 soon) provides Mwindadi with the opportunity to go to school, buys him shoes and clothing, and also is enough to be able to feed him. A small price to pay to make a huge impact on his life!

The letter that I received today proved to me that our monthly contribution is actually making a difference in his life. In the past, we have received letter from him in his native language that have been translated to English. This time, though, the letter was written in English and translated to English. It's great to know that his schooling is actually making a difference in his life and that he is able to apply it.

Please be praying for Mwindadi, that God will continue to teach him and bless him.

Although the first day of summer is officially June 21, summer is in full swing at Elevate. We've already had 2 events this past week to kick things off for our 3rd "Elevate Summer Of Fun" in which we have an event EVERY week of the summer.

You can check out some video slideshows of the 2 events we've already held this summer, Slip-N-Slide and Photo Scavenger Hunt.

The relationship between faith and works is that works are the result of faith. In the Bible, faith and works are very often contrasted. They are not the same thing, and the combination of faith and works does not bring salvation. Salvation is by faith alone.

Romans 3:28 (NASB) - “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Romans 4:5 - “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.”

Galatians 2:16 (NASB) - “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus…”

False religious systems always teach that faith plus a person's works result in salvation. This is false, because our good works are filthy rags, literally menstrual cloths, before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, we can’t do anything to please God by our good works. Galatians 2:21 (NASB) says that if righteousness comes by the law (works), then Christ died needlessly.

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

James 2:26 says that faith without works is dead, but what James is talking about is that dead faith produces no works. The context of the chapter begins in verse 14 where James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” Notice that James asks, “can that faith save him?" The faith he is talking about is false faith, which he further clarifies when he mentions how the devil also believes in God (James 2:19). The demons have dead faith. They only acknowledge God’s existence, their trust and hope are not in Him.

So, with a true Christian, good works are the result of faith, not a contributing factor to salvation. Nor do our good works keep us saved. If that were the case, then salvation would be by works. Many people look to Jesus as their Savior and not their Lord. Faith makes Him your Savior, works make Him your Lord.

In short, true faith will always be accompanied by works. Just as Jesus cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit, so too a Christian will bear works if their faith is good. John Calvin said: "We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone."

We'll look at this question 2 different ways. First, technically there are no good people. Romans 3:10-12 says that "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." The reason why no one is good is because God is the only one who is actually good. Jesus said "Why do you call me good?... No one is good—except God alone." (Luke 18:19) God is the standard or righteousness that we are compared to, and as Paul said "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Thus, there really aren't any good people and bad things happen to us.

Secondly, as humans, we perceive some people as better than others; that there are decent, nice people. We see these people as honest, they don't lie, they don't steal, and they treat others well. Though these people they aren't perfect, they are trying to do what is right. We think that God "should give these people a break." Why would God allow bad things happen to these who are sincerely trying? The best (and easiest) answer lies in the effect of sin. Sin is in the world and it effects everyone differently. Think about this. If a grenade was thrown into a group of people, some people will get hurt more than others. Some people might even walk away without a scratch. No matter what the outcome is for each individual, we will all agree that it is best to not be in the crowd in the first place, that it's best to stay away from the danger. The same holds true with sin, even if some people walk away from it without a scratch, the safest place for us to be is as far away as we can be. That's why the Bible says "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace." (2 Timothy 2:22)

So I pose some questions to you, if we want God to stop bad things from happening to good people, where is the line to be drawn? How good must a person be? Also, what would make someone "bad?" The more we look at it, the harder it gets for us to determine who is "good" and who is "bad."

I think the best way for us to view this is to understand "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28) No matter what bad comes your way, God has a good plan to come out of it.