Justified Through Faith?

After a week's break with Pastor Dale guest speaking about God's wonderful work through missionaries in Indonesia, REEF continued on their study 'Justification'.

So what is the word 'Justification' and what does it really mean to be justified?

In this context, 'our own mistakes being paid for' or in other words - we are made righteous with God. It means we are free from our guilt and pain because of this single awesome undeserving (Grace) gift(Jesus) from God, all from his undying love for us. Want to know how to accept this life changing gift(Faith) that will put us right with God(Justified) with the promise of eternal life(Salvation)? Read on..

Continuing on from our first topic - 'Justification through Grace', which explored the awesome undeserving gift that the world have been blessed for over 2008 years (and still going!) and who we now know as, Jesus. Yes, Jesus was a gift from God. He might not have been perfectly wrapped with gold ribbons and blessed with money, good looks, worldly fame but rather what mattered most - who he is and what he did for us.

'Justified...Through Faith' further examined our 'gift' from God and how we can fully utilise it. In the bible the term faith is simply used to mean trust, rely or depend. You can use all these words interchangably. So to have faith in something is to depend upon it, to trust in it or rely on it. For example, you display faith when you sit in a chair. When you sit, you place your trust in it and depend upon it to hold you. It is not your faith that holds you up it is the chair. And here is the most impotant thing about faith - it is not that you have faith, it is what you put your faith in that counts.

When Christian faith is understood in these terms then we see that it not so much our faith that is important but what we place our faith in. Christianity is all about placing faith or trust is Jesus Christ and his death for our salvation. To trust in anything other than Jesus will mean that our faith is wrongly placed and we will not be saved. As Jesus said - “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one shall come to the father but through me” (John 14:6). That is hard for people to hear, but it is the truth.

But it is not just faith though, it is faith in action. Real Christian faith is seen in the way in which we live. If I said I had faith that a chair would hold me but were not prepared to sit in it, what does that say about how real my faith is? It is easy to say I have faith, but the quality of that faith will be seen in the way I live, the way in which I follow Jesus and seek to obey him. It is that sort of faith that saves and is the only “requirement” to claim that you are Christian.

I hope that this short summary has allowed you (if you haven't already) joined the dots between the two studies on 'Justification'. That through God's grace - Jesus and through faith in him we are justified.

And how do we know we will receive this so called - 'salvation'? Because of God's promise -

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - (John 3:16)

Hey REEF-ers

Hope you enjoyed the very first REEF of the very last term yesterday night!
As you guys all know, this term we're doing the topic, Justification and last night we kicked it off with "Justification through Grace".

What is grace? an undeserved gift from God; something we cannot boast about for it was not given due to our own works. How did God show His grace? through Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.

This study was a pretty massive one, very challenging and at first, hard to grasp.. but i'll sum it up with the main points:

- What is righteousness? Righteous = Justify; and vice versa
- Who is righteous? God, and those who believe in Him
- God declares us righteous and determines what IS righteous.
- Why do we need His righteousness? to form a new relationship with God
- Because God declares us righteous, He places the spirit in us to make us more "worthy" of being righteous.

Term 4

Hey REEF-ers 

Hope that those of you who manage to make it to the Holiday Event had heaps of fun :D.

Term 4 is upon us! The last term of the year, and Reef is back. This term's series is: Justification. And from the ever insightful amanda, we have a list of questions emailed to us:

How can I be right with God, and what does it look like to live it out?

Is a relationship with God really possible?

What justification do I need?

If i'm saved by faith alone, why do I need to live a good life?

Can I be sure of going to heaven?

Wow.. its blue now.. this topic is a must attend for all you reefers, cos its core-christianity we're into, what defines our faith. This friday's Justification through Grace. What is Grace? Why is it so important? Why are we justified? Why should we be justified? Can we be justified without Grace? I hope all of you can attend. 

A Question popped up during this week: What is a Christian?

Well... heres the most simplist answer: Come to REEF this term and learn about Core Christianity to know more!! :D

But, a Christian is more than just a goody-doody two shoe who attends church every sunday, does his quiet time every night, reads from the book every two days. Now, i've heard from speakers that the definition is NOT a Christian. I'll use the term, MORE than. Cos Christians can be those people. 

Im not trying to confuse you but, question yourself. Why do you go to church? Whats the reason behind it? Friends? Family? You mother yanking you by the ear at 9 45 on a cold sunday morning? 

To know what a Christian is, you need to know what being true christian is like. Its like, you want to know what a Maccer's Soft Top is, but without tasting and looking at it. You know that theres a pointy crunchy thing at the bottom, and the top is soft. But not until you've seen it, tasted it do you know its practically made from cow fat. 

Heres a hint. Being Christians, we are saved. Why are we saved? Through what are we saved? Why should we be saved? What is saved? Who saves us? When are we saved? From what are we saved? 

I hope these questions and more will be floating around your head this week, and bursting out on Friday night. Ambush a leader! Ask them the question! If you forget, post one here, a leader will get in touch with you. 

Justification through Grace.

In Him

SWan

REEF Social

Hey REEFers

After a terrific night last night, Holiday is among us! I hope you guys brought a few friends, met a few friends, and ATE AWESOME PIZZA! Go me and Ian's Nachos Pizza and also the gooey and sweet toothed chocolate-mashmellow pizza by Christine and Olivia!! 

I hope you guys have a great holiday, and we'll see each other in REEF term 4!!!

Prayer points:

• Pray for the new comers, that they may come again to Reef
• Pray for people who had questions about Christianity, that God would fill their hearts with faith and show himself to them. 
• Pray for the holidays, for safety and that everyone wont forget about God. 
• Pray for the HSC-ers that they'll use their time wisely and not forget God during studies. 

I'll see you guys next term!

In him

SWan

End of Term 3

Hey REEF-ers 

Hope you guys had a great time at Reef last friday. Its nearly the end of term, and a lot of things had been happening this term, and i hope to keep this as short as possible. 

One thing which popped up during a chat with James (the Picnic Point Yr. 12 guy) is the importance of Christian Leadership/Ministry, Quiet time and Accountability. And here is a small recap on the three:

Christian Leadership

Christian Leadership does not just encompass Pastors, its in everything we do. In a way, we are leading someone through our actions into thinking or reacting. So in a simple outline, christian ministry is your life, how you live it.

Always delve back into the bible if you need help, a recap on 2 Tim 3 :Four things to remember, the bible is made for:

1)Teaching

2)Rebuking

3)Correcting

4)Training

If you cant remember that, just REEF it! Rebuke Encourage extol in fellowship!!

Quiet time

The importance of quiet time. What is quiet time? Why do you do quiet time? A quote from something i read a while ago:

Faith reloaded:

When I told you, by reading the Bible, doing quiet time, going to church, joining the fellowship… and etc – it has nothing to do with the faith that is mentioned in Hebrews 11:1. Which it says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” I said this to emphasis my point of argument: If you read the Bible and do all these activities as a religious duty, you are not doing it to your faith in Christ.

Remember its through Jesus that we can have quiet time. Its the same with our faith:

"It is by Grace youhave been saved, through Faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the Gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephisians 3:8-9

Accountability

Accountability is an important, this is where fellowship comes in. We cant have fellowship with only one person, hence, we cant have accountability with only one person. An example would be, having a christian bible reading buddy. Me for example, i've been able to read the bible more efficently when i got one of me friends as a bible reading buddy. We go through a book each month and have little discussions throughout to see what we've learnt and took on. 

But yeah, i urge you to have a Accountability group at Reef, if ur not already part of one. One important note: Keeping accountable is a Two Way Street. If you want to have someone to keep you accountable, i'm happy to do so :D. Feel free and talk to me anytime :D

I hope you've all grown closer to Christ in this term, and i'll see you all at the Reef Social!!! One Week and counting... or should i say .. accounting .. :P

In him

SWan

Christian Nominalism

“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16

I would like to buy 3 dollars worth of God, please
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of him to make me love a foreigner or pick beets with a migrant.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth.
I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.
I'd like to buy 3 dollars worth of God, please
How much God do you want?
You get as much or as little as you desire.

Are you a Christian? Ask yourself, why are you a Christian?

If you are a Christian, are you living your lives for Christ? Or is it just something you say but actually never think about?

Friday - Prayer Urgent

Hey Reefers

Friday is here, and i have received bad news. I've received a msg from a frien saying that Buddist extremeist burnt down 20 churches two days ago and and are planning to destroy 200 churches in Orissa today. 

The BJP also planned to kill 200 pastorsin the next 24 hours. All christians are hidign in bushes. - Pastor Steve Dubai

Please pray for Christians in India. I hope you guys can announce it at reef and pray about it. 

SWan

Arrrr  - Herre be International talk like a pirate day!

Adrian's Talk

Just a small recap, it was on 2 Timothy 1:1-14. Now this verse i've heard lots of talks on, but none on Christian Leadership.



Adrian said, Christian leadership, or actually christianity itself, is like a flame, we should fan it into a fire, a fire which is bruning with passion for Christ. The main discussion points are lost in my mind, but here are the four questiosn which i remember discussing with people:







1) How could u further your relationship with God?



Many nobrainer- sunday school answers sprouted from this one, e.g. bible reading, Qtime, praying. Yes, they're all fantastic in furthering your relationship with God, but heed this, dont turn it the other way round. What i mean by this, is that, as much as make Qtime and prayer a routine, dont highlight that qtime is a way to God.



Its only through Jesus, that we can have Qtime, and prayer. Prayer and Qtime does nothing if you dont have Jesus and God's grace in mind. like what adrian said: "if we read the bible without God, then it,.. something somehting on the lines of it being useless and futile".



2) what is holding you back? (opposition)



What is holding you back from having this fire? Life? School? Peers? Games? Lack of time? Tv? theres an endless list of materialistic things out there. Well the little little advice i have is that, nothign is greater than God, and ultimately, everything is gonna be kaputt, gone, kapische. Pray that god will help you keep these things from holding you back,






3) What is christian ministry, and how can we participate?



In our definition of Christian ministry, we've pin pointed it down to serving at church, preaching and being a leader of something. Christian ministry isnt just that! Thats only half of it!



The simple answer i can give you is: Christian Minsitry is LIFE!

Chrisitian ministry is not only serving at church, its how you live your life. We should live everyday for Christ, how do we do this? Heres a simple way, every action you undertake, ask yourself this, are you doing it for yourself or are you doing it for Christ?



4) So if you are a christian, and you dont feel this passion whats holding you back? What is the motivation needed?


Prayer points

- Pray that God will help us be Christians in everyway of living.
- Pray that God will strengthen the fire in us, fan it into a large gusto flame.
- Pray for REEF as it continues to grow.
- Pray that we get our priorities right.
- Pray that God will motivate and disipline so that we will go on the right path.

In him

SWan

Ps. Please correct me on anything.

2 Timothy 3

Hey REEFers!!!

Goodness, the weeks do pass quickly, and theres only a week till RICE FEST!! Quick Quick Quick, get your tickets and your friends to come.

During the bible study at REEF a question popped up in my head, is it easier being a Christian as a missionary in the Jungle, or being a Christian in Sydney?

And also, How important is the bible to you? Is it just a book you have on your bedside, one which you take out to church every sunday to ceremoniously brush off the dust on its covers? Is it just a symbolic book, which is your faith, but cannot possibly have relevance in today's society?

Or do you see it as God's Words? It says in this weeks Bible study, that all scripture is "God Breathed". That doesnt mean he just inhaled and exhaled over it, it means it comes from God.

Even if everythign in the Bible mightnt seem interesting, its there for a purpose. There are four things we should look at:

1) Teaching: What truths can you discover that will help you understand God and other people?
2) Rebuking: How does that passage tell us whats wrong, and needs change?
3) Correcting: How does it tell us to become more Christ like?
4)Training: What can you get out of that passage that will equip you for "every good work"?

This had been rather a long post, but i'd like to highlight one more thing, the meanign of REEF. To:
REBUKE
ENCOURAGE
EXTOL in
FELLOWSHIP

All those points point towards the bible, and Christ.

Prayer Point:

~ Pray for REEF next week, when several new comers come before the RICE event
~Pray for RICE FEST.
~Pray that we use God's Words, (for those of you who went to bible quiz, the sword of the spirit) and use it in our everyday lives.
~Pray that God will give us insight as we read his Word.

Finally a verse which Luke pointed out.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, no anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38,39

Amen

SWan

Mid Week Prayer

Hey REEFers!!

This was originally for the SBHS people, but I think its a point that everyone of us will come across.

RICE is coming up in a short 10 days, and i've decided to post as many posts as possible. And today's post is confidence. Confidence is something we all seek, and especially in evangelism, we sometimes get jelly-legged, and for many of us, we just bail out all together. I mentioned this earlier, and there is only one way to combat this, read the Bible, know your faith, and finally trust God.

When telling people about RICE here are three simple tips:
1) Tell them what a great event it is (Physical factor)
2) Tell them what to expect (Physcological Factor)
3) Let them decided whether to come (Spiritual Factor)

I'm not saying just thrust it at them and then walk away, when you let them decide, I mean answer their questions, ask them why not? Follow them up, but dont nag. Recently a lot of conversations about Christianity (especially Catholicsm) have arisen, and at first I found myself being bombarded with questions. I regret that for some of the time i just bailed out, but thats what im talking about, "We're all Human".

Let God speak through you. If you stumble, don't fret, simily say something like:

"I'm not too sure about this, but [SO and SO] can tell you more. Why dont we find [So and So] and ask him?" (replace so and so with another christian, leader and RICE CAFE!!)

Many many times I've found myself stumped for the quesiton, and suddenly changing the subject, or just mindlessly saying No. This not only puts people off in normal convos, but will definately put them off for these ones. And a final note, have a look, i wrote "Why dont WE find..." not "Why dont I'LL refer you to someone and forget about your questions..." dont just mention a way, and then leave them to their own devices, go with them!

That was a bit too much for a prayer post :S. But here is the only one prayer point:

~ Pray that God will speak through us, and question our true motives.

in Him

SWan

Week 3 Prayer Points

Hey REEFers!!!


After a awesome time last night at REEF i've come up with some prayer points that you could reflect upon during this week, and not only reflect, PRAY! :D

~ What is a Christian? Pray for God to guide us down the right path.

~ Pray that pride, anger not fill our hearts when confronted with opposing views.

~ Pray that God will help us to fully understand what being a Christian is.

~ Pray that God will help us throughout REEF and everyday life to understand our faith.

"Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth."
2 Timothy 2: 25

As Rice approaches, some small prayer points for this week:

~ Use Rice for the glory of God, not for self gain.

~ Pray God will bring more to Him with RICE.

~ Pray for courage, and the Holy Spirit's guidance as we evangelise and tell people about RICE in the up comign weeks.

Theres only 2 weeks, 14 days, 336 hours, 20160 mins, 1209600 seconds till RICE-Fest!!! (Hope my calculator's right :P) Keep Praying.

In Him

SWan

Prayer Board

Hey REEFer's !!

Hopefully this prayer board would come to use, but here is were you can put down your prayer points..

if its too personal, you can post anonymously. Even though we dunno who you are, God does!! :D

Knowing you are an AWesome youthgroup, i have full assurance that this would come to good use.

in Him

SWan