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We believe that discipleship is central to Christ's message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Reclaiming what it means to be Christ-followers, by implementing the principles and practices He taught us, will bring about lasting life-change and spiritual offspring. DEM seeks to educate, inspire, equip, and train everyday followers of Christ to adhere to the will and ways of God our Father, thus becoming more like Christ in our inner person and outer practice.
2024 Christmas News LetterPage 2
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Self-Examination: Looking Forward to 2019

“The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.” – Job 17:9 NLT

There are two kinds of people in the world—those who ask why? and those who ask why not? Following the Lord Jesus Christ is more about asking, why not?

Let’s consider some differences between “why” people and “why not” people:

• Why people look for excuses. Why not people look for opportunities.

• Why people are afraid to make mistakes. Why not people don’t want to miss out on God-ordained opportunities.

• Why people back down. Why not people stand up.

• Why people play defense. Why not people play offense.

• Why people stay on the side lines. Why not people play on the front lines.

• Why people pray for God to reward them. Why not people pray that they will reward others.

I am afraid that in many cases we have reduced righteousness to the absence of doing wrong. Goodness, however, is not simply the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right! Righteousness is about doing what is biblically right and finding consistent joy in it. This is what separates us from religious ideologies. We do what is right for the advancement of the rule and reign of Christ in us and through us! We do what is right to impact our culture so that Christ is glorified and revealed in all we do!

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness (righteousness) and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 14:17 NLT

I trust you have had a good time answering the retrospective questions for 2018. Now I am putting forth 10 pithy statements, which I hope will challenge us to live our lives with biblical intentionality in 2019. I hope these will help us move forward and encourage us not to settle for past successes.

10 Statements about moving forward:

  1. Expand your horizons. There are spiritual spheres in which the Holy Spirit is leading you to enter. Acts 16:9-10
  2. Accumulate and record your experiences. Malachi 3:16
  3. Enjoy the journey! Nehemiah 8:10
  4. Don’t let what is wrong with you keep you from doing what is right with you and right with God.  1 Corinthians 4:3-5
  5. Burn sinful bridges Hebrews 12:1
  6. Blaze new trails Revelation 3:8
  7. It is not about winning a battle it is about winning others over: 2 Corinthians 5:11
  8. Don’t let fear dictate your decisions Acts 4:3, 13
  9. Take a leap of faith and believe He will reward your faith Hebrews 11:6
  10. Spend the rest of your life with the end in mind Acts 13:36

I realize how inundated we are with Christian information: Excellent devotionals, powerful youtube videos, profound teachings from biblically accurate scholars, and godly websites filled with solid biblical information. I also understand that what I have written could be overwhelming. But remember… holiness comes in bits. Take a little from this teaching and apply it and 2019 will be smattered with godly victories and great joy in your life!

The Lord God uses not only what we know… He empowers us who attempt to apply what we know.

In Christ,

Dale

dale@daleebel.org