“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:11

When the magi saw the astronomical signs associated with the birth of Jesus, they began an arduous, expensive, months-long journey to Bethlehem. As they followed the star to Israel, the prophecy to Bethlehem, and the star once again to the exact right house, they were filled with joy to finally see the baby who was already born king! When they laid eyes on Jesus at long last, they fell down in reverent submission and worship. They gave Jesus the precious treasures they’d carried with them from home.

It’s truly an astonishing story! In itself, it is the fulfillment of prophecy and the first taste of the salvation and light that Jesus came to offer to the entire world. Unfortunately, the zeal of the wise men would put most Christians to shame today! We don’t need to follow astronomical signs – we have the written word of God (often many copies). But do we eagerly pursue the Bible’s truth with the same energy the wise men pursued the star?

We don’t need to travel for hundreds of miles to worship Jesus. We can do it whenever and wherever we want. How often do we? We don’t need to ask people for directions to worship Jesus – a search engine can instantly point us to a local Bible-believing church. Nonetheless, while the wise men journeyed for countless weeks, we can struggle to get in the car and go to worship Jesus, the King of world alongside other believers.

As this new year dawns, try to capture that excitement and joy of the wise men for yourself. Get excited about encountering Jesus this year! Dig into God’s Word daily and see what He has to say to you. Make time to regularly gather with other believers to offer Jesus your treasure of wholehearted worship. #FollowJesus

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1

Happy New Year from LRBC!!!

As you enter into a brand new year, we encourage you to get to know God and His Word better this year. There’s nothing more transformative than a daily encounter with God’s Word. If you haven’t already chosen a plan to read a portion of the Bible every day, take time to do so right now. Perhaps 2024 will be the year you read through the New Testament in it’s entirety. Or perhaps, it’s time to tackle the entire Bible in a year, starting right here in Genesis 1.

This verse reminds us that this universe is God’s universe. This planet is God’s planet. This year is God’s year. How will you grow closer to your Creator this year? #FollowJesus

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” – 1 John 5:3

You can’t separate loving God from obeying His commands. You just can’t. There’s no version of authentic love for God that involves picking and choosing which of His commands you’re going to care about and obey.

Many today want to imagine God’s commandments as a giant buffet from which they can select just the bits that look good to them. They might choose the commands about loving people and reject the commands about His design for sexual expression. Or they might embrace His commands about sexual expression while ignoring commands to sacrificially care for the poor and vulnerable.

It doesn’t work that way! If you love God, then you need to understand what He commands and you need to commit to obey what He commands. You also need to understand that God’s commands aren’t given as a burden but as a blessing. They exist to bless your life and help your flourish in a world governed by God. You need to obey those commandments that are easy for you to obey and those which are really difficult. You need to obey the commandments you love and obey the commandments that really chafe against your preferences.

Real love for God looks like total commitment to love God – as He actually is, not as you imagine He is – with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your mind, and ALL your strength. Real love for God looks like total commitment to love your neighbor as yourself. Real love for God looks like seriously committing to #FollowJesus

“Saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!'”
– Revelation 5:12

Imagine being present to see and hear this heavenly chorus of praise for Jesus! If you’re a Christian, you will one day! “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” Jesus is the Lamb of God Who died for the sins of the world. Jesus sacrificed Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb. He covers everyone who trusts in Him with His own precious, holy, innocent, sinless blood so that we will never face judgment for our sins.

Jesus is worthy to receive all power, glory, honor, blessing, wealth, wisdom, and might! Take time right now to pause everything and just praise Jesus. Praise Him. Praise His grace and mercy, His love and power, His gentleness and faithfulness, His justice and holiness. Jesus is the Lamb Who died for you. He is worthy of everything you can possibly give Him. So give Him your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Worship Him and praise Him right now!

Once you’ve finished, live a life of worship by choosing to always #FollowJesus!

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” – 1 John 3:6

Do you have a pet sin that you like to keep around? Many people do. It’s that sin that you excuse away as “not a big deal” or claim that it “doesn’t hurt anyone”. It could be gossiping about other people. It could be a tendency to lie to avoid problems. It could be a temper that you don’t control, a website you shouldn’t look at, or a tendency to drink or use something you shouldn’t. Too much of something. Too little of something. Hopefully you get the idea… something you know you shouldn’t mess around with but you also don’t try very hard to get rid of it.

Here’s the problem with keeping a pet sin in your life… A person can either abide in Christ or keep on sinning. You can’t do both. Can’t! Everyone who abides in Christ will occasionally sin. There’s grace for that. Whenever it happens, repentance and confession brings God’s forgiveness every time (see 1 John 1:9). But if you’ve got a sin that you commit quite often and aren’t fighting against it, aren’t trying to kill it, and don’t even feel terribly bad about committing it, then you aren’t abiding in Christ. Not like you should. Not in the way that brings true joy and fruitfulness.

If you’ve got a pet sin, it’s time to change! Decide to hate that sin! Seek to nail that sin the cross! Pray for God to help kill that sin’s desire in your heart! Now is the time when people like to make resolutions for the year ahead. Resolve to more closely #FollowJesus by rejecting any sin in your life and abiding in your Lord Jesus!