Growing up in the ’70’s, I remember hearing the Brazilian artist, Morris Albert, sing the tearful tune, "Feelings, nothing more than feelings…".  It may be a beautiful song, but it’s a terrible way to live.

Many Christians today seem to have adopted that song as a way of life.  Listen to some people talk and count how many times they use the phrase, "I feel."  In certain cases, you might need a calculator.  When did we as Christians opt out of living according to truth?  When did we decide that living by our feelings was the way to go?  The Bible certainly doesn't teach that kind of life.

Living by feelings is like a kite.  A kite goes where the wind blows it — up and down, back and forth, here, there, and all around.  Forget stability.  If you live by “Feelings, nothing more than feelings…”, then strap on your seatbelt, because you are in for one crazy ride.  

Living by feelings is like getting on one of those simulated rides at a theme park.  The last (and I do mean last!) simulated ride I went on made me feel like I was falling.  Actually, I was in a room, sitting in a chair, bolted to the floor.  Nothing about the experience was true.  I wasn’t falling, but I sure felt it!  This brings up another point: feelings can be deceptive, so be careful.  They can lead you to draw faulty conclusions.  They can lead to wrong choices.  They can divide the best of friends.

Try reasoning with a person who lives by their feelings.  It's about as easy as picking up a handful of water or a fistful of jello.  It cannot be done, because there is no objectivity, no substance, nothing tangible.  When you try reasoning with them, they pull out the trump card which abruptly ends all rational conversation, “but I feel…”.

I believe the Spirit awakened me at 4:11am on this Sunday morning to tell you that life cannot be lived successfully when it’s based on “Feelings, nothing more than feelings…”  Try it and you will drive yourself and everyone else around you crazy.  

As believers, we are called to live according to truth and faith.  Deuteronomy 8:3 says we live according to the Word of God which is absolute truth.  Galatians states the timeless principle for Christian living, “The just shall live by faith.”  Everything must be subjected to those twin towers of the Christian life.  If my feelings are inconsistent with God’s Word, and if they run contrary to the Christian faith, then they are wrong no matter how right they may feel.    

Feelings are fickle.  God’s Word is final.  I urge you to avoid the disastrous route of living life by “Feelings, nothing more than feelings…”  There is a better way -

Consider the word balanced.  When applied to life, some think of the word as boring.  Actually, it’s healthy.  

• Drive a car with out-of-balance tires and you will be in for a bumpy ride. 
• Adopt an out-of-balance diet and your body will suffer the consequences.  
• Attempt walking a tightrope without balance and you are in for a big fall.

Balance is important in every area of life and requires continuous attention.  If we cannot walk without balance, it is certain we cannot live without it.  Balance is especially important in the Christian life.  There are seven words that stand for key areas of the Christian life which must not be neglected.  If they are, the result will be an out-of-balance Christian experience.

1.    Bible

Every Christian needs to be in the Word on a daily basis.  Strive to be like the man who delights in the Word of God, “And in His law (Word) he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).  While we all enjoy being fed the Word by pastors, teachers, and other spiritual leaders, Christian maturity involves the ability to feed yourself.

2.    Prayer  

I know Christians who are strong in the Word, and yet anemic in prayer.  The apostles modeled balance by giving themselves to the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4).  Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).  There are so many reasons for us to approach God’s throne of grace.  Don’t let a day go by without spending quality time in prayer.

3.    Worship

In his definition of a Christian, Paul began with this descriptive statement, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit” (Phil. 3:3).  A non-worshiping Christian is a wonder to behold.  I believe it’s an indication of the neglect of prayer and the Bible.  Spend time in God’s presence, fill your heart with His Word, and worship will be the natural response.

4.    Spirit

If the New Testament teaches anything about the Holy Spirit, it teaches that the Spirit’s presence and work in our lives is not optional.  Nowhere does the Bible even hint that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for certain believers.  Peter told his audience in Acts 2:39, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

5.    Fellowship

Genesis 1:27 says we were created in the image of God.  That being true, we are designed for fellowship; for we were created in the image of a relational God.  Isolated Christianity is a concept foreign to the Bible.  We need the strength, love, encouragement, and accountability that comes from fellowship with other believers and being strongly connected to a local church.

6.    Ministry

1 Cor. 12:12-31 teaches that every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ and has a ministry to perform.  The context of that statement is a letter to a local church.  Our ministry is the service we give to our local church.  Not only should every Christian be connected to a church family, but every Christian should minister within that body of believers.  The church has more than enough consumers.  Become a contributor and the church will grow stronger.

7.    Mission

The Great Commission — to evangelize the lost and disciple new believers — was given to all Christians (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15).  While our ministry is to the local church, our mission is to the world.  We are called to ministry and mission.  Be involved in your local church, and be active in taking the message of Jesus to those outside of the family of God.

Bringing this rather lengthy article to a conclusion, I would encourage you to do a personal assessment of your Christian walk.  Is it in or out of balance?

• Are you receiving a steady diet of God’s Word?
• Are you practicing the presence of God daily in prayer?
• Do you participate regularly in worship?
• Are you living in the fullness of the Spirit?
• Have you built strong relationships with other believers?
• Are you actively engaged in ministry in the local church?
• Are you doing your part to fulfill the Great Commission?

​Pursue a balanced Christian life.  As Paul said, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).

Pastor Todd Weston

​While praying for River of Life last week, the Lord reminded me of a passage from the Gospel of John, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” (John 15:16a).

The word “remain” comes from the Greek word meno meaning: to stay, continue, endure, be present.  Earlier in John 15, Jesus called His disciples to bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit (John 15:2,5).  God calls us to be productive in the kingdom.  But what’s the use of bearing fruit if it does not remain?

A few years ago, having learned about a troubling nationwide trend, we stepped out in faith and made some ministry methodology changes.  The trend that continues to this day is that the American church is losing more young people than it is keeping.  The church is bearing fruit, but has a retention problem.

With much prayer and research, we moved forward and sacrificed the “sacred cow” of old methodology in our pursuit of a better method.  Actually, the old methodology isn’t that old.  It’s rather new, dating back to the mid-twentieth century.  The new methodology isn’t that new.  It dates back some two-thousand years to the birth of the Church.

Was it an easy transition?  No.  Did we encounter some loss?  Yes.  Are we seeing good signs?  Yes, again!

In the mid-twentieth century, church growth experts began offering advice on how to build bigger churches (Intergenerational Christian Formation, p41).  The advice centered around a few key thoughts.  First, build exciting children’s and youth ministries.  This growth strategy reasoned that if children have fun in children’s church and if teenagers have their own “church within a church,” then parents are free to focus on their personal needs and more families will come as a result.  Families will go their separate ways the moment they walk through the door, but at least they will be in the same building or on the same property.  

This strategy is less than one-hundred years old and is already showing signs of trouble.  In spite of the age-segregated/specialized ministries, we are losing the overwhelming majority of our young people upon High School graduation.  Interestingly, this method of ministry is still viewed as the desired model.  It was Albert Einstein who defined insanity as, “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Another growth strategy is based on the American idea of individualism (“I did it my way!”).    This strategy encourages the development of multiple services and ministries based on individual interests and preferences.  So the youth group can worship to loud music and flashing lights.  Another age group can enjoy their contemplative and yet technologically savvy style.  Another group can worship to old-time rock-n-roll.  And yet another age group can sing traditional hymns and Bill Gaither songs.  All this while the children are far removed in a sound-proof room singing “Father Abraham” for the 100th time (Intergenerational Christian Formation, p42).  

The unintended consequence of these strategies is the separation of the generations and a fragmented church.  Rather than being concerned with what is best for the community of believers, the focus is centered on what is best for the individual or particular age group.

While these strategies enjoyed a measure of immediate success, the nagging question of retention and long-term results is looming.  Are we keeping our young people?  Is the church a community of believers, or has it become a cloister of special interest and age-segregated groups?

We do not claim to have all the answers.  Neither do we project our convictions on other churches who chose different methodologies of ministry.  God bless them!  We are also aware of the fact that methods of ministry can change to a degree over time, while the message remains timeless.  However, we cannot get away from the words of Jesus, “that your fruit should remain.”  Apparently, we are not alone.  More and more churches are waking up to the need, and more authors are doing research and writing on the subject of multigenerational ministry.

What it comes down to is this.  At River of Life, we want to bear much fruit and we want that fruit to remain.  If a certain method worked for the majority of Church history, and a relatively new method appears to be at least partially responsible (if not completely) for the situation we are in today….you do the math.

Pastor Todd Weston  

One of my earliest memories of public school is that of my teacher trying her best to explain a simple mathematical equation to me.  After several failed attempts that nearly drove her over the edge, my response was, “I still don’t get it.”  Strangely, she soon developed a nervous tic.  At the end of the school year, she retired from teaching and moved to a place called Happy Acres.  I wonder why.

To this day, there are things I still don’t get.  For your reading pleasure, I have made a sample list of a few things I don’t understand and probably never will:

• Modern art
• The stock market page in the newspaper (I’ve given up trying)
• Computer viruses
• Computers in general (I call my son)
• Auto mechanics
• How anyone can embrace liberalism, progressivism, Marxism, socialism…
• How to say anything beyond “God bless you” (Dios te bendiga) in Spanish
• People who live on Facebook
• Why people drink beer (Sweet tea is so much better)
• Christians who don’t go to church
• The difference between “affect” and “effect” (I never quite got that one either)
• How pharmacists can read prescriptions
• Rap music (That’s an oxymoron!)
• A million channels on cable TV and nothing decent to watch
• Facing eternity without Jesus in your heart

I’m sure you have your own list of things you just don’t understand.  Maybe we can compare lists sometime over coffee.  By the way, have you ever wondered how coffee can smell one way and taste another?  I just don’t get it.

Pastor Todd Weston