That\u2019s how long you spent standing in the bathroom brushing your teeth in 2018 (if you\u2019re an \u201caverage<\/em>\u201d person). Average people like you invested nearly 3 \u00bd hours of the past year in cleaning their fangs twice a day for roughly 2 minutes each time. You might\u2019ve been a little more or less devoted to the process than others were, depending on your appreciation for good oral hygiene. Nevertheless, it\u2019s safe to assume that each of us spent at least some<\/em> measure of time brushing our teeth in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n So let me ask you, was it worth the time you spent? Any regrets? I mean, 3 \u00bd hours is a good number of ticks off the clock, and we need to make sure that we\u2019re being good stewards of our time. Do you have as many teeth as you did last year? Are you happy with the way they look? Are they still healthy, or are they getting worse? You probably haven\u2019t thought about it very much, but maybe you should. After all, three+ hours is a lot of time, and you\u2019ve got important things to do with your life. If scrubbing your teeth isn\u2019t helping you anymore, maybe you should consider getting rid of your toothbrush next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s how long you spent in the church communing with God\u2019s people in 2018 (if you\u2019re a \u201cdisciple<\/em>\u201d here). The average member of the JFB-Duluth discipleship program invested nearly one full month of the past year in building up the Kingdom of God each week. You might\u2019ve been a little more or less devoted to the process than others were, depending on your appreciation for the things of God. Nevertheless, it\u2019s safe to assume that each of us spent at least some<\/em> measure of time at the church in the last 12 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n So let me ask you, was it worth the time you spent? Any regrets? I mean, 23 days is a good number of squares on the calendar, and we need to make sure that we\u2019re using God\u2019s resources wisely. By the way, this figure doesn\u2019t even include the time spent in the mission field, at retreats, campouts, or conferences. But between the nearly 100 sermons, the 50 hours of class time, the outreaches, the workdays, and the small group studies, was it worth the effort? Do you have as much enthusiasm as you did last year? Is the church any stronger because of your investment here? Are you still healthy, or are you getting worse? After all, three+ weeks is a lot of time, and you\u2019ve got important things to do with your life. If your involvement in the church isn\u2019t helping you anymore, maybe you should consider dropping your enrollment next year. Have you thought about this very much? Maybe you should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might sound counter-productive, or even cruel for a pastor to invite the people of his church to discontinue their participation in the fellowship. But might I remind you, this is precisely what Jesus did in John 6:67 when He asked His disciples, \u201cDo you want to go away?<\/em>\u201d Lots of His students had already abandoned the group for various reasons, but Jesus wanted to know if there was anyone else who wanted to do the same. Simply put, if someone has a secret desire to get out, then Jesus doesn\u2019t want them to stick around. He knows it\u2019ll be harmful to the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus doesn\u2019t necessarily want<\/em> people to leave Him or the Church, He just wants them to be healthy<\/em>. But a hidden craving to be freed from the burden of following Him isn\u2019t really a sign of great strength, which is why He poses the question. Carrying on with a divided heart isn\u2019t healthy in the least. That’s probably why He invites people to leave. Jesus forces people to reevaluate their priorities and decide whether they\u2019ll move forward with unflinching loyalty, or walk away altogether. And it appears that He would accept either decision. He just wants honesty. He just wants a healthy Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re unable to look back at 2018 and feel satisfied with the time and effort you\u2019ve invested at this church, the answer is \u201cno\u201d. If you\u2019re not eager to devote another year of your life to this church and these people, then the answer is \u201cno\u201d. If you are living in unrepentant sin (of any kind; emotional, physical, sexual, etc.), then the answer is \u201cno\u201d. If indeed the answer is \u201cno\u201d, then Jesus wants to know if you\u2019d like to leave. He expected His disciples to make that decision in John 6, and He expects the same of us. Sometimes Jesus gives you that responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There may not be any harmful repercussions for thoughtless tooth-brushing, but the same cannot be said for thoughtless Christianity. It\u2019s possible to follow Jesus year after year and still go nowhere, but the consequences of living that way are devastating. For all their walking with Christ, some folks in the church are gaining no real ground, and sadly, most of them won\u2019t realize it until the very end. People need to decide for themselves what they plan on doing with their life and their future. Jesus expects it of them. This isn\u2019t tooth-brushing after all, this is discipleship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of us give little thought to the practical benefits of brushing our teeth. We just do it. We do it once in the morning when we\u2019re half-awake, and again in the evening when we\u2019re half-asleep. It\u2019s a short, mindless routine that we\u2019ve been practicing for years now. But, of course, this article isn\u2019t really about dental hygiene, as you well know by now. It\u2019s actually meant to address your spiritual condition. Teeth-brushing just happens to be a suitable illustration for what the spirit-life can easily become for people in the church\u2026a short, mindless routine that we\u2019ve been practicing for years now. If you\u2019re not really aware of what you\u2019re doing here, then the time you\u2019ve spent at the church holds no more eternal value than the 3 \u00bd hours you spent this year with a brush in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t let next year look like that for you. Find out where you\u2019re supposed to be and commit to it. It may be here at JFB-Duluth, and it may not. You are under obligation before God to know what His will is. That takes conscious effort. Much unlike brushing your teeth, it doesn\u2019t happen while you\u2019re half-asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What will 2019 look like for you? Do you consider yourself to be a part of this church or not? Are you happy to be here, or are you secretly restless? Is your spiritual condition healthy & stable, or are you getting worse? Being part of JFB-Duluth means investing a significant amount of your life in the activities of this church, whether that\u2019s hours, days, weeks, or months\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this really worth your time? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 3 Hours & 28 Minutes. That\u2019s how long you spent standing in the bathroom brushing your teeth in 2018 (if you\u2019re an \u201caverage\u201d person). Average people like you invested nearly 3 \u00bd hours of the past year in cleaning their fangs twice a day for roughly 2 minutes each time. You might\u2019ve been a little … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastors-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3 weeks, 2 days, & 4 Hours.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why The Concern?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Are You Healthy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another Year Ahead…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n