[contact-form-7 id=”9″ title=”Contact form 1″]
-
Recently posted articles
potpourri of past articles
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
God gives certain responsibilities of the marriage to each other. For the husband, God commands that we love our wives. Love is the principle thing that holds a marriage together. Love is the greatest motivator of all. Unfortunately, the world teaches a false definition of the word love. People today think that love is a feeling, especially related to sexual contact, but it is not. Love is the supreme denial of self and exaltation of someone else. In short, it is giving. This is the love that God is talking about when he commands husbands to love their wives.
As a human being it is natural for our love to be directed to others. As a father our love can be directed to our children. But, as a husband there is a special kind of love that is to be directed only to our wife. The world would like to say that there are degrees of love, but there are just different aspects of love. There is a special kind of love that only our wife should enjoy and no others. It is our obligation to make this exclusive to her. This love, we share with none other. We don’t share it with our children, our family and certainly some other woman. It is a special love and it should be proclaimed so that everyone else knows that we love our wives differently than anyone else in the world. If you have waited for God to show you His perfect will, then she is your special gift from Him that completes you as one whole being (Eph. 5:31 …and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.). That makes her special beyond the reaches of all others in the world.
Husbands should follow the example of Christ when loving our wives. Our Lord loves the church and He shows it by the way He provides for it, protects it and leads it. Likewise, it is our jobs to take the leadership roles in our marriages so that our wives have the protection, provision and prowess needed to feel loved.
Protection of our wives does not end with simply not letting someone hurt her physically. There is emotional and spiritual protection that must be provided for as well. Husbands should be vigilant to not allow our wives to be emotionally hurt. Emotions run deep and are difficult to heal. If we do something that we shouldn’t and end up hurting our wives emotionally, the Bible has the only prescription for the healing process in being quick to reconcile (Eph. 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:). Protection of our wives can best be done by keeping the Devil away from our marriages. It is not that Eve wandered away from Adam when she was tempted, but the question must be asked, “Why was Adam not there in the first place? Why was he not protecting her spiritually?”
Providing for our wives, does not end with bringing in the paycheck. Although we like to make jokes about it, wives have many more needs than money. They have other physical needs as well as emotional and spiritual needs. Our wives need to be encouraged. They need to be praised and made to feel good about themselves so they have confidence to make it through yet another evil day. It is our job as husbands to provide this praise and not just be running them down all the time. We need to provide spiritually for our wives by providing the right environment, both at home and outside of the home. This is not just “letting” them go to church; it is BRINGING them to church. Let them know you lead in the spiritual protection of your marriage. Read the Bible with them. Initiate spiritual conversation with them.
The prowess that our wives deserve does nothing other than to help us and the entire family. She should be able to “be all she can be.” In fact she should be encouraged to do so. Let’s be our wives best cheer leader. Help her; let her take the classes she has been wanting. Encourage her. Provide leadership and instruction for her when dealing with emotional issues specific to women. Don’t try to isolate her. Encourage her to develop spiritually on her own as well as with you.
Give of yourself for your wife. This is the action of love. The Lord Jesus Christ gave of Himself to the Church. We don’t learn all of the ramifications of this immediately. It takes some time. Likewise, let your wife have the adventure of exploring how much you love her by examining how much you give of yourself to her. As Christians, when we see the love of Christ, and how it is demonstrated to us, it does not take long for him to become our hero. We can be our wives’ hero as well. It won’t happen overnight. And it won’t happen because we demand it. We become her hero by consistently showing how much we give of ourselves to her.
Husbands, lets take care of our responsibilities of loving our wives. Let’s build them up, for they are our same body. Lets make our marriages better by taking the leadership role and not expecting anything in return.
Everyone knows that this great country of which we live won it’s war for independence from England. Independence is the nature of the USA. If a country had blood coursing through it’s veins, then ours would run hot with independence. In many of the countries of Asia or Europe, when asked of it’s people, “In one word, how would you describe Americans?”, they would say, “Independent! Americans are very independent.” We pride ourselves on our independence. We know nothing else than to think that independence is something that everyone should enjoy, so much so, that we send our youth to rally it’s cause on their behalf.
It is a wonderful thing to be independent because it speaks of freedom, but it is not good to be independent from everything. There are two things from which we can never be independent: God and people! As much as a person might want to think they are independent from these two, they can never be. We are all created beings of the true and only God, and we are all conceived from, birthed, and raised by people.
The is a fine line between being independent and being rebellious. To be independent is to be free from an unrighteous cause, whereas to be rebellious is to be free from something that is good. When you are in an overbearing situation from which you are not morally or legally bound; to through off that overbearing situation and seek another more righteous is when you are gaining independence. But, rebellion is when you are already in a righteous situation and you pridefully and arbitrarily decide you are going to be independent from that situation, then you are rebellious. Think of it this way: to be independent is to rebel; to rebel from something good, or to rebel from something bad. You are rebellious when you rebel from something good, but independent when rebelling from something bad. AND, it depends on if you are the rebel or the rebelled from on how you will look at it.
There is no one more righteous and just than God. He is so righteous that He is called–HOLY. Any move for independence from Him is not only a rebellious act, but originates from a rebellious spirit as well. Because of His holiness, and our being created in His image, it is pure rebellion to desire to live independent of Him. As far as God is concerned, the whole world is full of rebellious people (“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” Isa. 1:2). Any person living independent of God has become a god to himself, because he rejects God’s position of authority over him. This is the sad state of the world that we see around us today. Man submits himself to things, this is true, but he will not submit to God. This is rebellion.
The anointed Cherub–Lucifer–was lifted up in pride and eventually rebelled from God (Eze. 28:14-16). So, rebellion begins with pride–pride in thinking that you are better than others; pride in thinking you can do better if you could do it your own way. This is how Satan deceives people into rebelling from the righteous and holy God. He begins by whispering little hints of prideful things into the conscience of man. Soon, man begins to see himself as being smarter and better than God. From there, rebellion takes its course. Rebellion in turn leads to independence of God. God’s created being, made in His very own image, is independent from Him and refuses to submit to what is right. All because Satan has worked to make man think prideful things. Anytime we realize we are thinking prideful things, we should take note that we are on the path of rebellion from God.
Of course, total rebellion from God does not happen all at once. It happens in increments until we are overcome with a rebellious spirit. Satan’s legions work on one thing at a time. The most common are an independence from Bible reading, church attendance, prayer, tithing, etc. Each of these is a chink in the armor of submission to God. We may think that we don’t need these things, but we do. We may think that we can do without one of these things “just this once”, but once leads to another. Soon, we are overcome and then the Devil concentrates on the next. It is all influenced by pride, which leads to rebellion, which leads to independence. Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, tithing and witnessing are all pillars which hold up our Christian life. When one crumbles, the others are soon to follow. You can tell if you are subject to these if you ever find yourself saying, “I used to read my Bible, pray, tithe, etc.” Or, “I remember when I…” Or, “I need to get back to …”. These are all signs of living a life of independence from God; the process has taken place and snuck up on you: Pride–Rebellion–Independence!
On this Independence day, as we celebrate our independence from a wicked heavy handed rule, which led to the establishment of this great country, let us reflect on this one thought: “Am I living independent from God? Am I a rebel from righteousness?”
There are things that are important to us in life, but nothing is more important than soul winning. The soul is the part of man that lives forever. It is the part of man that feels pain or joy; happiness or sorrow. It is the center of the man.
Proverbs 11:30 says, “He that winneth souls is wise.” It is a wise and profitable thing to be a soul winner because it pleases God. He has a high evaluation of the soul winner. It is one of the dearest things to the heart of God. Consequently, it pays enormous eternal dividends. A man who turns people to righteousness is wise because he is laying up treasure in heaven.
Conversely, a Christian who is occupied with trivial matters of life is unwise. Majoring on minors is foolish. Therefore, not to win souls is to be guilty of the sin of folly.
If we are to be wise, we should actively be involved in soul winning of some kind. If we don’t know how to win a soul to the Lord, we should learn how to do so. I am sure you can ask your Pastor or Christian friend.
When is the last time you led someone to the Lord? Have you ever won someone to the Lord? There is no shortage of people that need to hear the gospel. They are wondering aimlessly through life, believing a lie that is leading them to hell. People want to be saved. They just don’t know what to do. They know there is an emptiness in their life that is not fulfilled. They know they need something, they just don’t know what it is or how to get it.
There is however, a shortage of Christians who are willing to tell the lost about salvation. There should not be, but there is. We need to be not so. The entire world is in need of the Lord Jesus Christ—and who will tell our neighbors? The Devil will have them hear all of his doctrine, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by every means possible. The Lord left the job of spreading the gospel up to us. Not the TV. Not the Internet. Not the radio. He left it up to us.
Spreading the gospel is not doing good deeds for others. It is not living a right life or even helping the poor. Spreading the gospel is to actively tell people how they can be saved; how they can know for sure they an go to heaven.
These are the last days that we are living in. We live in a unique time. No other people the history of mankind has had so much at stake as we havetoday. We are like the anchor runner in the relay race of life. Lets not drop the baton. Lets not run out of steam on the last lap. Lets give it all we have Got. Souls lie in the balance.
It is a dangerous thing to not go to church, especially if you are a parent. First and foremost its obvious it affects your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are not going to church, the less you want to go. The more you go to church the more you want to go. Now we all know that it is certainly not God that is influencing us to keep us away from church attendance. That leaves only two causes; it is either at the direction and influence of Satan that we are not going to church or by the pull and draw of self.
Jesus Christ died for the church, he loves the church. He told us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. A good healthy love for the Lord Jesus Christ should be enough for any individual to continue in and be dedicated to church attendance. If you are not feeding the relationship you have with someone, then it begins to diminish. When you have a relationship with people then you certainly spend time with them. You spend time with them privately and you spend time with them publicly. The private devotion of a Christian is not sufficient for a proper and healthy relationship with God Almighty. You must join together with God’s people because Jesus said where two or three are gathered together in his name that he would be there in the midst of them. So you can either have a private relationship with God or you can have a public relationship with God, or you can have both.
Before becoming a preacher, part of my job as an electrician was to take working trips for the government. This meant that I would have to leave my family behind. I would go off sometimes for thirty days, some times for six weeks and some times for just two weeks. To me it did not matter if it was just the weekend or not, I was apart from my family, my friends and those whom I loved. If you ask my wife you will find out that the largest phone bills we ever had was when I was on trips because I was constantly on the phone with her. Why is that? I desired that relationship. I needed it to be fed. I loved her and you could tell because of the amount to time I wanted to relate with her.
We need time to be with God Almighty. Having a long distance relationship with him is not sufficient just as the phone calls from across the country to my wife were not sufficient. It filled a need but I sure couldn’t wait to get on that airplane and come home. I needed those kisses and those hugs. I needed that surrounding to be whole and complete in my life. Christians unless you have the surroundings of God and God’s people you will not ever be whole or complete in your life. It is dangerous when you are not going to church.
Another danger is how God will react. You see, relationships work both ways. Its is not all dependent upon you, although some people deceive themselves and think that it is. Relationships also depend upon the other person as well. Have you ever tried to talk with someone that didn’t want to talk with you? Have you ever tried to make friends with someone that didn’t want to be friends with you? It is near impossible. Have you ever had a friend that suddenly, for no reason at all just started keeping away from you? Maybe your relationship gradually became a long distance one? What would you do? I venture to say that you would be concerned. At the very least and there would come a point when you would decide that you wanted to figure out what the problem was. You would probably want to know if it was a problem with you or a problem with them. God is the same way. When His people move away from him, and slowly begins not going to church, It is just like the long-distance relationship. He wants to figure out what the problem is. He wants to confront you about it. Then He wants to inspire you to do what is right because he knows the relationship is healthy for you and for Him. When you are not going to church, the danger is that God may act and you are not always exactly sure how He will do that.
The third danger is, people are looking at you and your testimony. Every Christian has what is called a living testimony. It is how you act as compared with what you say. You can say to people all you want that you need to be committed to the Lord, but it will mean absolutely nothing if you are not as committed as you expect them to be. Many Christians subconsciously know this and that is why they stay away from various subjects–Subjects where the Christian might be found a hypocrite. But, my friends, people watch your life and if you are doing one thing but saying another it doesn’t help the cause of Christ. It is not neutral and it hurts the cause of Christ. You are either for Christ or you are against Christ.
When we first get saved we begin learning how to live for Christ. Slowly and gradually as the Holy Spirit begins working on us, from that day forward. All the way until the end of our life we are in the process of learning how to live for Christ and die to self. So the danger is, people are looking to see how they are supposed to live as a Christian. When they see that you are not going to church, then they begin to pick up on your example and do the same.
My friends what do people say about you? When they look at you, do they say that your interests are Jesus, the Bible or the Church? Or do they say your greatest interests are: health or birth or job or family? Anything other than Jesus means they see Jesus is not first in your life. Now let’s take this information, file it in our memories and use it for his glory. God bless you all. Amen.
What is an “apostle?” What are the qualifications for “apostleship?” Who are called “apostles” in Scripture? Who are the “twelve apostles” who will sit on twelve thrones and have their names on the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem? Are there “apostles” today?
The first reference of the word “apostle” gives us a clue to the meaning—Matthew 10:1-5. The key idea here is that an apostle is a “sent one;’ an ambassador delegated to carry a message (“messenger”). Every man who is called an apostle fits this description. Even Jesus Christ is called the Apostle in Hebrews 3:1. That is because He is The Sent One.
The name apostle is different than“disciple” which means “learner; pupil; follower.”
The TWELVE men ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ “to be with Him” (Mark 3:14) differed from others who were called apostles in Scripture. They were UNIQUE, in that Jesus gave them special power and authority for the performance of their office (Matt. 10:1, 8; Luke 10:19).
When Judas Iscariot fell from apostleship a replacement was chosen to fill the “twelfth” spot. The number twelve is significant.
1. Twelve is the number of the earth (4) times the number of the Trinity (3). This shows God’s intervention within the human family.
2. Twelve is Israel’s number. There are TWELVE-TWELVES in Scripture: (1) 12 tribes—Gen. 49:28; (2) 12 stones on the breastplate—Ex. 28:21; (3) 12 gates into the New Jerusalem; (4) 12 foundations of the city—Rev. 21:14 cf. Eph. 2:19-22; (5) 12 manner of fruits on the tree of life; (6) 12 months to a year with twelve constellations (zodiac) which match the twelve months—Job 38:32; (7) twelve apostles; (8) 12 thrones in the Kingdom—Luke 22:30; (9) 12 hours in a day—John 11:9; (10) 12 musical notes (7 white keys + 5 half notes); (11) 12 colors; (12) 12 national boundries (cf. Deut. 32:7-8—North America; Central America; South America; Antarctica; Asia; Africa; Australia; Middle East; Europe; Artic; the Indies; Greenland).
The question arises, who will sit on the twelfth throne and whose name will appear on the twelfth foundation? Several other men are called “apostles” in Scripture: Matthias (Acts 1:26); Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14); Paul (Rom. 1:1; 11:13); James, the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1:19; 2:9). Which of these would be the twelfth man?
Acts 1:21-22 give four qualifications for Judas’ replacement: He would have to be one who—(1) Companied with the original twelve during the earthly ministry of Christ (Luke 8:1); (2) was a witness of the resurrected Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 9:1); (3) baptized by John; (4) ordained by the Lord (Acts 13:2 cf. 14:4, 14). That eliminates all but Matthias. You will notice in 1 Corinthians 15:5, that J
esus was seen “of the twelve.” Judas had already hung himself, so who were “the twelve” that saw the risen Christ prior to Paul? It had to be the eleven with Matthias.
Jesus with the “Twelve” had a special comission to Israel (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; cf. Rom. 15:8). That is why the replacement must be one who was with Christ while He offered the Kingdom to Israel (Matt. 10:7). Th
e apostle Paul’s ministry was primarily to Gentiles (Rom. 11:13 cf. 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).
The Scripture is clear that Matthias was numbered with the eleven, which would
What about today? Some churches claim “apostolic succession,” i.e. each generation has it’s own elite group of “apostles” to replace those of the previous generation (Mormons; Catholism; etc.) The Apostolic ministry was certified by signs and miracles (2 Cor. 12:12). These “signs” confirmed that the man was really an apostle (“sent one”). If a man didn’t have the signs of an apostle (Mark 16:17-18), he was found to be a liar (Rev. 2:2) and a false apostle (2 Cor. 11:13). make twelve. This is evidenced in Acts 6:2 where “the TWELVE” are mentioned. This is before Paul, Barnabas, or James are called apostles.
With the death of the last Apostle, John the beloved, the Apostolic Age came to an end. Apostles exist today only in the sense of a missionary being one “sent” by the Lord and delegated by the local church to carry the message of the Gospel (Rom. 1:5-6).
Contentment is not something you simply obtain.
Ron Coale, Rev.
You do not wake up one day and find that you are suddenly content. Neither do you just get old enough and that makes you content. Contentment is something that is learned.
Paul said, “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11). Paul admits that he had to learn contentment. It was not one of his personality traits, nor was it a special ability that he had. It was something that he had to learn from the time he was very young until the day that he wrote these words to the Philippians.
As a young man, Paul sought his fortune and fame, as do other young men. He thought he found it in the profession of a Pharisee. As a young Pharisee during the time of the first persecution of Christians, he excelled. He was poised for greatness because he was in on the movement from the “ground floor.” He had been recognized for his zeal and was commissioned to root out and destroy Christians wherever he could. But even though he made a name for himself, he still found no contentment.
He found no contentment when he finally met Jesus face to face on the road to Damascus, but this is where his lessons in contentment began. He was blinded after the encounter and did not know if he would ever get his sight back. He needed to learn to accept his blindness. He could either have felt pity on himself, or make use of his life as he could. But God had another plan. And so the trials, troubles, sufferings and persecutions began until one day, in a letter to his friends, he writes, “…I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
Contentment begins with knowing God (Matt. 6:31-34.) A person will never be content living in this world if they do not first learn how to live a Godly life. If you come to the point in your relationship with God that you seek Him first, then you learn how to live Godly. But it doesn’t stop right there. You must learn not only how to seek Him first, but to depend on His love for you; that you will be okay under His leadership, love and care. In short, you must learn not only how to seek God first, but to give Him your problems and stop worrying over them; depend on Him being bigger than any problem you could ever have. These are hard lessons to learn. Oh, it is not so hard to take our troubles to God, but it is difficult for us to leave them with Him. We show this by worrying about our troubles. You can already see how to live a stress free, content life when you have nothing to worry about anymore.
Contentment benefits living in this world (1 Tim. 6:6-9). We must understand that we absolutely own nothing. We must have the higher view of our life; that we brought nothing into this world, and when we go, we will take nothing out. Even our legacy is not in our hands, it is in the hands of those left behind. It is a false understanding to think you have made a difference in the world because any difference you made or not, is in the hands of those you leave it with. It is not under your control. We are on a pilgrimage that is preparing us for heaven. Yes, God can miraculously make us prepared for entrance to heaven when the time comes, but in His infinite wisdom, He has seen fit to teach us about our upcoming life in heaven now. The sooner we see that life does not surround ambitions of the world, the sooner we will live a content life. This way, we can go to our jobs and places of work with joy and not stress. In fact, we can be happy all day long because we realize that the things now trivial, were once big things to us. You can easily see how contentment is learned by just having the proper perspective on life in general.
Contentment comes from seeking first a life with Jesus. (Heb. 13:5-6) It comes by understanding that He means what He says and says what He means. He says, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” You cannot get any more content in life than to live a life understanding that the one who holds you in His arms is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He won’t drop you or let go. Babies trust their mothers all the way up to the time that mommy makes them do something that they don’t like. They are content in their mothers arms until mommy does something that they don’t like. It may be giving a bath, or changing a diaper, but whatever it is, this is where the trust is lost. When they realize that mommy just did something for their overall good, even though it was uncomfortable for a spell, then the trust is returned. The baby learns how to trust their mommy. Likewise, Christians should learn how to learn contentment by growing up in the Lord; communing with Him and learning how to trust Him. You can easily see that the closer and more often you are with the Lord, the easier it is to be content.
So Paul says that he had to learn contentment. He is no different than any other man. We all must learn how to be content. Is your life troubled? Do you feel so overwhelmed that you think you need to see a counselor to help you get your life back on track? Do you have the tendency to turn to drinking or drugs to give you peace? Then you are seeking an instant, microwave portion of contentment, but it does not exist. You must learn how to be content. God will make sure that, one way or another, you will learn how to be content with Him. The only question is: just how much tribulation, trials or suffering you must go through to learn contentment.
At first, I saw God as my judge, keeping track of the things that I did wrong so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I died. He was a lot like the President – I recognized His face when I saw it, but I really didn’t know him. But later, when I met Christ, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride. But it was a tandem bike. It was like Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was that He suggested that we change places, but life has never been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but it was predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful “long” cuts. Up mountains and through rocky places at breakneck speeds. It was all that I could do to hang on. And even though it looked like madness, He said, “Pedal.” I was worried and I was anxious and I asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and that’s when I learned I was going to have to trust Him.
I forgot my boring life and entered every adventure and when I would say I was scared, He would just lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people who had gifts that I needed – gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. He gave me gifts to take on my journey and off we were again and he would say, “Give the gifts away, they are extra baggage, too much weight.” And so I did to people we met and I found that through giving, I received and the journey continued. I did not trust Him at first to take control of my life, I thought He’d wreck it. But He knows bike secrets – He knows how to make those sharp corners and how to jump to clear high rocks and do things I could have never done if I were in control. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places. I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful companion, Jesus Christ. And when I’m not sure that I can do it anymore, He smiles and says, “Just pedal.”
Pastor Coale has been in active ministry since 1996. He has worked in China, Thailand, Cambodia and all over the USA.
The Chinese Character Story booklet that I had written long ago is now available in digital form on amazon.com. This book has inspired readers throughout the world, both in it’s English and Chinese format. It has been used to show that the ancient Chinese forefathers knew emphatically the story of creation, even though China denies creation today. It is an amazing story showing how God embedded the story of creation in the written Chinese language that is still widely used today.
It is in inspiration to see how God works on those who proclaim to be His enemy, using their efforts to deny God, to actually prove God’s existence, all without their knowledge they are being used by Him.
It is a truly good tool to use with the atheist who points to the far eastern religions of China. Once they see that the Chinese ancestors clearly believed in God, they are perplexed about answering how that could be.
This book will open your mind to the “relationship” approach to living that the Shemite people thrive in. I truly hope it will be a blessing to you.
The Chinese translation of this booklet can be obtained here for anyone who has a Chinese friend. This booklet has opened the door to lead many Chinese people to the Lord. Sincerely, Ron Coale
One of the most tragic things that have ever happened in the world is the gruesome and ruthless death of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you think that he did nothing wrong to deserve such treatment it makes the thought yet more sobering. I don’t think that any one of us can ever relate to what He endured. He had only done well for the nation of Israel and the recorded accounts of His life never reveal any violent actions at all. In fact, they all seem to be peaceful except when dealing with the Pharisees and religious hypocrites. Even then, there is never any account of violence towards them. On the contrary, he loved them enough to tell them where they were wrong in an effort to get them to do right. He was a man who was meek and peaceful yet at the same time hard and steadfast. To add to His treatment, when we read the Bible, it is hard to think that it was His own people who were crying out for His death. It was the very people whom He was a part of that were pummeling Him and spitting on Him with frenzied jeers of contempt. He was treating them in the most honorable way anyone could who loved someone. At the same time, they were treating Him with the most contempt that anyone could be treated. It is a sad picture to say the least, and I am glad I was not there to witness it.
As I think of every punch, slap, shove and strap He received, I become more mixed in feelings inside. When I imagine every stripe of the scourging; every rip in His body, every grimace of agony on His face, I become angry. When I come to the cruel crown of thorns placed upon His already bruised and puffy face, I want to do something about it. At every turn in the punishment where He could have just said something to end it all, I wonder why He didn’t. Why didn’t He speak to end it all? When every drop of blood streamed from His body, leaving a trail of goodness throughout a world of wickedness, I wonder why He did not just call the angels from His heavenly kingdom to end it all and prove to the Jews and Gentiles alike that He was a king to be feared. My hatred grows for the Pharisees, Scribes and Philosophers of the day. I want to fight. I want to do something to stand by Him, but I am frozen in my fear. Something is holding me back. Something deep within is not allowing me to move from my spot. How glad I am that I am not there, but alas I am. I am there in the imagination of my soul, and it is as real as if I were there that fateful day. I am ashamed.
Peter is not the only one who has denied Him. The world is full of people today who deny Him, although their state is much worse than mine. They ignorantly go about their daily activities as if He never existed. They are truly ignorant of every thought of Him, but I cannot be. My anger for the Pharisees who called for His crucifixion, and sought false witnesses, is real and present. When Pilate offered to let one prisoner go, they called for Barabas. When asked what they wanted to do to Jesus, they called out for His crucifixion. And so it began: The sad and bloody journey up to Golgotha.
He is carrying the burden of His very own cross, but it seems as if there is something much more, because He staggers under its very weight. He clings to it for support, barely able to lift the heavy load. He is leaving a trail of blood behind Him. The Roman soldiers are taking every opportunity to strike Him. His own people are jeering with contempt for Him. They are under the Pharisees spell. They sit comfortably upon their mules, their faces stream pride for their, yet another, accomplishment. I loathe them. Surely they could have a little mercy. How can there be no compassion for the beating of any human being beyond the point He is at? His eyes are puffed up and are barely able to open, yet the cruel blows continue to fall. His hands are shaking under the intense pain. He staggers, but still bears the heavy burden, and once again I would like to help Him, but I cannot. How can the Pharisees allow this barbarism? What is it in the heart of the people that drives them to such frenzied acts of violence? How can any human being be so grossly vicious?
My mind cannot process all that is being taken in. Why? How? He stumbles under the burden and I want to help Him, but I am fixed in one place. By chance, (Is it by chance?), our eyes make contact. Through all of the suffering; through all of the pain, through all of His spilled blood, it’s as if He is conveying to me a calm and merciful forgiveness. I feel torn. Why do I receive such a gaze? I have inflicted no blow. I have brought down no whip? I have not spit into His face, nor even jeered at Him. I have felt no contempt for Him at all. It is then that I realize: each blow He receives if because of me. The bruised eyes, crown of thorns, and open wounds are as if I put every single one of them there my very self. It is not the Pharisees, nor is it Pilate or the Roman soldiers. It is not because of Judas (His betrayer). It is not because of any skeptic. It is I who has inflicted this pain upon Him, for I have sinned.
He suffers because of the sin of the whole world, of which I am a part. I cannot even say that each wound that He bears represents a sin that I have committed, for I have sinned much more than the stripes that I see upon Him. My anger is now redirected from the Pharisees and their foolish pride, to me and mine. The thought is sobering and does not remain long in my head, before immediately moving to the deepest regions of my heart. The thought, like a dagger, has pierced me to my very core, and I feel that I must now do something: I must ask for His forgiveness. But, the crowd is too many. The soldiers are too good at their jobs of keeping back the crowd. I push and strain, but there is no gap in the crowd where I can make my way to Him. I am completely cut off. For the first time in my life I know what it is to be: undone. It is my sin that brought this upon Him. Mine and mine alone.
People do not realize that. They blindly go through life as if it belongs to them, but it does not. They are completely oblivious of the Love that the Lord paid for their redemption to Him. Somehow, we are under the impression that it is the Jews who killed their King, but it is not. It is our sin that has brought this sad state of affairs upon the very King of Glory. We ought to ponder this from time to time and never live outside of its sober parameters. Forgive me Lord.
It was a hot morning in July when I was asked to attend a Child Evangelism Fellowship camp. I must admit, I was not too keen on the idea of having to go there, mostly because I would be surrounded by people whom I did not know. I was even more set against going when I realized it would be in a den of charismatic teaching, so I would have to walk lightly. The teenagers were delightful though. That seems to make the aversions fade some.
Dee and I were assigned two teenagers to work with. They were very knowledgeable in the Bible, but had trouble with being embarrassed giving out the gospel. They relied on me to teach them and at that time in my Christian life, I had very little experience myself. When they would undergo the training, I too would pay close attention. We learned to tell a story while using flashcards. Dee was the best at it and I was the worst. I have a difficult time with memorizing anything and we needed to memorize the story.
Then came the time to go out and use what we had learned. A wonderful lady had signed up to host a five day club in her home. She had invited about 12 children from her neighborhood to come to the club. We had games and snacks and then told them the first story from the flashcards we had. All of the kids were so mesmerized by the story. They were taking it in like a tall cup of water on a drought cursed land. I was not too amazed when a couple of them got saved that first day and there were four more to follow. Eventually all twelve of them got saved. The story doesn’t end here.
The effect this five day club had on me was profound. I was so excited to see that it was not that difficult to lead someone to the Lord. These teenagers did it just by using these flashcards. I decided that I could do the same. I tried it one afternoon back home. I went out to the park where I saw a group of kids playing in the playground. I walked up to them and asked if anyone wanted to hear a story. Not all at first, but most of them came to hear about God. Using the same flashcards those teenagers used, I was able to lead seven people to the Lord that very day. I admit I was excited. I had never felt this way before. It was very satisfying. Next weekend, I went to an apartment complex where there were always kids playing outside. I did the same thing, “Would any of you kids like to hear a story?” Almost all did. Some even went and got their mothers who came out and listened as well. Right there in the playground, I led several others to the Lord. Like a bear who got his first taste of flesh, I wanted more. This is how I began winning souls to the Lord. It seems so very long ago, yet it is still a near memory which always puts a smile on my fact.
I thank the Lord for teaching me to lead souls to Christ. I learned how to do it. It is not a natural attribute; it is a skill that can be learned. Once learning how to do it, you want to do it more. It is like going fishing and catching your first fish. All of the hours sitting quietly in the boat seem to be worth it just to catch another.
One thing which is true of all followers of Christ, eventually you will have your time on the spiritual battlefield. 2 Chronicles 32 covers the actions that King Hezekiah took in order to defend Jerusalem from the Assyrian army, and gives great examples of what we should do in order to win our own spiritual battles:
- Secure Godly support. In verse 3, Hezekiah first consulted with those he trusted. If you don’t have Christian friends who are growing, advancing and deepening their walk with Christ, PRAY for some. Proverbs 15:22 tells us, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
- Stop the flow of sin. Then, in verse 4, Hezekiah stopped the flow of water which would have given strength to the enemy. There are things which we sometimes allow into our lives which give strength to OUR enemy, the devil. One of the most important strategic moves in spiritual battle is to make sure that the flow of un-Godly, unrighteous, sinful “stuff” in our lives is stopped. It can come in many different forms, including television shows, movies, music, books or websites which contain material which is counter to what God’s word would have us consume.
- Repair, Restore and fortify. In verse 5, Hezekiah began making repairs to the wall around the city. The very nature of this undertaking required first examining the entire lower wall, to find the problem areas. Similarly, it is necessary that Christians examine their own lives often, to make sure there are no areas which make us easy prey for the enemy. Galatians 6:4-5 tells us, each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
- Weapons for battle. Verse 5 also mentions the weapons King Hezekiah made for his people. You and I are blessed to possess our own “armory”, prepared for us by our King. Read and study Ephesians 6:10-18 to learn more about the spiritual armor. If God’s people go into battle without these resources, we are defeated before we even begin.
The battle belongs to the Lord! Finally, verses 6 through 8 recount Hezekiah’s encouragement of the people for battle, as he reminded them that their enemies were simply fighting in the flesh, but the Israelites had the full power of God with them. He did not simply issue orders and edicts, and tell the people “We’re going to war! Get to your stations!” This king actually took the opportunity in what was a very tense time, to encourage the people, reminding them not of who THEY were, but of who their GOD was.
There are many different verses of encouragement in God’s word which remind us that God doesn’t just go into battle with us, but before us, preparing the way for victory. My wife recently reminded me of one, when she returned from a ministers’ wives retreat months ago. It was part of the short speech David gave to Goliath before he killed him in 1 Samuel 17. He said in verse 47, “the battle belongs to the LORD.”
God’s people will certainly find themselves involved in spiritual battles throughout their lives. However, as the people of God, not only do we need not fear defeat, but we can be assured of victory when we honor our Lord, and use the resources He has given us.
So many today have been successful at raising brats. Here’s some of the finest advice you’ll ever receive on how to keep from doing so:
1. Don’t pick them up every time they cry. If you run to his aid as soon as he cries, he’ll soon know how to control you, rather than you being in control. You don’t want them to expect to be pampered all of their lives.
2. Don’t let them defiantly tell you “NO!” It’s not cute. It’s rebellion verbalized. Although, he should be allowed to have a mind of his own.
3. Give them responsibilities. Don’t do everything for them. They will grow up thinking this world owes them a living, joining the crowd of grown up babies shouting, “I’ve got my rights,” rather than those who are men and women enough to fulfill their responsibilities.
4. Don’t neglect discipline. Don’t wait until there in trouble and let the penal system discipline them. Don’t go to Dr. Spock (who never raised a child in his life) and the other child psychologists for help and advice. Why not go to the old timers who raised 5 or 10 children successfully! Remember that a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame (Pro 29:15). You can truly develop a true brat if you won’t properly discipline them.
5. Don’t always take the child’s side. Understand that your child can do wrong. If they are wrong, they need to learn to accept responsibility for their actions.
6. Don’t criticize the Preacher or leaders. If you tear down authority in front of your child, they’ll live in insecurity not knowing who to trust. They will be totally prepared for a life of rebellion.
7. Don’t forget to tell them: “I LOVE YOU” They need to hear you say it even if you’ve given them everything they’ve ever wanted.
8. Don’t give them everything they want. There is no need to buy something for them every time you go into a store. You can say “no” to them. You don’t want them to grow up being used to having every appetite of theirs fulfilled immediately.
9. Don’t neglect to teach them the Bible. It makes no sense to them to have to go to school for 5 days a week, but not take them to church for 1 hour on Sunday.
10. Don’t always trust your child. He’s not a little angel. He does do things behind your back. Did you ever ask a young person whom you catch smoking, “Do you smoke at home?” Usually the answer is, “You’ve got to be kidding my parents would kill me.” Your child has the same fears.
11. Don’t scream at your children. This is not the only type of communication that reaches them. Time spent answering their questions and instructing them is not wasted time. Although it may not seem like it, they are listening. Constantly screaming at them will alienate them and the relationship will be devalued. This doesn’t mean that you can never talk loudly to them. There is a time and a place for everything.
12. Don’t let your child come and go as he pleases. It is good to set boundaries. Boundaries can be looked at as types of restriction, but if you look at them another way, they are types of security. Children need security and they are found in guidelines.
13. Don’t make your child the most popular in the crowd. They don’t always need to be “up” with their peers. They can be an oddball at times. If they follow the crowd, then the crowd will become the greatest influence in their lives.
14. Don’t let them constantly watch T.V. It is not good to keep them from reality. They don’t need to live in a fantasy world. They need to learn to entertain themselves. This exercises the brain and teaches creativity.
Children are not born brats. They gravitate that way because of their training and environment. Because we take the easy road in raising our children, they suffer. Putting these principles in place, along with love and fellowship, your child can grow to be a healthy member of society for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Coale
Ron Coale, Rev.
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
People today seem to be offended about everything. Everybody you meet gets offended about something you do or say. There is no getting away from it. It seems like people go out of their way to get offended about something. It seems like it is the new norm. Everybody has a chip on their shoulder just waiting for someone to knock it off so they can get offended and bring attention to themselves.
Jesus preaches not getting offended, especially in Him. The world would be a much kinder and safer place if people just chose to not be offended. There would be much more love and caring for each other if there was less getting offended. There would be less pride and more helping each other.
The first offence that people have tumbling them down a long slope of bitterness is in the Lord Jesus Christ. More than ever, society is anti-Jesus. They are not neutral as they claim to be best for everyone, but they have taken one side against God; they are offended in the Lord Jesus Christ. The more society moves away from Jesus because they are offended in Him, the less blessing they will receive. We need God’s blessing more than ever. If our country is going to return to it’s former glory, then it needs, no, it must have the blessing of God.
2 Samuel 11:3-24
Contains the story of how King David conspired to kill Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. David saw Bathsheba bathing from afar and desired to have her as one of his wives. So, he committed adultery with her while her husband was away with the other men of valor fighting Ammon at Rabbah. David, as well as Bathsheba, was very wrong in their sin. The Bible says that you can be sure your sin will find you out (Num. 32:21), and this is exactly what happened—Bathsheba became pregnant. To cover his sin, King David planned to bring Uriah home from the battle under the false pretenses of having him carry a report of the battle to the king. His plan was that; Uriah would come home and sleep with his wife. Therefore he would think that the coming baby would be Uriah’s and not someone else’s. What the king did not plan for was the utter dedication of this Hittite to the Lord and to his brothers in arms.
Uriah refused to go home to his wife. He slept on the steps of the palace instead. He reasoned to David, “The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife?” Eventually, the king had him murdered; just to cover up his sin.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]He was a man who put God first and his neighbors second.[/pullquote]
The Lord has dealt with me concerning the selflessness of Uriah. He was truly a righteous man. He would not do for himself what the others in his arena of influence could not do. His service to the Lord was more important to him than the orders of the King or even his own wife. He was truly a man who put God first and his neighbors second. To gain a testimony like Uriah’s takes a degree of dedication that precious few ever reach. For many years, as I read about Uriah, I thought, “didn’t he know that Bathsheba was certainly going to find out he was in town?” And, “What would she think of a husband that came back home for a leave, and didn’t even come to see her?” I was thinking wrong. I had missed the dosage of love that this sinful passage contained. Uriah loved immensely; it is just that he loved God first.
Of course he was wronged. His wife was taken from him; she cheated on him; he was conspired against; and finally he was murdered while fighting in the hottest part of the battle on the very front lines. But, during all of this, Uriah firmly loved God and his comrades even more than his own life. He died alone on the battle field. It would seem that his life was a waste, but it was not. God used the testimony of Uriah to change the King. It was a reminder to him about how to be a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:13-14). Perhaps it was Uriah who showed David how to be truly a “man after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22)
Oh that there would be more Uriah’s in the Lord’s work.
Church Fellowship helps meet man’s need for companionship. God uses fellowship and the church to strengthen the Christian and to accomplish His work in the world. From the time of Adam’s creation, God saw, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen.2:18). God’s initial solution was to establish the institution of marriage. However, man’s need for fellowship goes beyond marriage. He needs others with whom to grow in Christ and to serve. Every Christian needs church and fellowship.Our fellowship in the church is much more valuable than fellowship for other purposes because God’s presence makes it different. Christ established the principle that where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He would be in the midst of them. This makes our time with God’s people very special. Fellowshipping with the saints around the things of God is actually a way for us to fellowship with God Himself because He also meets with us when we come together.
When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch to report all that God had done with them, the Bible says that they gathered the church together. This means that the church was not a building or an organization but the people themselves. The people are the church. God established the church so that we could meet together, worship Him together, grow together, fellowship together, work together and pray together. God could have just let us do these things on our own or in our separate families, but He didn’t. He knew that we would need the fellowship of other saints to live healthy spiritual lives.
Date Created: 11/8/11Text: Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
INTRODUCTION:
There are stories upon stories about people who were addicts, got victory over their addiction and then returned to it once again. Usually, each time when they return to their addiction, they fall deeper and deeper into it, until they feel so hopesly lost, that it is no longer an addiction, but life for them.
Christians too are such addicts, but they are addicted to something else. They can have victory over it, if they learn one simple principle: TO BE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. They must crucify the root cause of these addictions. They are…
1. The Crucifixion of Death to Self.
Each Christian must come to the point of giving in. Not just for salvation, but to defeat self and allow Him to lead us through this journey of life. We must realize the cross is continually calling. As it took the death of the Lord Jesus Christ to allow us eternal life, so it takes dying to self for us to come alive. Being alive to Christ can only come by death to the world, self and sin.
A) Self wants to Control.[1]
Self is continually struggling to dominate control of our life. When you get control of one area, self dominates another. It is like the elephant trying to stomp out the hordes of bothersome ants.
B) Self wants to Conceal.
(Isa. 29:15; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:11)
The evil works of man are done under the cover of darkness. Self wants to dominate your night. It wants to bring you into the dark areas of your life and if it can’t bring you there, it will create them. The way to combat self is to put on the armour of light–the word of God. Then to stay away from them, therefore getting a bigger picture and being able to identify what is wrong with them. Stay in the light.
C) Self wants to Condemn.
Job 9:20 John 3:18 Titus 3:10-11
Self wants to condemn a person so they will live a defeated life; always feeling like they are good for nothing. People convince themselves that there is really nothing wrong with them. But, the greatest condemnation in the world is to not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour. The good news is—all you have to do is just DO IT!. Self can be ignored for a little while. Once you have the Lord in you, you will begin the long series of battles for domination of self, not self domination.
ILLUSTRATION:
2. The Crucifixion of Death to this world.
The saviour calls for daily dying because we live in the world day by day. If we do not surrender our hands to the piercing nails which hold us to the cross, then we cannot be set free from the world. We must ignore the world and abide in the suffering eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is possible to live in this world yet abide in the power of his resurrection. Instead of living in a hopeless death, we do have the power to come alive.
A) World wants to Influence.
The world wants us to befriend it. A little compromise here, a little there, then later a little more; and more and more, until it has completely influenced us to live as an enemy of God. It’s influence is so subtle, that we don’t even realize it is happening to us.
B) World wants to Infiltrate.
The more the world can infiltrate our life, the more control it has upon us. Practically speaking, this can be seen in worldly peer pressure: hair cuts, clothes, make up, music, talk, etc. Why is it that Christians are not as submissive to Christianly peer pressure as they are to worldly pressure? Because the world is infiltrating our lives in a much greater way. We can turn that around by seeking more time with Christians and less time with the world.
C) World wants to Inhabit.
When the Christian finally allows the world to “set up camp” in their lives (to inhabit), there is no desire at all for Christian influence. THere may be token attempts to go to church once in awhile when times are bad, but their zeal and love seem to be gone. When the world inhabits the life of a Christian, it is hard to begin living for the Lord again.
ILLUSTRATION:
3. The Crucifixion of Death to Sin.
Sin’s influence on a Christian is not nearly the same as the world’s or that of self. Sin is worst of all, yet for the Christian who has read his Bible, is the easiest to identify. Simply put, sin is the bad things we do that we know God does not like; it is the things we do that make God angry. We do not need sin in our life. We must nail our sinful nature to the cross. This is where it belongs.
A) Sin wants to Separate.
God can abide much, but He cannot abide sin. Sin is too much for a perfect God to accept. It is beyond His principles to accept it. It must all be dealt with harshly. Because of its corrupting nature, sin must all be separated from Him; every single bit of it. Thank God for the Lord Jesus Christ who paid for our sin.
B) Sin wants to Shackle.
Sin ties us down so we cannot run the race for God that we ought. It holds us back as we drag it around like so many spiritual anchors, trying to hold us in one place. We must crucify it to the cross. We must die to it to unshackel its weighty influence.
C) Sin wants to Shame.
The greatest shame that sin causes in the life of the christian is in not telling others how to be saved. If the blasphmy of the Holy Ghost is not accepting Christ and getting saved, how much are Christians adding to this sin by not telling others how to be saved?
ILLUSTRATION:
4. The Crucifixion of LIFE to Christ.
I Live By God’s Faith
I Live By God’s Love
I Live By God’s Sacrafice.
A) Life wants to Lighten.
Living a crucified life allows you to see things like you never did before. His wisdom shines through the muck and mire of the world, sin and self. there are new discoveries and revelations of old things known. all things become new by the light given from a crucified life.
B) Life wants to Liken.
We will be called the sons of God. We are likened to Him by our crucifixion of Sin, self and the world.
C) Life wants to Live.
Life is eternal and you can have it. A defeated Christian can have it right now. An unsaved person can have it right now. all you have to do is to accept it.
ILLUSTRATION:
CONCLUSION:
There is no greater sacrifice, than to be crucified with Christ. Yet it brings life.
INVITATION:
I am so glad to see that the people of our church are in their Bible’s. I know that the Bible can change things in your life. It is not that it is magical, or mystical. It is miraculous. It is the words of the all mighty Creator; the God of the universe. How do I know that people are reading? When I teach the Bible studies, from time to time, I solicit questions; I like soliciting questions from the class. When I ask a question and the class is shooting back the answers, it indicates to me that they are paying attention and are interested in the subject. They are in their Bibles and are absorbing God’s word. I know when this happens two things will result:
1. God will be pleased. His word is forever settled in Heaven (Psa. 119:89) and no man can ever change one single word of it (Mat. 5:18; 24:35). They have tried, but the original copy is in Heaven and it is in the form of a person (John 1:1-3; Rev. 19:13). That person is the Lord Jesus Christ. God likes it when people study about His Son. He likes it when we learn how Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). He has exalted His Son (Eph. 1:18) and likes us to know it.
2. People will find all of the answers of life (Rom. 1:16-20). These answers will excite them about their Creator and they will begin to see the greatness of who He is. Nothing can charge up a person; can excite a person like seeing the Bible come alive right before their face. Suddenly, life is not the life of a drone, fulfilling some purpose for the greater ones. It has meaning and definition and character. What the world has attacked as being a “fairy tale for the week minded” is revealed to be far superior in message and meaning than anything the world can offer as a substitute. Not only that, it proves itself to be truth: something that the world holds is low esteem.
I have seen many people during my life as a Christian have “the lights come on” in their Christian walk, and it is always related in some way to an insatiable desire to be in God’s Word. The read and the answers flow through their minds and they wonder, “Why didn’t someone tell me about this a long time ago?” This excites me: to see them grow in the Lord! But, I am saddened when I hear, “Why didn’t my other church even tell me about these things?” Of course, I have no answer for this. I cannot fathom a church that does not major on the Bible and minor on the programs of social assistance. And, this is what has happened in many cases. So, when God sees people getting into their Bible, He too is excited and more than willing to reveal Himself to those people.
I love talking about the Bible with people. I relish the doctrinal discourse with others. I like to see how the Lord has revealed things to them. Of the same story in the Bible, God almost always allows His creation to get a slightly different vision of how it happened. It is fun to explore the way others see it. No! I am not talking about changing the doctrine. I am talking about the slightly different vantage point from which people see the same thing. A good Biblical example of this is the gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all walked with Jesus. They lived with Him and they all had the same experiences, but they each saw it a little different. This is prevail ant in the slight differences in their writings of Christ’s life. This is what I am talking about. I like it because I can learn from others for “Iron sharpeneth Iron” (Pro. 27:17).
If I could encourage in one thing only during this brief moment where the paths of our life intersect, it would be to read your Bible. It will make a difference in your life like nothing else can. Nothing can be more important for the child of God than to learn about Him who saved you. Nothing is more necessary to walk a Christian walk, than to read it. This is why I think the Devil has put so much effort into altering it. If he can flood the world with alternate Bibles (Politically correct statement?), then he can discourage people from reading the Real, preserved, bible. Or, he can mislead them into reading a corrupt bible. I have never noticed the zeal of which I speak, mentioned over a false Bible. People duped by this corruption are more zealous over the feelings of, what they call: “worship” rather than the Word of the Living God. Now, worship is not bad, but it is important to know what you worship. To worship Jesus is to worship the Bible (John 1:1-3). To worship a false Bible is to worship a false Jesus. All of this to say: “Be sure you have the right Bible: The King James, 1611 Bible”. It can do mighty things. Or should I rather say, “He can do mighty things.
~Pastor
It is too bad that there has to be so much emphasis today on MONEY! We all know that the Word of God tells us that “…the LOVE of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). Of course, no real Christian relishes being immersed in evil, but we must all deal with this potential “time bomb” of spiritual destruction in the world in which we live today. It is almost as if it is one of those “necessary evils” to which we are bound, and can never shake loose from. WE NEED MONEY!
Families need money to live. We need “bucks” to pay for a place to live, put food on the table and clothes on our backs. These are the very basic’s of life. Everything else beyond this can be a luxury when considering the principle of “needs vs. wants.” Without the things that we need, we would be in a very bad way indeed. It is no wonder money becomes so valuable that we have a tendency to hoard it for the time when we may need it in the future. Of course, saving for specific needs is not bad, but we can get dangerously close to crossing over the line and LOVE our money. This is where we become contributor to the evil world system. Until that point, we are living under the evil effects of “love of money” that others may have; we are not actually contributors to that evil.
How does one know when they actually love their money vs. exercising good stewardship with the wealth that God has given them? It all lies in your reaction to money when you lose it. If you are devastated by the loss of it on a personal level, then most likely you are in love with it. However, if you are disappointed, but not smitten to the heart, (in other words: your joy for the Lord is affected), then you are not in love with it. You are just disappointed in your stewardship of it. But, this test is not always an indicator of love for money or not, but it is a good place to start.
God has put some very good and sure fire ways to keep from falling in love with this necessary evil, which we use every day. GIVE! Luke 6:38 tells us that we should “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.” If we have a heart to give, then we can step around ever falling in love with money. Man does not give away that which he is truly in love with. For example: I would never give to you my wife. I love her. She is very dear to my heart. I would never give to you my children, grand children, siblings or parents. I love them very much. However, I can give to you something that I hold highly valuable to me, but I am not in love with it. I value it, I do not love it. I can live without money, but I cannot live without my wife.
Money needs to be this way for us in our life. To keep from loving it, we need to give; not just once, but continually. In other words, we need to develop a giving heart. It is not coincidental that when we give, it is an expression of love towards others, but when we keep to ourselves, it is an expression of love of self.
God is not timid about providing an example in giving. He gave everything He had to redeem man from loving self. He showed the depths of His love in giving. Surely we too can give, and it doesn’t always have to be money. We can give of our time, talents, as well as our treasure. These are the three basic areas of our life which we have stewardship over where we can get tripped up. If we give of these areas of our life, then we are developing a giving and loving heart. Of course, as you examine them, the easiest and most likely to give from is our money. That simple little coin or ink covered piece of paper represents effort; effort that we exerted in which we were compensated for.
God wants us to keep from loving money because it will often times cause us to err “from the faith.” The primary effect of this evil for the Child of God is a falling away from God. When we cease from giving, and the love of money becomes rooted in us, we will certainly begin a downward spiral away from God. We know that God is the greatest giver of all, and if we are to be in fellowship with Him, we will be associated with the giving God. The sacrifices and offerings that we give to His cause is only a miniscule contribution to what He gives to them every day. And here is the reason why many people lose direction and faith in God: They have lost their desire to identify with Him in this area of their life. They may have lost it for a good reason or it may be a fabricated excuse, but they have lost it. It is logical and reasonable to conclude this since God told us this can happen and there are many Biblical examples from which we may take note. Some of the most famous are Ananias and Sapphira; Judas; and Demas, but there are many contemporary examples that each of us have certainly known. So, one sure fire way to keep from falling away from God is:
- Don’t fall in love with money.
- Develop and keep a giving heart.
Falling away from God is always subtle and slow. It doesn’t happen overnight, although one specific event could be the root cause to our beginning this downward trip. The Devil engineers it to be slow and subtle because he wants it to take hold in our life. If it was sudden, it would be too noticeable. We gradually plant, replant and transplant our produce so that it can grow steadily without a growth stunting shock. If we waited until it was too big, the roots would be all torn up when we transplanted it and it would either die or not recover in time enough to bear fruit for the season. Likewise is our giving in to the love of money. It happens slowly so we are not shocked by its effect on us. If we realized it was happening, we would discontinue following its sorrow piercing path.
No Christian wants to fall away from the Lord. No Christian wants to be pierced through with many sorrows. That is why I am writing this article: to give some insight to the process in which these are the results. If we can understand the mechanics of how this happens, then we can be aware of the signs our life projects; we can deal with it before it is too late. It could suffice to just say, “Give so you don’t fall in the condemnation of the Devil.” But there is really much to be said about that one bold statement. I strongly feel if people can understand the process, then they can be better equipped to deal with the product. So, I hope this message gives you a little insight to help you keep a strong and vibrant relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. (2 Cor. 10:12)
I recently read an article where the basic premise was: “If you don’t agree with gay marriage, then don’t marry a gay—problem solved.” Something struck me as quite odd with that statement and after thinking about it for a few minutes I realized what it was. It settled upon the word: “agree.” You see, they were saying, “If you don’t agree, and then don’t do it and your problem will be solved.” The solution to your problem depended upon your agreement to the problem or not, and what you did with that agreement (i.e. do it or don’t do it.).
Now, I have never known a problem to go away just because I did or did not agree with it. I can disagree with a police officer that I was not speeding and therefore I will not pay the fine to the judge; and my problem will be solved. I cannot leave my wallet at home and agree that I don’t need it; and my problem will be solved. In fact, my problem will be compounded because, this type of reasoning does nothing more than attempt to pass your problem on to someone else. Okay, I don’t bring my wallet. I reason that I disagree with needing it. I go to the clothing store and do some shopping, saunter up to the checkout stand, receive the news of the total payment required, and tell the cashier, “I don’t agree with needing to pay for my purchase.” I have effectively tried to place the burden of my problem on the cashier. She gets her manager where, in turn, the problem is attempted to be placed on him. He refuses receipt of goods and therefore rejects the problem becoming his, or the cashier’s or the stores. So now a clash of wills occurs. Somebody will have to back down and I do not think it will be the stores, for they are the ones who are presently in possession of the goods. You see, right or wrong is not determined upon how someone accepts or does not accept a certain thing, idea or lifestyle. For those who insist that it does, it reminds me of the Bible where it says, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Jud. 21:25).
Since our state of agreement does not solve any problem, then what is it? It must be something deeper that we are missing in the statement. Right! It is the determination of what is right and what is wrong. For all of the USA’s history, it is the principles and morals of the Bible that set the standard for us to determine right or wrong. The Bible has been the backbone of our value system and it is now under attack. I see this in a three fold attack by the Devil:
-
Dilute the Word of God.
-
Obfuscate the Word of God.
-
Eliminate the Word of God.
Diluting the Word of God will be subtle and will cause people to see the grand love and the harsh judgment of God in a much “lighter” atmosphere. People will then begin to pick and choose what they want to believe or not. This great maneuver has been accomplished by the production of so many different Bible versions that it is impossible to keep count; with more coming out every year. It used to be one word of God, one holy Bible. But now, you can actually choose which Bible you want to have based upon your desire for what God says that appeals to you or not. In other words, what you agree with or not. No matter how many different versions (perversions?) of God’s word there are, it will not change what God’s opinion is of a thing. He stands by His word and as far as He is concerned, it is settled (Psa. 119:89). Whether you agree with Him of not is irrelevant.
The obfuscation (or, confusion) of God’s word is once again accomplished by the multitude of perverse Bibles floating around the world today. When people read them, and they teach something totally different than what God’s true word says, they confuse themselves about God. I have been told that I hate gay people because I am a Christian. I do not hate gay people, I hate homosexuality. I hate the practice, not the person. Neither does God hate the person. He came into the world to die for the people of the world that they might be saved. He did not come into the world to die for mans sinful ways so that man might retain his sin for eternity. There is a big difference between the two. Where does this grand obfuscation come from? Well, of course it comes upon the back of the success of the Devils second maneuver.
The elimination of God’s word is what we see happening in full scale today. These are the troubling times that the “Age of Grace” church finds itself. During these last few hundred years; the church has not faced much persecution at all. But now, on a grand scale, persecution will come because persecution of God’s word is directly related to persecution of God’s people. Therefore, the attempted elimination of the Bible from society is an attempt to eliminate God’s people. The word itself is of little threat without the people who live by its instruction.
Overnight there seems to be a reversal of roles in society. The gays have come out of the closet while the Christians are being shoved into it. Again, this has only happened because God’s people have fallen for the Devil’s dilution, obfuscation and elimination of God’s word. So they defend, half heartedly, an institution (Christianity) that is watered down and confusing without even knowing it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. They can do right. They can cling to God’s word. They can learn about being truly free in Christ. They do not, because they do not want to.
Now, since there has been an effective assault upon God’s people through attacking His word, I submit that any response to this situation be likewise returned: tit for tat! I am not talking about fighting! Oh no! I am not talking about defending God’s word! I am talking about throwing off the shackles of shame that the Devil wants to place upon us to turn us into walking wounded. In other words: use their same argument against them in the antithesis. So, “If you don’t accept gay marriage just don’t marry a gay—problem solved,” respond with, “If you don’t accept Christians, don’t marry one—problem solved!” Another one, “Bible thumpers are the rudest people in the world,” respond with, “Heathens are the rudest haters of God in the world!” Another: “Why do Christians always try to go to the Bible to shove their ideas down my throat?” Respond with, “Why do heathens never go to the Bible to shove their ideas down my throat?”
I see the big mistake that Christians of today make is trying to defend God and His word. There is no need to be on the defense when we were commanded to be on the offense. Again, I remind you, I am not talking about anything violent in any way whatsoever. I am simply talking about not being ashamed of God. Or, in other words, refuse to be put into the closet. Maybe, just maybe we can even get the heathens to pray to God for our rapture. Wouldn’t that be a sight.
Ephesians 4:1-3 1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Every Christian has a vocation; a job given to them from God Himself. In this passage of Scripture God very clearly tells us what it is and gives a Job Description so we will not be confused about anything. It is broken down into three parts:
- Walk with lowliness, meekness and longsuffering.
- Forebear one another in love.
- Keep the unity of the Spirit.
If every Christian were to concentrate on living this way, there would be happy, productive churches for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since this is a personal vocation, it does not require, nor does it suggest that every Christian should help their brother or sister to fulfill their assigned role. Indeed! These three things are something each Christian must do on their own; they don’t depend on the reaction of the brethren to suggest success.
Each and every Christian must work on these things alone. Therefore, I ask you: Are you walking a lowly, meek and longsuffering life? Are you forbearing one another in love? Are you doing what you can to keep the unity of the Spirit? Perhaps, perhaps not. Possibly, you don’t understand what these three things mean.
Lowliness, meekness and longsuffering.
Walking in lowliness means that you put others first. This is a direct attack on the pride that tries to rule every man’s life. To put others first, you must first swallow you pride and put others first. If you like to talk, then you be quiet and let others talk instead. If you like to be the center of attention, then you give the attention to others instead. If you think in your heart that you can do better than the teacher, then you give that up and reckon the teacher is better than you. If you think about another person, “you just don’t know what I am going through”, then you think, they understand something about what I am going though. It means to put yourself down. I don’t mean to talk bad about yourself in the presence of others (like saying, “I’m so fat.”). I mean–put others first and brag on them. There is nothing like bragging on others to keep your pride in check. You can always tell a lowly church member because they are bragging on their preacher and bragging on their church.
Walking in meekness means to be mild or gentle; to be soft tempered. This speaks directly to submission. Pride thinks, “I’m better”. Meekness says, “I give up.” Not in the sense that you throw up your hands in the air and discontinue trying to do better, but in the sense that you quit striving with others. You cannot have a fight if one person just gives up. It would look silly because one person would just be swinging at the air (1 Cor. 9:26). When trying to have a conversation with someone, and another person keeps butting in overriding everything you say, just give up. Stop competing with them to get your word in. When thinking, “the pastor is just preaching that because he knows I’m…”, just give up and reckon God is working through him. When people are saying something bad about your church, and you feel tempted to say bad things too, just give up and realize that no church is perfect and you are going to do your very best to make things better. Stop waiting for the others to do it–submit to your heart’s complaint.
To walk in a longsuffering manner means to be patient. Here is where many Christians fail the most; they don’t give God a chance to answer their prayers concerning the state of their church, brethren or pastor. They want something to happen now, or at least pretty quickly. They tend to forget about the patience of God. At times they may even be giving God ultimatums without realizing it. When God doesn’t answer the way they want, or when God’s answer is NO, they think there is no answer so they need to make some change on their own–usually leaving the church for something else. Instead of telling God, “If you don’t answer my prayer by next month, then I will know you are saying leave this church,” exercise longsuffering and tell God, “You will have to take me out of this church so I will know it is you doing it instead of self.” Instead of saying, “I am going to spend my summer fishing on Sundays,” say “God, if you want me to miss church and go fishing on Sundays, you’re going to have to stop me. Be longsuffering in your walk and realize that God is doing something in your life because of it.
Forbearing one another in Love
Two things to consider in this one statement: Forebear and Love. The two go hand in hand. It is almost impossible to have one without the other. This speaks directly about how a Christian is to relate to other Christians. They are to love each other and at times that means you have to “hold them up.” Really, to love someone you have to put up with allot, but it doesn’t seem that way because you love them. To get an idea of the concept “forebear” you should think about a soldier carrying a wounded comrade off the battlefield. It is not easy to pick them up and sling them over your shoulder while the bullets are flying all around you. It is not easy to bear his weight along with the weight of your own pack, ammo and weapon. It’s not easy to feel his blood running down your back and arm. But, he rescues his buddy, putting his own life at risk, because he loves him. This is how Christians should treat the brethren of their own church. They should put their own life at risk to do the difficult thing for the brethren because they are wounded and incapable of functioning at the moment. They need to be restored. What we need in the church are “spiritual medic’s” instead of selfish back stabbers. Churches need not be full of “feel good, muckey muck, goody two shoes” Christians. They look and feel good on the surface, but underneath they have no guts. We need the “medics” who can rescue and restore their brothers in Christ. Instead of saying, “That’s a great idea, but don’t ask me to do it”, why not say, “Let me think of some ways that I can help out.” Instead of saying, “Sounds good! I’ll pray for you.” Say, “Let’s pray together about this right now.” Instead of thinking, “He should have done it this way or that way,” think, “I wonder if there is anything I can do to help him improve it. I don’t want him to think is all alone and abandoned on the battlefield. I’ll ask him as soon as he is done speaking.” Bearing the burdens of others doesn’t mean taking them away from them. It means to help them as a team would do.
Keep the Unity of the Spirit
This speaks of a common cause. the USA is full of people from diverse cultures and race. Each have their individuality, yet are united as well. On certain things, a Californian will never be able to understand a New Yorker. Still there are other things that the two will fully understand each other. I don’t like to say these are things of “common ground” as much as I would say that these are the things that make them both the same; the things that they choose to unite them–their nationality.
In the case of a Christian, and more importantly a church, these “things” are one: the Spirit of God. Corporately, all Christians have the Holy Spirit that unites us all, but there is a spirit in each church as well. I am talking about the body of Christ being comprised of individuals, all having the Holy Spirit, congregating in the same location because they are all similar. Eyes being where eyes should be; toes being where toes should be, etc. In this sense they are all of the same body, but in the right location in that broader body and God is the one who places you where He wants you (1 Cor. 12:18-20). To keep the Unity of the Spirit means to stay where God placed you in His body and not attempt to fulfill a role that you were not designed for. When being an eye, and trying to hear like an ear, you become a rogue cell and that is called cancer. The body (or church) does not need cancerous Christians. It needs Christians who are Unifying the body by fulfilling their purpose; doing what they were designed to do.
These are the jobs that God gives to every Christian. Unfortunately, many Christians are not fulfilling their designed purpose. They have either dislodged themselves and are floating around freely in the body, or they have become cancerous (not dislodged, but fulfilling some other purpose not intended for the part of the body where the Lord placed them.) Oh that churches had Christians who would fulfill their job description. We then would have strong, exciting and vibrant churches. Not places where you go to “feel good” about yourselves, but places that were strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Many people today who are saved and love the Lord still don’t want to join a church. Their reasons are many and often true: most churches are messed up; there are many hypocrites; churches are just after your money; people do not love God like they ought to. Yet, although churches have always had problems (read the New Testament), the idea of staying out of any church is not a New Testament idea. In the first church in Jerusalem, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” These were the same people who had received God’s word and were baptized. So, from the beginning, the order was to receive God’s word, get baptized and join the church.
We would all like to think that we would always do the right thing even if no one ever knew what we did. Truly, doing the right thing when no one is looking is the test of character. Yet, in reality, we all often do the right thing because we don’t want to let others see us fail. This is the power of accountability. We do right so we will not have to explain to our friends or loved ones why we did wrong. This is a motivation that God Himself uses with us. In the context of the local church, we are “to consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Heb 10:24). Knowing that people at church care should help us to do what is right. It is a blessing to know that if I stray from God, my fellow church member may come and talk to me about my spiritual life.
God takes accountability one step further in His instructions concerning church discipline. Notice this passage (out of many that teach the principle). The people in the church in Thessalonica were to withdraw themselves “from every brother that walketh disorderly.” The purpose was “that he may be ashamed.” Yet, even then, he was not to be counted as an enemy but to be admonished “as a brother.” Consider what is happening. The people of the church were to withdraw from fellowship with the man who had strayed from truth. But the final purpose in his life was not to hurt him but to restore him (see Gal.6:1).
In our modern independence, we have created virtues that God’s word never teaches. One of these virtues is what we call ‘staying out of other people’s business’. Truly, God speaks against gossip of any kind. But He does not teach us to stay out of other people’s lives. Neither does He teach that people should always stay out of your life. God teaches us to confront those who are hurting themselves and to try to turn them in the right direction (Gal.6:1). He also teaches us to accept godly confrontation (Heb.10:24). Why then would people not want to belong to a church where loving people would confront them if they started down the path of immorality, idolatry or heresy? Church membership means that there are people who love you too much to let you destroy yourself without putting up a fight for your good. What should give us a sense of security has simply made us angry and rebellious. Instead of changing God’s plan, we are the ones who should change.
Contemporary motivational speakers are those who give comments that will motivate a person to do something. They don’t motivate a person to do something that person didn’t originally want to do, but something they already felt like doing. In other words, motivational speech doesn’t have any effect on a person unless they were in agreement in the first place. Adolph Hitler was a great motivational speaker, as was Mao Tsi Dong, Joseph Stalin and Barak Obama. They were (and are) masters at finding things that people want and presenting it in a way to motivate and inspire people. On the whole, contemporary motivational speakers are “martial arts encouragers.” They use a persons strengths and weaknesses against them, in order to get them to do what they want them to do–usually to buy a product or financially support a cause. In order to accomplish their unseen agenda, they must be sure to stay away from anything negative, else their victims, like the rabbit who is almost caught in the snare, comes to the sudden realization that they are to be trapped, and hop away breathing a sigh of relief.
The truth is, there are two kinds of motivational speakers: Those who tell you what you want to hear (like cheer leaders) and those who tell you what you don’t want to hear (like preaching about sin and death); Jesus was the latter. In fact, all of the prophets and preachers of God in the Bible were of the latter sort. They had a message of hope that was coupled with a message of doom and destruction. It is the message of doom and destruction, coupled with the anger of God displayed in His wrath that was the motivational injection that lethargic people needed. When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19), the Pharisees were shocked into doing something. Noah said, “God’s gonna make it rain and flood the earth killing every living thing. That’s why I’m building this here boat.” He was scoffed at until God’s wrath was coupled with the message this preacher of righteousness had (2 Peter 2:5). They were motivated when they were suddenly caught in the snare of the Devil. With their negative message of destruction came a message of hope; they were coupled together.
The negative message first identifies a need in a persons life. It is a message of judgment and sentence. It is meant to be a warning of some bad or sinful action. It is designed to “wake people up” (1 Cor. 15:34; Rom. 13:11) from a dangerous activity, thought or influence. Then there is hope. Until then, a message of hope cannot be given because the people will not take it seriously. There is nothing to motivate them; nothing to move them or provoke them to do something about their evil ways. A fitting example of this is seen in the preaching of the prophet Zephaniah. He brought the message that the Lord was determined to pour His indignation upon the nations. The message further said that God was going to devour all the earth with the fire of His jealousy (Zeph. 3:8). A negative message to be sure. Why? Why such a message from the Lord? Because God wanted to motivate people to call upon Him (Zeph. 3:9). First the negative, then the positive. This is Biblical and true motivational speaking, and it comes with a price.
John the Baptist had a very motivational message that he preached in the wilderness. It so motivated people that King Herod wanted to hear it for himself. But when John came into his presence, Herod did not like what he heard. He did not hear a sickening sweet motivational speech doting on all of Herod’s achievements. He heard John talk to him about his brother Philip’s wife, to whom he was not wed. John said, “…It is not lawful for thee to have her.” (Matt. 14:4). How did this motivate Herod? It certainly didn’t make him leave the encounter feeling good about himself. In fact, Herod wanted to “…put him to death…” (Matt. 14:5). After some time of imprisonment, this is exactly what happened (Matt. 14:9-10).
So it is no secret that people don’t like to hear negative preaching, and sometimes it cost the preacher, but people need it. They need it to motivate them to do right. Without the negative message, coupled with the wrath of God, people are left to their own devices. And what parent would leave their children to their own with no discipline? Only those who don’t love them. Positive reinforcement never did anything for anybody other than to give the parent a way of escape from disciplining their children. It provides a good way to pass the responsibility on to others.
Preachers who are not regularly preaching against sin, are doing their congregations a huge disservice. They are taking the easy way out; trying to be their friends and be hugely popular. It is always easier to let someone else discipline the members of your church, but God will not hold such preachers unaccountable. Weak-kneed preaching on sin equals popularity, but is comes with a price–skin deep Christians who are looking to have a good time on this earth and enjoy it until Jesus gets back. That is a foolish surmise.
We have a job to do. We are to tell people about Jesus and the gospel. Jesus never told us to have a good time of fellowship until he came back. That is the equivalent of taking your talent and burying it in the sand. That will make Jesus mad. Has any preacher ever told you that if you are not doing something to win souls to Jesus, you are inviting trouble into your life? That God will be mad about that? Why not? That wouldn’t be very motivational by today’s standards, but it sure goes a long way with God. Would you hate your preacher for telling you that truth? Would you leave the church? Or, would you try to do something about it? After all, you do know the Lord is coming back, don’t you?
Many Christians know this. But they just want to have a good time and get by until He comes. After all, is it a sin to enjoy life? Of course not, but it will only be enjoyable up until you see the scowl on the face of the Saviour when He turns His eyes upon you and asks, “What did you do about what I asked you to do?”
There are two kinds of motivational speakers: One that tells you what you want to hear, and one that tells you what you need to hear. Both are motivational. The main difference between the two is your attitude in the way you take their message.
We are told of a time coming when people will “heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” and I believe we are in that time right now. The god of most Darwinian societies is education. People feel if they have enough education, then they will be able to accomplish anything that they want. Their paper badges’ of accomplishment litter the walls as they proudly proclaim their degrees, as if they are what determine a person’s place in society. It is a free-for-all survival of the fittest and the smart person knows how to outmaneuver and outwit their competitors. Education! That great and wonderful liberator of the righteous right; the emancipator of morality sings “glory, glory, halleluiah” all the way through the cap and gown ceremony, condemning the less fortunate to a life of being trampled under foot.
Don’t get me wrong. Education by itself is not wrong, or even evil. The problem lies in what subject people are educated in that is bad. If you are educated to remove the Bible from its position of highest authority and replace it with some other authority, then you are on shaky ground. Why? Because you are submitting yourself to the foray of Darwinian monkey men. Contrariwise, an education in the most superior of all books produces the most superior of all thinking. In it you learn humility and love for your fellow man. This is a stark contrast of that of the teachings of Darwin.
If you really wanted an education, why then would you not turn to the book that defines the morality of man; the book that talks about the beginning and explains the ending? Why would there be time for anything else? Is it because an education is not the true goal after all? Is it because you want to join the stampede to the top of the ladder of success?
The itching ears of people today (2 Tim 4:3) give credence to anything but God. These ears drive a person crazy with an unbelievable desire to scratch–ti make them feel good and content. So, when Mormons, for instance, or Muslims come along and explain their beliefs (?), people find it satisfying because they tell them what they want to hear. The Bible in turn, tells people what they need to hear.
It is amazing how many fables of old have actually become systems of belief; drawing in tens of thousands to their evil ways. look at Harry Potter for example. It doesn’t take long to learn the message is “he who has the greater magical power wins.” It is just the “good” evil vs. the “bad” evil. How can a sane person not see its destructive result?
For the Devil to be successful, there must be a breaking down of barriers so that we can all come together. I know, “If I had just gone to a real school, I would be able to see because then I too would be ‘enlightened.'” Well, I don’t know about that. You can change the terminology, break down the barriers, be enlightened all you want, but trash is still trash no matter if it is clean trash or dirty trash. I would not want to sleep in it if I had a choice.
People today are full of lust. They pant and growl like a needy starved bear, just waking from its winter hibernation. They will do anything to satisfy their selfish desires. And here is the key. the focal point of the entire issue is the promotion of self and the demotion of God. This is what modern day colleges and Universities stand for. Their main task is to bring everyone together, all in the same common heap of slop.
In order for people to turn away from the truth, the “educators” provide an alternate truth. Everyone has them. In following the false truth, unsuspecting students are actually turned away from the real truth (John 14:6). As long as they are told what they want to hear, then it is the “truth.” Have you ever heard someone say that they believe one teacher, over another? This question arises because people are in the process of choosing which “truth” they want to believe or accept.
In stunning contrast to “educators”, preachers are commanded to “Preach the word…” God knows that people must hear the Bible before it is too late. He knows if His preachers are negligent to do their jobs, then people will turn to something else. If they are not being fed in church, they will turn to the world, or the cults; anything that will satisfy that itch in their ears.
I don’t know if it is too late. I do know the reason people do not want to hear sound doctrine is because Christians have not done their jobs. Christians have stopped watching, enduring and doing the work of an evangelist (2 Tim.4:5). Because Christians have become apathetic, the world has swooped in and provided their philosophy.
Where do we go from here? What do we do in light of such a terrible situation? The answer to this is easy. We keep winning souls. We keep training and equipping the saints. We stay strong and vigilant. When other churches around us are giving up to the worldly system of pleasing the masses, we need to stay strong in the LORD and the power of His might.
Ron Coale, Rev.
Living a worry free Christian life by setting your affections on things above.
Christians today struggle with how to make it in this world. Life is hard and there is no respect for the Christian who lives off of “spiritual welfare.” God has given us all of the tools that we need to navigate this life, but we must not become a part of this world system. Christians should live above of this world system, and it should hold nothing that would compete for our affections, but it does.
Christians have a choice to make regarding their affections: we can give them to this present life, or to the life to come; we can give them to this world or to the new world. This present world, and all of the things we are affectionate about is going to be destroyed by God and replaced with a new one. The choice is whether we will set our affections on the things of old or the things anew.
To live a healthy, worry free life, you must set your affections on things above and not on things of the earth. All true lovers of God know that they are dead to this worldly life and the things that it has to offer. There is nothing in the world that can compete with the life that we have hidden in Christ, which will be revealed to us when He appears. Christians who live for the pleasures, satisfaction or rewards of this life, are misguided in their affections. It is not what Christ can do for you, it is what Christ has ALREADY DONE for you. Is this world your home or are you just passing through?
We are told of a time coming when people will “heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” and I believe we are in that time right now. The god of most Darwinist societies is education. People feel that if they have enough education, then they will be able to accomplish anything that they want. The paper badges’ of accomplishment litter the walls as people proudly proclaim their degrees, as if they are what determine a person’s place in society. It is a free-for-all of survival of the fittest and the smart person will know how to outmaneuver and outwit their competitors. Education! That great and wonderful liberator from the righteous right; the emancipator from morality singing “glory, glory, halleluiah” all the way to and through it’s prestigious cap and gown ceremony, condemning the less fortunate to a life of being trampled under foot.
Don’t get me wrong. Education by itself is not wrong or even evil. The problem lies in what people are educated in that is bad. If you are educated to remove from its position of highest authority, the King James Bible of the Protestant revolution for some other sense of authority, then you are on shaky ground and are submitting yourself to the foray of the Darwinian monkey men. An education in the most superior of all books produces the most superior of all thinking–that of humility and love for your fellow man; a stark contrast of that of the teachings of Darwin. If you really wanted education, why then would you not turn to the book that defines the morality of man; the book that talks about the beginning and explains the ending? Why would there be time for anything else? Is it because education is not the true goal after all? is it because you want to join the stampede to the top of the ladder of success? My friend, I can safely tell you that: “the way up is DOWN!”
The itching ears of people today (2 Tim 4:3) will run to anything but God. They are driving a person crazy with unbelievable desires to scratch; to make them feel good and content. So, when Mormons or Muslims come along and explain their beliefs (?), people find it satisfying because it tells them what they want to hear. the Bible in turn, tells people what they need to hear.
It is amazing how many fables of old have now become entire systems of beliefs; drawing in tens of thousands to their evil message. look at Harry Potter for example. It doesn’t take long to analyze the overall message of “he who has the greater magical power wins.” Evil combating evil is the message. It is just the “good” evil vs. the “bad” evil. How can a sane person not see its destructive result? There must be a breaking down of barriers so that we can all come together. I know, “If I had just gone to a real school, I would be able to see because you too would be ‘enlightened.'” I don’t know about that. You can change the terminology, break down the barriers, be enlightened all you want, but trash is still trash no matter if it is clean trash or dirty trash. I would not want to sleep in it if I had a choice.
People today are full of lust. They pant and growl like a needy starved bear, just waking from its winter hibernation. They will do anything to satisfy their selfish desires. And here is the key. the focal point of the entire issue is the promotion of self in place of God. This is what modern day colleges and Universities stand for. Their main task is to bring everyone together, all in the same common heap of slop. Then, everybody wallowing in it will be down there, while we will be up here. After all, we were the EDUCATORS, were we not?
In order for people to turn away from the truth, the “educators” provide an alternate truth. Everyone has them. In following the false truth, unsuspecting students are actually turned away from the real truth (John 14:6). They are provided a hook, line and sinker which they swallow with the utmost gusto. As long as it tells them what they want to hear, then it is the “truth.” Have you ever heard someone say that they believe one teacher, over another? This question arises because people are in the process of choosing which “truth” they want to believe; which they will accept.
In stunning contrast to this situation, preachers are commanded to “Preach the word…” God knows that people must hear the Bible before it is too late. He knows if His preachers are negligent to do their jobs, then people will turn to something else. If they are not being fed in church, they will turn to the world, or the cults; anything that will satisfy that itch in their ears.
I don’t know if it is too late. I do know that the reason we are in such a terrible situation today, where people do not want to hear sound doctrine is because Christians have not done their jobs. They have stopped watching, enduring and doing the work of an evangelist (2 Tim.4:5). Because Christians became apathetic, the world has swooped in and provided their philosophy in the vacuum.
Where do we go from here? What do we do in light of such a terrible situation? the answer to this is easy. We keep winning souls. We keep training and equipping the saints. We stay strong and vigilant. When other churches around us are giving up to the worldly system of pleasing the masses, we need to stay strong in the power of His might.
