Dear Abigail...

April 16, 2013

Dear Abigail
     Hi baby girl! I can’t believe your mom is almost eight months pregnant with you already! It seems like just yesterday we were looking at three positive pregnancy tests, laughing and crying all at once. That day changed everything for us! Even though we waited for you for two long years – we still had a hard time believing it at first!

     And now you’re almost here. I’m sure you know by now how much I love your mom – you hear it all the time! And I’m sure that you also know that we argue sometimes – but that’s nothing to worry about. As much as you’re moving around right now, and as strong-willed as you already seem to be, I’m sure we’ll have our own arguments too! But I hope you’re already finding out that no one in this family goes to sleep angry!

     Sadly, I have no idea what kind of world you’re going to grow up in. Horrible things are happening all around us even now. Where this world is going to go from here, I don’t even want to know! You’ll go through some hard times. You’ll experience some things that my generation never experienced. You’ll know other kids whose families are being torn apart – or were never there in the first place. You may even experience some very dangerous situations. But I promise you this; the same God that watched over your grandpa and grandma, the same God that protected and guided your mom and dad will watch over you! We’ll teach you how to hear His voice – and if you’ll pay attention, He’ll always place you at the right place at the right time! God will bring you out of every problem on top!

     God is always faithful – and we are going to show you this from the moment you’re born. I told you before that you’ll probably have friends with destroyed or nonexistent families. But I also promise you this, you will never have to go through that! You can rest assured that you will always have your mom and your dad. I’m going to do everything I can to be an example of God’s faithfulness. I’m going to love your mom the way Jesus loves us. I promise you this – you will never have a stepmom or a stepdad…I love your mom too much for that! Besides, there’s no way I’m ever going to let some other person raise my beautiful little girl!

     You’re not going to be normal, Abigail. Why? Because normal isn’t good enough for you! It isn’t normal anymore for girls your age to live with their mom and dad. The normal right now is to have a mom and a sperm donor. (I’m trusting that it will be decades before you even know what that term means!) It isn’t normal for kids to have parents involved in their life. And it certainly isn’t normal for them to have a mom and dad who are committed to raising them up spiritually. But that’s what we’re going to do!

     Even as a girl, you’ll know the Bible better than most Christians – because we’ll be reading it every night. Before you hit your teenage years, you’ll know how to talk to God…and how to hear Him speak to you! You are going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, Abigail. I can’t wait to see His calling on your life start to show up!

     It’s important for you to know that I’ll do everything I can to guard that calling on your life…even if it means chasing away some of people who want to be your “friends”. If you’ll trust us, your mom and I will show you what kind of people are worth having around – and what kind of people aren’t worth the time of day! And…many, many years down the road…I know you’ll meet the righteous young man who will take you by the hand and lead you into the next level of God’s call on your life! From that day on, the two of you will walk with God together. Now, I don’t even want to think about that day! But I hope you’ll trust our input on that decision too. If you’ll pay attention to the way I treat your mom, you’ll see how your own husband (…in the very distant future…) should treat you.

     Above all, know this…I love you Abby! I’m going to do my best to teach you, to guide you, and to protect and provide for you. And when the times come that I don’t know how to help you, please let me take your hand and lead you to the One that has all the answers! After all, He loves you even more than I do!

Looking forward to seeing you for the first time,
Your Loving Dad

What's Not In The Bible

Mark 7:13 “... making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.”

The American church has a lot of pet doctrines. They seem to be teachings that people are adamant about. But sadly, many of them have no scriptural support. They probably began as exaggerated and dramatized story-telling - but many of them have become entrenched dogma in American churches.

Some of these are silly and harmless:
“Paul got knocked off his donkey on the way to Damascus.” - I challenge you to find a donkey in that story!
“For forty years in the wilderness, the Israelites only ate manna! Can you imagine how tired they were of it?” - Well, if you read Exodus through Deuteronomy you’ll find out they were still raising livestock while they were being fed manna. Manna was there to replace the crops they couldn’t grow; but it wasn’t the only thing they ate.
“The walls of Jericho were so thick that they had chariot races at the top!” - Not only will you find the lack of chariot races in the book of Joshua, you’ll also find the glaring lack of any chariot in Jericho when it’s described! Actually, the fact that Jericho spent so much resources on a defensive structure probably meant they lacked any real type of offense. As near as I can tell, this particular teaching started from a Carman song!
These teachings are essentially harmless, as long as you remember that they’re man-made embellishments. If you start pushing them as hard doctrine, you may get into trouble.

But some of the other pet teachings are more serious. They have formed the foundation of several false and flawed doctrines:

“Lucifer rebelled sometime between the first and second verses of Genesis. That’s why the world was covered in water in Genesis 1:2”  - I would respond this way: Show me! Show me in scripture where Lucifer led a rebellion from earth into Heaven and the world was flooded before the creation week. If that’s what happened, how do you explain God saying that everything He made was “very good”? How could creation have been good if Lucifer (something He created) was already in rebellion and millions of a “pre-Adam” race were dead and buried? This false teaching is at the heart of “old-earth creation” and it begins to redefine what you think God calls good.

“Jesus went into Hell after He died and fought with the Devil. He beat him and took his keys away.” - An exciting message? Sure. But Jesus did NOT go to Hell! He didn’t have to...the cross was enough! Just read Jesus’ own words. Jesus Himself told the repentant thief, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” Isn’t that enough to convince you that Jesus didn’t go from the cross into Hell? Colossians 2:13-15 makes it very clear that Jesus victory over the devil’s kingdom was on the cross! “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

The one pet doctrine that I hear most often is this: “First and Second Timothy and Titus are the Pastoral Epistles. Paul is teaching these two men how to be pastors.”

I would be more inclined to believe this teaching if the word pastor was mentioned once, in any of the three books. But it’s not. You may be surprised to hear this, but nowhere in the New Testament is the office of pastor mentioned! This whole “good little pastor” teaching is entirely man-made!

However, in all three epistles, you do see the office of apostle mentioned. All three start with, “Paul, an apostle” - and then are addressed to Timothy or Titus “a true (or beloved) son.” Do you see it? Paul (an apostle) took these men under his wing to mentor them in his office! It wasn’t Pastor Timothy or Pastor Titus, it was the apostle Timothy and the apostle Titus!

Look at what Paul told Timothy in chapter 3 of his first letter. He instructed him in how to appoint deacons and bishops (in today’s terminology, that would be senior pastors). Who did Paul think Timothy was? In 1 Timothy 5, Paul went on to instruct this young church leader how to distribute payment to the church leaders and how to handle correcting them. Surely Timothy was more than what we call a pastor!

Titus was also following in the apostle Paul’s footsteps. Paul left this young apostle in the island nation of Crete to set the new churches in order. Paul started these churches and then Titus was responsible for setting up the leadership. Let me repeat that. Titus went from church to church, in each Cretan city to appoint people into leadership positions. Does that sound like he was a “good little pastor” to you?

Clearly, Timothy and Titus were more than what we’ve made them into. These were young men who had an apostolic call on their lives. Paul had seen that calling and took them with him to train them in their gift. As they served with Paul, they were faithful to work in his ministry. Paul brags on Timothy’s faithfulness in Philippians 2:22: “But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.” Because of Timothy and Titus’ faithfulness to his ministry, Paul helped them into their own place. Timothy was placed in a position of authority in Ephesus and Titus in Crete.

We need to be diligent when we read and study God’s Word. We cannot allow our traditions to interpret what we see in its pages! Instead, we should be letting what we see in God’s Word change our man-made traditions!

Joshua

Luke 16:12 “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?”

Like Elisha, Joshua was a man who was faithful in another man’s responsibility.

The first time we see Joshua is in Exodus 17. By that time, he is already the captain of Israel’s army. While Moses went up on the mountain to intercede for Israel, Joshua led the soldiers in battle against the Amalekites. But in Exodus 24:13 we find out that Joshua went on from being the captain of Israel’s army...to being Moses’ assistant. What a promotion, right? But Joshua understood something that no one else in Israel knew - God rewards faithfulness!

Then we see Joshua being sent with eleven other men to spy out the land of Canaan. He was one of the two spies that viewed the land as a promise from God instead of a death trap. In fact, the whole nation of Israel was so afraid to move forward, they were contemplating stoning Moses to death and making a return trip to Egypt! Even during this dangerous time, Joshua still stayed by Moses’ side.

Joshua stood beside Moses during many severe trial.

He was there when Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ own brother and sister tried to usurp his authority. Moses’ own siblings were murmuring about his wife. The complaint of these leaders of Israel  was, “Moses said that God didn’t want us to marry foreigners, but his wife is a Ethiopian! He’s not ‘practicing what he preaches’ - why should we listen to just Him? God can speak to any one of us.” (Numbers 12:1--2)

Joshua was at Moses’ side when they came down from Mount Sinai and saw the entire nation of Israel caught up in fornication and idolatry. He stood with Moses when he went into the tent of meeting and talked with God face to face. He was with Moses when one of the Levite leaders and two hundred and fifty other leaders accused Moses and Aaron of taking too much authority on themselves. Joshua knew what they didn’t know - that Moses didn’t take any authority, God gave it to him! When these rebellious leaders were wiped out by God, Joshua stayed by Moses when the rest of Israel accused him of murder.

Everything that Moses went through during the forty years in the desert, Joshua walked through it with him. He could’ve quit any time. He could’ve used his position close to Moses to his advantage when Israel wanted to appoint a new leader and return to Egypt. He could’ve gotten offended at Moses’ “hypocrisy” along with Aaron and Miriam. After spending two years at Moses’ side, Joshua could’ve gotten offended when Moses, by God’s direction, appointed Aaron as High priest instead of him.

Actually, if you think about it - Joshua could’ve gotten offended at any time during the desert years! Just the fact that Moses never led Israel into the promised land like he said he was going to would’ve been enough to offend most people. We know that because it did offend most of the nation of Israel! Even then, Joshua stood by Moses’ side. Can’t you see Joshua standing there amazed at these people who refused to enter the promised land and then accused Moses of not taking them in?

Despite everything that Moses went through, Joshua stayed by his side for forty years. I believe it was only Joshua’s faithfulness that allowed him to step into the leadership of Israel when Moses died. There were many other leaders who were probably much more qualified. But Joshua was faithful in what belonged to another man, and that opened the door for what happened in Numbers 27:18-21:

“ And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.’”

Joshua’s faithfulness brought him into his own position of leadership. The same applies to us today. Do you believe you’re called into the ministry? Are you anticipating becoming a leader in the church? Then learn from Joshua and find a church leader to be faithful to. If you’re faithful in their ministry, one day God will promote you into your own.

Elisha - An Example To Today's Minister

Luke 16:12 “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?”

If you want to step into your own ministry one day, first be faithful to serve in another man’s ministry. How often do you think this is taught in Bible college? For that matter, how often do you think it’s taught from church pulpits? But, according to Jesus’ own words, faithfulness is more important than any other trait - even education. I’ve said it before, but in God’s eyes someone who faithfully cleans the church bathrooms for twenty years is more qualified to pastor a church than a fresh seminary graduate looking for a pulpit.

This is illustrated clearly with two prophets; Elijah and Elisha.

Elijah was a prophet during one of the darkest times of Israel’s history. The king of Israel at that time was Ahab, easily the worst king in their history. Because of his intense persecution of the followers of Yahweh, most of the godly people in Israel emigrated to the godly nation of Judah. In the entire nation, only seven thousand righteous people remained.

After Elijah’s most impressive showdown on Mount Carmel, he was forced into hiding by queen Jezebel. While he was alone in a cave, God told him to anoint a man named Elisha “as prophet in your place.” That’s exactly what Elijah did. He found Elisha plowing up his field and threw his coat over him.

In those days, a man’s coat signified his calling. Prophets wore unique coats - so did priests, kings, and many professional workers. In throwing his coat over Elisha, Elijah was giving a clear call. “Come, become a prophet like me.” Elisha left everything that very day and began to follow this prophet.

Imagine how amazing this must’ve been for Elisha. He was from a rather wealthy, well structured, and righteous family. Being a godly man, he’s already heard of this man Elijah. This was the man that stopped the rain for three years! This was the man that had just bested 850 false prophets on Mount Carmel! This was Elijah, the prophet - and he was calling Elisha to become like him! This must’ve been the most exciting moment in Elisha’s life.

But instead of learning to be a prophet, Elisha began to serve Elijah. In one day, Elisha went from being a well-off farmer to being known as “the man who poured water on Elijah’s hands - that is, a servant. For twenty years, Elisha never did a single miracle. For twenty years, he never prophesied once. For two decades, Elisha was only known as Elijah’s servant.

What’s even more amazing is that this was voluntary. Elijah wasn’t domineering Elisha. He wasn’t forcing him to serve. Elisha could’ve returned to his family at any point during that twenty years. It wasn’t Elijah’s control, it was Elisha’s faithfulness that kept him there.

After twenty years together, they began their last journey. Their trip took them through the cities of Bethel and Jericho. In each of the cities, there was a group of prophets. In each city, the prophets came to Elisha and said, “Do you know that your master is leaving soon?” Elisha responded, “Yes, I know it - now hush!”

You see, these prophets could hear the Spirit of God. They knew God’s voice and were in tune with God’s plan. But they didn’t recognize the importance of faithfulness. You can see this by the fact that they stayed put when Elijah left. Elisha followed with him, and because of that, he got the prophetic ministry that rested on Elijah. Elisha became an even more powerful prophet than his predecessor because he was faithful.

All these prophets saw with Elisha was a servant. They only called Elijah his master. But on the day that Elijah was taken away, Elisha calls him something different. As he watched Elijah going up to Heaven, Elisha cried out, “My father, my father!” He wasn’t serving this man because of control, he was serving him because of relationship. Even when he was mocked as a servant, he never went back to his old life.

If there was anything I wish every aspiring preacher would know, it’s this: don’t chase after your own ministry. Stop maneuvering to get a better position and ask God to send you to a minister to serve. When you’re faithful in what belongs to someone else, God will reward you with your own!

Stable

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.”

The Greek word translated as patience or long-suffering is “makrothymia”. It’s used about 14 times in the New Testament, 5 times in reference to God Himself. Of course God would have this kind of patience, after all this isn’t the fruit of the Christian…it’s the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot manifest this fruit by ourselves. It isn’t a result, it isn’t even a reward - it’s a fruit. We don’t work for patience, we allow it to grow. The more time we spend with the Holy Spirit, the more these fruit come out in our everyday life.

The word translated as patience - “makrothymia” - has two principle meanings:

The first meaning is what we normally think of as “patience”. That is to say endurance, longsuffering, or being slow to avenge yourself. It’s about how long you can wait for something or how far you can put up with someone. This is how makrothymia is used in Ephesians 4:2, “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
Colossians 3:12-13 tells us why believer’s should be patient with each other. “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

Makrothymia is also used to describe God’s endurance with sinners in Romans 9:22 “In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, He is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15 says that it is God’s patience that gives sinners time to repent. So God’s patience with us, His willingness to put up with the crazy things people do, is an absolute lifesaver!

The second meaning of makrothymia is different than endurance and longsuffering. Patience also means stability. It isn’t just how long we can wait, it’s how long we can wait without changing. Christ-like patience means it doesn’t matter what happens, we remain the same.

This meaning of patience is brought out in Hebrews 6:11-12, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Do you see it? We’re supposed to imitate those men and women who patiently inherited the promises - the ones who consistently did what they were commanded. You see, this is more than “putting up” with someone! This type of patience means that no matter what happens…you refuse to change what you believe.

Actually, there is another Greek word (often translated as “patience” also) that brings out this side of our patience. This word is  “hypomone”. This is essentially being stable and unswerving in what you believe. For a believer, it means you get off the roller coaster. You’’re not up one day and down the next. When this fruit is matured in a Christian’s life, no outside circumstance can ever change what they believe - or how they behave.

This is the kind of patience Hebrews 12:1 speaks of. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” In other words, let’s throw off the sin that tangles us up and just be consistent!

If you want to live a successful Spiritual life, consistency and stability are crucial! No one can be on top of things one day and then under the circumstances the next day and still expect to succeed spiritually.

Jacob’s oldest son Reuben was an example of a life that failed because of a lack of stability. Reuben was the firstborn and he had the legal privilege to inherit the birthright. But he disqualified himself because of his instability. Genesis 49:3-4 says, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you shall not excel..” Reuben knew what was right, sometimes he even did what was right. Remember, he saved Joseph from his other brothers! But there was two sides to this man. He was constantly wavering back and forth between right and wrong. Because of this instability, this lack of patience, He disqualified himself.

Remember, a person who continues in two natures will usually settle into the lower one - the sinful one. It’s important to stay stable in the new life God gave you!

So have a look at your life. Are you constantly moving back and forth between two natures? Do you feel like Jekyll and Hyde? You’re in need of the fourth fruit of the Spirit, my friend! Patience - stability - will grow naturally when you spend time every day in God’s presence!

James 5:7-8 “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

Winning Souls?

I think there are more man-made doctrines in the church than we realize. These are teachings that we’ve learned for years that have no basis in the Bible. They’ve just been emotionally exciting messages, but that’s all. Teachings like “Jesus went to hell to fight the devil and take his keys from him” or “Timothy and Titus were pastors” - things you can’t find in the Bible, but we’ve preached them because we can relate to them emotionally.


One of these man-made subjects is the teaching that we need to “go win souls.” It sounds good, the motivation behind it (reaching the lost for Jesus) is good, it’s led to some good results - but I think it’s also done a lot of harm.


First of all, remember what your soul is! If you haven’t read it yet - read my last post. Jesus doesn’t save your soul! Your soul isn’t born again, your spirit is! You are responsible for saving your soul through God’s Word! Remember James 1:21, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” It is your habit of reading God’s Word daily that will save your soul!


So where did the concept of “winning souls” come from? One verse - Proverbs 11:30: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” Notice the context, this isn’t talking about witnessing - it’s about doing what’s right! The Hebrew word for soul that is used here is “nephesh.” It simply means a natural type of life. It is often translated life or breath. Every living breathing animal has nephesh...it is simply the natural kind of life. Literally, it is the seat of the emotions, the place for thinking, and the activity of the will.


Keeping the phrase “wins souls” in context with “the fruit of the righteous” - we can see that it’s really talking about winning your soul! It’s moving past your natural life and normal way of thinking into the righteous way way of doing things! Do you see how this verse lines up with James 1:21?


Now, I know it sounds like I’m being overly technical and splitting hairs. But I believe that focusing on “winning souls” has been detrimental to the church! We’ve put the entire focus of the church on winning people to Jesus - but we’ve forgotten what should come next!


Jesus never called His church to win souls! Matthew 28:19-20 records the mission that Jesus gave to the church: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Do you see “winning souls” in that passage? Do you even see “witnessing” or “salvation messages” in that passage? What do you see there? Making disciples!


Don’t get me wrong, the salvation of a sinner is huge! It’s like the birth of a child...it’s necessary for life! But you don’t give birth to a baby and then say, “Congratulations kid, see you in a week!” Your goal isn’t the birth, it’s the life! You want that child to grow up, mature, make the right choices and ultimately produce and raise kids on their own! It’s the same with being born again.


We’ve missed it when we go out and lead a person to Jesus, and then leave them on their own. Our job - the commission given to us by Jesus Himself - is to disciple them. How do we do that? By “teaching them all things that I have commanded you.”


The believer’s calling is to take people from being a sinner, leading them into the new birth, and then taking them under his or her wing and discipling them. You do realize, after all, that once you lead someone to Jesus, you’re responsible to help them grow? The new birth is only the beginning of what you should be taking them through - with the ultimate goal of producing a mature believer that can repeat the process with another person!


I’m a product of this. My pastor wasn’t content that I was saved - he wanted me to mature in the faith. He took me under his wing and taught me how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. As I grew, he taught me how to do the work of ministry. And now I’m teaching other people the things he taught me!


I believe that every believer, every follower of Jesus should be becoming a disciple! They should be learning His way of doing things. They should be learning to discipline themselves to do what’s right. They should be submitted to ministers who are growing themselves. And every believer should be discipling someone else! We have too many babies in the church that aren’t growing up! It’s time for someone to come along side of them and raise them up!

The Geology Of A Believer

Matthew 7:24-25  “ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
As believers, our lives must be built on God’s Word. In our job, at our church, with our spouses, and with our children; the final word for us must be from the Bible. Whatever situation we find ourselves in, wherever we are at in our life...we have to get our instruction from the Bible. Forget the hypothetical “what would Jesus do?”  - the real question should be “what did Jesus say?”
God hasn’t left us in the dark here! He told us everything we need to know about our life. He wrote it all out inside His Word. So if there was one priority in a believer's life, what should it be? We should be digging into the Bible before we turn to anything else. God's Word is the the rock that a secure life is built on.

Well, that's only half true...the rest of the story is found in verses 26 and 27. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Knowing God's Word isn't enough to make your life storm-proof. To do that, you also need to obey what you know.

The Bible is the firm foundation for a strong life. Anything that you build in this life – a business, a marriage, your children, a ministry – must be built on the obeyed Word of God. That is the rock that stands firm against the storm.

If obeying the Bible's directions is shown to be the rock to build on, what do you suppose the sand in this story is? Simply put, it's hearing the Word and ignoring it. How many Christians do this every week in church. They hear something from the pulpit that convicts them, they know that they need to change, but they walk out and forget about it! Jesus said that was like building a house on the sand!

Now let's get a little more in depth. When you look at all the passages where sand is mentioned symbolically, it always referring to masses of people. If you think about it, this is one of the biggest reasons why people don't obey God's Word. They hear it -  but then they talk to their mom who's got a better idea. or they hear another “viewpoint” on TV, or they follow their own logic instead of what the Bible says. These people hear the sayings of God, but they reject it in favor of the shifting sand of man's opinion.

Storms come to both types of people. People who obey God and people who do things their own way will both have trouble in their life. When someone who has built their life on the rock faces a storm, they can rejoice knowing that they're going to be standing on the other side. But, when someone who ignores God's Word goes through a storm, everything they've built for themselves will collapse.

How many times have we seen this? Marriages fall apart because the wife won't respect her husband or the husband won't love his wife. Kid's go crazy because they weren't disciplined God's way while they grew up. Churches split in half because the congregation refused to listen to God's warnings on strife and division.

If we want to build anything in this life that lasts – we must learn what God says, and then obey it!

Slackers Don't Get This

Proverbs 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

Do you remember when you had loose baby teeth? You would go to take a bite out of something at dinner time, and it would just give way! Or how about this, have you ever sat on your leg until it went to sleep and didn't know it? You would get up and take a step, only to have your leg buckle under you! That feeling – knowing that something should work and it fails you – is the kind of feeling that comes from depending on an unfaithful person.

Have you ever depended on someone, and they didn't come through for you? It stings, right? Or, have you ever been the cause of that kind of frustration? I have been in both places, and I didn't enjoy either!

Faithfulness and loyalty are not common in this world anymore. Even in the church, where we should be true to our word, there are a lot of unfaithful people. Even Solomon noticed that trend back in his day; Proverbs 20:6 says, “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?”

In the New Testament, the Greek word for faithfulness is “pistis” - and it's used to describe both reliability and faith! Why is the word for faith used to describe our reliability (faithfulness)? Because, the Bible is describing a faithful person's trustworthiness from someone else's viewpoint (“I have faith in them”). In other words, our faithfulness should allow people to put their faith in what we said we would do!

Faithfulness is our human reflection of God's character. God is always faithful to His word – that's why we put our faith in Him. As His kids, we should be faithful to our word as well! From marriage vows to job contracts, a believer's word should be binding. Psalm 15:4 shows how a faithful person views his promises; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change. Even when it's costly, a faithful person does what he says. This is the kind of character should be found in the home, on the job, and in the church.

God's currency is faithfulness!

For example, if you want to advance in your workplace, make sure you're faithful to your boss! Luke 16:12 says, “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” If you have to be told two or three times to do something, if you're badmouthing your boss behind his back, if you're always complaining about the job you have – why on earth would you be expecting a better position? If you're not faithful to what your boss is giving you to do, you will never be made a boss yourself. 

When you're faithful, other people may call you a “kiss-up”, but God will honor your faithfulness to your boss!

This type of faithfulness applies to ministry as well. When someone has a call to preach, the best thing they can do is submit to another man's ministry. Be faithful in what is another man's and God will give you your own! The worst thing a young minister in a church can do is badmouth the senior pastor and constantly maneuver for a better position! You're setting yourself up for failure, my friend, so stop it! Take a lesson from Paul, look at how he was placed in ministry: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

Luke 16:10 sets the rule - He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Go ahead, try to claim that you'll do a better job when you have something more important to do. But I'm telling you – the way you serve in the little things is a picture of what you will do with greater things. In God's eyes, someone who faithfully cleans the church bathrooms for ten years is more qualified to step into ministry than a fresh Bible school graduate!

Faithfulness is essential for your Christian walk! God emphasizes it over and over again. Be faithful to the people in charge, and God will bless you!

A faithful man will abound with blessings Proverbs 28:20

A Little Too Far

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition

            According to this verse, everything that happened to the Israelites in the wilderness served as examples for us. We can learn about our Christian walk by studying what they did in the desert. If that’s the case, what do you think we can learn from Numbers 16?

            I’ll abbreviate the story here, but it might be good to read that chapter for yourself! When God made Aaron and his family priests, He also assigned the Levite tribe as their helpers. Basically, they were the helps ministry in the tabernacle. Everything that the priests needed done, the Levites would to it for them.

            In Numbers 16, a Levite named Korah got a little too ambitious. He and his three friends gathered 250 leaders of Israel together and went to Moses and Aaron. This was their complaint, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD’s people?”

            They were after the priesthood that God gave Aaron.

            Moses responded, “Tomorrow, God will show who He set in that position!” Then he said, “Korah, isn’t it enough that God chose you to serve in His house? Isn’t it enough that you’re responsible for the care of the Tabernacle? And now you’re demanding the priesthood too? Who is Aaron that you’re complaining against him? God put him there! You’re the one who has gone too far!”

            The next morning was the test. Moses told every one of the 250 leaders to fill their pans of incense to burn before God – something that God told the priests to do. They wanted the priesthood, so they were going to find out if God would accept their ministry. Aaron also filled his incense pan to burn before God. Moses called everyone to come and see who God would choose, but Korah’s friends refused to come. They even complained that Moses ordered them to come – accusing him of trying to be their king!

            It didn’t take long for God to make His point. The ground opened up under Korah’s friends and swallowed them up! At that very moment, fire erupted in the incense pans of Korah and the other leaders, and burnt them to a crisp! Only Aaron was left standing there! God’s decision was clear; Aaron was the man He chose.

            So if this is an example for us, what can we learn?

            Korah and his following thought that Moses and Aaron set themselves in their positions. They failed to see why Aaron was the only person that got to be priest. Their complaint was, “Everyone here has been set apart by God, what right do you have to take charge over us?” They didn’t realize that God chose Moses and Aaron to stand between Him and them.

           

            Sound familiar? This happens in churches all over the country. People are unhappy with the man that God placed in authority and with the decisions he makes. Sometimes they’re angry about nothing more than the way he preaches! They rise up against him, claiming that they have just as much right to run the church. In the words of Moses, they go too far! God’s response to them is clear, even in the New Testament!

            Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. – Not everyone is called to these positions! The responsibility of the ones called to be leaders is found in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, encourage, with all longsuffering and teaching.” They are responsible to teach us, to rebuke us and to encourage us. Most church-goers are lost when you get to rebuke – but correcting sin is part of a spiritual leader’s responsibility!

            God will be the One to judge them based on their responsibilities – that’s not our job! Our responsibility to them is found in Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.”

Again in 13:17, “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say.” That is our responsibility. It’s not our job to oversee them; their job is to oversee us!

Theirs is the bigger responsibility by far, and God holds them accountable to it! The rest of Hebrews 13:17 is, “for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” They are going to give an account to God for us. Wouldn’t you like that account to be joyful? How would you feel if their account is only about the grief you caused? That would definitely be “unprofitable for you!”

So help your pastors! Don’t be like Korah and complain about what your pastor is doing! Don’t be like the 250 and join in with complainers. Follow your pastor’s example and do what you can to help him! Ephesians 4:8 tells us that these men are gifts to us! Let’s treat them right!

Loving God's House

Genesis 28:16-17 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

There's a growing problem in the Church of God today. It's an issue that strikes at our very heart. It's a problem that, if not solved, will destroy individual believers as well as local churches. That problem? Apathy.

We've lost our passion for God's house. We've forgotten what coming to church is all about. In a very true sense of the word, we've been asleep. Just like Jacob, we've wandered into Bethel ("the house of God") without realizing Who's here with us! Why else is it surprising to us when there's a "great service"? During those moments, we wake up like Jacob and say "God is surely in this place!" But too often we fall right back asleep again. It shows on our faces...we're bored. In God's house, the very gate of Heaven...we pay no attention!

The answer isn't more exciting church programs. It isn't attendance drives or more "relevant" messages. It's God's word, people...if a preacher just got up and read three chapters and sat down, it would be relevant! The answer is for us to realize where we're at!

"How awesome is this place!" That was Jacob's realization, and it needs to be ours too. This isn't just a building. I know that we've been taught that over and over, but we've been misled. Sure, you and I are the church of God - that's part of the truth. But the rest of that truth is found in 1 Timothy 3:15 "I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" I know that we are the Church, but when you and I (the body of Christ) meet together - wherever we meet becomes the church of God - God's house on earth! Where we meet together with God is Bethel!

Now listen to what else Jacob says! "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!" Are you wanting more from God in your life? do you want to see God do more in your life? Do you feel like Heaven is closed up to you? I would examine your attitude toward your local church! Where you come to meet with God is the gate of Heaven in your life! Everything God wants in your life has to come through the gate of Heaven - the house of God!

Now...concerning your attitude toward your church. Are you fussing with your brothers and sisters? Are you eating your pastor (God's gatekeeper, if you will) for dinner on Sunday afternoon? Are you always half-awake, half-hearted, and a half-hour late? How would your friends feel if you showed up to their house like that all the time? How would your boss feel? Why do we reserve that kind of indignity for the gate of Heaven?

The bottom line is this, if you want what Heaven has - you have to treat its gateway with a little more respect.