Saturday, October 29, 2011

Marital Damage Control


MARITAL DAMAGE CONTROL
I have 53 bible study topics waiting for me to write them, and one of the customers on my route asks me to pray for him and his marriage, and write another one for him to read to give him biblical guidance to proceed in trying to save it; wow.  I don't mind; it just means God is expecting me to latch the sideboards on my plate and take care of a brother and sister in need!
First off, any married couple must start off equally yoked; "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" (2 Cor. 6:14)  If one of you doesn't want to accept Scriptural advice, you can't be helped.  You both have to agree that the bible is right in it's advice and try to rebuild the relationship back to the way it was, and maybe even better!

#1. The husband is in charge. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." (Eph. 5:22 - 24)  "Unto the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'" (Gen. 3:16)  Wives, don't get too upset; I haven't started on the husbands yet!  As every believer surrenders to Christ, so a wife is to submit to her husband.  He says, "Sorry, honey, can't afford that dress/necklace/bracelet/other bauble of any expense," then it is so.  If your husband tells you to do something you know isn't right, you might start by telling him you will do as he commands, and maybe ask him if he has examined it for reason of this flaw or another, and he may reconsider, but nevertheless, as Hosea obeyed the Lord and married a wife of whoredoms, so do as he does bid, so long as it is not disobedience to God's commandments and statutes.

Also, behave as a good wife, that he may cherish you not just because of your submission, but also because of all the good you bring to the marriage.  "Who can find a virtuous woman?  For her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.  She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.  She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.  She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.  She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.  She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.  She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.  She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.  She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.  She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.  She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple." (Prov. 31:10 - 22)  Basically this proverb is saying that this is the excellent wife of a pleased husband.  She knows how to work to create gain for them.  "She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.  Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.  She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.  Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.  Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.  Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." (Prov. 31:24 - 31)  This model wife knows what she's talking about, takes care of business, and knows how to raise the kids correctly.  She knows when to be humble, and fears the Lord, and she deserves all the good things she works for.  If a wife strives to do all this, she can hardly be found at fault in a marriage.  If anything of this is missing from the wife's part in the marriage, let her do what is necessary to recover.  If necessary, ask advice from your husband, because you're a team!

#2. - Husbands, love your wives as you do your own self!  "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.  He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Eph. 5:25 - 33)  Let a man be a virgin to all womankind excepting his wife, and not let there be any hint otherwise.  Not a singles advertisement in the mailbox, nor a filled subscription to a pornographic magazine.  Treat your wife as you would treat yourself; would you cheat on yourself?  Would you like her to cheat on you?  "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3)  You have to work together!  Treat her likewise, and be clean of carnality against her.  Consider the moral fiber of Uriah the Hittite; "And David said to Uriah, 'Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet.'  And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.  But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.  And when they had told David, saying, 'Uriah went not down unto his house', David said unto Uriah, 'Camest thou not from thy journey?  Why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?'  And Uriah said unto 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?  As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing." (2 Sam. 11:8 - 11)  We should all be of moral and ethical fiber, of good character, that our wife might be pleased of all reports of we who are husbands.  Let our wives never hear that we can be found in a tavern, drinking, or doing some other thing to bring her shame of our behavior.  My wife's girlfriends ask her questions concerning me, and she is quick to answer them an answer I would be pleased with.  Likewise, I do the same on her behalf, such as the fact that though she be handicapped, she has never ruined a meal in 31 years!  Men. love your wives; I brought mine a box of chocolates just today!  Bring your wife flowers on a day for no reason; spontaneously tell her not to bother cooking, you're taking her to dinner.  I take mine to breakfast more often than dinner, but take her out!  Respark that marriage!

I know another couple whom I cannot help, and their marriage is of surety headed for ruin, and nothing I can do to help save them, because while they are equally yoked, they are both unbelievers, and that is to their hurt.  His tongue is full of poison, no sentence goes without a cursing word of some sort, and few are the days he doesn't speak ill of his wife to her hurt.  So long as neither will repent and turn to Christ, I cannot help them.  If the bible means nothing to them, how can they be enlightened to the road of repairing their marriage?  I shall add them to my already long prayer list.  No wonder the bible has it written, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. 5:17)

It's really simple; love one another as you do your own selves; be pure toward one another, and of your own selves, that the wife and the husband shall be pleased with one another.  Raise your children to know the way of the Lord, that they may be a joy to you when they are old enough to be on their own.  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)  Start when they are very young, for corruption and evil is as a ravenous wolf in the school systems.  Forgive one another what has taken place already, because neither of you can take back past mistakes, and besides, it is Jesus' commandment! "
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:26)  Lastly, communicate with your spouse, but do this; "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph. 4:29)

Saturday, October 15, 2011

How To Pick The Right Church


HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT CHURCH
I have a sister in Christ whom I was talking to one day, and though she's a believer, she has not found a church to go to.  As a matter of fact, she felt a bit leary of trying to go out and pick one.  So I got the compulsion to lay out a plan for her and anyone else who might be wanting to either start going to a church, or maybe change churches or even denominations, and probably for good reasons!
To start with, Christ meant for a formation of a church, and for Christians to attend to it; "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18)  He did not mean for us to stay at home and guess at what Scripture passages mean; some Scriptural misinterpretations could be downright disastrous, and the devil would love for you to fall for one!  Additionally, how can you obey God regarding tithing?  "Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, 'Wherein have we robbed Thee?'  In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Mal. 3:8 - 10)

Now that it is established we all need to go to a church, the next step is encumbersome, because there are so many wrong churches to attend.  Some of those megachurches on TV are the tip of the iceberg for churches not to attend.  You may have been withdrawn from selecting one because you've seen on the news how this megachurch pastor and that megachurch pastor fell, and how far was his fall!  "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation." (James 3:1) (Let the reader understand "masters" is meant for "teachers")

Each church you pick to attend for judgment whether to join the congregation will have many facets to observe, one being conduct; "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.  But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.  For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.  For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.  For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.   Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.  For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.  Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.  For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.  Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?  Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?  But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.  But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." (1 Cor. 11:2 - 16)

Let's narrow this down to judging for yourself if the people act like Christians.  Do they act like family to you right away, and do they dress appropriately?  Do they gossip of one another, even of the pastor?  Does the pastor puff himself up, or is he closeminded to things that are within biblically acceptable parameters?  Does he preach from an open bible, or from notes beside one that is open/available?  Take time to make these observations, as they will not immediately become apparent, but also do not immediately commit to becoming a member, or it will be hard to extract yourself to go find a more suitable congregation.  A plus is a church that has bible study available, for both adults and children alike.  Many adults have not been raised in the way to go, so they need teaching at a later age; we all do!  Once in a while even an old pastor may be surprised that he can learn something!

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27)  As Christ gave example, every pastor should be giving the congregation messages and bible study from the pulpit!  Additionally, the messages he preaches to the congregation should not only match his behavior, but also the bible as well!  "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." (1 Tim. 3:1 - 7)  There are some pastors out there who test the congregation on being forgiving, whether they mean to, or not.  Pastors are no more perfect than you are, so you might forgive a situational happenstance or minor thing.  However, if they are not teaching the truth from the bible, and their teaching doesn't match Scripture, de-select THAT church!  Any good pastor always has to do their homework for whatever they're preaching, so their messages should always be true to what is written in the bible.

So picking the right church is like shopping for a marriage partner; you're picking the right one for the lifetime of living in that community.  Being equally yoked to a marriage partner isn't much different to being a member of a church; just like you date around until you believe you have the right partner for life, so you want to pick your church the same way.  How is being afraid of picking the wrong marriage partner any different than being afraid of picking the wrong church?  If you have all the facets in mind when observing a potential choice of what you want, and you have a match, then you probably have picked the right church!

Another facet is their doctrine.  Do they believe Christ is the Son of God, came in the flesh, and died for ALL our sins, and rose again on the third day?  Do they believe He sits on the right hand of the Father?  Do they believe in being baptized after accepting Christ as their Savior, and do they believe in repenting their old carnal lifestyles for walking in the Spirit?  Do they believe Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and nobody comes to the Father except through Him?  Do they believe Christ will come again and set up His millenial reign?  Do they believe homosexuality is a sinful lifestyle that cannot continue after accepting Christ?  You need to know the answers to all these questions, and others I may not have written here!

One last thing; don't leave God out of your choice; ask Him first in prayer, both before starting your search and at the time you think you have the right one.  Remember the mistake of Joshua; "And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.  And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them." (Josh. 9:14 - 15)  Joshua made peace with a strain of heathens, and that bore consequences to the Israelites even to this day!  God bless your search, those who seek!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

R U Making Time For Others?

R U MAKING TIME FOR OTHERS?
It is written that when a person has faith, there must always be works; works always follow faith; "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26)  What I want to expound on today is that in order to do these works, they involve interaction with other people, typically someone insufficent in some way or some thing.  In order to perform a work of any kind, we must subtract time out of our personal wants and needs and add it to other people.  We must make time for others.  When we make time for others, we make our actions benefit others.  "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 4:32)  It is easy to say "I forgive you", the hard part may be meaning it; but as we want the Father to forgive us, so we must forgive all from the heart.  It feels good to be on the receiving end of someone's forgiveness!  Ever wrong someone and look for them to forgive you?  Give them this love, it is a tenderheartedness!  It is one of many ways to be kind to others!  "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6:14 - 15)  "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:25 - 26)  "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;" (2 Cor. 2:10)  As you can see, forgiveness is a big thing to make time for amongst our neighbors.

Be longsuffering of other people's indiscretions; some have to train themselves out of a sinful habit.  Be merciful and think humbly; these are Christian characteristics that please God.  "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." (Col. 3:12 - 13)  The bible has so much about forgiving everybody, it must have been just as common not to then as it is today!  "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:1 - 3)  See here how Paul calls for unity of the church through godly living; that just doesn't happen because we're Christians.  We have to make time to work at it!  Bonding in unity as Christians means we take time out to knit together, as spouses do in a marriage.  Just as making time in a marital relationship bears fruit, so does expending time to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." (2 Cor. 5:14 - 15)  Real short: be considerate!  Christ was so very considerate of us in our sinful state, condemned to hell, that He came as a lowly child to a poor carpenter and his wife, and fulfilled His mission from the Father to die for all our sins, that we who believe on Him might be free of them, thus being saved for heaven from the boughs of hell.  He made time out of this small section of eternity to consider us and our fate, and resolved it in His years on earth until His death on the cross!  He made time out for us undeserving sinners, that we might live in His kingdom!  So too, we should make time out to unite with our like minded brothers and sisters and children in Christ.

When we became saved, we became a work in progress, not for destruction as we were the old man/woman, but as a new creature, we for the rest of our lives must now make time to be holy to others, for we are ambassadors of Christ now, not only for the sake of the unsaved, but also for the sake of edifying our fellow Christians.  One of the hardest things for anyone to put behind themselves is lying; telling untruths.  If any among us has practiced lying in the past, they must make time to consistently practice telling the truth, that this may be proven to be of the old nature.  That, too, takes time that we have to make.  "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." (Eph. 4:23 - 25)  "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" (2 Pet. 1:10)

"Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." (1 Thess. 1:3 - 4)  To remember without ceasing takes all our time, don't you think?  Paul writes to the Thessalonians of remembering our election of God.  That means a lot of things!  God's choosing us is sovereign, pretemporal, and for salvation!  As Paul has put it here, indeed, for any Christian, this should be a labor of love!  We are God's ambassador every day!  Act with grace toward others!  "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." (1 Pet. 1:2)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another," (Gal. 5:22 - 26)  As Christians, we are expected to demonstrate possession of the fruits of the Spirit.  We don't just be loving, joyous, peaceable, longsuffering, etc. in church, but every day of our lives.  Christians no longer practice behavior of worldly affections and lusts of carnal and material things.  We make time to war with those things and the old nature and subdue them in order that we may walk in the Spirit, and not according to the flesh.  I do not seek a title like "Prophet" or "Apostle" or "Pastor" that I might call attention to myself as a holy person of God.  If someone earn such titles in their denominations, well for them.  For me, it is vain glory; just call me Rich, there's no glory in that; I'm being meek that way.  I once stopped calling a priest "Father" when I first got saved, and I left that church soon after, but I mention it because it only took 2 weeks for him to stop calling me by my name!  He was proud of his title, offended that I didn't call him "Father"!  When we make time to practice the fruits of the Spirit amongst our neighbors, then our brothers and sisters and children in Christ know us by our behavior!  "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)  "(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) (Eph. 5:9)  "Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." (John 15:2)  Be fruitful, my family in Christ; be fruitful!

I want to say at this juncture that misunderstandings hurt more Christians among one another than most any other thing, because the misunderstandings are able to permanently or temporarily separate those meant to be family in Christ, and we must make time to clear things up!  One time I gave what I thought was a sister in Christ a few genuine, innocent compliments, and she de-friended me on a social website.  I mentioned it to a brother in Christ, and he brought up that she probably got dirty minded and thought I was less than innocent in my compliments!  But since I am no longer able to contact her, I cannot clear up the misunderstanding, so you see, she failed to make time to give me a chance to vindicate myself.  Many come to Christians for the expected consolation and comfort they need when losing loved ones, physical abilities, or because of some other loss.  Then we kick in that love, and make time for our neighbor, and they enjoy our fruit of the Spirit!  "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." (Phil. 2:1 - 2)

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:17 - 18)  As Christians we must make time to demonstrate that we practice what we preach.  Just talking doesn't show our concern for others, we must take the time to get involved with others, that they may know our words match our deeds!  If I tell someone I have a bunch of clothes just their size, but I don't give it to them, and their clothes are patched and worn, it certainly doesn't tell them I'm a Christian.  If I take the time to bring them the clothes I have in their size, so they can get rid of their old clothes, THEN I have demonstrated in their eyes that I am a Christian not just by word, but by DEED!  "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth." (Deut. 15:7 - 8)  "He answereth and saith unto them, 'He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.'" (Luke 3:11)  "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness." (Ezek. 33:31)  See here how Ezekiel words it; if you don't give, the needy see you as covetous!  "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, 'Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled'; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (James 2:15 - 16)

If our love be given to our neighbor(s), let it show to them as being genuine, not a labor, chore, or as not from the heart; "Let love be without dissimulation.  Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;" (Rom. 12:9 - 10)  If a child can discern whether you care about them, or love them, how much more can an adult readily discern it!  "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" (1 Pet. 1:22)  Showing love takes time; make that time, that they may know you truly do love them!

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." (1 Cor. 3:6 - 9)  Make time to cooperate with one another, particularly in the winning of souls to Christ. Paul planted and moved on, expecting God to make the increase.  Apollos edified, and if he was there or not when the increase happened, it didn't matter.  What mattered was that Paul and Apollos worked together for the Lord's harvest of lost souls.  Those souls were no longer lost, because Paul and Apollos made the time to cooperate toward the goal of the increase.  "We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." (2 Cor. 6:1)  Let us make time to cooperate now that every soul we contact may have opportunity to be saved, for the day of grace is now and every day a soul is saved.  We cooperate as a united body of Christ to win souls into His grace!

When we make time for others, we need be mindful to be Christ-like all the while doing so; after all, we call ourselves Christians!  It means we're are attempting to follow Him, His way, to be like Him. He said, "I am the way".  We must take time to focus on being like Him.  "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." (Eph. 5:2)

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.  For every man shall bear his own burden." (Gal. 6:1 - 5)  Living under grace is not license, but rather a life of love and service, not just to one another, but to Christ.  We need daily to make time to watch for our family in Christ, if they make a mistake, and we catch them red-handed, so to speak, that we lovingly correct them and restore them, knowing humbly that we too, are sinners.  It is harder to make time for an unsaved sinner, because they are easily offended, and take longsuffering and prayer to be led to Christ and salvation.  Let us make time to be Christ-like toward others in love, as He has called us to be. God loves a cheerful giver, even of our time...

Friday, October 7, 2011

Are You Being Robbed?

R U BEING ROBBED?
One of the worst things that can happen to anyone is to be robbed; not just of your material things, though, but your spiritual things!  Seasoned Christians know right away who the crook is, too!  Satan is a thief of the worst kind.  He wants to steal whatever he can from you, because he has nothing himself that is permanent, except for the lake of fire!  "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (Rev. 20:14)  As you can see, the reason I didn't say hell is because even it will be cast into the lake of fire!  So what all does he want to deprive you of?

1. Your kingdom is at stake!  He wants you to fall into apostacy.  "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. 2:3-4)  Apostacy is a state of having given up your faith.  "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father'.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Rom. 8:15-17)  So here is the promise that we have a kingdom to inherit.  I don't want to be robbed of THAT!  Do you?

2. You could lose crowns!  "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." (1 Cor. 9:25)  "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?  Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" (1 Thess. 2:19)  "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." (2 Tim. 4:8)  "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him." (James 1:12)  "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Pet. 5:4)  "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)  An incorruptible crown, another of rejoicing, another of righteousness, and another of glory...but remember, the devil wants to rob you of these!

3. Your comfort and joy for all eternity is also up for the taking!  "But as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.'" (1 Cor. 2:9)  The devil wants to steal these from you, and know what he wants you to have in return?  "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke 16:23)

4. All your other untold treasures are available for the taking.  "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" (Matt. 6:20)  If you have any treasures saved up for you in heaven, the devil wants to take them away however he can while you're here on earth!

So how does the devil steal all your eternal possessions?  He wants to mislead you off the Way!  "Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.'" (John 14:6)  So how does he mislead you away from Jesus?  He gives you another Jesus!  "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (2 Cor. 11:3-4)  Now this passage bears the need for further explanation.  Door knocking is as common to false teachers as it is to true teachers, and the false teachers do the work of the devil to mislead; see, the devil doesn't always do his dirty work his own self.  "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (2 Cor. 11:3-4)  Mark this well; the hallmark of a false church is one that needs another book in addition to the bible.  This additional book will not agree with everything that is in the bible.  Speaking of the bible, one false teaching church even wrote their own version of the bible, because they were tired of taking a whopping with REAL bibles that didn't match their lies!  There are a number of counterfeit bibles in print today, the worst being the NWT and NIV.  The best bibles you could have are the NKJV and the KJV; the older version, the better!

Believe in an insufficient Jesus where you need to go to purgatory?  Uh-uh!  The REAL Jesus paid it ALL at the cross!  An ineffective Jesus, because there's no hell?  News flash!  If there's a devil, where do they think he resides; the Hilton?  If there was no hell, Jesus died for naught, didn't He?  Believe in an imperfect Jesus because He didn't have an immaculate conception - what a lie!  That would disqualify Him as a perfect sacrifice for our sins!  The list goes on, but you can understand from this why broad is the highway that leads to destruction and hell!  There are all kinds of churches out there that believe in doorknocking for all the wrong reasons - don't be a victim!  The devil wants you to believe he doesn't exist, hell doesn't exist - he wants you confused and mixed up so that you fall down the wrong path!

So how do we protect ourselves from being robbed of our eternal treasures and kngdom?  The devil is wily and has lived a whole lot longer than you or me.

Put on the whole armor of God!  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" (Eph. 6:10 - 18)

Let's break down this passage so we understand it well, that we may use this spiritual armor effectively.

1. The girdle of truth - The truth holds everything together.  When you have on the girdle of truth, your integrity stays intact, just like when Job was under attack!  The devil wanted Job to curse God to His face; even used Job's wife's mouth to tempt him, but he kept his integrity.

2. The breastplate of righteousness - The believer's chest and heart are protected from the devil by practiced righteousness.  Take Saul for an example, Israel's first king; when he began to practice unrighteousness, he ended up taking his own life miserably, falling on his own sword.

3. Shoes made of the preparation of the gospel of peace - Ever wear shoes that didn't fit right, or weren't built right, so they failed to give you support or stability?  The gospel of peace gives our lives support and stability.  When we walk as the gospel tells us to do, so then our lives have support and stability from our obedience.

4. The shield of faith - Oh, how this piece of our armor is important!  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6)  If there are holes in your faith, there are holes in your shield!  What is faith?  Blind trust!  If we trust in God with our whole heart, then we have a whole shield!

5. The helmet of salvation - Guarding your hope in salvation through Christ Jesus is wearing this helmet.  "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him." (1 Thess. 5:8 - 10)

6. The sword of the Spirit - The word of God is the most wonderful sword you can possess: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Heb. 4:12 - 13)  For this reason God wanted Joshua to always study the law; "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Josh. 1:8)  Anyone who is wise reads their bible daily!  "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 3:15)

7. Praying always for all the saints and ourselves - How many of you missed THAT one?  Most people don't recognize this as a piece of the armor, but it is!  We are all targets of Satan, nobody is immune!  Therefore, pray one for another, as it is written, persistently, in the power of the Spirit, and for all believers, because fervent prayer avails much!

So we have here that eternal treasure is ours for the taking, but there is a thief who wants it.  Even worse, he wants us to have the same problem he has - a terminal lack of salvation.  He wants to rob us of all our blessings.  But God has given us a way to protect it all while we're here on earth; we have the armor of God!  Are you going to let the devil rob us?  I thought not!  Armor up, Christian!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Can I Get A Witness?

CAN I GET A WITNESS?
Do you suppose if Jesus came here now and asked this question, how many could He count on to answer the call?  We are the minority who believe in Him, and we don't always feel capable of answering the call, because there are situations in this world where we would lose our jobs, and there are some in other countries who would lose their life!  Some would surely get beaten up in the wrong place witnessing of Him, and do you know what He said about that?  "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:10 - 12)

David had no problem being a witness; "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.  I cried unto Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue." (Psa. 66:16 - 17)  As a matter of fact, his wife who loved him for the first part of their lives together, despised the manner in which he made witness of the true God as he danced and played in public, and as she reproved her husband the king for being witness of his good God, he dealt with her in this way; "And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.  And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.  So all the people departed every one to his house.  Then David returned to bless his household.  And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, 'How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!'  And David said unto Michal, 'It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.'  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death." (2 Sam. 6:16 - 23)  This is not always so that the Christian has the upper hand between himself and in this case, a rebellious wife!

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." (Prov. 11:30)  "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.'  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." (Psa. 14:1)  I have put these two together to show that the fool is not righteous with the latter Psalm, and that the witness is wise who can win souls from among them.  The fool here is described as to his belief and behavior; he is morally perverse.  His or her atheism is not theoretical, but rather practical in nature.

We who are a witness for God, we are as a bright shining light.  Not as a light that requires luminescence, mind you, but rather a spiritual light, one which the unsaved do not have.  The saved have such a light, and like many sticks in a bonfire, our light edifies the light of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  How do we shine?  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)  That's right!  Our good works, the fruit of the Spirit that is in us, by this people will see our witness that we are children of God, the family of Christ Jesus!  If we preach our faith, but do no works, our witness is an odd flame, a spark at best, and if our actions do not back up our witness, we are seen as faith without works, and faith without works does not save.  "Yea, a man may say, 'Thou hast faith, and I have works': shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:18 - 20)  So have faith AND works, and your two-part ticket to heaven is punched by Christ Jesus!

When we are sent by Christ to be a witness, how great a witness for Him we shall be, being so that He Himself sends us?  "And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him.  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, 'Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.'  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel." (Mark 5:18 - 20)  What a terrific story of the man possessed with the many demons called Legion!  Once a very lost soul, saved by Jesus, he went to Decapolis to be the great witness Jesus instructed him to be!

After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to witness specific things of Him.  But what is true today is as it was after His resurrection, is that each generation need be preached to the same things He told His disciples to preach; "And said unto them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And ye are witnesses of these things.  And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.'" (Luke 24:46 - 49)  Just as it was preached salvation in Christ's resurrection by these disciples, so it need be done today!  "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Now of all those who are believers as I am, if you have been His witness for some length of time, you know you will get the unbelievers talking about you.  They'll call you "Jesus freak", "nut case", "whack job", "crazy for God"; and those are the GOOD things they'll say of you!  Because they are unbelievers loving the darkness, oh, they will say worse of you, and want you shut up.  Foreknowing these things, yet, be not ashamed.  Christians have been so spoken of long before this generation who can read bible studies on a computer!  "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Rom. 1:15 - 16)  Think not that you have to go to Greece or Israel to preach; Paul means here that Jew and Gentile (that's you and me who are not Jewish) alike are invited to salvation in Christ!  And here Paul instructs us that we should not be ashamed for being a witness, for you who witness, if you be ashamed, it will tell on you in your inflections of speech and in your behavior.  You will act anxious and nervous, and your speech may have a stammer or even a waiver in the tone.  New Christians may experience this, but seasoned Christians will orate as your pastor, minister, elder, or a priest does in churches.

Know now that as we witness of Christ and the salvation He offers all who would believe on Him, we must walk the walk as well as talk the talk; in short, we are now ambassadors for Christ!  People will be judging your "new man" or "new woman", and so we must always be on our guard, so that we don't ruin our witness!  I have had a sister in Christ "de-friend" me on Facebook because she obviously misinterpreted something I wrote to her.  I paid her a couple genuine compliments in total innocence, and in her mind the old nature apparently made its presence and her thoughts went the wrong way.  I actually had to have another Christian associate explain to me how she probably thought that way about me after the compliments.  So you see, we are even ambassadors to one another, and we tend to do poorly, because we don't know who among us is a sheep or wolf.  We don't always give each other enough time to test our fruits!  "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." (1 Pet. 3:15 - 16)  Now some might ask, "Exactly what does this mean?"  Set aside the Lord Jesus in your hearts.  Have an answer for those ready when they will ask you what makes your religion and beliefs right among all the others who believe so much other stuff.  For there are all kinds of religions and theologies of false gods, let alone false doctrines of the true God, and then there are the atheists and heathens!  Many times I have debated against false doctrines and religions, always citing chapter and verse of Scripture, and none could win against me, they simply refused to accept the bible as it is written, and so they incur from God whatever He deems for rejecting what is written.

When we speak, and the topic is of a religious nature, and we witness of God, in any or all forms of the Trinity, let us first be sure we have it right!  Let us read, read, and read some more, all of God's word, from cover to cover, and what we memorize, preach that.  The more we remember, the better our witness, but be sure; if we misspeak what Scripture has written, it ruins our witness.  But if we speak surely, our confidence edifies our family in Christ who hear it, and unbelievers may take interest, because even they can tell we believe what we say.  As we grow in our faith and prayers to God, and get many reading hours under our belts, God grants us ability.  Even the mute and deaf may demonstrate witness of God, because when we watch our brothers and sisters and children in Christ doing Scripitural works, we understand they are living what Scripture dictates we are to do amongst our neighbors.  "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Pet. 4:11)

Let us be not a witness only today, but every day.  When we get up every morning and pray, let us ask Him to open our eyes to every opportunity to witness for Christ, that we might successfullly witness of Him to every neighbor, whether for edification or unto the salvation of the unsaved, let us give Him a witness in me and you!