09/05/20 WHAT'S YOUR TAKE?

09/05/20 WHAT'S YOUR TAKE?

WHAT'S YOUR TAKE?
Don't take offense when pastor provides Biblical counsel; take time, take inventory and take action.

09/05/20 AS A SET

09/05/20 AS A SET

Often an open mouth is attached to a closed mind and heart.

09/05/20 NOT THE SAME

09/05/20 NOT THE SAME

It is one thing to not believe in PERFECTION (whatever that means), but another thing to not believe in BIBLICAL PERFECTION.

09/05/20 DISCIPLINE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

09/05/20 DISCIPLINE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Children and youth need family (home) responsibilities and accountability.

It is not punishment, it is preparation.

09/05/20 GOD CHANGES US

09/05/20 GOD CHANGES US

Being a Christian changes the way we view, understand and deal with the world, it doesn't change the world.

09/05/20 KEY TO BEING IN SYNCH

09/05/20 KEY TO BEING IN SYNCH

The key to having your head and heart in sync with Christ (truth, love, holiness) is found in Psalm 19:14.

TRUTH
Psalms 19:14
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

09/05/20 NOT WHAT BUT WHO YOU KNOW

09/05/20 NOT WHAT BUT WHO YOU KNOW

It's not what you know in your head that saves you, it's Who you know in your heart.

09/05/20 JESUS IS OUR ALL (8 yrs ago)

09/05/20 JESUS IS OUR ALL (8 yrs ago)

True, whether 8, or 80, or 800 years ago, and true as long as life endures.

Time spent in communion with God each day is essential to our salvation. He is food, drink, air and life to our soul. He is our light, strength and guide.

It takes a miracle to waken, empower, lead and deliver us.

We live in a world of invisible realities. Ignoring the invisible does not nullify the invisible. Only the invisible God, who is Spirit and Truth can equip us for life, battle and service in the invisible realm.

Neglecting Him puts us in peril, now and forever.

09/04/20 PURSUE OR BE LOST

09/04/20 PURSUE OR BE LOST

Spiritual warriors pursue holiness, and peace with all men.
The option?
Cutting off from God, failure at grace, defiling bitterness.

Hebrews 12:14-15
14 peace pursue with all, and the separation, apart from which no one shall see the Lord,
15 looking diligently over lest any one be failing of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up may give trouble, and through this many may be defiled;

09/04/20 DEAF AND BLIND TO TRUTH

09/04/20 DEAF AND BLIND TO TRUTH

Woe to the pastor who does not take God's call seriously.
Woe to the parishioner who does not take God's order seriously.

Hebrews 13:7
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

09/04/20 NO TIME FOR PLAYING GAMES

09/04/20 NO TIME FOR PLAYING GAMES

How seriously do Christians take God's directives concerning submission to spiritual leadership?
Read and Heed Hebrews. 13:7,17.

GOD SAYS,
Hebrews 13:7
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

If individual Christians don't take these Divine directives seriously and if local churches don't take these Divine directives seriously, then there will be failure in both the personal lives of believers and the corporate life of the Christians in their families and churches.

09/04/20 I DON'T UNDERSTAND

09/04/20 I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I'm amazed when folks reject the faith, love, joy and peace of God I preach, then spread their upheaval, anger, misery and despair.

09/04/20 WHY CHRIST DIED AND AROSE

09/04/20 WHY CHRIST DIED AND AROSE

This is the Good News.
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 ... as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 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.

09/04/20 DLG FB NOTE... SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE 07/26/1

09/04/20 DLG FB NOTE... SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE 07/26/1

GOD'S PLAN

God deals with humanity on both an individual and a corporate level. God created man (Adam) from the dust of the earth, then He made woman from Adam's side. From that time God's relationship with the human race has been both individual and corporate.

I am using the word “corporate” in the basic sense of “body.” The "body" may be the husband/wife union in marriage (Adam/Eve), the parent/child relationship in family (Adam/Eve/Cain/Abel), the extended family relationship of grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins (Terah/Haran/Abram/Sarai/Lot), group relationship found in tribe and community (Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/his sons, Babel/Sodom, Israel/Judah) or the redemptive relationship in the Church. Marriage, family and Church are God's ideas and institutions

THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SIDE OF BEING HUMAN

There are some blessings and cursings that can only be realized by individuals and some that can only be realized by bodies of people.
There are some obligations, opportunities that are strictly personal and some that are corporate.
There are some successes, failures experienced only by individuals, and others that are only experienced by groups of people.

God has destined us personally to be answerable only for our own sins, but He has designed us corporately to share as victims or victors, based on other people's actions. Not only do our actions have personal consequences for us, they have corporate consequences for others, thus the idea, "No man is an island."It is a challenge to attain and maintain a balance between private and public productive performance. While God expects us to reach our full potential as individuals, He also requires us to live in peace with one another. When a marriage, family, church is living according to God's will and by God's grace, this unimaginably beautiful community becomes a reality.
This will be demonstrated on an international level during the earthly reign of Christ, when He returns.
This will be the eternal norm when there is a New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem.

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS/FAILURE

This is why it is important for people to learn early that they are not only responsible for themselves, but they are responsible as part of a social structure (marriage, family, church).
This is why it is important for young brides and grooms to learn teamwork and mutual support concepts early in their marriage.

If interdependence is not understood and achieved at an early stage of a relationship, the individuals and the relationship will begin to suffer loss and failure and they will be plagued with negativity throughout their lives.
This is why it is important for people to be under the authority of wise leadership and for them to seek out that leadership and submit to the counsel of that leadership. The refusal to seek and accept sound counsel will result in personal and corporate failure, temporal and eternal loss.

AS SEEN IN CREATION AND THE CREATOR

Finally consider this. We see both the individual and corporate idea in the natural world, the institutions of God and the the nature of God.

Creation

All of life is built upon the individual part, but is related to all other parts. This is true on the mega scale of the universe and the micro scale of the atom. The far reaches of the universe impacts and influences life on earth. Our entire universe is interdependent.God refers to the human body as an example of this concept. The body is made up of individual parts, but each part has a relationship, connection, to the other parts.

Relationships

The husband and wife relationship is said to be "one flesh" and the local church is one body, made up of various members.

Deity

There is only One God, though there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we interact with and respond to God we are relating to One God in Three Persons. God deals with us as only One God, but He relates to Himself and to us as Three Persons. He (They) is (are) perfect in unity and in purpose.

THE FALLEN HUMAN CONDITION

God created us to be individuals who can relate to one another in perfect unity and harmony. Sin has brought dissonance to the human race, but redemption restores us to God's plan. But remember, the longer we are out of tune with God, the more discord there will be in our lives, privately and publicly.

ABERRANT BEHAVIOR

It is called sickness when parts of the human body are not functioning properly.
It is called family dysfunction when members of a family do not properly relate to one another.
It is called crime and anarchy when a society does not submit to authority.
Likewise, when a local body of believers does not properly interact it is an indication of soul sickness, spiritual dysfunction, and rebellion against God.

CHOOSE YOUR PATH CAREFULLY

During the early days of the automobile, people drove in well-worn ruts rather than on maintained, modern roads. When going from one community to another, a driver might be reminded, "Choose your rut carefully because you are going to be in it for a long way." This is good advice for the journey of life. Choose your path carefully, because you are going to be in it for a long way." You will have to deal with the terrain, through which the path takes you, and the thugs, who wait in ambush. And remember, the path takes you to a specific destination, whether you want to go there or not.
This is why we need a road map (the Bible).
This is why we need a guide (the Holy Spirit).
This is why we need to travel in a group (the local church).
It is possible to live for Christ when no one else does, but it is not possible to fulfill all of our ministry without the other members of the body of Christ.

 

09/04/20 FOLLOW UP TO PICTURES ON THE WALL

 09/04/20 FOLLOW UP TO PICTURES ON THE WALL

This is a follow up to my post concerning, "Straightening pictures on the wall, while the house burns to the ground."

 

The Bible warns that knowledge and information can have a negative rather than a positive impact, and that folks can be greatly informed about certain issues but they never come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

This has been dubbed, "The Information Age," but it is also "the MISinformation age," or the MISGUIDED AGE. Too much time and energy is spent on misinformation, false information and worldly information. Believers need to spend our lives and ministries on studying, proclaiming, sharing, teaching God's truth rather than men's errors. When we know the truth of God we are more likely to grow in grace and knowledge and less likely to be caught in the web of worldly and vain philosophies. The devil sidetracks believers with worldly concerns, movements, issues, answers, insights. Don't be sidetracked. The longer we are sidetracked, the less we will be evangelizing the world and edifying the church.

 

Peripheral issues and answers are not the message of the Bible. These things are part of the clutter. Focusing on these things and spending time on these things distracts from the great truths of the Bible. The time, space, energy, talent spent on pictures and clutter should be spent on the HOUSE (the household of God, the life of faith, the revelation of God). There are plenty of people who will address these side issues. What we need are MESSENGERS OF ETERNAL TRUTH.

 

Jesus did not send His disciples to teach about the pictures and the clutter. He sent us to proclaim the gospel. The information concerning the pictures and clutter can be mistaken or misrepresented. The information and focus concerning the pictures and the clutter can be a stumbling block and a smokescreen, which keeps people from seeing, understanding and believing the gospel.

 

Christians need to keep their Divinely appointed mission separate from the pictures and clutter of worldly issues. I understand the connection between the peripheral issues (pictures, clutter) and the gospel, but unsaved and believers do not need to turn their attention away from sound, deep Biblical teaching, values, directives.

 

We have enough TRUTH to proclaim without wasting time on the peripheral issues, even though there is a certain amount of truth and importance attached to them. I believe that these side issues, minor issues, godless issues are diluting the impact we have on the world. It is true that people will be more stirred by the peripheral than by the CENTRAL TRUTHS OF THE BIBLE, but they will not be saved and Christians will not grow in grace and knowledge, by the pictures, the clutter, the peripheral. To focus on those things is to focus on the negative, on the works of Satan. People need to focus on and feed on the word of God.