Help Us

"Let all things be done decently and in order." 1Cor. 14:40

The old testament is a lesson on how to build a nation. And how to build a temple. And how to serve God. The new testament is primarily how to live for Christ, how to operate a local church, how to solve church problems, and how to evangelize the world. It can get involved and complex, but at it's root it is all pretty easy to understand. Israel, by serving God in His temple and in His nation, would be a testimony to the rest of the world. The church age involves no nation building. But it does focus on earth filling. Letting the light shine in dark places and among darkened people.

Our Fellowship is doing it's part to fulfill the great commission. We must be careful not to get too close to the world or worldly systems. When our job is to be salt and light in the world, we cannot risk diluting our message or cheapening our purpose. This is the purpose of a conference. It gives us a way to bring into focus what we know and to keep us on track.

We need pastors to minister to people. We need young people to catch the vision of evangelism. We need every member to support the church's vision. We need Jesus to help us to do His will.

The Best Is Yet To Come

When you have lived your whole life being self absorbed and self focused it is hard not to be the center of attention anymore. You still want the praise and adoration you are accustomed to. You still crave the excitement  of being special. But in reality, you are just another grumpy old man or whiny old woman.

So what do we do as we fade into irrelevance and obscurity? We reminisce. We talk a lot about the good old days. About what we used to do way back when. How good we were and how well we performed. Some of us still have our participation ribbons we got just for playing. And God help us if we were actually good at something or accomplished something.

Life must be lived to the end. We never get to rest on our laurels. Like God, we may get a day off, but we get right back to work. Heaven is not an eternal vacation. It is a place to put into practice the things that we learned in life to serve the Lord for eternity.

Maybe, instead of just wanting more of the same, we should be seeking God to find out what He has for us going forward. We had no idea how this would all play out back then. God always saves the best until now.

"...Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" Jn. 2:10

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap id we do not lose heart." Gal. 6:9

"Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly" Job 8:7

 

Missing Chruch

 If you are not feeling well, or if you tend to feel sad or depressed at church time, and if this will keep you from going to church, you will find yourself feeling ill or sad or down every time you think about going to church. When I started thinking about this, I immediately began to assume that it is the devil who does this to us. He strikes us with sickness just before we start to get dressed for church. We have family drama or get into a fight every time we think about going to church. And this would be true.

But what if God is behind your reasons for not going to church? What if God is testing you to see how bad you want to be in church? What if God does not intervene in your condition because He wants to see what is more important to you than going to church?

I am convinced that if you want to be in church, you will be there. You will die on the way to church before you let sickness keep you from going. I will not make concessions for ailing or infirm or housebound people. If you want to be there, you will be there. Any reason you give for not going is just an excuse. Maybe if you went to church Jesus would heal you. 

I personally think that we ought to stop livestreaming church services. Number one, it is a terrible way to go to church. Number two, if it is important enough to you, you will be there in person. If you want to watch a conference sermon, go to conference. 

Missing a service from time to time happens. But miss too many services and I begin to think that you really do not want to be there. Just saying.

Does Much Learning Make Us Crazy?

Theologians, like intellectuals, get a bad rap that is often well deserved. They live in a world of ideas and theories. They are detectives searching for clues. They seek for patterns and reoccurring themes.  But too often they throw out the baby with the bathwater. They take things apart and when they put it all back together they get it wrong.

We have tools that we use to understand ancient languages. Hebrew and Greek dictionaries giving the English translation to ancient words. We are not looking for errors or inconsistencies. We are looking to understand the meaning of the words from the language they were first written to be able to apply them to our current language and understanding.

We often get benefit from the work of theologians. We read their books. We quote them in sermons. But if one of our disciples talked to them they would consider them to be religious but unsaved. This is the wonder of the Bible. Anyone can read it and apply it. Many read it but it is a dark mystery to them. Not to us. We get it.

Theologians would benefit from spending more time among ordinary people and attending a real church. It would benefit them to humble themselves and seek ministry that speaks the Word of God with anointing. Theologians would benefit from what we do three times a week now. We go to church. We sing and worship. We pay our tithes. We greet out friends. And we all have walked down the aisle to kneel at an alter and pray a sinners prayer. Maybe much learning makes us crazy.

Make A Choice, Then Make It Work

 Why is it so hard for our young people to get married today? Is it a spiritual problem, since we know that our enemy hates traditional marriage? Could it be a social or psychological problem as well? Could it be that we become a victim of paralysis by analysis? Could the fear of missing out make us hesitant to make a choice? Could it be our unrealistic ideals and standards for a spouse that no one can meet? Or, could it be that we have so many choices that we become unable to make a choice?

When the idea of getting married first occurred to me I asked a friend to point out to me the young, single, and available girls in church. Which he did. It turned out that there were 4 or 5 girls at that time who were single, available, and attractive. I married one of them.

You do not fall in love and then get married. You marry, and then you learn to love them. You do not need to get to know them before you get married. You get married and then you spend years getting to know this stranger who you married. Choosing someone to marry is first a choice. You must choose someone, and they must in turn be willing to be chosen. The burden of this transaction rests on the man.

Throw away your list of qualifications and standards. Be a true Christian and you have all of the standards that you need. Find someone who you feel attracted to who is single and available and ask them. Dating is a waste of time if marriage is your end goal.

Let me say that your parents, and your pastor, are bad judges of character when it comes to marriage. Pick someone who attends your church and that is enough. You will be marrying a stranger no matter how much time you spend together before marriage. Pick a spouse, and then tell your parents and your pastor your plans.

"And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. ..." Genesis 24:66-67

Isaac and Rebekah never dated, they were total strangers, but that didn't matter. They made a choice, and then they made it work.

A Bible Lesson For Today

 "...And his servant said to him, alas, my master! What shall we do? So he answered, do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2Kings 6:15-17

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by life? Have you ever thought that your situation looked hopeless and even dangerous? Can I tell you that you are not alone in feeling this. But it may be that you are young or immature in your faith. The young man saw one thing, the elder prophet saw a different thing. The young man panicked, Elisha was calm.

One big truth to see in this text is that always there are more for us than against us. Only one third of the angelic host followed Lucifer in rebellion against God. Two third of the angels stayed true. Do the math.

You think that your pastor is just a nice guy who preaches.  I wonder if you ever thought how God surrounds him with an army of angels and chariots of fire? The angelic host was protecting Elisha, not the young man. I think that the greater the leader, the bigger the spiritual host that surrounds him. We stay safe by staying aligned with our pastor.

The final thought is that Elisha prayed. "And Elisha prayed" is the statement that changed everything. Before Elisha prayed there was fear. After Elisha prayed there was peace. Prayer not only changes the circumstances, it changes our perspective. The angelic army was there before Elisha prayed, but the young man only saw it after Elisha prayed. Prayer helps disciples see from God's perspective. Prayer diffuses fear in your church.

What God did for Elisha and his young servant He will do for you.

Is Science A Tool To Deceive?

"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, he catches the wise in their own craftiness. and again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 1Cor. 3:18-20 

The problem with physics and mathematics and molecular biology is that it only works on paper, or under a microscope. It does not work in the real world. Things that make perfect sense to a physicist make no sense to anyone else. Things that look real under a microscope or through a telescope are not real to anyone else. And God looks at man's wisdom and accomplishments and He calls it all foolishness. Evolution is not scientific at all. It was a man's attempt to discredit the creation story in the Bible.

Speaking of the Bible, it is one thing that looks real on paper and actually works in real life. 

Note in the text how the word "deceive" and "craftiness" are used by the Holy Spirit. These words speak of a deliberate act to mislead and twist. Science seems to be a tool of the evil one to draw us away from God. Creation means that there was a creator. Evolution means that nature acts on it's own, randomly.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Romans 1:18

See, men suppress the truth of the Bible in their sinful behavior. But God keeps good records. He will give to every man the wages due him. 

It's time to repent.