Worth Repeating - March 7, 2017

Micah 3: 11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” (NIV)

God does not respond to the occasional seeker.*

I have friends who “sort of” believe in God. Some call him The Man Upstairs. Most don’t think about him until something bad happens – then they want me to pray for them. I guess it’s good that my faith is so obvious to them, but I often feel like the middle-man in some shady deal: “Hey, could you put in a good word for me?”

The situation that Micah describes is even worse. The religious elite have sold out for financial gain while they regard God as some sort of good luck charm. If the leaders are judging for a bribe, there is no hope for justice. If priests teach for a price, no one will be taught the truth. If prophets tell fortunes for money, who can know what the future holds? Can they really believe that God is among them and that he will protect them from disaster? What kind of religion is it if they proclaim reliance on God just in case?

How far removed are you from a real relationship with God? Is he like a celebrity that you read about in People? Sure he’s real; sure you’ve read a lot about him; yes, you know someone who knows someone who saw him in a crowd once; but you don’t know him and you don’t know what you’re missing. He promises that if we seek him we will find him. Crack open his diary (the Bible) and get to know him. He wants to be your friend – not your rabbit’s foot.

Some who have ridiculed faith all their lives will express a faint hope that there is something beyond the grave. What they may sneer at in the routine of everyday life, they long for when the life of someone close to them ends. It’s as though they just can’t resist having a hint of hope to soothe their sadness.*

Worth Repeating - March 6, 2017

Mark 3: 14 He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. (NIV)

There is little done for eternal good by those who preach without having a real, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.*

From among his disciples, Jesus singled out twelve to be his elite inner circle. Up until this point, they had been – unknowingly - auditioning for the job. Now they’re being enrolled in Bible college to prepare them for their new career as preachers. They might not know it yet but the weight of the kingdom was resting on their shoulders.

Jesus would not send them out on their mission without some intensive training, but being with Jesus was the most crucial part of their preparation. I believe that we underestimate the importance of being with Jesus. Bible study and prayer and good works – these are all activities. Being with Jesus is about more than doing. We can’t become like Jesus if we don’t know him. When we are with him, we absorb his words, his character, his Spirit.

We may be discouraged with the state of the church today. We tell ourselves that God won’t let his church die out, but how can it continue like it is? I submit that as long as the world contains at least twelve men who have been with Jesus, the church will revive and thrive.

Worth Repeating - March 5, 2017

I Timothy 4: 16 Watch yourself and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (NIV)

Regardless of what its bearer may claim, any message not in harmony with Scripture is not true.*

Paul urges us, through his words to Timothy, to be careful of the doctrine we adopt. This is good advice for everyone, of course, but especially for preachers, teachers, group leaders – and me. Every day I run the risk of leading someone astray with faulty conclusions and misunderstandings when I post another installment in my blog. 

How do you “watch yourself and your doctrine?” The short answer, according to Paul, is to persevere. Here is how to put Paul’s advice into action: 

1. Base your doctrine on what the scriptures say, not what you read somewhere else (including here!). It’s fine to discover what others have to say, but compare their words to the Word and see how they measure up. If you can’t back it up by scripture, you need to back off! 

2. Pray – for wisdom to discern the truth for yourself and that your students, congregation or other audience will be blessed by what you are saying. 

3. Practice what you preach. There’s no better way to grasp the meaning of a passage than by living it. Your impact on others becomes more powerful when you model the message. “Living holiness,” as opposed to just “preaching holiness,” “puts power in the message.”* 

By persevering in the Word, we save ourselves and our hearers. That’s what Paul said. It’s in the Bible. Look it up and see!

It is only when truth is discovered that it is appropriated. When
a man is simply told the truth, it remains external to him and he can quite easily forget it. When he is led to discover the truth himself, it becomes an integral part of him and he never forgets.*

Worth Repeating - March 4, 2017

Acts 2: 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)

The kind of commitment expected from a disciple is expressed in the command to baptize. A person is totally immersed in water, and total commitment is the goal for a disciple.*

Peter has just preached a gospel sermon and his audience understands that now a response is required of them. “Brothers, what shall we do?” they want to know. Peter doesn’t need to tell them to believe because they already do. But believing is not enough. He moves on to the next steps: repentance and baptism. To repent, one must turn around and go the other way. It is more than being sorry for your sins. And you can’t repent (and don’t need to!) if you’ve never sinned. To be baptized, one must be immersed. The Greek word that Peter used here has never been interchangeable with dip, pour or sprinkle. Your baptism must be in the name of Jesus Christ or else you will just come up wet. The Holy Spirit is the gift you receive along with forgiveness – not a payment for a job well-done.

Let’s say you live in Central Florida and your family receives a letter from Walt Disney World saying the cost of tickets has gone up to $400 per person.  When out-of-town relatives come to visit, of course they want to go to Disney World.  You show them the letter saying how much the tickets cost and they say, “Oh, surely not! The Disney people are too nice to charge that much. That’s just the ‘suggested’ price of a ticket.” So off they go to Disney World with only enough money for what they believe is the cost of tickets. When they arrive at the gates to the Magic Kingdom, the cast members are all very nice and perky but they won’t let the family go into the park.

Likewise, if someone shows up at the gates of Disney World with a ticket from Universal Studios, they will not be admitted to the park. If they didn’t bring enough money to purchase a Disney ticket, they will be denied entrance. Even a free pass from a Disney cast member requires some action on their part - they have to meet the employee at the gate. Just because they had to do something doesn’t mean it’s not free!

If you don’t want to be stuck outside the gates of heaven, you need to familiarize yourself with the entrance requirements and come prepared. It turns out that you can’t buy your own ticket. Jesus has already paid for it with his blood. To receive your free ticket to heaven, you have to do what 3,000 people did on the day of Pentecost: accept Peter’s message and be baptized (Acts 2: 41).

Salvation does not course through human bloodlines . . . but is granted by God through the blood of Jesus.*

Worth Repeating - March 3, 2017

John 13: 35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (NIV)

When Jesus came he didn’t just talk about love. He loved.*

Jesus said that we would be known as his disciples by our love for one another – not by the rituals we perform; not by the “costumes” we wear; not by our secret handshake or where we hang out. But how does loving each other prove anything? Even the heathens love others.

If we back up to verse 34, we see that Jesus presents a new command: to love each other “as I have loved you.” Oh! That’s a way different kind of love! As one writer observes, if Jesus was merely restating the law to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, it would not be new.* Instead, he is requiring that we hold ourselves to an even higher standard than to love others based on self-love. This new principle, based on Christ’s love, is “self-abandoning and self-sacrificing.”* This kind of love isn’t merely sentimentality and gushy feelings; it involves putting action into love, even when we don’t feel like it!

Do we really exemplify this in the church today? If an outsider visited your church, would he marvel at how you love one another? Or would he think, “These people don’t even like each other!”

It is not agreement that unites us; it is the love of God in Christ.*

Worth Repeating - March 2, 2017

John 6: 38 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (NIV)

If everyone could live as though they were in jeopardy of shortly dying . . . the world would be a much better place.*

I have never been on a short-term mission trip but I admire those who make the sacrifice of time and money – and often, modern conveniences – to share the gospel. Personally, time and money would not be the big sacrifice. I am very partial to AC, indoor plumbing, and privacy. Two factors could make the hardships more tolerable for me: 1) knowing that the conditions are temporary; 2) knowing that I am serving the Lord.

Jesus’ time on earth was similar to a short-term mission trip. It was a temporary assignment – he knew he would be returning home soon; and that he was performing his Father’s will. These conditions had to appeal to him as a human. Perhaps reminding himself of these things helped him deal with the discomforts of his life on the road, the incompetence of his followers, and the bitterness of rejection.

Life on earth is the same for us. We are pilgrims – on temporary assignment for the Lord. We are not here to do our own will but the will of the one who sent us. We may become weary and discouraged but there are eternal consequences for the work that we do. How satisfying is that?

When we realize that the universe is moving toward God’s intended end, and that in history’s great culmination all of His good purposes will be fully realized, we are strengthened to live for Jesus now.*

Worth Repeating - March 1, 2017

Matthew 11: 12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (NIV)

As we are living out our lives on earth, the supernatural universe is simultaneously at war.*

The kingdom of heaven is a spiritual realm, not a physical place. The army of the kingdom is invisible to human eyes but it is mighty. When I read Jesus’ description of it as “forcefully advancing,” I hear the thunder of military boots marching to war. The battles will be fierce but victory is guaranteed.

Satan heard the sound of those marching feet and he was alarmed. I have read speculation that Satan knew something was afoot when Jesus came to earth but he didn’t know what, so he sent out his own army, ramping up the demonic activity during the days of Jesus’ ministry. A defensive maneuver like his demands a forceful countermove so the army of the kingdom of heaven is recruiting volunteers. Like the United States Marine Corps, this army is looking for a few good men (and women) – forceful and bold warriors willing to “wrestle with principalities and powers.”*

If you think that Christianity is for sissies, you don’t understand spiritual warfare and you underestimate Satan. It has been said that if you pray for peace, you should prepare for war. As someone has eloquently depicted it: "The kingdom has come with holy power and magnificent energy that has been pushing back the frontiers of darkness. . . . The kingdom is making great strides; now is the time for courageous souls, forceful people, to take hold of it."*

Military battles are not won with soldiers in the barracks nor are spiritual battles won by Christians who content themselves with polishing their holy armor in the safety of a church building.*