Faith & Perseverance - Do you have them?

In my current textbook for a Global University course I've been taking (Relationships & Ethics in Ministry), I read a chapter on Evangelism that talked extensively about the need for us to have faith. The author cited a story by Michael Cassidy, a South African who founded African Enterprise. He used the story to highlight the need for having faith while speaking to a person wavering in his belief in the Resurrection. It is in Chapter 10, pg. 125. The story goes like this:


[The following letter was found many years ago in a tin, tied to an old pump on a remote dessert trail]

This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But the washer dries out and the pump has to be primed. Under the white rock, I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There is enough water in it to prime the pump, but not enough if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You will get water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you get watered up, fill the bottle and put it back as you found it for the next feller. Desert Pete. 

What would you do? Would you go for the inadequate supply or the unlimited supply supposedly down in the ground? The thirsty man had to make a decision. Did he have faith and follow the instructions? If he was short sighted, he would go for the short supply. If he truly saw the big picture, he would take that leap of faith and use the pump. Of course, we don't know his fate.

We are also in a dessert with a well. We too have to make a decision. Those who have chosen the well are now drinking. Those who haven't are still waiting for that water. Jesus told us:

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14).

Are we and those around us drinking from the bottle of water or are we drinking from the spring? What do we do if the nonbelievers are not willing to take that leap of faith? We must work on continuing our relationship with them. We must continue to connect and show that we care about them. We need to persevere in the task assigned to us by Jesus.  We need to continue to model the example set for us by Him and lead them to the well..

Get us past it...

I recently read a daily devotional that spoke to my heart. It was written by Dr. Michael Youssef, PhD. When I read it, I felt that I needed to share it with all of you...

The Obstacles of Worldly Thinking

 

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

 

      Resisting the world's pressures can be painful. Paul warns, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:12-13).

      Jesus gives a similar warning: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).

      When we are following God's principles for living, when we seek purity and righteousness, when we act and speak with integrity, the world is going to resent us for it. We cannot expect a world in darkness to understand our desire to walk in the light. Regardless of the cynicism or ridicule we face, God calls us to His standard of obedience and righteousness.

      We don't have to do this work alone. The Holy Spirit will guide us through the obstacles of worldly thinking. The Bible will show us the truth when we are confronted by lies. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

      The more time we spend in God's Word, the more our hearts and minds align with God. Choosing to do the right thing becomes easier when we begin to understand God's ways. Standing for the truth becomes easier when we find encouragement and strength in Scripture. But apart from God, we will quickly become enmeshed in the world's ways of thinking.

      Prayer: God, thank You for Your Spirit which is with me to guide me through the obstacles of worldly thinking. Thank You for Your Word which exposes the lies around me. Help me to stay in Your Word so that my heart and mind will be aligned with yours. Amen. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This is a battle that we all have to face. It is not a once-in-a-lifetime kind of battle. It is a continuous fight against the obstacles that are thrown in our path by the world. I know that we have all faced the those difficult times. We need to stay in the word and the Holy Spirit will keep the world at bay. 

GIGO

There is an old computer expression I learned more that forty years ago. It sums up the idea that what you put in to a system, whether good or bad, is what you get out. GIGO refers to the principle of Garbage In - Garbage Out.

I have found that while it applies to computers, it applies to almost everything in this life.Whatever we put into our body has everlasting effects. They might not show up for years, but eventually our body breaks down and we begin to wish we had taken better care of ourselves. This same principle also applies to our mind. If you sit in front of the TV and watch the news, Your mind will get more negative trash about the state of the world, rotten financial news, disasters, political happenings, crime and sex. Talk shows and "reality TV"  thrive on our thirst for messy details. Sex is used to sell everything nowadays. Do we hang out with negative people and absorb what they are broadcasting?

As pointed out in Relationships and Ethics in Ministry (pg. 33),"To hate evil and love good takes practice. It takes self-control (Galatians 5:23) to not give in to our natural tendency to listen to a good story about a coworker. One half of the destructive process of slander includes a willing listener. Without one, there is no story. Be a protector, not a destroyer."

Shouldn't we be listening to the Father and growing in the Word? The more time we spend with God and His Word, the more our faith develops. The closer to Him we become, the more our fear diminishes.We need to constantly work on hating evil and loving good. We should be diligent in our effort to spend more time with God and his Word and less in the world.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" (Philippians 4:8).

We should change our personal GIGO to Good Stuff In - Good Stuff Out...

Are we reaching the right ones?

When you look around inside the walls of your church, what do you see? Do you see a group of people who are stand-offish to new attenders and visitors? Are they open to allowing these people join the congregation, or are they closed in their attitude?

In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul wrote "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Paul was following the Great Commission to the letter. He was out there spreading the word to all people regardless of their background, language, religion, status, etc.

As pointed out in The Local Church in Evangelism, Third Edition (pg. 31), "We are called to reach people who are different from us. Christian witness should not only be only to 'our kind of people.' The Holy Spirit will enable us to effectively communicate with many kinds of people."

A church that understands the Great Commission and ministers in the Spirit will focus on reaching all lost people in their area. That means not just  the people who look and talk like you. The key word in that sentence is ALL.

The next time you come across a person who is down on their luck or spiritually lost, remember that Jesus said that that we were to go into the world and touch them. His church is not to be a social club for those like us, it should be inclusive and welcome all.

A church is a family, God's family. God did not design the church to keep certain kinds of people out, but to bring all kinds of people in!

Remember that as you travel the roads in your community. There are many untouched and lost souls out there waiting for you!.

Know God?

How do you know God and accept the gift of salvation? In the The Local Church in Evangelism by Randy Hurst, There are several salvation plans outlined. I have chosen one of the straight-forward and simple plans. It originated with the late Richard Champion. He served as editor of the Pentecostal Evangel.

To know God and be ready for heaven, follow these steps.

A. Admit you are a sinner.
          "There is no one righteous, not even one....for all have sinned and fall short
                 of the glory of God"  (Romans3:10, 23)

    Ask God's forgiveness.
          "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13)

B. Believe in Jesus.
          "For God so loved the world that gave his one and only Son, that whoever
                  believes in him shall hot perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

    Become a child of God by receiving Christ.
          "To all who receive him, to those who believed in his  name, he gave the
                  right to become children of  God" (John 1:12)

C. Confess that Jesus in your Lord.

          "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
                 that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10: 9).

There you have it. Three simple steps to take and you are assured a place in Heaven for all eternity. It doesn't get any better than that!!

For more complete information, visit www.pentecostalevangel.ag.org/Salvation.cfm

Everybody does it...

Last week on the way to a doctor's appointment, I happened to be a little over the speed limit. I was immediately advised of that by Officer Friendly... While he did stop me and check out my documents prior to having mercy and letting me go with a friendly reminder, it sparked a short conversation with God.

As I tried to convince God that it was OK to do "five over" the limit (everyone does it), He kept saying "NO!." He tried to be nice but kept going back to the question "What does the sign say?" Of course I had to say "40," after all, you can't lie to God...

God followed up with “Driving over the speed limit is breaking the law, and breaking the law is a sin."

“But God, cops won’t pull anyone over for going just 5 mph over the limit. So if they don’t pull me over for it, it’s OK, right? Everybody does it." 

“But what does the speed limit sign say? It doesn’t say 45 mph. You are breaking the law! You are sinning without remorse. Sin is wrong!"

As I continued to think about this revelation over the next week, God revealed something else to me. By speeding every time I got behind the wheel, I had been living a lifestyle of sin. Lifestyle of sin!? Isn’t that term just used for serial murderers, alcoholics, rapists, the sexually immoral and all those other people? Yes! But I was acting no better than any of them! This  revelation opened my eyes to all people who are living a lifestyle of sin and the fact that it’s not my job to judge them. My sin is not better than theirs, nor does it receive a lesser degree of punishment. 

So now as I drive along with my cruise control set at the posted speed.  It feels liberating to know that I am not breaking the law. My heart no longer skips a beat when I see a police car. 

How about you?

In Word Only?

While recently watching a weigh-in for a professional fight it occurred to me that we can certainly talk a good game. Not only with our lips, but with our whole persona. The fighters used their eyes, face and entire bodies to attempt to intimidate the opposition. As the two boxers went through the pre-interview press conference, the weigh-in and finally the actual interviews, it was pretty amazing to see the broad spectrum of mugging that transpired. Each of the fighters spent a lot of time and energy to make make their opponent back down.

-

We go through the same type of posturing as we make our way through the world. We put on our game face to attempt to convince others that we are a Christian. Is that how you go through the world? 

Jesus gave special instruction to his followers just before He left them. He outlined the tasks he wanted them to do and the methods to be used to reach the world. James 1:22 says we are to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers of it. While the Apostles understood the job at hand, it was something else to go out and do it. They did succeed in spreading the Word from one end of the world to the other. They did it through modeling Jesus' life. The most effective way to spread the Word is through your actions, not your lips.

The Local Church in Evangelism.(pg. 78) points out, "When people look at our lives and see love (expecially for those who have wronged us), overflowing joy in the midst of sorrow, peace in the crises of life, patience in tribulation, and gentleness in response to hostitily, these can be supernatural evidences that we are not mere subjects to our own fleshy emotions. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out the life to which the Lord has called us.The supernatural working of the Spirit will not always be spectacular or sensational, but it is convincing evidence of the presence and life of the Spirit within us."

Are you just mugging the fact that you are a Christian or are you out planting seeds by truly modeling Jesus Christ in your everyday life?

Clueless / Blind or Both?

During a recent day of volunteering at my local food bank, it dawned on me that most of the cars zooming up and down the road out front carried folks in them that didn't have a clue. They know hardly anyone in town, don't work in town, don't shop in town or even buy their gas in town. They drive by the building and couldn't come close to making a guess about what takes place inside...

Our small town is about five or six blocks long and the same width. It is in a rural part of the county and there are approximately 1700 people living in the town and surrounding area.

The building is old (about eighty years) and was once a school house. Now it houses several services that benefit local citizens. It contains the a branch library, a thrift store and the food bank. There is quite the group of hard working brothers and sisters that come together twice a week and help supply the unfortunate. The entire operation is staffed by volunteers. 

We must care for those less fortunate than ourselves. Proverbs 21:13 says: 

"Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard"    

When I started working at the food bank, I was shocked. I too didn't have a clue that there were so many disadvantaged in our small town. As with those passersby, I was too busy to see the need. Every day that the food bank is open, we serve about sixty to seventy five persons. If we counted family members, that number would be much higher (the average family size is three to five persons). As the Apostle John said in 1 John 3:17-19:

"But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him."

As you go through life, take the time to look around your town and find the opportunities to help those who are in greater need than yourself. Root them out and offer a smile, a kind hand, warm clothing or a meal. Remember, as Acts 20:35 says:

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Are you clueless or just blind?

Let's make a deal?

What does this title line bring to mind? Could it be cool gifts, games of chance, maybe even the possibility of winning a brand new car by trading something you own for it.  All it takes to win is something to trade, being in the right place and a little bit (or a bunch) of luck.

I would like to say that is not the type of deal I meant. I want to explore the deal that God has in mind for us. He is not sitting up in heaven saying "Let's make a deal." What he is really saying is more like "This is the deal, the only deal."  What is that deal? He wants each of us to accept the gift of eternal salvation that was earned  by Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross.

           “… God our Savior, who desires ALL MEN to be 

          saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 

                                      (1 Timothy 2:4)

His plan is the only way to achieve salvation. It can't be earned, bought or traded for.

           “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no
           other name under heaven given among men by 
           which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

          “For there is one God and one Mediator between God
          and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as 
          ransom for all …” (1 Timothy 2:5)

        “There is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one
          baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and
          through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4)

         Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one
         comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

         “… whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal
          life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
         Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
         everlasting life.” (John 3:15-16)

There are many other verses that repeat this theme but these five verses say it all.I don’t think God the Father could have made things any clearer than the way He worded these scripture verses!

 As pointed out in Pentecostal Doctrine (pg. 46), "New life begins with salvation. Before salvation, a person is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). There is no Spirit-filled life (Foundational Truth 2) before salvation. Divine Healing (Foundational Truth 3) is God's provision for His followers. Finally, there is no glorious future of seeing Jesus face to face (Foundational Truth 4) and living with Him throughout eternity without experiencing God's free offer of salvation."

That Is the deal...  All you have to do is accept it.

Under Attack?

When a culture begins to be exposed to another outside culture, drastic things happen. As we have seen over and over again, small pockets of civilization come up against ‘invading’ forces. Good examples are the natives of Hawaii or the American Indian nations spread across our entire country. It also happened countless times throughout the world whenever an existing culture clashed with a new one from outside their society. 

As the new culture arrives, the indigenous peoples gradually begin to absorb language and customs from the invaders. If this clash is not violent, the process still occurs, it just takes a little longer. With this progression, the original language is gradually absorbed and begins to fade. This movement toward a new language, causes the prior one to dim. Over time, the absorption continues and eventually the language goes away. The loss of the language, beliefs and customs is next. Eventually the whole society disappears. 

You are probably wondering about the application of this process to our Christian growth. If you stand back and look at what is happening to our Christian culture you will see that it is eroding away. It begins with language. After that, our customs and beliefs are threatened.  Our youth are exposed to Christian-ese for only about an hour a week. That is not enough! They are exposed to the World for the rest of the week. It is not enough to sit in a youth group or service for just an hour. 

As the new generation reaches maturity and begins to assume the role of leaders within the church, they are not well schooled in the Christian-ese, doctrine and beliefs of the Christian community. The process continues. The following generation will be even less so. Eventually, we as a Christian society will no longer exist!! 

What do we do to slow the process down and eventually turn it around? We need to counter some of the worldly exposure with some of our own. While the exposure at church helps, it is not enough! We as Christian grandparents, parents, family and friends need to expose the future leaders of our churches to our language. We need to ensure that the language does not get absorbed and die a slow death! We need to set the example for those within our circle of influence. We should expose them to the ‘GOOD’ things in life. They already see too much of the world. Use your Christian-ese, teach them the Christian language and the lessons that you learned as a child. 

Bring them up to understand that Christians are truly blessed by God. Teach them what it means to have that special relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 

Train up a child in the way he should go, 

even when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

If that is not done, the future of our Christian churches is in peril…

The Launch Pad

There are so many things rattling around in my head that I am having difficulty deciding on a launching spot. Do I start with salvation? How about being born again, basic doctrine, or the Trinity? The Bible, prayer, the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit or even the divinity of God himself. The possibilities are endless!

The class I'm currently taking is about Pentecostal Doctrine. Maybe that is a good starting point. We should start with a general discussion of what doctrine is and the need for doctrine in our world. Webster defines it as:

     1   :archaic : teaching, instruction

     2a : something that is taught  

       b : a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of 

                  knowledge or system of belief

 

As you can see, a doctrine as we are using it, is a series of principles which are the glue that binds us together. We need that fundamental structure as guidelines for life. Without guidelines, there is chaos. As new members join the body, they need to be taught the doctrine of the church. In today's world, this is often a problem. There is movement toward trying to be "everything to everybody." Maybe I'm old fashioned, but that is not possible! It is imperative that we have a solid foundation under us. Would you build your house upon the sand or on bedrock?

"Therefore everyone who hears these works of Mine and acts upon them,

may be compared to a wise man , who built his house upon the rock."

Matthew 7:24

 

Where does this structure originate? The foundation of church doctrine is contained within the Bible. The apostle Paul was a firm believer in the importance of sound doctrine. He spoke of it on many occasions. Note the letters written to Timothy and Titus (1 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:3, Titus 1:9 and Titus 2:1).

While there are many types of doctrine in the church, I plan on getting into the doctrines that are important to the Pentecostal church. There are sixteen fundamental truths which were adopted by the Assembly of God at its inception. Of these, there are four 'core' beliefs (Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). I will concentrate on these core beliefs but plan on touching on all of them at some point.

Once again, let me know how you feel too...

Ladies & Gentlemen... Start your engines!

So goes the command at the start of a race. As I start this new experience, that expression comes to mind. My race is of a different kind though. It doesn't have an ending. It goes on forever.

I am beginning this blog to allow you the opportunity to travel and grow with me as I move in the direction that God is leading. Right now, I'm not sure of what path that will take, but I do know the ultimate and final destination. 

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: 

I will guide thee with mine eye

Psalm 32:8

Over the last couple of years, I have become very active in my walk with the Lord. I serve as a Sunday School teacher, leader of the men's ministries, constructed and maintained a church website, and spent time in Mexico on a missions trip. After returning home, I definitely saw the need for 'outreach' activity within my church and town. I started and chair an outreach committee. The committee has begun several different projects within our community. 

As a member of a study group, I needed a project to stretch myself a little more as well as use some of the things learned in the group. I decided to do so by starting a blog. Hopefully, I will stay on track and see where it leads. As these travels take you and me down the road, let me hear from you. I'm open to suggestions and questions...