Spiritual Leadership

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

 

This week Michael writes: When God puts on our hearts the direction He’s calling us, then when we obey His calling, He will work in us and through us to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Jesus said to his disciples, “I need to go away, but that’s a good thing. When I leave, then the Holy Spirit will come upon you. The Holy Spirit will teach you the all-truth.” The Holy Spirit reveals to us God’s will and purpose for our lives. The Lord’s spiritual leaders are led by the Spirit . When we listen to His still small voice, it’s Christ’s ears behind our ears, His eyes behind our eyes, His heart behind our heart. Jesus said to set your affections on things above, not on things of this earth. The things of earth will soon pass away. However the things of the Spirit are eternal. 

 

The first step for spiritual leadership is humility. Jesus was a servant-leader. He lived to minister and not to be ministered to. He said, secular leaders of this world want to be front and center. They want the praise and glory of worldly men and women. However, Jesus said, “whoever will be chief among you must be servant of all.” Jesus said, “come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. For I am meek and lowly of heart. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He will bear your burden as you come unto Him with a heart of meekness and humility.  

The second step for spiritual leadership is to know the Holy Scriptures of the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted of the devil in the wilderness, He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” He taught His disciples that there are two great commands that summarize all of the Old Testament commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul, mind and strength and the second commandment is like unto it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The third requirement for spiritual leaders is prayer. Prayer aligns our heart with God’s heart. The dialog with God that runs through our minds is what it means to pray without ceasing. Jesus was a man of prayer. Even though the crowds followed Him demanding His time, he carved out special moments to meet with His Heavenly Father in intimate prayer free from worldly distractions.

The fourth leadership requirement is to build bridges to non-Christians. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Jesus said that our great commission is to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Spread the Gospel.

J Oswald Sanders wrote a book called “Principles of Spiritual Leadership.” He said spiritual leadership requires spirit filled people. This has nothing to do with worldly values such as intellect, strength, people connections, and political power. Instead spiritual leadership requires a spiritual connection, sanctified... set apart according to God’s holy purpose. Spiritual leadership initiates discipleship to intentionally and deliberately discipline our hearts to follow the Lord with a spirit of humility to serve others from a heart of love and gratitude.

The Apostle Paul’s message to his young protege Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 is still true today: “And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men and women, who shall be able to teach others also, that we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

 

Store

 

In Matthew 6:19-21 the Lord Jesus instructs us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

What comes to mind when I read or hear the word “store” is a shop for the sale of goods. But, then other definitions come to mind as: to store items away for safe keeping, to stock and store an ample quantity of supplies and provisions, to bank and store funds for reserves in the future for bills and purchases. It is good to be equipped and prepared for nature disasters (floods, earthquakes, tornados, etc.), power and water outages, and even pandemics. We secure and store ammunition for home-defense or hunting game or recreational target shooting. Accumulated education and experience is a store of knowledge.  when done right, it is a smart preparation for a state of readiness in time of need. But, storing can be taken too far and become an obsession, a unhealthy driving force of mind, or a misguided purpose for life that goes beyond necessity. With worldly-mindedness, we can lay up and hoard treasure in our temporal storehouse or warehouse mentally and physically on earth, which our heart is set upon and depends upon for futurity. Storing up treasures on earth this way leads to the feeling of never having enough, grasping at more and more, and having the fear of someone taking what you have. What is your mind upon, your mind’s arms around. And what are you storing up for yourself.

 

Bible commentator Matthew Henry states that in Matthew 6:19-21, worldly-mindedness is as common and as fatal a symptom of hypocrisy as any other, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a visible and passable profession of religion, than by this; and therefore Christ, having warned us against coveting the praise of men in the prior verses, proceeds next to warn us against coveting the wealth of the world; in this also we must take heed, lest we be as the hypocrites are, and do as they do: the fundamental error that they are guilty of is, that they choose the world for their reward; we must therefore take heed of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness, in the choice we make of our treasure, our end, and our masters. 

 

Just after, in Matthew 6:24 Jesus explains, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].” 

 

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Nothing is to come between your face and God’s face. Let not one thing block your vision of the Lord and let nothing distract you from paths of righteousness. A treasure is an abundance of something that is in itself, at least in our opinion, precious and valuable, and likely to keep us safe, secure and sound hereafter. Now Christ designs not to deprive us of our treasure, but to direct us in the choice of it. Henry warns that we must not count earthly things as glorious or the best things, the most valuable in themselves, nor the most serviceable to us. Have a loose hand on the things of this world; you cannot take them with you when you go. The one with the most at the end wins nothings and may lose their soul by coveting and chasing these idols; they are not our hope. Philosopher Luke Combs reminds us that earthly possessions “are the kinda things that only last so long. When the new wears off, and they get to getting old, sooner or later, time's gonna take its toll … but some things [eternal things] last forever after all.” 

 

John 1:12 “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

 

To lay up and store our true treasure in heaven; is to give all diligence to make sure our title to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to depend upon that as our prime happiness, and look upon all things here below with a holy contempt, as not worthy to be compared with it. The shiny temptations of this world can distract us from the source of true joy. We must firmly believe there is such a happiness in “walking with the Lord”, and resolve to be content with that, and to be content with nothing short of it. 

 

We may trust God and have faith in our loving Father and Provider to keep us safe and secure here until we go home; knowing this, let us then refer all our designs, and extend all our desires; on that truth, “let us send before our best efforts and best affections; and not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

In Christ, Brian

Love God

 

This week Michael writes: There are two great commandments upon which all the other commandments depend... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, soul, mind, and strength, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

But, we must have our love in the right priority; God comes before others. In order to love others, to love thy neighbor as thyself, we must love God above all. To love God is the first of the Ten Commandments: you shalt have no other gods before me. In others words, “you shalt have no other gods between your face and My face.” In loving God above all, we can love others with the love of God; you cannot give what you do not have. Jesus Christ tells us in John 15:4-5, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

To truly reconcile with others we must “meet each other at the foot of the cross.” For only Jesus Christ can reconcile our hearts with God. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” When our hearts are reconciled with God, then we can reconcile with one another to God’s glory. Then we can love each other in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Christianity is a relationship. The relationship starts with God’s loving us ... hereby is the love of God made perfect, for in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly – Romans 5:8. A loving relationship starts with trust. Doubting God was the original sin in the Garden of Eden. “Doubting Thomas” doubted the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples he said, “Thomas, put your hand in the wound in my side and feel the imprints of the nails in my hand and be not unbelieving, but believe.” When Thomas touched Jesus’ wounds, the said, “My Lord and my God!” – John 20:27

Hebrews 11:1 says, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Jesus said, blessed are they who have not (physically) seen and yet believe - John 20:29.  When we received the Holy Spirit, the Spirt transforms us from the image of the flesh into the image of the Spirit … Christ in you the hope of glory. For we all with open face beholding in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed from glory (of the flesh) to glory (of the spirit) even but he spirit of the Lord – 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Jesus said, “whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” – Mark 11:24. The qualifying necessitate of our desires is in the object of our desire. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of thine heart.” When our heart is aligned with His heart, then the will Lord will give us the desires of our heart. Likewise, joy and rejoicing are in the object of our joy. Therefore, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice – Philippians 4:4.

For who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, for life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor height, nor depth, nor things present, nor things to come shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:35-39

There is nothing Almighty God can’t handle. Therefore, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lead not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6. Lord give us men and women who join their hearts together to create an environment where the Holy Spirit can come help Himself to our lives to share in the unity of the spirt in the bond of peace. Lord give us men and women who love you above all; who give their lives to you in total abandonment and absolute trust. May I be a child of God like this among children of God like this, that we may live to the praise of the glory of thy grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Fatherhood

 

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

 

I read an article by the American Family Association’s General Counsel Abraham Hamilton III on “Fatherhood”, which I’d like to share a portion of with you, as the issue is vitally important to society. Pastor Hamilton, who is well aware of the spiritual attack on American families, particularly on men and the biblical role of God-designed fatherhood. Fatherhood is a God-given station of mission, where men have the opportunity as fathers to shape destinies, to shape societies. Hamilton explained that from the beginning, God had a distinct vision in mind when establishing the sacred station of fatherhood through intentional discipleship in the home.   

 

I have heard Christian experts on the subject identify the growing problem fathers not staying with their families and single mothers having to raise the children alone. A report by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) brought to light the crisis of fatherlessness sweeping the nation. Approximately, one in four children in the United States , a total of 18.3 million children lived without a father present in the home in 2022. The recorded associated negative impacts are massive: likely to suffer mental health issues, behavioral problems, mood disorders, substance abuse, teen pregnancies, dropping out of school, attempt suicide and face incarceration; a divine foundation stone upon which to build families and civilizations. Hamilton clarifies that fatherhood is a hallowed calling, a missional role from which we discharge our faithfulness to God Himself. By selflessly loving and leading our children, we fulfill this high calling. Our fatherhood becomes an act of worship and service to the Lord, who entrusted us with this responsibility. 

 

Matthew 6:9-10 “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

Present and engaged fathers should see their role of impacting their children’s lives and create eternal godly legacies as the highest privilege to embody the love and character of their heavenly Father. The home is the front line where this sacred work begins, where our households become outposts of discipleship, imparting truth to the next generation. 

 

Pastor Hamilton declares that one of the most powerful truths is that in being born again Believers, we are adopted into a God’s family as His beloved children. Through regeneration, we gain an eternal, loving Father in God Himself. He not only provides the fatherly love, guidance and security so desperately needed, but equips men to become the kind of godly fathers that represent His image to their children, as faithful, sacrificial leaders of their families. Our Creator designed men and women with equal-but-complimentary gender roles. The simple reality is that men and women were made for each other and need each other. Procreation is designed for children to be raised by both a godly mother and a godly father together in family unit to diligently strive to cultivate these as godly qualities into their children. Abba, fatherhood is of God’s design and the future of our communities.

 

In Christ, Brian  

Lord Give Us Men

Ephesians 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

 

Fathers are far more than biological procreation contributors, more than mere providers for food, shelter, clothes and security for the family. Both parents have their God-given roles in raising children. The duties of parents to their children are to maintain, protect and educate them. When parents are wanting in authority, children are wanting in duty. 

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light

and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Everyone sees that the world around them is entangled in a spiritual struggle against "In God We Trust" [all that phrase stands for] that has manifested itself into a battle with evil for the hearts, minds and wellbeing of every man, woman and child; and shockingly children are the largest target and the prime focus of their war on children. These precious little minds, bodies and souls need and deserve strong and godly protection by strong and godly fathers. 

Lord give us men. Men who are willing to live and die for you, who name the name of Christ and live for His glory.  
Lord give us men. Men who know your voice and whose greatest delight is to do your will. Who are slow to anger, quick to listen, and eager to forgive.
Lord give us men, Men who love their wives and their children;  honoring you in their homes; Who are living epistles of salt and light to all they know and meet.  
Men whose sacrifice, service, and love are renown and who are known to have spent time with you.
Lord give us men. These kinds of men! For the world is desperate for them.
Lord give us men, Men of faith and action, who have eternity in their hearts and only you as their focus, passion and reason for living. Men of whom the God-rejecting world is not worthy. Lord, you use ordinary men to do extraordinary things through your power. Men who are known more for their availability than for their ability, and because you become godly strong. Men who choose to decrease so that you may increase.
Lord let me be a man like this among men like this. Lord let me be that man. — Pete McKenzie

God has called men from the darkness of this world into the glorious light of his gospel of truth. He has called us according to Mark 9:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” He who enters into God’s inner chamber must enter in with personal abandonment and absolute trust. Before we can enter into his holy presence we must trust their heavenly Father absolutely. Absolute trust begins with prayer. Prayer is aligning our heart with His heart. Absolute means without restrictions or qualifications. Absolute is fundamental, uncontaminated, unadulterated, pure, refined, without deviation from God’s exacting standard of truth. Only men who trust Him absolutely, who are not confused about the object of their trust can enter into God’s holy of holies.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.” Trusting in the Lord is indicated by your concept of the object of your trust. How trusting are you of God and the integrity of His Holy word? Father made us worthy and now by His grace, His mercy in Christ has cleansed us, reconciled us, and made us His own.  A man of God is God’s man. The phrase “man of God” is the genitive of possession. Christianity is not who we are, but whose we are. “For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

According to 1 John 1:11-13, These things have I written to you so that you may believe in the name of the Son of God, and that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God. To know Him is to love Him. Herein is the love of God made perfect ... we love God because He first loved us., meaning without His loving us first, we could not have the capacity to love Him. The love of God is unlike the types of love in this world. Agape is the Greek word for God’s unconditional love. God’s spiritual unconditional love does not require love in return. Love is manifest in the pure act of giving. For God so loved the word that he gave his only begotten son. As you are a child of God and Creator God is your heavenly Father, be a pure and true father {as God intended] to your children. God designed the family and your children need that.

 

Lord give us men! Men who put on the “Full armor of God” in front of their wives and children and stand up firm as protectors and providers against the attacks of this demonic and sinful fallen world as You designed them. Men who instruct and train up their children in the godly ways in which their children should walk in life. Men who join their hearts together to create an environment where their family is safe, and the Holy Spirit can come help Himself to their lives to share in the unity of the Spirt in the bond of peace.

Lord give us men! Men who love You [their heavenly Father] above all. Men who give their lives to you in total abandonment and absolute trust. May I be a man like this among men like this that we all may live to the praise of the glory of thy grace!

Happy Father’s Day! Your brother in Christ,
Michael & Brian

Till the Cow Come Home

Psalm 27:14-19, 25-27 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

 

The term “not until the cows come home” means “not for a long time”. Presumably the time referred to is when cows return to the barn for milking. The common term has been around since the late sixteenth century. We are living in what is called the Church Age because it covers the period in which the Church is on earth. It is the period of time from Pentecost (Acts 2) to the rapture (foretold in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The Church is composed of those individuals who have by faith accepted Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The Church age corresponds with the dispensation of Grace; also known as “The Age of Grace”. Until then, the Church carries on in firm hope daily, exhorted to stand firm until the cows come home with the eternal perspective. 

 

But, it isn’t just a knowledge of guaranteed eternal life in Heaven. In John 14:23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:15-19, 25-27 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” The born-again Believer follows Christ daily with the Holy Spirit leading their walk through life.

 

Jesus [the Savior of the world] came to seek and save the lost and passed the Gospel message of salvation from sin by the grace of God through faith on to His disciples to go tell others. In Mark 5:19, Jesus said to the spiritually healed man and by extension to us who have been saved also, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to His worldwide Church in Matthew 28:18-20 was: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” There was no timeframe for this commandment from the Lord, so all of God’s children are to be spreading the Gospel and ministering to this fallen World until the cows come home [Christ’s return]. The Christian has duel-citizenship (both here on earth where we abide and in the kingdom of Heaven). 

 

2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” So with blessed assurance, we can confidently wait with patience as we diligently work about our Father’s business in His Plan of Redemption, Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Salvation until the cows come home.   

 

In Christ, Brian

Murphy’s Law

 

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

 

Murphy's Law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." The law itself was coined by, and is named after, American aerospace engineer Edward A. Murphy Jr.; an United States Air Force (USAF) captain and aeronautical engineer. Its exact origins are debated, but it is generally agreed it originated from Murphy and his team following a mishap during rocket sled tests some time between 1948 and 1949. People have been using the term for misfortunes people experience. 

 

I have been facing many frustrating challenges under time pressures as multiple water leaks in the pumping pipes and fixtures the last few days. I know that many people undergo similar encounters in their daily lives, just in different issues and circumstances. This one of mine was easy fixes for the first two water leaks in the drain pipes of the tub/shower just tightening couplings, the drain pipe to the bathroom sink cleared by running a sewer snake through the line. The water leaks at the tub overflow was solved by replacing the rubber gasket, and the leak at the water spicket was saved by replacing it with a new one. You are probably says, “Are there really that many issues in one bathroom? I am asking that myself. 

 

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

But, that is not the end of the troubles. Water started shooting out of the tub/shower’s water nozzle, which control hot and cold temperatures when turned on. Then, Murphy’s Law kicked in and the water began to leak continuously backwards out of the nozzle and into the wall. We had to turn off the water to the entire house and drive to the local hardware store to buy replacement parts. The new facet mechanism was not compatible, so we worked on cutting the cold water feeder pipe and installing a shutoff valve. That worked great, but when we turned the water back on, the facet valve continued to leak. So, we drove back to the hardware store once again for more pipe fittings and another shutoff valve for the hot water pipe. This one was trickier because there was a rubber hose for the hot water and the connection was quite corroded. 

 

Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

We disassembled the fittings and put new fittings on the pipeline, then installed the new shutoff valve in the middle. We tightened the rubber hose and turned on the water again to find that the hose connection was leaking badly, so shut the eater to the whole house again. We took the connection apart again and added sealant then tightened it again. This time that connection held water-tight, but the next joint up above the shutoff valve began to drop. I hadn’t tight the joint enough to seal the threads. We were fatigued and frustrated, so shut off the new valve and called a plumber. He can remove and replace the entire shower valve and nozzle, while changing out the hot water hose completely.

 

We cannot use the tub or shower, but water is on to the rest of the house. When life throws lemons at you, make lemonade. In this fallen world, it is not a matter of “if” troubles are going to come your way; it is a matter of “when” they come, because sometimes: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

 

Counting your blessings,

In Christ, Brian

Freedom

  

There is a saying in America: “Freedom doesn’t come free”, meaning that the freedoms that we enjoy were paid for with a price of fighting for them and fighting to maintain them against those in this fallen world, who in the desires of the sinful flesh, hate “God” and aspire to destroy godly “Liberty” of the people. The founding document of our nation, the Declaration of Independence, states: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Both “God” and “Liberty” are in our national Pledge of Allegiance and on every coin minted, because both saving faith and righteous freedom by God are foundational and are defended. This concept of liberty and freedom bridges both the metaphysical and the spiritual. 

 

Why is their division? Why did the Prophet say in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. How do you define the words “evil” and “darkness”? The Lord Jesus Christ explains clearly in John 3:16-20, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” Who needs saved, from what and why?

 

How great was the “Fall of Man”? An massive drop to our death. How greater is the “Wrath of God” against Sin? Ultimate and complete. But, how greatest is the “Love of God”? Endless and Immeasurable. The three enemies for us are (1) the wicked fallen flesh desires of every human being, (2) the evil God-rejecting world system, and (3) the devil and his demonic influences. All three are diametrically opposed to Creator God, His kingdom, His righteous commandments, statutes and decrees as King of Heaven and Earth, His sovereign reign and provision, and His children of repentant born-again Believers. The Lord Jesus told us in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” It is hard to miss all the divisive trouble in the world today.

 

The Apostle Paul encourages us in Colossians 2:11-14, “In Him [Christ – our Savior and Lord] you were also circumcised [from our sin] with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self [body and soul] ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Jesus is the light that dispel darkness and saves.

 

Reality is that God sets the standards to live by. Sin is defined in the 1828 Webster’s dictionary as: “The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity.” Sin causes division, a departure from the good of God and the light of God. It separates people, but Christ invites and unites. The Savior of the world told everyone [both then and now] in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Forgiveness of sin, salvation from destruction, and eternal life is found in no other. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life sent by the grace of God to us for redemption. Saving faith and Belief transforms our soul and regenerates our spirit as the Holy Spirit is given to the child of God.

 

Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

 

Liberty and freedom is in God and through Jesus Christ, so live, walk and have your being there.

In Christ, Brian

Salvation

1 John 1:8-10 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he [Almighty God in Heaven] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

 

I was at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota the other day, and over-heard a couple shop employees discussing the “Original Sin” of our first parents Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:16-17 says, And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” One was explaining to the other how by eating the “Forbidden Fruit”, their eyes were opened to the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:6-7 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened.” That was the “Fall of Man” where Sin and death walked through that open door.

 

I joined the conversation and added that the true “Original Sin” was not the disobeying God and eating the forbidden fruit, but by first believing the devil and doubting God. Genesis 3:1, 4-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” With all sin, the thought comes before the action. They hadn’t thought of that before and concurred. 

 

Not only do we take for granted the enormity of the Fall of Man, but also the immensity of the sinfulness of Sin, the immediate and eternal consequences of God’s wrath and just judgment and the great price God paid to atone for the Sins of the world for our redemption. God’s Plan of Salvation is explained in Ephesians 2:1-8, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, [the devil] the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” This is speaking to all converted, repentant and redeemed born-again Believers with saving faith and the Holy Spirit.

 

Nobody is perfect means nobody is sinless. By our sin-nature, we have all sinned against God in thought, word and action at some time, and truthful more than we admit. We all need God’s love, mercy, grace and provision to provide forgiveness and salvation from sin. And 2 Corinthians 5:21 declares, “God made Him [Jesus Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him [by the atoning sacrifice of the Savior of the world] we might become the righteousness of God.” No doubt, we have forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

 

In Christ, Brian

Happy Noahic Covenant Awareness Month

 

Genesis 9:13-15 “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”

 

The month of June has been designated “Noahic Covenant Awareness month. Creator God created all creatures in His creation and when our Maker finished His work on the sixth day He said that “it was good””. All major branches of science were originally began by God-believing creation scientists seeking to “think God’s thoughts after Himself” and reveal their Creator through the physical proofs in nature, as Romans 1 proclaims. Yet, our original parents [Adam and Eve; the father and mother of all mankind] were deceived by the devil [the father of lies], doubted Almighty God bringing sin and death into the world. That sin has been brought forward through every generation through the flesh and all have sinned to fall short of the glory of our just and holy God. 

 

The earth was a much different planet back then; greener, more oxygen in the atmosphere,  a canopy layer of water in the atmosphere blocking harmful rays from the Sun was making a greenhouse effect and people lived longer … much longer. Just look at the overlapping genealogy timelines of the patriarchs and see who was alive to see and know Adam before the end of his days. But unfortunately, over the generations that followed Adam, egocentric hearts grew darker, the estimated billions of people’s thoughts turned away from God and they were evil continuously. Genesis 6:11-13 tells us, Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

 

The Creator of Heaven, the Cosmos, the Universe reached His breaking point and decided to annihilate all of his living creatures from the face of the Earth, sorrowful that he created them. Almighty God caused the water from above the firmament to fall, the waters below the ground burst open and rain fell until the oceans rose above the highest land, so all perished. This is what is known as Noah’s Flood. Evidence of this global flood exists in the rock and fossil layers laid and seen plainly today. Only Noah and his family were spared from the worldwide flood, as God told Noah to build an Ark [a boat to float safely in refuge of a sanctuary from God’s judgement against sin]. The earth had changed drastically, with platonic shifts and mountain upheavals, the protective layer of water in the upper atmosphere was gone, receding flood waters and craved the landscape, a period of massive volcanic activity blanketed the skies and an ice sheets grew from the polar regions for a period, but Noah, his family and two of each kind of animal survived to begin anew. 

This is when sovereign God made the Noahic Covenant with the earth that “Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” When the rains stopped, God set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of this promise. “Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.” The rainbow is about a promise of God, not prideful rebellion against Him. Love, honor, respect and obey your heavenly Father. His holy Word is truth, His righteous Way is just, and His unadulterated Will is absolutely perfect in every way for our lives. Think about what He has done in the past, what He is doing today, and what He is going to do for you [His child] in the future. Jesus Christ came to save sinners and those who repent of sin, believe and receive Him as Savior and Lord will find refuge from the wrath of God against sin to come and be saved. Glory be to God and may all the earth rejoice in His unmeasurable loving kindness and mercy towards us daily … a day that the Lord has made. 

Happy Noahic Covenant Awareness Month

In Christ, Brian

Opposing Authority – Part 2

 

Acts 5:29-32 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

 

Our pastor preached that there are three things that Christians need to remember in a godless society, including unfaithful religious leaders that acquiesce to them. (1) God is in control of who is in control. God created everything [time, space and matter] by His Word from nothing, so the Cosmos operates in a miraculous yet orderly existence every day. God sees all, knows all, provides all, maintains all, is all-powerful, ever-present and rules all from Heaven, which includes the governing powers of the world. The Kingdom of Heaven has a King, who is over all other kingdoms of the earth and must be obeyed. Romans 13:1 tells us, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” But, those governing powers are also under God’s authority. So, when the governing authorities teach things or makes laws in direct violation of God’s Commandments, Laws, Statutes or Biblical Doctrine, then we must obey Almighty God rather than fallen mankind. 

 

Our heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus Christ live the sinless life that we could not live, so He could die the death that we deserved in our place to pay the price, giving repentance and forgiveness of sins to all who believe and receive the blessed Savior of the world, obeying and following Him as Lord. God raised Him from the dead, conquering both sin and death, then exalted Him at His right hand as Lord and Savior in the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit was given to all sanctified and born-again in transformation children of God as kingdom citizens. (2) Our citizenship is in Heaven and we are Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. Man may say “disobey God, reject God or there is no God”, but born-again Believers are Ambassadors of the Kingdom, and Christians obey the Lord first, foremost and without fail. 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 explains that God is “reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [through the Gospel]. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

 

(3) Cultural setbacks have never stopped Christianity; they spread it. Acts 5:33-42 says, When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Study and learn the Word of God to understand what God commands and forbids, then live by them gratefully and faithfully in the joy of your salvation. Know the difference between what is right in the eyes of God and what is wrong, then choose to do “right”. Pray for those in governing authority and obey the laws, rules and regulation that are not in violation of God’s in peace. Remember that you are called to disobey godless authority because they reject sovereign God and you will pay the consequences for standing for your faith. Stand up bold for God and His Holy Word, because Christians are assigned to make the true God, the Holy Father of Heaven and Earth. 

 

2 Timothy 2:24-26 proclaims, “the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil. Bottomline: God has authority.

 

In Christ, Brian

Opposing Authority – Part 1

 

Acts 5:16-21a “The people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all being healed. But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy and resentment. They arrested the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and leading them out, he said, “Go, stand and continue to tell the people in the temple courtyards the whole message of this Life [the eternal life revealed by Christ and found through faith in Him].” When they heard this, they went into the temple courtyards about daybreak and began teaching.”

 

Today, our pastor continued in our church’s Sunday Sermon series teaching through the Book of Acts. In this passage of Holy Scripture, the pharisaical religious leaders of the Israelites hated the popularity of Jesus’ Apostles due to their miraculous healing of the people, arrested them and threw them into jail as prisoners. never thinking that the healing acts that they were accomplishing were in reality acts of God. Little did these Jewish religious leaders know that a heavenly angel of the Lord supernaturally freed their captivity and led them out unnoticed, telling them to go preach the Gospel back at the temple.

 

Acts 5:21b-26 “Now when the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), even all the council of elders of the sons of Israel, and sent word to the prison for the apostles to be brought [before them]. But when the officers arrived, they did not find them in the prison; and they came back and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened the doors, we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these things, they were greatly perplexed, wondering what would come of this. But someone came and told them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing right here in the temple area, teaching the people!” Then the captain went with the officers and brought them back, without hurting them (because they were afraid of the people, worried that they might be stoned).”

 

The temple guard and chief priests realized that inmates cannot simply disappear from a secure prison, especially individuals performing miraculous healings in the name of the Messiah of God. Bible commentator Matthew Henry concludes that those often distress and embarrass themselves that think to distress and embarrass the cause of Christ. Their doubt is, in part, determined; and yet their vexation is increased by another messenger, who brings them word that their prisoners are under your nose preaching in the temple. Prisoners, that have broken prison usually abscond for fear of being retaken; but these prisoners, that here made their escape, dare to show their faces even where their persecutors have the greatest influence. Now this confounded them more than anything. The captain of the temple guard went with officers and brought them back peacefully, but not because of their fear of God and His Divine power manifest, but a fear of the people.

 

Acts 5:27-28 So they brought them and presented them before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court). The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name [Jesus Christ], and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this Man’s blood on us [by accusing us as His murderers].”

 

They had disobeyed the commands of authority against their express order, and would not submit to the injunctions and prohibitions given them. Thus those who make void the commandments of God are commonly very strict in binding on their own commandments, and insisting upon their own power. Let’s look at the Apostle Peter’s response and the deeper meaning in the next post.

 

In Christ, Brian