Category Archives: Our relationship with God

An answer to an email: Giving to the Lord

Posted on June 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on An answer to an email: Giving to the Lord

givingGiving to the Lord has been an issue for many Christians. Often confused by the ridicule of the lost world and those Christians who have made giving to the Lord a part of some legalistic doctrine, it has become a subject that makes many feel uncomfortable. This morning, as I was going through my emails, I had someone send me an email asking what I believe about giving to the Lord.  Now, in all honesty, I have never been to seminary. I have come to the understanding of giving, tithes, and offerings on my own personal Bible studies, from the writings of Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, Andrew Bonar, and the sermons of a handful of other Christian leaders. I will also share that I always did not have this understanding of what giving means for the Christian.

We are saved by God’s grace

Before I share what I have come to understand about giving, it is important to understand what salvation means. The Bible records a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4). Jesus answered that question in the simplest way possible so that the meaning would be perfectly clear: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:5-7). Jesus also taught what is at the heart of man’s salvation: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:14-18).

Ssalvation is truly that simple as the Bible bears witness. Even the apostles understood the simplicity of the message taught by Jesus: the apostle Paul wrote, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9) and For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We must come to the place where we realize that we, personally, are in need of a savior because of sin. On our own, we are sinners. The apostle Paul wrote, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and he is absolutely right. All it takes is to watch the evening news to see the condition of man’s heart. What are we saved from? We are saved from what the Bible calls the wrath of God. We are saved from final judgment through our faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ; for He alone has made the atonement for our sins.

There are those that believe that there must be some great work or deed that also plays a part within salvation. Salvation is not dependent upon our works and too many times people get confused by the role of works in our faith. James wrote,  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:17-18). While they claim this proves the concept of works for salvation, they often neglect the rest of the passage: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:21-24). Throughout this chapter in James, he is teaching us a very important concept – our faith should cause within us a desire to do things for the Lord. We do them not as a part of our salvation but because of our salvation. He uses the teachings of Abraham; what allowed Abraham to offer his son, Issac, to the Lord upon the altar? His faith in God and his belief in God’s promise: And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him (Genesis 18:10) and  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Genesis 18: 17-18). By Abraham’s faith, knowing God would keep His promise, he knew that if he sacrificed Issac at the request of God, God would still make a provision to fulfill the promise given! It was this demonstration of Abraham’s faith in the Lord at work.

Continued on next page.

Pages: 1 2 3

Comments Off on An answer to an email: Giving to the Lord

Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, My Walk, Our relationship with God

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is either right or wrong; there’s no grey area

Posted on June 3, 2015 by | Comments Off on It is either right or wrong; there’s no grey area

right or wrongEvery situation and every decision we make boils down to one thing – it is either right or wrong. Sometimes it is difficult for humanity to accept this and we try to justify what we know to be a wrong decision by claiming what we face was somehow in a grey area in between both right and wrong. We will sometimes cry that others should not judge us by what we have done but by the intentions of our heart, believing that as long as our intentions were noble then it excuses our acting on the bad decisions we’ve made. A quick glance at human civilization, particularly what is happening in the West today, gives many examples of what happens when we begin to cloud the decision-making process with imaginative grey areas, a departure for biblical absolutes, and a lack of moral clarity.

Each situation has but two choices

Earlier in my life I bought into a lot of the humanistic philosophies that teach there are no absolute morals and no absolute right or wrong. I believed what I had been taught in public school that each person is free to assign their own personal value system based on what is best for them. In 1988, while attending college, I had an emotional experience with the Lord; I do not call it salvation because I was anything but saved – something that I have heard others refer to as being a pseudo-Christian. I bought into the worldly logic that even in Christianity, there were those grey areas where there simply was no guidance found in the Bible for situations faced by people in our modern society. There are many Christians today that not only believe this false teaching, but actually excuse their sins by claiming that God didn’t provide any guidance to them (I could literally do a number of posts revealing God’s will for the specific “grey areas” that I have heard people discuss within the last six months).

A study of the Bible shows the nature of the two choices we face with every situation: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19) and No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Every situation we face in life boils down to us making a right or wrong decision. It has taken me a while to understand this teaching found all through the Bible. With God, there are no grey areas; there’s simply right or wrong. The prophet Isaiah was led by the Lord to write, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD (Isaiah 55:8); it is easy to understand this once we get a good look at how we try to justify our failures and poor decisions and not to accept the simple truth that we made a wrong choice.

Right or wrong – a study in practice

A few days ago I was reading an article on CNN news about the ongoing social debates within our nation. The article was written about how the moral standards in America – what is considered as proper and inappropriate behavior – are rapidly changing. Issues such as abortion, alternative lifestyles, personal gender determination, gay and alternative marriages, and even euthanasia and right to life are being questioned. As I read the comments from those responding to the article, one thing became painfully clear – many wanted to blame God for the hardships in their lives. One female poster actually asked the question “where was God when I was planning my abortion?”  Again, the verse from Deuteronomy comes to mind: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). Is it really that simple? Yes, it is. Every decision we make comes down to a very finite point – either our decision will bring forth life or death. Life simply is in obedience to the Lord, death is simply the results of rebellion.

Without becoming bogged down within the topic of abortion, there are some startling truths about abortion that society ignores. Under the banner of women’s rights, society has created an excuse and solution for an age-old problem. Although advocate for abortion will say that it must be available for cases of incest, rape, and the preservation of the life of the mother, statistics available through the Department of Health and Human Services and Planned Parenthood actually tell a different story. According to statistics, there were 1.21 million abortions performed in the United States in 2014. Of those, less than 1% (actual percentage was 0.067% or 187) abortions were because of rape or incest. The three most common reasons for abortions performed in 2014 were 1) 37% – less than ideal relationship status or personal convenience; 2) 21% – inadequate finances; and 3) 21% – not ready for the responsibility of parenthood. When Christians and other religious groups point to personal responsibility and refraining from premarital sex to avoid pregnancy, the world lectures and sneers at the suggestion. Instead, abortion is seen as a more responsible choice for the modern woman. In the end, the choice of abortion boils down to a choice between life and death.

Right or wrong – it is our choice

A while back I was reading from a book that has the collected writings of Andrew Bonar, a member of the Puritan clergy from back in the early nineteenth century. One of the concepts he was teaching is that we are a product of our own choices. Much of what we see as our failures or our successes in life are really based on the decisions we made when God provided us with choices. When we begin to see our lives as the results of the choices we have made and not random happenings or even as God intervening in our lives, God’s grace becomes even so much more magnified in the life of the believer. Now it becomes increasingly important to follow the pleading and the calling of the Lord: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18). It is both eye-opening and comforting at the same time to know that in the past, I made decisions based on my understanding but I do not have to continue to make those wrong decisions now. As a child of God, I am free to come and reason with the Lord, to seek His guidance and wisdom before I make my decision.

 Looking at my own life, I am where I am at because of the decisions – good and bad – that I made. There are also times in my life that I was simply shown mercy by the Lord in spite of my own short sightedness and stupidity. As recently as 2011, I have been impulsive in my decision-making and have not always sought the will of the Lord. The good thing is that I am a work in progress and God’s not finished with me.

Comments Off on It is either right or wrong; there’s no grey area

Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Discipleship, Our relationship with God

Tagged , ,

Approaching storms – are you ready?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by | Comments Off on Approaching storms – are you ready?

PHOTO_13700605_148597_31058328_apI have always loved watching approaching storms. There’s something about the change in the smell of the air, the cloud formations, and even the slight breeze that I just love. I love the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder and simply sit in awe of the might of the storm. With all of humankind’s technology, we still have yet to master the storm much less understand all the mechanics surrounding one. I’m reminded of the story found in the gospel of Luke where Jesus disciples are panicking as the storm unleashes its fury on them: And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm (Luke 8:24).

There are so many lessons we can learn in this one verse about the Lord and the disciples lack of understanding in who Jesus actually was. They saw Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils, yet when it came to this storm, they pleaded for Jesus to save them. The previous verse, But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy (Luke 8:23), tells us that Jesus was asleep in the boat, the same boat where the disciples were panicking. Just as the disciples knew who Jesus was, we have the benefit of knowing who Jesus is through the scriptures. Just as the disciples did, we also cry out in the  middle of our storms not fully realizing that Jesus is right there with us and realizing He will not allow us to succumb to the tempest we face. We can have peace in the middle of our storms if we take the time to prepare for the storms before they even begin to form.

A Christian emergency kit

As I began to think about what items we would need to bring together for our spiritual emergency kit, the first thing that crossed my mind was the Bible. It is God’s instruction book for life. Within its pages it has God’s guidance, not only for daily living, but God’s advice on how to handle any situation. As I have begun to mature and grow in my faith I become more dependent upon the wisdom contained in the Bible. God offers financial advice, advice on how to raise children, on what to look for in a mate, and everything else in between. The Bible is an everyday book; this makes it perfect for any spiritual emergency kit we put together. 

A strong prayer life is another thing we need to include in our kit. Prayer should not just be something we do our of vain repetition or right before we eat. We know that the prophet Daniel prayed multiple times a day: Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime (Daniel 6:10). I will be willing to speculate that these three times of prayer were in addition to his mealtime prayers. Not only is prayer an important part of our daily life, it must be a part of how we handle the storms when they come. In my life there have been times I have watched the spiritual storm approach and instead of trusting in and praying to the Lord, I have tried to handle it on my own using my own understanding of the situation.

What I have learned is that when I do this, I am actually acting out my doubts in God’s ability to manage the situation. The prophet Isaiah was led by the Spirit of the Lord to write, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). When this verse is coupled with the teachings found in Proverbs, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), it becomes clear to me that two important tools Christians need to have in their emergency kit are patience and trust. Especially when you are a person who likes to have their hands on a project or like to be an active participant, it is hard to simply hold back and wait for the Lord to guide you. When I think back at my life, some of the worst spiritual storms I was in was because when the storm first started I didn’t wait on the Lord. I thought I could handle things on my own. It wasn’t until the waves were too high, the currents too strong that I cried out to the Lord. The Lord tells us simply to wait and trust. He promises to renew our strength and to see us safely through the storm. He tells us not to simply act on our own understanding because He knows we never have the full view of the storm as He does. 

When we are facing spiritual storms many of us have the tendency to isolate ourselves and not approaching others and asking for prayer and fellowship. It is difficult to remember the admonishment by the apostle Peter, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9). Within this passage, we learn a couple of things about the spiritual storms we face. We learn that the Devil uses them to separate us from God’s love and joy. We also learn that other Christians, our brothers and sisters in the faith, also experience the same spiritual storms we go through. Even the apostle Paul wrote, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13). When we are in the middle of our spiritual storm, we need to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the faith. When we see our brothers and sisters in the faith going through their own spiritual storm we need to embrace them, lift them up, and encourage them to continue in the Lord. 

Continued on the next page.

Pages: 1 2

Comments Off on Approaching storms – are you ready?

Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Difficulties and Trials, Discipleship, Our relationship with God

Tagged , , , , , ,