Tag Archives: Luke

An opportunity to minister to others

Posted on December 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on An opportunity to minister to others

How-To-ListenAn opportunity to minister to the needs of others is one of the most basic areas of Christian service. I believe that the reason many Christians are afraid of this word are the connotations that the word brings. Within the English language, minister can be used as either a noun or a verb; most are familiar with the noun – and often think of minister as being a member of the pastor or other church clergy or maybe a member of a parliamentary governmental system. The verb, minister, actually has a different meaning: to contribute to happiness and comfort or to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities. For a Christian, this should be a natural desire within our hearts.

Last month I was preparing a Sunday School lesson that discussed the various people we meet in life. As I tell my class, each lesson not only do I learn something from the biblical research I do, but I also get a triple reinforcement of what the Lord has led me to discover – as I prepare the lesson, as I teach the lesson, and then as I prepare the video of the class for our church website. This particular lesson hasn’t been any different; however, it hasn’t let me rest either. My attitude towards other people is beginning to change as the Holy Spirit begins to apply what I’ve been taught.

Each time we learn something about our faith, about ourselves and our walk with the Lord Jesus, we then become accountable for that knowledge and its application in our life. Within the Bible, this principle is taught in several scriptures: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17), and The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Luke 12:46-48). With all my heart, I truly believe when we’ve been taught a biblical principle and make the decision not to apply it to our lives, we are choosing disobedience and not to fully submit to the will of the Lord.

Each Christian looks for an opportunity to minister to others. As I mentioned before, it is a natural change that happens as a result of our new nature that the apostle Paul spent so much of his time teaching other Christians about. The easiest opportunity for us to minister to others is the one that is the most obvious yet rarely done. It is the opportunity to minister to the other people who we meet when we are simply doing the things we do each day. There are people that God brings into our lives on a daily basis that we are to minister to. Sometimes, it may come as a kind word, as a smile, or even the lifting of a need of someone else in prayer to our Lord. Other times it may be presenting the good news that Jesus can save them if they will put their trust in Him. It may be in helping the person who is a couple of dollars short in front of you in the checkout line. It may be a bag of groceries, a Bible, or even something more substantial that the Lord lays upon your heart as a need that someone else has a need of. In any case, the Lord always match an opportunity for us to minister with our abilities and the needs of the people He brings to us.

An opportunity to share the gospel

Within our society and in this time we live people need the Lord more than ever. Right now, according to statistics available through the Family Research Council, there are more people today that have never attended church or are not members of a local church than ever before in American society. They need to hear the good news that Jesus loves them; they need to hear the gospel message of His saving grace and that God does love them and has a plan for their life. This means that every person we meet is an opportunity to share the simple gospel message. Jesus taught his disciples this very thing: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20), And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), and The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). Every person we encounter each day becomes an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

An opportunity to meet a need

Not everyone that crosses our path on a daily basis will be in need of hearing the gospel message. They may already be a Christian, but there are always opportunities to minister to the needs of others. Again, Jesus taught during His earthly ministry: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:34-40). There are several applications that can be made from this verse with the most common and obvious being that when we minister to others we are serving the Lord. However, when we take the opportunity to meet the physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional needs of others we are taking part in an important ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since October, our church has collected food and toys for baskets to be delivered to families within our area. As a part of this, members of our congregation submitted names of families that they knew were in need. Some families just needed a helping hand with food while others needed food and had children in the home without the financial means to buy presents. Not only did God give our church family with an opportunity to minister to the physical needs of others, He provided blessings for those who were able to give, those who were able to take part in the delivery, and to those receiving the Christmas baskets. Yesterday there were a couple of people who shared with us the joy and blessings they received just from delivering the baskets – which gave our entire church the ability to rejoice in God’s goodness, love, and grace, but to praise His name! We may never see any of those who received the baskets in our church or join our congregation – and that was never our goal. Our goal was to just to take the opportunity to minister to others.

While it is easy to have the spiritual desire to meet the needs of others at Christmastime, this is a mindset (and a heart-set) we need to become more sensitive to all year. It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the very real needs of others even when those needs are clear to us. It is easy to adopt the secular world view that needs can be met through some government agency or service. As an American historian by vocation, I believe that this is one of the many reasons so many people are now hurting in our country is because the church – God’s people – have surrendered the idea of meeting the needs of others within the community to the politicians, bureaucrats, and other government leaders. Before the twentieth century, it wasn’t the government that provided housing, clothing, and food to the poor – it was the local church. It was the local church, through its people, that showed the love of the Lord Jesus Christ to those in need. It was through the people of the local church that the needs of both body and soul were met.

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Beware of growing icicles

Posted on December 1, 2014 by | Comments Off on Beware of growing icicles

Icicles13There’s a Christmas movie where the main character, a young boy, has just gotten his desired present – a Red Ryder BB gun – and in his haste to take out the imaginary bandits, he shoots a paper target taped to a metal sign. The BB ricocheted and hits his glasses. Fearing the wrath of his father and the “See, I told you so…” of his mother, he concocted a story that he was shooting icicles off the roof and one hit him in the eye. His mother, apparently willing to believe his story, adds “those icicles can be dangerous, you’re lucky it didn’t put your eye out…”  There is a profound but simple lesson and warning within her simple statement: beware of growing icicles.

Icicles do not start off large, but start with a single drop of water that freezes. Under the right conditions, freezing temperature and more water, they will begin to grow larger and larger. When I was still in the military, I remember one February where I and a few others from the office I worked in had been tasked to go outside and break off the icicles that were hanging off the fire escape to prevent them from falling and hurting someone below. Just as growing icicles can grow to become dangerous, we can foster growing icicles within our heart. Just as an icicle starts as a drop of water, an unkind word or deed done is all it takes to begin the process within our hearts. Once that seed is planted and it takes root, it begins to grow. There’s a warning about this found within the Bible: Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief (Proverbs 28:14). When we allow our hurt feelings to dominate our spiritual life we essentially put our fleshly nature ahead of the Lord. This is one of the many reasons that the Lord warned us during His earthly ministry: No man 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 (Matthew 6:24).

We’ve all had someone at church or within our family, someone who we know is a Christian, say something or do something that causes us to hurt. Oftentimes, it is unintentional and no harm was ever meant. Instead of talking to the other person, we will often bury the hurt for any number of reasons; maybe it is because we are ashamed we were hurt so easily, maybe we don’t want to admit that the person actually hurt us, or maybe we think we are keeping the peace. Whatever the reason may be, we forget the advice given by the apostle Paul, Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:26). When we think about wrath, most of us think of someone having an intense anger; however, there are times that anger is driven by hurt feelings. I know that there have been times I decided not to follow Paul’s advice and before I knew it, my hurt feelings, the anger, and even confusion over the entire situation began impacting my walk with the Lord. Soon, things that I once found comfort and joy in didn’t appeal to me. I was allowing the growing icicles to gain strength and size.

It is hard to appreciate the blessings and joy that the Lord brings into our lives when we have allowed our love of the Lord to be overcome with hurt and sorrow. We begin to question the motives of those who do try to reach out to us. We lash out at the smallest gesture of concern or kindness, often accusing them of either not understanding what we are feeling or being less than sincere in their efforts. It becomes easy to hide from others and to become spiritually cold, bitter, and shut off from others as the icicles begin to grow larger. I believe this is exactly what David was experiencing when he wrote, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. T0 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalms 51:7-12) . David has emotionally reached the stage where he realizes what is going on and is asking the Lord to help him to overcome the hardening of his heart. He wants to be restored to the place where he was truly joyful in his salvation.

Allowing our hearts to become hardened is actually harboring sin. As I look back at the times I had allowed my heart to grow cold, I now think of the admonition of the apostle Paul, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (Ephesians 4:17-18). As Christians, we shouldn’t harbor ill feelings the way we did before we knew the Lord Jesus as our personal savior. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be filled with coldness and bitterness simply to find ourselves alienated from the Lord because we are unwilling to forgive someone else because they have wronged us. During his earthly ministry, Jesus even warned But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses (Mark 11:26). When we hold onto our bitterness and our hurt feelings, we place a wall between ourselves and the Lord. It does not change that we are a child of God, but it does prevent us from being in a place of blessing.

The question becomes how should I handle this hurt caused by someone else and the answer is found in scripture. The apostle Paul wrote Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof (Romans 13:10-14). The first step is ours – we must show the love of Christ towards others, even those who we believed have wronged us.

There is no excuse or justification for us to ever allow our hearts to become bitter and hardened. Paul ends the passage by telling us to put on Christ and don’t give a place to the flesh. Don’t give in to the temptation to grow bitter. Don’t give in to the temptation to let the hurt fester. Follow the model of Christ: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do… (Luke 23:34). It is the opposite of what the flesh wants to do. It is the opposite of what the world teaches. It is why Paul wrote, If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:21-24). 

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Beware of the pitfalls of the “modern” faith

Posted on November 19, 2014 by | Comments Off on Beware of the pitfalls of the “modern” faith

Water_safety_sign_Dangerous_currentThis morning, while waiting to have my blood drawn for lab work at the local VA health clinic, a gentleman and his wife sat next to me. He noticed that I was reading the Bible on my smartphone and soon, the three of us were having a conversation about faith and church. For about ten minutes, we were able have an uninterrupted conversation that seemed more of an affirmation to me than any great revelation. All it takes is to think back just twenty years ago to become aware that some things that are happening in our churches and some of the viewpoints held by “Christians” are not in line with biblical doctrines.

The Bible not regarded as the absolute authority

The couple I was talking with were in their mid nineties and the first things we discussed was the role of the Bible. Both the man and his wife were lamenting how far our society has moved in their lifetime. The couple shared how they were now in the process of trying to find a new church home because they no longer felt that God was welcomed in the church where they had been members for the last thirty years. The lady even said that their pastor no longer exclusively teaches Bible on Sunday morning, but will use contemporary writings, poetry, and short stories to make his points. Immediately, I thought of what the apostle Paul told Timothy: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (II Timothy 3:16-17). Paul also wrote to the early Christians and reminding them, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4). Even in his day, Paul was having to encourage the early Christians to study the Old Testament. He understood that the Old Testament is the foundation on which the New Testament stands. Paul also gave a warning for the early Christians to stay true to what the apostles had taught:  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8).

It is essential that any sermon or message have at its core a biblical foundation. It is the Bible that gives the church authority and it is the Bible that defines the purpose of the church. While the Bible – the Word of God – can live outside the church and is not dependent on the church, the church cannot live and function as the church of God if it is not on a biblical foundation. When the Bible is supplanted by humanist philosophies and is taught from behind the pulpit, it does not bring glory to God. Jesus told the crowd around Him, 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). This is especially true for the church. It cannot proclaim that it has the moral authority from the Lord when it is teaching philosophies of the flesh. It is for this cause alone that many of our churches in America are failing. They no longer stand firm on the Bible and have adopted worldly teachings and philosophies to grow their membership.

The Bible is what we are to use as our measuring stick. Not only are we to weigh ourselves according to the scriptures, we are to weigh what is preached to us and what is done around us. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It cuts through the sin and corruption of the flesh; the apostle Peter wrote, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you (I Peter 1:23-25). Our very salvation depends upon the Word of God! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1-5).

Within the book of Revelation, I do honestly believe that this is what happened to the church at Laodicea: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:14-17). In my mind’s eye, this is the church that appeals to a large following – they have every kind of outreach ministry under the sun, they have hundreds attend their services, they have a great contemporary music program, never financially struggle, and with all that, spiritually they are naked. Rather than take firm and biblical stands on doctrine, sin, and social issues, they reach out with a feel-good sermon that appeals to the vanity of human emotions. Jeremiah wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) We can be deceived by our own emotions – which is why God has made salvation independent of our emotions.

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