Tag Archives: Matthew

An answer to an emailed comment

Posted on January 14, 2015 by | Comments Off on An answer to an emailed comment

answerThis post is different from most posts that I do. Normally, as I prepare my Sunday school lessons or do my daily Bible study, the Holy Spirit will lay on my heart what I need to share with the regular audience. There are times I wish I could share with you the number of unfinished posts that sit and wait for the day when the Holy Spirit will give me the peace I need to finish and share them with you. This morning is no different from any other morning; I posted some items to the Facebook page that ties to this site and was sorting through the various junk emails that the page generates when I came across an email received through the prayer list contact page. This person simply asked why do I share what I do, what blessings do I get out of it, and if I say I am doing it for God, why does the site accept PayPal donations. I figure that those are fair enough questions and believed the answer was important enough to share with regular readers.

Why do I have a PayPal link?

I want to begin by sharing a scripture about this very thing: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).  As a Christian, I believe I do owe those that will ask questions an honest answer about my faith. I want to begin with the PayPal question first. This blog is not done for generating revenue. I do not share what I do for building wealth or taking advantage of others. About three years ago, when this site was in its infancy, I had a reader who wanted to financially contribute to the annual hosting plan and was angry that I didn’t have the page set up to accept love offerings. I had never thought of it before as I do this site to be a blessing to others and never put any thought to it. The person said that my ingratitude towards their desire to give was creating a stumbling block in their faith. Knowing that the apostle Paul wrote, Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way (Romans 14:13), and after much prayer, I came to the decision to add the ability to accept donations on this site (by that point, the person who had made it an issue no longer followed this site). I do not solicit donations nor is any financial contribution expected from those who regularly read this blog.

I do not need donations to keep this site going and will gladly, as I have each year, continue to pay for the hosting plan out of my pocket. However, if the Lord does lead you in the direction of helping with the cost of hosting this site, I will honor your donation’s intent. This site will never charge a membership fee nor will it ever have a “subscriber only” section. The scriptures teach: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Romans 5:15-18) and since that very grace is what brings salvation to humanity, I do feel that this blog, a public forum, should also remain free.

Why I share what I do

This question is a little more difficult to answer because I am not sure exactly what the person asking the question meant. I will say this – the reason that I blog about the topics I do is because 1) I feel that I have been led to that particular topic by the Holy Spirit, 2) basic discipleship and sharing what I have learned about my faith in the Lord are meant to be shared [Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:1-2)], and 3) if I can help one person to grow in their relationship with the Lord, then this work that Christ has called me to do has been successful. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home and in late September of 1988, I had an emotional experience where I thought I had been led to the Lord. The problem was that all I gained was head knowledge but my heart remained unchanged. From 1988 to 2006, I lived a deceived life. I was deceived in believing I was saved and was content in claiming Jesus Christ as my Savior while still pursuing the pleasures of sin. I realize now that it was not until 2006 that I truly accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior; before (and in earlier blog entries) I would hold on to the deception that I had been saved in 1988 and simply rededicated my life to Christ.

And that is the simple purpose of what I share here. A lot of time has passed since those college days and the blinding deceit that Satan was able to hold me under. In fact, even asking for the Lord’s forgiveness and surrendering my life completely to Him, I still held onto the belief that I was saved in 1988 and simply rededicated my life to Him in 2006. After promising the Lord Jesus that I would study His word as seriously as I was my academic pursuits, a few verses called out to me and changed my relationship with my Lord and Savior forever: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6), One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple (Psalms 27:4), and  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing (Psalms 34:10). From that moment forward, the Lord has blessed me tremendously.

Continued on next page.

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When others minister to us

Posted on January 5, 2015 by | Comments Off on When others minister to us

helping-handFor me, one of the hardest things I have had to do in my walk with the Lord is to accept it when He uses others to minister to my needs. I am pretty sure that I am no different from anyone else when it comes to accepting help. One of the hardest things to do is to allow others to minister to us, especially when it is within our own family or church family. There are times we will need others to minister to us, and we must be willing to allow ourselves to be ministered to. The same verses that we, as Christians, use to show the need to minister to others actually show the attitude we should have when others minister to us.

Accepting help from others

When others minister to us, we should realize that their help comes at the leading of the Holy Spirit and is an act of obedience on their part, as the Holy Spirit directs. We must give thanks to the one ministering to us and to the Lord for the blessings we gain. The apostle Paul explained this to the Christians living in Thessalonica, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Sometimes it is difficult to be thankful when we receive a blessing at the hands of someone within our family or church. It is hard to admit that we couldn’t take care of a problem or issue ourselves; while it is easy to pray to the Lord about those needs, it is quite another to accept the Lord’s provisions especially when it comes at the hands of someone else. We should take on a spirit of genuine thankfulness from the heart; not fake or based on deceit. Paul also wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:19-20). When others minister to us, we should not seem callous, or dismissive of their efforts. We should also genuinely be thankful to the Lord and not be dismissive over the Lord’s blessings.

No one understood this better than the apostle Paul; before his conversion to Christianity he had been part of the Sanhedrin council. He shared that part of his testimony in his writings and in his speeches: But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question (Acts 23:6), Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee (Acts 26:5), and Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5). As a Pharisee, he never had to worry about his physical needs being met. But when he became a Christian and fully accepted the Lord’s plan for his life, he no longer had access to the financial resources he once had. His role as a missionary prevented him from working so he had to wholly depend on the Lord to provide for his needs. I can imagine that at times Paul felt ashamed and embarrassed that in his newfound faith he was humbled and had to depend on the Lord for everything where before, as Pharisee, he never had a want or a need that he could not meet on his own.

One of the hardest things that we have to do as Christians is to learn how to receive answers to our prayers and needs at the hands of others. Again, the writings of Paul gives us an insight to how he approached being thankful for what others did do for him. He wrote to the Christians in Colossus and to those in Thessalonica, We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you (Colossians 1:3), and We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2). As a missionary, Paul is demonstrating the attitude of gratitude we are to have towards others. We are to give thanks to the Lord when others minister to us. The Lord moves in the hearts of His children and will use our brothers and sisters in Christ to minister to us. As mentioned earlier, the apostle Paul, a missionary, often depended on the gifts and the ministering of others in support of his ministry.

There are times in our own life where we will have a real need – maybe it is a physical need, maybe it is a need for encouragement, or maybe it is just knowing that someone else is praying for us. God uses His children to minister to the needs of others; He uses others to minister to us. It is important for us to remember that we see throughout the New Testament a principle of people and churches moving, as the Holy Spirit leads, to meet the needs of others who are hurting or are in need: Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea (Acts 11:29). Again, Paul wrote on this very subject to the Christians living in Rome: For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things (Romans 15:26-27) and Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality (Romans 12:10 & 12:13). Paul is writing about the emerging characteristics of Christians – which are the same characteristics that we see today. Our churches are filled with women and men who are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to be a blessing to others.

Don’t question the motives

By nature, I am a cynical person. I was not raised in a Christian home and for much of my time in the military, I worked in the military justice field. Both of these influenced the outlook I have held for so long. I’m not proud of this and it is something that I pray that the Lord will help me overcome on a daily basis. While it is not as bad as it once was, I have a problem questioning the motives of others, especially when they’ve done something that ministers to a need. Before I began to ask the Lord to help me in this, I would easily assign them hidden motives of trying to atone for guilt, trying to buy my friendship, or whatever motive my mind could come up with.

I never understood how bad this habit had become it was until one afternoon in 2007, I felt the Lord moving within my heart. There was a family in our church that had fallen on hard times and the Lord had laid on my heart to buy them some groceries and to pay their utility bill. I went to the city hall and paid the utility bill, which was easy enough. I went to Kroger, bought the basic groceries I could think of that a family of five would use, and went by their house and put them on the front porch of the family’s house. The next Sunday, I was approached by the gentleman and was asked all the things I normally muttered to the Lord in private – why did I do that? What was I expecting in return? How much was it going to cost him? At that point, I saw myself for what I was in the situations I similarly experienced in the past; by my very nature and mindset, I was unthankful, I was full of pride, and I was unwilling to be genuinely thankful when the Lord used others to minister to me. Just then, it hit me that from that point forward, I should never question the motives of someone that seeks to be a blessing to me out of obedience to the Lord; instead I needed to remember the words of Jesus: And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward (Matthew 10:42). Even if their reason for helping us is simply “doing it because it is what the Bible teaches…” we are to be accepting of their efforts because the Lord has told them that just offering us a hand because it is what they’ve been taught to do as a Christian is still doing it for the right reason. James wrote, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:15-17). Just as when we are moved by the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of others and we understand that it is the demonstration of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to help others, when others reach out to minister to us, they are also are acting out of their faith in the Lord. And for that, we must recognize their living faith and a tender heart and rejoice and give thanks to them and to the Lord for meeting our needs.

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Posted in Discipleship, My Walk, Our relationships with other Christians

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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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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Our relationship with others

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