LifeNet Blog

Exploring the Mystery of New Covenant Life

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:58:00 GMT

Life under the New Covenant is a radical and mysterious departure from anything else we may have experienced.

Life under the New Covenant is a radical and mysterious departure from anything else we may have experienced. It is so wonderfully at odds with life under the Law that most of us find it difficult to grasp or believe. It is mysterious in the biblical sense in that we cannot understand it without revelation from the Holy Spirit. It literally seems to be too good to be true. As a result, many of us never experience its fullness but continue to live as if we are still under the law, vainly trying to earn or maintain a right standing with God through our performance. This always ends poorly. My hope is that what I have written here will help us to gain a greater understanding and experience of all that Christ died to provide for us.

If we were able through extreme dedication, self-denial, and will power to live a life that measures up to God’s standard of righteousness, Christ would not have had to die for our sins.

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Galatians 2:21 (NASB95)

But just as the unrighteous steward could not accept that his extreme debt to his master was fully forgiven, we still think we have a chance of finally getting it right, if we just try again a little harder. The longer we stay on the treadmill of self-effort, the more likely it is we will end up depressed, angry, or extremely deceived.

God gave us the Law to deliver us from all forms of self-righteousness by forcing us to finally come to terms with our desperate sinfulness and need for a savior.

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Galatians 3:21–25 (NASB95)

Even though the Bible plainly teaches we are no longer under the dominion of the law and its power to condemn us, we generally find it very difficult to leave this abusive spouse. We seem to prefer to “security” it offers to the freedom available to us in Christ.

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Romans 7:4–6 (NASB95)

We just cannot seem to let go of our need to be able to measure our spiritual standing or progress, which the law seems to provide. We cannot seem to find comfort in being released from the need to measure anything ever again because Christ has perfectly and finally fulfilled the law on our behalf. There is nothing left to do or prove ever again.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4 (NASB95)

The English word “end” is translated from the Greek word “telos,” which means completion or fulfillment. The NLT accurately translates this verse as follows.

For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. Romans 10:4 (NLT)

This leaves nothing for us to do regarding the Law. We have been released from its power to condemn us. But all this does is end the futility of striving to gain God’s favor under the old covenant. How then shall we now live under the new covenant? How do we experience what Paul called living in the “newness of the Spirit?”

Jesus: The Fusion of the Eternal with the Temporal

God is not limited by any created dimension, such as time. However, God assigned us to live in a world fenced in by the dimensions of space and time.

Those who put their faith and allegiance in Christ and experience the new birth experience life in another greater reality – the eternal spiritual realm.

By virtue of our tripartite nature ( spirit, soul, and body – 1 Thessalonians 5:23), we are uniquely and amazingly designed to interface with both the material world and the spiritual one.

To God, all things are in the present. His revealed name, given to Moses, is the “I Am.” Jesus, the Second Person of the Godhead, has existed from all eternity as the Logos (John 1:1).

In obedience to his Father’s will, Jesus entered our time-space experience as a human being through a miraculous fusion of the eternal with the temporal inside Mary’s womb called the Incarnation.

He was a true extra-terrestrial, being the only person who came from heaven and is truly God and truly man, the “monogenes” or only begotten Son of God. The truth of the Incarnation has been held fast by the church since its inception and is clearly stated in Scripture.

Jesus understood that his “origin” was and is divine and that he has always existed.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB)

And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. John 8:23 (NASB)

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." John 8:56-58 (NASB)

In Jesus the Messiah, the eternal “I Am” became a human being.

As a human, he was subject to the limitations of time and space. He entered the world as a baby and grew and developed into a man in the ordinary way. The mystery of the Incarnation produced a person who was and is truly human and truly God, thus making it possible for the elevation of humanity beyond our comprehension.

The New Birth and the Mystery of Christ in Us

Jesus had a dual nature. He was truly God and truly man. As a man, he was subject to human weakness, but his core identity was derived from his Abba Father. He lived his human life in agreement with his core identity. He never violated his God-ness by catering to his humanity.

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. ⁸ Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, ¹⁰ being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:7-10 (NASB)

Jesus was said to learn obedience because he endured temptation as we do without succumbing to it. By living out from his core identity as God’s only begotten son, he triumphed over sin and temptation in every case, all the way to the cross. He showed us how to live.

Before the new birth, our core identity was rooted in Adam. We were weak and enslaved to sin.

...knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, Romans 6:6–8 (NASB95)

When we are born again, our spirits come alive. The Bible says we become a new creation (Galatians 6:15, 2 Corinthians 5:17). We are joined to God in the spirit and become one with him (1 Corinthians 6:17, Galatians 2:20).

God wants us to learn to live out of this new spiritual part of our being and from there derive our identity going forward. This is the mystery and secret of the Christian life – Christ in us, the hope of glory.

For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:27 (NLT)

Learning to Walk in Step with the Holy Spirit

There was nothing in Jesus that was “out of step” with the Holy Spirit. It was completely “natural” for him to hear his Father’s voice, see what his Father was doing, and follow his Father’s lead without hindrance.

So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. John 8:28 (NASB)

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. John 5:19 (NASB)

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38 (NASB)

The eternally perfect Logos became an historically perfect human being over time through continued obedience to his Father.

Our Lord worked out in his time-bound human life that which was eternally true about him on the inside.

He had to make choices along the way to obey his Father, even when it cost him supremely. He learned obedience from the things he suffered as he lived out of his union with his Father.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)

This gives us a key to understand how our own sanctification and spiritual transformation takes place.

We too must undergo the process of learning obedience to God over a lifetime during which the Holy Spirit works to transform our thinking, words, character, and behavior to match what Christ already accomplished for us through his death and resurrection. God puts within each of us a newly recreated spirit that is united with God, whose desire is to please God always.

“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38 (NASB95)

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:22–25 (NASB95)

Unfortunately, the residue of what the Bible calls the “flesh” still pulls us toward sin. This creates an internal battleground. By placing us in a world governed by time and space, God requires us to believe and live by faith in his promises, to obey the Holy Spirit, to treasure the fear of the Lord, and to rely on the transforming power of grace.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)

Living by grace is a cooperative effort between us and God in which we too learn to live out what is true spiritually on the inside through the new birth. Jesus the Messiah did the hard lifting at Calvary. However, the salvation he won for us must be actively worked out in our personal histories through belief in the truth and cooperation with the indwelling Holy Spirit.

God was not content to merely forgive us. The Spirit is committed to making what is true spiritually and eternally about us become our experience and history.

The only way this is possible is if we believe the truth that God has removed from us every trace of condemnation.

This is a corollary of the believing that Christ perfectly and finally fulfilled the Law on our behalf. Paul taught that when Jesus died on the cross, we died with him.

Since we are dead now, the Law has no more jurisdiction over us and no ability to point out our faults and condemn our failures.

This is why Jesus and Paul both emphasized that we will never ever again be condemned.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24 (NASB95)

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (NASB95)

The judge himself assures us that he will never condemn us. That settles it.

Once the law loses its ability to condemn us, sin loses its power over us.

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56–57 (NKJV)

Because of what Jesus did for us through his death and resurrection and through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are now able to live for God. This is the new covenant mystery of God writing his law on our hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33)

When we learn to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit, we will experience the freedom of what Paul called the “law of the spirit of life.”

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1–2 (NASB95)

This is the outworking of the mystery of new covenant life in the Spirit.

God has given us the responsibility to live by grace in a dynamic cooperation between us and the Holy Spirit as we steadfastly hold on to the truth of God’s Word.

Kingdom Teamwork

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 20:49:31 GMT

Following Christ is not a spectator sport. Each of us has a role to play and a job to do.

Just as our brains coordinate the efforts of each individual part of our bodies, the Body of Christ is composed of people who have a wide variety of gifts whom the Holy Spirit coordinates to accomplish the work of God’s kingdom under Christ’s lordship.

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work (Greek: energema - energy), it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

Following Christ is not a spectator sport. Each of us has a role to play and a job to do.

Therefore, one of our responsibilities is to discover who God created us to be and what he has equipped us to do so that we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to fulfill that purpose.

For we are His workmanship (Greek: poiema - masterpiece, poem), created in Christ Jesus for good works (Greek: ergon), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Each of us has some understanding of our identity and our God-given capabilities. A portion of what we think about ourselves is based on truth, but not all of it. The devil lies to us constantly, and imperfect people often tell us things that damage us instead of encouraging us to fulfill our potential in Christ.

We learn the truth about our identity and God-given abilities from three sources.

The Bible,
The Holy Spirit, and
Godly people who speak truth to us.

Being human and having emptied himself of much of the privileges and power associated with divinity, Jesus seemed to have gained the knowledge of his identity and calling through these three sources, just as we must. We are not given a lot of information about how this happened, but below are some clearly identified parts of the process.

The Bible

After reading Isaiah 61:1 to the synagogue, Jesus announced that he was and is the fulfillment of that prophecy.

And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Luke 4:21 (NASB95)

At some point, while reading the scriptures, he understood that they spoke of him. We too can gain accurate information about our identity and calling from the Word of God, which offsets and corrects the lies spoken over us by our own hearts, ungodly people, the world, and devil.

Every good thing that is true of us is a result of our being “in” Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3 (NASB95)

It takes faith for us to believe the words of the Bible. This is where the Holy Spirit comes into the picture. He is the one who reveals to us the meaning of the Word of God and imparts faith to us.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit speaks to us in a variety of ways. One of the most important is when he makes the written scriptures “come alive” to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 1 John 2:20 (NKJV)

This happened to the disciples on the road to Emmaus as Jesus spoke to them about the necessity for the Messiah to suffer before entering his glory.

They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 (NLT)

Another way he communicates with us is by speaking in our hearts. Seldom do we hear an audible voice, but we can “hear” or perceive what the Spirit says. Every child of God has this ability.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 (NKJV)

It is also possible for the Spirit of God to communicate in an audible voice, as he did at the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus heard his Father says aloud:

… “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” Matthew 17:5b (NASB95)

We all need to learn these things from our heavenly Father, whether audibly, through the scriptures, or in our hearts.

Identity – We are children of God.
Acceptance – We are well-pleasing to God in Christ.
Significance – We have something important to say and do.

Godly People Speaking Truth

Our Lord uses other people to speak the truth to us, too. John the Baptist, who was a prophet, was used by God in precisely this way. He publicly identified Jesus as the Messiah and informed us of his four main ministries.

Lamb of God
Lord
Baptizer in the Holy Spirit
Coming Judge

Paul exhorted Timothy to fulfill the calling on his life that came to him through prophecy.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. 1 Timothy 4:14 (NASB95)

This is one reason why it is so important to be in fellowship with other believers who can speak over our lives and help us fulfill our calling and destiny in God.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

Teamwork

God places people in his Body in a strategic way so that our gifts and callings complement and strengthen each other, thus enabling us to corporately fulfill God’s purposes.

Now there are varieties of gifts (charisma), but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries (diakonia), and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects (energema), but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… 11 But one and the same Spirit works (energeo) all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:4–7, 11 (NASB95)

The gifts of God in our lives equip us to do the work of the ministry.

God’s preloads each of us with gifts at birth that some call “motivational” gifts or charismata in Greek. Other gifts are manifested by the Spirit as the need arises in people who are open to them. Finally, we have gifts of service (Greek: diakonia) who are people Christ gives to the church. Some call this the “five-fold” or “ascension gift” ministry. Only a relatively few have this calling.

“Motivational” gifts (charisma) – Romans 12:6-8 – prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy
“Manifestation” gifts (charisma) – I Cor. 12:8-10 – word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirit, faith, miracles, healing, prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues
“Five-fold” ministry (diakonia) – Ephesians 4:11 – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher

In addition to these gifts, we have individual “callings,” which can be individually perceived and corroborated by others through gifts of the Spirit called prophecy and “words of knowledge,” whereby others perceive what God has put in us or called us to do.

Another important factor is ascertaining what energizes or motivates us. Some call this our “passion.”What we are passionate about can be a good indicator of our calling.

A final factor is to consider what natural or learned abilities or capabilities we have. For example, if we are fluent in a foreign language, this can open doors for us. If we are good with computers, this can be an indication that we could serve in this way.

We have a responsibility to discover what God has put inside us that he wants us to use for the kingdom and his glory. Once we figure that out, we have a responsibility to submit ourselves to the transformation process whereby the Holy Spirit works on our character to make us suitable representatives of Christ. When we are ready, then it is a matter of surrendering to what God wants us to do.

Usually, we will be working in teamwork with other members of the Body. This means we will need to humbly recognize our place on the team.

We are to consider others better than ourselves, and, if we have a leadership role, to use that position to encourage the whole team.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:3–4 (NLT)

How to Escape from the Prison of Bitterness

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 23:36:45 GMT

Bitterness imprisons its victims and subjects them to demonic harassment, a version of self-inflicted torture.

Jesus was very clear on this matter.

Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Matthew 18:32–35 (NLT)

For a number of reasons, bitterness is one of the most serious sins that a believer in Christ can commit.

First of all, bitterness undercuts the mercy shown to us when we were forgiven. Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender from a debt. In the parable quoted above, Jesus used a financial debt to illustrate the principle. Most of us however, do not owe God a debt of money. Ours is much more serious. The sin debt can never be paid by us. The parable of the unrighteous servant made this clear. The servant owed his master a vast sum. He asked for more time to pay it off, but the master knew that it was hopeless and forgave him the entire amount.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace Ephesians 1:7 (NASB)

It is apparent that the servant did not appreciate his situation. He did not realize that he needed mercy, not more time. As a result, he imagined that he could eventually pay what he thought he still owed. He did not accept his being released from debt or he would have acted differently. Instead he roughly treated someone who owed him a minor debt and threw him in prison when he could not pay. When the master heard, his anger flared, and you know the rest of the story.

To forgive is to release someone from the debt they owe us.

It does not release them from God’s justice. It does not require us to trust them or be reconciled to them. Forgiveness is a one-way street. Reconciliation requires both parties participate.

Some of us imagine that if we forgive someone it will be equivalent to saying that what they did was no big deal. Nothing could be farther from the truth! It is quite the opposite. We cannot adequately forgive someone until we face the evil they perpetrated against us. We should never minimize the sin when offering forgiveness. Instead, we should acknowledge what they did and release them from any hatred or resentment we may have harbored against them. In addition, we let go of any demands we have made on them as “pay back”.

When we forgive a person, they are released from owing us anything, but that does not release them from their sin debt against God.

There is only one way to be released from that – by trusting in Jesus’ shed blood. Jesus offered himself as the Lamb of God to pay the penalty for our sins. We find our personal forgiveness that way, and anyone who sins against God can find the same release from divine justice. We can release guilty people from the debt they may owe us, but only God can remove guilt and condemnation.

Whoever does not take advantage of God’s magnanimous offer through he gospel will face the awful wrath of God as the judgment. Vengeance belongs to God, not us. When we release people from our own demand for justice, it puts them squarely in God’s hand, the one to whom vengeance belongs

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:19–21 (NLT)

When we refuse to forgive others, it is tantamount to saying we do not need forgiveness.

People who would perish in hell except for God’s undeserved mercy should not self-righteously refuse to extend mercy to others. Otherwise, we may be saying we have a higher standard of justice than God! This is the central message of the parable of the unrighteous servant.

Some say that when we forgive it is not as much for the other person as it is for ourselves. In fact, both are true. We release others from our judgment which frees them up to face God directly instead of being distracted by our offense against them. Additionally, we release ourselves from the prison of bitterness, a very painful and lonely place.

It is a scriptural principle that whatever we focus upon tends to control and mold us. The more we focus on what we should not be doing, the greater it dominates our thoughts. Contrariwise, when we focus on the Lord, we are changed into his image.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (NKJV)

When we focus on sin, it molds us into its image, according to Paul.

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 1 Corinthians 15:56 (NKJV)

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Romans 7:7–11 (NKJV)

Instead, when we focus on the Lord and worship him, we are transformed into his image by the Holy Spirit.

When we hold a bitterness against someone, we end up dwelling on the offense. As we meditate upon our resentment and the evil done to us, we are changed into its image. Ironically, bitterness transforms us the one we hate.

God will intervene on our behalf, realizing that we have not yet learned the meaning and value of mercy. In his mercy, he will lock us up in our self-made prison and assign torturers to oppress us until we come to our senses. God does this because he loves us. He knows that we can never adequately experience the joys of forgiveness until we learn to forgive.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14–15 (NLT)

When we imprison ourselves in bitterness, we do not experience the felt presence of God. Joy dries up. We cannot hear the Spirit speak to us. In addition, God grants demonic oppressors permission to harass us until we repent.

When I counsel people, one of the first things I address is bitterness because I have found that no progress can be made until we let go of bitterness.

Everyone who imprisons themselves in a dungeon of bitterness is given a key to open the door and walk out into freedom. It is called repentance and forgiveness.

We change our mind about holding on to offenses and release people from owing us anything at all. When we do this, the prison door swings upon and we are free to go.

Bitterness can be obvious to us and very subtle as well. Sometimes people are bitter without realizing it. We can be bitter against God, ourselves, and others. Those who are offended with God are in deep peril. Jesus warned against this great danger.

Once when Jesus shared a teaching that was hard to understand, many of his followers turned back and ceased to follow him. Observing this, Jesus asked his disciples:

Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? John 6:61b–62 (NKJV)

Sometimes God offends our intellects to test our hearts. He does not explain everything he does. Instead, he asks us to trust him, even during difficult times.

Taking offense at God is the height of arrogance.

To do so it is to say we are more righteous than he! I have known many people who turned their backs on God because he did something or allowed something that they thought was unforgivable. If this is something you have done, I encourage you to repent at once. Admit that we have no right to accuse God of anything ever. Humbling ourselves before God opens the door to many blessings.

And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Matthew 11:6 (NKJV)

Sometimes we might take offense with ourselves, thinking that we do not deserve mercy of forgiveness. If we are tempted to do this, it means we have never truly understood the depths of our personal depravity. We still imagine that people are not so bad after all. But the Bible teaches us that no one is righteous before God. No one deserves mercy, not even me. Those who understand their spiritually bankrupt state are able to freely receive mercy from God. Those of us who are self-righteous have a more difficult time. Get over it. We are not good people. We need mercy that we can never earn!

Bitterness against other people is usually what we have to overcome, however. It is usually pretty easy to spot a bitter person. They keep talking about the offense because it is always fresh in their minds. If we keep bringing up what someone did to us, we can conclude that we have not yet forgiven that person.

Jesus said that we must forgive from the heart, which is impossible without help from the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes we simply need to admit that we need help to forgive. I remember counseling a person who could not bring themselves to forgive someone. I asked them if they were willing for God to make them willing. They were; so, I led them in a prayer to that effect. Afterward they were able to forgive.

Forgiveness is an act of the will. We choose to forgive and trust the Holy Spirit to make it heartfelt… eventually.

When we pray to forgive, it is not enough to ask the Lord to help us to do so. We must say it. Lord, I forgive (fill in the blank) for (fill in the blank).

Sometimes we know immediately whom we need to forgive. Sometimes we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us. We should not become introspective about it. Rather, we should trust the Spirit to show us anyone we need to forgive. He will do it because God takes a vital interest in delivering us from this terrible sin.

We should love mercy because the merciful will receive mercy, something we all desperately need.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7 (NLT)

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13 (NKJV)

Only those who humbly acknowledge their own great need for mercy will experience the fullness of God’s love and forgiveness. The more we understand our need for mercy, the more we will love God and be able to forgive others.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Luke 7:47 (NLT)

Prayer

Lord, forgive me for arrogantly imagining that I am not in desperate need of your mercy. I receive your mercy and choose to forgive. (Be as specific as necessary.) Now, Holy Spirit, release me from all bitterness. I walk out of my self-imposed prison into the glorious freedom of forgiveness. Amen.

You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

What do we do when we are unsure of our next move?

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 14:41:21 GMT

One of the most difficult and challenging times is when we are not sure of what to do next.

Because of Adam’s sin of partaking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we have an almost insatiable desire for knowledge. When confronted with an important choice in life, we want to know what to do. Not knowing creates a sense of angst inside us. Some turn to illicit means of gaining such knowledge, such as the occult. Because God was silent, King Saul turned to a medium on the eve of an important battle with the Philistine army to try to find out information God was hiding from him (1 Samuel 28). What should we do is such a situation?

God created us to rely him for everything. He is our Creator and Sustainer. Every breath we take is a gift. Without his continual upholding of our lives, we would fall dead.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power... Hebrews 1:3a (NASB95)

This does not mean that he wishes to keep us in an immature state, like a baby needing help all the time. Rather, God wants us to learn to trust him in an ever greater way to accomplish what would otherwise be impossible for us.

The devil tries to make us feel stupid and incomplete because we do not know everything. He tempts us to pridefully rebel against our God-given need to rely on the Lord. He used this successfully against Adam and Eve in the garden; so, we should not take this temptation lightly.

God did not create us as stupid beings, but he did limit our ability to know. Not knowing is part of the reason we are so dependent upon him.

The quest to be and act independently from God is a root behind all sin.

Jesus gave us the perfect example of God-dependent living.

He only did what he saw the Father doing ( John 5:19 ) and spoke what he heard the Father saying ( John 12:50 ). As a result of his perfect obedience to God, Jesus was completely free. Freedom is not doing what we please. Rather, it is pleasing God. Sin enslaves; whereas, God’s Spirit liberates.

Eve disobeyed God in a quest to know forbidden things. God asks us to trust him without having have all the information that we might desire. The Lord simply wants us to trust and obey. God tells us what we need to know at just the right time. Otherwise, we rest in the confidence that God knows all things and sovereignly oversees our destinies.

In God’s economy, faith in God’s faithfulness is more important than having knowledge.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

As the old hymn says,

Many Things About Tomorrow,
I Don’t Seem To Understand;
But I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,
And I Know Who Holds My Hand.

Everyone lives by faith in something, even if it is faith that there is nothing worth believing. Faith is based on believing what is unprovable using scientific methodology. The great mysteries of life must be accepted by faith.

Is there a God?
What is the purpose of life?
What happens after death?
What do I do next?

Those who say that faith is blind, do not know God.

When we take a step of faith, it should be based on something rock solid. God has given us his written Word in the Bible, and he has provided us with the Holy Spirit. It can still be “scary” to take God at his Word and act upon it, but such fear comes from a lack of experience of the faithfulness of God. The more we take such faith “leaps,” the greater our confidence in God.

The Spirit of God reveals God’s secrets to us.

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 1 Corinthians 2:10 (NLT)

He speaks to our hearts and opens our minds to understand the scriptures. This is the kind of knowledge that God permits and encourages. Revelation from the scriptures and from the Spirit are gifts from God and minister life to us, just the opposite of what happened in the garden when the wrong kind of knowledge was pursued and brought death.

But sometimes God withholds what we might consider to be key information, leaving us feeling very unsure of ourselves and what to do next. Such a time is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our faith that God will reveal to us whatever we need to know and handle the unknowns for us.

If the Lord withholds information, it is because we do not need to know. Knowing that God knows all things and is faithful to keep his promises is enough.

God is good and trustworthy, and we can trust in him even when nothing else makes sense. We do not have to know everything. We just need to rely on the one who does.

To the uninitiated, living by faith without any knowledge of what is happening or going to happen can be disconcerting. But when we learn to live by faith, it produces a deep sense of joy and peace. God is more trustworthy than what we can see with our eyes or understand with our minds.

For we live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT)

When we put our faith in him, he gives us a peace that passes understanding.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

So, when we are confused and unsure what to do next, it is time to find shelter in the “secret place” of God’s presence until he chooses to reveal what is the next thing we need to know. Until then we can choose to be content in knowing him.

How Do We Align Ourselves with God's Purposes?

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 19:15:16 GMT

When the gospel accomplishes its purpose in us, it brings glory to our Lord and a sense of peace and contentment to us, while it furthers the advance of God’s kingdom.

Aligning ourselves with God’s purpose for our lives is extremely important. When we come to Christ, he reveals himself as our savior and our Lord. For the rest of our time here on earth he will teach us how to surrender more and more of our lives to him. He wants us to be fully aligned with his plan and purposes and to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:25 (NLT)

At work, if we understand the purpose of our employer, it helps us to get in line with company goals and focus on what is important to our boss. It is no different with Jesus and the kingdom of God. Our Lord told his disciples to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, not our own success or comfort. (Matthew 6:33) After the resurrection, the first apostles began to more fully understand what this means. Today we followers of Christ can also be slow to grasp what are God’s purpose for us and the church.

Many suppose that the gospel is primarily for us, but actually it is first and foremost for God. We live in a consumer culture in which we are trained to evaluate people, things, and groups in terms of how it benefits us.

Repentance essentially involves changing how we think.

Replacing society’s “me first” focus with prioritizing God and his desires is a big part of what it means to be transformed by the Spirit into a disciple.

Jesus died on the cross for us who believe, but that was not the main thing on his mind as he approached and endured that horrible agony. He was most concerned about pleasing his Father in heaven. His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is the supreme example of embracing God’s will, no matter what the personal cost.

Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Matthew 26:42 (NLT)

For us to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives, we, too, must surrender to God’s will for our lives.

Love

I love Bible verses that capture the simplicity of what it means to be a follower of Christ. One such is found in Paul’s First Letter to Timothy.

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 1 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)

Paul’s admonition to Timothy and to all who would later be privileged to read his letter is to allow God to develop in us a heart motivated by God’s love.

God’s love is selfless and sacrificial, as evidenced by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is also focused on God’s glory.

Jesus kept his focus on pleasing his Father while holding on to the promise of glory which awaited him on the other side of the cross.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

Jesus told us that love sums up all of God’s commands. Love is not a feeling. It is a motivation to faith and good works. Our ability to trust God hinges on how trustworthy we think he is.

If we are convinced that the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves, we will be able to follow him to the cross.

If we are going to be used by God’s Spirit for ministry to others, he desires for love to be the basis for that, too. Jesus healed and set people free because his compassion motivated him.

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Mark 1:40-41 (NLT)

God’s love will never be content to simply feel empathy. It takes action.

The aim of the gospel is to produce in followers of Christ the kind of love that acts as God would.

It will reveal itself in love for God and our neighbor. It will be heartfelt and practical. It will be compassionate and selfless.

Purity of Heart

Where this love resides is also very important. Paul tells us that a pure heart is essential. In this he is in complete agreement with our Lord, who blessed the pure of heart.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 (NLT)

Purity of heart comes when our motives are clean and our devotion to God is real. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we are selfish beings. The essence of sin is when we self-direct our lives without reference to God and others. We refuse to be dependent on his Spirit. It usually takes a prolonged work of God’s Spirit to change us on the inside so that we begin to put God and others first. All of us followers of Christ are works in progress, but hopefully we are going forward. Really, only God knows the condition of our hearts, and we can be sure he is at work there continually. Only he can measure our progress.

Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians that all our works of faith and sacrifice are worthless in God’s sight unless they are motivated by love. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

If we want to align with God’s purposes in the gospel, we will cooperate with God’s Spirit as he purifies our hearts to properly love God and people.

A Good Conscience

Secondly, our love should come from heart that is devoid of offense toward God and men. Jesus wants us to have clean consciences. This does not mean we are perfect, but it does require us to come into the light when we sin through confession and repentance toward God. It means that we are not covering our faults and sins with a layer of hypocrisy, pretending to be what we are not. It means we are working toward being more and more transparent and honest. This requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to work humility into our lives in an ever greater way, which is never easy.

A Sincere Faith

Thirdly, God wants our love to be motivated by a sincere faith. Such faith is free of self-promotion. It does not pretend to be something it is not. Its motives are pure.

Many people understand the concept of faith, which combines loyalty to Jesus with taking God at his word and acting on it, trusting that he will come through as promised.

Sadly, some of us use faith to obtain what we want instead of what God wants.

Although God loves to bless us, he is not primarily interested in making us wealthy and comfortable. He is much more concerned with developing our hearts to be like his.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29 (NKJV)

This process normally requires us to endure suffering from time to time, and, in some cases, extensively.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2–4 (NLT)

A sincere faith focuses on what God wants, which includes personal transformation and the furtherance of his gospel and kingdom, not necessarily on what we may want for our personal comfort and ease.

When the gospel accomplishes its purpose in us, it brings glory to our Lord and a sense of peace and contentment to us, while it furthers the advance of God’s kingdom.

How Do I Know If I Am Called By God?

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:48:28 GMT

Our heavenly Father has great interest in our lives and shows his children what he wants us to do.

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How Can I Transition from Spectating at Church to Being a Player?

petebeck3@gmail.com (Pete Beck III) — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 13:34:11 GMT

Christianity is not a spectator sport. The Reformation renewed some very important truths of the faith that had been lost over time, one of which is the priesthood of the believer . This doctrine means that in the New Covenant there is no clergy-laity distinction. Everyone is called to ministry.

All followers of Christ are called, equipped, and expected to partner with the Holy Spirit in the adventure of using their spiritual gifts, time, energy, finances – everything – to fish for people and encourage them to become followers of Christ and fishers of men in their own right.

Every football and basketball season an interesting phenomenon takes place. People personally identify with their favorite teams. When their team is doing well, they feel good about themselves and become enthusiastic, vocal, and visible fans. What is so intriguing is that many of us think that we somehow acquire greater worth and prestige, if our team excels and does better than the other teams. It is almost as if we were the ones who are competing. All big sporting events are filled with such fans who get satisfaction out of watching others play the game. So it is with many people who attend churches.

We all know that playing and spectating are vastly different. When we spectate, we can imagine ourselves making better decisions and better plays than the players on the court or the field, but the reality is that we are not playing.

Jesus has invited his followers actually to participate in the greatest adventure of being his Spirit-filled and empowered representatives.

Unfortunately most of us who call ourselves Christians are merely spectating fans. We may agree with the concept of being involved in the Great Commission, but we have fallen into the trap of being passive, sitting on the sidelines, hoping that someone else will lead our family member, neighbor, or friend to Christ and teach them how to follow him fully. Many Christians think that evangelism is inviting someone to church, where they will hear the preacher talk about Christ. We do not see ourselves as the one who can best share the gospel with them. However, the truth of the matter is that we cannot transfer our responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission to someone else.

God does not give us the option of merely being fans or spectators. God asks us to be players – disciples and disciple makers.

Not everyone is equally gifted in this area, but we are all asked to participate. Some may win thousands to Christ, while others may help only a few become followers of the Master over a lifetime. Sadly, a great number of those who call themselves Christians have never led even one person to faith in Christ. In some cases they have given up trying. This ought not be. Could this be because we do not even talk about Jesus in a serious way with anyone outside of church meetings?

Suggestions

Ask God to forgive us for succumbing to laziness, fear, and the spirit of the age that tells us to keep our faith to ourselves.
Ask the Holy Spirit to stir in us the fire of enthusiasm for Jesus and the Gospel.
Ask him to give us a love for those who live around you who do not yet know Christ.
Familiarize ourselves with the Gospel. (I recommend The King Jesus Gospel by McKnight. You can read my summary by clicking here or you may wish to read my articles on the subject .)
Pray for opportunities to speak meaningfully to people.
Make it a priority to get to know the people in your neighborhood, at work, at the gym, at school, and wherever you have the opportunity to connect. As we spend time in conversation, we will begin to see how Jesus and the Gospel can help them. Our care for them may give us a platform from which to speak about Jesus to them.
Visit people and have them over to our homes. The more time we spend with people, the greater the opportunity we provide for the Holy Spirit to work in the relationships.
Offer to pray for people on the spot when a genuine need for God’s help surfaces.
Join a group (or start one) whose focus is fishing for people and making disciples. In many cases this will be what some call a “missional” church, as opposed to an event-oriented spectator church. We need to be encouraged in the work of the Great Commission because, although it is rewarding, it can be difficult and discouraging at times.
Never, never, never, never give up. Our heavenly reward will be great!

Do You Not See It?

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 15:02:39 GMT

All things new...

“But forget all that-

it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

~ Isaiah 43: 18-19 NLT

We can't help it. As the old year closes and a new one begins, we naturally begin thinking of all things new: new beginnings, new resolutions, new goals. The beautiful reality is, God is not bound by our concept of time. He's always working and he's always doing something new.

In this world, our attention is constantly being pulled by every distraction known to man. Even what we consider to be good work can distract us from what God may be trying to communicate with us. The past can also hold us back. We can either be living in shame or condemnation for past things, or we can be reliving what we consider to be the "glory days" of our youth while missing the new glory God longs to pour out today and in the future.

I am filled with so much anticipation for what God is doing and is going to do! I don't want to miss it. God is asking all of us, "Do you not see it?'

I encourage all of us to let go of what was. Yes, God moved in the past. Yes, there are beautiful markers in all our lives that remind us of God's faithfulness, grace and goodness. But, we can't camp out by the markers. We have to keep walking, keep journeying because God wants to establish new markers. He wants to continue to reveal Himself to us and through us!

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness."
~ Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

What a beautiful promise! God's love and mercies are new every morning! They are new for a reason. We should arise each day knowing and believing in God's faithfulness, receiving his love and mercy; not just for ourselves, but for all those He will place on our path throughout the day. As long as we have breath, the Lord longs to use us to reach a lost world with the power of the gospel (good news)! Not only does He long for it, He commands it. (Matthew 28: 19-20, Mark 16:15)

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,

according to the power that works within us,

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
~ Ephesians 3:20-21 NASB

Following Christ for the Sheer Joy of It

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 15:43:00 GMT

Identity

When Jesus first entered his public ministry, when he was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, coming to rest on him, and God the Father spoke from heaven these wonderful words.

“…This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 (ESV)

Our Lord’s identity was firmly established as the beloved Son of God. He did not have to earn this position. It was his by way of his family relationship. He was loved and approved by his heavenly Father. Later, at the mount of transfiguration, Father God added the sentence, “Listen to him.” This confirmed Jesus’s significance: he was someone important who must be heeded. Jesus received these three essential affirmations from his Father: love, approval, and significance. All of us have a deep need to be affirmed in these areas.

Sin cut us off from all of this, sending humanity into a tailspin and a desperate search for what only God can provide. We look for love in the wrong places. We seek approval from those who cannot really give it, and we search for something to give us significance, not realizing that God wants us to have all three by placing our trust and allegiance in Christ. When we do that, we become identified with him and receive all that he is and has, aside from his divinity. God has only one beloved Son, but we can partake of that love by becoming one with him by faith. We cannot earn it or deserve it. We can only receive it as a free gift.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)

Here are three things for which we can rejoice as individuals and as a church.

Focus

I believe God wants us to focus on three things that will help us grow in the joy of serving our Lord. If we cannot serve him joyfully, what kind of message are we sending to those around us? People are not attracted to legalism and misery. They are looking for love, peace, and joy, which are our birthright in Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height– ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 (NKJV)

Action

Our actions reveal what we believe. If we believe the gospel is the most wonderful news ever, we should tell others about God’s amazing offer. They can become part of God’s loving family, too! The Bible tells us that heaven rejoices when someone puts his or her faith and allegiance in Christ. (Luke 15:7) God wants us to share in that joy by being his representatives. He wants us to joyfully partner with the Holy Spirit to reach those around us with the Gospel . I encourage each person to ask God how to love people into the kingdom of God. Pray. Listen to the Spirit. Be alert to opportunities. Use your gifts and abilities to joyfully serve others. Joyfully share your testimony and the gospel when the Lord opens the door.

I also challenge each person to joyfully embrace new kingdom responsibilities in 2023. Jesus told a parable in which the reward for faithful service was more responsibility. Taking on new kingdom responsibilities, if done with a willing heart and the Holy Spirit’s help, will produce joy.

“ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:21 (NASB)

Home run hitters strike out a lot, but when they do connect, watch out! God encourages us to step up to the plate without fear of striking out. Instead, let’s swing for the fences. Tell God you are available to do whatever he wants and see what he says and does with you in 2023 .

The Way

I have been told never to try to save a drowning person until he has completely worn himself out trying to save himself; otherwise, he might panic and drag you down with him. There are lots of Christians who are hopelessly engaged in an ongoing struggle to be good enough, fruitful enough, and to be doing enough to please God. There is no use trying to help them until they finally wear themselves out. What a revelation when we finally come to understand that Jesus did it all for us!

Legalism is the hopeless quest to measure up in God’s eyes by trying hard. The New Covenant releases us from this pursuit. The Bible tells us that Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Law so that we do not have to. When we place our faith in him, his right standing with God is given to us, making us 100% righteous in God’s eyes, just as if we too have perfectly served God without wavering unto death!

Legalists can never fully experience the joy of the Lord because they cannot find it. Joy is a gift, a fruit that grows on the tree of faith in Christ. Joy comes to those who open their hearts to receive God’s love, peace, and righteousness. Paul wrote the following.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. ⁵ When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. ⁶ But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:4-6 (NLT)

Jesus took our condemnation and guilt upon himself so we can experience what it is like to be free from those things! (Romans 8:1, John 5:24) It is only when we stop striving and start relying on the Holy Spirit’s help that we can produce the kind of spiritual “fruit” that we all desire.

The first commandment is to be fruitful and multiply. God designed things so that children are produced through the joy of sexual union. Spiritual fruit is produced by our joyful spiritual union with Christ. Every day when we arise, we begin with an A+ on our spiritual report card because that is our position in Christ. We have nothing to prove to God or other people. All that remains is for us to experience the joy of partnering with the Holy Spirit on what God has planned for us that day. This is the new and living way of the Spirit. If we learn to live this way, people will notice that we have a depth of joy unknown to them. They will want to know more. That will be our opportunity to share with them the amazing good news that Jesus has provided us with all we need to experience righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

Following Christ for the Sheer Joy of It

LifeNet

Thinking about the Meaning and Purpose of Life

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 13:44:00 GMT

It is traditional to evaluate our lives at the turn of the year. It is a good thing to pause and consider the meaning and purpose of life and to see if the way we have been going lines up with our vision and values. Life has a way of pushing us off course. Our lives will deviate from the trajectory that will get us home, so to speak, unless we continually reorient ourselves toward the proper goal. Just as a plane must make course corrections because of the pressure of contrary winds, we must make similar corrections because we have external and internal forces pulling and pushing us off course.

In order to make things as simple as possible, God has given us two major landmarks to guide us – The Great Commandment and the Great Commission. If we keep properly oriented to these two landmarks, we will do just fine.

The Great Commandment teaches us that the main thing God wants from us is our love. He wants us to focus on loving him and the people around us. The Great Commission, to go and make disciples, simply gives us one of the best ways to express this love for other people. We are to tell them about the amazing thing God has done through Jesus in making it possible for us to be reconciled to God. We are to help people become part of God’s eternal family and teach them to orient their lives around the Great Commandment and Great Commission, too.

God could have made the main thing studying the Bible, praying, or worshiping, but instead he chose one word – love. Love includes doing all the things that make love grow. But it is possible to do all the “things” without expressing love. Most of us are oriented toward measurable accomplishments, but God seems to want us to focus on something that is impossible to measure, at least for us.

If we truly love someone, we will want the best for them. It goes without saying that the best for everyone is to be in a right relationship with God. Therefore, love will seek to introduce people to the gospel. We will love people enough to help them live in a way that will bring the most glory and honor to God and joy and fulfillment to themselves. This is what it means to be make disciples. It is really not as complicated as we try to make it.

Jesus did not require his apostles to go to seminary. He taught them what they needed to know for three years and then turned them over to their internal compass, the Holy Spirit, who would guide them using the road map of the Bible.

May 2023 be a year for us to joyfully follow God into a fulfillment of the Great Commandment and Great Commission. May we love God and people enough to expend ourselves for them, all to the glory of God.

Trying to Better Understand a Word Called Love

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 13:57:00 GMT

We just heard a sermon on love from my son, Clark Beck. It stimulated me to think more deeply about the subject. Here are some of my thoughts as I try to better understand what is probably the most important word in the Bible.

1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love.” In other words, love is defined and personified by God himself. Love does not define God. God defines love.

Probably the most recognized Bible verse is John 3:16, which we often see on our TV screens when someone in the crowd displays a poster with that verse at a sports event. It tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his Son.

God gave to us what was and is most precious to him – his only Son. It is one thing to be generous to those who appreciate the gift, but God did this for his enemies, those who were often indifferent or downright hostile!

Love is willing to expend itself for the sake of others, even when it is not completely understood or appreciated.

The opposite of love is what the Bible calls hardness of heart. When we hate, carry a grudge, improperly judge, or are indifferent toward another person or persons, we cannot properly love. Love opens the heart to give to and receive from another person. When we close our hearts, we no longer can receive or give.

In the Greek language there were three types of love: eros, philos, and agape. Eros is romantic or sexual in nature as is experienced between lovers. It is narrow in scope and deep in intensity. Romantic love focuses on one person and returns amazing dividends. Philos is what we call brotherly love. Its scope extends to family and friends. It is non-sexual or romantic and very much other-centered. The Bible encourages brotherly love among members of the church. (Romans 12:10) Agape love is the deepest kind of love and it extends to the broadest group of people, even our enemies. This is the kind of love God showed in John 3:16. It is so other-centered that Jesus was willing to actually die for those who hated him!

Real love does not hold back. It does not reserve its best for itself. It is not afraid of being rejected. Paul gave a masterful definition of love in his letter to the church in Corinth, Greece.

We can break down this passage under two headings – self-centeredness vs. concern for others.

Lots of people show this kind of practical love to others, especially those who are dear to them, such as family and friends. When a rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) came to Jesus asking how he could have eternal life, Jesus told him to show love to his neighbor. He claimed that he already had been successful at doing that. Jesus then challenged him to something more – to love God with all his heart and to show it by giving away his great wealth! This he was unwilling to do. It is one thing to love other people and sometimes quite another thing to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, which is the greatest commandment.

Why was this so hard for the rich young ruler? Why is it so difficult for us? It all comes down to who or what we trust in the most. It all comes down to what we treasure.

This young man trusted in his material wealth more than he trusted in God. In other words, he loved money more than God. That sounds harsh, but it is the truth. He indeed loved God, but he put limitations on that love. When God’s Son challenged him to love God more than his wealth, it exposed his idolatry. This is why many of us are deep down afraid of God. We are afraid he might demand something extraordinary from us, too.

This all began in the Garden of Eden when the serpent convinced Eve that God was not completely trustworthy. Ever since she and Adam disobeyed God, mankind has been afflicted by a mistrust of our Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer. This is patently ridiculous. We could not exist for one second without his lovingly upholding us. We owe our very existence to him. He already showed us how much he loves us when he sent his Son to die for us. Why on earth, then, do we find it difficult to fully trust and expend ourselves for him? Could it be that we do not yet trust or love him as we should?

I believe that the more we love God, the more we will love others automatically. Love for God will overflow in a greater love in our marriages, our families, to our friends, our neighbors, and even to our enemies.

Love focuses on the beloved, and when we focus on God, we become like him.

Love for God is expressed in our worship. It is shown in our spending time with him in his presence, waiting upon him, listening for his voice, and sharing with him our thoughts, concerns, and needs. This is called prayer. Love for God is revealed when we treasure his words in the Bible and spend time reading, thinking about them, and putting them into practice with God’s help.

If we become “good” at this, I believe it will turn our worlds upside down in the best possible way.

Trying to Better Understand a Word Called Love

LifeNet

It Is Time for the Church to Start Shining Brightly

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 13:19:00 GMT

Isaiah, the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, wrote about the coming of the Messiah.

Jesus, the promised one, came into the world as a fulfillment to this prophecy. He came to break the bondage that came upon the world through sin and the agency of Satan, who maintained oppressive authority over humanity that kept us in darkness. The One who at creation said, “Let there be light,” came as the Light in human form.

He spoke words that shed light upon God’s character, love, mercy, and justice.He told his disciples to walk in the light of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, which translates into living in harmony with, dependency on, and obedience to God.

He even was willing for his light to be temporarily hidden in death so that his light might be lit in all who receive him as Lord and Savior. Those who receive the light of life become lights in the world, reflecting his light to all who still live in darkness.

As his followers, our light shines through the words we speak and our works of faith and love that confirm our words. (Matthew 5:14-16) The gospel we preach shines God’s light into dark places, including the dark recesses of the human heart. Those who receive the good news will also receive God’s light inside them.

Even though we are merely human beings, who have faults just like everyone else, we are privileged to carry God’s light inside us.

Jesus did not die and rise again merely to reconcile us to the Father, as wonderful as that is. He came to raise up people who will shine brightly as lights in the world. We are responsible to share his light with others through the gospel. We are lights set on a lamp stand to light all around us through our words and deeds. May our Lord give us a fresh revelation of who he is and who we are. May we start shining brightly for God’s glory.

It Is Time for the Church to Start Shining Brightly

LifeNet

What Will you Be at the Last Judgment, Wheat or Chaff?

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 12:12:00 GMT

We all come into this world as chaff. Our bodies are the “husk” that contains the spirit breathed by God. Sin crushed the God-life out of our spirits, leaving us empty husks of a person. When someone responds to the gospel by faith through the power of the Spirit, God’s life re-enters that person through what the Bible calls the new birth.

This new birth radically transforms the believer from within. God’s life is planted in that person and will invade every portion of his being.

This new life is what makes us eternally valuable to God. Without it we are lifeless, worthless chaff, fit to be destroyed at the last judgment. The only way to be transformed from chaff to wheat is through faith in Christ and his saving work. He died on the cross to take away our sins. We must receive his gift and give back to him the gift of ourselves. He is the risen Lord. He wants us to believe in him, follow him, and serve him faithfully. That is what it means to be a Christian.

Do you want to have confidence on the judgment day? Do you want to live forever in God’s presence? Do you want to know God’s amazing love, which is the most liberating and fulfilling force in the universe? You can have it all by surrendering your life to Christ.

Prayer

If you prayed this prayer, the next step is to find a body of believers who are walking in step with our Lord and be water baptized as a public declaration of your allegiance to Christ. If you need help, please contact me.

What Will you Be at the Last Judgment, Wheat or Chaff?

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Jesus Certified

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 17:12:00 GMT

I remember clearly when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to throw away every “report card,” every form of measurement, and simply serve the Lord. How liberating!

Small groups are near and dear to the Lord’s heart, and the more intense the persecution, the smaller the group will need to be. Two is the least amount needed to form a group, and that is the minimum number that Jesus needs to show up. Actually he is with each individual believer, but there is a special experience of God in a gathering.

Smaller groups allow for more personal interchange and greater participation, too.

I know that when we only have a very few, we can usually count on something special taking place. Small groups are officially approved by our Lord.

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Jesus Certified

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Simplicity

Sat, 04 Jul 2020 11:20:00 GMT

The great preaching? The worship experience? The children’s programs? The facilities? The air conditioning? What if all we had were a few people meeting in homes, who depended on the Holy Spirit each week to provide what they needed? That is how it is in some places, and the believers do just fine, maybe even better than in the USA, where we have everything we could ever want, except perhaps what we need the most.

We live in a consumer culture that trains people to think in terms of “what’s in it for me?” We have created a spectator environment in which we have taught people to expect to be entertained at church by an accomplished worship team, smooth programming, a dynamic preacher, and professional quality programs. We expect to be properly and cheerfully greeted, comfortably seated, appropriately cooled or heated, to experience the “anointing” or presence of God, and hear a life-changing and challenging message, all while the kids are receiving ministry from a professional children’s pastor in another room. Everything is done to make us want to come back again. We measure success by how many regularly attend our Sunday meetings, how big is the offering, and how wonderful was the experience. Does this sound like the church in Acts? No, it is completely alien to it. It is the product of slick American marketing and is doomed to collapse when persecution arrives.

The proper reason to attend gatherings of the church is found in Acts. In order to mutually strengthen and encourage one another…

What if that was all we had? Would that be enough? The early church met in the Temple for worship, until persecution made that impossible. They also gathered and shared meals in homes, which became to the go to venue when things got tough. What if we had to meet in small groups in homes? What if we had to produce our own music and worship? What if we had to search out the Scriptures on our own? What if we shared meals and the Lord’s Supper together in our homes on a regular basis? What if we spent more time praying? Would that be enough? Not for some, but for others that would be heaven, because they have discovered the joys of simplicity.

Simple is easier to pull off. Simple is easier to duplicate. Simple is more stress free. When we at LifeNet jettisoned our building, life got much simpler. Now we have what I call “church in a box.” We have narrowed down what we need to “pull off” a meeting, and it’s not very much – Bible, discussion guides, offering basket and envelopes, guitar, song books, portable percussion instruments, and food and utensils for feasting before the meeting. No buildings to maintain and pay for, no lawns to mow, no bathrooms to clean, no floors to vacuum, and no trash to empty. Simple provides more time for people and ministry. It de-clutters, focuses, and purifies, but it also sifts out those who are not willing to forego the extras to which we have grown all too accustomed.

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Simplicity

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Getting Real

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 15:14:00 GMT

That is not how Jesus related to his disciples. We find out all sorts of interesting things about those first followers of Christ in the gospels – their pettiness, their lack of understanding at times, their breakthroughs, their jealousies and infighting, their passion for the Lord, their fears and insecurities, and their victories, all being related to us as part of their journey toward faith and commitment. All of these things surface because they were in relationship with Jesus and one another. They actually got to know one another, the good, the bad, and the ugly. They were unafraid to be real, to trust, to try, to fail, and to succeed. Could this be what the Lord intends for church?

Think about it. We usually put our “best foot forward” in an effort to be accepted and loved, fearing that if people really knew us, they would not like what they see. What kind of relationship can be experienced by people who relate to false images of other people? It’s like going to a masquerade ball. I am sure you have heard people say, “You’re not the person I thought you were.” That might be true of most everyone in some churches! We can only love real people; so, if someone is hiding, how will we ever get to love them?

In our small group gatherings at LifeNet, after sharing a meal together when we catch up on one another’s lives, we discuss the scriptures. Instead of merely listening to a teacher, we interact in an environment where it’s okay not to know everything. We try to find out what people understand of God’s truth, what they are really thinking and feeling, what are their fears, their doubts, their worries, their hopes, their joys, and their sorrows. A small group environment encourages transparency and reality, but does not force it. We can be just as anonymous in a small group as in a large auditorium, but it takes more effort.

Most of us don’t want to be embarrassed or exposed in some way, which makes us want to recede into the background, but that hinders personal growth and robs the rest of the group of the benefit of our questions, our struggle to understand and put truth into practice, and our insights. Each week our leaders put a lot of time into crafting insights coupled with questions to help people grow in their knowledge, understanding, and application of biblical truth. It never fails, however, during the group interaction that the various people present come up with things we would never have gotten by ourselves.

As a teacher, the way that I find out how well I understand something is when I try to share it with someone else. It is all too easy to listen to a message, agree mentally with what we have heard, and think we “have it.” Most of the time we forget what the sermon was about by the time we get home anyway. We cannot assume that when we teach the Bible everyone understands what we intended for them to get from our message. All it takes are a few well crafted questions to expose how lame this thinking is. Just because someone smiles and nods in agreement does not mean he or she even has a clue as to what we are trying to communicate.

Small groups that interact with the scriptures reveal what people really know and think, helping us who lead to focus our teaching appropriately.

If they have been sitting in churches that provide no avenue for give and take, they likely need an enormous amount of remediation. Many of our people cannot even share the gospel in a most basic way beyond telling others to ask Jesus into their hearts. They cannot accurately describe justification, redemption, sanctification, reconciliation, or glorification. Maybe you’re thinking you fall into that category yourself! In other words, they are very fuzzy about biblical truth. That is not good.

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Getting Real

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Making Disciples instead of Churchgoers

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 11:56:00 GMT

Jesus commissioned the church to go into the world and make disciples. This begs the question, “What exactly is a disciple?” Simply, a disciple is a follower of Christ and a fisher of men.

The Western church usually focuses on teaching the Bible, often inadvertently modeling by omission that actively pursuing the Great Commission is not all that important.

Jesus maximized his time over his three years of public ministry in order to prepare the men and women who would lead the church after his ascension. Although he engaged people as a teacher both in crowds and in small groups, he developed his disciples in smaller groups and one-on-one.

If our goal is to develop missional disciple makers who not only can teach, but also do the work of ministry and multiply themselves in others, we must do far more than teach from the pulpit.

Small groups are excellent opportunities for people to grow in knowledge, understanding, and ministry skills. They are safe settings where people can ask questions, get answers, see ministry up close and personal, take a chance on trying their wings, and grow in confidence. Missional small groups will also show how to share the gospel by taking people out into the community to give it a shot. As groups grow in size, new groups will form, multiplying leadership opportunities as well.

In larger churches, those with the highest skill and gifting levels are given ministry opportunities in an effort to put the church’s “best foot forward,” but in small groups everyone gets a chance. Ask yourself, which model is more likely to develop the larger number of people into disciples?

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Making Disciples instead of Churchgoers

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: The Starfish Principle

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 11:38:00 GMT

The acquisition of power, wealth, and property fundamentally altered what had been a relatively pure missional enterprise. Instead of being a marginal group that was often despised and persecuted, it became politically, financially, and socially advantageous to be part of the church. This attracted people for all the wrong reasons. Churches were no longer made up of true disciples who risked everything to be a part. They now included mere churchgoers and those trying to leverage the church for personal advantage.

This happened in Russia during persecution from the communist government. The Russian church was somewhat vulnerable because its structure was hierarchical and clergy dominated. They also owned many buildings and had great status. Persecutors used the threat of the loss of these things to manipulate and control. This is how it is with the spider.

The Chinese church, on the other hand, had a history and culture of small groups. It held little or no land and had no hierarchy or status. When persecution arose in that nation, the church went underground, meeting in homes. If one leader was struck down, another arose. Everyone was expected to become a church planter and raise up his or her own small group.

Nik Ripken, a pseudonym, in his book The Insanity of Obedience , explains why.

If severe persecution comes to America, underground small groups will be the most effective way to go forward as a church. Right now it has been too easy and convenient to use buildings to gather large crowds, but that day may be coming to an end.

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: The Starfish Principle

LifeNet

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Introduction

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 14:52:00 GMT

The church began on Pentecost around 2000 years ago in an upper room where disciples had gathered for prayer as they waited for what Jesus called the promise of the Father. The Holy Spirit was poured out on that group of people, initiating a world-wide discipleship movement that is still going. They had no formal training, structure, or facilities of their own; yet, they were incredibly effective.

Genesis relates the account of the tower of Babel, which was constructed by a group of people who wished to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered over the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:4) Human beings habitually seek what makes them feel good about themselves, often in contradiction to God’s clear commands. Jesus commissioned the church to go and make disciples, not to settle for congregating in the same place indefinitely and build grand facilities.

Despite our Lord’s clear command, the church in Jerusalem stayed put, growing ever larger, UNTIL persecution arrived. Then the disciples were scattered all over the place, taking the gospel with them, which was an indirect route to arrive at obedience to the Great Commission. It took persecution to propel the church out of its comfort zone into the world. Nothing much has changed. I believe persecution is headed our way. Can you hear the wolves howling in the distance?

In the next few articles, I plan to share some of the things we have learned along the way, in the hope that it can help others who may find themselves choosing to adopt a similar model. May the Lord help us all to fully follow him as the Last Days unfold before our eyes.

Why Small Groups May Be the Wave of the Future: Introduction

LifeNet

The Insanity around Us Is Rooted in Hatred of God

Sat, 09 May 2020 12:48:00 GMT

Bear with me here, please. For the sake of argument, let us accept as a starting point that there is actually a God who created the universe and us humans. Secondly, let us accept that this God is relational and designed us to live dependently and in harmony with him. Our third presupposition is that he is also just and will hold us accountable for how we live our lives, which are a treasure he gave to us in trust. What I just laid out is in fact what the Bible presents in its opening book called Genesis .

So, if you will allow me to take you a little further into the story, human beings quickly decided that they didn’t really trust their Creator and wanted to live independently from him. This led them to violate his one prohibition and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thereby bringing into play God’s promised judgment – death and alienation. Ever since then, human beings come into this world with a default setting inherited from our first parents: we hate having our lives dictated to us by God. This is the nature of sin.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Colossians 1:21 (NLT)

If we accept what I just laid out as being true, it will help us to better understand the insanity that currently grips our nation. When our nation was founded, a preponderance of our citizens had a healthy fear of God and the consequences of sin. Over the past many decades, especially since the revolution of the 1960s, our government and its people have deliberately distanced themselves from the Christian God and what the Bible teaches. Prayer was kicked out of our public schools under the guise of separation of church and state. Now we have “progressed” to legislating marriage between people of the same sex and opening our gender-specific public bathrooms to any person of any sex. We talk of people being “misgendered,” as if God made a mistake. On a different, yet related topic, our government has been overspending its budget for decades, apparently with no intention of ever living within its means again. Our law makers insanely must believe that there will never be an accounting or a day of reckoning. Many of our women celebrate having the right to kill their babies and Planned Parenthood gets away with selling their parts.

People don’t like the created order which God made and, sometimes, the way he made us. We want to throw off every hindrance to running our lives without accountability and without God.

The Heart Has Its Reasons

I doubt that many people even are conscious of this inner drive to resist God. As the French philosopher Paschal is noted for saying, in paraphrase, that our hearts have reasons of which our minds know nothing.

The first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome contains a instructive exposition of this animosity against God that rules the human heart and often grips entire societies, just as it has here in the good old USA, which is no longer very good, I am afraid.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. ²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Romans 1:18-21 (NLT)

An ancient Greek proverb says: “ Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad .” There is an element of truth in this statement. Paul goes on to say in his Letter to the Church in Rome :

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. ³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too . Romans 1:28-32 (NLT)

Why can we not see this, America? If we do not repent as a nation, destruction is most certainly in our future. We will bring it on ourselves because of our poor decision making.

The Basic Motivation: Rebellion against God

The Bible teaches that before coming to faith in Christ, people are “enemies of God.” This is an odd concept to a lot of people, who imagine themselves to be fine upstanding moral people, but who refuse to acknowledge that God has the right to direct their lives. It all comes down to one thing: is Jesus Lord of Lords, or not? If he is, then our only sane option is to surrender our lives to him. If he is not, let the lunacy continue because there is no way to call anything right or wrong, good or bad, decent or not. The only thing that matters is who has power – something the liberal Left knows and believes all too well.

The Answer

This is the only way back for America, and only God’s Spirit can make this happen. Will he, or is it already too late for this once great, although deeply flawed, nation? (I am not suggesting we go backward to where we were regarding racism, etc., but that we return to faith in God.)

Yogi Berra once said that it’s not over till it’s over. As long as we have life, there is hope. On a personal level, you, the reader, can surrender to Christ right now, if you have not already done so. I have a prayer to help guide you at the end of this article.

If you have already surrendered to Christ, continue to do so every day from now on. Tell others about Christ and the Gospel, while there is still time. We can also pray for our nation. Surrender, share the Gospel, and pray. I believe that is the proper order. Prayer by itself cannot save. Only the Spirit empowered Gospel can do that; yet, our prayers are extremely important, too. Let’s ask God to once again extend his mercy to a rebellious and sinful nation.

Ultimately, the only hope for mankind is the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah. He will install his kingdom upon the earth. Every other form of government will fail, even ours. Make sure your hope is in God, not America or any other form of government.

Prayer of Surrender

God, I have lived in rebellious independence from you. Please forgive me. I now surrender my entire life to Jesus, who is the resurrected Lord. Holy Spirit, please fill me on a daily basis and empower me to live a surrendered, obedient life of service and love to my heavenly Father and Lord Jesus. Use me as you see fit to tell others about this amazingly generous gift of life found in the Gospel.

I ask you to forgive our nation for rebelling against you, Lord Jesus. Please grant us mercy and repentance. Let our nation come back to you and regain its ability to think with good judgment again before it’s too late. Amen.

The Insanity around Us Is Rooted in Hatred of God

LifeNet

The Coming Outpouring

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 14:00:00 GMT

Yesterday a friend made me aware of a prophecy given by David Wilkerson back in 1986. He was a prophet who lived in New York City. Here is what he said.

Many have been praying for God to send an awakening to our nation and the world for a long time. I was privileged to come to Christ during the last great move of God in our country back in the 60s and 70s. I know what such a time can be like. Thousands, if not millions, were swept into the kingdom of God during what some called the Jesus Movement. During times of awakening or revival, God makes people receptive to the gospel. It is easy to lead people to Christ. We need that to happen again.

The late sixties were turbulent times. We were in the middle of the Vietnam War. Hippies were in vogue. “Free love” was being introduced, breaking down long held sexual mores. Woodstock and other rock concerts were making news. Protests were taking place on college campuses and in our cities. There was violence and racial unrest. Some leaders were assassinated. The Communist underground was hard at work trying to undermine the nation. It was bad, but in the midst of all that God chose to pour out his Spirit. People were coming to Christ and being baptized in the Spirit by the droves.

We live in such a time now. We are in the midst of terrible disunity and political turmoil. Enemies of our nation are hard at work. Our government, media and education system often are guilty of suppressing truth and spreading propaganda. The prophet Isaiah wrote long ago words that fit today.

Since we are going through such a time, I have wondered if this were not a precursor to revival. I believe it is.

People need the Lord. We need to be forgiven and reconciled to him. We need the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We need another Great Awakening.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, have mercy on our nation and the world. Use this pandemic to wake us up to our great need for you. Pour out your Spirit upon all mankind. Pour out a gift of repentance. Open our hearts to the truth of the gospel. Reveal Jesus to people. Let your Spirit sweep over the world like a giant spiritual tsunami, gathering millions of people into your kingdom. Let us be a part of that. Fill and empower your church to be bold and fearless Gospel proclaimers. Amen.

The Coming Outpouring

LifeNet

How to Shine for Jesus in the Midst of Judgment

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:09:00 GMT

Point #1: God Is Sovereign

The author of Second Chronicles in the Bible penned these familiar words.

Admittedly this promise was made to Jews living in the promised land. Does it have an application for us today? Through his death and resurrection, Jesus did away with the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, creating in himself what the Bible calls “one new man,” the church. (Ephesians 2:13-16) All those who put their faith and allegiance in Christ are part of what Paul called the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15-16) and are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9) Followers of Christ, as children of Abraham, we are to be a blessing wherever we live. That is part of our calling according to the promise made to the father of our faith.

One of the main ways we can be such a blessing in the lands where we live is by praying that God will bring repentance and healing, which is the main focus of this article. Before we go there, however, let’s pay close attention to the first sentence from the passage from 2 Chronicles quoted above: “When I… send pestilence…”

The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign over his creation. Nothing happens without his “signing off on it.” God is not the author of evil, but as the Over Ruler (Lord) of all things, he makes everything, including evil, accomplish his purposes. If you wonder where the coronavirus came from, ultimately it came from God.

This agrees with the admonition in Proverbs, which I consider to be a core passage of the Bible.

Believers in God are told to acknowledge him in all things, even difficulties and tribulation. Since everything that enters our life has to go through him, we should always go to him first to get his perspective and our marching orders.

God has given us an amazing promise that many acknowledge but few seem to really believe.

Everything works for good for the believer. This is because God, as the Over Ruler, makes it happen that way. There can be no other explanation. However, those who are not God’s children have no such promise. The devils steals, kills, and and destroys those who do not have God’s protection. (John 10:10) Those are the ones God wishes to rescue from the consequences of their own sin.

Point # 2: It Is Extremely Important for Us to Have God’s Perspective

Just before Jesus’ crucifixion, our Lord began to prepare his disciples for what was coming.

If we fail to see things as God sees, we will likely find ourselves working at cross purposes with his will, as did Peter. It was God’s will for the judgment for our sins to fall upon Jesus, who died on the cross as God’s sacrificial Lamb. That was God’s plan. This was an example of redemptive judgment, but to Peter it seemed horrible and something to be avoided at all costs. He did not see as God did. He did not value what God valued. He preferred that Jesus be spared and the whole world be lost, but God ordained that his Son die in order to save the world. (John 3:16)

There is a difference between corrective judgment and God’s wrath. God’s wrath has no redemptive element. It is an outpouring of final judgment upon people who have rejected repeated overtures from him to repent and turn from their wicked ways. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus endured God’s wrath for the sake of those who put their faith and allegiance in him, so that we never have to face it again.

Nevertheless, God graciously sends forms of redemptive judgment (otherwise called discipline) to turn us away from our sin and back to him, so that we can avoid one day encountering his wrath. This is what is promised in our first passage above from 2 Chronicles. This is a major way that God blesses his people and the lands in which they live.

Point # 3: Be Prepared to Shine

The Bible makes it clear that God judges wickedness. Here are two passages that come to mind.

Notice that both of these passages refer to God’s wrath. As God pours out wrath on the earth, God’s people may have to endure aspects of it, without being the objects of it. Those who belong to Christ are no longer “children of wrath,” but those without Christ still are, and we all live together.

It is clear that our nation and the entire world deserves God’s judgment. We continue to flagrantly and arrogantly flaunt God and his words. Our Lord has been extremely patient with mankind, but even his patience will eventually reach an end.

Jesus warned us that in the Last Days, as his Second Coming draws closer, there will be what the Bible calls “birth pangs.” When a woman goes into labor, her contractions begin mildly and are spaced far apart, but as the birth grows closer, the “pangs” become stronger with greater frequency. The earth will experience stronger and more frequent “pangs” of judgments and outpourings of wrath as the Second Coming approaches. Jesus said:

I believe the coronavirus qualifies as such a “pestilence.” Many, including myself, believe it is a “birth pang.” The earth is experiencing an uptick in earthquakes. Locusts are devouring crops, increasing hunger and famine. Nations continue to rise up against nations.

The suppression of truth is a major problem in the last days. Even the church is affected. One example of disinformation that has plagued the church of late is the notion that God’s people will no longer be here during these birth pangs. Some promise God’s people that believers will be “raptured” or snatched up from the earth before tribulation arrives. No one knows for sure how the Last Days and Second Coming will play out, but the Bible clearly teaches that God’s people must be prepared to endure tribulation and suffering. To think otherwise is deception and runs counter to God’s purposes who said in his Word that we are “appointed to tribulation.” (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4) Suffering is part of God’s plan to develop and mature us. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

As God pours out his judgments on the world, who will be able to offer hope to hopeless, if not the church? Peter wrote:

Peter wrote this during a time of cruel persecution of the church by Jews and Romans. God allowed the church to suffer then. Why should we expect to escape suffering today? God wants his church to be prepared to shine as lights in a very dark world.

Praying according to God’s Purposes

Since we are God’s ambassadors of reconciliation in the world, it is vital that we act and pray accordingly. Here are some suggested prayer points.

How to Shine for Jesus in the Midst of Judgment

LifeNet

Be careful what you pray for…

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 15:01:00 GMT

Since sometimes the answers to our prayers appear to be something that is working against us instead of for us, it is important for us to have God’s perspective. God’s wisdom will enable us to properly interpret events and situations.

The coronavirus outbreak appears to be something very bad, but what if it is an answer to our prayers? For years people I know have been asking God to send an awakening to our nation and the world, no matter what it takes. I knew when I prayed this that I needed to be prepared for coming hardship, but I felt it would be worth it. Do you?

Most people are are hardened against God and the gospel. When everything is going well, it is easy to think we do not need God. But when things come crashing down around us, many people instinctively turn to God. If God needs to bring down our economy, threaten our health, and destroy the status quo in order to bring countless thousands to Christ, would we be “on board”?

None of us has complete understanding regarding why this happening. Those with a godless worldview see it as pure chance or the machinations of evil people, depending on whether they hold to conspiracy theories or not. But those of us who believe God is sovereign over all things realize that no matter what or who is the origin of this virus, God is using it to further his purposes, which include the return of his Son Jesus to finalize God’s rule on the earth.

He wants people to reach out to him in their fear and desperation. Only he can provide peace and security through the gospel. The only really safe place is God.

Prayer

Father God, I am afraid and disconcerted by what is happening around me. I now realize just how much I need you. Please forgive me for trying to live independently from you. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to die for my sins and open the door for me to be part of your eternal family. Jesus, I confess that you are the risen Lord, and I surrender my life to you. Come, Holy Spirit, fill me with your love and power. Open my eyes to the amazing love of God and the truth of the Bible. Help me to live for you for this day forward and tell others about the wonderful Good News of salvation. Amen.

Be careful what you pray for…

LifeNet

Holiness May Not Be What You Think It Is

Mon, 24 Feb 2020 13:22:00 GMT

In Search of Holiness…

During a particularly dark time in the history of the West, the monastic movement was a reaction to society’s and the organized church’s corruption. Adherents to the holiness FROM philosophy fled from the world to achieve their version of contemplative holiness in isolation. On the positive side, God used it to preserve much of what was in danger of being lost, but the down side was that it was built upon a purely defensive “fortress” mentality.

Of course, their were exceptions among the monks, thankfully. Some were quite evangelistic.

Going farther down history’s road, members of the Methodist Holy Clubs, who were definitely evangelistic, were committed to asking one another rigorous questions that probed into what sins its members had struggled with during the week. On the surface this sounds like a very aggressive way to promote holiness, but I don’t recall Jesus ever doing this with his disciples. Do you?

Today modern ideas about discipleship frequently promote what is called “accountability,” a replay of the Methodist system, in which disciples are encouraged to find accountability partners with whom to bare their souls. Although this can be a good thing, it is decidedly focused on holiness FROM, not holiness TO, and I find nothing in the gospels and Acts to indicate it was a common practice in the early church.

Just to be clear, holiness viewed as separation FROM sin and the sinful world system is certainly a valid biblical way to look at things. Paul wrote:

Serious followers of Christ realize that Jesus holds his followers to a high standard of righteous living, one which only the Holy Spirit can achieve in and through us. However, this same Paul knew that focusing on separation FROM sin and all that defiles people lends itself to the bondage of becoming overly sin conscious. Instead of victorious and joyful living by grace, it tends to promote what some have called a joyless sort of “sin management” and an isolated church. This is where some groups go off the rails with all sorts of lists of things that are forbidden.

To reinforce this point, Paul wrote in Romans Chapter Seven :

Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. No longer interested…

The Gift of True Holiness

Legalistic sin management finds its cure in receiving what Jesus accomplished for us. There is only one perfect person who ever lived: his name is Jesus. He served his Father with perfect joyful obedience. His life was not a struggle to obey his Father. Jesus’ heart is reflected in these words by the psalmist.

As the Second Adam, the progenitor of the reset of humanity, Humanity 2.0, if you will, Jesus lived the way God originally intended, in complete reliance upon, partnership with, and obedience to the Creator – Sustainer of the universe. He earned a glorious reward for his obedient life and sacrificial death. In doing so, our Lord paid the price for our sins and mistakes, our horrible failures at life the way God intended. When Jesus rose again victoriously, he freely provided for us his perfect standing and relationship with God, which is based on his already having lived a perfect life, thus ending forever our need to pursue sinless, mistake free living.

The Bible calls this justification. Through faith in Christ, we have been given a right standing with God. We are perfect and without fault in his sight.

If we lose sight of this, we descend into a graceless kind of living that is based on our own vain attempts to make ourselves holy. It’s not going to happen..

We were never intended to focus on what is wrong with us in a misguided attempt to perfect ourselves. All that does is strengthen what is wrong. (The strength of sin is the Law… 1 Corinthians 15:56 ) Instead, we are to worshipfully focus on our Savior and Lord, trusting in his finished work, his grace, and the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out into his likeness. Such a focus will move us from sin consciousness to God consciousness. It will move us from sin avoidance to the pursuit of God. It will produce an inner joy that is contagious and set the stage for an outward focus upon what is important to God.

Love, the Maturity of Holiness

Have you ever wrestled with these words from Jesus?

We have already seen that he did not intend for us to become self-absorbed sin managers. His burden is easy, not the heavy weight of legalism.

What then did Jesus mean when he told his followers to be perfect?

The context of this saying was a teaching on loving our enemies.

This teaching strikes a fatal blow at the fortress mentality. I might reword what Jesus said for my purposes. If we only want to love and hang around other Christians, how do we reflect God’s love?

Our English word “perfect” comes from the Greek word teleios , which literally means “having reached its end” or “complete” – in other words, “maturity.” We can think of this kind of perfection as fruit that has ripened and come to maturity. Such fruit is ready to be eaten and reproduce itself. When we are “ripe” or mature in the Spirit, we are ready for the Master’s use and attractive to those who are open to the gospel. We are capable of reproducing ourselves in new disciples, thus fulfilling the Great Commission.

Pursuing love is even more challenging than trying to manage our sin, but without demoralizing us. Pursuing love is other focused, outward looking, God’ glorifying. It motivates us to venture out of our Christian church fortresses into the world.

Separated to the Gospel

Listen to the Great Shepherd’s heart.

Love is what gave Jesus eyes to see people in their true condition. Love is what propelled him out of the comforts and glories of heaven into this sin wracked world to “seek and save the lost.” ( Luke 19:10 )

Jesus specifically asked us to pray for more laborers to be sent into the harvest. He did not ask us to pray for more intercessors, leaders, teachers, or worshipers, as important as these ministries are. He commanded us to ask the Lord of the Harvest to raise up people with a shepherd’s heart who will leave the comforts of home to do the work of an evangelist and disciple maker in their neighborhoods, cities, and even to the remotest parts of the earth. This is a big part of what it means to be holy TO – separated to the gospel.

Are you willing join Jesus in this prayer? Are you willing to be the answer?

Prayer

Lord, forgive us and deliver us from the apathy and lukewarmness of casual, comfortable Christianity. Infuse and overwhelm us with your love for lost, those sheep who still have no shepherd. Prod and propel us out of our cozy cocoons into the uncomfortableness of sharing the good news with neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers. Amen.

You can listen to Pastor Pete’s podcast of this message by clicking here.

Holiness May Not Be What You Think It Is

LifeNet

Report on Honduras Trip, November 2019

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 15:52:00 GMT

Tony Jacobelli and I just returned from our annual trip to Honduras. It was my (Pastor Pete’s) fourth visit and Tony’s second. We teamed up with the organizers, who hail from Hosanna Fellowship in Johnson City, TN. Bill Hauck, associate pastor at Hosanna, does the hard work of planning and overseeing the entire thing. He has done this for years, often making several trips per

Bill

year to keep the momentum going. This has been a long-term effort dating back over a decade. The result has been that bonds of friendship and trust have been established between our group and many Honduran pastors and churches. We have witnessed a growing unity in that country that is beautiful to behold. On this trip we ministered in six different zones in meeting often attended by multiple churches.

Honduras is a beautiful nation populated by a warm and generous people. It is hard not to fall in love with the family of God there. As Tony put it, we are getting a head start on introductions in heaven. There will people for us to meet from all over the world throughout history for us to get to know in heaven. We have grown to love many saints in that nation, making our return trips something of a homecoming.

The team usually makes two trips, one in late May-early June, which is usually more youth oriented. The other is the one I have gone on the last three times, which is composed of adults, usually seasoned ministers.

The trip to and from Honduras is always fairly rigorous simply because of the timing of the flights to and fro and the distance between Danli and Tegucigalpa and the poor roads. We always have to leave home very early on both legs, making a long day, but it is very worth it. Going down on Monday we landed in the capital, Tegucigalpa, just after noon central time. After going through immigration and customs, we gathered our bags and drove to a nearby mall with a food court, where we enjoyed a nice meal. Then we drove the two-plus hours to Danli, the city where we spent most of our time.

Youth Camp Site: L-R – Camp worker, Al, Pete, and Tony

On the way, near Danli, we stopped to look over the site for a planned youth conference over the weekend, where Bill Hauck would minister along with other Honduran leaders. Youth from various churches would be attending.

It was very dry there when we first arrived, making for a lot of dust. We arrived in Danli in late afternoon, where we checked into Hotel Pasado los Arcos, which was named after an old Spanish aqueduct. This is a nice place located in the heart of the town. Tony and I roomed with Octavio, a brother from Zamora, Mexico. Although our situation was pretty cramped, we made do.

Monday night we met at Napoles Italian restaurant for some New York style pizza, which is always a treat. Some of the local pastors met us there. It was a great time of reconnecting, planning, and fellowship.

The next morning Tony and I had the privilege to share the gospel with police officers at the main station in Danli.

Pastor Pete addressing police officers.

The officers gather in the main courtyard of the station. Pastor Arturo set this up for us and was on hand to lead things off. Tony shared a few words, after which I shared from the Scriptures some thoughts on their responsibilities before God to properly administrate justice.

That evening after supper, Tony and I retreated to the upstairs restaurant/bar area which provided an excellent view of the area. Below is one of my favorite sunset photos I took from that location.

Later that evening Tony and I went to Pastor Lilly’s church just outside of town. Our translator was Alan Cartagena.

There we experienced a powerful outpouring of the Spirit. Every night except Saturday, it seemed that God altered our message at the last minute. On this night I shared on the three calls of God to belong to God’s family, to declare allegiance to Christ, and to God’s mission. Afterward I asked people to come forward to be saved, to surrender to Christ’s Lordship, and to receive the Holy Spirit baptism. About five or six responded to each of the second two calls. Apparently everyone there knew Christ already. The Lord gave me prophecies over several people. One young man in particular stood out. I called him forward and told him that God saw his bold and courageous heart and that he was called to ministry. His pastor was there, who seemed to be in agreement with it all. He came forward to dedicate his life more fully to Christ and to receive the baptism in the Spirit. Pastor Lilly told me that he spoke in tongues. After the meeting he stayed behind to share his moving testimony. It turns out that he had been a part of Pastor Lilly’s church as a young man, had drifted away into sin and drugs, and recently returned to the Lord. He was weeping as he told his story to us. Although God moved powerfully on other nights, I believe this was my favorite night of ministry.

Hector and Angie

Each night our team split up to minister in different zones of the city. The local pastors association divided Danli into six zones. Pastors in each zone participated by attending the meeting in their zone, bringing some of their people. This made our time there even more effective and shows the increasing unity among God’s people.

Wednesday morning Tony and I once again ministered at the Danli police station. This time I shared the gospel and encouraged them to believe on Christ and serve him. Hector and Angie, two local high school students, accompanied us to translate. They had some time off while we were there and it was a pleasure to get to know them. After returning from the police station, we had breakfast at the hotel prepared by a very warm and gracious woman who served us well. A typical Honduran breakfast consists of eggs, plantain, goat cheese, refried beans, and avocado. Our lunches and suppers were usually prepared by a local caterer affectionately named Chino. His meals were delicious and much more

Chino

affordable than eating out.

At 10 am we took a ride to Herencia Divina (Divine Inheritance) Church. This is the church to which we contributed several thousand dollars last year to help them complete the interior. We have grown to love Pastor Eduardo and his family, at whose home we ate supper later in the week. Herencia Divina is helping to transform the neighborhood. When I first saw it three years ago, it was in the first stages of construction. The streets were very rough. Now the streets have been paved and the entire neighborhood looks better. Each Wednesday morning the church hosts an arthritis clinic. We met the doctor and I was able to preach the gospel to those who were waiting.

Clinic

We were given the grand tour of the building, too.

Classroom

Office

That evening Al Hauck, Bill’s father from New York and a prophet, and I ministered at Pastor Francisco’s (Paco’s) church, which was packed out with people standing outside. I shared first on “My best friend, the Holy Spirit,” which set Al up to hit it out of the park. At the conclusion, many came forward to receive the fullness of the Spirit.

Paco’s Church. See I was there!

The next morning at nine, Tony and I visited the local fire station. Tony thanked them for serving selflessly. I spoke to them about how God rescues us from the fires of hell, just as they rescue people from natural fires. Carol Woody, who was part of our team, also spoke, as did Pastor Eduardo, who was the one who set up these visits.

Afterward we went back to the motel where we got to meet Gloria, who had arrived late the previous night. Her town is about four hours away from Danli. She was supposed to catch the bus all the way, but because of protestors blocking the road, she missed her connection in Tegucigalpa. Michael Rice, her boyfriend, and Octavio left Danli at 6:30 pm to pick her up. They got in at 10:30 after we had gone to bed.

Now, here was the great plan. Michael intended to propose to her on Friday night at a special planned party at Pastor Arturo’s and Ruth’s home. She had no idea. Would the surprise be kept secret? Would she say yes? Would this be a wonderfully joyful occasion or a huge let down? We shall see.

Rehab Center

Thursday afternoon we visited a nearby Christian drug rehab center where each of us shared briefly. Al and Octavio ministered in greater depth. The sign in the background says that giving up is prohibited. On the way back to Danli, we stopped at some undeveloped property Michael purchased.

Michael’s Land

He hopes to build a home there with room to house visitors. So far electricity has been installed. Next is water. Would Gloria approve?

Around a quarter after five Tony and I went to the third floor to relax and watch the sunset. This was Tony’s favorite place. We took in another glorious sunset.

Thursday evening Al, Bill, and I ministered at a large church in the middle of town. Once again Al and I did tandem ministry. I spoke on “Fishing for People the Jesus Way,” and Al followed. He is pictured below with his translator.

Of course, I was only one part of the team. On any given night, Al, Bill, Carol, and Octavio were ministering in different locations. In addition, during our off time, I usually hung around the hotel preparing for my message.

Tony used that time to visit the family of the child he sponsors at Llamado Eterno school, whose name is Jeferson.

Jeferson and Family

On Saturday evening, Tony and I ministered at Herencia Divina Church. Saturday is when the churches there have their main weekly meeting.

That evening we all went to Arturo’s and Ruth’s home for the much anticipated engagement party. We arrived around 5:30 to help set up things. Chino, our cook during the week, brought the food. Then we all hid in another area of the house. Michael and Gloria arrived. He took her on

Michael and Gloria

the roof to propose. We all waited in great anticipation. Next we heard a knock. Michael announced, “Tengo un mal noticia. Ella dice Si!” (I have bad news. She said YES!) Gloria said it was the happiest day of her life. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying Chino’s meal and making toasts and roasts of Michael and Gloria. It was a great way to end the trip.

The next morning we got up at 5:20 am to drive to Tegucigalpa to fly home. I finally arrived home at 12:50 am on Tuesday morning, a little worse for the wear, but very glad to have been a part of such a great trip.

Yours for the Kingdom,

Pastor Pete

Report on Honduras Trip, November 2019

LifeNet

Can We Regain a Childlike Heart?

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 12:44:00 GMT

What if…?

Sadly, for many others, childhood was marred by the too soon awareness of how wicked the world is and too soon exposure to adult sins, temptations, and responsibilities. Abuse, neglect, shame, fear, loneliness, abandonment, betrayal… For such the memories of childhood may still echo in their minds and reverberate in their souls, a kind of PTCD – post traumatic childhood disorder. When something or someone churns up the old memories, powerful emotions may erupt producing anger, fear, depression, hopelessness, powerlessness, confusion, etc.

Not surprisingly, the way we experienced childhood impacts who we are as adults. What are we supposed to take with us from childhood into a mature and healthy adulthood? What are we supposed to leave behind? Paul clues us in on this.

God never wants us to become familiar with evil. That is what happened in the Garden of Eden. But he does want us to develop a proper ability to discern and to progress to an adult understanding of what is good.

But, what if we experienced a terrible childhood? Can the evil done to us be undone? Can we recover what was taken from us and get beyond the scars? Is their any way for us to receive what we should have gotten and missed out on as young children? As adults, is it possible to enjoy life as one who was properly loved and nurtured during childhood, even if we were not? Can childhood somehow be regained?

Children and the Kingdom of God

Jesus loved little children and said something quite profound about them. Once when some parents were bringing infants and small children to him to receive his blessing, the disciples tried to push them away, wishing to protect their master from this apparent distraction and insulate his dignity as a teacher. Jesus responded:

Rather than drive away the children because they were “in the way,” “unimportant,” “beneath his dignity,” “not worth his time,” or “incapable of receiving what he had to offer,” Jesus opened the door wide for those little ones to come to him. What did Jesus mean when he said that the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children? What did he intend for us to grasp when he declared that no one will even enter God’s kingdom, unless we receive it like a child? Were these merely poetic words, or are they the truth?

The New Covenant and Childhood Regained

No matter how old a person may be, we are always children to God. Jesus frequently tenderly addressed his listeners as children.

When Jesus rose from the dead, far more was affected than we now comprehend. Not only were sins forgiven, but the first raindrops of a coming flood of restoration of the entire creation was set in motion by what the Bible calls the New Covenant. Central to what Jesus accomplished was to make us God’s own children. Instead of being hopeless orphans, we have brought right into God’s family.

If we only understand that the New Covenant produces forgiveness for sinners, we miss so much. Sins were indeed erased by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, and we who believe were declared “not guilty” by our Creator through his resurrection, which is called justification. Those who put their faith and allegiance in Our Lord Jesus, the Messiah King of Israel, are set free from everything that enslaved them, even though we do not immediately experience it. This includes sin, death, disease, demons, addictions, religious legalism, and everything else that the devil uses to hold people captive. This is the meaning of redemption. But perhaps the greatest gift of all is our reconciliation to Father God and being brought into the family through the new birth. God forgives, justifies, sets free, and restores us to his heavenly family as fully loved and accepted blood-bought born again children of God, who are indwelled by God’s own Spirit, the Spirit of sonship. We are sons because the Spirit of God’s Son lives inside us. We experience his relationship with Abba as a result.

The passages above speak of our being given full rights as adopted children. This will be fulfilled at the resurrection of the dead when we will be glorified and will manifest completely all that Jesus died to give us. This will be an expression of something that has its origin in eternity – the relationship of the Father with the Son. We who believe and receive the promises enter into that relationship through the new birth and the indwelling Spirit.

Jesus and His Abba

The eternal Son, the Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity, is “eternally begotten.” (John 3:16, John 17:5) This means his relationship with the Father has always been and will always be. When he became a human being through his miraculous incarnational virgin birth, he experienced human sonship in the family of Joseph and Mary, but his primary relationship was and is with his heavenly Abba Father. We are not sure what kind of parents Joseph and Mary were, but we assume they were good ones by human standards, providing Jesus with a safe and secure loving and nurturing environment in which to grow up. We actually know more about his relationship with Abba.

Jesus acknowledged his devotion to his Abba when he was very young. When he remained behind at the Temple, engaged in discussion with religious leaders, and was finally located by his distraught parents, he said the following.

From a very early age, his primary allegiance was always to Abba, and he also understood Abba’s love and commitment to him.

He received from Joseph and Mary human love, discipline, education, and social and career skills – things every good parent supplies as best he or she can. From his Abba he received everything that he needed to be a fearlessly secure, obedient to God, and loving human being. The Bible privileges us to glimpse a beautiful impartation from Abba to his Son, when Jesus was glorious transfigured on the mountain in front of three of his disciples. Abba said:

What son would not want to hear his father speak these loving, affirming, and empowering words?

Unfortunately, many fathers and mothers are unable or unwilling to properly love, affirm, and validate their children, which can leave them insecure, afraid, angry, and searching for significance and validation from others. We must get these things from somewhere, and the possibilities are many. Some validators are very positive and beneficial, such as coaches, mentors, etc.; while others are destructive, such as manipulative cult leaders, etc. Looking for love in the wrong places only leads to more heartache. Where is the best place for us to get what we may have missed out on from our earthly parents?

Jesus, the Doorway to Abba’s Heart

Jesus came to demonstrate a proper relationship with Abba. He died and rose again to restore us and introduce us to his Abba and explain or reveal him to us.

Nothing pleases Jesus more than to introduce us to his Abba and open our hearts to understand more about him and just how much he loves us; so that we can believe, receive, and enjoy that relationship with the help of God’s Spirit.

If we ask Jesus to reveal his Abba to us, he will! Let me repeat that. If we ask Jesus to reveal his Abba to us, he will! But only the childlike will be able to receive this revelation, since they are the only ones who desire to know Abba in a greater way. Only the humble can enter the kingdom.

Unless we become humble and repentant like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom and receive its blessings. How can we do this?

Steps to Regaining a Childlike Heart

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) He is the doorway through which we enter into all of God’s blessings. He is the Wonderful Counselor and Great Shepherd of the Sheep. The only way to regain a humble childlike heart is to come humbly to Jesus and ask him to do this in us.

Humility will prompt us to let go of (repent from) our sins and receive healing for any wounds, those things that are robbing us of God’s blessings. ( If you wish to read more about how God heals and sets us free, click here. ) This is a very personal thing. The Spirit will show us whatever may have destroyed and still be destroying our childlike wonder and awe of God, our ability to receive and show tenderness, our ability to trust from the heart, our ability to freely express our emotions, our ability to be excited, to be angry as appropriate, to feel joy, to worship, to forgive… You get the idea. Repentance needs to be rather ruthless. We cannot afford to coddle anything that hinders knowing, loving, and serving Abba better. Only the Holy Spirit do this for us and in us. He is our Helper. He uses the Bible to direct our steps in this process. His goal is to fully transform us into the likeness of the only begotten Son, which means becoming humble and gentle in heart, like a child, like Jesus.

This is a lifelong process that will be suddenly and completely culminated at the Second Coming. John put it this way:

Since those of us who have declared faith and allegiance to Christ are already children of God, we have the privilege of boldly drawing near to our Abba through the wide open door that Jesus provided for us. The Holy Spirit accompanies us right into God’s throne room. We, like Jesus, can confidently approach our Abba, knowing that he loves us beyond comprehension, that he is joyfully pleased with us, and that he has commissioned us with the infinitely important work of representing him to a world of spiritual orphans. Let Abba love on you and heal your wounded heart. Come to him as a little child, humbly and expectantly. Ask Jesus to reveal his Abba’s love in an ever greater way. You will not regret it. God’s love is the most powerfully transforming force in the universe.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for opening the door into Abba’s loving heart. I ask you to open my understanding to comprehend his love in a greater way. Restore to me childlike humility and faith. Holy Spirit, I trust you to carry out this transformation and restoration. Show me where I need to repent and help me to ruthlessly turn away from sinful thinking and acting that are based on hurts and lies. I want to start thinking and behaving more like who I really am, Abba’s child. Amen.

Can We Regain a Childlike Heart?

LifeNet

The Gospel and the Second Coming of Christ

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 12:13:00 GMT

In this article, I will show how the revelation of Christ in the last book of the Bible identifies Jesus with the glorious Son of Man prophesied by Daniel and confirms that knowing and acknowledging that Christ is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings is the proper response to the gospel message.

The Lamb of God Ministry

Through his first coming, Jesus the Messiah fulfilled the role of the Lamb of God. He came to die for our sins in order to open the way for us to come back into relationship with Father God.

The forgiveness of sins was not God’s end game, however, because Jesus had a much greater goal to accomplish – the restoration of all creation under his Lordship. Nevertheless, a central component of the gospel message is that when we place our trust in Christ and his death on the cross, we will receive forgiveness for our sins.

The Resurrected Lord of Lords

Jesus’ resurrection three days after his crucifixion proved that his sacrifice for our sins was accepted by Father God. It also proved and served to announce Jesus’ role as the glorious Lord of all, the risen Jewish Messianic King.

Those who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess that he is Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10) Jesus now reigns over his church and the entire universe, sitting at God’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be completely subjected to him in due time.

The Baptizer in the Holy Spirit

When Jesus ascended into heaven to take his place at God’s right hand, he poured out the Spirit as he promised he would, launching the church into her mission to preach the gospel and make disciples prior to Christ’s return.

During the present church age, Jesus functions as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit is given to equip and empower Christ’s followers to be bold and fearless witnesses (literally, martyrs) and fishers of men. We are in the harvest period of church history. The church has been tasked to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the gospel and making disciples who will go and do the same. Receiving the baptism in the Spirit is an important and necessary part of being faithful to Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Second Coming: Jesus, the Glorious Son of Man

Even though Jesus’ death as God’s Lamb is crucial to our salvation, acknowledging his lordship is the criteria Paul gives for obtaining it. (Romans 10:9-10) When we confess that Jesus is Lord, we acknowledge and voluntarily come under his rule and obtain all the benefits of his Lamb of God ministry, too. For the last two thousand years or so, we have been in the Great Commission phase of God’s plan, which the Bible calls the “last days.” As this epoch draws to a close, we anticipate the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophesy that he gave the night of his betrayal and the miscarriage of justice called his trial.

Jesus’ words referenced Daniel’s prophesy about a glorious heavenly being who will sit in judgment of the all the earth. (Daniel 7:13-14) At this future point in history, which is surely coming, there will no longer be any doubt at all for anyone as to Jesus’ true identity. No longer will naysayers claim that he was merely a prophet or a fine teacher. No more will anyone be able to say that he was a mythical person. None will declare that his resurrection was a fable concocted by his misguided followers. At that time, everyone will see him in his terrifying glory.

Before his return, God has given us the opportunity to clearly hear the gospel call to bow the knee to Jesus, the Lord of Lords. What we do in response to this call is on us. One day it will be too late. On that glorious day when Jesus returns as promised, every knee will bow and every tongue confess who he is. There will be no option.

Although Jesus is merciful to those who seek mercy and ask for forgiveness, do not think for a moment that he is too weak to enforce God’s justice at the proper time. Though he is patient, God the Father does not wink at sin or coddle rebellion against his Son’s rule. There is coming a day of judgment. Those who do not tap into the river of God’s mercy by declaring allegiance to the risen Messiah King, the Lamb who was slain, will rue their mistake at the Second Coming. We who hear, believe, and respond properly to the gospel before Christ’s Second Coming have the privilege of willingly bowing the knee to him before it is no longer an option. At the Second Coming all, even the openly rebellious, will be forced to acknowledge his glorious sovereignty.

Prayer

Perhaps your heart has been touched by what you just read and you are ready to become part of the throng who chooses to willingly acknowledge Jesus lordship before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. If so, you may wish to pray something like the following. Let it be from your heart. God will hear you and answer your petition. He never rejects anyone who comes to him.

The Gospel and the Second Coming of Christ

LifeNet

Faith: The Future Is Now

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 19:57:00 GMT

Rest also comes when our enemies have been defeated. In WWII the American people had no rest until both Germany and Japan capitulated. Until the final mopping up operation over evil, there will be no lasting experience of peace. Peace comes with victory at the expense of the vanquished whose ability to harass and harm has been quashed. Joshua, who was a forerunner of Jesus, led Israel to a partial victory over the Canaanites, giving them a measure of peace which allowed them to occupy the land.

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. ³ For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; ⁵ and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” ⁶ Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹ So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Hebrews 4:1-10 (NASB)

Faith understands and accepts Christ’s complete victory on our behalf. His resurrection sealed his defeat of sin, death, sickness, demons, and Satan. We are not trying to achieve victory. It has already been given to us.

Our sins are forgiven because Christ already paid for them once and for all time. ( Romans 6:10 , Hebrews 7:27 , and Hebrews 9:26 ) Our sicknesses and diseases are healed because Jesus already paid the price. ( Matthew 8:17 and 1 Peter 2:24 ) Death is defeated because Jesus died for us and rose again. ( Hebrews 2:14-15 ) Demons and Satan are under our feet because Jesus triumphed over them through his resurrection. ( Colossians 2:15 and Luke 10:18-19 )

Whereas the Jews celebrate the Sabbath at the end of the work week, Christians celebrate the Lord’s Day in memory of our Lord’s resurrection at the beginning of the week. The Jews rest after working, but Christians begin to work from a place of rest. This is how faith works from a place of rest.

Legalists try to do what they believe God has not done or is not doing. They believe that they are required to “make it happen.” True faith realizes that God has already completed his work. Now it is up to the Holy Spirit to make it part of our experience. We cooperate in the matter, but always from a place of rest. The work of faith always initiates from a place of rest.

Paul described this better than I can.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB)

The gospel is a proclamation of Christ’s finished work and his current reign. Jesus went about proclaiming God’s rule that would be released fully at his resurrection.

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, Luke 4:18 (NASB)

The gospel includes the promise that he will come again to complete what he began. Christ’s Second Coming will be the final installment of God’s great salvation at which time the dead will be raised, all people judged and consigned to their eternal destinies, and Christ installed as God’s permanent King over all creation.

In God’s eyes it is already done. When Jesus announced, “It is finished,” on the cross, it was. ( John 19:30 ) God sees the end from the beginning ( Isaiah 46:10 and Revelation 1:8 ) and calls into being what is not yet ( Romans 4:17 ). God is not limited by time as we are. He sees us already glorified with Christ ( Romans 8:30 ), even though for us time-bound beings it remains in the future. From God’s perspective, the most real way to see things, our salvation is finished already.

Faith: The Future Is Now

LifeNet

What could be stripped away from your church without your leaving?

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 14:52:00 GMT

As soon it as it became politically and financially advantageous to be a Christian, many people began to find ways to gain and use power and wealth for their own advantage and the church’s ruin.

Today, we live in a post-Constantinian (some say post-Christian) era. In most areas there no longer exists any form of Christendom, which was the merger of church and state that existed for centuries in Europe. More and more, Christianity once more is being relegated to the periphery by those in the “mainstream.” To combat this sense of irrelevancy, the church has in many cases adopted tools of the culture to reverse this trend. In its best light, it might be called finding common ground. In its worst view, it could be called caving to the culture. By adopting mass media and marking schemes and a “seeker sensitive” framework, we may have missed the mark by a rather wide margin, especially when it comes to making disciples, which is our mandate. Some of the largest churches have built their “clientele” around star quality preaching, professionally skilled musicians and singers, franchise quality programs and ministries, and fabulous mall like facilities. One downside of using this method for church growth is that what brings people to the church becomes what keeps people at the church. This begs the question: why do people attend our church? Is it for the right reasons or wrong ones?

Let the Demolition Begin

Building

Let’s begin by taking away our church building. Face it, just as men and women are often defined by their jobs, most people identify churches with their buildings. The first question people ask me when they find out I am a pastor is, “Where is your church?” My answer is “all over the place,” which gives me the opportunity to explain why we no longer have a building. Taking away a building can cause an identity crisis for a lot of churchgoers. I have heard some say we are a cult because we don’t have a building. That would make the early church a cult, too, which, of course, the Jews and Romans thought. The early church met wherever they could, often in homes. I am sure that felt a little strange, especially for those who previously attended the temple or the synagogue. Today forgoing ownership or rental of a perrmanent fixed site is both freeing and complicating. The joys of of not having maintenance or a mortgage payment is offset by not having the convenience of a pre-set-up meeting space.

Since for many, a building defines the church, what a church does is also defined and sometimes limited to what goes on in the building. Getting people to come church meetings at the permanent facility becomes the focus of all planning and activity. What would you do if your church announced it no longer has a building? Would it free you to take church outside the confines of the four walls into the community? It did for us. Or would not having a building prompt you to pack your bags and go in search of a church that did?

Programs

Lack of a building can restrict a church’s ability to offer its programs. What if there was no special children’s church, no built in nursery, no special rooms for various classes to meet? What if there was no place for the musicians to leave their instruments and sound gear set up? What if there was nowhere to have a mid-week practice for the worship team? Does your decision on which church to attend depend on the quality and quantity of its programs? Would you continue to attend if the meetings got really simple? What do you require in terms of program offerings?

Worship

If a church gives up its building, it might also have to become “unplugged” for worship. What if your experience of church involved meeting in small groups and singing acapella or with simple acoustic instruments? Would the lack of a big time worship experience be the reason you would look elsewhere? What if every church had to give up the traditional cultural expressions of worship due to persecution? What would happen then? Does your worship depend on externals or are you okay with what you can generate on your own?

Dynamic Preaching

Many larger churches are built on the drawing power of dynamic and charismatic leaders and preachers. What would happen if your church experience were limited to listening and interacting with ordinary followers of Christ, just like you, who spent time in the Scriptures, but were not great preachers. Would that be enough to send you on a search for another church home?

Soul Searching

I hope what I have written thus far at least gives you pause to consider your motivations for attending the church of your choice. Probably most would consider this exercise to be moot, since we presently are not restricted in our church choices. One day that may change, however. We cannot be sure that the current level of tolerance toward faith in Christ will continue. If things “go south” and persecution begins, most people will have to deal with an extreme case of church culture shock. Small groups that meet “underground” cannot do what most churches in the United States do at their meetings. They are limited in the noise they can make, the attention they draw, and what they can offer in the way of programs, worship, and preachers. The small group dynamic forces everyone to accept greater responsibility for their ongoing discipleship journey with the Lord. That is not a bad thing.

Such a church experience does not require anything beyond a gathering of the faithful in the presence and under the direction of God’s Spirit in order to hear and apply God’s Word for the purpose of encouraging and equipping disciples to live for Jesus the rest of the week. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.

What could be stripped away from your church without your leaving?

LifeNet

Five Things that Make Jesus Angry

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 14:45:00 GMT

We know from the Old Testament that God hates sin. The essence of sin is a repudiation of God’s authority or right to direct our lives, which includes a refusal to acknowledge, obey, and glorify him. God created us to live in partnership / dependence upon him in a beautiful synchronized sort of dance with the Holy Spirit. Life in sync with the Spirit might be compared to a flock of birds turning and wheeling as a group in flight. Instead, Adam and Eve, and we, have chosen a sinful independence from God that has led to death, destruction, chaos, and an eternity separated from our Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer.

Jesus came to earth on a mission: to redeem any who would trust in him and restore them to a right relationship with the God who hates sin but loves people past understanding. Jesus came with a full knowledge of just how messed up we human beings are. It never surprises him to discover the depths of our sin and rebellion against God. He came to save all people who will acknowledge their need for him and humbly trust in his provision of forgiveness.

Five Things

Let’s take a look at some verses from the Bible that bear this out.

He told his disciples to freely give away what had been given freely to them. Jesus warned his followers that it is impossible to serve God and money. When religious people use the things of God to serve the “god” of money, it is a betrayal of God. It is also one of the big stumbling blocks that keep many from honestly responding to the Gospel message. People are always looking for excuses for not surrendering their lives to God, and when so called Christians profiteer from the gospel message, many use this as an excuse to reject the Gospel altogether. This should give us pause to think.

America is famous for the marketing of the gospel. It is probably the one thing we are really good at, and it is an abomination to God. What would Jesus think if he walked into the average “Christian” book store and saw all the junk that is sold under his name? We are so steeped in the worship of Mammon that we cannot see it. Jesus is pleased when his followers give up everything to follow him, demonstrating that their love for him transcends their love for worldly things.

Jesus hates the hardness of heart that is behind legalism because it is rooted in the pride of man and founded upon the firmly held belief that we can be good enough to please God through our own efforts. Legalism is the arch enemy of love and grace, and Jesus hates it. So should we.

Why would anyone want to serve such a god? We should ask ourselves if we are more concerned with helping people or with being and appearing religious or “holy.” Jesus is pleased when suffering people are set free, but angered when those who need a physician are hindered by those who do not acknowledge their own sinfulness.

God loves kids and wants to bless them. Children’s hearts are generally more open to God than are adults’. They readily accept the gospel message and should never be hindered from coming to Christ, as if he has more important things to do. Jesus called adults “children” because in God’s eyes we are all children. May God deliver us from the sanctimonious pride that makes us think adults are more important than children. Jesus is pleased when little children have their eyes opened to see who he is and come to him.

In the passage above, where it says that Jesus was “deeply moved,” it literally means that he “snorted with anger.” This may surprise us because most of us have always thought that he was moved with compassion for the family who had just suffered such a loss. However, I believe we can better understand that Jesus was deeply angered by the unbelief he had just encountered. This is confirmed by his question, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Unbelief angers God; whereas, faith makes him glad.

When the centurion told Jesus to simply speak a word of healing rather than trouble himself by actually walking to his home, the Bible tells us that Jesus was amazed and pleased to encounter such a high level of faith. Conversely, the New Testament is replete with examples of Jesus rebuking his closest disciples for their lack of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

Passionless Christians are equivalent to salt that has lost its saltiness and are “good for nothing.” Those are strong words. Believers who have no passion have lost the “edge” to their faith. They have succumbed to the God of ease and security and have rejected the call to the adventure of faith. When the church exists in a context of prosperity and peace, this condition is likely to grow like salmonella when raw chicken is left in a too warm environment. We who live in America must beware. Conversely, Jesus is made glad when we cast off the false notions of our own goodness and sufficiency and come to him as spiritual paupers who desperately need a savior. When we savor Jesus and his grace, we glorify God.

Conclusion

Perhaps you see yourself in one or more of the examples above. If so, what should you do? The proper thing is to repent, which means we acknowledge our sin, ask forgiveness, and renounce or turn from it. If pride or unbelief is rooted in your life, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you in a fresh new way. Read your Bible with an open heart. Let its words speak to your heart. If you seek the Lord, you will find him. That’s a promise.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please forgive me for angering you. I repent of my sin and ask you, Holy Spirit, to invade my life in a fresh way. Kindle the fire of love for Jesus anew. Let me make you glad the rest of my days. Amen.

Five Things that Make Jesus Angry

LifeNet

Can We Be Disciples without Being in a Local Church?

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 12:03:00 GMT

I think we can agree that becoming a child of God has nothing to do with church membership. Going to church cannot make one a Christian. Placing our faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross and submitting to his Lordship is what opens the door to our being included in the family of God. God has no grandchildren; so, we cannot claim membership in the family of God just because our parents were believers or we attend a church. Each individual must engage the Spirit for him or herself and be born again spiritually.

Even though it is possible for a person to come to know Christ without belonging to a local church, I believe very strongly that it is impossible to be a disciple that way. God created us to be dependent upon him and interdependent with one another. Any attempt to “go it alone” is rebellion against God’s created order.

Adam’s and Eve’s first sin was to try to do life without reference to God. This is the most fundamental sin of humanity – a prideful and arrogant demand to call our own shots, or, as Frank Sinatra so famously sang, we want to live “my way.” In the Genesis account it was not long before “doing it my way” resulted in murder. Evil grew stronger the more humans selfishly and independently pursued their own agendas. The beat still goes on, even among people who claim to be followers of Christ. True repentance means we turn away from doing life independently and embrace God’s plan for humble interdependence.

During times of confusion, disunity, and unrest in Israel in the times of the judges and kings, disgruntled Israelites would disavow any connection with appointed authority figures saying, “Every man to his own tent,” meaning “do your own thing.” Unity is one of the most precious results of our properly following the Holy Spirit’s lead in a corporate setting, like the local church. Disunity results when we go it alone, seeking our own way. Where there is disunity, all manner of evil takes up residence, and, if we are not connected to people who will lovingly confront us, we will continue in that vein to our own loss and shame. We need each other.

Paul used the analogy of the human body to describe how church members are to view and relate to one another. Even though each part of the body has a different function, each is precious and needed. We can live without some parts of our body, but there is always sorrow when we lose some part we were designed by God to have. The body operates as a unit directed by its “head.” The church functions in the same way. It would be odd for a few body parts to suddenly leave with the intention of going it alone. Likewise, the church needs every part.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I love God, it’s just people I don’t like?” It is humorous line with which we can all identify, but the Bible clearly teaches us that our love for people actually reveals whether or not we love God.

Just as absentee parents have difficulty in communicating how much they love their children, absentee church members cannot express their love for the body in practical ways, nor can they receive as they should. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder in this case. Rather it cuts us off from the ones we should be loving and from whom we should be receiving love. If we have difficulty with people, it just shows how much work needs to be done in our lives, and that work cannot happen if we are out of relationship with the people God has put into our lives to help us.

And what will happen to us if we go “off the rails” and have no one to correct us? When we remove ourselves from regular contact with people who can speak the truth in love to us, we set ourselves up to be deceived. None of us are immune to the tricks and traps of the devil. We need one another to bring correction, balance, and sometimes discipline. Discipline is one of the most important functions of the church, but it is one to which we do not like to submit. Without discipline, however, we will not mature and learn obedience.

And what about the nurturing aspect of the body? God has placed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in the church to feed the sheep and help them grow to maturity. When we isolate ourselves, we cut ourselves off from this ministry and opt for stunted growth. Some might argue that it is possible to hear all sorts of great teaching via various media. But Paul warns us of the importance of knowing and being known by those who minister to us.

We cannot know a person will enough to properly “shepherd” them from long distance. That can only happen when we do life together in the context of a local church. The Holy Spirit works through the various people and ministries in the local church to care for and encourage us.

Guidance and protection are two other functions of the local church. Pastoral input can preserve us from much harm and wasted energy. Good leadership does not seek to “lord it over” our faith. Instead its purpose is to confirm, guide, and protect. If we remove ourselves from the “umbrella of protection” provided by being properly related to church authority as vested in the pastor and elders, we once again set ourselves up to suffer. The devil, like a wolf, always goes after the sheep who are straying from the flock. Don’t be one of them. Get back with the group. Remember: the banana that stays with the bunch doesn’t get peeled.

In conclusion, separating ourselves from the local church reveals that we are self-seeking and independent.

Instead, let us forgive past offenses, put aside our differences, repent of our selfish independence, and embrace the God-given provision of the local church. We can be a very important part of the whole, receive ministry, grow, and participate in the church’s mission to go and make disciples. Otherwise, our story may become a sad footnote referencing how our great potential was wasted because we were determined to go it alone. Remember: we can be a Christian alone, but not a disciple.

Can We Be Disciples without Being in a Local Church?

LifeNet

How to Align Yourself with God’s Purpose

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 11:52:00 GMT

Many suppose that the gospel is primarily for us, but actually it is first and foremost for God. Are you surprised? If so, it’s because we live in a culture in which everything is promoted or sold in terms of what it offers the consumer. Replacing society’s “me first” focus with prioritizing God and his desires is the biggest part of what it means to be transformed by the Spirit into a disciple. Jesus died on the cross for us who believe, but that was not the main thing on his mind as he approached and endured that horrible agony. He was most concerned about pleasing his Father in heaven. His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is the supreme example of embracing God’s will, no matter what the personal cost.

For us to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives, we, too, must surrender to God’s will for our lives. Only after that can we go on to experience God’s purpose for us through the gospel.

Love

I love Bible verses that capture the essence of what it means to be a follower of Christ. One such is found in Paul’s First Letter to Timothy .

Paul’s admonition to Timothy, and to all who would later be privileged to read his letter, was to allow God to develop in him a heart motivated by God’s love. God’s love is selfless and sacrificial, as evidenced by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is also focused on God’s glory. Jesus kept his focus on pleasing his Father, holding on to the promise of glory which awaited him on the other side of the cross.

Jesus told us that love sums up all of God’s commands. Love is not a feeling. It is a motivation to faith and good works. Jesus healed and set people free because his compassion moved or propelled him to do so.

God’s love can never be content to simply feel empathy. It must act. The aim of the gospel is to produce in followers of Christ the kind of love that acts as God would.

It will reveal itself in love of God and our neighbor. It will be heartfelt and practical. It will be compassionate and selfless.

Purity of Heart

Where this love comes from is very important. Paul tells us that a pure heart is essential. In this he is in complete agreement with our Lord, who blessed the pure of heart.

Purity of heart comes when our motives are clean and our devotion to God is single. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we are selfish. The essence of sin is when we self-direct our lives without reference to God or dependence on his Spirit. It usually takes a prolonged work of God’s Spirit to change us on the inside, so that we begin to put God and others first. All of us followers of Christ are works in progress, but hopefully we are going forward. Really, only God knows the condition of our hearts, and we can be sure he is at work there continually.

Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians that all our works of faith and sacrifice are worthless in God’s sight unless they are motivated by love. (1 Cor. 13:1-3) If we want to align with God’s purposes in the gospel, we will cooperate with God’s Spirit as he purifies our hearts to properly love God and people.

A Good Conscience

Secondly, our love should come from heart that is devoid of offense toward God and men. Jesus wants us to have clean consciences. This does not mean we are perfect, but it does require us to come into the light when we sin through confession and repentance toward God. It means that we are not covering our faults and sins with a thick layer of hypocrisy, pretending to be what we are not. It means we are working toward being more and more transparent and honest. This requires that we allow the Holy Spirit to work humility in our lives in an ever greater way, which is never easy.

A Sincere Faith

Thirdly, God wants our love to be motivated by a sincere faith. Such faith is free of hypocrisy and self-promotion. It does not pretend to be something it is not. Its motives are pure. Many people understand the concept of faith, which is taking God at his word and acting on it, trusting that he will come through as promised. The problem is that some use faith to obtain what they want instead of what God wants. God is not primarily interested in making us wealthy and comfortable. He is much more concerned with developing our hearts to be like his, which normally requires us to endure suffering by faith from time to time, and, in some cases, extensively. A sincere faith focuses on what God wants, which is the furtherance of his gospel and kingdom, not on what we may want for our personal comfort and ease.

When the gospel accomplishes its purpose in individuals, it brings glory to our Lord and furthers the advance of God’s kingdom. People are generally attracted to followers of Christ who exemplify love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. May God help us be like that. May God’s glory and his kingdom be our foremost concern. Everything else will follow.

How to Align Yourself with God’s Purpose

LifeNet

What Is Discipleship?

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 16:45:00 GMT

So what exactly does it mean to make a disciple? I am glad you asked.

For many, discipleship is equated with studying the Bible, which is certainly an element of it. Looked at it from this angle, discipleship is mostly about growing in the knowledge of God and the Scriptures. For many others, discipleship is centrally connected to character development or becoming more like Jesus. It must be acknowledged that God is greatly concerned with developing every one of his children into the image of Christ, His Son. This is the essence of transformation, but not of discipleship.

Jesus called his disciples with these famous words.

Discipleship begins when we respond to Jesus’ call to come to him. (Matthew 11:28-30) In fact, we can begin discipling someone who is in the initial stages of coming to Christ, before they have truly come to know and believe in him. That is what Jesus did. Those who come to Jesus are expected to follow him. This means we take seriously his teachings as recorded in the Bible and try to live by them. By necessity, following Christ should be done in the context of being part of a local group of disciples called the church.

We cannot do this without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sends to every person who puts his or her faith-allegiance in Christ. Therefore, not only do we follow Christ’s teachings, we also follow the leading or promptings of the Holy Spirit. Disciples have a living relationship with God through the Spirit. Lastly, disciples become fishers of people, which means we work with the Holy Spirit to go find others and call them to become disciples, too.

What some call the “five-fold ministry” – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers – have been delegated the responsibility to equip the rest of the church to do the work of disciples.

This means that churches and ministers of the gospel are called to teach and prepare followers of Christ to be disciples. This happens through teaching, modeling, calling alongside in ministry situations, and launching.

Since disciples are also expected to make disciples, I do not really think that we can call ourselves successful disciples until our disciples have made disciples of their own.

If churches took this responsibility seriously, how would our meetings be different? At LifeNet we seek to develop people as disciples. It is a learning process, and we are certainly far from perfect at it, but at least we have begun. Pray that more churches will embrace the call to make disciples as their first missional priority.

What Is Discipleship?

LifeNet

Why do we meet in small groups at LifeNet?

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 12:24:00 GMT

There you have some of the most salient reasons for meeting in small groups. I did not touch on some of the disadvantages. There is no perfect way to do church or anything else. Sometimes it would be nice to have our own building, but when we consider everything that goes along with it, we are reminded of why we jettisoned ours years ago. If this sounds like what you have been looking for, why not check us out? There is always room for one more.

Why do we meet in small groups at LifeNet?

LifeNet

He Is Risen!

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 11:16:00 GMT

Jesus willingly laid down his life so that others can live. He understood and embraced his role as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) He died because he and his heavenly Father loved people who were his enemies so much that he was willing to give up his rights to justice to secure a pardon for us. He was willing to lay aside his freedom to secure ours. He was willing to forfeit his own future in order to give us one.

Our Lord’s sacrifice stands in stark contrast to other religions that advocate for others to die. Many followers of Islam think that it is noble to kill those who do not believe as they do. Their path to eternal bliss is to die as a martyr in the quest of killing unbelievers. Followers of the religion of Women’s Reproductive Rights demand the right to kill unwanted unborn babies at will in order to secure their own version of freedom. The difference could not be greater. Jesus laid down his life for others. Islam and the Women’s Reproductive Rights religion kill other people in the name of their belief system. Today we celebrate the risen Life Giver, not the life takers.

The world system in which we live is diametrically opposed to the rule of Jesus the Messiah King of Israel. It seeks to transform a day on which we remember the most glorious event in history, Jesus’s resurrection, into a holiday symbolized by bunny rabbits, dyed eggs, and new clothes. The religious system wants you to think that this day is more special than other days. Thousands of people will flood into church buildings today who may not attend any other day of the year. People who have no intention of actually following Christ and his teachings, think that going to church today is somehow significant and special. Hopefully they will hear the gospel message and surrender to the one who actually rose again from the dead over two thousand years ago. If not, the day is just another “feel good” religious exercise, that has no eternal value.

If you are simply celebrating another holiday that the world has turned into Spring Break, you are missing everything. Jesus’ resurrection is the most important event in world history! It marked the turning point in the destiny of mankind! Whereas before we were doomed to eternal separation from God; now we have an invitation to be reconciled to him! Whereas before we all lived in the futility of self-direction and self-worship; now we can serve the One who laid down his life for us! Whereas before we were slaves to sin and doomed to die; now we can be truly free and live forever!

It all boils down to whether or not we are willing to bow our knees to Jesus and acknowledge that the Risen One is truly Lord.

Are you willing to serve the One who willingly laid down his life for you? Are you willing to receive all he died and rose to provide for you? Are you willing to follow him wherever he may lead? If so, pray this simple prayer from your heart. God will hear it and give you what you ask for.

Prayer

Jesus, I believe that you died for my sins and rose again in triumph over death, sin, sickness, and the devil. I don’t want to live for myself any longer. I want to live for you. Forgive me for my former rebelliousness against you and your will for my life. I surrender the rights to my life to you. I don’t exactly know what that means yet, but I trust you. Come, Holy Spirit, fill me with your presence and power. Help me to live for Jesus from now on. Help me to be a faithful witness to others, letting them know that they too can believe and receive all of God’s blessings. Amen.

He Is Risen!

LifeNet

Christmas – the Beginning of the End

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 13:49:00 GMT

To him there is no limitation of time. He sees the end of matter before it ever begins. He never skips steps. He will always achieve his desired outcome. He is God, which the great King Nebuchadnezzar discovered for himself.

There is a huge difference between the means to an end and the actual end of a matter.

A kernel of corn is the means to the end of a corn plant, which is the reproduction of hundreds of corn kernels. A baby is a means to an end, which is an adult and all that he or she will ultimately accomplish and pass on to others reproductively and otherwise. The means by which God chose to establish his eternal kingdom and dominion over planet earth was surprisingly (to us) hidden and subtle. A baby was born to poor parents, who were part of an oppressed and despised people group, under difficult circumstances. Who would have guessed that what began so small would eventually conclude so gloriously?

The Word Became Flesh

Christmas is our way of memorializing and remembering that God chose to become a human. The world, those who do not know or serve Jesus, chooses to focus on the secular side of things – Santa Claus, making merry, consumerism, and general good will.

The message of Christmas, when viewed through the lens of the Resurrection, is that God chose to become a man in order to take the punishment due to man because of his sinful rejection of God in order to restore those who would accept the offer to be reconciled to a right relationship with God. The good news, which begins with Christ’s birth, is that the baby grew up and actually took upon himself our sins and our rightful punishment as the Lamb of God.

God’s End

When Jesus rose from the dead, he was declared and established as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He now sits at the right hand of his heavenly Father’s throne, waiting for the Father’s signal that it is his time to return to planet earth to fully claim his kingdom and rule the nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 2:27) He will come again in glory to conquer his enemies, raise the dead, and judge every human being who ever lived, assigning them to their eternal destinies. Afterward those who opted to put their trust in Jesus during this life will co-rule with him over a new heaven and earth.

Preaching the Gospel with the End in Mind

If we accept this biblical truth, we are confronted by our responsibility to tell others about this amazing news called the Gospel. But how should the Gospel be preached? Should it be limited to a prelude to an altar call for those who want to have their sins forgiven and their entrance to heaven guaranteed, or should it include a call to complete surrender and devotion to this Lord of Lords who will ultimately return and gloriously reign on planet earth? I believe the answer is obvious.

Unless our hearts understand that Jesus is the ultimate arbiter of divine judgment and justice, we may never gain the proper perspective of our responsibility to live as his loving, devoted, and appreciative servants. We may never feel the urgency to repent from our self-directed lifestyle in order to live from now on in the fear the Lord and in such a way that will bring him glory and honor. We may fail to see that our greatest duty is to live as worshipers of God, who are devoted to Christ’s service, which is to love God, love people, and make disciples.

As we observe another Christmas season, let us use our time to surrender to Christ, perhaps at long last or, if necessary, to rededicate ourselves to loving and serving our glorious Lord. May our words, thoughts, and deeds, our very lives, always bring glory and honor to his name. May his glorious Gospel be proclaimed throughout the earth by his devoted and willing servants. Amen.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you came as a small baby so long ago, but now you sit in heaven as Lord and King, waiting to come again to firmly establish your rule on planet earth. Forgive me for living as if this will never happen. Forgive me for pursuing my own agenda instead of yours. I surrender myself to your glorious purposes. Use me in a way that will bring glory to your name. I am yours to command. I worship and give you praise. Amen.

Christmas – the Beginning of the End

LifeNet

Why Faith in Evolution Is Blasphemy

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 13:26:00 GMT

Evolution, the denial that God created the world, is a direct attack upon God’s glory and honor. It is an attempt to remove humanity from being under God’s authority and rule. It eventually leads to madness. (Romans 1:28-32)

The hypothesis (unprovable theory) of evolution has been adopted by atheists who recognize that it seems to give scientific credibility to their godless worldview. Never mind that evolution fundamentally ignores the second law of thermodynamics, which is actually proven to be true. It is impossible to proceed from disorder to order in a chaotic system that supposedly just happened out of nothing! Evolution defies all common sense. How could the eye be gradually evolved? Unless it is fully functioning in all its complexity, it is worthless and would give no advantage in the natural selection process. Why do fossils suddenly appear in great numbers? Why are no transitional species found? Nevertheless, evolution is taught to our young children as fact because humanity is hell bent on living independently from God. For this to be fully realized, it is necessary to try to remove him from the equation altogether, which is absolute folly.

The Apostle Paul wrote that God eventually gives such people over to what the Bible calls an “ adikomos ” mind, which is incapable of sound reasoning based on truth. The technical definition is “ unapproved , i.e. rejected ; by implication worthless (literal or moral) :- castaway, rejected, reprobate.” (Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary) Once God consigns someone to this status, it means that the Holy Spirit no longer works to help that person change his or her thinking in order to be reconciled to God. The Bible calls this the hardening of the heart. When God stops softening our heart, it is said that he hardens it. I believe this simply means that he gives us over to our own desires.

This is not some fatalistic scenario that removes of from responsibility. It is actually quite the opposite. Without God’s help, we are all hopelessly mired in rebellion and deception. It is only when the Holy Spirit begins to work in the human heart that any kind of desire to change takes place. Has God been tugging at your heart strings? Have you been resisting his nudge to finally and thoroughly lay down your rebellion against him and acknowledge your need for forgiveness? Are you being pulled to surrender your life to him and follow your Lord? If so, do not resist any longer. We never know when it may be our last opportunity! Never suppose that you have plenty of time to get it right. None of us knows when the last grain of sand will drain out of our hourglass.

Prayer

If this is the first time you ever prayed this prayer, the next step is to be baptized in water, which is your public declaration of allegiance to Jesus the Lord. If you do not have a church home, I might be able to help you on that. Just let me know.

Why Faith in Evolution Is Blasphemy

LifeNet

Mary, a True Christmas Heroine

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 14:13:00 GMT

Recently I read an article, from which I quote:

Acknowledging God’s Rights as Creator

First of all, God is God, which according to the Bible means he is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, and all-loving. Being our Creator, he has the right and the authority to command his creatures. Dr. Sprankle fails to take this into account. He regards God as being more or less on a level with humanity, although having immense power but still subject to human laws and conventions. The fact that Dr. Sprankle would try to bind God to the latest legal fad of the Me Too movement, reveals that he has no concept of who God really is. I would assume he is an atheist, who regards the notion of God as being primitive and misguided. Correct me if I am wrong. I also assume that he would much prefer the chaotic lawlessness and immorality of the political left in place of God’s ordered righteousness. Atheism always leads to totalitarianism, where self-conceived “all-powerful” humans wield their power over the masses.

As Creator, God has the right to do with his creatures whatever he pleases.

The Sovereignty of God

God’s sovereignty is one of the major tenets of faith with which every follower of Christ must contend. This doctrine assaults our pride and desire to be independent and self-sufficient. Human beings generally have a problem with admitting we were created to be dependent on God. Beginning with Adam and Eve, humanity decided to try to “go it alone.” By so doing, death and destruction was introduced into the world, causing God’s creation to spiral downward into chaos and evil. Despite millennia of proof that this does not work, proud people continue to shake their fists at God and rebel against his right to rule.

To many this seems completely rational. Being required to obey another is regarded as a form of bondage. In many cases this is so, especially when people like Dr. Sprankle try to foist their beliefs on small children in our public schools, but when it comes to God it is never true.

The reason is that his will is absolutely the best thing for us and the most liberating thing we can do, because he loves us beyond our imagination and knows what is ultimately going to work for our good and his glory.

So here we have two opposing world-views. Dr. Sprankle views faith in an all-powerful “predatory” deity as a great evil; whereas, Mary believed that her God was and is supremely wise and only wanted the best for her and her nation. Dr. Sprankle sees obedience to such a “malevolent” deity as harmful, but Mary saw acquiescing to God’s will as the highest form of worship. Her response to God’s invitation to be the mother of the Messiah is a model for all followers of Christ.

Imagine consenting to become a “single mom,” carrying a child conceived out of wedlock, in a culture that had a law that adulteresses should be stoned to death! What kind of trust in God’s love and wisdom was behind her “yes”! Mary’s first assertion was that she was God’s servant, which led to agreeing with the angel’s words.

Application

Mary agreed to follow God down a mysterious, pain-filled road of obedience because she knew God and understood her relationship with him. He is the Creator-Sustainer-Redeemer and we are his people. He has the right to command us. He has the wisdom to direct us. He lovingly cares for and watches over us. But he does not guarantee a pain-free life. He does guarantee an eternity of joy in his presence and a sharing in his glory if we follow him.

The lesson we learn from Mary is the following.

Don’t fall for the age old tactics of Satan! He is always sowing accusation and rebellion against God. Instead, let’s be like Mary!

Mary, a True Christmas Heroine

LifeNet

Honduras Report – November 2018

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 17:49:00 GMT

Team delivering supplies at Danli hospital. L-R – Pastor Pete Beck III, Tony Jacobelli, Bill Hauck, Al Hauck, Dr. Gonzalo, hospital administrator, and two staff members.

Tony and I just returned from Honduras, where we visited churches, preached and taught the Word of God, renewed friendships, cultivated new relationships, and generally had a wonderful time in that beautiful country. As you probably know, Honduras is struggling politically and economically. God’s people there are feeling the pinch, but are still rejoicing in the Lord. They may be poor in finances, but they are rich in faith and the Spirit. Our team consisted of Tony Jacobelli, myself, Al and Bill Hauck, and Octavio from Zamora, Mexico. We were assisted by several local pastors and volunteers, who provided transportation and translation. We also shared meals in some of the pastors’ homes, which was a real treat.

As before, we made Danli the center of operations. It is a medium sized city about two hours east of the capitol, Tegucigalpa. It is in a mountainous region, where a lot of coffee is grown. Cigar manufacturing is big there, too. We stayed at Hotel Granada, where the accommodations were pleasant and more than adequate. The first day was spent travelling. We left the Greensboro airport at 7 am and arrived in Tegus about 1 pm central time. After waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we made the car trip to Danli, arriving there around four. That night we had a team meal at Napoli’s restaurant, where we enjoyed authentic NY style deep dish pizza. Amazing. The restaurant owner learned to make it in NYC.

Apostle Octavio speaking to the Pastors Association

Tuesday morning, Al Hauck and I taught on Inner Healing, at the request of the local Pastors Association. We shared how Jesus sets people free on the inside from generational sin, lies, traumatic pain, and demonic oppression. That night we split up, Tony and I going to El Paraiso, a smaller town about a half hour to the south of Danli, where I taught at Amor Vivienti (Living Love) Church on the topic of “Effective Ministry in Times of Economic Crisis.” I grew to love that church on my last trip, when I did a five-night series on the baptism in the Spirit. Pastor Andres is an amazing man of God who has a great family. His daughter Enma is pictured translating for Tony below. I

Tony greeting Amor Vivienti Church in El Paraiso

taught the people that in order to be more effective, we must stop thinking only about what ministry can happen in our church buildings. Instead, it is important for us to see that our neighborhoods are our mission field. I showed them how to use simple concepts like praying for people, visiting neighbors, and having people over for meals in order to build community and prepare hearts for the Gospel. The message was extremely well received, and I shared it again at two other churches.

The next morning (Wednesday), we returned to teach the pastors association, this time on how to manage the competing pulls of ministry and family. That night, Tony and I went to a church new to me, one pastored by Pastor Angelica and her husband. It was a fairly large facility. Pastor Eduardo from Herencia Divina Church, led the meeting. Four churches were in attendance. I began a three-part series on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The worship time was exceptional, the crowd was hungry and receptive, and the Holy Spirit helped with the presentation. I generally covered what the Baptism in the Spirit is and how it differs from being born again.

The next day (Thursday) Tony and I had the morning free. We prepared for the evening meeting, but found time to

The final step in rolling a cigar.

visit a cigar factory, which Tony thoroughly enjoyed, purchasing some for gifts. At the evening meeting, I spoke on Speaking in Tongues and why it is so important. I also taught them on how to receive it. At the conclusion, I asked for the sick to come forward so Jesus could heal them, on the condition that they would testify of their healing on the following night. Many came forward to receive prayer.

On Friday morning, we visited the local hospital to deliver some much needed medical supplies provided by a surgical clinic in the Johnson City, TN area. This was my third time to visit this hospital, the only one in Danli. The administrator is a believer and always welcomes us with open arms. (See the photo above.) That evening, Tony and I went to the final Holy Spirit Baptism meeting, this time with the entire team, which had been previously ministering at an alternate location. I shared my final message on how to receive the Promise of the Father, but not before asking for healing testimonies from the night before. Three people shared that they had been healed! This did not hurt the faith and expectancy level at all. I concluded my teaching by giving four steps to receive the Baptism in the Spirit. About seventy people came forward. After asking Jesus to baptize them in the Spirit, I watched God move upon the people. Hands were raised, tears began to stream,

Ministry Time on Friday night at the Holy Spirit Conference

people began to worship and pray, many of them in other languages. This lasted for about forty-five minutes, as various pastors mixed among the people to pray for them. Al Hauck led this ministry time, but he generally just let God do his sovereign work. People were receiving the baptism in the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, physical healing, and deliverance. Praise the Lord!

Saturday evening is when the churches in Honduras have their main meetings. We split up to cover as many locations as possible. Tony and I went to Herencia Divina Church (Divine Inheritance). I shifted from teacher to pastor and ministered from my heart to the congregation. Afterward, Tony and I were able to be a blessing to some individuals seeking ministry.

Sunday morning, we ministered at a long morning meeting at Llamado Eterno Church, where they were completing a time of fasting and prayer. I shared on Isaiah 58 from the perspective of turning our eyes away from our own interests and onto God’s – the harvest field. That afternoon, we spent some time at a coffee shop with Pastor Eduardo, Magdalena, his wife, and their daughter, Keila, who served wonderfully as my translator on several occasions. We learned more about their family, the situation in Honduras, and the progress being made on their church building. It became apparent that we are in a position to significantly help them in that regard. We are currently raising money to help them complete their much needed new facility. You can read more about that on our calendar page under announcements.

Team Meal

That evening we had a wonderful final team meal at a restaurant that stayed open late to host us. Nice. Then back to the motel where we finished packing and prepared to leave first thing in the morning on Monday. The trip home is always a long day, and this was no exception. I arrived at my home a little after 11 pm, Eastern Time, which made it a 15 hour travel time. Bill, our team leader, is already talking about what we can do on our next trip in six months. We hope to take some apostles from Master Builders to speak more to the area pastors about five-fold ministry team formation down there. Please keep us in your prayers for the future. If you want to contribute to the Herencia Divina Church building, please send your donation as referenced on our calendar page. Thanks much. Dios te bendiga.

Pastor Pete Beck III

Honduras Report – November 2018

LifeNet

LifeNetters Participate in Record Setting Packathon

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 15:23:00 GMT

Some of our folks…

LifeNet family and friends supported Feed the Hunger ‘s 50th Anniversary Packathon at the Vailtree Event Center in Haw River on Tuesday night, August 8. In addition to contributing financially, several of our folks helped pack forty boxes of meals at Table #1 in an hour and a half. It was all great fun for a very worthy cause. A new record was set. It was the most meals packed by any group in a single session in Feed the Hunger’s history. Thanks to all who came out!

Pastor Pete

LifeNetters Participate in Record Setting Packathon

LifeNet

Master Builders New York Conference – August 3-5, 2018

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 14:07:00 GMT

We were treated to a nice mid-afternoon meal at the Olive Garden. The decision was made to stay at the church building rather than drive all the way out to Wilson’s Long Island home, since, when the traffic is bad, it can be an hour drive each way. Also, Wilson had to make sure his guest Charles, from Ghana, was safely delivered to the train station for a trip to the midwest for college.

Papa Pete Preaching. Pastor Caimares Translating.

The evening meeting cranked up with some worship. Pretty much everything is in Spanish, so the work I have been doing brushing up on my language skills using Rosetta Stone paid off. However, until I immerse myself for a while in the language, I will never really learn it. The music had a decidedly Hispanic flavor, which I like.

Dad preached the first message of our conference, the theme being “Walking by Faith.” Pastor

Apostle Reginald Holiday

Wilson translated for him. Dad has been working with this church for twenty years. He used to drive up from Greensboro, but now, being ninety, prefers to fly. The people love him and rightly so. After the meeting we went to the basement for a taco supper. The church shares a meal after every service, usually cooked by a church member who is chef – Mexican style. After the meeting, we made the drive to Wilson’s home. He and his wife graciously hosted the three of us, along with his daughter, son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren.

Pastor Pete III Preaching with Victor Translating

The next morning we arose to some great coffee, the “black anointing,” as Wilson calls it. Later

in the morning we were treated to a wonderful breakfast of eggs, cheese, and bagels. The conference cranked up at Noon. After another time of worship, Apostle Holiday shared a message on faith in his usual rousing style. It was an inspiring message powerfully preached. Once again, Pastor Caimares translated. Following a short break, Pastor Pete III, yours truly, shared on how to escape the downward pull of unbelief and hopelessness. One of the elders named Victor did the translating this time. He did a great job. The photo on the left is a little blurry because the anointing was so

Jones Beach

The original plan was for all of us to take in a Mets-Braves game that evening, but that did not happen due to circumstances beyond our control. Instead we took a relaxing and refreshing walk on the boardwalk at Jones Beach, Long Island. What a place! It was cool and breezy when we went, around 8 pm, but still lots of people were there. The parking lots are about equivalent to the Greensboro Coliseum’s. We then returned to Wilson’s home for homemade tostadas (fried plantains) and to bed.

Papa Pete, Pastor Jose Luis Aleman, and Pastor Pete III

Sunday morning we drove to the Bronx to minister at Iglesia Cristiana del Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Christian Church), pastored by Jose Luis Aleman. It was a beautiful drive past the Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. While crossing Throgs Neck Bridge, we gained a beautiful view of Manhattan. I fell in love with the people at the Bronx Church. The worship was sweet. I have not had an emotional response to a church like that since being in Poland. They are very special to the Lord. I shared a message on The Gospel in Three Words: Jesus is Lord , with Pastor Wilson translating for me.

Lunch in the Basement

We then drove back to Queens where Reggie preached another dynamic message on faith in Pastor Wilson’s church. He hit a home run for sure. At least four people came forward after his altar call to receive the Lord, a breakthrough victory! Following this we gathered in the basement for another fabulous meal of chicken, rice, salad, and a birthday cake celebrating Dad’s 90 trips around the sun.

From there Wilson drove us back to La Guardia for the return flight. It was a great trip. I fell in love with the people of those two churches and hope to return to see them and more of the city. Hasta luego. Vaya con Dios.

Master Builders New York Conference – August 3-5, 2018

LifeNet

The Only Way to Escape the Judgment of God upon America

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:42:00 GMT

It is scary to pursue truth because it often forces us to face our fears and pain. The truth is not necessarily safe or comfortable. Many people prefer to leave it alone. Our relationship with truth affects every area of our lives. It determines the rise and fall of nations, and will be a main topic at the Last Judgment.

The Light of the World

Jesus said that our eyes were blind, our ears deaf, and our hearts hardened against truth. (Matthew 13:13-15) Isaiah the prophet, speaking for God the Father, announced Jesus’s coming ministry centuries prior to our Lord’s birth.

…”It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6 (NASB)

Jesus said about himself:

I have come as Light into the world , so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. John 12:46 (NASB)

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ₂₀ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:19-20 (NASB)

Why do we so often refuse to admit when we are wrong? Why do alcoholics and drug addicts have such difficulty admitting their problem? Why are many of us so afraid to go to the doctor?

We don’t want to be exposed because we expect that people will reject and condemn us, if they find out what we are really like, just as we have so often done to others!. Most of us instinctively know that we deserve to be punished, and we are embarrassed and ashamed of our sins and failures. Often we are able to hide our sins from other people, and sometimes we think we also can hide from God, but that is merely seeking to avoid the inevitable. We can be sure that our sin will find us out. (Numbers 32:23) We see God exposing sin right and left, and we have not even come to Last Judgment yet.

Believing Lies – The Origin of Our Problem

Humankind’s descent into the world of chaotic suffering and evil can be traced back to the lie that was heard, embraced, and acted upon in the Garden of Eden. Satan deceived Adam and Eve into believing that God is not to be trusted and that doing what God forbids is actually a good thing. The devil told them that they could disobey God without suffering any negative consequences. They would not die! What a lie!

Embracing the lie caused them and us to die. Ever since, their descendants, including us, have struggled with truth and lies.

Every time we choose to reject or go astray from God’s instructions in the Bible, we participate in Adam’s and Eve’s sin and bring upon ourselves similar negative consequences. We have all done this and have reaped the fruit of our disobedience. The formula is simple: believing lies leads to acting upon them (sin) and brings suffering, sorrow, destruction and death into our lives.

Fortresses Against Truth

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 1:18 (ESV)

The Bible calls such suppression of truth a stronghold or fortress.

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ₅ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NLT)

Even when the truth is presented to us, we fend it off with our proud arguments and faulty reasoning. When we do this, we cannot see truth. It is self-imposed spiritual blindness, which the devil more than willingly helps us maintain. It is one thing to be deceived by another, but when we deceive ourselves, our situation is dire. When we stubbornly refuse the truth over and over again, eventually God gives us over to what we want – a mind devoid of truth which is unable to properly think any longer. Isn’t this what we see all around us? It’s happening, folks, right now in our nation.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, Romans 1:28 (NASB)

Embracing Lies – the Root of Societal Decay

Since people and groups of people -governments, nations, etc. – are at war with God and reject his authority to tell them what to do, it is unavoidable that over time nations and other entities, unless constantly brought back to obedience, will drift away from God and his truth. This means they will distance themselves from his blessings and protection, too. Once the drift has begun, it can quickly escalate.

When individuals suppress truth, it gives sin a foothold that is difficult to break. When an entire culture does it, its demise is in sight. Can you see that the United States is now in mortal danger. We have spurned the God who before protected us. Yes, we have been really wrong about some very big things over our history, but despite all that, our people generally trusted in God. Increasingly, this is no longer the case.

Legitimizing the Lie Is a False Hope

Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? ₂ The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ₃ “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” ₄ He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. ^₅ Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, ₆ “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” Psalm 2:1-6 (NASB)

Groups of people (mobs) often do far worse things than most of the individuals comprising it would do on their own. The mob feels safe in its numbers, believing it can avoid being accountable or brought to justice. It is as when we join a group of cars on the interstate exceeding the speed limit, thinking that being part of the group makes it okay or safe. The old CBers called it a convoy. If everyone is doing it, surely it’s okay to go with the flow of the traffic. Right? It may be generally true on the highway, but not when it comes to God! God will not only hold individuals accountable. He will judge entire nations. If this does not put the fear of God in you, I don’t know what will!

Abortion – Our National Mass Murder Lie

Since the Supreme Court Decision of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973, we have held ourselves up as a paragon of freedom and equality for women without batting an eye regarding the mass murder of over 60 million unborn defenseless babies. This is right now, under our watch, with our silent consent! Consider that this number equals some estimates of the total number of lives lost in WWII! Let that sink in! We should be appalled, ashamed, aghast, disgusted, and fearful. The freedom to kill an unborn baby is the law of the land, but that does not make it just or right!

Women’s reproductive rights is a euphemism for the mother’s right to terminate the life of the defenseless baby in her womb. That’s murder, no matter how we slice and dice it. Whether or not you ever consented personally to an abortion, we are guilty as a nation.

We used the same argument to justify slavery and the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans. Dehumanizing those we enslave, oppress, and murder is an age old tactic. We now look back with sorrow on our forefathers’ reasoning and actions. How will future generations judge us? More importantly, how will God judge us? God is the defender of the helpless and innocent. Does it not scare you to think how deserving of judgment our nation is? And this is only one sin!

The Holocaust – Germany’s Horror, Shame, and Judgment

When the Allied forces liberated German concentration camps, the evil that had been perpetrated by the Nazis under the cloak of darkness came to light. Here is a brief account.

After leaving Ohrdruf, Eisenhower wrote to Chief of Staff General George Marshall, attempting to describe things that “beggar description.” The evidence of starvation and bestiality “were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick,” Bradley later wrote about the day: “The smell of death overwhelmed us.” Patton, whose reputation for toughness was legendary, was overcome. He refused to enter a room where the bodies of naked men who had starved to death were piled, saying “he would get sick if he did so,” Eisenhower reported. “I visited every nook and cranny.” It was his duty, he felt, “to be in a position from then on to testify about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief … that the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda.” (Seemingly, he intuited then that these crimes might be denied.)

Eisenhower issued an order that American units in the area were to visit the camp. He also issued a call to the press back home. A group of prominent journalists, led by the dean of American publishers, Joseph Pulitzer, came to see the concentration camps. Pulitzer initially had “a suspicious frame of mind,” he wrote. He expected to find that many of “the terrible reports” printed in the United States were “exaggerations and largely propaganda.” But they were understatements, he reported.

Within days, Congressional delegations came to visit the concentration camps, accompanied by journalists and photographers. General Patton was so angry at what he found at Buchenwald that he ordered the Military Police to go to Weimar, four miles away, and bring back 1,000 civilians to see what their leaders had done, to witness what some human beings could do to others. The MP ‘s were so outraged they brought back 2,000. Some turned away. Some fainted. Even veteran, battle-scarred correspondents were struck dumb. In a legendary broadcast on April 15, Edward R. Murrow gave the American radio audience a stunning matter-of-fact description of Buchenwald, of the piles of dead bodies so emaciated that those shot through the head had barely bled, and of those children who still lived, tattooed with numbers, whose ribs showed through their thin shirts. “I pray you to believe what I have said about Buchenwald,” Murrow asked listeners. “I have reported what I saw and heard, but only part of it; for most of it I have no words.” He added, “If I have offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I am not in the least sorry.” ( Link )

Yet, today there are those who deny that the Holocaust ever happened! Abortions take place in the secrecy of doctors’ offices and hospitals, but America must own its sin. It is horrific to watch video evidence of babies in the womb being dismembered and extracted. That is why Planned Parenthood actively suppresses the truth. But God knows.

The German people had to face up to the evil they and their leaders perpetrated on the world. They only did it after being devastated by enemy armies. What will it take to makes us own up to our sins?

Evolution – Suppressing the Truth of Creation

The hypothesis of evolution is a prime example of the suppression of truth, which is being done worldwide. The Bible teaches that God’s existence is clearly evident through observing of his creation. In other words, we have to be willingly blind to miss it.

…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen , being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse . Romans 1:18-20 (NASB)

If man evolved, we are accountable to no one for how we live our lives. We are our own god. No wonder this lie is so popular. It appears to give solid footing to the desire to throw off God’s rule.

Transgenderism – Rebelling against God’s Sovereignty

The Bible teaches that God created us as he saw fit, which is male and female, which is determined at conception and penetrates all the way down to the chromosomal level.

God sovereignly chooses for us our sex, intelligence, physical strength, race, family, nation, looks, general health, etc. None of us chose to be born and none of us can stop the aging or death process. We cannot undo gravity or much of anything God has built into his creation, much less our gender.

Rather than accept how God made us, we want to change it. We can change our dress. We can surgically alter our bodies. We can inject unnatural levels of hormones, but we cannot change ourselves at the most fundamental level. Our chromosomes tell the true story.

Railing against Authority – A Society in Rebellion against God

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. ² Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves . Romans 13:1-2 (NASB)

There is a place for conscientious objection and even making a stand against tyranny, but generally we should submit to authority, unless it commands us to disobey God. In the Bible, God severely deals with rebels. In the United States, our rebellion is much deeper than half our nation rejecting our president and most of the media ranting against him continuously.

There has been an ongoing war against God’s authority for decades now. Under the cloak of separating church and state, enemies of God have removed Bible reading and prayers from our public schools, banned God talk at work, and forbidden coaches from praying with their teams. Christians who dare to speak out about their faith are openly mocked and persecuted.

My generation, the Boomers, began this current wave of rebellion in the 60s and 70s by casting off restraint sexually, experimenting with drugs, introducing various Eastern religions into the culture, and entertaining ideas of government overthrow espoused by such groups as the Weather Underground and SDS. People became increasingly unwilling to acknowledge authority and became uncomfortable with being in authority. Children were encouraged to be very informal with adults, corporal punishment was abandoned in favor of new unproven psychological methods, and society has only gotten more and more off track since then.

Is It Too Late?

As a nation, we have turned our backs repeatedly on God and his truth. Right now we are locked in a battle for the soul of the nation. The momentum lies on the side of the rebellion against God. Many, if not most, of our leaders and influencers (educators and media) have gone over to Satan’s side by rejecting God and his truth.

It is increasingly coming into question whether we are any longer capable of responsible self-government. We are being set up for tyranny. Many of our citizens now believe that there is no God, no absolute truth, no ultimate authority, no coming judgment, and no everlasting consequences for rejecting God and disobeying him. They (we) could not be more wrong!

Making the Decision to Pursue Truth

In a nation where most people have it fairly easy, at least in comparison to our forefathers and to others in less affluent nations. The more comfortable we are, the more likely we will be unconcerned about eternal things.

My own personal journey to God was a search for truth. I wanted to know if what the Bible says about Jesus and his resurrection is true or not. At one point, I called myself an agnostic, thinking that God cannot be known because I had not yet come to know him. How ludicrous, yet how common it is for people to suppose that what we think and have experienced determines reality.

Paul wrote that people grope about in their search for God. (Acts 17:27) Spiritually blind people fall all over themselves and unseen obstacles in their pursuit of reality and truth. We cannot find God on our own, but, if we seek him, he promises that we will find him. He makes sure of that!

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

What the Pursuit of Truth Is Not

What truth Is

Humility

The pride of man resists God and his truth. It comes up with all sorts of alternate versions of reality that will allow us to dodge truth and continue in our rebellion.

Humility teaches us that we are created beings, not independent operators. Humility teaches us that unless we admit our need for God, we will be lost in the downward spiral of death and deception. It takes humility to admit we need help, and that help is found in Jesus!

The Terrible Day of the Lord

Imagine how the Nazi leaders felt as they faced charges at Nuremberg! Some were unrepentant, but I imagine most were afraid and ashamed as their evil deeds were exposed and their sentences imposed. I imagine that many of them felt horribly guilty. Saying, “I am sorry” did not fix things. Justice was meted out. The Last Judgment will be even more terrifying and severe.

Near is the great day of the LORD , Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD ! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. ¹⁵ A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, ¹⁶ A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. ¹⁷ I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD ; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. ¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD’S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. Zephaniah 1:14-18 (NASB)

What will we do on that day? Will there be any place to hide? Will there be any safe place?

The Only Safe Place

He sees through all pretext and lies. No one can hide from his gaze. No one can escape his discerning and judgment. He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart as well as everything we have ever said or done. He knows what we did not do, when we should have. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

His standards do not bend. His righteousness is inflexible. His justice is firm and fierce. His wrath will be released upon all those who reject the truth and refuse his mercy offered through the Gospel in Christ.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved . 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth , but took pleasure in wickedness. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 (NASB)

How Will You Know Him?

But that is in the future, and this is now. We yet have the opportunity of coming into the light of God’s truth about our sin and finding mercy. We can know him as the one who said:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

Or we can reject his generous offer of forgiveness and one day meet him as the glorious Son of Man coming in the clouds to judge all people, who will say to us:

…Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; Matthew 25:41 (NASB)

This is the same Jesus speaking to different groups of people. It’s our choice of what we will hear. Regardless, we will all bow before him. Why not do it now willingly? Don’t wait until you are forced to cower before him awaiting his judgment and justice!

The Truth Will Set You Free

Jesus wants to liberate us from death, destruction, deception, and sin. He said:

… “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ₃₂ and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (ESV)

Jesus faced the truth about sin when he went to the cross. The truth about our sin nailed the Truth of God to the cross and put him to death. The truth about sin poured out God’s wrath on the innocent Lamb of God who willingly took upon himself the just penalty for our sins. The Truth died that day to provide us with eternal life. The only way for anyone to escape the same God’s righteous wrath against sin is to put his or her faith in what Christ has accomplished on our behalf and to pledge our loyalty and faithfulness to the Truth. This is the only way to be set free. It takes courage and humility and faith.

The path to truth is narrow and difficult, but definitely worth it!

For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it . Matthew 7:14 (NASB)

The society in which we live may be hell bent on going down the wide road to destruction, but we don’t have to join them!

Conclusion

Will you humble yourself before the Lord today, if you have not done so already? Will you courageously face the truth about your sin? Will you admit that you have been a rebel trying to live independently from God? Will you confess that you deserve condemnation and death for your sin? Will you accept by faith what Christ did on your behalf? Will you confess that Jesus, the Truth, is both Lord and Savior? Will you receive mercy before it is too late?

The Gospel message is two-fold. First, it is the announcement that Jesus came to die for our sins in order to reconcile us to God and give us eternal life. Secondly, it is the proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead as Lord of Lords, and he will come again to judge all people, living and dead. We are all accountable to him for how we live. The Gospel calls us to repent from our rebellion against God and received forgiveness and reconciliation. It also calls us to surrender every area of our lives to the Messiah King. Followers of Christ are to model the surrendered life and call others to follow in our steps.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life and my only way to the Father. I ask you to forgive me for my sins. I deserve judgment, but I gladly receive mercy from you. I deserve death, but I gladly receive eternal life from you. I deserve to be eternally cut off from God, but I gladly accept my reconciliation to Father God through you. I confess that you are the risen Lord of Lords who is coming back again to judge all people. I thank you that I now can confidently look forward to that day because you have put me in right standing with God the Father. Thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit to live inside me forever and transform me into your likeness. Thank you for setting me free! Help me to serve you the rest of my days on earth and forever in heaven. Help me to be a faithful witness to Jesus, proclaimer of the Gospel, and discipler of men. Amen.

The Only Way to Escape the Judgment of God upon America

LifeNet

What kind of people come to Jesus?

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 14:21:00 GMT

As we might expect, the Bible tells us. Jesus, the least likely Messiah, came for the least likely people. In fact, he often called them “the least of these my brethren.” The apostle Paul gave us an overview of this group when he wrote:

So, our target group are the foolish, the weak, the common person, the despised, and those who are nothing in the world’s eyes. This doesn’t sound like a group that most churches would go after. Are we missing something?

Jesus came at it a little more obliquely in his teaching. The first example was a set of blessings we call the beatitudes. These describe people who will receive God’s blessings. In other words, these are people who will be open to Christ’s message and follow him.

The poor in spirit are spiritual beggars, who realize they have nothing to offer God in exchange for his blessings. They understand how desperately they need God’s help and are not too proud to receive “charity” from God. Those who mourn include people who are humble enough to be sorry for their sins. The meek are people whose humility propels them to recognize God’s sovereign authority over their lives. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the opposite of smug self-satisfied people who feel no need for God. The merciful know they need mercy from God and extend it to others, unlike the proud. The pure of heart are willing to get rid of sin and other distractions in order to seek God. Peacemakers have learned to lay aside self-centered agendas to seek peace with God and other people through the gospel. The persecuted are those who are willing to endure snubs and pressure from people in order to follow God. They value what God thinks more than their reputation. That is a brief, though admittedly inadequate, explanation of the kind of people Jesus seeks. These are the kinds of people who will want to follow Jesus for the right reasons.

Today many times we share a “gospel” that attracts people for the wrong reasons. In poorer unevangelized countries, these have come to be known as “rice Christians,” who come only because of the free food. In the affluent West, we draw people by targeting other desires, often in the hope that, once we get them, they will respond to the true gospel. However, it is a timeworn truism that what we use to draw people is what we will need to keep doing in order to keep them.

Ask yourself: “What could be stripped from my church before I would stop going?” The honest answer to this question will reveal why you attend. Is it the preaching? The music? The children’s program? The building? If we attend church for the wrong reasons, perhaps we were drawn by the wrong thing. When we are drawn to Christ, nothing can deter us from following him. The Chinese church is perhaps the world’s fastest growing church, but they have little to offer their disciples, except the one thing that matters – Jesus. Chinese disciples are willing to suffer imprisonment and death to follow Jesus. They meet in homes secretly and often quietly in order not to attract unwanted attention and persecution. They are taught that every follower of Christ should plant another house church; so, they are willing to be fishers of men and take responsibility for growing the church. There are little or no consumerist enticements that we use in the West. How refreshing!

Jesus taught his followers to target a certain audience.

Here Jesus corroborates Paul’s statement, which I quoted earlier. The self-satisfied and those who have “made it” in the world likely will make excuses for not following Christ, because there is nothing in them that hungers for God. Therefore God goes after those who are desperate – the poor, crippled, the blind, and lame. In his day, these were the outcasts, the hopeless, the “least of these.” Today we still have this group of people, but I believe it would be okay to expand the meaning a bit. The crippled are not merely those who cannot walk physically, but also those who are crippled mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. You know, the group of people that is most easy to avoid or ignore, the least likely to be any church’s target group. Can we be that far off track? Yes. Any time we fail to go after the people who are probably the most open, we are missing God’s heart.

The parable of the prodigal son is another clear teaching about this issue. Jesus showed us that those who understand their spiritual poverty will find mercy; whereas, those who imagine they are in no need of repentance end up pushing God away. Out of love, Jesus treated the proud Pharisees roughly, while being so gentle and kind to repentant sinners. He gave each what they needed. Mercy to the humble and a rebuke to the proud. Most of the time it was the humble who responded. The proud put him to death.

Jesus called his followers to become fishers of men. Fishermen are always on the lookout for good fishing holes, and should we be. A good place to fish for people is where the “least of these” congregate. The bait is the gospel of hope in Christ. Hopeless people will respond to this great news. Good fishing!

What kind of people come to Jesus?

LifeNet

Entering 2018 with a Clear Purpose

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 14:16:00 GMT

So what’s the best way we can use the time we have left? Great question! I am glad you asked. If we are followers of Christ, we don’t have to come up with our own answers. We already know what to do. Jesus told us to come, follow him, and fish for people . (Matthew 4:19) If you are the adventurous type, following Jesus and fishing for people will get your motor running. If you are the disciplined, hard working type, this is for you. If you’re looking for something that’s fun, this might be for you, that is, if you are willing to suffer a bit, too.

How about you? Are you internally resistant to Jesus’ call to fish for people? Are you willing to resolve (with the Spirit’s help, of course) to fish for people in 2018? Are you willing to take the time to learn how to share the Gospel? ( Click here to read how .) Are you committed to learning how to lean on the Holy Spirit’s power and gifts? ( Read here to learn more .) Are you willing to give up your time to visit people, have people over, serve them, and pray for them?

And what do we do with the fish we catch? This is where the fishing metaphor breaks down a bit. We turn them into fishers of men, too. That is what it means to make disciples, people who will follow Christ and fish for people, just as we do.

If we are not doing much, guess what? We will train them to be just like us, and that is what is wrong with a large section of the church. Don’t be a Christian consumer in the audience watching others do all the work. In 2018, resolve to be a doer, a participant, showing others what to do!

God’s grace and blessings be with all of us as we pursue the Lord and his kingdom work in the coming year!

Pastor Pete

Entering 2018 with a Clear Purpose

LifeNet

Honduras Happenings, November 2017 – A John Chapter 5 Kind of Week

Mon, 20 Nov 2017 14:44:00 GMT

God’s Validation

In September, 2017 a prophet told the pastors in Danli that a team of Americans was coming to help them. Not surprisingly, they were very open to us. For the first time we met with pastors from all five zones of the pastors’ association. These new relationships will bear fruit in the future, I have no doubt. They already opened doors for us on this trip. It is refreshing to be in the middle of what God is doing. He used the prophetic ministry to validate us to the local pastors.

I was privileged to deliver a five-part series on the baptism in the Holy Spirit to Amor Viviente Church in El Paraiso. The first night, tired from the long journey and without having had time to pray as we would have liked, I launched the series. To say that I was not “feeling it” would be an understatement. It felt as if God was not there at all. I wondered if Pastor Andres and the many people who turned out would come back. Little did I know that God was doing his behind the scenes validation work again. At the end of the teaching, Pastor Andres asked Sam Oakes and I to pray for some sick people, which we gladly did. Nothing special seemed to happen, but God healed at least three people that night.

On night two of the conference, we heard three healing testimonies. God stamped our ministry with his seal of approval before the people. Everyone seemed to be happy we were there and open to what God was saying and doing through us. They were hungry for more and their expectation was through the roof. God continued to work in this way all week, much to our joy.

Jesus put it this way.

We were aware that God showed the people that he sent us. What an awesome privilege!

Doing what We See the Father Doing

On the second night, I felt that God wanted us to demonstrate prophecy to the people. Following the teaching, I asked if someone would like to come forward to see what the Holy Spirit might speak over him or her. A woman named Aida came forward. I explained to the congregation that I was acting in faith that the Spirit would give me something to speak over her, demonstrating that he can use anyone in this way. I laid hands on her and began to speak in tongues. The Lord gave me a mental picture of her with her hands lifted and a look of joy on her face, which I related to her. I asked her to raise her arms and told her that God was giving her joy in the place of sadness. Bill Hauck shared Isaiah 61:3 with her, declaring that God had given her a “garment of praise” in place of a “spirit of heaviness.”

The next night, Aida testified to the church that God healed her aching shoulder, when she lifted her hands, and removed sadness from her life, when we ministered to her! Another God validation! But perhaps even more significantly, I saw something else from John Chapter Five.

When the Spirit gave me the picture of Aida raising her arms, I did not realize that it was something the Father was doing in her life. I was simply operating on the prophetic side of things, not the signs and wonders dimension. This gave me even greater faith to believe when praying for people in response to what the Spirit is showing me. Jesus must have had a continual video playing of what the Father was doing. What a privilege!

Going Forward

God imparted at least two powerful things to me during our trip. First, we can count on his validating our ministry in appropriate ways. When we are weak, he is strong. Secondly, we can step out in faith based on what he shows us by the Spirit, knowing that he is showing us what he is doing. Armed with these two insights, let’s continue to minister with even greater confidence in the coming days.

Honduras Happenings, November 2017 – A John Chapter 5 Kind of Week

LifeNet

How to avoid being destroyed by the big four tests in life…

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:24:00 GMT

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns us that what happened to Israel in the wilderness serves as an example or warning to us to help us avoid a similar outcome of being “overthrown in the wilderness.” (1 Cor. 10:5) Most of the Jews who escaped the oppression of Egyptian slavery did not make it into the “promised land.” They never received what God had prepared for them. Instead, they died in the wilderness under God’s judgment for the sins of rebellion and unbelief. Life, according to Jesus, is a narrow path filled with tests and difficulties. We have a spiritual enemy who tries to destroy us along the way. God wants us to pass each test and cross each hurdle by relying on his faithfulness and grace. Before we get started, you may wish to read the relevant passage by clicking on this link – 1 Cor. 10:1-13.

Idolatry, the Egypt in us

After escaping Egypt, through God’s judgment upon that nation in the form of plagues, and miraculously crossing the barrier of the Red Sea, the Jews almost immediately fell into idolatry. Seeing a miracle and being set free doesn’t mean we are serious about following God yet. There was still a lot of “Egypt” in them. They did not really understand God’s ways yet and they easily caved to their sinful desires still.

So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” ⁶ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. ⁷ And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” ⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” Exodus 32:3-10 (ESV)

They grew impatient with Moses’ foray up Mt. Sinai and, fearing the worst – that he died, they pressured Aaron to mold an idol for them to worship, a golden calf. Then they threw a big party, casting off the restraint of living under God’s authority. God brought them into a place of scarcity and testing, but they preferred to party. They disowned God and renounced his kingship over them. This is the essence of sin, and it’s behind our own sin, too.

People don’t like being in a place of uncertainty, in which they have to fully trust in God’s character, power, and faithfulness on a regular basis. We want to relax, party, and enjoy a sense of security, even if it’s based on false hopes. There is only one place of complete security – God’s will.

And just in case you think we are above worshiping an idol, think again! We may not bow down to a golden calf, but plenty of Christians bow down to false doctrine, which allows them to do what they want.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3 (NLT)

Application : If you are growing weary or impatient with God and the path he has for you, if you have become fearful that he will not protect and provide for you, or if you are being tempted to cast off restraint and give way to temptation, take heed! Idolatry is the first of the big four “wipe out” tests. Abandoning God will never get us where we really want to go, and it always brings destruction and judgment into our lives. Hang in there. Keep trusting and obeying. God is faithful and will keep his promises. Pass the first big test by being steadfastly devoted to Christ and patient on the journey. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 (ESV)

Sexual Immorality, the infidelity in us

Balaam, a false prophet whom God prevented from speaking curses over the nation of Israel, came up with a devilish alternate plan for bringing destruction to the nation. God did not allow him to curse Israel, so he figured how to destroy Israel another way – by inciting them to sin and incur God’s judgment. He sent idol worshiping Midianite women to lure the Israelite men into sexual immorality, which was clearly forbidden by God. One of the leaders blatantly sinned in full view of the camp, which prompted Phinehas to execute him and the woman by driving a spear through them into the ground. A plague from God erupted in judgment against the nation, killing 24,000 Israelites before it was stopped. (Numbers 25:6-9)

Temptation to engage in sexual immorality is rampant today. It works because of the sinful infidelity that lurks in the human heart. We are bombarded with graphic sexual images on TV, the movies, and in other forms of media.

Young people are encouraged and expected to engage in sexual activity. Adults consider being sexually active outside of marriage more or less the norm. The availability of birth control and easy abortions encourages people to experiment sexually with little or no fear of consequences, except for the threat of acquiring STDs. Modern medicine has even made this last deterrent less scary.

Nevertheless, God has not changed his mind about the matter. His commandments always have our best interests in mind, and we violate them at our own peril. Ultimately, we will all give an account to Jesus at the Last Judgment for how we lived and obeyed the Lord. In addition, sexual sin also brings destruction into our lives in the present. Families and lives are ruined by sexual sin. Emotional scars are left, which often last a lifetime. This is serious stuff! God will not be mocked. Sin has consequences, and all of them are bad.

Jude warned us that even some who profess to be followers of Christ will go off the path and try to take others with them.

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 1:4 (NLT)

Application : If you have been flirting with or engaging in sexual immorality or if you have been listening to arguments and reasoning that says it’s no big deal, beware! This is the second of the big four wipe out tests. Recommit yourself to setting apart your body and heart for the Lord. Resist sexual temptation and stay away from opportunities to sin. Become accountable to some trustworthy person, who will help you keep your commitments. Don’t throw away your heavenly reward for temporary pleasure. Pass the second test by standing strong against sexual temptation.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Hebrews 12:15-17 (ESV)

Putting Christ to the Test, the rebel in us

This test can be linked to the last one, because it includes “grumbling” against God and his delegated leadership. Here is the Bible passage to which Paul referred.

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” ⁶ The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died . Numbers 21:4-6 (NASB)

Look at what they said. They accused God of bringing them out of Egypt and into the wilderness in order to put them to death. They complained that his provision was inadequate and actually “miserable.” They accused God of being unfaithful!

For those of you who have raised children, you know that sometimes kids start getting “out of hand.” Basically they are asking for some discipline, and until you, the parent, take care of that responsibility, they usually get more and more unruly. As adults, we can get like that, too. We can start grousing and complaining against God and life. If this is a habit for you, you should take note that in God’s eyes it is a serious sin, one which he will judge. Why? Because it reveals a sullen rebellious attitude against him.

Interestingly, God really did bring them into the wilderness to kill them. As a group, they had already defied God by refusing to enter Canaan when he commanded them to go in and conquer. The fear kept them from inheriting what God had promised. Sobering! Here is what they said.

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. ² And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4 (ESV)

After they refused to obey God, he warned them that they would see their wish come true: all the adults would all die in the wilderness, except the ones who remained faithful- Joshua and Caleb. There “little ones,” however, would be the generation that would obey and go into the land. Fear, grumbling, rebellion, and disobedience were part of putting God to the test.

All of us have the propensity to rebel, complain, and sin against God. All of us have to be taken into the “wilderness” in order to learn how to trust and obey God. The difficulties we endure are custom designed to help us grow spiritually, if we keep our eyes on the Lord. Otherwise, we, as did those early Israelites, may find ourselves on the wrong side of this test.

Application : If we find that we are complaining, it is time to make a quick adjustment. Grousing and complaining reveal hearts that are ungratefully out of sync with God. Faith never complains, because it believes Romans 8:28 – God is working out all things for the good of those who belong to him. Act and speak as if you believe this, and thereby bring glory to God. Pass the third test by being a praiser.

Grumbling against God’s Appointed Authority – the traitor in us

This test is specifically the temptation to speak against and perhaps even try to overthrow God’s delegated authority. We are prone to this temptation because we are proud, rebellious, and judgmental. We realize that leaders are people just like us, who often have quite obvious faults and failings. We can grow dissatisfied with their leadership and start viewing them with a critical eye. If this goes unchecked, it can lead to outright rebellion and participation in an overthrow attempt. Paul refers to one such case in Numbers, when Korah attempted to unseat Moses as Israel’s leader. God promptly destroyed him, his family, and his associates. Those who allied themselves with him likewise perished – a total of 14,700 people! you can read all about it by clicking on this link – Numbers 16:1-35.

Grumbling and complaining against authority are considered to be an American birthright. Our constitutional republic gives us the privilege of electing those who govern. Since their authority indirectly derives from the people via the election process, we feel free to criticize and judge them. But this is not God’s way, especially when it comes to spiritual authority. This can get tricky, because sometimes people in authority abuse and misuse that authority to the harm of God’s people and themselves. In these cases, it is necessary to speak up against these abuses, but it is crucial that we always maintain a humble attitude in the process. It is the cocky defiance that is often behind grumbling and complaining that is such an offense against God.

The Bible teaches that all authority actually comes from God, and even those rulers who misuse their power must be given respect, even when we cannot conscientiously obey them.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)

When Korah defied Moses, he seemed to have some good arguments, but he was fundamentally in the wrong. Like the rest of us, Moses had flaws, but he was still God’s appointed leader. When Korah attacked him, he attacked God’s authority, too. Judgment was swift. Today we don’t always see such quick retribution against those who attack authority, but be assured that God has not changed his mind about this sin. Judgment will surely come!

Application : If you have become critical of those God has placed in authority over you, it is very important for you to change your tune. This is no small matter. If you need to confront a leader for some reason, do so with a humble attitude. No one is saying that leaders should never be questioned, but they should always be respected. Properly regarding, honoring, and obeying God-appointed leadership is crucial to our spiritual well-being. Pass the fourth big test by learning how to properly relate to and live under authority.

Conclusion

Well, how many of these “wipe out” tests have you encountered so far? How many did you pass? If you are still breathing, there is hope, even if you failed one or more of these tests in the past. The important thing is to learn from our mistakes and make corrections. We can still have a great outcome if we do. What do you need to do now? Be sure to take any necessary steps of action or repentance. And once you learn your life lessons well, be sure to be on the lookout for others who may need assistance in making their discipleship journey a success.

How to avoid being destroyed by the big four tests in life…

LifeNet

Why the Story of Jesus Is Such Amazingly Good News

Sun, 11 Jun 2017 12:44:00 GMT

If we believe the Bible story, God created this world to be a perfect place for the first inhabitants. Their sin (their willful rejection of God and being dependent upon him) brought death, destruction, and a disruption of the created order. Confusion, chaos, and condemnation entered the once perfect world, bringing with it heartache, guilt, loss, and loneliness. Man’s relationship with God, which had been uninhibited, was now broken. Instead of enjoying the world, people were burdened by all sorts of negative emotions and experiences. The world itself became difficult to negotiate, being under God’s judgment of sin. Imagine the heartache that followed Cain’s murder of Abel! Things degenerated very quickly.

By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, thousands of years had passed since the Fall and evil had multiplied and impacted every family and individual in horrendous ways. The Jews, the people God had selected to be custodians of the Scripture, the promises, and the Messianic line, were then under Rome’s oppressive rule. Many in the nation knew that God had promised to send a Messiah and were caught up in the excitement that the time could be near. Indeed, as it turns out, Jesus was that Messiah, but he did not arrive in a spectacular way, live as a special person, or fulfill their expectations of Messianic behavior. Jesus described his ministry like this.

Jesus came after what he called “the least of these my brethren” – the outcasts, the forgotten, the marginalized, the oppressed, the poor, the humble. He was not a politician nor a military leader. He was not a stuffy religious leader or a proud demagogue. As a result he did not attract many from those spheres of life. However, he easily mixed with those whose hearts were open to his message – those who knew they needed God’s help. He redemptively loved people despite their sins and obvious failings. He gathered common men and women into his band of disciples, and eventually he laid down his life for them. Later the Apostle Peter summed up Jesus’ ministry as follows.

He died, as the Scriptures predicted, as the Lamb of God who took upon himself the sins of the world. He took our condemnation and punishment so that those who believe can be set free of those things. He suffered abandonment by his heavenly Father for our sake, so that you and I will never have to know what it feels like to be alone in the universe again! He rose from the dead as the triumphant Lord of Lords, having defeated the power of Satan, sin, death, sickness, and everything that formerly held us captive. He welcomed us into his family! He sent his Holy Spirit to live inside us and through us, enabling his people to be like him in thought, words, and actions. He enlisted us into his missionary army and commissioned us to join him in his worldwide venture of bringing this Good News to whomever will listen and receive it.

Jesus takes helpless, hopeless people and transforms them into radiant followers whose hope is to be with God forever, ruling and reigning over a new creation. Because he lives, so do we. Because he is victorious, so are we. This is very Good News!

Hopefully you already have received him as your Lord and Savior, or, if not, something is stirring in your heart right now, and you want that. If the latter is the case, you may wish to pray something like the following, but don’t do it unless you mean it. This prayer only “works” if you are honest.

Prayer

Jesus, I want to experience what you died to give to me. I admit that I have tried to live independently from you. I did not want you to be in charge of my life. Please forgive me. I now understand that I cannot go it alone. Thank you, Jesus, for dying in my place and taking my punishment upon yourself. I receive forgiveness for my sins. Thank you for setting me free from guilt and condemnation and from everything that has previously made my life miserable. I give myself to you. Thank you for coming to live inside me. Holy Spirit, I welcome you. Change me to be like Jesus and help me to tell others about this wonderful Good News. Amen.

If you just prayed, one of the most important things you can do next is tell someone. Don’t keep it a secret. If you are not part of a church that preaches the Gospel, ask the Holy Spirit to show you one and join it. Grow in your knowledge of and obedience to Jesus’ teachings in the Bible. The truth will set you free. (John 8:31) You will grow most quickly if you read and think about the Scriptures on a regular basis. Try to follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings every day. And don’t forget to set aside time to pray.

Why the Story of Jesus Is Such Amazingly Good News

LifeNet

Genesis and Church Priorities

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 16:13:00 GMT

Both the missional and maturity perspectives can point to important scriptures to bolster their positions. The missional view typically uses Matthew 28:18-20 for its foundation, and the maturity perspective uses Ephesians 4:11-16 . I agree that both are vital aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in the church. Romans 8:29 states that all things are working towards conforming us to Christ’s glorious image. God wants to make us into “little Christs” or Christians who represent and glorify him as wonderfully as possible. In addition, Christ commissioned his followers to go into all the world to make disciples. The end product of what the Spirit is doing in individuals is conforming us to Christ’s image. The work of the church, however, is the Great Commission.

Genesis and God’s Purpose for Humankind

The first few chapters of Genesis answer the five most important life or worldview questions.

The purpose question is answered in the following verses.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15 (NASB)

Fruitfulness and Multiplication

It is important to note that the top priority, based on the order in which these commands were given, is to be fruitful and multiply. This command we restated after the flood. The earth then and now needs to be populated. The Great Commission was another restatement of this foundational command after the resurrection. “Go and make disciples” is another way of saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The earth now desperately needs to be populated with born again believers who seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

The world system argues effectively that we should not obey God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. The reasons given are many.

As a result, Western nations have embraced abortion, birth control, fear, unbelief, and a self-centered lifestyle in direct defiance of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. Many nations in the West now teeter on the brink of cultural viability because of low birth rates. The world will go to those groups which are still having large numbers of children.

Since we live in the culture that has embraced this anti-God mentality, we are affected by it. Unwittingly, churches have adopted variations of these arguments, although without knowing it. Our policies and mindsets are dictated by the following beliefs.

By failing to prioritize the Great Commission, churches and individual followers of Christ put other things first. Busyness with church meetings and other responsibilities rob people of the time, energy, and creativity that could be invested in reaching friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family with the Gospel and discipling them. Taking the church outside the four walls of our buildings sounds great, until you actually start making the changes necessary to make it happen. The reality is that we prioritize what goes on inside the four walls.

Taking Dominion and Tending the Garden

Taking dominion and tending the garden are important secondary commands. If the multiplied people on the earth and in our churches are to enjoy a good quality of life, they will have to control and tend their environment. In the process of being fruitful, taking dominion, and working in the garden, people grew to maturity. That is how it works.

Young men and women often enter marriage with little maturity. Our culture fosters this condition by demanding little from young people during their teen years and early twenties. Usually it is only after marrying and having children that they truly “grow up” because of the added pressures and responsibilities. Why would we think it would be any different in the church?

In the world, taking dominion is a many-faceted enterprise, ranging from controlling predators and pests to mining to farming. Humans have done well in some areas and raped the earth in others. Taking dominion alway needs to be balanced by the command to tend the garden or the world.

In the spiritual context, taking dominion involves learning to identify with Christ’s victory and the internal work of the Holy Spirit in a way that allows us to be victorious over our sin nature, sin, Satan, sickness, legalism, death, and the demonic. Basically anything that seeks to enslave or destroy God’s people must be brought into subjection to Christ through our faith, testimony, and willingness to give up our lives for the Lord.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Revelation 12:11 (ESV)

Unless we learn to take dominion, we will not be able to properly tend and protect (keep) the garden, the church.

Tending the garden means caring for the sheep. This includes protecting, feeding, guiding, equipping, and launching them into ministry – discipleship.

The Great Commission, the Church’s Top Priority

We cannot simply tell young men to “grow up” and expect that to happen unless we put them into situations that make them mature. Boot camps place men and women under extreme pressures to produce mature soldiers. Whenever people take on greater responsibility, it will foster growing to maturity. In the church, if we make our focus growing to maturity without expecting people to obey Christ’s command to multiply through evangelism and disciple making, we will likely be disappointed.

Instead of accepting the Great Commission as priority one, we have substituted other things: Bible study, moral development, leadership training, and serving church programs. When we do this, we produce caricatures of true disciples.

In the West, we long ago adopted the Greek system of education, which demands vast investments of time in lectures, studying books, and testing in order to prepare and equip people to enter into responsible positions in society and the church. Jesus used a much different approach, which was more “hands on” and action-oriented. He taught and then immediately required his students to use what they had been taught. Putting what we learn into practice is the best way to increase understanding and retention. Often we think we know something until we have to use it or teach it. Then we find out what we do and don’t know or understand. What we must understand is that discipleship is action and ministry oriented. Discipleship is best done in a “hands on” manner, in which the mentor teaches, demonstrates, oversees, and, finally, launches. Our disciples will learn far more after they have been launched than they did in the secure environment of having the mentor readily at hand.

Young parents learn how to parent by doing it. They become much more open to advice when they see the need for it. What may have seemed boring and academic suddenly has a real life application! Likewise, when we help people to get out of the safe confines of the local church and into their communities in obedience to the Great Commission, we place them into an environment in which they must sink or swim. Immediately they will find out what they do and do not know. Hopefully they will thirst to grow in the knowledge of the scriptures and in their ability to minister to others through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pursuing the Great Commission will excite their desire to grow to maturity in the Lord. Staying in the local church context allows people to stagnate.

Have you ever noticed that young couples without children are often experts on how to raise and discipline children. They are sometimes critical of how parents are doing their job. But once they have kids of their own, they find out how difficult and challenging parenting is. We must beware of creating theological monsters whose only understanding comes from a theoretical classroom context, instead of a “boots on the ground” experience.

Conclusion

Making bringing people to spiritual maturity our top priority can end up frustrating God’s purposes. Far too many capable and promising followers of Christ have been deceived into thinking that God’s highest purpose for their lives is growing in biblical knowledge and serving in the local church.

When young married couples have children, they learn to give their lives away for others. Having children, natural or spiritual (disciples) changes our lives in a most fundamental and rewarding way. In old age, there is no greater joy than being with our offspring, especially if they are in unity and serving the Lord, and seeing what they are doing in life and ministry. Late in Paul’s life, he rejoiced in his own spiritual children, when he wrote:

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! Philippians 4:1 (NIV)

We do not rejoice when our children never leave the home: rather, we prepare them to leave the “nest” to start their own families. This is how we fulfill the command to be fruitful and multiply. The church likewise must think in terms of launching people to start their own church families, which will also reproduce. This can be done at a small group level or entire church level.

Let’s make the Great Commission our top priority so that we, like Paul, can rejoice in our spiritual children and grandchildren (disciples of disciples)! Let’s make God’s first priority from creation onward our first priority and watch how everything else falls into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you . Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

Genesis and Church Priorities

LifeNet

The Gospel’s Claim on Our Lives

Sun, 29 Jan 2017 12:51:00 GMT

The Gospel cannot be reduced to a set of points that can be scribbled onto a napkin. Admittedly God has used any number of ways to communicate the glorious good news of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf.

Below is my summary of this message. If you look at various Gospel presentations in the Acts, you will see that not every point is mentioned every time. The Holy Spirit does not require that we hash through the entire story each time we share the Good News with someone, but he does want us to have a understand of the grand sweep of the Bible story about Jesus.

In the Beginning

It makes sense to start any story in the beginning; otherwise, we may find ourselves needing to stop and backtrack repeatedly to give our hearers needed background information. The background for the Gospel starts in Genesis with the creation and fall of mankind.

God blessed the first humans with everything they needed for a happy and abundant life, which was meant to be lived in fellowship and dependence upon the Creator. Satan successfully tempted them to suspect God of withholding something good from them, which resulted in their opting to live independently from their Creator. By disobeying God, sin entered the world bringing death, destruction, and the perversion of God’s wonderful creation. It was at this point that God promised Adam and Eve that one of their descendants would gain a victory over Satan, but at a great cost to himself.

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15 (ESV)

Son of Abraham

Later in the Bible narrative, we are introduced to Abraham, one of Adam’s and Eve’s descendants. This man was chosen by God to become the father of what was later to become the nation of Israel. He was a man of faith to whom God made some extraordinary promises, one of which was that one of his descendants would become a blessing to the entire earth.

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸ and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:17-18 (ESV)

When this promise was given, it is extremely likely that Abraham did not realize that the fulfillment of this wonderful pledge was to be narrowly focused upon one amazing individual, the Messiah. Later events would prove this to be so.

A Prophet like Moses

The descendants of Abraham became a nation which relocated in Egypt due to a famine in the land of Canaan, where they had been residing and which Abraham was promised would be the permanent land of his offspring. Eventually the children of Abraham were enslaved by the Egyptians and endured severe bondage under their hands. Within this context, God raised up a deliverer named Moses, whom God used to confront and defeat the ruler of Egypt and lead the Israelites out of bondage. Moses was a mediator between God and the people, a spokesman, judge, lawgiver, and prophet. Moses told the people that one day in the future, God would raise up another prophet like Moses, to whom the people must submit or be cut off from the promises and blessings of God. The Apostle Peter later identified this person to be Jesus.

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵ You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ²⁶ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Acts 3:22-26 (ESV)

One like Joshua

Moses was not able to actually lead the people into the land of promise because he represented the old order of things, the Law, which can never bring God’s people into the promises. Human beings have no ability to obey God’s law. Instead it exposes the depth of corruption found in the human heart. A different person would have to be the one to actually bring God’s people into the fulfillment of God’s promises. His name was Joshua, or Jeshua, which means “God, Yahweh, is generous and saves.” He was a type of the Messiah, who would also be named Yeshua or Jesus, because he would save their people from their sins and bring them into the promised land of mercy, grace, life, liberty, and victory.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 (ESV)

Son of David

Later in the Bible story and the history of the Israelites, God raised up a mighty king named David, a man after God’s heart, to whom God promised that one of his descendants would rule on David’s throne forever.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV)

Now we know that David’s dynasty eventually ended, and today there is no king sitting on a throne in Israel. So was God mistaken or was he exaggerating when he made this promise? Or would another king, a descendant of David, one day arise who would fulfill this prophecy exactly and completely?

The Suffering Servant

Later, Isaiah the prophet announced that one day a servant of God would arise who would suffer on behalf of the people. Isaiah 53 goes into great detail about this future individual who would actually bear the sins of Israel, but would eventually be given great honor.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors . Isaiah 53:12 (ESV)

Who would this person be?

The Glorious Son of Man

The prophet Daniel saw a heavenly vision of One like a Son of man who inspired dread and awe.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV)

Who is this glorious heavenly being? What would his coming kingdom look like? The Jews came to identify this son of man as the coming Messiah.

Enter Jesus -Son of Eve, Son of Abraham, Son of David

At just the right time, God sent his Son to be born as a human to a virgin named Mary. This also fulfilled a prophecy made centuries before. (Isaiah 7:14) Matthew’s Gospel introduces Jesus, son of Mary, in this way.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1 (ESV)

John the Baptist Announces Jesus to the World

John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was the greatest of all prophets (Luke 7:28), which may seem surprising, since very few of his words were recorded in the Bible. Surely Isaiah, the most quoted prophet in the New Testament who foretold the sufferings of Christ, was greater! But no, Jesus, who knows all about these things, honored John in this regard.

John identified Jesus in three of his ministries: Lamb of God, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and Son of God.

“This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:30-34 (NASB)

Lamb of God

Jesus’ title of Lamb of God takes us all the way back to the time of Moses and the Exodus, when God commanded that each Israelite family sacrifice a lamb and smear its blood upon the doorposts and lintels of their homes. Those people who stayed within the houses which were identified by the lambs’ blood were spared the horrific judgment inflicted on those who were not so protected. The firstborn in every unprotected home died.

When John told the people that Jesus was God’s Lamb, he let them know that he would die as a lamb for the sins and deliverance of Israel and all those would come to trust in him through the Gospel. I wonder if John fully grasped that Jesus, God’s eternal Son, would die so that other sons could be forgiven and brought into God’s family? Jesus fulfilled the ministry of God’s Lamb that had been foreshadowed in the Old Covenant. This ministry connected Jesus to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, who bore the sins of the people. This also fulfilled the Old Testament type of Joshua, who led the people into their inheritance.

The Lamb of God ministry, the first one announced by John, was totally unexpected by John’s hearers. Imagine what they must have thought! Israel looked for a Messiah to deliver them from bondage, but they did not understand that he would do so by dying for their sins. The Lamb of God ministry made everything else possible. Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to Eve that one of her descendants would crush Satan’s head, while at the same time suffering a wound. Jesus was wounded to death, but he rose again in total victory over Satan!

The Lamb of God ministry is many faceted. His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection accomplished the following.

These amazing gifts that come from trusting in Christ are worthy of meditating on and studying in great depth and detail, but, wait, there is more!

The Baptizer in the Holy Spirit

John the Baptist also announced that Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. This is not secondary to the Lamb of God ministry. Rather, it builds upon it. The baptism in the Holy Spirit equips and empowers God’s people to be effective witnesses, effective trumpeters of the Good News, effective goers and disciple makers. It connects us to the Great Commission.

Jesus said:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth . Acts 1:8 (ESV)

The baptism in the Holy Spirit was not given to make our lives and church services better; rather, it’s purpose is to propel us out into the world as his witnesses. The Great Commission launched the church out into the world. Without the empowerment connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will be less effective in our pursuit of the Great Commision. The gifts and power associated with this baptism are most effective when they operate outside of the four walls of the church building, out in the community where the need is the greatest. May God forgive us for being so selfish and turned in on ourselves that we have focused the power and use of the gifts primarily for the church’s benefit.

The Son of God

John’s Gospel introduces us to the eternal Logos, who became a human being, the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has been exalted to the highest glory and rule. He has become King of kings and Lord of lords.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11 (ESV)

Jesus, the everlasting king, will rule over the nations and all creation for all eternity. He will come again in glory one day to judge the living and the dead, another privilege of kingship, and will assign all people to their eternal destiny. Afterward he will rule as the glorious eternal Son of Man, whose kingdom will never end.

What Do We Do with This Glorious Good News?

Jesus is the Gospel message. The Jewish leaders of his day rejected him and his kingdom, instead putting him to death. When Peter preached his first Gospel presentation on Pentecost, his hearers were struck to the heart because of their complicity in this heinous deed. They had played some part in the murder of the Chosen One, the Messiah, the coming Judge of the whole earth. They were desperate to try to get things right. How could they do it?

The glorious good news of the Gospel demands a response. If we reject it, we will one day encounter the Judge of all the earth and give account for our rejection of God’s King and his claims on our lives. If we are indifferent, we will face the same fate. How can one justify being uninterested in the most important person in the universe? But, if we respond properly, this is what it may look like.

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” ³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls . Acts 2:36-41 (ESV)

Let’s Get Personal

Our sin earned the punishment of death and separation from God. The Gospel offers to us sinners the free gift of life through faith in Christ! The repentance that is prerequisite to receiving this gift also comes as a gift from God. (Acts 11:18) Faith is also God’s gift. (Ephesians 2:8) The Holy Spirit works within the hearts of those who hear the Gospel both to “will and to do”God’s purpose for their lives. (Philippians 2:13) All this comes to us by grace. But grace, the free gift, begs for a response from us.

When we become followers of Christ who experience the glorious liberation provided through Jesus’ Lamb of God ministry, and when we receive the empowering of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we then face the call to be a Great Co-Missionary. Just as Jesus came to serve and give his life away to help others come into the family of God, we are likewise sent into the world (John 20:21) as ambassadors of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

Over the past many decades, I have noticed that the church tends to get caught up in the Lamb of God ministry and become focused on the glorious good news of the Gospel as it pertains to what Christ has done for us and in us. We sometimes think that the height of discipleship is gaining an ever greater understanding of the heights, depths, and riches of God’s Word. But if our grasp of God’s Word is not also outwardly directed, haven’t we missed the mark to some degree?

I have also noticed that those who receive the baptism of the Spirit tend to become enamored with the presence, power, and gifts of the Spirit, often within the four walls of the church building. But Jesus took his anointing and power into the highways and byways. That is where the Holy Spirit is already at work.Until we take the power of the Spirit outside our church meetings, we have missed the mark and become inwardly focused.

Many churches are “Word” churches, who emphasize “ sola scriptura ,” the all sufficiency of God’s Word. Other churches become “Spirit and power” churches, focusing on the things of the Spirit. Other congregations have made it their goal to be Word and Spirit (or power) churches, combining the best of both worlds.

The missional pastor is willing to leave the ninety-nine in order to go after the one who does not know Jesus. In answer to Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 9:35-38, pastors and churches are called to take their care for people to those outside the family of God, too. The love and rule of God are continually expanding.

Have you received Jesus as your Lamb of God and your Savior? Have you invited him to be your Baptizer in the Spirit, your equipper and empowerer? Have you bowed your knee and surrendered your life to the Lord, the glorious Son of God, the one who makes a claim on the lives of all who come to him? If not, I invite you to take those steps now. Below is a sample prayer.

Prayer

Jesus, I have never truly understood who you are. Now I see that you are the focus of the entire Bible. You are the Lamb of God who gave his life for me. I receive all you died to give me. Thank you for forgiving my sins, giving me eternal life, making me righteous and God’s child, and setting me free to better serve you. Please baptize me in the Holy Spirit and empower me to be your witness. I surrender my entire life to you, my glorious Lord. Use me as you see fit. I ask especially that you will give me opportunities to share the Gospel with others and to disciple those who come to you in repentance and faith. Amen.

The Gospel’s Claim on Our Lives

LifeNet

The Genius of Small Groups

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 17:18:00 GMT

Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble heart s, Acts 2:46 (NET1)

The early church consisted of a network of small groups that stretched out over the Roman world. These were churches that met in homes for the most part. When the early disciples met at the Temple, it was in the outer open air areas, such as the covered colonnades of Solomon’s porch. Even later in the Book of Act s, the small group paradigm is still intact.

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, Acts 20:17-20 (ESV)

There is a genius to the small group structure on several levels.

Strength Against Persecution

Small groups in the New Testament were part of God’s strategy to help the church survive and thrive in times of persecution. The more centralized and clergy-centric the church is, the easier it is to shut it down. That is what happened in the USSR under communist rule. The Russian church’s leadership consisted of clergy arranged hierarchically and their churches (the people) were building centric. All the KGB had to do to control the people was to imprison, kill, or intimidate the leaders. This was often done by threatening to take away their church buildings unless the leadership complied to government directives.

In contrast, the church in Communist China has grown exponentially during persecution over the past many decades. This is because the Chinese adopted a small group structure and a decentralized non-hierarchical form of leadership. If the government imprisoned or killed a leader, several others were ready and willing to replace them. The government was unable to hold the church hostage to its buildings because there were none. In the Chinese underground church, new converts are taught from the beginning that they are church planters. In other words, they are expected to share the Gospel, make disciples, and launch new small group churches.

It is impossible to stamp out a movement that multiplies leaders and groups at a rapid rate and can go underground at a moment’s notice. That is how the early church operated until the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. After that the church grew increasingly in love with and dependent upon power, prestige, buildings, land, and money, all of which contributed to her corruption. Will it be that in the last days God will return us once again to his original plan because of persecution?

(If you wish to read more about this topic, I recommend three excellent books: The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom, and two books written by Nik Ripken – The Insanity of God and The Insanity of Obedience.)

Connectedness

Small groups provide the opportunity to know and be known relationally. For those who desire this sort of connectedness, the small group is perfect, especially when discussion and interaction around the Scriptures is the norm. In contrast to the talking head model where large numbers congregate to listen silently to a teacher or preacher, the small group affords the possibility of discussing the meaning of the Scriptures. Jesus certainly modeled this sort of thing in his own discipleship band. I have heard LifeNet attenders say repeatedly that in such a setting they have learned more than they ever did just listening to preachers.

We know that Peter was impetuous, headstrong, and brash, not to mention loyal and deeply in love with Jesus. We learn that James and John sought glory for themselves, and that all the disciples argued over such things as who was the greatest. We find out that they were sometimes blind to truth and lacking in faith. We see them being rebuked and congratulated, succeeding and failing. The small group provides the opportunity to be real without fear of rejection. Such honesty is a welcome relief from the hypocrisy that characterizes so much of Christianity. People in general, unless they have something to hide, want this kind of loving transparency, where they do not have to pretend to be something they are not and can be loved for who they are. After all, if people only love our projection of our desired image, they are not really loving us. They are loving a false image. Real love requires real relationships, and small groups promote both.

Multiplied Ministry Opportunities

One of the important truths that was restored to the church during the Protestant Reformation is called the priesthood of the believer. The Roman Catholic church adopted the Old Covenant concept of the priesthood and emphasized the clergy-laity divide. Both of these things are in direct opposition to the New Covenant. The priesthood was abolished when Jesus died as the Great High Priest, thus inaugurating the New Covenant, through which all believers have direct access to God. There is no other mediator between God and man, except Jesus the Messiah, who opened up a “new and living way” directly into God’s presence, where all believers have ongoing free access. (Hebrews 4:16)

Jesus also taught that, in the New Covenant, leaders are to be servants, not part of a domineering hierarchy. Every person can be a servant-minister of some sort or another; even though, some are uniquely called to five-fold ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher) and eldership. In fact, all Christians are expected to be such servants or ministers. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth:

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV)

This dynamic can only take place in a small group or a relatively small assembly. Otherwise it quickly becomes unmanageable. This is why so many larger churches do not allow for the gifts of the Spirit in their main meetings or for individuals to participate by sharing what God has shown them either by revelation or through the Scriptures. This is why worship services tend to be orchestrated in larger churches; whereas, small groups are able to be more “free flowing” and led by the Spirit, with multiple people participating.

Instant feedback is available, just as it was in Jesus’ discipleship band. The group can stop what it is doing to teach, coach, etc. This flexibility is what is needed to help people develop in their use of the gifts, in learning how to pray, in learning how to share the Word and the Gospel, and in learning how to lead. When small groups have a strong missional component, ministry to those who do not yet know Christ is available to every member of the group and highly encouraged. Missional groups help eliminate the idea that ministry is only supposed to happen during church meetings. People are taught to take church with them wherever they go.

Multiplied Leadership Opportunities

In a decentralized small group structured church, where leadership decisions are spread out as much as possible, while still maintaining organizational integrity, up and coming leaders have a wonderful opportunity to develop. Part of the genius of the small group structure is that multiplication requires new leaders to emerge and take responsibility. While this is a good thing, it can also be intimidating to some, who have been trained in the old way of doing things to depend on ordained clergy to both lead and minister.

Training for new leaders can be customized for each individual and tailored to his or her particular abilities, experience, and availability. The hope is that taking leadership responsibility will be viewed as attractive, attainable, and expected as part of the normal process of spiritual growth, rather than being viewed as belonging to a specially educated clergy.

Flexibility

The larger an organization, the more difficult it is to change course and adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Small groups, by their very nature, are not bound by such constraints and can flex and bend in whatever way is needed to fulfill the mission. This is both exciting and somewhat daunting, since most people are creatures of habit and can be intimidated by such freedom of movement, expression, and ministry. Those who have experienced the flexibility of a small group structure usually fall in love with it, however. As one of LifeNet’s leaders has said, “I could never go back to the old way of doing things.”

Conclusion

A small group structure provides a number of very positive benefits. This is not to say that other modes and methods of being the church are illegitimate. Far from it. God loves variety, and Jesus is the Lord of a tremendously variegated church. The important thing is to be faithful to what the Holy Spirit has shown each of us to do, without being critical of others.

The Genius of Small Groups

LifeNet

Expanding Our Borders

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:19:00 GMT

It is human nature for us to think our way is the best way. Most committed churchgoers make a significant investment in the churches they attend. Once we are vested through the time and effort we give, we tend to look at our group through rose colored glasses. I am no different in this regard. I am hugely committed to the missional small group model of church, just as you may be likewise invested a very different model. Since I have been a part of both large and small churches and both attractional and missional models, I feel it has given me a unique perspective, which I want to share with you.

I will look at two very different types of churches in this article. The first I call “Vacuum Cleaner Churches,” the reason being that they pull Christians from all over the place out of their local environments into one large building for Sunday services. I was a part of such church for many years, and we all enjoyed it immensely. A second type of church is philosophically the opposite. I call them “Embedded Special Forces Churches .” These types of churches seek to relationally weave their way into the daily lives of the people who live, work, and play around them in order to impact entire neighborhoods for the Kingdom of God from the inside out.

Hugh Halter has written a wonderful book illustrating how these two kinds of churches can partner together. ¹ Hopefully in the future we will see that take place. For now, most often they work separately, but for the same King and kingdom. We are not enemies but partners in the Gospel.

The Fortress Mindset

A type of this fortress mindset exists today among many Christians, who are well aware of the many dangers present in our secular and somewhat godless culture. To protect ourselves, our families, and our fellow Christians, many followers of Christ have chosen to wall themselves off from the prevailing culture and “hole up” at the local church. Over time, if we are not careful and because we end up spending most of our time with other Christians, often at church meetings, we begin to lose contact and friendships with people who are not Christ’s disciples. This is seen as an unfortunate byproduct of the necessity to protect ourselves. Sometimes this happens more because we like being with those we love and who have a belief system that mirrors ours. Birds of a feather…

Sometimes Christians are taught the “necessity” of removing themselves from connecting relationally with others. The idea is that God has commanded us to be separate. Below is a verse that is often used to illustrate this point.

Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NLT)

The Missional Mindset

Fortunately for missions, the above verse cannot mean that we are supposed to segregate ourselves from the world. In fact, just the opposite is true. We are to avoid participating in the evil deeds of the world and embracing the sick culture of the world, but Christ sent his followers into the world as his ambassadors.

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people! ” Matthew 4:19 (NLT)

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (NLT)

Somehow Christians who accept Christ’s call to mission, must learn to live and thrive in a dangerous world without being destroyed by it.

I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. John 17:14-18 (NLT)

Can You Hear the Giant Sucking Sound?

Huge “vacuum cleaner” churches sometimes, and let me emphasize “sometimes,” contribute to this phenomenon by satisfying the desires of the fortress-minded believers by being one-stop shopping malls for everything Christian. Even though many large churches are doing amazing things to advance God’s kingdom; when every kind of ministry and need can be provided for right on the premises, it can work to strengthen the mindset which makes us look for a Christian form of every type of activity – sports, social groups, etc. For example, instead of joining a local Scout group to be “salt and light,” fortress-minded Christians start there own Christian version of the Scouts. (Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.) Instead of joining a community chorale in an effort to make and cultivate new friendships outside of the fortress, we choose to invest great quantities of time connecting with other singers and musicians at the local church. Can we say that it is bad to get with other believers? Of course not! However it is vital that we consider everything we do in light of the Great Commission, which tells us, first of all, to GO. Jesus continually travelled the highways and byways in an effort to be with people, where all sorts of ministry opportunities popped up. When we further our isolation through spending most of our time at the “fortress,” it effectively removes Christian kids and parents from ready made missional opportunities.

Jesus gave clear instructions that his followers were not to isolate themselves. Instead believers are supposed to be involved in the world and are sent to the world to demonstrate God’s love, model Christlike behavior, preach the Good News, and make disciples who will do the same. Our job as disciple makers is to go to those who do not yet know Jesus, and not merely congregate with other believers, expecting the world to come to us. Believers do need to meet together regularly to worship God, as well as mutually edify, equip, and bless one another, but this should be more of a refueling stop than a destination. The goal of such meetings is to equip disciples for what they will do during the rest of the week, when they are not congregating with the church. Unless the Great Commission is our priority, everything else Christian tends to replace mission. At least this has been our experience.

Embedded Christians

They make the Great Commission their main focus and understand that it is virtually impossible to influence people with whom we have little or no relationship. Army Special Forces troops are called “force multipliers” because their mission is to duplicate themselves in those they train. The Army defines them as “warrior-diplomat[s] who will influence, advise, train and interact with foreign forces and populations.” ² SF soldiers penetrate and assimilate into communities, gather indigenous people around them, train them to fight, equip them, launch them in their mission, and then move on to do it all over again. They are the military version of disciple makers.

The same is true for embedded followers of Christ. Our job as disciple makers is to win, train, and equip others to do the ongoing work of the ministry. Our disciples’ success is our joy. This is in direct contrast with the publicity needed to pull off the vacuum cleaner version of the church.

If we are to influence people who are currently hostile to the gospel, we must be their friends first in order to gain permission to talk about deeper things. We must learn to connect outside the box of traditional church meetings.

Rather than force their culture on the indigenous population, SF troops learn about the culture and language of the target group. They accept the burden of responsibility of cultural adaptation in order to carry out their mission. Transferring this to the church environment, instead of asking nonbelievers to leave their world and enter the strange environment called the church, with all its special lingo and affectation, embedded Christians remain in the culture of those they are trying to reach, making it as easy as possible for them to connect. Embedded believers try their best to divest themselves of unintelligible Christianese and religious habits in order to come across as genuinely as possible. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a big enough hurdle to get past without our adding to it our particular religious and cultural baggage. This is more difficult than it might seem.

Embedded disciple makers also have meetings for disciples, but they are more neighborhood-oriented and positioned with their goal being to further the mission, not coddle comfortable Christian consumers. The big idea is to keep Christ followers connected to their communities as a discipleship group which acts out its faith in the context of missional relationships.

Breaking Out of the Fortress Mindset

First of all we are up against fortress mindset. The evil we know is often less scary than the unknown. Christians often isolate themselves because they are afraid of what’s “out there.” This is not as bad as keeping to ourselves because we are better than others. Actually, the two go hand in hand. It is not easy rubbing shoulders and dialoguing with people who don’t believe, act, or talk as we do. Many believers do not have non-believing friends or know how to do engage them in meaningful conversation without coming across as dogmatic or “holier than thou.” Sadly, we Christians often even isolate ourselves from other Christians who are not like us doctrinally. So the first thing we must conquer is the fortress mindset. The greatest form of deception is self-deception. The fact is that most “fortress” Christians don’t see anything wrong with hanging out exclusively with other believers, nor do they have any desire to change things.

Prayer

Dear Lord of the Harvest, forgive me for being so blind to my responsibility to be your representative among those who are like sheep without a shepherd. I surrender myself to you and your mission. Use me as you see fit. Teach me how to closely follow you and become an expert fisher of men. Holy Spirit, fill me afresh. I depend on you to lead and empower me every step of the way. Amen.

^{1 You can read more about this sort of hybrid church in

AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church

by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay.}

² National Defense Article: Role of Special Ops Evolves Over Time

Expanding Our Borders

LifeNet

Thoughts for a New Year: Vision, Values, and Methods Matter

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 16:14:00 GMT

Life Community Network morphed out of Liberty Church, which operated as a more traditional church from 1990 until Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013. By traditional, I mean we centered most of our ministry around our building. After fasting, prayer, and much seeking of the Lord, we began to transition to what we are today – a mission centered church.

We believed that what we were going to attempt was so radically different that we decided to put Liberty Church “in the grave,” and we began our journey in our new format using new methodology with a new name on the first Sunday of April, 2013. So it’s been over 3 1/2 years. What exactly were the changes and why did we make them?

A Little History

Liberty Church was an offshoot of Maranatha Church in Greensboro, which Pastor Pete’s Dad founded and pastored for many years. Several people from Burlington started attending and were interested in seeing if something similar might be started here in Alamance County. Pastor Pete (That’s I!) had been serving as an associate pastor and principal of Maranatha Christian Academy, but was feeling the call to pastor. So it seemed to be a natural fit for him to begin working in the Burlington area. So, in 1989, a small group was launched in the home of one of the interested parties. To be very concise, new people were gradually added so that eventually it became time to move forward with an official church plant. We adopted the name Liberty Church because we wanted to experience the liberty or freedom of the Holy Spirit. We had our first meeting in May of 1990. We moved around a lot in those early days from building to building, all rentals. Eventually we settled into a property on Jim Barnwell Rd. It was a beautiful facility with 24 acres and a 13,000 SF building. We thought it was our permanent facility, but we ended up only staying there for about 18 years or so. Then it happened.

Reevaluation Time

Pastor Pete and the elders decided to ask the church to participate in a forty day fast and prayer time. The purpose of this exercise was to bring Liberty Church before the Lord and ask him to speak to us about where we had been and where he wanted us to go. We divided each day up by hours and asked our people to sign up for periods of time to fast and pray so that the entire forty days would be covered. We also set up weekly gatherings in homes where people got the opportunity to pray and share what they felt God was speaking to them. It was a very rewarding experience. Here are the two main takeaways.

Unity

We kept hearing the Lord speak to us about unity. We believed we had a very high level of unity, but that would soon be tested.

Mission

The single most significant thing the Lord made clear to us was that, although we had done a number of very important things over the years, we had not prioritized what was most important to him – the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We had preached good messages, taught sound doctrine, had good worship, promoted healthy fellowship, met in small groups, and even done outreaches. We had emphasized the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and personal holiness, but we had not made disciple making our highest objective. Oops.

Restructuring

We took God’s message to us very seriously and the elders spent some weeks continuing to seek the Lord about rethinking and rewriting our mission and values statements in light of what we just learned. We were laying the foundation for a complete course correction. It was during this time that some rumblings occurred that ripped at the supposed unity we thought we had. Before it was over around a third or more of the church decided it was not on board with the direction we were heading. One thing I learned during that time is that the surest way to get the devil mad at you is to pursue being focused on the Great Commission. The good thing was that pretty much everyone was unified around our new mission afterward.

We also changed the structure of our Sunday morning gatherings. We grew to like the small group discussion format. I would preach a short message. Then we would break into small groups scattered throughout the sanctuary. The groups would discuss the sermon. What we noticed is that the people loved to do this. It was as if they “came alive.”

Then we started thinking more radically: what if we made everything we do be about mission? What if we jettisoned the things that have nothing to do with mission? Would that be good? The mission, as we understood it, was to make followers of Christ who fished for people -as Jesus put it, disciples. Jesus spent time teaching his disciples, but he also spent a lot of time showing them how to do ministry outside the walls of the synagogue or temple, and then he let them do ministry. Was this the model? Were most of our ministry opportunities inside the building or outside? Was ministry supposed to happen for an hour or two once a week in a building, or all week long wherever we might find ourselves? How could we prepare our people to become “outside the building and meeting” disciples? This is what we understood to be the missional task.

Over time we started having some of our meetings in other places, like restaurants, homes, and parks. We would meet once or twice a month outside the building, and the rest of the time at the building. As we got more attached to the people in the neighborhoods in which we worked, we realized that it was more in line with our vision to meet in small groups in or near those neighborhoods than to ask them to drive out into the country to our building. Eventually we made the leap and left the comfortable confines of our beautiful facility. It was a big step, but one we have never regretted. No more lawns to mow, bathrooms to clean, carpets to vacuum, trash to haul, floors to mop, or walls to paint! All the time we spent doing those things can now be invested in time with people!

Things We Have Learned along the Way: Vision and Values

Needed: People Who Care about People

As we went door to door doing Mobile Ministry, we discovered that the secret to success was simply caring about the people we met. Behind every door some sort of drama and suffering was playing out. The question was would the people inside those doors open their hearts to us or not. People respond to love, and many of them were truly desperate, yet alone. In many cases, we were answers to specific prayers. I remember one person telling me that when we arrived, she felt that God was giving her another chance. Jesus’ words in Matthew Chapter Nine came alive.

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields .” Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

Who are the needed workers? Shepherds, people who care about people. God is looking for his people to leave their comfort and ease and invest themselves into the lives of those who live, work, and play all around them, so they can know the Good Shepherd, too!

Discipleship Involves Teaching and Doing

Traditional discipleship, as we have known it, mostly centers around teaching our most faithful and promising people how to better understand the Bible and live decent, moral lives, so they can be ministry leaders. Jesus did not do things this way. His way included some teaching, a lot of doing, feedback and correction, doing, teaching, and eventually launching. Taking people with us to do Mobile Ministry provides opportunities to demonstrate how to engage people, how to pray, how to counsel, how to share the gospel, and to talk about any number of things along the way. It turned out to be a great discipleship format that moves people into mission.

Kingdom Is More Important than Any Local Church

Another thing we became convinced of, and have to remind ourselves often, is that God wants us to prioritize his kingdom, not our church. That means we invest our lives in people who may never become part of LifeNet. This has played out over and over again. We bless and disciple people, whether they end up joining us or not. God will take care of us, if we seek first his kingdom. This is the exact opposite of how many churches operate.

We Can Make Our Neighborhoods Better Places to Live

LifeNet adopted the tagline: Neighbors helping neighbors to experience God’s love. God wants us to get to know our neighbors, care about them, pray for them, serve them, and spend time with them. When people experience this kind of love, it changes them. The atmosphere of an entire neighborhood can be changed by one family making the commitment to act out their faith. Since adopting our new format, vision, values, and methods, I have more non-Christian friends than ever. How refreshing to be around non-religious people! What a great opportunity to share God’s love!

Throw Out the Report Card

By nature, we like to measure things. Success is something we try to quantify. Can you measure success by dollars, property, power, or growth? Maybe in the world you can, but God’s kingdom is quite different. In fact, the kingdom of God, in many ways, is the exact opposite of how the world does things. In America and throughout the West, for centuries now the church has adopted the measuring stick handed to it by government and business. Many large churches today are run more like businesses than anything else. They have to be: there are too many working parts.

When we launched using our new model, we stepped out of the realm of traditional church measurements – buildings, bucks, and bodies, the way most people evaluate church success. God specifically told us to throw out every form of measurement, every “report card,” and look to him only. If we are going to put kingdom first, it turns out that many people we help will become better church members somewhere else. It doesn’t look good if we are trying to measure success, but God sees it. Just like with personal justification, we have only one measuring stick – Christ. Resisting the urge to measure success is difficult in a “success driven” world, but we have discovered that it is so liberating.

Activating People

If disciple making is our first priority, we have to resist the tendency to put our best foot forward when it come to ministry. In other words, we are training centers, not entertainment shows. The small group leaders at LifeNet are always trying to help other people develop their skills and competence in ministry, with the goal of their one day leading ministry on their own. Therefore, at any given meeting the most qualified teacher may not be teaching, as he or she steps out of the way to help others develop. God never meant for our meetings to be events where we merely spectate. That is a great deception. Unless we are doing the work of the ministry, we are falling short and not true disciples. I don’t know about you, but I expect our disciples to be doers, not mere spectators.

The Genius of Bible Study Discussions

More Fun than Doing “Regular” Church

One of our leaders said that he could never go back to the old way of doing church. I agree. In some ways, it’s easier to run things the way we did in the past. It becomes more of a “set” thing – same place, time, and menu. Set up is easy. Just turn on the lights, the sound system, and wait for the people to come. But Jesus did not say, “Come follow me, and I will make you good church attenders.” He is determined to make us fishers of men. The fish we are after don’t usually come to church, and, if prognosticators are right, that will become increasingly the way it is in the future. We are learning how to operate in a way that will work even in a non-church friendly environment. LifeNet as a rule does not go after people who belong to other churches. We are looking for those who do not yet know Christ or who are not in a church. We offer them an alternative if traditional church has turned them off. We are a real church done differently. Simple church.

Simple Church: The Medium Is the Message

By getting out into the neighborhoods and on a small group level, church is more “real” and personal. People are seen and heard and know they have been counted and loved. Those who do not want that kind of church can go to any number of churches where they can remain very anonymous and merely sit, watch, and listen to others do the ministry, without anyone necessarily even knowing their names. That is not going to happen at LifeNet. In fact, if you come to LifeNet, you have already made some pretty large choices that relatively few people at this point seem to be ready to make.

The early church met in homes and the porch of the temple. They did not have their own buildings, sound systems, large worship bands, children’s programs, or any of the things that drive so many larger churches today. They had the Lord, the Bible, and each other. The persecuted church in many countries today also is required to meet in secret in small groups. They cannot get too loud, lest they draw unwanted attention to themselves. They cannot advertise using the latest marketing skills. But these small groups thrive and multiply. The fact of the matter is that the church is able to go very simple and still thrive. Some believe the church does best when it is very simple.

LifeNet does not have a lot of the “bells and whistles” that many larger churches have. We will never be your “one stop shopping mall” kind of church. If you must have those things, you will not end up at LifeNet. I sometimes ask people, “What would you be willing for your church to stop doing before you would stop going there?” Obviously multitudes of people are willing for their churches to stop effective disciple making. Some are even willing for their churches to stop evangelizing, or even following the Bible. At LifeNet, this is a question, our people have already answered. They have decided that powerful programs, thrilling worship, dynamic preaching, impressive buildings, and success measured in buildings, bucks, and bodies, is not what they are after. But if you want to experience loving relationships, connectedness, participation in ministry and mission, we might be the place for you. We make no excuses for keeping things simple. For us, it’s part of the mission. The medium is the message.

Concluding Thoughts

We are now three and one-half years into our journey, but we are still very much in learning mode. We do not pretend that we have “arrived” or are doing things extremely well. One of our leaders often says, “I am a Christian, but I am not very good at it.” It isn’t that he is not committed and pursuing God. It simply is that we are very imperfect. We are pursuing the Lord and his call upon our lives. We know we are not the only good church in Alamance County or even the best expression of church, but we do believe we are a good church with a God-given mission. We are always praying for the Lord to join to us those he wants us to disciple, those who want to partner with us in God’s mission, and those who believe in what we are doing. We try to be the answer to other people’s prayers. Maybe you are the answer to ours.

In the coming year, my hope and commitment is to work hard at equipping others in LifeNet to do the ministry. We are launching a workshop in January to help potential small group leaders learn how to prepare Bible discussion guides. This will be one of four areas of focus: ministry skills, leadership competency, counseling ability, and Bible study preparation skills. Perhaps God will put it on your heart to work at preparing yourself for what he wants you to do in the future. Remember, God never meant for Christianity to be a spectator sport.

Also, can we all make a renewed commitment to pursuing the people who live, work, and play around us? We can do this by extending our friendship, praying for them, inviting them into our homes, going to visit them, and sharing the gospel. I believe there are many people in our neighborhoods in whom the Holy Spirit is right now at work. What a joy to be part of that!

And, last of all, but not least of all, please pray. God is the only one who can pull this off!

Love you guys,

Pastor Pete

Thoughts for a New Year: Vision, Values, and Methods Matter

LifeNet

Christmas and the Gospel

Sun, 25 Dec 2016 04:22:00 GMT

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins .” ²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US .” Matthew 1:20-23 (NASB)

Most of us like holidays, merry making, and gifts. Even without Christ, the winter holidays would continue in some fashion or another. Many have no problem with the traditional Christmas story, but they don’t really believe it. Those who are antagonistic toward Christmas object to the many references to the One many believe is the long awaited Jewish Messiah, but at least they seem to comprehend what the holiday is all about. Whether or not Jesus was born on this particular date so long ago is not really the issue; rather, was his birth really the fulfillment of many prophecies made, in some cases, thousands of years earlier? Was he indeed the Promised One, the Messiah, and the coming King prophesied by the prophet Daniel? If he was, Christ’s birth inaugurated a universe-changing series of events here on earth.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is one of my favorite carols. In it is the line “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” Jesus was born into a world that was wracked with the effects of generations of sin, like waves crashing against some storm battered cottage during a hurricane. He did not come here for a vacation. He was dropped behind enemy lines to raise up what would prove to be a world-transforming team of the most unlikely of followers and to give his life away.

Our sin condemned the whole of humanity to the unwelcome prospect of an eternity separated from God, but the angel announced that Mary would have a miracle son, whom she and Joseph should name, Jesus, which means “God is salvation.” They announced that he would save his people from their sins. Little did they realize how he would do it. It all sounded so confusingly glorious, but the death he would die would be confusing in another way. How and why could the Messiah be crucified? He took our sins and punishment upon himself, so that we could be forgiven and free. He died and rose again so we could live forever with God’s life in God’s presence. His name “Immanuel” means “God with us,” and the Holy Spirit of God will come to live in all who put their trust in Jesus and what he did for us.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord . Luke 2:7-11 (NASB)

The angel also announced that Jesus would also be the Lord, the long-awaited King who would reign forever on David’s throne over all nations. The child who was born in Bethlehem so long ago will one day come in glory on the clouds to raise the dead, judge all people who have ever lived, and rule forever over his Father’s kingdom. This is the hope of all who believe.

Christmas today is not about a little baby in a manger in a far away land. It’s more about the fulfillment of God’s Messianic promises, which started God’s heavenly clock, which is rapidly winding down. The end of all things and Christ’s Second Coming is getting very near. This Christmas, don’t miss the point. Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, finally arrived in a most unexpected manner some two thousand years ago. He lived, died, and rose again, and now sits in heaven waiting for the grand finale. How you receive him now will make all the difference for you on that coming Day. Receive him now as your Savior and Messiah King, and you will rejoice at his Second Coming. Refuse him now, and you will have no place in his eternal kingdom, no everlasting life, no eternity with God – no hope. Christmas is your invitation to surrender your life and all you have to the Messiah King and, in exchange, receive all his blessings and benefits, both now and forever more.

Prayer

Jesus, I never realized that you are much more than a babe in a manger. Thank you for dying for my sins and sending your Holy Spirit. I receive your forgiveness and life. I also surrender my entire life to you, my Lord and King. I look forward to your coming again. Use me to tell others this glorious good news. Amen.

Christmas and the Gospel

LifeNet

A Time for Repentance

Tue, 04 Oct 2016 21:28:00 GMT

I just completed reading the life of Alfred the Great, the Anglo-Saxon king of England during the last half of the ninth century. He came to power during the height of the Viking incursions into that land. Much of his time and energy were consumed with leading his armies into battle and building up fortifications during times of peace. God used him to preserve the southernmost part of England from pagan domination and unify much of that nation.

Alfred was a deeply spiritual man who highly valued education. He brought in scholars to translate numerous books from Latin into English. He translated a few himself. Education was one of his priorities because he saw the value of teaching people wisdom and godliness. I read some of his own writings and thought that he would have been someone with whom I would like talk. He knew the Bible well and tried to live by Christ’s teachings. I can see why he was called “the Great.”

I could not help but think of how strongly he contrasts with many of today’s major leaders. We now live in a rather pagan world in which Christ and his teachings are not taken seriously by a large number of people. It is sadder still when those who call themselves Christians have little interest in studying God’s Word and living by its teachings. I encourage all followers of Christ who acknowledge his lordship in their lives to make a renewed commitment to studying the Bible and living out Christ’s teachings with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It will be difficult and even hypocritical for us to call others to repentance, if we are still living self-directed lives. Let’s pray that God will send a spirit of repentance upon our nation and save us from ourselves and the consequences of our sins. Maybe one day, God will call us “great,” too, because we made him and his kingdom our priority.

A Time for Repentance

LifeNet

Mending Nets, Rebuilding Walls

Sat, 06 Aug 2016 12:02:00 GMT

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a net used to catch fish. A large net has to be kept in good repair; so, mending the holes that inevitably appear is a primary responsibility of fisherman. Some of Jesus’ main disciples were fishermen by trade before leaving everything to follow him.

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him . Matthew 4:18-22 (ESV)

The English word “mending” is a translation of the Greek word katartidzos , which can mean to mend, restore, equip, or to prepare. These fishermen were mending and preparing their nets to bring in a huge catch.

Paul the apostle used this same word in his letter to the church at Ephesus.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV)

In this passage the Greek word is translated “equip.” It is the same idea as preparing, with the understood implication that people need to be mended and equipped in order to properly function as the church and be a giant net with which the Holy Spirit can bring a great multitude of people into God’s eternal family. Jesus told those fishermen who became his first disciples that he would make them into “fishers of men,” if they would follow him. The Lord will do that for anyone who makes him and his kingdom his or her first priority.

Rebuilding Walls

Switching metaphors, in the Old Testament, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild that city, which the Babylonians had demolished and whose walls were still in ruins, he organized the people to contribute to the rebuilding effort by committing to labor on a particular portion of the wall, sometimes right next to their own house. (Nehemiah 3:28)

Rebuilding walls is not as far away from mending nets as one might think. The wall offered the residents of a city a measure of security from hostile forces. Our neighborhoods can be viewed as a type of city. Our spiritual enemy, the devil, wants to run roughshod over people. Many in our neighborhoods are experiencing oppression under his thumb because they have no advocate or Savior – no one to love them and show them the way. Just as Nehemiah took personal responsibility for restoring Jerusalem, I believe Jesus asks each of his disciples to look upon his or her own neighborhood with a heart of compassion, realizing that if we do not rise to the occasion, many in our own community will remain under the devil’s thumb and perhaps spend eternity away from God’s presence. He wants us to build the kingdom of God right next to our own home.

Application

Jesus told his followers to pray to the Lord of harvest to send forth laborers into the masses of harassed and helpless people. (Matthew 9:35-38) In the context, Jesus spoke about people needing shepherds, which can be understood as those who care about other people enough to watch out for them, provide for them, and protect them. Any follower of Christ who cares about people can be used by God in his or her neighborhood to be a fisher of men and a restorer of the wall.

Our neighborhoods should be better places to live because of us. This will only happen when we take responsibility and start doing whatever it takes to bring God’s kingdom to bear on our neighbors’ lives. How will this happen? We can pray in secret for our neighbors, pray for them personally and publicly when they share some need with us, visit them, have them over, and do loving acts of service for them. Being a good neighbor should become a lifestyle, not something to check off on our “to do” list. We generally earn the right and privilege to share about Jesus with people by first loving them and building a real relationship with them. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to introduce people to a relationship with the Lord Jesus. That is the most loving thing imaginable!

The world is tired of Christians who only preach about Jesus, but otherwise seem to have no real interest in people. Jesus was able quickly to convey an enormous amount of love to people. It generally takes us a while to break through into people’s lives. The old saying that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care is true. Let’s make it our goal to destroy the commonly held assumption that Christians are judgmental know-it-alls, who don’t really love people. Instead, let’s be menders of nets, rebuilders of walls, lovers of people, and proper representatives of the kingdom of God.

Mending Nets, Rebuilding Walls

LifeNet

Keeping Our Focus on What Matters Most

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:17:00 GMT

Christians in Russia won’t be allowed to email their friends an invitation to church or to evangelize in their own homes if Russia’s newest set of surveillance and anti-terrorism laws are enacted. The proposed laws, considered the country’s most restrictive measures in post-Soviet history, place broad limitations on missionary work, including preaching, teaching, and engaging in any activity designed to recruit people into a religious group. To share their faith, citizens must secure a government permit through a registered religious organization, and they cannot evangelize anywhere besides churches and other religious sites. The restrictions even apply to activity in private residences and online.

My question is whether or not such a law would make much of a difference to the average American Christian? It seems like many would simply decide that it places no real restrictions on their current activities. However, the law certainly would be a challenge to any true disciple maker.

If we follow in Jesus’ footsteps, most of our ministry time will be outside of the church building. In fact, the early church did not even have church buildings. Their ministry took place primarily in the market place and in homes, which would be in direct conflict with the proposed Russian law. Jesus never intended for ministry to be focused in or limited to a church building. Here is a quote from Luke 10, when Jesus gave instructions to his disciples as he sent them out in pairs.

These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Luke 10:2 (NLT)

Those who don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior are not generally open coming to a church meeting. To effectively engage them, we must go to where they are, which Jesus called the “fields.” Rather than heed Jesus’ command to get involved in people’s lives outside the walls, we prefer to meet weekly in our Christian meetings for a number of reasons:

Life is filled with so much busyness and contains so many distractions that we can easily go a week between church meeting without effectively getting outside of our routines to engage people who need Jesus. It takes strength and determination, qualities found in the Holy Spirit in great abundance, to lead an “other-centered” life built around making disciples. It is not something that will accidentally happen. It must be pursued.

I don’t know about you, but I plan to be intentional this week in my service to King Jesus. I want to engage people and be involved in their lives. Who knows, maybe Jesus will do something wonderful! Why don’t you join me? After all, we only get one shot at this thing called life. Soon it will be over, and the Lord will ask us how well we used our time here on earth in pursuit of his kingdom and righteousness. What will we tell him: “I went to church?”

Keeping Our Focus on What Matters Most

LifeNet

Does anyone out there want to be a disciple?

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 19:40:00 GMT

One of the advantages of having followed Jesus for 44 years now is that it gives me some perspective. I have lived through several end of the world predictions, seen fads in the Body of Christ come and go, and watched what God has been doing in the world and locally. At the risk of being nostalgic and out of touch with what the Spirit is up to right now, I fondly remember what it was like when Martha and I first became believers in Christ back in 1971 at the height of what some call the Jesus Movement. Thousands of young people were coming to faith in Christ during those years, many of whom were part of the “hippie” movement. Out of that group, many are pastors and leaders in the church today. It was an extremely significant harvest time. Not only were people “getting saved,” nearly everyone I knew had a deep hunger to learn more about what the Bible teaches and to be part of the local church. Many of us met several times a week for Bible teaching and other church meetings. We were hungry to receive the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit and to learn how to use them in ministry. In addition, we wanted to be part of an authentic expression of the church as it was in the early days of the New Testament. Sure, we had our deficiencies. There was too much focus on church and not enough on reaching out, but we were doing what we thought was the right thing to do. The main point I want to make is that people had an inner drive to be disciples. We flocked to hear our pastor teach us more because we believed that we would be one day teaching others. Isn’t that what disciples do? Of course we were somewhat naive, not fully grasping the cost of being a disciple. But that is always the case. Faith plunges in anyway. When we become too old and wise, too afraid, or too apathetic to give it a try, we stop being a disciple. Sadly, some have never even started being one. Following Christ is not for the spiritual couch potato.

When I look out on the Body of Christ in our area today, I don’t see that same inner drive in very many, which is deeply disturbing to me. We have lots of fine people who love the Lord, but we have been captured by the culture in which we live. Consumerism has “converted” many of us into spectators who imagine that following Christ is passive, like watching TV, and our responsibility is to observe others do the teaching and ministry, clap for them, and say “AMEN.” Christianity is actually a participatory thing and is radically subversive to the culture in which it lives, not acquiescent to it. Discipleship leads us to make a firm commitment to follow Christ and his teachings regardless of the cost. Discipleship invites us to make sacrifices of time, energy, money, and ourselves. Discipleship is never imposed from the top down: it is a choice we make because we believe Jesus is worth it.

I am waiting for the glorious day when more and more people will start pulling on those of us who have been at this for a while, asking us to teach them what we know and show them how to minister. I look forward to our gatherings being overrun with young and older believers who want to become leaders and disciple makers in their own right. When that happens, I will know we are in a real revival. Until then, my question is this: does anyone out there want to be a disciple?

Does anyone out there want to be a disciple?

LifeNet

The banana which stays with the bunch won’t get peeled…

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 19:34:00 GMT

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

We live in a time when many question the value of regular church attendance and involvement. In fact, it is in vogue now to love Jesus, but not the church. There are many reasons this attitude and practice are being adopted by a growing number of people.

Perhaps the most troubling of these “excuses” for not assembling with other believers is the one which seems most noble, the revolutionary critique of the church in general, which resonates in my own heart.

Instead of “going to church,” they are eager to be the church. Instead of being a face in the crowd, they are eager to be a known and needed member of a community. Instead of being passive observers of an event, they are eager to be active contributors to a shared mission. Instead of listening to a preacher pontificate and tell stories from behind a podium, they are eager to be welcomed into a Story that is bigger than the preacher. Instead of sitting in a room full of people who “accept” Jesus but who also seem bored with him, they are eager to find others like them who truly love Jesus and who come alive at the mention of his name. Instead of busying themselves with church programs, they are eager to be part of a movement that resembles the book of Acts, where believers kept peripheral things on the periphery and devoted themselves to the main things, such as worshiping God, studying the Scriptures, living in fellowship , breaking bread together, praying together, opening their homes, giving generously to those who had need, and living in such a way that the watching world took notice and the Lord added daily to their number.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (pp. 42-43). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

A growing number of people resonate with the above passage, but, unfortunately, instead of finding (or starting) a church that fits the bill, they have given up on the quest and have become cynical and critical, not realizing that their unease with the current state of the church is actually a call to help it change for the better. Dropping out of the race while being so close to the prize is a tragedy.

People need people. The author of Hebrews knew that we need to be around other believers who can spur us on in our faith journey as followers of Jesus. Human nature, like water, is drawn to the path of least resistance. If we are not growing in our faith and devotion to the Lord, we likely are going backward. When the church gathers together, it is for the purpose of encouraging one another by sharing our lives, our gifts, and our hearts, all through the power and presence of God’s Spirit. There is a special anointing that comes upon any group of believers who gather in Jesus’ name in a spirit of unity. We also share the Scriptures with one another, worship together, pray, and share the Lord’s supper. As for me, I am almost always lifted and encouraged when I get with other believers.

The opposite is staying alone or aloof. We sometimes feel depressed or discouraged to the point where we don’t “feel” like being around others. This sort of feeling is a very poor guide to behavior. The very thing we most likely need is to be around people, especially other followers of Jesus. Aloofness, on the other hand, comes from believing we are better than others, who ,we feel, have nothing to offer us. This is very dangerous and is rooted in judgmental pride.

Not only do people need people, we all need to be part of a family. The church is God’s idea, not man’s. It is composed of brothers and sisters who have the same ABBA Father. Every family is imperfect, but hopefully you have experienced a family which loves and has stayed connected despite differences and offenses. The church is just such a family, which God has created, where we learn to love difficult people with God’s love, even as others learn to love us. Don’t forget we are likely someone else’s trial!

Part of the Christian experience is learning to love difficult people just as Jesus loves us when we are difficult. This includes actively moving toward people we don’t naturally like or enjoy… . Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (p. 48). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis says that if the devil wants to distract , discourage, and alienate a new Christian from his newfound faith in Jesus, the best way to do so is by tempting the new Christian to grow cynical toward his local church. In a letter to the young devil Wormwood, the experienced devil Screwtape says that the local church is one of the devil’s most effective allies against “the Enemy” (God). All Wormwood has to do is get the new Christian to fixate on other people in the pews—especially those who have squeaky boots and double chins, and who sing off-key. The more unattractive and unimpressive the members of the local church appear to the Christian, the more cynical he will become toward the local church itself. And the more cynical he becomes toward the local church , the more cynical he will become about Christianity as a whole.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (pp. 48-49). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

But is retreat really an option? Can we be in relationship with God while opting out of relationship with people—even difficult people—whom he loves? Can we claim Jesus as our elder brother while rejecting the church, whom he affectionately calls his bride? … Can we accept and receive his free offer of grace and patience and kindness and forgiveness and long-suffering toward us, while refusing to offer others the same?… We don’t get to choose our family. Our family is chosen for us, and we make the very best of it because family members share a common heritage and a common inheritance… As troubling as it may be to the individualist in each of us, God and the church come to us as a package deal. God never calls us to himself in isolation. He calls us individually, but never as mere individuals… Family members change over time. Family members go through seasons of being low-maintenance and also high-maintenance people. But because they are family, we stick with them through the good, the bad, and the ugly. They are family when they are at their best, and they are family when they are at their worst. They are family when relationships are easy, and they are family when relationships are difficult. They are family when we have offended them, and they are family when they have offended us. Either way, the nature of family is to stick together through thick and thin, for better or worse , for richer or poorer, in sickness and health. This is how the church is meant to be as well. Family is the chief metaphor that the Bible uses when it talks about the church. God is our Father. Jesus is our Husband. The Spirit is the Counselor to a redeemed, beloved, and often dysfunctional spiritual family. We are spiritual brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and daughters and sons to one another. We didn’t choose one another, but we have been given to one another by our Father in heaven, who intends for us to stay together and not hit the eject button when things get difficult or irritating or boring. And when we stay together, we are the better for it.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (p. 50-52). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Some church planters today, in search of growing a big church quickly, have opted to go after “target groups” of homogeneous people, knowing that such people will feel relatively comfortable with one another, have similar values, and feel an attraction to people like themselves. This type of church has value, of course, but is not the best reflection of God’s kingdom, which by design is very diverse. Jesus’ disciples were from all walks of life, some of which were mutually antagonistic. They learned to place their individual agendas beneath the Kingdom of God. They learned to get along and build unity under the common mission of going and making disciples. Unless dissimilar people are coming together in unity, it is questionable whether our churches accurately reflect God’s kingdom.

Ideally . . . the church itself is not made up of natural “friends.” It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together . . . because . . . they have all been loved by Jesus himself. . . . They are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake… Sometimes it takes having differences, not understanding one another, and even being a little bit irritated by and bored with one another, to remind us that the church is a family and not a club. At its best, this family dynamic of the local church functions as God’s fertile soil for growing us beyond mere tolerance toward true expressions of love and unity. Tolerance toward others in the local church is a good starting point, but it is not our final goal. To tolerate somebody is to merely put up with them, to live and let live. But it does not require us to be in relationship with the person. It carefully avoids all of the costs, inconveniences, and risks of love. Tolerance allows us to keep a safe, comfortable distance. Friendship, on the other hand, welcomes that somebody into our circle. Friendship takes us beyond tolerance to a common life together… Friendship between opposites enables us to see that bonds formed around a shared love for Jesus are even greater than bonds formed around a shared interest, hobby, favorite sports team, income bracket, ethnicity, nationality, or bloodline.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (pp. 53-55). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

When believers choose to dissociate from the rest of the church family, it hurts them and the larger group. It hurts them because the miss out on what others bring to the table, and through isolation they put themselves in a more vulnerable position. The wolf always goes after the stragglers, the weak, and strays. The banana that stays with the bunch will not get peeled. Conversely, when we join the rest of the group, we increase the blessing. Isaiah the prophet wrote the the new wine is found in the cluster. There is a certain special anointing that rests upon the group which remains in unity in the service and worship of Christ.

Because of your uniqueness, you, and only you, are able to bring certain things out of me. Because of my uniqueness, I, and only I, am able to bring certain things out of you. This is what I hope every Christian will consider. As irritating and unnecessary as the hand might seem to the eye, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” Neither can the head say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” [15] God has designed us to be one body with many differences. The moment any of these parts is removed from the body, the body is weakened. Similarly, the moment a missing part is added back to the body, the body is strengthened and made more alive… The messiness of the local church—let’s just call it “Corinth”—needs the missing revolutionaries. Corinth needs the prophetic revolutionaries who are troubled by the messiness of Corinth . The judgmental saints in Corinth need gracious revolutionaries to show them a more beautiful way. The divisive saints in Corinth need unifying revolutionaries to help them major in the majors and minor in the minors. The adulterers in Corinth need pure-hearted revolutionaries to call them to account. The victims of adultery and wrongful divorce in Corinth need compassionate revolutionaries to love and support them and assure them at every turn that they are not alone. The bullied saints in Corinth need justice-oriented revolutionaries to stand between them and the bullies. The poor saints in Corinth need openhanded, compassionate revolutionaries to lift them out of a desperate state . The drunk uncles in Corinth need love and redemptive pressure from sober-minded revolutionaries who have a soft spot for drunk uncles and a vision for their sobriety. And the painfully ordinary people in Corinth—the ones with the squeaky boots, double chins, and off-key singing voices—need kindhearted revolutionaries to remind them that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. I suppose what I am suggesting is that it would be beautiful, if not truly revolutionary, if the revolutionaries would consider joining Jesus in his mission to love Corinth back to life, versus the alternative of writing Corinth off. Corinth needs the revolutionaries. Something tells me that the revolutionaries need Corinth too.

Sauls, Scott (2015-03-01). Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (pp. 56-58). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The banana which stays with the bunch won’t get peeled…

LifeNet

The Discipleship Journey

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:30:00 GMT

While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away . Acts 13:2-3 (NASB)

The first thing that needs to be stressed is that it is not so much that the church has a mission as it is true that the mission has a church. The Great Commission is an extension of God’s mission to seek and save the lost, which began when Jesus came to earth to redeem a people to God. Our Lord sent his followers to do the same by sharing the gospel in his name. In the passage above from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles , the disciples made it their first priority to delight in the Lord and set aside time to be in his presence with no other agenda. In that context, the Spirit communicated what he wanted them to do. The resulting missionary thrust did not come from men planning a strategy, but from the Spirit. God wants us to DELIGHT in him before we go about the DOING of his great mission. This is what we attempted to do by spending time in prayer and fasting. If we put doing first, we may end up becoming legalistic, frustrated, or man-centered. If we put loving God first, he will make sure we get around to loving people by serving them and going to make disciples. When we make our first priority to seek God, we illustrate that we believe he is in charge of the mission and knows how to direct it.

The DOING part can be looked at as a process or journey – The Discipleship Journey. This can be broken down into parts or segments of the journey, so to speak. Let’s look at each point.

How about you? Are you ready to commit yourself to God and his mission? If so, why not pray this prayer?

O Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to redeem me from my sin. Forgive me for being self-centered in my relationship with you. I now realize that my life is meant to be spent partnering with you to enlarge your family by adding many more through the gospel. I commit myself to be a disciple maker, no matter what it may end up costing me. Holy Spirit, I depend on you to equip and empower me for the task. Lord, Jesus, I submit to you because you are the Lord of the Harvest. Use me, O Lord, as you see fit. Amen.

The Discipleship Journey

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