FOR THIS GOD IS OUR GOD FOREVER AND EVER

 When we ask for God to lead us, He will, for He has

promised I WILL INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU IN THE
WAY YOU SHOULD GO; I WILL ADVISE YOU AND WATCH
OVER YOU.  ( PSALM 32:8 )

    After all it isn't easy trying to live a righteous life in this
World, and never was.  Even the Apostle Paul complained "I HAVE
THE DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD, BUT I CANNOT
CARRY IT OUT.  FOR I DO NOT DO THE GOOD I WANT
TO DO, BUT THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO--THIS
I KEEP ON DOING."  ( ROMANS 7:18-19 )

    So, as part of your morning prayer each day,
why not ask God to lead you?  For He is waiting for you
with open arms!

    Now this message reminds me of a poster I once saw.  
I will share it with you right now, and hope that you enjoy it
as much as I do!

                                 Dear Lord
                         So far today, God, I've
                                done all right.
                      I haven't gossiped, haven't
                               lost my temper,
                           haven't been greedy,
                          grumpy, nasty, selfish
                              or over-indulgent.
                        I'm really glad about that.
                       But in a few minutes, God,
                                   I'm going
                      to get out of bed, and from
                                    then on
                          I'm probably going to
                          need a lot more help!

                                               ...Anonymous

A God's Minute reprint

"Cultivating a Tender Heart and a Tough Hide"

 

 For as long as I have been in the ministry, I have asked the Lord for a balance between a tender heart and a tough hide. It isn’t an easy balance. In fact, the latter is more difficult to cultivate than the former.  In order to be fully engaged in ministry, job number one is to have a tender heart. The challenge is developing a tough hide. 

Wanted: A Tough Hide 

Those of us in ministry are big targets. We make great lightning rods! Know what I mean? We are dead ringers for criticism. Every passionate pastor, every Christian leader, and every Christian author I know can list a litany of things that have been said and done against them—many of them unfairly. Few handle criticism well. But we’d all have to agree, there was one man who handled it with grace and grit.

Two Ways to Balance Being Tender and Tough

In Acts 24, Paul is on the witness stand before Governor Felix while a shady lawyer named Tertullus pontificates through some trumped-up charges. As you read along in this chapter, you will notice Paul waits for the smoke to clear and then calmly steps up to offer a defense. Paul’s words illustrate seven ways to maintain a tender heart and a tough hide while enduring criticism. I’ll mention the first two now and devote next week’s post to the remaining five.

1. Paul refused to get caught up in the emotion of the charges. 

That’s the first mistake we usually make, isn’t it? Everything in us prefers to lash out, to protest, to defend ourselves, to cry, or simply walk out. Paul refused to overreact. His opening line is disarmingly pleasant, “I cheerfully make my defense.” Cheerfully? By now the man ought to be royally ticked off! Even though labeled as “a real pest” and a ringleader of a cult (see Acts 24:5), Paul graciously acknowledged the opportunity to make a defense. Refusing to let his emotions take the lead, he stayed controlled and courteous. When we lower ourselves to the overcharged emotions of accusers, our anger is triggered. When that occurs, straight thinking caves into irrational responses and impulsive words. Paul didn’t go there. Neither should we.

2. He stayed with the facts. 

He said, in effect, “You can check my record. Twelve days ago, I went up to worship. You can ask those who were there.” He reported, “Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me” (Acts 24:12–13). The apostle never blinked. He calmly stood his ground with stubborn facts. That strategy not only kept him on target, it enhanced his credibility in the eyes of Governor Felix. And Then There’s You—and Me What about you? How do you deal with judgmental remarks, those unkind put-downs made to your face or, worse, behind your back? When a congregant mocks your teaching on biblical parenting, when that couple in a small group question every decision you make, when you find out a fellow Christian (or pastor) you thought was your friend has been spreading rumors about you, how do you respond? 

Are you tough and tender or do you become brittle and bitter?

Pastors Blog: Chuck Swindoll

The Hammer of God

 "Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?      Jeremiah 23:29 

   Those of us who stand on the Word of God have been swimming upstream down through the centuries and we have never been in the majority. Chances are good you are the only one in your neighborhood who believes the bible is inerrant. Chances are good you are the only one in your classroom who believes that the scriptures are to speak truth and everyone else considered a liar. If you are guiding your family by the principals of scripture you are going to be seen, at the very least, as politically incorrect in this culture we live in today. 

   God’s Word has certainly endured the test of time. Men, sects and even empires have down through the centuries undertaken to destroy every jot and tittle of the enduring and everlasting Word of God. 

   

   The last 10 emperors of the Roman Empire, starting with Nero and ending with Diocletian, persecuted the Christian religion relentlessly and mercilessly, yet, the Christian faith continued to spread and grow across the then known world. Of those 10 Roman emperors, Diocletian was the most vindictive and cruelest of the Cesare’s. Not content to just arresting Christians and having them, in many cases, put to death unless they recanted their faith, Diocletian would burn any homesteads that were owned by Christ followers and sought to burn any of the sacred writings that his army would come across, (perhaps one reason why the original writings of scripture do not exist today.) 

  Nevertheless, 25 years after Diocletian’s reign of terror, a new emperor came to power and of all things, converted to the Christian religion. His name was Constantine and in 328 A.D., he commissioned Eusebius, a bishop of Caesarea Maritima, to prepare 50 copies of the scriptures, all at the expense of the Roman government, the same Roman government who had spent nearly 3 centuries trying to eradicate all signs and remembrances of Christianity and it’s book. 

 “Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 

  And then there was Voltaire, a French philosopher, historian, and deist. He was a free thinker who became a most influential and prolific writer during what had been called the “Age of Enlightenment”. Voltaire had a deep distain for Christianity and especially the Holy Bible. 

   In 1764 he wrote, “The Bible. That is what fools have written, what imbeciles commend, what rogues teach and young children are made to learn by heart” (Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary, 1764).

 He even once so boldly wrote, “We are living in the twilight of Christianity” (Philosophical Dictionary). 

  So engrossed in his disdain for Christianity, Voltaire ended every letter to friends with “Ecrasez l’infame” (crush the infamy — the Christian religion). 

 Voltaire, in his voluminous writings against Christianity and the Bible, predicted in 1776, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.” 

  Within fifty years after his death, in an ironic twist of Providence, the very house in which he once lived and wrote was bought by the French Bible Society. It was eventually used by the Evangelical Society of Geneva as a storehouse for Bibles and Gospel tracts and the very printing presses he used to print his volumes of irreverent works, were now used to print the Holy Scriptures. 

 “Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 

  Peter and Isaiah, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put it perfectly.

 “… for you have been born again not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY IS LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.” 

  There is a deep concern today for how many believers truly understand the power and the blessings of God’s Holy Word. Everything that pertains to life and eternity is contained within the covers of the Holy Bible. And when we embrace it, it makes a difference in our emotions. It makes a difference in our reactions, our responses to our fellow man. It makes a difference in how we view life, how we handle relationships, how we handle stress, and how we handle our worries concerning the future or of things which are past. 

  We do not worship the book or the print in that book. It is the truth of the Word that directs us to Christ, that drives us, motivates us, and fills us with hope. It confirms our trust and faith in an Almighty God, in His begotten Son, our Lord Jesus and gives us assurance that what He says, will come to fruition. For as God spoke through Isaiah 55:11: 

 “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty (void), but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” 

 God’s Word is indeed a fire and a hammer that shatters every rock of opposition and bastion of unbelief. It strengthens the heart of every person who puts their trust in His proclaimed word and fills they’re very being with hope. If you have yet to fully embrace the all-consuming Word of God and make it a staple of your everyday life, why not start today? 

                                                                                                                       Br. Dennis

Remember Your Roots

The Way of Humility

How refreshing it is to come across individuals who realize they have their parents to thank for so much of what they have in life. Marian Anderson was one of those individuals.

She had a magnificent contralto voice that gave her worldwide acclaim.

On one occasion, a reporter asked her to name the greatest moment in her life. Those in the room hearing the question wondered what she would say.

There were so many great moments, like the night Arturo Toscanini said publicly,

Yours is a voice such as one hears once in a hundred years.

Or there was that time back in 1955 when she became the first African-American to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Or she could have pointed to the following year when her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, made the New York Times bestseller list.

Or when she was selected by the President of the United States to be a delegate to the United Nations.

She also had been invited to the White House to sing for the president as well as the Queen of England and her royal husband. In 1963, she was awarded the coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom.

What God Expects Of You

And she would never forget the day she stood in the shadow of the Lincoln statue and sang before 75,000 people in Washington D.C., including Cabinet members, all of the Supreme Court justices, and most of the members of Congress.

But she named none of these. Her answer? She smiled and looked at the reporter as she replied,

The greatest moment of my life was the day I went home and told my mother she wouldn’t have to take in washing anymore.

How great is that? How rare is that! She never forgot her roots.

I don’t care how high you rise in the ministry . . . how significant you may believe you are . . . or how much money you make.

Gratitude is what God expects of you. Why? Isaiah puts it this way, rendered so poignantly in the King James Version:

Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. (Isaiah 51:1)

The Pit From Where You Came

What a vivid expression! Remember the pit from where you came.

Every once in a while, it’s good to drift back to the pit, at least in your mind, and remember.

It’s amazing the perspective that offers.

Remember those who sacrificed for you so you can become who you are now . . . those who know you and, quite probably, love you more than anyone ever has on this earth. Remember also the grace of God that sustained you from the very beginning. . . .

Gratitude. It’s essential at times to remember “the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”

 

¹Excerpt adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, The Church Awakening (New York: FaithWords Hachete Book Group, 2010) Copyright © 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Pastor's Blog - Chuck Swindoll

Standing Firm as a Soldier of Christ

 

STANDING FIRM AS A SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER

I FELT LED TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE IN OUR SPIRITUAL FIGHT AS WELL AS OUR DAILY STRUGGLES. I HAVE SPOKEN A COUPLE TIMES ON OUR RACE FOR THE HIGH CALLING AND OUR FAITH WALK, THIS TIME I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF US TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS A SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER FOR CHRIST. IE: JOSHUA AND CALEB, I FEEL WE CAN EASILY FORGET THAT WE ARE ENLISTED SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST JESUS, AND THAT AS SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST WE ALSO CAN FORGET THAT WE NEED TO ENDURE HARDSHIPS AND BATTTLES, DURING OUR RACE FOR THE HIGH CALLING FOR THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, AND THAT THESE ARE REQUIRED OF US, AND FOR THE BELIEVER, THESE TRIALS ARE TO US A REFINER’S FIRE {MALACHI 3:3} IT IS THIS PROCESS THAT HELPS US GROW, AND IT IS A DAILY FIGHT TO STAY A SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER FOR CHRIST. AND WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE PREPARED.

NOW THERE ARE THREE THINGS A SOLDIER FOR CHRIST NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF AND ACKNOWLEDGE:

1. ADMIT YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL ADVERSARY & WE ARE AT WAR;

a. 1 PETER CHAPTER 5:8-9. “BE OF SOBER SPIRIT AND ON THE ALERT YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION SEEKING SOMEONE TO DEVOUR BUT RESIST HIM FIRM IN YOUR FAITH KNOWING THAT THE SAME EXPERIENCES OF SUFFERING ARE BEING EXPERIENCED BY YOUR BRETHREN WHO ARE IN THE WORLD.”

b. REVELATION CHAPTER 12:17  “SO THE DRAGON WAS ENRAGED WITH THE WOMAN AND WENT OFF TO MAKE WAR WITH THE REST OF HER CHILDREN WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND HOLD THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS.”

2. DON'T BE AN IGNORANT CHRISTIAN.

(Il COR. 2:11) “SO THAT NO ADVANTAGE WOULD BE TAKEN OF US BY SATAN FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS SCHEMES.”

WE ARE AT WAR AGAINST THE FLESH, THE WORLD AND THE ENEMY, A NON-STOP ASSAULT ON OUR FAITH, TRYING ALL THINGS TO CONVINCE US THAT WE ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, I AM FIGHTING TO REMAIN THAT SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER FOR CHRIST, REMINDING MYSELF DAILY THAT MY TRUE VALUE IS FOUND IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND NOTHING ELSE, AS WE ALL NEED TO DO.

(2 Timothy 2:1-4)   “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

WE ARE ENGAGED IN WARFARE! AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE TRAINED UP IN OUR FAITH AND CLOTHED FOR WARFARE AND THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO ACOMPLISH THIS, AND THAT IS TO PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD.

3. PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD

(Ephesians 6:11-19)  “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which, you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

VERSE 12 SAYS “…FOR WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE,…”  AND THIS IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE AGAINST THE WORLD AND OUR FLESH for KING DAVID TELLS US IN PSALM 51:5, “BEHOLD I WAS BROUGHT FORTH IN INIQUITY AND IN SIN MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME.”

 YOU SEE WE ALL STRUGGLE AND FIGHT AGAINST EVERY ENTICEMENT UNDER THE SUN, AND WE ARE ALSO TOLD HOW WE CAN OVER COME THEM ALL, AND THAT IS THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY LISTENING AND DOING WHAT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR TELLS US TO DO, AND THAT CAN ONLY BE DONE BY CHOOSING TO BE A SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER FOR CHRIST.

I MENTIONED JOSHUA AND CALEB EARLIER. NUMBERS CHAPTER 13: 25-33, NUMBERS CHAPTER 14: 1-10, and vs. 30-31. JOSHUA CHAPTER 14:6-15. IT IS NOT EASY, AND WE MUST ALWAYS BE ON GUARD AGAINST ANYTHING THAT MIGHT INTERFERE WITH THAT GOAL.

(MATTHEW 18: 7-9)  “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses, [i.e. enticements] must come, but woe to that man by whom the [enticement] comes! If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.” (SIDE NOTE everlasting fire and hell fire are referring to second death, GEHENNA FIRE WHICH IS TOTAL ANNIHILATION.

THIS VERSE FITS SO NICELY WITH 2 TIMOTHY 2:3-5 - WE ARE NOT TO BE ENTANGLED WITH THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD, SO WHAT IS THE LORD SAYING WHEN HE SAYS IF YOUR HAND OR FOOT CAUSES YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF, LETS LOOK AT ITS MEANING FOR YOUR HAND... WHAT YOU TOUCH OR HANDLE OR CHOSE TO EMBRACE... YOUR FOOT, WHERE AND WHO YOU WALK WITH, (I.E.) FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS, IF YOU ARE BEING PULLED AWAY AND ENTICED IN THE WAYS OF SIN BY ANY OF THESE THINGS ARE TO CUT THEM OFF AND REMOVE THEM FROM YOU AND CAST THEM FAR FROM YOU, THE SAME WITH YOUR EYES, (FOR OUR EYES ARE CONSIDERED THE WINDOWS TO OUR SOUL) WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT?? WHAT YOU ARE WATCHING?? WHAT THINGS YOU ARE YOU CHOOSING TO OBSERVE?? IF IT IS UNGODLY BEHAVIOR, BE VERY CAREFUL, FOR YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU ARE BEGINNING TO IMITATE THEM. SO, REMOVE AND PLUCK IT OUT AND CAST IT FROM YOU. FOR IN THIS SPIRITUAL WARFARE THAT WE ARE FIGHTING, WE ARE TO SURROUND OURSELVES WITH THOSE WHO ARE LIKE MINDED AND HAVE THE SAME DESIRE YOU DO IN FOLLOWING CHRIST, FOR YOU DO NOT WANT BY YOUR SIDE ANY OF THOSE THINGS, OR PEOPLE WHO SEEK THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT A SINGLE-MINDED SOLDIER FOR CHRIST AUGHT TO BE SEEKING.

 

**REMEMBER** BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD CHARACTER

                                                   

                                                                              Bro. Steve Hoffner

No Hooks

We who love to fish know that the better the lure, the more deceptive it is. We try to appeal to the appetite of the fish by hiding the hook in a worm. We use a certain kind of lure that’s attractive, with eyes that sparkle or a body that glitters. The fish gets caught because it thinks it will get something soft and delicious, but it gets something sharp and painful. That’s deception.

The pastor is not to be deceptive. I love Paul’s simple declaration: “Our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit” (1 Thessalonians 2:3).

Paul was who he was . . . wherever he was. He made no empty promises. He didn’t pilfer from the ministry’s money. He didn’t say one thing in one place but something else in another. There was no “deceit”—a term that means in the Greek: “to lure by bait.” Just like a fish.

I’m sure you have experienced, as I have on occasion, those you thought you could trust . . . but you couldn’t. When you got close to that particular person, you found there were hooks. He or she said one thing—which looked and sounded attractive—but behind the veneer there was a hook. There were private maneuverings and hidden agendas. There was a twisting of motives with error and deceit.

Paul says in effect, “Pastors are not to be deceptive.” If we take a positive slant on Paul’s declaration, we can say: “Our exhortation comes from truth, purity, and by way of honesty.”

In other words: no hooks.

Pastors Blog – Chuck Swindoll

 

Hope

Dionne Warwick told us back in the sixties that “what the world needs now is love, sweet love. That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”  John Lennon followed that up with a popular Beatles song that told us that “all you need is love”. While the sentiments of both songs are profound, I would suggest that love is not ALL we need in these very trying times.

1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, concludes with the following words. “

 And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for us], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love. (The Amplified Translation)

We are certainly living in extraordinary times of many hardships, difficulties, death, and despair. These conditions are causing all sorts of emotions - anger, fear, disbelief and discouragement and even hopelessness.

So - not to minimize even a tiny bit the importance and urgent need for love, sweet love - I suggest that what the world needs now, as well, is hope. We all need to believe that tomorrow will be a better day and that some kind normalcy will soon return.

Romans 8:24 and 25 says “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope at all, for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it”. Our hope is well rooted in certainly and assurance.

Faith and hope work together hand in hand. We can have hope because we have faith in the sure word of God and have conviction that His every word is Yea and Amen  If God says something will happen – it will – His promises are Yea and Amen without possibility of anything interfering with its being fulfilled. His promises will be fulfilled - It is not a matter of if but a matter of when.

Romans 15:13  “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”.

 What the world is sorely lacking right now is hope. People have lost sight of any stability in life that there used to be. People have lost sight of the power of God to fulfill His promises. 

What the world needs now is hope. Make no mistake - Hope is not a lost entity.  Hope is still only a prayer away. A prayer that God will rekindle our faith and hope by the power of His spirit.

 Norman Vincent Peale wrote the following:

Here are some of the truest, most beautiful words ever written: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5).

Hope is a small word, but it is one of the most powerful. Why? Because in hope lies the power of the human soul to turn to God and live, knowing that His promises are going to come true. “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).

The key to surviving any challenge or crisis is hope. Hope that God is, right now, working out a solution for you. Hope that the future you place in His hands will be better than the present that you hold in your own. “’For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Practice this hope, even if you have to will yourself to do it. With its power, you will overcome all things. “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

And hope, that strong and confident assurance, rooted in the faithfulness and love of God, that we keep deep down in our hearts gives us strength and perseverance though all circumstances of life. Hope is our private quiet comforter. Without hope we can become complacent and not able to give our best to God and to the people around us.

 

Yes, the past couple of years certainly have been filled with difficult times and change, but remember – ALL things happen for a reason. God does not do things randomly. AND All things happen for good to those who love Him. We may not know why all things are happening and it really doesn’t matter why. But we can use the conditions that we live in now to – increase our faith, show love to all people and find comfort and hope in God’s immeasurable love and faithfulness.

 

“Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.” – Robert H. Schuller

 

May God bless you.

Rich Leavitt

 

"Principles All Churches Should Examine and Apply"

I have discovered three principles and three imperatives I believe all churches should examine and apply. The first principle is this: clear, biblical thinking must override secular planning and a corporate mentality. And the imperative? Think spiritually!

However well-organized our churches become; we must give priority to biblical rather than to secular thinking. In the first-century church, there were no secular organizational structures or church politics. There was no guru of authority or “chairman” of anything. There were no power grabs from control freaks. There were no personal maneuverings, infightings, financial squabbles, or turf protection. Instead, it was a place where a spiritual emphasis took precedence over the world’s way of doing things.

Here’s what this looks like when it’s applied.

Applying Biblical Thinking:

What does this look like when applied today? For starters:

§  Our teaching needs to be biblically based and spiritually inclined.

§  Our Sunday school classes, adult fellowships, and small-group instruction gatherings need to center on the teaching of the Bible and spiritual lessons.

§  Our songs and our hymns should have spiritual content.

§  Our counseling ministry needs to be derived from the Spirit’s revelation in the Scriptures.

§  Our relationships with one another need to have spiritual priorities—intimate fellowship where people can trust one another.

The church ought to be the one place where spiritual thinking overrides everything else—all those battles we fight within the marketplace. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. The church is a spiritual entity.

Where Decisions Begin:

Second, studied, accurate decisions must originate from God’s Word, not human opinions. A true, spiritual mind-set comes from meditation on the Scriptures. So, the imperative would be: stay biblical!

The Word of God ought to be central to every worship service on Sunday. Furthermore, every elders meeting and every staff meeting should have the Scriptures as the basis of the decisions that are made. God’s Word is to be the church’s guide; it shapes our current thinking and future planning by giving us principles we can understand, believe, and apply.

I love the words of A. W. Tozer:

The world is waiting to hear an authentic voice, a voice from God—not an echo of what others are doing and saying, but an authentic voice.

As those in the church who follow Christ as our Head, our words must come from the Living God and not be an echo of human words or works . . . certainly not the words from our culture! As wise and intelligent as human opinions are, the church isn’t guided by the thinking of any fallen human being. (By the way, that includes the pastor!) Christ is the Head. Our thinking is shaped by a study of Scriptures—by God’s thinking. This is about building the church God’s way—and God’s way is found in God’s Word. Nowhere else can we find such an authentic voice.

A church that is working is a church that is growing. I believe that. But be careful of the order of that statement, because a church that is growing is not necessarily a church that is working.

 

What it Takes to Counteract Erosion

The third principle and imperative is this: Wise, essential changes must occur to counteract any sign of erosion. Please notice I did not use the word “easy.” Change is not easy when erosion has occurred—but it is essential. The imperative? Be flexible!

Be ready and willing to make some changes—essential changes—especially if you hope to arrest the slow, silent, subtle slide of erosion. And stand alone through those changes, if necessary. The poet and artist E. E. Cummings wrote:

To be nobody-but-yourself—in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

As a pastor, you may find yourself standing alone against erosion in your church. If so, I commend you. And believe me, that isn’t an easy place to be. When I realized the erosion that had already begun to occur in our church years ago . . . when I realized how far we had drifted from God’s original, simple plan, I prayed: “Almighty God, give us that original vision again. Give me the courage to lead this flock back to the essentials. Make it happen again!” And He has begun to do so. It’s been marvelous!

But it has not been easy.

What Course Correction Requires

Course correction requires changes. It demands a devotion to the essentials of a church as modeled by the early church. Here they are:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer (Acts 2:42).

It isn’t enough simply to have the essentials in our churches. We must continually devote ourselves to them. In the original language, that phrase translates a single Greek term that means: “to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of [doing so] despite difficulty.”

Will there be difficulty? Absolutely! Open your New Testament and revisit the early church. Just look at any church! The Adversary will stop at nothing to overcome the work of Christ.

You can count on it.

 

¹A.  W. Tozer, Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church (Camp Hill, Penn.: Christian Publications, 1992), 178.

¹E. E. Cummings, as quoted by Ted Goodman in The Forbes Book of Business Quotations: 10,000 Thoughts on the Business of Life (New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007), 553.

 Reprint: The Pastors Blog - Chuck Swindoll