Why do you think people in the Bible fasted? Do you believe there is still a reason to fast before God, today? What is that reason? Have you ever fasted? What was the result?
I would love to hear your actual answers to these questions. I am not posting them for you to merely ponder, I would like some response to these questions.
God is good all the time. The prayer of a righteous man is still powerful and effective. His ear is turned toward His children. Where, then, does "fasting" come in?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Who Are You In Christ?
As you describe your relationship with Jesus, which of the following phrases states your personal testimony?
1. I don't have a relationship with Jesus.
2. I believe in Jesus. He existed, He was a good man with important things to say. I could even believe He is the Son of God.
3. I know Jesus. I have studied about Him, believed in Him and have a good idea of what He likes and doesn't like. I pray and read His word to know Him more.
4. I love Jesus. My studies of His word, understanding of His character and acceptance of Him into my life has caused me to love Him. Just the mention of His Name brings me joy.
5. I live for Him. My belief, knowledge and love for Jesus have led me to choose to lay aside my own life plans and take up His life through me. I can say with Paul, "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Phil. 1:21
What difference does it make? Which of these is "A Saving Faith in Jesus?" Are these fair questions? Talk to me.
1. I don't have a relationship with Jesus.
2. I believe in Jesus. He existed, He was a good man with important things to say. I could even believe He is the Son of God.
3. I know Jesus. I have studied about Him, believed in Him and have a good idea of what He likes and doesn't like. I pray and read His word to know Him more.
4. I love Jesus. My studies of His word, understanding of His character and acceptance of Him into my life has caused me to love Him. Just the mention of His Name brings me joy.
5. I live for Him. My belief, knowledge and love for Jesus have led me to choose to lay aside my own life plans and take up His life through me. I can say with Paul, "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Phil. 1:21
What difference does it make? Which of these is "A Saving Faith in Jesus?" Are these fair questions? Talk to me.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Faith In God
Some people have done amazingly stupid things in the name of "faith". Doing something unsafe, unwise or unnecessary just to prove you believe God can do something miraculous to save you from the normal consequences of your actions, is not biblical faith.
People have accomplished amazing things when acting by faith in God. Noah built an ark and saved his family - and ultimately, the world. Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac because of his faith. But these men did not just decide to do something risky and trust God to help them. God told them to do something that was impossible for them to do alone - they trusted in what they could not see. Obeying God when we don't know how everything will work out...that is faith. Faith leads to obedience, as Paul wrote in Romans 1:5:
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."
Here's the comparison: It is not faith that causes you to give money you don't have, hoping God will repay you miraculously. Faith causes you to give whatever God calls you to give when He calls you to give as you listen to Him speak through His word and by His Spirit.
"Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written:
`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in
their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
Jesus answered him,
'It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
- Matthew 4:5-7
Don't confuse "acting in faith" with "putting God to the test". There is a big difference between testing God and trusting God.
People have accomplished amazing things when acting by faith in God. Noah built an ark and saved his family - and ultimately, the world. Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac because of his faith. But these men did not just decide to do something risky and trust God to help them. God told them to do something that was impossible for them to do alone - they trusted in what they could not see. Obeying God when we don't know how everything will work out...that is faith. Faith leads to obedience, as Paul wrote in Romans 1:5:
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."
Here's the comparison: It is not faith that causes you to give money you don't have, hoping God will repay you miraculously. Faith causes you to give whatever God calls you to give when He calls you to give as you listen to Him speak through His word and by His Spirit.
"Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written:
`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in
their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
Jesus answered him,
'It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
- Matthew 4:5-7
Don't confuse "acting in faith" with "putting God to the test". There is a big difference between testing God and trusting God.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Prayer Walk
Did you ever wonder why compassion commercials are on so often? The statistics show, we are more moved by what we see than we are by what we hear. Similarly,it is better to be out among the people we are praying for than to sit in our building praying for faceless, hypothetical or generalized people.
Do you know that there are people digging through the dumpsters in your town trying to find anything they can use, sell or even eat? It is amazing how God can break your heart for people when you actually see their needs. Child abuse, spousal abuse, human trafficking, sexual abuse, drug use, alcoholism, depression, overwhelming grief, anger - your community has its share of these things among them on a daily basis. It is different walking by a house and hearing the screams of domestic disturbances than it is praying about it from the church without definite knowledge that it is happening.
This is the reason we are beginning to join people all over the country in doing prayer walks through our community. God works through prayer. Where two or three gather in His Name, He is in their midst and when they agree together in prayer, He honors their efforts. This we know.
So, what would it take to get you to go out and pray in public? Not putting on a show or drawing attention to yourself, but praying, none-the-less. What would it cost you? What might happen? Does it matter? Will you do it?
Do you know that there are people digging through the dumpsters in your town trying to find anything they can use, sell or even eat? It is amazing how God can break your heart for people when you actually see their needs. Child abuse, spousal abuse, human trafficking, sexual abuse, drug use, alcoholism, depression, overwhelming grief, anger - your community has its share of these things among them on a daily basis. It is different walking by a house and hearing the screams of domestic disturbances than it is praying about it from the church without definite knowledge that it is happening.
This is the reason we are beginning to join people all over the country in doing prayer walks through our community. God works through prayer. Where two or three gather in His Name, He is in their midst and when they agree together in prayer, He honors their efforts. This we know.
So, what would it take to get you to go out and pray in public? Not putting on a show or drawing attention to yourself, but praying, none-the-less. What would it cost you? What might happen? Does it matter? Will you do it?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Miracles and the Gospel
We began a study on 1 Corinthians in our church at the beginning of September. We have been addressing the wisdom of God. Paul says he didn't come to the people of Corinth with "eloquent speech or human wisdom", but with nothing more than the message of Christ and Him crucified. The convincing factor was not the great arguments he made or the apologetics of the day, but the Holy Spirit making the truth clear, and the miraculous signs that accompanied the message.
We now live in a post-Christian era. People have heard about Jesus, experienced the church in one form or another, and have been left unimpressed. Even worse, many have left hurt, broken and demoralized. Their experience with the church has not been miraculous, it has been disasterous. And all the "positive-thinking" you aim at them with your motivational speeches and emotion-bending stories will not bring them into the shadow of the church, again.
It is time for the church to grab hold of the power of God, again. Jesus gave us the "Great Commission" sandwiched between these two thoughts: 1) All power in heaven and earth has been given to me; and 2) I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
We celebrate numeric growth in our own church while the church down the street dies in our shadow. And no one was saved today. Our baptismals are dry and cracked, but who would know? We haven't opened them up in years. Our Sunday Schools are dying because we don't think they are viable methods of discipleship any longer, so we gave up on them. Meanwhile, the Small Group ministries we raplaced them with are becoming a source of controversy about cliques and exclusion instead of love and inclusion. And another lost person who visited us as a "last chance" for hope just left for the last time today. She won't be back, but at least we averaged more this month than we did last month and our giving is still paying the bills.
Is the church really experiencing the effects of "All power in heaven and earth" being "with us"? Are we "displaying the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authority in the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10)?" What happened to the power of God and the miraculous signs that accompany the spreading of the gospel?
There are a few things that need to happen for us to return to the powerful gate-crashing force that rescues people from hell, knowing no power can stand against the church when we are bring the church!
1. PRAY!
2. HAVE FAITH IN GOD! - Heb. 11:6
3. GET YOUR MESSAGE STRAIGHT!
4. OBEY!
5. MEDITATE - LISTEN!
6. REPEAT!
I hope to address each of these items in the next few blogs. I cannot go on watching for the latest fad to drive me for a while until I realize it leaves people empty. The truth is simple: The world is lost, and will be lost forever, if we don't start calling on the One Who wields "All power in heaven and earth"; Who also, by the way, came to seek and to save that which was lost!
We now live in a post-Christian era. People have heard about Jesus, experienced the church in one form or another, and have been left unimpressed. Even worse, many have left hurt, broken and demoralized. Their experience with the church has not been miraculous, it has been disasterous. And all the "positive-thinking" you aim at them with your motivational speeches and emotion-bending stories will not bring them into the shadow of the church, again.
It is time for the church to grab hold of the power of God, again. Jesus gave us the "Great Commission" sandwiched between these two thoughts: 1) All power in heaven and earth has been given to me; and 2) I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
We celebrate numeric growth in our own church while the church down the street dies in our shadow. And no one was saved today. Our baptismals are dry and cracked, but who would know? We haven't opened them up in years. Our Sunday Schools are dying because we don't think they are viable methods of discipleship any longer, so we gave up on them. Meanwhile, the Small Group ministries we raplaced them with are becoming a source of controversy about cliques and exclusion instead of love and inclusion. And another lost person who visited us as a "last chance" for hope just left for the last time today. She won't be back, but at least we averaged more this month than we did last month and our giving is still paying the bills.
Is the church really experiencing the effects of "All power in heaven and earth" being "with us"? Are we "displaying the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authority in the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10)?" What happened to the power of God and the miraculous signs that accompany the spreading of the gospel?
There are a few things that need to happen for us to return to the powerful gate-crashing force that rescues people from hell, knowing no power can stand against the church when we are bring the church!
1. PRAY!
2. HAVE FAITH IN GOD! - Heb. 11:6
3. GET YOUR MESSAGE STRAIGHT!
4. OBEY!
5. MEDITATE - LISTEN!
6. REPEAT!
I hope to address each of these items in the next few blogs. I cannot go on watching for the latest fad to drive me for a while until I realize it leaves people empty. The truth is simple: The world is lost, and will be lost forever, if we don't start calling on the One Who wields "All power in heaven and earth"; Who also, by the way, came to seek and to save that which was lost!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Is It God's Will That We Bear Fruit?
As we have been discussing the will of God, I believe this is a question we must answer. As you consider this, I want to challenge you to consider it through the lens of the Bible. I know you may have different feelings or may have heard different teachings from people you respect. I am not trying to belittle your feelings or the input of other teachers, I am simply challenging you to use your knowledge of scripture; your ability to call on scripture for answers.
Here is the passage we will start with for this discussion:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
- John 15:1-8
So, is it God's will that we bear fruit?
What fruit are we supposed to bear?
What does it mean to "Remain in Jesus"? How do we do this? What if we don't? Is it possible not to remain in Him? What happens then?
Does this passage indicate that answers to prayer are conditional to keeping His Word? (If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.)
Does Jesus mean what He says? I think so. What defenses immediately go up when you read these verses? What challenges you? What motivates you? This should be a great discussion!
Here is the passage we will start with for this discussion:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
- John 15:1-8
So, is it God's will that we bear fruit?
What fruit are we supposed to bear?
What does it mean to "Remain in Jesus"? How do we do this? What if we don't? Is it possible not to remain in Him? What happens then?
Does this passage indicate that answers to prayer are conditional to keeping His Word? (If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.)
Does Jesus mean what He says? I think so. What defenses immediately go up when you read these verses? What challenges you? What motivates you? This should be a great discussion!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Continuing the Obedience Discussion
One discussion has been very interesting, and unless you read the responses people give, you may be missing this one, so I'm catching you up to date...here is my latest response to this discussion:
And still, Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commands." Why?
Paul said in Romans 1:5:
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."
Faith brings obedience; love brings obedience.I'm not saying that obedience brings faith or obedience brings love. Faith and love are the relational motive - obedience is the outpouring of the two.
"If you love me, obey me" - Jesus
"Obedience is the result of faith" - Paul
You can see why I am still of the mind that obedience is our calling. Jesus even said of His relationship to the Father in John 14:31:
"...but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."
He loves the Father, so He obeys the Father.
Peter, when addressing God's elect, said in 1 Peter 1:1-2:
"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:"
We were chosen by God, and sanctified by The Spirit for obedience to Christ.
No, Jesus is not ticked when we don't get it all right. That is not my point. But He has called us to obedience by His Spirit's power, through faith, because of our love for Him. It is the way He has given to show our love.
Are you ticked when your kids don't show you love? When your children disobey you, isn't it more of a sense of hurt and sadness that you feel? Deliberate and obstinate disobedience may make you a little angry, but when you know that kids have to learn obedience, you discipline them because you love them, not because you are ticked at them.
Look at Hebrews 12:6-7, then:
"...because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"
It is a relational comparison (and a human one) that God's word uses to describe the relationship He has with us. He disciplines, we endure - two-way street. He died and rose again for us, we obey Him - two-way street.
Otherwise, it is like Jesus said when He died for us, "I love you," and we just have to say, "Thank you." Try that with your spouse some time.
Obedience, by Jesus' own words, says more than just "Thank you;" it says, "I love you, too, Jesus."
It is the difference between giving Him my life, or just inviting Him into my life; between dying to myself, or just letting Him die for me; between claiming to believe, and living out our belief.
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
- 2 John 1:6
And still, Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commands." Why?
Paul said in Romans 1:5:
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."
Faith brings obedience; love brings obedience.I'm not saying that obedience brings faith or obedience brings love. Faith and love are the relational motive - obedience is the outpouring of the two.
"If you love me, obey me" - Jesus
"Obedience is the result of faith" - Paul
You can see why I am still of the mind that obedience is our calling. Jesus even said of His relationship to the Father in John 14:31:
"...but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."
He loves the Father, so He obeys the Father.
Peter, when addressing God's elect, said in 1 Peter 1:1-2:
"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:"
We were chosen by God, and sanctified by The Spirit for obedience to Christ.
No, Jesus is not ticked when we don't get it all right. That is not my point. But He has called us to obedience by His Spirit's power, through faith, because of our love for Him. It is the way He has given to show our love.
Are you ticked when your kids don't show you love? When your children disobey you, isn't it more of a sense of hurt and sadness that you feel? Deliberate and obstinate disobedience may make you a little angry, but when you know that kids have to learn obedience, you discipline them because you love them, not because you are ticked at them.
Look at Hebrews 12:6-7, then:
"...because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"
It is a relational comparison (and a human one) that God's word uses to describe the relationship He has with us. He disciplines, we endure - two-way street. He died and rose again for us, we obey Him - two-way street.
Otherwise, it is like Jesus said when He died for us, "I love you," and we just have to say, "Thank you." Try that with your spouse some time.
Obedience, by Jesus' own words, says more than just "Thank you;" it says, "I love you, too, Jesus."
It is the difference between giving Him my life, or just inviting Him into my life; between dying to myself, or just letting Him die for me; between claiming to believe, and living out our belief.
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
- 2 John 1:6
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