So, Who Do You Listen To?

"The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God's words. You don't listen and respond, because you don't belong to God" (cf. John 8:47, NET Version).

Strong words, aren't they? As we can see, Jesus never pulled any punches when addressing false disciples. In fact, this statement He makes comes on the heels of Him laying the wood to His attackers – (cf. John 8:44)

The first phrase reads, "You people are from your father, the devil and you want to do what your father desires..." (NET Version).

There it is. Whoever controls the ear controls the conduct.

My friends, we are either children of God or children of the devil. 

There is no other option. 

In his book Always Ready, the late Dr. Gregory L. Bahnsen said, "Neutrality is an immoral attempt to serve two lords." We will either listen to the devil or we will listen to God. And our response will either be disobedience or obedience. Sorry, but the Word of God does not make it any plainer than that.

How do we know we belong to God? When we love Him and when we obey His Word. It is an impossibility for one to love and to obey God but to hate His Bible at the same time. We cannot be His disciples when His Word is not the priority in our lives.

The devil's children simply go through the motions, pretending to belong to God. Let that not be us.

Listen to Christ. Obey His Word. 

He is the Word.

Blessings. 

Persecution is Real

Greetings my fellow disciples and family in Christ. Once again, I pray that all is well with you. Today's focus touches on our desire to live godly lives. With that comes a word that many in contemporary Christendom work hard to avoid.

Persecution.

In 2 Timothy 3:12, the Bible says, "Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (KJV).

Let's face it. We live in a world that hates Christ. The world hates Christians. So, living in this hostile environment—a place that isn't our final home, by the way—what makes disciples believe that persecution will never drive down their street?

It hunts us.

It stalks us.

True disciples are to deny themselves and to follow Jesus—it's the first rule of discipleship (cf. Matt 16:24–28; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:22–27). When we desire to live godly in an ungodly world, we should expect resistance.

Remember, the servant is not greater than his/her Lord. So, if they hated Jesus, they will hate us. In that, do not deny Him....because we do not want Him to deny us (cf. Matt. 10:32–33; Matt. 7:21–23).

Be encouraged.

Go Hard.

STUDY!!!

Greetings fellow disciples. I pray that all is well with you. Wanted to talk today about a subject that many in contemporary Christendom find daunting. It's called study. Did I say that? Yes, I did.

Unfortunately, those who consider themselves followers of Christ barely have a surface understanding of the Word of God. It is critical that we develop solid study habits, if we are going to use the Word of God effectively in evangelism. Let's see what the Apostle Paul tells Timothy.

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (cf. II Timothy 2:15). 

The NET Bible translation gives us a simple way of reading this. It says:

"Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately" (cf. II Timothy 2:15).

The Christian community is filled with messages. Many of these messages, which include useless clichés, clearly reveal a limited understanding of the Word of God. It's unfortunate, but the majority of the faith–based community is Biblically illiterate. Not good for evangelizing a world that DESPERATELY needs the unadulterated Word of God.

What do we do? The Bible makes it clear. Let us make every effort to show God that we are hard workers when it comes to consuming and to sharing His message.

We can do it.

Blessings.

Time Will Tell the Story

In response to a great deal of strong and negative feelings about God and about Christianity, I felt it necessary to remind us that as disciples of Christ, we WILL suffer persecution. No question about it. We live in a world that is anti-God, anti-Christ and anti-Christian. And if Jesus Himself suffered at the hands of His persecutors, so will we (cf. John 15:20; 17:14; II Tim. 3:12).

Nevertheless, I have good news. And this news is the very reason I refuse to argue with bullying skeptics about matters concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, His Word and His people. The good news is this: Time Will Tell the Story. No matter how much skeptics argue against the historicity and reliability of the Bible, there is ONE thing they ALL cannot escape - DEATH. 

I had the not so distinct pleasure of reading rants against God (i.e. He is not real, no such thing, so on and so on) this afternoon through comments made in response to a judicial ruling against a Christian bakery. There were also vicious attacks against Christians. But disciples of the Lord, hold on to our hope. The Bible promises that Jesus will vanquish all of His enemies. They can argue until they're blue in the face about Jesus being a farce, but once again, there is ONE thing they ALL cannot escape - DEATH. 

So, instead of us arguing and trying to convince people who seem to be already convinced, why not just wait? Time Will Tell the Story. Every person will take his or her last breath ONE day. And on that day, each and every person will learn whether God is real or not. 

Time Will Tell the Story.....so be encouraged and keep serving our Master. 

Blessings.

What is Ministry?

My brothers, sisters and friends....what is ministry? Very interesting and challenging question. I also have another question. Does society and even the church have a warped view of what ministry truly is? I believe that is a distinct possibility.

According to Bill Hull's The Complete Book of Discipleship, the term ministry means serving others in the name of Christ. Hull's definition is absolutely correct. So then, why do a great number of people - who claim to be Christians - want to be served instead of serving?

Jesus made it clear when He (the Master) washed His disciples feet (cf. John 13) - the lowest kind of servanthood in Palestine - that service is a prerequisite for discipleship. Perhaps that may be the reason so many care not to be disciples.

My friends....as we go about our daily activities, let us make a conscious effort to take advantage of opportunities to serve others.

It is the true meaning of ministry.

Blessings.