As a general rule I don't normally say anything about politics in a public forum unless it is to address a specific issue. However, I have been thinking lately about this past year and what has taken place in our government and I thought I would share some of those thoughts in my blog.
First of all, I am greatly concerned about the direction our government is taking this country. As one who espouses a strong message of faith in God, I find it very troubling that we seem to have a group in both the White House and Congress that think that government is the answer to everything. The problem with this way of thinking is that our government is not equipped to be a god -- the almighty provider for all the ills of society.
The underlying worldview that supports this trend is essentially secular humanism. It is the idea that man is his own sovereign and is answerable to no higher power than himself. While no one (except atheists) may actually articulate their thinking in this manner, it still remains that this is what drives almost all human efforts to solve any problem from a secular approach. The truth of a Divine Creator unto whom we are all answerable is never brought into the equation in this type of mindset.
This creates a dynamic in any effort to answer present or future needs that demands some type of source to fund the solution. Since the man-made entities have no way to generate an inexhaustible supply, there naturally has to be a source from which to derive the resources to make the solution possible. It is here where governments can take a particularly dangerous turn in how it looks upon the population it is responsible to govern.
Government, by its very nature, is unable to "produce" anything. It is not the role of government to take natural resources and turn them into goods or services. Government cannot function in the marketplace. Government is essentially a consumer, needing a continual supply of resources to carry out its assigned duties. It has to look to the citizenry and the marketplace as its source. This is where taxes, fees, and tariffs come into the picture.
Every dollar that is required to fund a government-run entity -- no matter what shape, size, or ultimate purpose that entity takes in real life must come from someone in the citizenry. All government salaries, benefits, and other financial demands required to carry out any governmental function is paid for by money raised through taxes, fees, or tariffs. Thus, whatever benefits the government may supply to one person or group of people is supplied by someone else who either paid the government through a tax, a fee, or tariff. There is never a free ride from the government... someone pays for it ultimately.
Now, when you understand that fact you can see the problem facing our government today. They have taken on too many projects to which they promise salvation. This has presented the problem of not having enough money to pay for it all. So, two things are being done to answer the problem of the lack of money -- raise taxes and print more money. Both of these solutions have dangerous ultimate outcomes for our nation.
Obviously, the problem of raising taxes should be self-evident. The more money the government takes out of people's hands in the private sector and marketplace, the less money is available to purchase things in the marketplace and invest in businesses. This in turn reduces the amount of money available to businesses to expand their productivity and to pay their workers. This can lead to layoffs and increasing unemployment. It then can lead to an ever-increasing demand for the government to provide assistance to the unemployed, the struggling businesses, and this leads to a need for more money on behalf of the government. See the madness of this cycle?
Printing more money has its own set of problems. Ever since our nation went off the gold standard our money has been essentially worthless. The gold standard insured that our government could not print more dollars than what we had gold on hand to back it. This insured that the dollar would always have measurable value. But, it also limited the ability of the government to spend money due to the fact that they could not spend more than they could legally back with either gold or silver.
Removing our currency from the gold standard created fiat money, or money that has no real value. The more fiat money is printed by the government and then pumps into the marketplace, the less "value" the money has as a tool in the marketplace. The ultimate end of this is inflation. Prices have to go up because it takes more money to pay for everything due to the falling value of the dollar. This is an over-simplified description of how all this works.
Our government is spending more, printing more, and requiring more money than can be understood or imagined by the average American. Our government is going deeper in debt every day at a rate that is almost incomprehensible. The problem that all this is creating is that somewhere, sometime or another, they will have to begin to actually pay for everything. That is when the other shoe will drop and every American will pay dearly for it.
My friends, government is not equipped to be the "be all", "do all" for all our problems. Health care is not a function that the government needs to take on; it is best handled in the marketplace. Bailing out failing businesses is not a function of government, the normal rhythm of the marketplace will take care of the health of businesses. Government involvement in any area of business generally will get in the way and hinder productivity and success, rather than facilitate it.
Just understand, by its very nature, the government will eventually be controlling every decision being made concerning a person's health care if what is being considered actually becomes law. It will have to in order to control costs. The bottom line on every decision of a government run health care system is going to be "how much will this cost" and "is this a wise expenditure or investment into this person's health". A person's ability to produce will be a major part of deciding whether or not they should get proper care to bring them back to health. If they are too old, too handicapped, too weak to be able to enter the work force to contribute to the tax base funding the government, they will be denied care. It is inevitable.
There will not be enough money to pay for everything. Prices will have to go up, due to the inflationary nature of our devalued, worthless dollar. Government inefficiency will eat up a lot of money that would otherwise be used to provide actual care. Fraud and abuse will become rampant in any health care system the government provides... just look at Medicare and that becomes self-evident.
I normally am not a doom and gloomer. I attempt to take a positive approach to everything. I firmly believe that if we, as individuals, turn to God and look to Him for answers He will answer. The problem I see in our nation right now, though, is one that God may be slow to take any action on in response to our cries, and here is why I feel this way. We voted for this. Plain and simple, we chose these people who are coming up with all these decisions and put them into power.
It is very incongruent, and even dysfunctional, to vote for a politician expecting him or her to do something about our nation’s problems and then ask God to move to do something about our mess when things don't seem to be going in the right direction. God knew who should have been put into office, on every level of our government. But, His people should have asked Him who He wanted and then be willing to vote that way regardless of whether it was a person who was in the "right" political party or not.
I can be very sure in stating that God would not have anyone who calls Jesus as their Lord to vote for anyone who stands for the killing of the unborn. I can be pretty confident that God would have His hand of blessing upon a leader who understands that government should be limited in its role and let the creativity of it population be unhindered in providing private sector answers to the problems of our nation. I also think that God would find it easier to guide a leader in Congress or the White House who understands the nature of our enemies and will take a bold and uncompromising stand against any and all those who threaten our security and prosperity.
God warned Israel when they were clamoring for a king that they would live to regret it. He described the nature of the king as they desired it and even after being told in detail how the king would eventually turn them all into his servants and use them for his own selfish purposes they still wanted a king. They wanted to be like all the other nations around them, and that is exactly what they got. God let them have what they wanted and they paid a terrible price for their lack of wisdom.
I think we have made the same mistake in this nation. However, what is particularly distressing is that way too many of God's people voted for what we now have and some even think that what is going on in our government is good. For those who now see this is not what they thought they were going to get, it is a little too late to fall on their knees and beg God to do something about it. What we have is as a result of the majority's choice. We will have to live with it until November 2010 when we will have an opportunity to walk out our repentance. I trust that between now and then an understanding of just how much damage is being done to the very fabric of our nation enters into the hearts and minds of the majority of people and we can begin to seek God as to how to get things back on track.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A New Look At Righteousness
Romans 10:33 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (New International Version)
The verse above, in context, is referring to the Jews attempting to gain righteousness through the law. However, recently the Lord made it clear to me that many non-Jews --even Christians--are going about making up their own rules about what makes them righteous; being completely ignorant of what the New Testament states the real righteousness of God is all about.
It must be understood that the standard for righteousness is not arbitrary. It is not subject to some variable standard established by man. Real righteousness is defined and determined by God, especially since He is the originator and source of it. He sets the standard of what it is and how it is lived out in the flesh.
In simple terms, righteousness is defined as being in right-standing with God. It is being in a state or condition that puts you in a relationship with God that allows Him to deal with you as if sin had never existed in your life. It is, in fact, the place or standing that Jesus had with His Father when He lived and ministered here in the earth.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (New International Version) This verse reveals what becomes true of any person who receives Jesus as their Lord; they become the very righteousness of God through union with Christ Jesus. This is not just a theological, theoretical position, but a living reality. You are legally in a place of right-standing with God that is of the same quality and standard as what Jesus Himself possesses.
This legal fact is to be lived out in a vital way here in our earthly walk. The believer in Christ is now in a place where that legal possession of right relationship with God is to be seen in the way they behave and conduct their lives here in the earth. This is not done by keeping a rule book or following a bunch of do's and don'ts. It is demonstrated in a life of faith and power that is directed by the Holy Spirit from within.
Jesus is our example. In His earthly walk He demonstrated what right relationship with the Father was to produce in the life of man. He lived in total submission and agreement to the Father's will, not doing anything of self-will or initiative. He only did what the Father told Him to do, and only spoke what the Father told Him to say.
He and the Father were one. (John 10:30) They were one so completely that Jesus told His disciples in John 14:9, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." This union between the man, Jesus, and the Father God is exactly the same as the union between a born again man and the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (New International Version)
Right-standing is to be lived out in right-relationship. That relationship is lived out according to the standard that God Himself has determined, because it is His righteousness He has invested into us. This is not to be seen as a negative by anyone, but a great advantage because it is the key to the life of dominion and authority we see Jesus exhibiting in His earthly walk.
This right-relationship is called being a son of God. 1 John 3:1-3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (King James Version) Many modern translations render the word "son" and "child" or "children", but the relationship we have in our union with Christ is that of The Son of God. We are joint-hiers with Christ (Romans 8:17) Seated with Him in heavenly places at the right hand of God, sharing in that authority and dominion through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
In my next blog I will show you how Jesus described His own relationship with the Father, and then related that to the way we were to walk in this earth through our union with Him.
The verse above, in context, is referring to the Jews attempting to gain righteousness through the law. However, recently the Lord made it clear to me that many non-Jews --even Christians--are going about making up their own rules about what makes them righteous; being completely ignorant of what the New Testament states the real righteousness of God is all about.
It must be understood that the standard for righteousness is not arbitrary. It is not subject to some variable standard established by man. Real righteousness is defined and determined by God, especially since He is the originator and source of it. He sets the standard of what it is and how it is lived out in the flesh.
In simple terms, righteousness is defined as being in right-standing with God. It is being in a state or condition that puts you in a relationship with God that allows Him to deal with you as if sin had never existed in your life. It is, in fact, the place or standing that Jesus had with His Father when He lived and ministered here in the earth.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (New International Version) This verse reveals what becomes true of any person who receives Jesus as their Lord; they become the very righteousness of God through union with Christ Jesus. This is not just a theological, theoretical position, but a living reality. You are legally in a place of right-standing with God that is of the same quality and standard as what Jesus Himself possesses.
This legal fact is to be lived out in a vital way here in our earthly walk. The believer in Christ is now in a place where that legal possession of right relationship with God is to be seen in the way they behave and conduct their lives here in the earth. This is not done by keeping a rule book or following a bunch of do's and don'ts. It is demonstrated in a life of faith and power that is directed by the Holy Spirit from within.
Jesus is our example. In His earthly walk He demonstrated what right relationship with the Father was to produce in the life of man. He lived in total submission and agreement to the Father's will, not doing anything of self-will or initiative. He only did what the Father told Him to do, and only spoke what the Father told Him to say.
He and the Father were one. (John 10:30) They were one so completely that Jesus told His disciples in John 14:9, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." This union between the man, Jesus, and the Father God is exactly the same as the union between a born again man and the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (New International Version)
Right-standing is to be lived out in right-relationship. That relationship is lived out according to the standard that God Himself has determined, because it is His righteousness He has invested into us. This is not to be seen as a negative by anyone, but a great advantage because it is the key to the life of dominion and authority we see Jesus exhibiting in His earthly walk.
This right-relationship is called being a son of God. 1 John 3:1-3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (King James Version) Many modern translations render the word "son" and "child" or "children", but the relationship we have in our union with Christ is that of The Son of God. We are joint-hiers with Christ (Romans 8:17) Seated with Him in heavenly places at the right hand of God, sharing in that authority and dominion through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
In my next blog I will show you how Jesus described His own relationship with the Father, and then related that to the way we were to walk in this earth through our union with Him.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Power Of A Pure Conscience
The focus of the messages I have been ministering in our Winter Bible Faith Seminar at Harvestfire Church this week has to do with learning how to be led of the Holy Spirit on a much higher level. In the days we live in it is imperative that we stay in close fellowship with the Lord and listen to His instructions and directions for our lives. We cannot afford to "wing it" in these perilous times; making decisions that are based out of some emotional upwelling or flesh-energized feeling. We cannot make decisions that are based upon carnal reasoning or even physical, factual information without the counsel of the Holy Spirit to direct our steps based upon a higher level of insight.
There are three primary ways that the Lord will lead and guide our lives. The primary way is by the inward witness. Romans 8:14, 16 tells us, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, New King James Version. The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit concerning a wide variety of things that we need to know, and that information comes to our awareness as just that: a knowing in our spirit. While this "knowing" becomes an awareness on a conscious level in our minds the overall sense of it comes more from deep within our being. We just "know" things that are not based upon information that comes through the five physical senses. We can heighten our awareness of this inward witness as we spend time praying in the Spirit and taking the time to quietly sit in the presence of God and listen.
Our spirit, which is filled with the presence of the Godhead through our union with Christ by the Holy Spirit, is able to communicate with God and speak to our minds in that "still small voice" that comes from within. This is the second way that God will lead us, by our own born-again spirit that is called in 2 Corinthians 5:17 the "new creation". The first part of Romans chapter 8 is addressing this aspect of our lives. As we become more oriented to the spiritual and less given to the carnal we can find that our mind picks up on the voice of our own spirit as well as the voice of the Holy Spirit in a much greater way.
The voice of our own spirit is also known as our conscience and is a very accurate way of knowing whether we are in step with the Holy Spirit or venturing out into an area of sin or disobedience. This works in concert with that inward witness of the Holy Spirit to keep us on track and in the mainstream of God's perfect will for our lives. This is a very powerful aspect of our being able to be led by the Holy Spirit, the voice of our own conscience.
Six times in the New Testament we find the phrase "good conscience" being used to indicate the importance of having nothing in violation of our conscience as it relates to our faith in God. The word "conscience" is comes from the Greek word "suneidesis" and is described as, "a knowing with" (sun, "with," oida, "to know"), i. e., "a co-knowledge (with oneself), the witness borne to one's conduct by conscience, that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives"(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
In several places Paul refers to having a good conscience; he also speaks of serving God with a pure conscience (2 Timothy 1:3); and also refers to holding faith in a pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9). One very interesting mention of conscience is found in Acts 24:16 as Paul is testifying before Felix, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." King James Version.
Paul was continually exercising himself to keep his conscience clear of any offense of any kind toward anyone. Offense will shut down the ability of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives. When we get offended we have put ourselves in a place where the only thing the Holy Spirit can speak to us about is getting rid of the offense. And, until we get our conscience clear of that offense we cannot trust any leading that we get for it will more than likely be a leading that is energized from our flesh or emotions that have no contact with the Holy Spirit.
The danger of this is seen in 1 Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron." New King James Version
Repeatedly ignoring the voice of conscience and not repenting, not asking forgiveness of the Lord, and forgiving those who offended you will gradually silence your conscience and place you in peril of becoming deceived and seduced by evil spirits. And, because your conscience is seared to the point of no longer energizing you to the danger you are in those spirits can mimic the voice of the Holy Spirit and make you think you are hearing from God when you actually are being led away from faith by lying and deceiving spirits. Paul refers to the final state of these type of people in Titus 1:15-16, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." New King James Version
Faith will not work in an unforgiving heart. Holding offense against anyone is too dangerous to your spiritual walk to allow such a thing to continue. Making decisions to make changes of lifestyle, jobs, where you go to church, or any other major decision while in a state of holding offense can lead to mistakes that sometimes are very difficult to correct. Your conscience is to be your guide and keep you on track, but when it is disabled by offense you have no guarantees that your decisions are good ones and in line with the will of God. Remember, when you are in a state of offense toward anyone the only direction the Holy Spirit can give you is to get rid of the offense. He will not direct you to leave a job, leave a church, divorce a spouse, or make any other changes in your life until you step back within the boundaries of the commandment of love and forgive those who offended you and repent of the sin of offense.
Hebrew 10 explains that our conscience is cleansed and placed back into a pure state by the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. That blood goes to work immediately to bring forgiveness and cleansing of all unrighteousness in our heart when we confess our sin before our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is our Advocate with the Father. We can receive that forgiveness when we readily and freely forgive all who have sinned against us in any way. By doing so we can walk free from the offense and live in the power of a pure and good conscience.
Learn to be a forgiver. Forgive everybody of everything, real or perceived offenses, without holding on to them for a single moment. Keep your conscience clear and clean so that the Holy Spirit can direct your steps accurately and easily. Do as the Apostle Paul did, and exercise yourself continually to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man and you will have no trouble staying in step with the leading of God's Spirit on a daily basis.
There are three primary ways that the Lord will lead and guide our lives. The primary way is by the inward witness. Romans 8:14, 16 tells us, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, New King James Version. The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit concerning a wide variety of things that we need to know, and that information comes to our awareness as just that: a knowing in our spirit. While this "knowing" becomes an awareness on a conscious level in our minds the overall sense of it comes more from deep within our being. We just "know" things that are not based upon information that comes through the five physical senses. We can heighten our awareness of this inward witness as we spend time praying in the Spirit and taking the time to quietly sit in the presence of God and listen.
Our spirit, which is filled with the presence of the Godhead through our union with Christ by the Holy Spirit, is able to communicate with God and speak to our minds in that "still small voice" that comes from within. This is the second way that God will lead us, by our own born-again spirit that is called in 2 Corinthians 5:17 the "new creation". The first part of Romans chapter 8 is addressing this aspect of our lives. As we become more oriented to the spiritual and less given to the carnal we can find that our mind picks up on the voice of our own spirit as well as the voice of the Holy Spirit in a much greater way.
The voice of our own spirit is also known as our conscience and is a very accurate way of knowing whether we are in step with the Holy Spirit or venturing out into an area of sin or disobedience. This works in concert with that inward witness of the Holy Spirit to keep us on track and in the mainstream of God's perfect will for our lives. This is a very powerful aspect of our being able to be led by the Holy Spirit, the voice of our own conscience.
Six times in the New Testament we find the phrase "good conscience" being used to indicate the importance of having nothing in violation of our conscience as it relates to our faith in God. The word "conscience" is comes from the Greek word "suneidesis" and is described as, "a knowing with" (sun, "with," oida, "to know"), i. e., "a co-knowledge (with oneself), the witness borne to one's conduct by conscience, that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives"(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
In several places Paul refers to having a good conscience; he also speaks of serving God with a pure conscience (2 Timothy 1:3); and also refers to holding faith in a pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9). One very interesting mention of conscience is found in Acts 24:16 as Paul is testifying before Felix, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." King James Version.
Paul was continually exercising himself to keep his conscience clear of any offense of any kind toward anyone. Offense will shut down the ability of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives. When we get offended we have put ourselves in a place where the only thing the Holy Spirit can speak to us about is getting rid of the offense. And, until we get our conscience clear of that offense we cannot trust any leading that we get for it will more than likely be a leading that is energized from our flesh or emotions that have no contact with the Holy Spirit.
The danger of this is seen in 1 Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron." New King James Version
Repeatedly ignoring the voice of conscience and not repenting, not asking forgiveness of the Lord, and forgiving those who offended you will gradually silence your conscience and place you in peril of becoming deceived and seduced by evil spirits. And, because your conscience is seared to the point of no longer energizing you to the danger you are in those spirits can mimic the voice of the Holy Spirit and make you think you are hearing from God when you actually are being led away from faith by lying and deceiving spirits. Paul refers to the final state of these type of people in Titus 1:15-16, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." New King James Version
Faith will not work in an unforgiving heart. Holding offense against anyone is too dangerous to your spiritual walk to allow such a thing to continue. Making decisions to make changes of lifestyle, jobs, where you go to church, or any other major decision while in a state of holding offense can lead to mistakes that sometimes are very difficult to correct. Your conscience is to be your guide and keep you on track, but when it is disabled by offense you have no guarantees that your decisions are good ones and in line with the will of God. Remember, when you are in a state of offense toward anyone the only direction the Holy Spirit can give you is to get rid of the offense. He will not direct you to leave a job, leave a church, divorce a spouse, or make any other changes in your life until you step back within the boundaries of the commandment of love and forgive those who offended you and repent of the sin of offense.
Hebrew 10 explains that our conscience is cleansed and placed back into a pure state by the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. That blood goes to work immediately to bring forgiveness and cleansing of all unrighteousness in our heart when we confess our sin before our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is our Advocate with the Father. We can receive that forgiveness when we readily and freely forgive all who have sinned against us in any way. By doing so we can walk free from the offense and live in the power of a pure and good conscience.
Learn to be a forgiver. Forgive everybody of everything, real or perceived offenses, without holding on to them for a single moment. Keep your conscience clear and clean so that the Holy Spirit can direct your steps accurately and easily. Do as the Apostle Paul did, and exercise yourself continually to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man and you will have no trouble staying in step with the leading of God's Spirit on a daily basis.
Monday, January 5, 2009
At the beginning of each new year it is a good time to take a look at your life and judge yourself of anything that you may have allowed to creep into your lifestyle that could stand in the way of your success in the future. Look at everything, personal habits, spiritual routines, financial stewardship, relationships with others, and most importantly, your relationship with the Lord. Shine the light of the Word on every area and make sure you are still operating in faith and love and have not opened the door to the enemy by growing lazy or negligent in your affairs.
Proverbs 27:23-24 gives us the wisdom to: "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?" Malachi 2:15-16 twice repeats the admonition to "take heed to thy spirit". We must take a look at things to know where we stand and to know if there are any areas that need attention and adjustments.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 insturcts us to , "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?"(from New International Version)
Every pilot has to have a check flight with an instructor periodically to make sure he has not slipped into any bad habits that could pose to be a danger to himself or to his passengers that may fly with him. The instructor is looking to see if the pilot is still doing the fundamentals, observing the basic principles and diciplines of flight that are required to insure he is operating the airplane in a safe manner. This is done for those who are flying a Cessna 152, or a Boeing 747; it is required of all. In fact, it becomes more important to the pilot who has tens of thousands of hours in the air than to the pilot that just got his private pilots license due to the reality that familiarity can breed contempt for routine and basic practices that everyone must observe.
How much more important is it for the believer to assess their spiritual habits and practices. The born-again believer is to live his entire life by the power of faith, have it sustained by faith, supplied by faith. Therefore, it becomes necessary to make sure that all the elements of a powerful and fruitful life of faith is being maintained on a ongoing basis.
I encourage you to take a look at your life and judge yourself in these areas. Be brutally honest with yourself and before God. Hold nothing back from the light of judgment. If you find you have slipped in some areas, don't condemn yourself, but repent and change. Ask for the Lord's help in making the changes that will result in increasing the effectiveness and fruitfulness of your life of faith. You will be glad you did!
Proverbs 27:23-24 gives us the wisdom to: "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?" Malachi 2:15-16 twice repeats the admonition to "take heed to thy spirit". We must take a look at things to know where we stand and to know if there are any areas that need attention and adjustments.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 insturcts us to , "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?"(from New International Version)
Every pilot has to have a check flight with an instructor periodically to make sure he has not slipped into any bad habits that could pose to be a danger to himself or to his passengers that may fly with him. The instructor is looking to see if the pilot is still doing the fundamentals, observing the basic principles and diciplines of flight that are required to insure he is operating the airplane in a safe manner. This is done for those who are flying a Cessna 152, or a Boeing 747; it is required of all. In fact, it becomes more important to the pilot who has tens of thousands of hours in the air than to the pilot that just got his private pilots license due to the reality that familiarity can breed contempt for routine and basic practices that everyone must observe.
How much more important is it for the believer to assess their spiritual habits and practices. The born-again believer is to live his entire life by the power of faith, have it sustained by faith, supplied by faith. Therefore, it becomes necessary to make sure that all the elements of a powerful and fruitful life of faith is being maintained on a ongoing basis.
I encourage you to take a look at your life and judge yourself in these areas. Be brutally honest with yourself and before God. Hold nothing back from the light of judgment. If you find you have slipped in some areas, don't condemn yourself, but repent and change. Ask for the Lord's help in making the changes that will result in increasing the effectiveness and fruitfulness of your life of faith. You will be glad you did!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Fulfilling the Call
One of my passions is to minister to other ministers; to see men and women of God become successful in fulfilling the call of God on their lives and doing it in a way that brings fulfillment to their own heart and honors God as well. After almost thirty years of ministry I feel I have something to offer anyone who is called to ministry. Especially those who are just starting out in the ministry or, who have maybe failed in the past and are looking to get a fresh start.
This blog will be where I share and bare my heart concerning ministry. What works and what doesn't; what will insure success, and what will open the door to problems. I don't claim to know it all, but what I do know I feel sure can be a help and blessing to someone, somewhere; no matter how long they have been in the ministry.
One thing I have learned... With over 1800 ministers leaving the ministry every month, something is desperately wrong with how we as ministers are going about obeying the call. God did not call us to something that inherently is designed to destroy us. Ministry should be, and can be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing a person could ever be called to do. So, if you are not enjoying what you do, you might be doing it wrong.
No doubt, ministry can be difficult and challenging. But, that is not the problem. Trying to carry out ministry with worldly methods or misguided understanding of what God requires of us as ministers can certainly make ministry overly difficult. We are not called to save the world and lose our own souls, our marriages, our families, or our physical lives. There is a way to minister to people without becoming a casualty yourself.
It all starts with how you manage your self; your time, your mind, your emotions, your flesh, your motives, and your attitudes. YOU, have to become your biggest project. I heard it said by a very elderly and experienced minister that God has no problem building ministries or churches; what is His greatest challenge is building men and women.
In future posts I will challenge you to take a look at what may need changing in your own life as a minister to help you come to a place where you are in charge of your life, rather than life and ministry being in charge of you. We will learn to face reality and deal with the real issues, and stop finding or placing blame for our troubles. Change is good and necessary in order to grow. Every successful minister I know has learned how to constantly change and grow to stay ahead of the pressures of life and ministry.
Let me leave you with one last thought... We all desire to have growing and successful ministries. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact that desire must be cultivated and nurtured to have any success at all. There is one thing that must be remembered as our ministries begin to increase in size and influence, and that is the bigger our ministry becomes, the harder it is to become who we were meant to be. You have to stay in a position of influence and don't allow the ministry to become your master or god.
This blog will be where I share and bare my heart concerning ministry. What works and what doesn't; what will insure success, and what will open the door to problems. I don't claim to know it all, but what I do know I feel sure can be a help and blessing to someone, somewhere; no matter how long they have been in the ministry.
One thing I have learned... With over 1800 ministers leaving the ministry every month, something is desperately wrong with how we as ministers are going about obeying the call. God did not call us to something that inherently is designed to destroy us. Ministry should be, and can be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing a person could ever be called to do. So, if you are not enjoying what you do, you might be doing it wrong.
No doubt, ministry can be difficult and challenging. But, that is not the problem. Trying to carry out ministry with worldly methods or misguided understanding of what God requires of us as ministers can certainly make ministry overly difficult. We are not called to save the world and lose our own souls, our marriages, our families, or our physical lives. There is a way to minister to people without becoming a casualty yourself.
It all starts with how you manage your self; your time, your mind, your emotions, your flesh, your motives, and your attitudes. YOU, have to become your biggest project. I heard it said by a very elderly and experienced minister that God has no problem building ministries or churches; what is His greatest challenge is building men and women.
In future posts I will challenge you to take a look at what may need changing in your own life as a minister to help you come to a place where you are in charge of your life, rather than life and ministry being in charge of you. We will learn to face reality and deal with the real issues, and stop finding or placing blame for our troubles. Change is good and necessary in order to grow. Every successful minister I know has learned how to constantly change and grow to stay ahead of the pressures of life and ministry.
Let me leave you with one last thought... We all desire to have growing and successful ministries. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact that desire must be cultivated and nurtured to have any success at all. There is one thing that must be remembered as our ministries begin to increase in size and influence, and that is the bigger our ministry becomes, the harder it is to become who we were meant to be. You have to stay in a position of influence and don't allow the ministry to become your master or god.
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