All posts tagged: Jesus

Hanging in the Bay

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<;;;a I just met a guy who offered two gospel tracks to me. I did take them because I wanted him to give it to somebody who needed them. I asked him if he was a believer and he said yes… A convert from Islam. That Jesus appeared to him in his dream and told him to believe in Him and in the gospel. Well, he did and his entire family from Iran are now followers of Jesus. We sat and talked for a good 20-30 minutes and didn’t fail to mention how the Lord healed his dad from cancer – and how his dad immediately began following Jesus. My new friend is from Iran and I can not show you his picture nor share his name. He is on his way to India to do some missionary work. Please pray that God will protect and use this mightily. You can call him the evangelist from Iran when you pray for him. Friends, there are hundreds and thousands of these guys all around the world …

Adrift

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I heard a story some time ago about an ungodly farmer. It is said that when he  died, it was discovered in his will that he had left his farm to the Devil. In the court, they didn’t quite know what to do with it — how do you give a farm to the Devil? Finally, the judge decided: “The best way to carry out the wishes of the deceased is to allow the farm to grow weeds, the soil to erode, and the house and barn to rot. In our opinion, the best way to leave something to the Devil is to do nothing.” In the same way, we can leave our lives to the Devil doing nothing. Just let the weeds grow, and the soil of our hearts erode and our spiritual house rot, slowly drifting away with whatever currents this world might. But the Bible warns of the dangers of neglecting our great salvation: Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the …

What good is the local Church?

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The Church is universal, the Church is local. The Church is the joyful assembly of the redeemed of all ages. The Church is the body of Christ extended through time and space. The holy church has two lives: one in time and the other in eternity. – Gregory the Great The Church is the bride of Christ, even though it sometimes acts like a wayward bride The local church is where believers are discipled, commissioned to be light of the world. The local church is where the broken is mended, the sick healed, and where friends become friends forever. The local church cares for the poor and fights for justice in our world. The local church is the body of Christ, the hands and feet of the master. The local church is where spiritual gifts are used for the common good, where believers learn to use their talents to serve others. The local church is where the gospel is preached, sinners are saved, prayers are offered, ministers ordained, the sacraments celebrated, and a cup of …

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

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Proverbs 3:5, 6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” I have been praying, waiting and trusting the Lord for something very important, but over the last two days, I have become increasingly anxious about it. So I decided to go to church and sing some old hymns. I thought, maybe that will help me snap out of my anxiousness. You know what, it worked. After singing a few of my favorite hymns, this one ministered more than the rest and  for practically the entire day, I couldn’t stop singing it. I can now say with confidence, I know that my God will take care of me. Let me sing it over you if you are feeling anxious today. I pray that you will find the grace to trust him more. I’m not too confident you will like my voice, or my playing, but just take it as a joyful ‘Noise’ of encouragement. Tis so sweet …

Critical Thinking Deflates Faith?

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In the study, published Friday in the journal Science, researchers from Canada’s University of British Columbia used subtle stimuli to encourage analytical thinking. Results from the study found that analytical thinking could decrease religious belief. What do you think? Picture: via cnn

The goal is Christ!

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The goal is Christ Philippians 3 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. There is a disease that is growing rapidly in pulpits all around the world, I mean in every country without exception. It’s what I call “I’m somebody too syndrome.” Many pastors have fallen into the trap of making it their goal to grow their churches to a certain size or build their ministry – whether from the pulpit, blogs, books, radio and television to a certain size in order to be counted as one of the elite, cutting edge, rock-star, celebrity pastors. We may  not agree with the way I described it above, but, when we, as pastors make it our goal to build and pastor large congregations; build up our ministries to a certain fame, we may be pursuing the wrong goal. For most of the people I know with this kind of notoriety, they didn’t go looking for it. The glory of God and the salvation of souls has been and …

Spiritual Warfare 101

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Part 7 Dealing with Demonic Affliction Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts portray Jesus and the apostles as using the command-control mode to address sickness, the weather, paying taxes, speaking with personal authority, and so forth. The rest of the New Testament, following the main approach in the Old Testament, exemplifies and commands a different mode. Is there a similar switch for dealing with demons associated with ailments and afflictions? We certainly will not be surprised to find a mode shift. Scripture is ‘silent’ on the issue in the same way it is silent on paying taxes, performing resurrections, or stilling storms by words of command. The silence thunders. The mode of addressing demonically induced sufferings reverts to the classic mode: Live the Christian life of receptive faith and active obedience in the midst of life’s hardships…. The modern demon-deliverance ministries are predicated on two fundamental errors. First, they misread the biblical record and fail to distinguish between moral and situational evil. They cast out ‘demons’ of moral evil, something neither taught nor illustrated anywhere in Scripture. Second, they …

The CHARGE

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Part 2 There are some important things in life, more important than making a buck or being popular or having the latest fashionable things. There is a God in heaven who cares about everything we do, and wants to point us to the most important things, the things that really matter. Here are some of those things Paul the mentor outlines for his son in the Lord. Things he wants Timothy to persist in: 6. Endure Suffering persist in it when life becomes hard and difficult… When persecution begins to happen because of the word, when personal problems like sickness, and loss and disappointments begin to happen… There are plenty of wonderful “highs” in serving God, but there are also afflictions to be endured.  See verse 5 7. Share your faith Persist in it even when people try to shut you out… Not everyone is called to be a pastor or a preacher, but everyone is called to share their faith…be bold, step out, tell your story as for you do the work of the evangelist… Verse 5 …

Prayer, share, care!

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I’m excited about the next 40 days of prayer starting in five days! My prayer as a pastor in the community I serve is to see God move incredibly in the lives of people. Yesterday we talked about how to co-work with God in sharing his love and kindness. Today, we want to see how that actually works. I am going to use another article from seek God for the city to help us put that into perspective. Caring prayers, tangible kindness and well-timed words. Think of your prayers for others as accelerating what God has already been doing. Since God’s work is always a story, your best praying will be part of an ongoing story. We know that prayer is more than some kind of quick-fix for problems. It’s confusing to think of utilizing prayer as a procedure that, if performed correctly, will bring about “results.” Instead, God delights in our praying as a way of enlisting us into His work and His purpose. Prayer is a way of collaborating with God. God is already on the move. Prayer does not …