They were new missionaries – still wrestling with language, culture, missing family and friends, struggling to develop new relationships in a vastly different setting. Their pastor arranged for a live skype chat with the congregation.
During the call the pastor cheerfully asked, “Are you thriving?”
The stumbling response went something like this, “Well, I’m not sure we’re thriving, but . . . er … um … uh . . . we’re doing fine.”
Hmmm. Must be something wrong. He’s not thriving. We know the Bible says: “We were made for so much more than ordinary lives
… more than just survive, we were made to thrive.”Continue reading →
In 1 Kings 2, Solomon takes vengeance on his father’s enemies. God does not condone or condemn it, He just tells us what happened. I wonder if the Lord might be giving us a prophetic picture of what is to come when the Lord Jesus ascends to the throne and takes out all the enemies of the kingdom. For example …
1. Abiathar, the priest.
David said he wanted Solomon to be king but that wasn’t the proper protocol. The law of succession said David’s oldest son should be king. Solomon was not the oldest and, in fact, wasn’t even a legitimate son. Abiathar tried to follow the law and keep Solomon from the throne. He only wanted to obey the law but by doing so he was putting it above the expressed will of the king. Abiathar’s life was spared but he lost his priesthood – ability to minister before the Lord.
Will there be those who inherit eternal life but are not permitted to minister to the Lord because they insisted on clinging to the law refusing to embrace grace? Hmmm … I wonder. Continue reading →
Someone asked me what I thought about the Machine Gun Preacher, Sam Childers, the former motorcycle gang member, now a Christian, who leads armed attacks to rescue children in Sudan. Is it right to kill people to rescue others? Is he doing a good thing or just using the methods of the world to try to accomplish God’s goals? He has even come under fire from people in the area where he is trying to help children.
So is Sam a hero or a villain? Saint or another misguided follower of the Prince of Peace?
My opinion is ….. drum roll, please … I am glad I do not have to have an opinion. Sam is not working for me. He is not my servant, he is the Lord’s.
Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Why is it we think we have to have an opinion on everything no matter how ignorant we are of the topic? Worse yet, why is it our opinion is always right? There is not a single opinion I hold or you hold that is not the correct one. (Because if we thought our opinion was wrong we would change it.)
Opinions are like navels. Everyone has one. They aren’t of much value and it is usually wise to not go around showing it to everyone.
I look at it like this. I will not have to give account to God for anything Sam is doing unless … unless I choose to judge him. Then I will give account to God for my judgment of him. The list of things I have already got to give account for is long enough. Why add Sam to my list?
I have discovered I have never had anything I did not say come back to haunt me. How much trouble could we avoid if we simply kept silent more? Could your life be happier and smoother, and less to talk to God about later, if you followed the advice of Will Rogers who said, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
Let’s hear it for … silence.
___________________ 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Proverbs 17:28
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
James 3:2
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
I was asked this question via a FaceBook chat. I anticipated after my answer they would sign-off with a quick “thanks” or try to justify why my answer did not apply. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out they were sincerely desiring to know what God had to say about the issue and were willing to follow His instructions. Here is what I told them.
The Bible is very clear on that issue. In fact, it is probably one of the most clearly answered questions in all of Scripture. Typically “fornication” is the term used to refer to sex before marriage whereas “adultery” refers to sex after marriage with anyone other than your spouse. The Greek word the King James Version translates “fornication” actually includes many forms of sexual immorality (incest, prostitution, harlotry, etc) and so is often simply translated “sexual immorality”, so as not to limit its meaning to fornication. The Bible is clear that sex before marriage, and all sexual immorality, is a sin and warns of harsh penalties for those involved in it.
The Bible teaches self-control and complete abstinence before marriage and a one-man, one-woman relationship after marriage both physically and in the area of the thought life.
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They were new missionaries – still wrestling with language, culture, missing family and friends, struggling to develop new relationships in a vastly different setting. Their pastor arranged for a live skype chat with the congregation.
I was asked this question via a FaceBook chat. I anticipated after my answer they would sign-off with a quick “thanks” or try to justify why my answer did not apply. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out they were sincerely desiring to know what God had to say about the issue and were willing to follow His instructions. Here is what I told them.