Obedience and Faith

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

Luke 17:1 “Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.”

 

In these verses of Luke 17:1-19 an important lesson I believe is coming out about faith and obedience that we need to see and grasp. In the first four verses Jesus is telling His disciples and us that no matter how many times a brother offends, if he comes to us repent and get right – we are to forgive.

 

Evidently that was too much for the disciples to take in so they asked Jesus to increase their faith. The disciples – like most of us today – see what Jesus said from the aspect of feeling, but this has nothing to do with our feelings, but with our will. We are to obey first and then our feelings follow.

 

So, they said: “Increase our faith.” Jesus responded saying that a faith as small as a mustard seed can do great things. I wonder if we have ever thought what a remarkable statement Jesus made here about the mustard seed.

 

Jesus said faith like a mustard seed can move mountains. Think about it. Someone estimated that by taking Mount Hermon that the disciples would be acquainted with is 1,804 meters higher than the land around it and 2, 814 meters above sea level. A mustard seed being 1.5 mm in size, it would take 1,202,666.67 mustard seeds to reach the height of Mount Hermon. Or if laid side by side it would be 1972.9 yards, which is equivalent to 6.5 football fields. A mustard seed is miniscule compared to a mountain, but faith that small could move mountains. Jesus said several times to His disciples: “You of little faith.” Is this true with us as well?  We struggle to have faith that God will provide us the money to live each day, that He will protect our loved ones, ultimately, we struggle to believe that He is in control.

 

Isn’t this the problem with the children in the wilderness; their ‘little faith’ even after seeing all that God did to bring them out of Egypt? Ten times they tempted God in the wilderness. How did they do this? By their unbelief. God did not want to respond to their unbelief, but to show Himself strong on their behalf. But they would not believe and so that generation perished in the wilderness and never entered into the Promised Land.

 

Jesus used the parable of a servant working hard all day for his master, plowing the field or taking care of the sheep, and when he comes home he wants to rest, but the master says that he must first prepare his master’s supper, and then he can eat and rest. The servant is to obey.

 

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, and we are to pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus, praying always on all occasions, but for this we need faith as well, an increasing of our faith in God’s Word as we continue in prayer. Faith and obedience are the two sides of the same coin.

 

In this chapter we see the same thing with the ten lepers. They cried out to the Lord: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13) What did Jesus do? “He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’” (Luke 17:14) I wonder what the lepers thought when Jesus said that? Did they expect Him to do something out of the ordinary? Perhaps what went through their minds is what went through Naaman’s mind (the commander of the army of the king of Aram) when he came to the prophet Elisha who did not even bother to come out and greet him, but told him to go and wash himself 7 times in the Jordan River. Naaman was furious, but later obeyed and was cleansed and so it was with the ten lepers. They obeyed and in the process they were healed.

 

One of the lepers when he realized that he was healed came back to thank the Lord and Jesus said to him: “Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)

 

How is our faith? How is our obedience? Perhaps we need to be like C.D. Studd. F.B Meyers wondered what C.D. Studd was doing pouring over his Bible by candle light one early morning in a conference that they were both in. Studd said: “I am going through the Gospels seeing what the Lord told me to do and bringing my obedience up-to-date.” C.D. Studd opened the Belgium Congo to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe what we need to do as the Church of Jesus Christ is to bring our obedience up-to-date, to the maturity of righteousness.

An article by Paul Kelly

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

Blessed be the Egotist Individuals – by Paul Kelly

 

The past decade has witnessed a shattering of trust across the Western world ­including Australia between the people on one hand and politicians and elites on the other. This dysfunction in Australia has multiple causes within politics itself: the identity crisis of the major parties, the rise of negative politics, a self-interested Senate, leadership failures and internal disunity.

 

Not to mention the even more obvious factors of identity politics and diversity pushed by the new left.

 

The sense of a community of shared values is disintegrating. The most fundamental norms, ­accepted for centuries, are now falling apart as disputes erupt about family, education, gender, sexuality, marriage, tradition, patriotism, life and death.

 

The decline in our civic virtue is undisguised, respect for institutional authority has eroded, the idea of a common community purpose is undermined, trust is in ­retreat but the most important singular development is the transformed notion of the individual — the obsession about individual autonomy in every aspect of life: love, work, race, sex, culture and death. Put harshly but not inaccurately, it is narcissism presented as self-realization and human rights.

 

The idea that our democracy is founded on core moral truths about human nature has collapsed — or is collapsing. Donald Trump’s election as President was driven by fear the American dream had been cancelled and by alarm that elites led a separate life and used power for their self-­interest. But the deeper source was a feeling that the moral foundations of the country were eroding.

 

Narcissism is on the rise:

 

New York Times columnist David Brooks … says: “Psychologists have a thing called the narcissism test. They read people statements and ask if the statements apply to them. Statements such as ‘I show off if I get the chance because I am extraordinary’. The median narcissism score has risen 30 per cent in the last two decades. Ninety-three per cent of young people score higher than the middle score just 20 years ago.

 

“By 2007, 51 per cent of young people reported that being famous was one of their top personal goals. …”

 

As I look around the popular culture I kept finding the same message everywhere: You are special. Trust yourself. Be true to yourself. Movies from Pixar and Disney are constantly telling children how wonderful they are. Commencement speeches are larded with the same clichés: Follow your passion. Don’t accept limits. Chart your own course. You have a responsibility to do great things because you are so great.”

 

The greatest generation:

 

The generation of the Depression and World War II — described by writers but not themselves as the “greatest generation” … won a war, beat the Germans, beat the Japanese, changed the world, backed their mates, ­returned home, raised families and contributed to their ­society. Guess what: they stayed humble. … Not only did they not boast about their achievements. Often they refused to even talk about them. …

 

Many of the virtues of the greatest generation are lost or fading. Some people fight to ­retain them and are traduced as a result. It is impossible, however, to separate those virtues from the Christian norms that were so pervasive at the time. Narcissism was in short supply and never rewarded. In those days Christian virtue was the norm and, critically, it was always the default position.

 

What does the rise of narcissism mean for politics?

 

It requires little insight to conclude such a society and culture that prioritizes a cult of “individualism” when translated into the political sphere is less cohesive and united, more divided over existing norms, less willing to accept the decisions and compromises of political leaders, far more difficult for politicians to manage and persuade and, above all, from which to extract a working majority position. In short, governing is harder, the gap between politicians and public more difficult to bridge and the society divided at its essence.

 

There is, however, an even deeper problem.

 

As the moral status of the church declines, the moral status of progressive ideology grows. Vacuums will be filled. Because the Christian ethos was tied to the past and tradition, it became a target for the new ideology of personal freedom. This is founded in the view that settler societies such as America and Australia have failed to come to terms with the racism, indigenous exploitation, sexism, patriarchy and mono-culturalism at their heart. The task of community leaders was once to uphold the values of the civilization; now, more often than not, it is to dismantle them.

 

The new society is a poor replacement for what is being torn down:

 

Pivotal to this transition is the progressive attack on the Aristo­telian framework that made the West a success. This concept was articulated at various stages by the popes, notably Leo XIII and Pius XI. As outlined by Tulsa University professor Russell Hit­tinger, this envisages three “necessary” elements for human happiness: domestic society (marriage and family), faith and church and, finally, political ­society. A brief reflection might confirm the wisdom of this ­framework.

 

It is, however, now being dismantled in the new and manic crusade of human freedom. Pro­gressive doctrine denies any preferred model for family structure since that would be prejudicial and discriminatory; it now approaches its ultimate objective in the realm of faith — to drive ­religion from the public square and reject the role of religion and church as a mobiliser of social capital in a secular society.

 

The final logic is that everything depends upon politics. As the society of family and marriage ­becomes mired in confusion, as the society of church and religion is the target of assault, so the ­society of politics is being asked to assume a role and burden utterly beyond its capacity and guaranteed to leave community-wide ­unhappiness.

 

The tripartite design that made the West such a workable and ­successful proposition is being torn part. Once dismantled, it ­cannot be put back together. This is being done in the name of justice, rights and progress. There was an ­inevitability about the ­decline of Christian faith, but there was nothing inevitable about the dismal pretender that presents as its replacement.

 

Misrepresenting the LORD

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

Misrepresenting the LORD when called to represent the LORD can result with loss and ruin in our physical life on earth.

 

As servants called by the LORD GOD we are to truthfully and faithfully represent Him.

 

I know that I have not always represented the LORD in the way He called me to. But from the beginning of my relationship with Jesus Christ – He has been faithful and truthful to finish what He started in me so that I would not lose what He is keeping in heaven for my faithfulness to Him.

 

Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but PAINFUL. Later on, however, it PRODUCES a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

 

Hebrews 12:7 “Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?”

 

1 Corinthians 11:32 “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being discipline so that we will not be condemned with the world.”

 

I remember the day that I came to a dead end on the path of religion that I was on. Jesus my Savior visited me in person and with an audible voice said, “Carol, I love you. Just walk with Me.” He showed me His back, head to toe, as He was walking a narrow path and with His right hand reaching back to me to come alongside Him. I’ve written a book about what His visitation has meant to me and done to me over these 16 years since. (Book called: JUST WALK WITH ME)

 

We can not serve the LORD any old way we want. We are not to teach what we simply want to believe about God that is not true of Him. (We have both the Old and New Testaments for knowing the whole character of God.)

 

God told Moses to write down the song found in Deuteronomy 32, and teach it to His people, so that it may be a witness for the LORD against them when they reject Him to worship foreign gods. We all have the natural tendency that after God has blessed us and we’ve been living out that enjoyment with our families – that we slowly forget God. We also have the natural tendency that after we’ve been forgiven by Jesus Christ – to do what the pig does after washed clean: return to the mud.

 

After the Lord has blessed us for His purpose on earth, we His servants are responsible to represent the LORD GOD in this world truthfully and faithfully.

 

God judged Moses for not representing Him in the right way. In anger towards God’s grumbling thirsty people Moses struck the desert rock instead of speaking to the rock as God told him to do. Water still came out of the rock for God’s people, but Moses did not uphold God’s holiness among them and lost something for misrepresenting the LORD. The LORD was not angry with their complaining about food and water; He always met their need. The LORD GOD was showing them His mercy and grace, not His condemnation and judgment. They were to learn to trust Him to meet their needs just as He promises.

 

When God calls us to represent Him in the world (and both the Old and New testaments bring out the whole character of God), if we misrepresent Him as His servant called to lead and influence people – we are going to be judged by Him more strictly because of it.

 

James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach (lead and influence others) will be judged more strictly.”

 

Moses was ruined for an earthly life when God called him to lead His people Israel out of their slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness all those years as they learned to trust in God. From day one, Moses’ physical life was threatened as a baby when the king was having all the baby boys killed to prevent prophecy from being fulfilled about a deliverer of the Hebrews; he was sent down the river and then found and raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter – Egyptian style; later as the prince of Egypt – Moses fled Egypt having killed an Egyptian slave-master for cruelly beating a Hebrew slave; Moses, now ruined as a leader in Egypt, wandered in the wilderness alone – a broken man in search of his God; he lived with the Midianites, married the daughter of their priest and had two sons that he didn’t get to raise to adulthood having to do God’s will in leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Moses led 600K men with all their wives and children (millions of people) in the wilderness, roaming a desert for 40 years with grumblers all the way, living on what God provided (bare necessities) and no home to settle in; then God denied Moses entrance to Canaan, and told him to go up on the mountain where he could see God’s people enter the land, and there die on top the mountain.

 

Just because Moses misrepresented the LORD GOD before the people just that once the LORD GOD denied Moses from going into the land of promise. What a ruin and loss on earth for Moses yet God called Moses “His friend whom He talked to face to face.” (Numbers 12:8)

 

Moses was faithful to God all the way to the end of his life on earth. Moses was denied an earthly reward but not the heavenly eternal reward with Christ and His Kingdom which is far better.

 

God has never changed in His character or with His standard of how His servants are to represent Him in this world, truthfully and faithfully – with a heart after His.

Protest in Prayer

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

What the church needs is to hold a protest in prayer. Today we see hostile protests that destroy other people’s property as they protest for the right to get things for free from the government, and as they protest for “freedom of speech,” but then if you do not agree with them these protestors attack you. People are protesting anything that stands for the godly way of life or for the true meaning of America’s Constitution as it is now being brought back.

 

Therefore I am calling God’s people to a protest in prayer to cry out to God about all this hostility and hateful rioting in our nation, that God would uphold our President and Vice President, our Congress to make ‘right’ decisions, and to remove those bent on doing what they want, and that God would help us stand strong in His freedom to testify of Jesus Christ and serve Him faithfully, no matter what happens.

 

Protest in prayer to God that He would humiliate those whose only desire is to destroy anything that mentions Jesus Christ and the Bible. Protest in prayer for those being persecuted and martyred for their faith and obedience to Jesus Christ; that God will encourage them to stand strong on the Rock of Ages. Protest in prayer for the true family as God designed, for the right of the unborn in the womb to fully live, for our schools and for our own children.

 

PROTEST IN PRAYER! And we’ll see far more good get done.

Do We Believe?

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

The children of Israel were always tempting God to act according to their unbelief. God wanted to show Himself strong and that He was able to do all things showing that nothing was impossible with the one who believed.

 

A question in my mind, is: do you and I believe?

 

We know that the children of Israel tested God ten times to act upon their unbelief. They asked: “Can God spread a table in the desert?” Psalms 78:19

 

During the time in Egypt God was constantly showing Himself strong in delivering His people – a nation out of a nation that was not just an ordinary nation, but one of the world empires at the time.

 

During the wilderness wanderings, we see the same thing – God supplying water out of a rock, each morning manna that they could gather and eat, their clothes did not wear out neither did their shoes, they had cloud by day to give them shade from the hot sun and fire by night to keep them warm in the desert. But they tested God by craving meat and asking: “Can God spread a table in the desert?”

 

“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!” Numbers 11:4

 

Moses was getting the brunt of it all because all that he heard was wailing in their tents for meat to eat. “Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’” Numbers 11:13

 

So, God showing Himself strong in spite of their unbelief tells Moses that they will have meat to eat not “just for one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month — until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it — because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”

 

One can only imagine what went through Moses’ mind when God said that He would give them meat to eat for an entire month, because like Moses said: “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” Numbers 11:21-22

 

But the Lord answered Moses (and us) saying “Is the Lord’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Numbers 11:23

 

So, God once again acting not according to their unbelief, but because of His great Name brings quail in from the sea and brought them down around the camp three feet above the ground a day’s walk in either direction. However, we read that “while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.” Numbers 11:33

 

We are told that these things were written for our example. “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11

 

What “things” are being referred to here by Paul? What we see in the Old Testament with the children of Israel – can we learn from them?

 

For example, how many times have we tempted God to act according to our unbelief when what He needed to do was to show Himself strong to us, on our behalf?

 

Do we really believe when God says: “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalms 34:9-10

 

I think of all the tremendous promises that we have in the New Testament like John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

 

Like someone said: “Ask What You Will (John 15:7) – The promise is ‘ask what ye will,’ plainly teaching that answered prayer is up to the child of God as to what he wants.” The only condition is to abide in Him and His Word to abide in us. Does God really mean what He says? Can we depend upon Him? Is His Word really true? We know that God says that He is not a man that He should lie, but do we really believe?

 

God gave the children of Israel what they wanted – meat to eat, but He sent leanness to their souls. Judgment came upon them because of their continual unbelief. We also know that they could not enter into the Promised Land because of their unbelief. “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 3:18-19

 

They did not enter the Promised Land, but we also read that they had no rest. Why? Because of unbelief and this is the problem with many of us as well. There is no rest to our souls because we are constantly worrying over the affairs of everyday life. The antidote to it all is: “Faith, mighty faith on the promise; for it sees and looks to God alone.”

 

Are We the Good or Bad Yeast?

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

Luke 13:20-21 “Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

 

What is the kingdom of God like? Here it is described as a yeast that works itself into all of the dough. What this seems to be speaking about is influence. When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness this godly influence will eventually spread through the culture. If this is not happening, perhaps it is because we are not seeking the kingdom of God the way we should with all of our heart, mind and soul.

 

We are told in Luke 6:40 “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

 

In other words, we produce what we are. Seldom will we raise our disciple above ourselves. This is true with children as well. How often I have heard someone say that he will not be like his father, but others close to him see how much like his father he has already become.

 

It would seem that the type of influence we have is brought about by our thinking. So true it is that how we think in our heart so shall we be.

 

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (KJV)

 

If our perspective on life is off so will be our influence off. For example, I think of C.S. Lewis who has had and still does have tremendous influence through his life as well as his writings. What gave him this influence? Was it his ability to take complex matters and put them into simple English? How true it is that to understand complex matters is one thing, but to put them down into something understandable is something else. C.S. Lewis had tremendous influence in this regard.

We know that all scholarship proceeds from some kind of worldview (the lens by which we view all of life) and C.S. Lewis believed in the Christian worldview and not the inferior worldview of secularism. One of the problems that we face in the Western World is that we get intimidated by those who hold a secular worldview compared to our biblical worldview. This, I believe, is one of the main tactics of the enemy today: intimidation and confusion.

 

Yet we see that our Christian worldview is the only one that answers the perplexing questions that we have in the world today. Where did this universe come from? Why is the world in such a mess? What is the solution? These are some of the questions that come out, not only here in the Western World, but throughout the world.

 

The only reasonable answer to these questions is the biblical worldview. God created the universe. Sin: man going his way and not God’s way, brought in the confusion and mess, but Christ is the answer. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (KJV)

 

The secularist asks where is God or where did God come from? We know that the God of the Bible is not affected by time, space or matter, and if He is – then He is not God.

 

Like someone said: “Time, space and matter is what we call a continuum, because they would have to come into existence at the same instant. If there was matter, but no space where would you put it? If there was matter and space, but no time when would you put it? Time, space and matter would have to come into existence simultaneously. The Bible answers that in ten words: In the beginning (time) God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). Genesis 1:1

 

Here we have the trinity of trinity. Time is past, present and future; space has length, width, breadth and space has solid, liquid, gas, you have a trinity of trinities created instantaneously. The God who created them has to be outside of them. If He is limited by time He is not God. He is outside of the universe. He is above it, beyond it, through it, He is unaffected by it. The idea that a spiritual force cannot have any effect on a material body then you would have to explain things like emotions, love, hatred, envy, jealousy and rationality. If your brain is only chemicals that are formed over billions of years then how can you trust your own reasoning process of the thought that you think?

 

The question: where is God and where did God come from is assuming a limited God and that is the problem of those who ask the question.”

 

God, whom I worship, is not limited by time, space or matter, but if I could fit the infinite God into my three-pound brain then He would not be worth worshipping. So, the Christian worldview answers the questions that plague mankind.

 

Paul, speaking to Timothy a young man, and what we would call today a “millennial” said that he ought to study to show himself approved of God. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

 

 

 

 

Does Prayer Really Work?

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

DOES PRAYER REALLY WORK?

 

Luke 11:1 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’”

 

Jesus is teaching us how to be effective in prayer.

 

First, we are to come with the right frame of mind – praying for His kingdom to come. In Matthew 6:33 we are told that we are to seek first His Kingdom and then all of these things will be added. What things is He talking about? Things that we worry about: our shelter, clothing, health, food and our future. We are to put first things first and the first thing is the Kingdom of God and all these things (shelter, clothing, food, health and future) will be added. So why worry when we can pray, or like most seem to do: why pray when we can worry?

 

God knows what we need. He has made us and He knows what we need to sustain ourselves. In Luke 11:11 Jesus tells us: “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” Most human fathers want the best for their son and if wondering off in a wrong direction a father will seek to pull his son back to the right path. We want the best for our children. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13 God, our heavenly Father gives us the best.

 

Secondly, praying for our own daily needs. We already mentioned what our daily needs are but I think it is interesting to see how Jesus frames the discussion in Matthew 6. He does so by asking a question. For example, He says “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) What does He mean? If He has given you life will He not give you what you need to sustain that life? The answer is yes. So why worry? The same with the body. He made it and will He not give what the body needs. So why worry?

 

Thirdly, we are to seek His will in all things. It is not my will or plans, but His will and plans that need to be forthcoming. We need to understand that Jesus is the Head and not us; HE is the brains. And yet so often we think that we are the brains, that we know what is best. However, we need to keep in mind that all His ways are perfect.

 

Fourth, making sure that we do not have a grudge against anyone. In Luke 11 Jesus said that a house divided cannot stand. Broken relationships within a family, church community is a great hindrance to seeing prayers being answered. We are told that the prayers of a husband and wife are powerful, but when the relationship is broken or impaired, our prayers are hindered.

 

Fifth, we do not give up in asking, seeking or knocking. Perseverance is a characteristic that is lacking in today’s society. We live a world of high-speed and when the answers do not come immediately we tend to give up. One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.

 

Napoleon Hill mentioned in his book called THINK AND GROW RICH: “Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit.” Napoleon went on to describe an uncle named R.U. Darby who went west to dig for gold. He got his family and many others in back of the exhibition, but he found that it was illusive and finally gave up. He was able to sell the mine that he worked on to someone else, but that someone else had perseverance and kept on and in so doing found the vein of gold just three feet from where Darby had left off. How many of us have quit just three feet from the gold?

 

Sixth, asking for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit or what is needed at the time of prayer or in our daily walk – wisdom, authority, power, etc. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us what is needed at the time of need. Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

 

Sidlow Baxter said: “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.”

 

Colored Glasses

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

Luke 6:1-5 “One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, ‘Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.’  Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’”

 

The Pharisees had a real distain for Jesus and His disciples and so they nit-picked everything that He did. Here they saw Jesus doing something that they thought was unlawful and pointed it out. They were looking through what I call colored glasses. They did not criticize King David for when he did something similar – they looked the other way.

 

When it comes to President Trump and the main stream media I see the same thing in the political world today. Yes, Trump is not your typical politician or president, following protocol and all, and saying things he probably wished he hadn’t, that the media continues to harp on, but what about Obama and the unmasking of Americans? What about Hillary selling 20% of our uranium to the Russians and the next thing we see is millions coming into their foundation and Bill Clinton receiving a whopping honorarium for one speech given in Moscow? Or Hillary’s private e-mail server that contained classified information? Or their foundation when it came to finances meant for the earthquake victims of Haiti? Could it be that the main stream media is looking at President Trump through their colored glasses?

 

What about us personally? Are we guilty of the same thing as the Pharisees, looking at things through their colored glasses? What about those who preach and teach the Word of God giving prestige to those who are the bigger givers in the churches – as James brings out: “If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” James 2:3-4

 

Perhaps we have become judges with evil thoughts, like James said, with politics too?

 

When it comes to members of our family, are we judging one another with our evil thoughts of colored glasses? Have we looked at our spouse or children and found ourselves judging them in a condemning way for something they did or did not do?

 

In Romans 2:1 Paul tells us: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” We seem to forget that people around us are like mirrors reflecting us and reacting to others we are faced with.

 

Paul goes on to tell us in Romans 2:1 “And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?” Sin is sin. We are all sinners. One sin is not worse than another to God.

 

It is like a tape recorder is tied around our necks that records every word that we speak and God judges us on that basis. Words have the power of life and death. Jesus say “that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37

 

No wonder James gave us sound advice when he said, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19

 

We should learn from Job who said to God when he didn’t understand what was happening and what God was doing, “I put my hand over my mouth.” Job 40:4

 

 

 

Serious Thought: Slave or Free

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

To take a people from being slaves to being freemen will require them to think differently. When everything has been given to you by those who lord it over you (like in government or dictatorships) and now you are free from your task master, when you are faced with hard times you will be tempted to go back to thinking like a slave and will give up on the road to freedom because freedom requires sacrifice to keep your freedom. The Hebrews in the desert of freedom (after God delivered them from Egypt) cried out to the Lord about their hunger and thirst, not understanding what God was doing. They said that it was better as a slave for at least they had food and water. (Exodus 14:10-12) But God had no intention of denying them their basic needs, but just that they came to faith in God, and no longer depending on man (government and world systems).

 

When slaves keep moving towards freedom with God, they will be filled with AWE of what God will do to provide for them and protect them as they move through God’s open doors of opportunity for them to prosper on their own. Faith in God and courage to take risks believing God will support and bless the work of our hands, will bring us to experience the life of freemen.

 

“When the people saw the mighty power of the LORD they were filled with awe, and put their faith in the LORD.” Exodus 14:31 NLT

 

 

The Holy Spirit Gifts

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Ephesians 4:11-14 NLT

 

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever – they sound like the truth.

 

I had a conversation the other day with some of the church and asked them how many prophets have you heard. They said they never even hear of a prophet. This verse was in my quiet time this morning and I thought it was interesting to see this list of gifts that God intended for building up the church and keep them away from new and false teachings. I have been told by pastors that the gifts of apostles and prophets are no longer needed, therefore, God has removed them. Even the gift and work of evangelism, is hardly talked about or encouraged in the church service today. Could this be why the ‘progressive’ doctrine has come into the church?

 

Just Some Thoughts