Don't cross this Tennessee town (OneNewsNow.com)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1496904
Good link. Let's display the Cross! Even more than that, let's proclaim the saving gospel message of the Cross to all creation!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
An Illustration on Eternity by Francis Chan
Please consider where you will spend eternity, a million years and you won't have turned the first page, so repent of your sins, accept Jesus as your Savior, on His terms as stated in the Bible, and receive eternal life in Heaven (it makes short part of life better too).
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Letter & video link from the General...
Hello Officers, Soldiers, and friends of The Salvation Army,
Here is a forward of a recent letter from the general.
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Dear Salvationists:
Here is a forward of a recent letter from the general.
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Dear Salvationists:
Every Thursday, The Salvation Army around the world is in prayer for the entire day. Territories, commands and individual Salvationists have signed up, covenanting to use 30 minutes each Thursday between 5.00am and 8.00am to pray for the Army – its zeal for God, its compassionate service in every community and its daring and fruitful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Driven by a desire to be the people God wants us to be and to do what he wants us to do, we commit ourselves to seeking the only One who can empower us with the Holy Spirit and energise and equip us for ministry in the 21st century.
One officer has written to me, ‘Some corps and divisional headquarters have changed their regular weekly prayer time to Thursday so more and more of us are lifting our requests to God at the same time. I’ve just come from the territorial headquarters prayer meeting where one pray-er likened this worldwide prayer meeting to a “Mexican wave” making its way around the globe as Thursday dawns in each new place – that’s one massive Mexican wave which God will not ignore.’
May the Lord hear the prayers of the tens of thousands of Salvationists united in seeking him.
The logo above features the ‘One Army, One Mission, One Message’ headings which are at the heart of the vision for the international Salvation Army launched on Thursday 13 October 2011. The statement is brought to life through the Vision Plan (downloadable from http://sar.my/one), which includes 12 International Mission Priorities. The priorities are headed by a determined ‘we will’.
Let’s pray through the vision. Let’s pray specifically for each Mission Priority. Dwell on each phrase in the Vision Statement and in each priority. Explore what they mean for you personally as well as for your corps/centre, division, command/territory and for the Army internationally.
Begin with praise and thanksgiving, for we have been a blessed people, and a blessing, since he called the Army into being almost 150 years ago. Then let’s move to confession – where we have failed him – possibly because we have been more concerned about our own image and self-preservation than the winning of the lost. Let’s petition and intercede so that we will be found faithful in holy living, sanctified activism and fruitful ministry. Let’s offer ourselves afresh for him to use his Army for his will and purpose in the 21st century.
Locally your territory/command may be using different language or terminology when it comes to mission and vision, but at the heart of it all is being faithful as his people in his service.
So together, let’s praise, confess, ask and surrender to him to see Spirit-inspired and Spirit-blessed action.
May the Lord be honoured and glorified as we unite in prayer.
Linda Bond
GENERAL
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
GENERAL
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
If you're not fishing your not following - repost from Mark Cahill
This is a newsletter reposted from MarkCahill.org - Good question, are you a "Fan or Follower"?
http://www.markcahill.org/news/1011news.html
Fan or Follower?
http://www.markcahill.org/news/1011news.html
October 2011 Newsletter
I have got a question for you: Are you a fan or a follower? Think about that for a second. While they may sound similar, those two terms are actually quite different.
As most of you are aware, we have an addiction to sports here in America. Sometimes our lives are completely wrapped around it. We will check every score, tailgate for hours on end before then going to the actual game, put things on our cars to show our allegiance, and we will even join a fantasy league because, we love a sport so much. If you take a look at that list, you’ll see an example of a follower, who is not that hard to pick out.
But a fan is much harder to find. They blend right in with the followers around them, but they don’t have a real affinity for it all. They will enjoy a team when it is successful, but are just as ready to dump them when they’re not. They will go to a game if they get a ticket, but it is no big deal if they don’t go. That is because they are just a fan.
I played basketball when I was a student at Auburn years ago. We beat Kentucky when they were the number one team in the country. There was a packed house when we played that day, and it was a lot of fun! But at our next home game, there were only 2500 people there, which is only about a quarter full. Friends asked me, where was everybody? I told them we were a football school and not a basketball school. We even had a future NBA hall of famer on the team, and people still didn’t come. We had fans, but not many followers.
So when it comes to Jesus Christ, are you a fan or are you a follower?
1 Samuel 12:13-15:
As most of you are aware, we have an addiction to sports here in America. Sometimes our lives are completely wrapped around it. We will check every score, tailgate for hours on end before then going to the actual game, put things on our cars to show our allegiance, and we will even join a fantasy league because, we love a sport so much. If you take a look at that list, you’ll see an example of a follower, who is not that hard to pick out.
But a fan is much harder to find. They blend right in with the followers around them, but they don’t have a real affinity for it all. They will enjoy a team when it is successful, but are just as ready to dump them when they’re not. They will go to a game if they get a ticket, but it is no big deal if they don’t go. That is because they are just a fan.
I played basketball when I was a student at Auburn years ago. We beat Kentucky when they were the number one team in the country. There was a packed house when we played that day, and it was a lot of fun! But at our next home game, there were only 2500 people there, which is only about a quarter full. Friends asked me, where was everybody? I told them we were a football school and not a basketball school. We even had a future NBA hall of famer on the team, and people still didn’t come. We had fans, but not many followers.
So when it comes to Jesus Christ, are you a fan or are you a follower?
1 Samuel 12:13-15:
“Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.”
You see, followers obey the Lord no matter what the cost. They don’t worry what people think about them. They obey the Lord whatever the cost, because it is the right thing to do. Pleasing men does not come into the conversation.
Ruth 1:16,17:
Ruth 1:16,17:
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:” “Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”
You see, Ruth wasn’t a fan of Naomi. She was a follower of Naomi. If following Naomi meant death, so be it. She loved her that much.
Matthew 4:19,20:
Matthew 4:19,20:
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”
A guy made a simple statement to me on the phone one day. He said, “If you’re not fishing, you’re not following!” I will never forget that statement all the days of my life. It was very challenging. Fans of Jesus don’t seem to care about the lost, but followers do. Also remember that true leaders follow. You cannot be a true Biblical leader unless you follow the Lord.
Matthew 9:9:
Matthew 9:9:
“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”
Was Matthew’s life ever the same again once he became born again? Of course not.
I just got this letter from a father: “My eldest son Eliot, saw you and your challenge on Sunday helped to turn him and his faith around. Last year in Grade 12, Eliot gave a presentation to his English class on Evolution being only a theory and not proven fact. His English teacher cautioned him on the topic by saying: “You realize Eliot that this presentation will create controversy.” Eliot responded: “Indeed,” but he soldiered on. He didn’t put the theory down, he merely pointed out areas of the theory that didn’t stand up to sound science. One girl in his class said to him: “Eliot, you can't present such a topic for the class, because this is NOT what we are taught in school!” Eliot replied to her: “Don’t think for one minute, that everything we are taught in school is true.”
You see, Elliot is not a fan of Jesus and Biblical truth, but a follower. How about you?
Acts 26:1:
I just got this letter from a father: “My eldest son Eliot, saw you and your challenge on Sunday helped to turn him and his faith around. Last year in Grade 12, Eliot gave a presentation to his English class on Evolution being only a theory and not proven fact. His English teacher cautioned him on the topic by saying: “You realize Eliot that this presentation will create controversy.” Eliot responded: “Indeed,” but he soldiered on. He didn’t put the theory down, he merely pointed out areas of the theory that didn’t stand up to sound science. One girl in his class said to him: “Eliot, you can't present such a topic for the class, because this is NOT what we are taught in school!” Eliot replied to her: “Don’t think for one minute, that everything we are taught in school is true.”
You see, Elliot is not a fan of Jesus and Biblical truth, but a follower. How about you?
Acts 26:1:
“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:”
I was kind of surprised when I read the encounter between Paul and King Agrippa. He never asked the King for his autograph. He never asked him for a picture. You see, Paul wasn’t impressed by the king, because he was a follower of the true King, Jesus Christ. He was not just a follower. Agrippa’s soul and those within listening distance were far more important than anything else at that moment.
I ran into a United States Senator recently, and had a nice chat with her. I gave her one of my booklets, and as I did, I could see the rest of her family get interested, so I gave them all one as well. Those souls are important to God, and they need to be important to me!
I just heard from a guy who has walked away from the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. He started reading secular sources, and his faith is gone. Followers, are you prepared for when Satan attacks? God is wiser than the wisest man and hasn’t let anyone down. Never forget that.
God gave me the chance to speak at a High Tech Breakfast here in Atlanta. It was men and women who are trying to reach their coworkers and friends for Jesus. I can’t even describe how much hope it gave me! There are people out there in the business world who are truly following.
When I look back at when I worked at IBM, I never had anyone witness to me. I never saw anyone with a Bible on their desk; no one talked about going to church over the weekend; nothing. I guess there might have been some fans of Jesus there, but there were certainly no followers.
A bunch of us were witnessing at a Georgia football game at the Georgia Dome. It was a blessed day. I met a lot of fans of Jesus who encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing, but didn’t want to stop and help. I also met some fans of Mark Cahill! People told me that they had read one of my books, etc. That is nice and even flattering, but followers of Jesus are needed on the streets of America—not fans of Mark Cahill!
I just got this letter from a physical therapist in Alabama:
I ran into a United States Senator recently, and had a nice chat with her. I gave her one of my booklets, and as I did, I could see the rest of her family get interested, so I gave them all one as well. Those souls are important to God, and they need to be important to me!
I just heard from a guy who has walked away from the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. He started reading secular sources, and his faith is gone. Followers, are you prepared for when Satan attacks? God is wiser than the wisest man and hasn’t let anyone down. Never forget that.
God gave me the chance to speak at a High Tech Breakfast here in Atlanta. It was men and women who are trying to reach their coworkers and friends for Jesus. I can’t even describe how much hope it gave me! There are people out there in the business world who are truly following.
When I look back at when I worked at IBM, I never had anyone witness to me. I never saw anyone with a Bible on their desk; no one talked about going to church over the weekend; nothing. I guess there might have been some fans of Jesus there, but there were certainly no followers.
A bunch of us were witnessing at a Georgia football game at the Georgia Dome. It was a blessed day. I met a lot of fans of Jesus who encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing, but didn’t want to stop and help. I also met some fans of Mark Cahill! People told me that they had read one of my books, etc. That is nice and even flattering, but followers of Jesus are needed on the streets of America—not fans of Mark Cahill!
I just got this letter from a physical therapist in Alabama:
“I just went to the Alabama Chapter meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association and took some of your books with me in my bag. Gave away every one of them. Got to challenge several Christians with what I was doing, talked to a couple who are either false converts or have forgotten who their first love is supposed to be, and even got to witness to the lesbian who taught the course I was in. That was the best conversation. She said she wasn’t going to sleep that night until she read One Heartbeat! The sad thing is seeing “Christians” who refuse to wake up.”
It’s clear that Jon isn’t a fan of Jesus Christ. He is most definitely a follower.
You see, followers aren’t that hard to pick out. They stick out like sore thumb. I had a guy walk up to me in an airport and say, “You were just walking around looking for someone to witness to weren’t you?” I didn’t know it was that obvious!!
So, are you a fan of Jesus or a follower? It’s your choice to make. The days run short. Make the most out of every opportunity. Always remember that followers fish. Keep reaching the lost all the days of your life.
You see, followers aren’t that hard to pick out. They stick out like sore thumb. I had a guy walk up to me in an airport and say, “You were just walking around looking for someone to witness to weren’t you?” I didn’t know it was that obvious!!
So, are you a fan of Jesus or a follower? It’s your choice to make. The days run short. Make the most out of every opportunity. Always remember that followers fish. Keep reaching the lost all the days of your life.
Until the nets are full,
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Are you a fan or a follower???
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Friday, September 30, 2011
The first thing out of your mouth?
Francis Chan - Stop praying video
This asks the question, "what would be the first thing out of your mouth is you actually approached the Lord in person, in all His fullness today"? The encouragement is to stop the standard repetitive prayers and actually talk to the Living God. Thank you Jesus for such a privilege.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
This asks the question, "what would be the first thing out of your mouth is you actually approached the Lord in person, in all His fullness today"? The encouragement is to stop the standard repetitive prayers and actually talk to the Living God. Thank you Jesus for such a privilege.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Monday, September 26, 2011
"180" video by Ray Comfort. - Beward of graphic material.
This is taken from
http://180movie.com/
Please be aware this has some extremely graphic material from pictures and video from the holocost, to abortion, to the the things of eternity. Please take 33 minutes to watch and forward to everyone you know.
------------------- Live holy, preach Jesus!
http://180movie.com/
Please be aware this has some extremely graphic material from pictures and video from the holocost, to abortion, to the the things of eternity. Please take 33 minutes to watch and forward to everyone you know.
------------------- Live holy, preach Jesus!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Restaurant Evangelism - from youthworker.com
Restaurant Evangelism
Scene: A few friends sitting around a table at a Chinese restaurant.
Bri: This place is AMAZING. This is the best fried rice I have ever had. I can't wait to tell everyone about it and get them here.
(Everyone at the table quickly turns and gives her a weird look.)
Erin: Are you crazy? Why would you tell people about this place? You don't know enough about it. Do you know when it was started? Who's the head chef? What's the calorie count of everything on the menu? How many wines do they offer? Bri, you can't tell anyone about this until you learn more. It's not like you're a chef or something. What do you know about good food?
Bri: I didn't really think I had to know everything. I mean this food is ridiculously good. Isn't that enough to get someone to come? I mean this is really, really awesome. Seriously, try the Lo Mein.
John: Bri, that's just the thing. You can't push your Lo Mein noodles on other people. They'll be totally offended. What about the vegans, huh? Did you think of that? They might not want to eat your Lo Mein noodles; when you tell them about this restaurant they're going to get really upset with you.
Bri: Really? You think people would be mad just because I suggested a restaurant?
John: Oh, yeah. Not only that, they'll make fun of you. They'll probably call you names. They might even beat you up. They'll say you're close-minded. I mean, this place only serves Chinese food. What about Italian food, Mediterranean Cuisine and Mexican food? Telling someone about a place that only serves one kind of food is ridiculous. If you try to get people to come here, you won't have any friends left by tomorrow.
Bri: OK, but tomorrow they are having a great special—buy one, get one free. Don't you think we should tell people about that? Did you guys taste these lettuce wraps? Who wouldn't enjoy these?
Gina: Come on Bri. You're really busy with a million things tomorrow. Is it really that important to get people here and take all that time out of your day just to tell them about this restaurant? Someone else will do it. It's not your job to be a walking commercial for this place.
Bri: Wow, what was I thinking? I guess you guys are right. I mean, I wouldn't have any idea where to start. No one has ever taught me how, given me a class or taken me to a seminar on how to tell people about a good restaurant. Let's just enjoy our food and keep it to ourselves.
Hold up a sign that says: THE END
Narrator: Will come on stage to do the wrap up: "We hope you caught on to our skit and the idea behind it. The excuses we give for not telling others about the powerful love Jesus has from them sound silly when we are talking about a restaurant. We don't think twice about recommending a place with good food to someone, but when it comes to offering the Bread of Life, our minds make up a million reasons for us not to do it: 'I don't know how. I'm too busy. I don't know enough. I'll be thought of as close-minded. Other people are doing it. I'm not good at it. The list could go on and on, but these are just excuses. Someone took the time to introduce you to Christ. Aren't you grateful that person didn't let anything hold him or her back from sharing the gospel with you? Pray for the power of Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit to enable you to move past all fears and share the love of Christ. Who will you invite?"
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Who will you share the gospel with today?
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Craig Groeschel Video : "What you pray for reflects what you believe about God."
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Announcing Launch of SAVN.TV
News from Territorial Commander Knaggs below....
----------------------------------------------------------
The Salvation Army
Territorial Headquarters - USA West
Office of the Territorial Commander
________________________________
~INVITATION~
Saturday, September 10, 4:30 p.m. (PST)
The Initial “Beginning” Launch of SAVN.tv
Soldiers and Friends of the Western Territory:
Not only are the above Internet TV call letters an acronym for Salvation Army Vision Network; they are also a contraction of the word, “SALVATION.” SAVN.TV is a Salvation Army Internet Mission Station where salvation can be proclaimed and found.
Jesus first cast the vision for this Mission Station in His proclamation of the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news (of salvation) to all creation (Mark 16:15). William Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army, carried this vision into the 20th Century with his proclamation: “We are a salvation people. This is our specialty – getting saved, keeping saved, and getting other people saved.” A century later General John Gowans framed the vision this way: Saving Souls, Growing Saints, and Serving Suffering Humanity.
My vision for the 21st Century forward is this: The Internet and Cyberspace is our contemporary, virtual street corner ‘into all the world’ and ‘getting people saved’ – Cyberspace for Christ!
Orders & Regulations for Salvation Army Officers captures the Founder’s vision this way: “...he will not only make use of the Army’s time-honored methods of evangelism, adapting them in the most effective way possible to the needs of the hour, but he will courageously experiment with new ways of making Jesus known as Savior of men. In other words, he will be willing to be dedicated to failure. In the divine economy this could be the way to God-glorifying success.”
So ordered, we will be launching the first experimental phase of savn.tv during the Welcome of Cadets
Weekend, September 10, 11, 2011. It is the “beginning phase,” and will expand as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life” (John 6:63).
Please accept this as a personal invitation to attend this first phase launch on www.savn.tv beginning with a Red, Yellow, Blue Carpet Event, live-streamed from the Pasadena Ambassador Auditorium at 5:00 p.m. (PST), featuring cadets from the Proclaimers of the Resurrection session. And I will be there to greet you personally. The Welcome of Cadets Meeting will also to be live-streamed following at 6:00 p.m. (PST).
There you will also find a beginning menu of “On Demand” programs to be viewed, along with a list of “Coming Attractions,” including a live-streamed 9/11 Service of Remembrance at the Long Beach Temple Corps on Sunday, September 11, 2:00 p.m. (PST), featuring Salvation Army leaders who led the army’s work at Ground Zero. Please feel free to include the above in your Sunday announcements.
Again, we will launch with a small offering of programs and grow as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life.” Come grow (the Kingdom) with us!
See you on the web
Sincerely,
Jim
James M. Knaggs, Commissioner
TERRITORIAL COMMANDER
----------------------------------------------------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
----------------------------------------------------------
The Salvation Army
Territorial Headquarters - USA West
Office of the Territorial Commander
________________________________
~INVITATION~
Saturday, September 10, 4:30 p.m. (PST)
The Initial “Beginning” Launch of SAVN.tv
Soldiers and Friends of the Western Territory:
Not only are the above Internet TV call letters an acronym for Salvation Army Vision Network; they are also a contraction of the word, “SALVATION.” SAVN.TV is a Salvation Army Internet Mission Station where salvation can be proclaimed and found.
Jesus first cast the vision for this Mission Station in His proclamation of the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news (of salvation) to all creation (Mark 16:15). William Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army, carried this vision into the 20th Century with his proclamation: “We are a salvation people. This is our specialty – getting saved, keeping saved, and getting other people saved.” A century later General John Gowans framed the vision this way: Saving Souls, Growing Saints, and Serving Suffering Humanity.
My vision for the 21st Century forward is this: The Internet and Cyberspace is our contemporary, virtual street corner ‘into all the world’ and ‘getting people saved’ – Cyberspace for Christ!
Orders & Regulations for Salvation Army Officers captures the Founder’s vision this way: “...he will not only make use of the Army’s time-honored methods of evangelism, adapting them in the most effective way possible to the needs of the hour, but he will courageously experiment with new ways of making Jesus known as Savior of men. In other words, he will be willing to be dedicated to failure. In the divine economy this could be the way to God-glorifying success.”
So ordered, we will be launching the first experimental phase of savn.tv during the Welcome of Cadets
Weekend, September 10, 11, 2011. It is the “beginning phase,” and will expand as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life” (John 6:63).
Please accept this as a personal invitation to attend this first phase launch on www.savn.tv beginning with a Red, Yellow, Blue Carpet Event, live-streamed from the Pasadena Ambassador Auditorium at 5:00 p.m. (PST), featuring cadets from the Proclaimers of the Resurrection session. And I will be there to greet you personally. The Welcome of Cadets Meeting will also to be live-streamed following at 6:00 p.m. (PST).
There you will also find a beginning menu of “On Demand” programs to be viewed, along with a list of “Coming Attractions,” including a live-streamed 9/11 Service of Remembrance at the Long Beach Temple Corps on Sunday, September 11, 2:00 p.m. (PST), featuring Salvation Army leaders who led the army’s work at Ground Zero. Please feel free to include the above in your Sunday announcements.
Again, we will launch with a small offering of programs and grow as “the spirit quickeneth – gives (it) life.” Come grow (the Kingdom) with us!
See you on the web
Sincerely,
Jim
James M. Knaggs, Commissioner
TERRITORIAL COMMANDER
----------------------------------------------------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Mark Cahill's website...
The video is good, but I highly enjoyed his book "one thing you can't do in heaven". I've also been encouraged by his teaching on audio via his website MarkCahill.org. I've also given one of his books to someone on a plane ride after a long talk about faith and Jesus Christ (the book was "one heartbeat away).
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Turning People Back from the Dangers of Hell, by Mark Driscoll
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Thoughts on Moses & the Exodus
This past weekend my daughters were reading from Exodus while driving home in the van from a season at camp. As they read the familiar story of the Exodus and Moses I "heard" it in a fresh way... Thank you Lord that Your Word has power in and of itself and that in its reading there is power.
No time for a deep theological breakdown, just passages that have had me meditating....
Exodus 3: 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Meditation #1 - it was when Moses when to look at what God was doing right before his eyes that God spoke to Him. Had Moses not been looking, he wouldn't have heard God speaking.
Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Meditation #2 - As God asked Moses to serve Him, Moses said, "who am I". God's response was "I AM, and I'll be with you". It doesn't matter who we are, or aren't, if the I AM is with us.
Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Meditation #3- Moses asked for a sign, and when God gave him a sign, Moses' first response was to run - even from a sign that God was with him. Moses began to run from the very thing that would allow God to empower him because it looked scary.
Response-
1. Be looking into what God is already doing right in front of you, then be ready to hear from God.
2. Don't worry about who you are if you have God Himself with you.
3. Don't run from the signs God is giving you right now, they are meant to empower and affirm you.
Consider all of these while you share the gospel with someone today!
-------------------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
No time for a deep theological breakdown, just passages that have had me meditating....
Exodus 3: 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Meditation #1 - it was when Moses when to look at what God was doing right before his eyes that God spoke to Him. Had Moses not been looking, he wouldn't have heard God speaking.
Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Meditation #2 - As God asked Moses to serve Him, Moses said, "who am I". God's response was "I AM, and I'll be with you". It doesn't matter who we are, or aren't, if the I AM is with us.
Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Meditation #3- Moses asked for a sign, and when God gave him a sign, Moses' first response was to run - even from a sign that God was with him. Moses began to run from the very thing that would allow God to empower him because it looked scary.
Response-
1. Be looking into what God is already doing right in front of you, then be ready to hear from God.
2. Don't worry about who you are if you have God Himself with you.
3. Don't run from the signs God is giving you right now, they are meant to empower and affirm you.
Consider all of these while you share the gospel with someone today!
-------------------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Rick McKinley: The Flaw of Universalism
This taken from
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/153137-rick-mckinley-the-flaw-of-universalism.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
Universalism from :redux on Vimeo.
Lovingly warn people of the reality of hell and invite them to find Salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Repent of your sins, live for Jesus on His terms, share the gospel!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/153137-rick-mckinley-the-flaw-of-universalism.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
Universalism from :redux on Vimeo.
Lovingly warn people of the reality of hell and invite them to find Salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Repent of your sins, live for Jesus on His terms, share the gospel!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Is Your Church A Movement or A Museum?
Reposted from churchleaders.com
http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-videos/152982-is-your-church-a-movement-or-a-museum.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
"Church Planter" by Darrin Patrick from Crossway on Vimeo.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-videos/152982-is-your-church-a-movement-or-a-museum.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
"Church Planter" by Darrin Patrick from Crossway on Vimeo.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Angy "Atheists" - people of faith who know that there is a God
Have you ever been in a discussion with an "angry atheist" who wants proof of God or say they don't have faith? Or have you ever thought that "angry atheists" don't believe there is a God so why bother trying to convince them? Here are a couple thoughts today.
#1 The other day I saw a rock on an upstairs porch railing, immediately I knew there was know way that rock could have gotten there by itself and thought, "who would have put that rock up here", or I've seen two identical rows of rock making a path leading to a door way and known it was campers (someone) who must have done it (of course). To believe that "chance" allowed one large rock to end up on an upstairs railing, perfectly, without help, requires too much faith when common sense evidence tells me otherwise. To see 20 rocks making a perfect design with a purpose (a path to the cabin) is too plainly obvious that someone created it for me to believe it was chance that allowed the rocks to get that way by chance.
As a common illustration says, to see a building, painting, creation, is proof there must be a builder, painter, creator. To believe that a "big bang" caused and explosion that by chance lead to every other chance for everything in existence requires too much faith to not bring up in your conversation.
#2 If someone ever asks "what proof do you have there is a God", why not ask them, "what proof have you found that there is absolutely no god". Let them defend their faith for a bit and get a chance to share what they believe and have put their hope and faith in.
#3 If "atheists" didn't believe in God (and on some level the God of the Bible) then why would they spend so much time, energy, and money trying to proof He doesn't exist or remove all trace of Him from our society.
I read this article today and it just reinforced what I believe.http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1400038
Here are some quotes to consider.
- Atheists have no problem with Muslims who want to erect a mega-mosque near the Ground Zero site, but they don't want a cross.
- "[Their complaining is] not about Islam. It's not about eastern religions. They don't attack the Buddhist monks who spend their life in solitude. They don't attack Hindus praying to different gods in the caste system," notes Sekulow. "They attack Christianity and really the heritage of our country that they would hope to erase."
Angry atheists will spend time, energy, and money to advertise their belief that there is no God (of the Bible) and will spend time, energy, and money to fight in court, petition, and protest, that we as believers in God should not "advertise" our beliefs.
Here is one way I know that "angry atheists" believe there is a God. Those same people spending time, money, energy, and forming united groups (congregations of similar faith) to study their beliefs (their church) and work to plan next how to deliver their message and come against God (discipleship of their faith) - those same people will spend no time time, energy, and money coming against anything else from the Easter Bunny, to Santa Clause, or the belief in aliens from another planet.
WHY? Because if something is make believe, fantasy, or won't cause you to question how you live your life in the light of eternity, you would consider people who lived their lives for those things to be "odd" and just ignore them.
Angry atheists won't spend time, money, and energy fighting against other religions, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, New Age, Reincarnationists, etc. WHY? Because they have no instilled fear of facing those "gods" that they "believe" to be imaginary. They would simply say those believers are "odd" and just ignore them.
BUT - The God of the Bible, the True God of Christianity. The God who we are told created us, and instilled in us a knowledge of Him in us, and who left us without excuse to recognize there is proof of God everywhere we look. The God who placed eternity in our hearts and who said in His Word that only a fool would say in his heart that there is no god (Psalm 14 & Psalm 53).
My point in all this ranting today... I guess, simply, that everyone, even atheists, have put faith and hope in something. Everyone has an instilled system that moves them to believe there is more to this life (and even one to come). Everyone believes there is a point to being moral and good (whatever good they believe). Everyone has an instilled conscience (con- "with" science - "knowledge") that there is right and wrong and even that the God of our Holy Bible will require an account someday and it moves people to get angry or saved.
Don't get "angry" and "attack" back at the "atheists" you know or encounter. Notice that they are 1st people of faith who, without Jesus, will end up in endless punishment.
Lovingly share the good news of the True God who gave us His Word and sent His Son Jesus Christ to make a way for them to find eternal happiness in Heaven with Him and an abundant life of knowing Him in the here and now.
Jude 1:17-22 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Who do you know that is need of news that there is a God who loves them and wants them saved from hell to heaven today? Boldly to and preach the good news today.
Somewhere today an "angry atheist" is sharing his or her belief. Somewhere today someone believes something that won't save their soul. Share your faith in the True God of the Bible today.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
#1 The other day I saw a rock on an upstairs porch railing, immediately I knew there was know way that rock could have gotten there by itself and thought, "who would have put that rock up here", or I've seen two identical rows of rock making a path leading to a door way and known it was campers (someone) who must have done it (of course). To believe that "chance" allowed one large rock to end up on an upstairs railing, perfectly, without help, requires too much faith when common sense evidence tells me otherwise. To see 20 rocks making a perfect design with a purpose (a path to the cabin) is too plainly obvious that someone created it for me to believe it was chance that allowed the rocks to get that way by chance.
As a common illustration says, to see a building, painting, creation, is proof there must be a builder, painter, creator. To believe that a "big bang" caused and explosion that by chance lead to every other chance for everything in existence requires too much faith to not bring up in your conversation.
#2 If someone ever asks "what proof do you have there is a God", why not ask them, "what proof have you found that there is absolutely no god". Let them defend their faith for a bit and get a chance to share what they believe and have put their hope and faith in.
#3 If "atheists" didn't believe in God (and on some level the God of the Bible) then why would they spend so much time, energy, and money trying to proof He doesn't exist or remove all trace of Him from our society.
I read this article today and it just reinforced what I believe.http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1400038
Here are some quotes to consider.
- Atheists have no problem with Muslims who want to erect a mega-mosque near the Ground Zero site, but they don't want a cross.
- "[Their complaining is] not about Islam. It's not about eastern religions. They don't attack the Buddhist monks who spend their life in solitude. They don't attack Hindus praying to different gods in the caste system," notes Sekulow. "They attack Christianity and really the heritage of our country that they would hope to erase."
Angry atheists will spend time, energy, and money to advertise their belief that there is no God (of the Bible) and will spend time, energy, and money to fight in court, petition, and protest, that we as believers in God should not "advertise" our beliefs.
Here is one way I know that "angry atheists" believe there is a God. Those same people spending time, money, energy, and forming united groups (congregations of similar faith) to study their beliefs (their church) and work to plan next how to deliver their message and come against God (discipleship of their faith) - those same people will spend no time time, energy, and money coming against anything else from the Easter Bunny, to Santa Clause, or the belief in aliens from another planet.
WHY? Because if something is make believe, fantasy, or won't cause you to question how you live your life in the light of eternity, you would consider people who lived their lives for those things to be "odd" and just ignore them.
Angry atheists won't spend time, money, and energy fighting against other religions, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, New Age, Reincarnationists, etc. WHY? Because they have no instilled fear of facing those "gods" that they "believe" to be imaginary. They would simply say those believers are "odd" and just ignore them.
BUT - The God of the Bible, the True God of Christianity. The God who we are told created us, and instilled in us a knowledge of Him in us, and who left us without excuse to recognize there is proof of God everywhere we look. The God who placed eternity in our hearts and who said in His Word that only a fool would say in his heart that there is no god (Psalm 14 & Psalm 53).
My point in all this ranting today... I guess, simply, that everyone, even atheists, have put faith and hope in something. Everyone has an instilled system that moves them to believe there is more to this life (and even one to come). Everyone believes there is a point to being moral and good (whatever good they believe). Everyone has an instilled conscience (con- "with" science - "knowledge") that there is right and wrong and even that the God of our Holy Bible will require an account someday and it moves people to get angry or saved.
Don't get "angry" and "attack" back at the "atheists" you know or encounter. Notice that they are 1st people of faith who, without Jesus, will end up in endless punishment.
Lovingly share the good news of the True God who gave us His Word and sent His Son Jesus Christ to make a way for them to find eternal happiness in Heaven with Him and an abundant life of knowing Him in the here and now.
Jude 1:17-22 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Who do you know that is need of news that there is a God who loves them and wants them saved from hell to heaven today? Boldly to and preach the good news today.
Somewhere today an "angry atheist" is sharing his or her belief. Somewhere today someone believes something that won't save their soul. Share your faith in the True God of the Bible today.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Andy Stanley: The New Commandment
Reposted in entirety from http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/152881-andy-stanley-the-new-commandment.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
Catalyst West 2010: Andy Stanley from Catalyst on Vimeo.
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Catalyst West 2010: Andy Stanley from Catalyst on Vimeo.
-----
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Restaurant Prayers - IHOP
I've said in the past that our family usually prays for those who serve us in restaurants. Tonight we took the camp staff out to say thank you and asked the waitress if there was anything she needed prayer for. She immediately said yes. She and her husband are watching a 1 year old and 2 year old who just lost their mother. She said she'd only have them for a while until they could get them to the father, but until then they could use prayer for themselves and the kids. This time instead of praying for her as we got our meal, I asked if she would mind if we prayed for her right then. She said she'd love it. I led a prayer for her with our staff and she was elated. She thanked us at least 3 times (and even went in the back and bragged to some of the other employees what we had just done for her and made her night). We left a track for her and I hope to be able to follow up in the days ahead when we stop back in for another meal. Again I don't think I'm as bold as I ought to be with the gospel, but asking someone if they'd like prayer is just too easy not to do. Leaving a tract is too easy not to do. Offering this to those who are in the service industry who can't possibly get mad at their customers leaves all of us without excuse. We in America still have the ability to share with risk to our lives (at least for now) so how can we not do more. Lord please grant me the boldness I ought to have for you.
If you are looking for a safe way to start getting out of your shell in approaching others with the gospel? If you say you don't have any non-believing friends? Why not try some restaurant prayers and drop me a line and let me know how it goes.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
If you are looking for a safe way to start getting out of your shell in approaching others with the gospel? If you say you don't have any non-believing friends? Why not try some restaurant prayers and drop me a line and let me know how it goes.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Francis Chan on Erasing Hell. Let's warn someone today!
This video is a little long, nearly 30 minutes, and is taken in entirety from
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/152665-francis-chan-takes-on-hell.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
Francis Chan talks about his life, ministry direction and why he wrote his new book, Erasing Hell, with Relevant Magazine's Josh Loveless.
-----------------------------
We as Salvationists believe in the eternal happiness of the righteous and the endless punishment of the wicked. We also believe that the only way to escape the realities of an eternity in Hell is an actively relationship with Jesus, a relationship based on repentance of our sins and the accepting of God's gracious gift of His Son Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the Cross.
If that is true, who must you share the truth of the gospel with today? If Hell and Heaven for eternity is at stake, what would keep you from telling everyone you meet?
Lord forgive me for my selfishness once again, and embolden me to love you enough that I am obedient to obey your command to preach the gospel to all creation, and embolden my love for everyone I ever meet, even in passing, that I would want them to know that you want know one to perish but all to come to salvation.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/152665-francis-chan-takes-on-hell.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
Francis Chan talks about his life, ministry direction and why he wrote his new book, Erasing Hell, with Relevant Magazine's Josh Loveless.
-----------------------------
We as Salvationists believe in the eternal happiness of the righteous and the endless punishment of the wicked. We also believe that the only way to escape the realities of an eternity in Hell is an actively relationship with Jesus, a relationship based on repentance of our sins and the accepting of God's gracious gift of His Son Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the Cross.
If that is true, who must you share the truth of the gospel with today? If Hell and Heaven for eternity is at stake, what would keep you from telling everyone you meet?
Lord forgive me for my selfishness once again, and embolden me to love you enough that I am obedient to obey your command to preach the gospel to all creation, and embolden my love for everyone I ever meet, even in passing, that I would want them to know that you want know one to perish but all to come to salvation.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
What is Full Time Ministry? - www.MarkCahill.org
What is Full Time Ministry? "article from newsletter by" www.MarkCahill.org
So, we are about halfway through the summer now: How is your witnessing going? This is turning into a fascinating summer for me! I have been meeting so many people and have had amazing conversations about the Lord!
One atheist I met told me he was having his bachelor party in Las Vegas just to ‘sin’ for the weekend! Wasn’t that an interesting way to phrase it? Even he knew what he was going to be doing wasn’t right. He knew right from wrong! He told me he was a pretty hardcore atheist, but that he would read my book and get back in touch with me. I’m excited to hear his thoughts.
I went to a couple of baseball games in St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play, and one of my friends who plays for the team told me he was watching me in the stands witnessing! I had so many neat conversations in those stands. I have already gotten two emails from people that I met at the games! One of the conversations was with a Muslim man from Iraq who is a dentist here in the States now. We had the most interesting talk about religion that lasted for several innings. It was like the game didn’t exist. He was such a nice man. Actually, he was one of the nicest men I have ever met before. Friendly, kind, generous, loving towards all, and he has even been on medical mission trips with Christian organizations. But of course, we know that it is not by works that someone gets to heaven. That is why we talked about who the Biblical Jesus is. I want to make sure this man is born again and saved before he dies.
You see when I was at that baseball game, I was actually in full time ministry. But there is a common misperception that really needs to be corrected as we head toward the return of Jesus Christ. People always ask me, “How can I get into full time ministry?” What people are forgetting is that if you are breathing, and you are born again, you are already in full time ministry! Satan is just tricking you into thinking that you are not. Remember in Matthew 28:19, 20 when Jesus said,
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
People call that the Great Commission, and that is every Christian’s call into full time ministry! That is why I stand at my front door and pray each day before I walk out it. Because I know when I head out that door, I must be in full time ministry mode. Just today, I had this great talk with Joe, who grew up Catholic, but now doesn’t really believe in much at all. It was a great talk about our Lord. He even told me that there is another Christian man who has been witnessing to him! I get so excited when I get to water a seed that someone else has already planted! Praise the Lord for those folks who are in full time ministry everywhere they go!
Today I also met someone in the Atlanta airport who told me that I sat next to his dad a year or two ago on a plane flight!! Isn’t that an amazing “coincidence”? Kyle said he was so glad that we met, and he knew that it was meant to be. I am so glad that I was in full time ministry mode when I left the house both today and nearly two years ago when I met Kyle’s father!
Last night, I had this incredible talk with a waiter. Justin grew up Catholic, but his girlfriend is Christian. He told me that she is trying to ‘get him saved!’ So we talked about what that meant, and why you need to do it. He had so, so many good questions. Oh, by the way, he wasn’t even my waiter! I am so glad that I was in full time ministry mode at the restaurant last night.
Moms and Dads: You are in full time ministry all day, every day with your kids.
Students and Teachers: You are in full time ministry all of the time as you interact with fellow students and teachers. One football player I know reads his Bible at his locker. He told me that so many times another player has walked over and asked what he was reading and that it leads to the most amazing conversations! I know one teacher who talks about Jesus in her classroom. She tells the kids if they want to get in depth about it to come to her room at 3:31—one minute after the bell rings! She told me that many times she has had a line of students at her door at the end of school!
Businessmen and women: You are in full time ministry mode representing the Lord when you do business in a Christian manner versus doing it the world’s way.
I know a doctor who witnesses to every single one of his patients!! I can’t tell you the number of doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors and business folks who have my books in their waiting rooms or lobbies for their patients or customers. I have heard from folks who have picked up a book at one of those places, and God used it to impact their lives.
Workers: You are in full time ministry every day. It is your job to share your faith and act like a Christian should in the workplace. When I was teaching at a Christian school, I hired a former professional baseball player to speak at an athletic banquet. As we spoke before the event, he told me that he worked for a cable company and laid cable. Inside, I was wondering, why do you do that? I, of course, thought that he was a millionaire from his pro baseball days, but then I started wondering how he had lost all his money. I shouldn’t have made that assumption. He looked at me and said, “I lay cable, because it gets me into people’s homes, so that I can talk to them about Jesus!” I can’t even begin to tell you how humbled I was. Here was this amazing, faithful man of God who stood for the Lord every single day in his ‘regular’ life. Why? Because he was in full time ministry mode everywhere he went.
A lady emailed the ministry recently and said that she had been struggling a lot with things in life. God sent her a Christian dishwasher repairman who witnessed to her and encouraged her. I am so glad that man realizes that he is in full time ministry.
Do you remember the great story of Jesus and the woman at the well? In John 4:6-10, it says:
“Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
Jesus was tired from the journey. He stopped to sit and get a drink of water. But even when He was tired and thirsty, He was in full time ministry mode, and that allowed one of the greatest stories in all of Scripture to occur. Why? Because the soul of that woman was more important to Him than that drink of water!
The great story of Paul and Felix in the book of Acts has always fascinated me. When Paul got before Felix, he began to speak truth. Acts 24:24,25 states,
“And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Paul was in full time ministry mode. He was going to speak truth to Felix no matter what. Of course, he wanted to be set free, but Felix and Drusilla’s souls were much, much more important to Paul at that point than his freedom.
As one of my friends puts it, ‘ministry is not an occupation but a commandment’! Remember that full time ministry isn’t working at a church or a seminary or traveling and speaking at conferences. I have known so many people who work at places like that who become completely stagnant. They lose their zeal; they lose their passion. Why? They are completely removed from lost people. They get away from the great thrill of planting seeds with the lost. Don’t let that happen to you! You do not want to be lukewarm. Remember that if you are born again and breathing, you are in full time ministry every day! It leads to a very fascinating and satisfying life.
Until the nets are full,
----------------------------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
So, we are about halfway through the summer now: How is your witnessing going? This is turning into a fascinating summer for me! I have been meeting so many people and have had amazing conversations about the Lord!
One atheist I met told me he was having his bachelor party in Las Vegas just to ‘sin’ for the weekend! Wasn’t that an interesting way to phrase it? Even he knew what he was going to be doing wasn’t right. He knew right from wrong! He told me he was a pretty hardcore atheist, but that he would read my book and get back in touch with me. I’m excited to hear his thoughts.
I went to a couple of baseball games in St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play, and one of my friends who plays for the team told me he was watching me in the stands witnessing! I had so many neat conversations in those stands. I have already gotten two emails from people that I met at the games! One of the conversations was with a Muslim man from Iraq who is a dentist here in the States now. We had the most interesting talk about religion that lasted for several innings. It was like the game didn’t exist. He was such a nice man. Actually, he was one of the nicest men I have ever met before. Friendly, kind, generous, loving towards all, and he has even been on medical mission trips with Christian organizations. But of course, we know that it is not by works that someone gets to heaven. That is why we talked about who the Biblical Jesus is. I want to make sure this man is born again and saved before he dies.
You see when I was at that baseball game, I was actually in full time ministry. But there is a common misperception that really needs to be corrected as we head toward the return of Jesus Christ. People always ask me, “How can I get into full time ministry?” What people are forgetting is that if you are breathing, and you are born again, you are already in full time ministry! Satan is just tricking you into thinking that you are not. Remember in Matthew 28:19, 20 when Jesus said,
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
People call that the Great Commission, and that is every Christian’s call into full time ministry! That is why I stand at my front door and pray each day before I walk out it. Because I know when I head out that door, I must be in full time ministry mode. Just today, I had this great talk with Joe, who grew up Catholic, but now doesn’t really believe in much at all. It was a great talk about our Lord. He even told me that there is another Christian man who has been witnessing to him! I get so excited when I get to water a seed that someone else has already planted! Praise the Lord for those folks who are in full time ministry everywhere they go!
Today I also met someone in the Atlanta airport who told me that I sat next to his dad a year or two ago on a plane flight!! Isn’t that an amazing “coincidence”? Kyle said he was so glad that we met, and he knew that it was meant to be. I am so glad that I was in full time ministry mode when I left the house both today and nearly two years ago when I met Kyle’s father!
Last night, I had this incredible talk with a waiter. Justin grew up Catholic, but his girlfriend is Christian. He told me that she is trying to ‘get him saved!’ So we talked about what that meant, and why you need to do it. He had so, so many good questions. Oh, by the way, he wasn’t even my waiter! I am so glad that I was in full time ministry mode at the restaurant last night.
Moms and Dads: You are in full time ministry all day, every day with your kids.
Students and Teachers: You are in full time ministry all of the time as you interact with fellow students and teachers. One football player I know reads his Bible at his locker. He told me that so many times another player has walked over and asked what he was reading and that it leads to the most amazing conversations! I know one teacher who talks about Jesus in her classroom. She tells the kids if they want to get in depth about it to come to her room at 3:31—one minute after the bell rings! She told me that many times she has had a line of students at her door at the end of school!
Businessmen and women: You are in full time ministry mode representing the Lord when you do business in a Christian manner versus doing it the world’s way.
I know a doctor who witnesses to every single one of his patients!! I can’t tell you the number of doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors and business folks who have my books in their waiting rooms or lobbies for their patients or customers. I have heard from folks who have picked up a book at one of those places, and God used it to impact their lives.
Workers: You are in full time ministry every day. It is your job to share your faith and act like a Christian should in the workplace. When I was teaching at a Christian school, I hired a former professional baseball player to speak at an athletic banquet. As we spoke before the event, he told me that he worked for a cable company and laid cable. Inside, I was wondering, why do you do that? I, of course, thought that he was a millionaire from his pro baseball days, but then I started wondering how he had lost all his money. I shouldn’t have made that assumption. He looked at me and said, “I lay cable, because it gets me into people’s homes, so that I can talk to them about Jesus!” I can’t even begin to tell you how humbled I was. Here was this amazing, faithful man of God who stood for the Lord every single day in his ‘regular’ life. Why? Because he was in full time ministry mode everywhere he went.
A lady emailed the ministry recently and said that she had been struggling a lot with things in life. God sent her a Christian dishwasher repairman who witnessed to her and encouraged her. I am so glad that man realizes that he is in full time ministry.
Do you remember the great story of Jesus and the woman at the well? In John 4:6-10, it says:
“Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
Jesus was tired from the journey. He stopped to sit and get a drink of water. But even when He was tired and thirsty, He was in full time ministry mode, and that allowed one of the greatest stories in all of Scripture to occur. Why? Because the soul of that woman was more important to Him than that drink of water!
The great story of Paul and Felix in the book of Acts has always fascinated me. When Paul got before Felix, he began to speak truth. Acts 24:24,25 states,
“And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Paul was in full time ministry mode. He was going to speak truth to Felix no matter what. Of course, he wanted to be set free, but Felix and Drusilla’s souls were much, much more important to Paul at that point than his freedom.
As one of my friends puts it, ‘ministry is not an occupation but a commandment’! Remember that full time ministry isn’t working at a church or a seminary or traveling and speaking at conferences. I have known so many people who work at places like that who become completely stagnant. They lose their zeal; they lose their passion. Why? They are completely removed from lost people. They get away from the great thrill of planting seeds with the lost. Don’t let that happen to you! You do not want to be lukewarm. Remember that if you are born again and breathing, you are in full time ministry every day! It leads to a very fascinating and satisfying life.
Until the nets are full,
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Francis Chan: We Need to Think Biblically
Is your life "Biblically wierd"?
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Why Leaders Can't Afford to Be Easily Offended (from churchleaders.com)
This was a good article, especially for a few friends who endured quite a lot this past week, may God bless your faithfulness in the midst of criticism.
The next is a link is to the article in its entirety if you want to see the source.
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Why Leaders Can't Afford to Be Easily Offended: "Take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on."
As a leader, you are going to draw fire. People will criticize you. Some will second-guess your decisions. Others will impute motives that aren't there. A few will falsely accuse you.
For example, just a few weeks ago, someone wrote a blog post, publicly calling me a hypocrite. I won't lie: it stung. I was tempted to respond in kind. Thankfully, I didn't. But that doesn't mean it was easy. It never is for me. I often have to remind myself of three great truths I have learned—and am still learning—about offenses.
1. Offenses are inevitable. Jesus Himself said,
Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! (Matthew 18:7)
According to the Dictionary.com, woe means, "grievous distress, affliction, or trouble." Anyone who has been offended understands woe. And, in my experience, it doesn't get much easier with age.
But as Jesus also notes, offenses must come. People offend us by what they do (sins of commission) and, sometimes, by what they don't do (sins of omission). Either way, life affords us daily opportunities to be offended.
Note that while offenses may be inevitable, Jesus doesn't let the offender off the hook. They, too, are accountable and will experience their own level of woe.
2. Offenses can be good for us.
This is a hard saying. In the midst of being offended, it is difficult to believe that any good could come out of it, let alone that God might have a bigger purpose in mind. But consider two examples from the Bible.
The patriarch Joseph was ridiculed, kidnapped, and then sold into slavery by his own brothers. He was later falsely accused of attempting to seduce the wife of a high-ranking, Egyptian official. He spent several years in prison, and it was years before he was vindicated.
He could have been very angry with his brothers. Years later, when he finally meets up with them again, he is in a position of tremendous power. He could easily have had his revenge. Instead, Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. (Genesis 50:19–20)
Or consider King David. In the latter part of his life, he was chased out of Jerusalem by his treasonous son, Absalom. If that weren't bad enough, a character named Shimei meets him on the road and starts throwing rocks at him. He curses the king and reminds him of all his sins. He says, Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man! (2 Samuel 16:7, 8)
Abishai, one of King David's servants, said, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!" But note how David responded: Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him. It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day. (2 Samuel 16:11, 12).
It's easy to resent those who offend us. But what if God has a deep and important purpose for sending them—something that He intends for our good because He truly loves us (see Romans 8:28).
3. Being offended is a choice. Every leader should memorize this verse:
The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11)
There are certainly times when it is legitimate to be angry. The Apostle Paul says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). Anger can be a valid response to something that is wrong. But it can quickly become toxic—not only for those to whom we direct it but also for ourselves. This is why the Apostle James admonishes us to be "slow to anger" (James 1:19, 20).
Between the stimulus and the response is the power to chose. This is precisely what makes us human.
We don't have to respond in kind.
The greatest leaders I know are not easily offended. Instead, they practice the habit of overlooking offenses. They take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on. What about you?
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
The next is a link is to the article in its entirety if you want to see the source.
--------------------
Why Leaders Can't Afford to Be Easily Offended: "Take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on."
As a leader, you are going to draw fire. People will criticize you. Some will second-guess your decisions. Others will impute motives that aren't there. A few will falsely accuse you.
For example, just a few weeks ago, someone wrote a blog post, publicly calling me a hypocrite. I won't lie: it stung. I was tempted to respond in kind. Thankfully, I didn't. But that doesn't mean it was easy. It never is for me. I often have to remind myself of three great truths I have learned—and am still learning—about offenses.
1. Offenses are inevitable. Jesus Himself said,
Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! (Matthew 18:7)
According to the Dictionary.com, woe means, "grievous distress, affliction, or trouble." Anyone who has been offended understands woe. And, in my experience, it doesn't get much easier with age.
But as Jesus also notes, offenses must come. People offend us by what they do (sins of commission) and, sometimes, by what they don't do (sins of omission). Either way, life affords us daily opportunities to be offended.
Note that while offenses may be inevitable, Jesus doesn't let the offender off the hook. They, too, are accountable and will experience their own level of woe.
2. Offenses can be good for us.
This is a hard saying. In the midst of being offended, it is difficult to believe that any good could come out of it, let alone that God might have a bigger purpose in mind. But consider two examples from the Bible.
The patriarch Joseph was ridiculed, kidnapped, and then sold into slavery by his own brothers. He was later falsely accused of attempting to seduce the wife of a high-ranking, Egyptian official. He spent several years in prison, and it was years before he was vindicated.
He could have been very angry with his brothers. Years later, when he finally meets up with them again, he is in a position of tremendous power. He could easily have had his revenge. Instead, Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. (Genesis 50:19–20)
Or consider King David. In the latter part of his life, he was chased out of Jerusalem by his treasonous son, Absalom. If that weren't bad enough, a character named Shimei meets him on the road and starts throwing rocks at him. He curses the king and reminds him of all his sins. He says, Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man! (2 Samuel 16:7, 8)
Abishai, one of King David's servants, said, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!" But note how David responded: Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him. It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day. (2 Samuel 16:11, 12).
It's easy to resent those who offend us. But what if God has a deep and important purpose for sending them—something that He intends for our good because He truly loves us (see Romans 8:28).
3. Being offended is a choice. Every leader should memorize this verse:
The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11)
There are certainly times when it is legitimate to be angry. The Apostle Paul says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). Anger can be a valid response to something that is wrong. But it can quickly become toxic—not only for those to whom we direct it but also for ourselves. This is why the Apostle James admonishes us to be "slow to anger" (James 1:19, 20).
Between the stimulus and the response is the power to chose. This is precisely what makes us human.
We don't have to respond in kind.
The greatest leaders I know are not easily offended. Instead, they practice the habit of overlooking offenses. They take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on. What about you?
---------
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
The gospel in the Old Testament
This article in its entirety is found at...
Posted By Larry Moyer On June 29, 2011
EvanTell’s Bad News Good News approach [1] to presenting the gospel that is presented in our May I Ask You a Question booklet has been very helpful to many. Believers have found it to be very effective when presenting the gospel to the lost.
I’ve been asked, “Suppose you are talking to a Jewish person who only accepts the Old Testament. How could you present Bad News Good News from the Old Testament?” These would be the main points and the verses I would use:
[2]Bad News #1 – We are all sinners
(Ecclesiastes 7:20) For there is not a just man on earth, who does good And does not sin.
(Ecclesiastes 7:20) For there is not a just man on earth, who does good And does not sin.
Bad News #2 – The penalty of sin is death
(Ezekiel 18:4) Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul that sins shall die.
(Ezekiel 18:4) Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul that sins shall die.
Good News #1 – Christ (the Messiah) died for you
(Isaiah 53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Good News #2 – You can be saved through faith
(Genesis 15:6) And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6) And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
The good news of Jesus Christ is the same, but you can easily use verses from the Old Testament to walk through a gospel presentation such as the Bad News Good News approach. One can see that the entirety of Scripture points to Jesus; He truly is central to the message within the Bible.
The method can change (and yes, even the Scripture verses referred to), but the message is the same:”Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.”
Article printed from Evangelism.net: http://www.evangelism.net
URL to article: http://www.evangelism.net/sharing-the-gospel-from-the-old-testament.htm
URLs in this post:
[1] EvanTell’s Bad News Good News approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUe9ZgADBNQ&feature=channel_video_title
[2] Image: http://www.evangelism.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Bible_gold_sm.jpg
Copyright © 2010 Evangelism.net. All rights reserved.
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Service Corps - Alaska video update
Great to see the Team USA Service Corps Team serving in Wrangell Alaska. May God bless your work and may you end with testimonies of changed lives and people coming to know Christ.
Here is part of their blog...
Alaskan Adventures
Jun. 22nd | No showers, no beds, no worries. We have lots and lots of coffee and craisins, and even more Jesus! We arrived in Wrangell and immediately began working. We talked with the Corps Officers about VBS that would convene the next morning and began planning out the day’s activities. What we thought was part of the USA, really is another country. Alaska is like Portland, OR on steroids. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Whenever we venture off to get a taste of glory in nature, someone always says “why does this look so fake?” Seriously, the beauty is surreal. I will never get used to seeing the 7 foot wingspan of a bald eagle fly twenty feet over my head. It gets dark here around 11pm and the sun is all the way up by 4am. We are all so tired by the end of the day that we really aren’t bothered by it. VBS was awesome. There were about 20 kids that attended the VBS. The last day of VBS we took the kids to the park in 50 degree weather where they all played water games in shorts and swim suits while the rest of us cheered them on in our doubled hoodies and pants. Then we all went back to the corps and camped out with s’mores and tents in the chapel. 20 kids came to VBS and 20 kids rededicated or for the first time gave their lives to Christ. It’s only been a little over a week and hearts are changing… Especially mine! After many VBS days, moose stew, and White king Salmon, we left Wrangell Sunday and arrived at Ketchikan in the evening. We caught the Ferry from Ketchikan to Klawock and the Salvation Army Community greeted us with a Salvo potluck and lots of love. One of the Elders named Jeff gave us a tour of the island and brought us out to a cemetery and to look at a handmade canoe that we are going to go on later this week. It’s only been one day in Klawock and I love it. People have opened up with us and shared their personal lives with us. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with us and the Klawock community.
Signing off…
Jenn
Keep up to date on service corps items at...
http://saynetwork.com/servicecorps/category/media/usa-media/
http://saynetwork.com/servicecorps/category/team-blogs/usa/
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
General Linda Bond's first pastoral letter.
June 2011 Pastoral Letter
Dear Salvationists:
As this is my first pastoral letter since I took office as General in April, I want to share a personal word with you and also emphasise what we hold in common.
My upbringing in the New Aberdeen Corps in Nova Scotia, Canada provided me with a clear understanding of the gospel of Jesus. As a child, I was not only aware that I could accept him as my Saviour but was trained to serve him. That service ultimately led me to say yes to the Lord's clear call to be an officer. A variety of appointments over these past 42 years have proven that the Lord opens doors of opportunity and gives great fulfilment and blessing. As Lord and Saviour, he never disappoints. Obeying him, trusting him and living for him are my greatest joys.
No doubt you also have had a personal encounter with the Lord that has changed the course of your life. Every experience is different but what we share in common is that we serve him together in The Salvation Army.
We are blessed with a wonderful heritage and the future is as bright as the promises of God. Yet the present connects both, does it not? We build on the past and chart a course for the future by our faithfulness to his mission in the present. Surely we all desire to be part of a Spirit-filled Army of the 21st century! Much depends on our own response to the Spirit but we can never imagine what God has in store for the Army he raised up. We need to seek him, keep in step with his Spirit and make his mission our priority.
Very soon you will be hearing from your territorial/command leaders about a way in which we can meet together in prayer. Commencing 1 September, we will begin to hold a weekly 30-minute international prayer meeting on Thursdays. Territories and commands have been asked to choose a half hour between 5 and 8 o'clock in the morning and will be urging Salvationists to pray for the Army and our mission priorities. Because we serve in so many different time zones, there is the possibility that for all or most of every Thursday, the Army will be at prayer. I hope you too will be joining us, in groups or individually. There will be information coming soon on the General's website. I will be joining with staff at International Headquarters at 7.30am, London time.
I close this letter with one of my favourite verses of Scripture; Psalm 143:8: 'Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you'. The psalmist whispered this prayer in the midst of adverse circumstances. However, it can be prayed every day, in the best of times and the worst of times. And it will be a prayer that God will always answer. May you delight in his love, be secure in it and share it.
God bless you richly,
Linda Bond
General
http://www1.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_ihq_general.nsf/vw-dynamic-arrays/B94A7FA92DD47627802578B00035B7F0?openDocument&charset=utf-8
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Live holy, preach Jesus!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
My own little world.
Greetings in Jesus Name,
I'm not posting as much during our Salvation Army Camping season, please keep the camp season in your prayers that every child would come to know Christ in a real, powerful, and personal way. Also pray that everyone who serves here, myself included, will look more like Jesus when the season is over.
Here is a good video, but also remember my last post and ones prior, that "social holiness, social justice, mercy ministry" or whatever you call it, is only "half-tistice and not holisitic" if we meet needs and never share the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Make sure that while you serve you share Jesus!
Enjoy the video.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
I'm not posting as much during our Salvation Army Camping season, please keep the camp season in your prayers that every child would come to know Christ in a real, powerful, and personal way. Also pray that everyone who serves here, myself included, will look more like Jesus when the season is over.
Here is a good video, but also remember my last post and ones prior, that "social holiness, social justice, mercy ministry" or whatever you call it, is only "half-tistice and not holisitic" if we meet needs and never share the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Make sure that while you serve you share Jesus!
Enjoy the video.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
How to Do Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism
A repost from SermonCentral and then my thought at the end...
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How to Do Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism Don Carson
How do Christians work for justice in the world and not undermine the centrality of evangelism? Don Carson responds. How do Christians work for justice in the world and not undermine the centrality of evangelism? Don Carson responds.
1. By doing evangelism. I know numerous groups that claim to be engaging in “holistic” ministry because they are helping the poor in Chicago or because they are digging wells in the Sahel, even though few, if any, of the workers have taken the time to explain to anyone who Jesus is and what he has done to reconcile us to God. Their ministry isn’t holistic; it’s halfistic or quarteristic.
2. By being careful not to malign believers of an earlier generation. The popular buzz is that evangelicals before this generation focused all their energies on proclamation and little or nothing on deeds of mercy. Doubtless one can find sad examples of such reductionism, but the sweeping condescension toward our evangelical forbears is neither true nor kind. To take but one example: The mission SIM has emphasized evangelism, church planting, and building indigenous churches for a century—yet without talking volubly of holistic ministry, it built, and still operates, many of the best hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa.
3. By learning, with careful study of Scripture, just what the gospel is, becoming passionately excited about this gospel, and then distinguishing between the gospel and its entailments. The gospel is the good news of what God has done, especially in Christ Jesus, especially in his cross and resurrection; it is not what we do. Because it is news, it is to be proclaimed. But because it is powerful, it not only reconciles us to God, but also transforms us, and that necessarily shapes our behavior, priorities, values, relationships with people, and much more. These are not optional extras for the extremely sanctified, but entailments of the gospel. To preach moral duty without the underlying power of the gospel is moralism that is both pathetic and powerless; to preach a watered-down gospel as that which tips us into the kingdom, to be followed by discipleship and deeds of mercy, is an anemic shadow of the robust gospel of the Bible; to preach the gospel and social justice as equivalent demands is to misunderstand how the Bible hangs together.
4. By truly loving people in Jesus’ name—our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all people, especially those of the household of faith. That necessarily includes the alleviation of suffering, both temporal and eternal. Christians interested in alleviating only eternal suffering implicitly deny the place of love here and now; Christians who by their failure to proclaim the Christ of the gospel of the kingdom while they treat AIDS victims in their suffering here and now show themselves not really to believe all that the Bible says about fleeing the wrath to come. In the end, it is a practical atheism and a failure in love.
1. By doing evangelism. I know numerous groups that claim to be engaging in “holistic” ministry because they are helping the poor in Chicago or because they are digging wells in the Sahel, even though few, if any, of the workers have taken the time to explain to anyone who Jesus is and what he has done to reconcile us to God. Their ministry isn’t holistic; it’s halfistic or quarteristic.
2. By being careful not to malign believers of an earlier generation. The popular buzz is that evangelicals before this generation focused all their energies on proclamation and little or nothing on deeds of mercy. Doubtless one can find sad examples of such reductionism, but the sweeping condescension toward our evangelical forbears is neither true nor kind. To take but one example: The mission SIM has emphasized evangelism, church planting, and building indigenous churches for a century—yet without talking volubly of holistic ministry, it built, and still operates, many of the best hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa.
3. By learning, with careful study of Scripture, just what the gospel is, becoming passionately excited about this gospel, and then distinguishing between the gospel and its entailments. The gospel is the good news of what God has done, especially in Christ Jesus, especially in his cross and resurrection; it is not what we do. Because it is news, it is to be proclaimed. But because it is powerful, it not only reconciles us to God, but also transforms us, and that necessarily shapes our behavior, priorities, values, relationships with people, and much more. These are not optional extras for the extremely sanctified, but entailments of the gospel. To preach moral duty without the underlying power of the gospel is moralism that is both pathetic and powerless; to preach a watered-down gospel as that which tips us into the kingdom, to be followed by discipleship and deeds of mercy, is an anemic shadow of the robust gospel of the Bible; to preach the gospel and social justice as equivalent demands is to misunderstand how the Bible hangs together.
4. By truly loving people in Jesus’ name—our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all people, especially those of the household of faith. That necessarily includes the alleviation of suffering, both temporal and eternal. Christians interested in alleviating only eternal suffering implicitly deny the place of love here and now; Christians who by their failure to proclaim the Christ of the gospel of the kingdom while they treat AIDS victims in their suffering here and now show themselves not really to believe all that the Bible says about fleeing the wrath to come. In the end, it is a practical atheism and a failure in love.
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I couldn't help but think how often we in the west are doing halfistic or quarteristic ministry as opposed to holistic ministry because we have failed to share the gospel in Jesus Name while do the work in His Name. My prayer is that every Salvation Army, and follower of Jesus, will live with heart to God and hand to man, and also be bold in proclaiming Salvation found only through Jesus Christ.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Follow the black cat Revolution
Check out the site & video - pretty cool!
http://www.followtheblackcat.com/index.htm
Here is the link to the descriptions behind the metaphor and imagery.
http://www.followtheblackcat.com/documents/TBCR%20-%20The%20Metaphor,%20Meaning%20and%20Message.pdf
Live holy, preach Jesus!
http://www.followtheblackcat.com/index.htm
Here is the link to the descriptions behind the metaphor and imagery.
http://www.followtheblackcat.com/documents/TBCR%20-%20The%20Metaphor,%20Meaning%20and%20Message.pdf
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
11 things repentance is not - video by Mark Driscoll
Have you biblically repented of your sin, killed it, and do you now live holy for Him?
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
All I have is Christ - video by Chris Powers
This five-minute animated video by Chris Powers of Sovereign Grace unpacks a powerful story of preaching the gospel in a country that's closed. The video is set to the song "All I Have Is Christ" by Jordan Kauflin.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
If today isn't "judgment day", how about...
Many know that today has been predicted by some to be "judgment day". Scripture says no man knows the day or the hour. Enough to that discussion for now.
As many non-Christians will be using the "missed judgment day" for making fun of Christians today, how about asking people this question today or in the next week....
So obviously judgment day didn't happen as man predicted, but what do you think happens when....
Start a conversation with someone today about eternity and present them the saving gospel of Jesus Christ who died for their sins so that if they will repent and live by faith, they might find eternal life.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
As many non-Christians will be using the "missed judgment day" for making fun of Christians today, how about asking people this question today or in the next week....
So obviously judgment day didn't happen as man predicted, but what do you think happens when....
- our time on earth is over
- we die and leave this world
- you've breathed your last earthly breath
- a hundred years from now you and all your loved ones have all passed away
Start a conversation with someone today about eternity and present them the saving gospel of Jesus Christ who died for their sins so that if they will repent and live by faith, they might find eternal life.
- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
- There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
- All our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
- Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)
- For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a)
- “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
- God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
- For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)
- the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)
- If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ... “anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. (Romans 10:9-11)
- Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14;6)
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A word of encouragment to my friends at DHQ
Recently at a Corps review I was mentioning how I missed "the field" and that DHQ is a special ministry and important for resourcing those "on the front lines" of ministry, but that I did miss being a corps officer terribly.
A retired officer gave me a word which moved me greatly and I received as from the mouth of God.
This man of God retold the story of David in 1 Samuel 30 (feel free to grab a bible and read it today). David is going off to fight against the Amalekites, he has 600 men, but 200 are too tired for the fight and stay behind to watch the supplies while 400 men go with David off to battle.
On a victorious return the 400 men didn't want to share the plunder with the 200 left behind with the supplies.
David's response is found in 1 Samuel 30:24... The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.
This wonderful "retired" (whatever that means) officer told me that just because I wasn't in the fight (at the field level), that my share would be the same as if I had been in the battle, simply because I was being obedient to where God had asked me to be "on the supply line".
All this I know in my head to be true, but in my heart that day it hit very close to home.
Thank you to all the officers and soldiers serving in the field in the heat of battle for the salvation of the world. Keep up the good fight, victory is certainly ours in Jesus Christ.
For those of my fellow officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers at Divisional and Territorial Headquarters and other support roles, be not discouraged, God sees your service, and you will share in the victory and the field sees people come to Jesus daily!
Finally, remember that there is a mission field in and around where you work to, tell someone about Jesus today.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
A retired officer gave me a word which moved me greatly and I received as from the mouth of God.
This man of God retold the story of David in 1 Samuel 30 (feel free to grab a bible and read it today). David is going off to fight against the Amalekites, he has 600 men, but 200 are too tired for the fight and stay behind to watch the supplies while 400 men go with David off to battle.
On a victorious return the 400 men didn't want to share the plunder with the 200 left behind with the supplies.
David's response is found in 1 Samuel 30:24... The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.
This wonderful "retired" (whatever that means) officer told me that just because I wasn't in the fight (at the field level), that my share would be the same as if I had been in the battle, simply because I was being obedient to where God had asked me to be "on the supply line".
All this I know in my head to be true, but in my heart that day it hit very close to home.
Thank you to all the officers and soldiers serving in the field in the heat of battle for the salvation of the world. Keep up the good fight, victory is certainly ours in Jesus Christ.
For those of my fellow officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers at Divisional and Territorial Headquarters and other support roles, be not discouraged, God sees your service, and you will share in the victory and the field sees people come to Jesus daily!
Finally, remember that there is a mission field in and around where you work to, tell someone about Jesus today.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
SA Songbook #380 Praise God for what He's done for me
Song song by men in the A.R.P. this past Sunday... (to the tune of On Christ the Solid Rock I stand)
1. Praise God for what he's done for me!
Once I was blind, but now I see;
I on the brink of ruin fell;
Glory to God, I'm out of Hell!
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
2. I spurned his grace, I broke his laws,
But Jesus undertook my cause;
Bad as I was he cleansed my soul,
Healed my disease and made me whole.
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
3. The Lord has pardoned all my sin,
And now to praise him I'll begin;
I never praised the Lord before,
But now I'll praise him more and more.
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
-------
Why not tell someone what God has done for you, forgiveness, deliverance, and the hope of heaven.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
Songbook 380 Praise God for what he's done for me
1. Praise God for what he's done for me!
Once I was blind, but now I see;
I on the brink of ruin fell;
Glory to God, I'm out of Hell!
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
2. I spurned his grace, I broke his laws,
But Jesus undertook my cause;
Bad as I was he cleansed my soul,
Healed my disease and made me whole.
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
3. The Lord has pardoned all my sin,
And now to praise him I'll begin;
I never praised the Lord before,
But now I'll praise him more and more.
Chorus
For what the Lord has done for me,
I'll praise him through eternity.
-------
Why not tell someone what God has done for you, forgiveness, deliverance, and the hope of heaven.
Live holy, preach Jesus!
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