Posted by: missionventureministries | October 26, 2017

BE ANGRY BUT DO NOT SIN – Ephesians 4:26-27

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). 

We must not let what is annoying us to get to the point where we lose control. It is important to deal with what is upsetting us before it reaches a critical point. 

As true believers we are a new creation in Jesus Christ and are no longer driven to sinful behavior by our old life. Peter tells us that, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore as a new creation in Christ we are to put off the behavior of our old sinful life, and are to put on the new life of the saint who lives by the Holy Spirit. Once we become a true Christian we are a different person and because of that we must live a different kind of life than the world around us lives. 

Our verse speaks about being angry but not sinning. There are two kinds of anger. First, the Christian can practice righteous anger. We see a great example of this when our Lord Jesus Christ cleansed the temple (Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-47, John 2:14-16). What determines the kind of anger we are feeling, is what has caused the anger to rise up within us. In Jesus’ case He drove out those who were mocking God’s house by making it a market place a den of robbers and He told them: “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer.’” 

The second kind of anger is the wrong kind, where anger for instance overcomes a person when things are not going their way and prides takes over their mind. It would be good at those times to think on what James wrote, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1.19-20). 

The wrong kind of anger is when we get upset and angry because something or someone is interfering with our ego and all of a sudden it is not all about us anymore.  

Righteous anger on the other hand is if we are angry at someone because people lie against the truth of God, are against God’s purposes, defame the Name and Glory of God, cause others to sin and produce evil and destruction by their conduct and lack of respect for God. We can also be angry at mean and evil people who abuse and hurt innocent children and people. 

Psalm 97:10 says, “Let those who love the Lord, hate evil.” The more we know God and love truth and holiness, the more we will be angry for the right reason. 

God says “Be angry, and do not sin”. Therefore, a Christian should express righteous anger when righteous anger is called for but must be careful that this righteous anger does not become sinful anger, when it is allowed to become an attitude of resentment and intolerance toward another person. 

Sinful anger is often a sign of our need for a greater trust in God and a fuller giving of our life to Him. Sinful anger when examined often exposes a control problem and a need for more trust in God. Sinful anger is reflected when we have not made Jesus total Lord of all of our life and we have not yet fully accepted the Sovereignty of God over our lives.  

Sinful anger may also be because of un-forgiveness. Please remember what our Lord taught His disciples: “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). 

As we continue in our verse, it states: “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”. What this implies is that, if possible, we should deal with anger right away. We should not put off dealing with anger because, if we do not deal with it when we are convicted by the Spirit, we might not have an opportunity to deal with it again. A case and point is that the person you are angry at might not be alive tomorrow or when you decide to make amends with them. 

And lastly the verse tells us, “and give no opportunity to the devil. This it is directly tied to the feeling of anger. To hold onto anger against another person opens the door of our life to the Devil. Sin brings death, and that is Satan’s aim, to bring about death and an eternity in hell apart from God. 

As we have seen, anger by itself is not sin. There is an anger that is justified, which we call “righteous indignation.” But nurturing anger for the wrong reason, which is the selfish fulfillment of a desire, gives Satan the footing that he needs; which can easily turn into bitterness and a sinful act. 

If you have a disagreement with someone or you feel someone has wronged you go to that person and discuss the situation with them; this is what the Bible tells us to do. Do not act from your sinful nature by saying something rash that will dishonor God and is destructive to others and yourself, damaging His purposes for your life.  

Here are some additional verses to reflect on: 

  • Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) 
  • Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth (Psalm 37:8-9).

Remember “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). And “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31)

 

 

 

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | October 19, 2017

LESSONS FROM THE RICH FOOL – Luke 12:17-20

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’” (Luke 12:20)  

This verse gives God’s warning for people whose dominating concern is the accumulation of material possessions. Such a person is, by the Lord’s own testimony, a fool. 

But before the man in this parable became a covetous fool, he first became a self-centered individual interested only in his own desires. In the verses comprising his monologue in (Luke 12:17-19), he used the personal pronouns “I” and “my” no less than eleven times. 

And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 

“My” is the devil’s pronoun. It was Satan who first said “I.” “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer’s self-seeking covetousness brought rebellion and sin into the angelic host, and then into human beings. Ever since his fall he has used this deadly sin of self-centeredness to keep men away from God and to lead them into all kinds of other overpowering sins.

We need to remember that greed and covetousness is mentioned in the Ten Commandments because it is a warning to one of the major human problems. Where greed is involved there is never enough and there is the constant desire to want more.

This man assumes that his life consists in the abundance of things he possesses; the crops are his and they will provide for his well being for many years to come, so he thinks. And he will enjoy life and eat, drink and party.

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ (v. 20)        

The foolishness and selfishness of the rich man is seen in that he fails to think about his “body” and that it is mortal, and that his life can end at any moment.  He also does not consider the needs of others, because the needs of the poor are not even taken into consideration. He thinks only of self as it is denoted by the number of “I’s” and “my’s” in these verses. Not once does he thank and glorify God for the abundance of the harvest.

This man lives as if God did not exist, and God is not a factor in his life or in the decisions he makes. He does not look for holy advice and he does not pray. He rationalizes and determines that he will keep everything and then will consume it in self-indulgences. In his mind, his land, his possessions, and his life are all under his control. The tendency is that the more successful a person is the more their focus is on the now, and they see their security only in their riches.

We need to be very careful how we live, since we never know when our time here on earth will end.

As Jesus continues He explains that those who lay up treasure for themselves, and are not rich toward God, are like this rich fool! (v. 21)

If our plans for the future are focused only on self, and not on God and the needs of others, we are no different than the rich fool. It is wise to plan but we should do it wisely with God’s help through the Holy Spirit guidance, through prayer and reading His Word.

The rich farmer is a fool not because he is wealthy or because he saves for the future, but because he appears to live only for himself, and because he believes that he can secure his life with his abundant possessions.

The point of the lesson in this parable is that the rich man did not prepare for eternal life and he did not realize that everything is created and owned by God. He had no relationship with the living God. In his planning he had no regard for the God that created him and had given him possessions and stewardship of the land.

This parable teaches us that earthly riches are not the answer to our eternal security. The important thing is that we must be rich spiritually to inherit eternal life.

We need to ensure that our heart is in the right place as Jesus said:  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:19-21)

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Posted by: missionventureministries | October 12, 2017

HOW TO KNOW THAT WE ARE IN HIM – 1 John 2:5-6

“By this we know that we are in Him: 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:5-6)  

You know, that you truly know Christ if you walk in obedience to His Word because it’s manifested in the way your live. It’s manifested in your obedience.” In other words, we know that we know God because we keep His commandments. 

John is teaching that salvation is evidenced by obedience. And, in turn, that obedience contributes to our assurance of salvation. Obedience is a sign that we know God, recognizing that He expects His people to live in obedience to Him. 

In verse four, John restates verse three with a warning: “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). His point is that if you claim to know God but your life is not changed, then that is a sure sign that you don’t know God. Why? Because the truth of God changes and leads a person to a transformed life. So, when that transformed life is not present, you can be sure that the person never studied or learned the truth; and thus has never know God. 

Having the empowering of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to “walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12); and that there is no greater joy then to “walk in truth” (3 John 4) and in honesty (1 Thessalonians 4:12; Romans 13:13).  

Christianity is not just knowing about God or knowing certain doctrines or following certain moral precepts. It is essentially to know God because God wants us to know Him. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Christianity means knowing God personally through Jesus Christ, who revealed God to us.  

There is a vast difference between knowing about a person and knowing that person. You may have heard some things about God that may or not be true, but until you have made Him the Lord of your life, you really do not know Him or understand that He deserves to be the absolute Master of your life.  

In our text, John says that if we are abiding in Christ, we will walk as He walked. This means that He is our supreme example for living. Jesus showed us how we should live in total dependence on the Father and in complete submission to His will, no matter how difficult. Jesus declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19). He also said “… I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:29). 

While no one can make similar claims, everyone who claims to abide in Christ should have the same focus and direction, not to act in independence from God, but in total dependence on Him. We should not live to please ourselves apart from God, but to do the things that are pleasing to Him. 

To walk as Jesus walked means that our lives should be characterized by daily dependence on God, submission to Him, and obedience to His will. Our overall aim in life will be to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. We will seek to please Him by our thoughts, words, and deeds. While we will never perfectly walk as Jesus walked, it should be our constant aim and effort to do so. 

So ask yourself, “Do I know Christ?” Have you trusted in Him as the propitiation for your sins? If so, ask, “Do I know that I know Him?” How? “Do I obey His Word and seek to walk as Jesus walked?” If that is the direction and focus of your life, then you can know that you know Him. 

We need to understand there are reasons that we obey. We obey because we have to; we obey because we need to; or we obey because we want to. And that the believer obeys God’s word because he wants to – for the relationship between him and God is one of love. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). 

We are asking you to look inside your being and answer this question: Are you keeping God’s commandments? While keeping the commandments is not a condition for salvation, it is a sign, an evidence, of your salvation – a mark of a Christian. In fact, partial obedience is another name for disobedience. 

Please remember that: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

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Posted by: missionventureministries | October 5, 2017

BULLYING IS A SIN

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone… (2 Timothy 2:24)

Bullying is a sin; the devil is a bully, bullies desire to be like the devil.

The heart of the bully relies on others to back him up in his wicked assault on kind, innocent people.

The bully is someone who enjoys causing others pain and anguish. He does not love kindness but rather hostility.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says: “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: proud eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

These verses speak about the core of the bully’s heart since the bully is proud, he will lie and at times runs to shed blood. He most definitely devises wicked plans and runs swiftly to do his evil works.  The bully is proud and mean; he or she finds great satisfaction in ridiculing and hurting other people. That is why he keeps bullying.  It is a power trip for him and he doesn’t realize that he is doing what the devil wants; God hates the things that the bully does.

Bullying causes severe physical, psychological, and emotional trauma to victims. As parents, we need to stand up for our kids and do whatever we can to stop others from making victims of our children.

When we compare and contrast the heart of the bully versus the heart of the Christian we see the following:

THE BULLY’S HEART

THE CHRISTIAN’S HEART
Bullies are very proud True Christians are humble
They seeks power They seek to serve God
They want dominance Wants to obey God
Plans wicked schemes Plans acts of kindness
Acts out in rage Acts out in love
Enjoys inflicting pain on others Enjoys helping others
Loves hatred and injustice Loves justice
Relies on others to back him up Needs no one but God
Is motivated by self-dominance Is motivated to encourage and lift others up

 

Bullies always try to get other people to join them in hurting and ridiculing someone who has a kind, gentle, loving spirit.

CONCLUSION

The main thing is that at the heart of the matter bullies only focus on their own pride, ego and meanness at the cost of others. This is exactly the way that the devil lives and he influences and even possesses people who are bullies. He focuses only on his own wicked schemes ridiculing and destructing anyone that he can.

David in the Bible was bullied and prayed: “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in the right path, because my enemies are waiting for me. Deliver me and do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.” (Psalm 27:11-12)

The Bible also tells us that the hypocrite destroys his neighbor with his mouth. (Proverbs 11:9)

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Posted by: missionventureministries | September 28, 2017

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR? – Romans 10:9

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

When an individual becomes a Christians it is assumed that they have accepted Jesus as Savior, that is, they have acknowledged that Jesus Christ came from the Father, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was sacrificed for our sins, was resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of God intervening for them; but do they know Him as Lord? 

Every new Christian should understand the concept of the Savior when they come to Christ and this is the first part of the salvation experience. 

What most people fail to understand is the second part of the salvation experience, which is that Jesus Christ needs to also become the Lord of their life. Yes, there is a difference between being Savior and being Lord. 

In the Bible you will find the word lord either spelled with all capital letters, LORD, or as “Lord”. The first version, LORD, stands for the name of God Himself, which is the Hebrew translation of the word YHWH (Yahweh).  

In the dictionary, the word “Lord” has different meanings and here are some of them: 

  • A person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.  
  • A person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc.  
  • A titled nobleman; a person whose ordinary term contains by courtesy the title Lord because of the position they have attained. 

Therefore, someone whom you call Lord is in a position of authority, power, control, and deserves your respect and obedience. You acknowledge their authority and your submission to their authority implies your willingness to obey their commands.  

The point is that when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior they should not only accept Jesus in the position of Savior but also as Lord. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Only a person in a position of authority has the right to command and Jesus has that authority, granted by the Father (John 3:35, Ephesians 1:22). 

The only thing required of us, for Jesus to be our Savior, is for us to believe. On the other hand, for Jesus to be our Lord we no longer make our own decisions, He makes them for us. When He is the Lord of our life, He is in total control, and we follow His instructions without questioning and in doing so placed ourselves under His Lordship and His authority. Jesus has the right to command us and to expect that His commands will be obeyed.  

Jesus does not want us to call Him “Lord” and “Master” if we are not willing to commit to doing the things He says as He told His followers, “But why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).  

Our deeds need to match our words: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17). To confess Jesus’ Lordship with our mouths while not submitting our lives to Him is empty talk. If He truly is our Lord, then He controls both our words as well as our deeds. 

Now that you are aware of what it means to know Jesus as Lord and not only as Savior does this change anything for you?  

Will Jesus truly be your Master, God and Sovereign Lord over every goal, purpose and decision in your life?  

Will you be obedient and sensitive to His requirements now that you are aware of the implications of Jesus as Lord? Or will you continue to accept Him as Savior but can’t see letting this Lordship interfere with your life?  

Remember that if you place Jesus in His deserving place as Lord of your life, you might have to change some things, like give up a bad habit, reprioritize your life, and stop being self-centered. 

Accepting Jesus’ Lordship involves saying “yes” to whatever He says. It involves denial of self-interests, including sometimes the giving up of life itself – but it also involves finding life; that is, eternal life. 

Jesus told His disciples: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:34-36).  

In these verses Jesus is commanding and demanding absolute obedience and surrender to His eternal Lordship, over everything that we desire, say, think and do. Here Jesus has defined the aspect of true Christianity; anything short of total commitment to the Master is foolish religiosity and hypocrisy. 

When you come to Christ and are truly saved, the Spirit of God will move on your spirit and you will acknowledge Jesus as your Savior and make Him the Lord of your life. 

It means that: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). 

Please remember that it is not enough to have head knowledge of who Jesus is or to just say you believe. If you have claimed that Jesus is important in your life, start showing it by your actions. Being a Christian means becoming transformed into Christ’s image, not molding Him into the image you think is right and rightfully making Him the Lord of your life.                                                                                                                            

So what are you going to hear when you finally come face to face with God when you die? Will it be, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:23) or will Jesus say to you “ ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23)  

IS JESUS TRULY THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE?

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Posted by: missionventureministries | September 21, 2017

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING A CHURCH? – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Paul gave an excellent illustration to the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), where the church is to be “One Body with Many Members” and act as God’s ambassadors to this fallen world. 

The true believers are the church and as such we are to be doing the things that Jesus Christ would do as if He were here physically on the earth. The church is to be a Christ-like and Christ-following group of believers that are witnesses of Him to people that are lost. 

Throughout the New Testament, we see spiritual leaders teaching others. This is part of the Christian lifestyle; it is part of the Great Commission. “Go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The church is an educational institution as well as a place of worship and transformation. 

The purpose of the church is to worship God (Luke 4:8; John 4:23), to study His Word and correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), to partake of the Lord’s supper and to pray (Acts 2:42), to love one another (John 13:35), to help each other (Galatians 6:2), to learn how to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives (Titus 2:11-12), and to be a witness of God’s holiness to everyone we come in contact with: But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) 

God has given us pastors, so that we might be equipped “for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:12). The term “body of Christ” is another name for the Christian church. The Bible reveals many aspects of the purpose of the church and here are some: 

To Guard the Accurate Teachings of the Church – “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:1-2). 

To Humbly Worship Almighty God in Spirit and in Truth. That is what a true worshiper does. (John 4:24) 

To Discipline Believers – “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer” (Matthew 18:15-17). 

To Become More Like Christ – “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16). 

To be Taught by Spiritually Mature Teachers – “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;  not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3). 

“Likewise, older women should be reverent in behavior, …and  teachers of good things,  that they may teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  and to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored” (Titus 2:3-5). 

Christians need to be diligent in teaching all children to love God with all their heart soul and might and to tell them about God every chance they get. In addition, as their parents you should also tell them about God’s love when they go to sleep and when they rise up (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). 

Both children and adults should be saturated with God’s Holy Word. 

To be Unified in Christ – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). 

To get People Together to Praise their Savior – 1 Peter 2:9 declares that: “we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” And we are to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). 

The Church has the Purpose – “For the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ,  until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). 

God provides leaders who have the function of preparing others for their godly mission. The result is growth, maturity and unity, if we allow the process to work as God intends. 

To summarize, the true church is the body of Christ, made holy by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is manifested on earth in local gatherings of the body of Christ, and it is also enthroned with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6). By God’s own appointment, it is distinct from other institutions by being holy and by being uniquely empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s will for its role in disciplining and encouraging believers.

We need to understand that the church exists because God wants it for His purpose now and for eternity.

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Posted by: missionventureministries | September 14, 2017

IS GOD TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION? – Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

God’s discipline and chastening is an issue that all Christians should learn about, because sooner or later, most will probably discover what it means to be disciplined by the Lord.

According to the Bible, the Lord’s chastening is generally considered painful and unpleasant (Hebrews 12:11), intended as a “reprimand” to change one’s behavior. In the Old Testament, the ordeals of the Children of Israel, including defeat by enemy armies, were often referred to as chastisement for sin and rebellion (Deuteronomy 11:2). But the purpose of chastising is not to destroy (Psalm 118:18), but to lead to repentance (Jeremiah 31:18-19) and to restore God’s blessing (Psalm 94:12).

Chastisement is not a bad thing. Although unpleasant, discipline is vital in the life of a true believer who is in rebellion to God and the commands of the Bible. It is the correction and discipline of a loving Heavenly Father toward His children. God’s love us as a parent; therefore, our sinful behavior makes it necessary for God to discipline us with spiritual, mental, physical pain and with financial losses. The Bible says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

As we grow older, we recognize that the discipline of our parents was a necessary means to keep us out of trouble; and we start realizing that they corrected us not because they enjoyed it, but because they loved us.

The Bible says, “…we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:9-10).

God wants what is best for us. For this reason, He will discipline us if we persist in sin, and will administer correction if we dishonor His name and His commands that are in the Bible. He says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

You may ask: How does God chastise His children? This is a personal matter with each individual. Many times, He will lift his hand of blessing and allow difficulty, physical pain and trouble to come our way, not to destroy us, but to humbly bring us back to our knees in repentance.

Some people have a tendency to exhibit a continuously disobedient and rebellious spirit; therefore, these people may have to be constantly chastised with losses and sometimes chronic pain to keep them from wrecking their lives and causing further dishonor to our Holy God.

When chastisement comes, it will be accompanied by conviction of our sin and rebellion. God invites us to come to Him in repentance and humility, so that He may restore His blessings. As it is so wisely written: “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).

Is God trying to get your attention? How much pain and loss will you have to endure until you fully surrender your disobedient spirit to Him and start obeying His Holy Word?

When we begin to wander from the course God has set for us, He will take all kinds of measures to capture our attention and protect us from harm. He has a variety of ways to help us to pay attention, and here are some of them:

A Restless Spirit  – Sometimes God gets our attention by making us restless – Proverbs 15:16 tells us: “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it.” If you experience restlessness and things are not going right, then stop and pray, “Lord, are You trying to say something to me?”

Conviction that comes Directly from the Bible. God gets our attention when we attentively read the Bible because it is our guide and blueprint for living a life of peace, freedom and victory. We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when we read the Bible, so that He can guide us as we desire to be more like Christ.

A Spoken Word – God also gets our attention by using the words of others. The Lord gave a message both to young Samuel and to the old priest, Eli, through this method (1 Samuel 3:4-18). If several people in a short span of time begin telling you the same thing, then ask the Lord if He is trying to speak to you through them.

Or in an Unusual Way – God might get our attention in a number of very unusual ways, depending on the severity of our stubbornness and the overly self-sufficient person that we might be.

But remember that no matter which method He uses, He is trying to get our attention because He loves us.

The Father always knows exactly where we are in our journey of faith and precisely what it will take to get our attention. So stay alert and when things start occurring ask Him what He is trying to tell you, and then listen … do not simply hear, but obey. And do not be like the ones Isaiah spoke of in chapter 29:13 where “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

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Posted by: missionventureministries | September 7, 2017

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OBEY GOD? – Philippians 2:8

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)  

Obedience to God is an essential part of the Christian faith. Jesus Himself was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.  

The Bible says that we show our love for Jesus by obeying Him in all things: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). And to those who were not obeying He asked: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). 

Obedience is defined as “dutiful or submissive compliance to the commands of one in authority.” And as we look into this definition in greater detail, we see the elements of biblical obedience. 

  • Dutiful – means it is our obligation to obey God, just as Jesus fulfilled His duty to the Father by dying on the cross for our sin.
  • Submissive – indicates that we yield our wills to God’s.
  • Commands – speaks of the Scriptures in which God has clearly delineated His instructions, and finally
  • Of one in authority, which is God Himself, whose authority is total and indisputable.

Therefore, for the Christian, obedience means complying with everything God has commanded. It is our duty to do so; however, it is important to remember that our obedience to God is not solely a matter of duty; we obey Him because we love Him (John 14:23).  

We must beware of reflecting an appearance of obedience to mask a sinful heart. Living the Christian life is not all about rules. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time relentlessly followed acts of obedience to the Law, but they became hypocrites, believing they deserved heaven because of what they had done. They considered themselves worthy before God, who owed them a reward; however, the Bible tells us that, without Christ, even our most righteous works are as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).  

Isaiah also mentions man made laws where he writes: “The Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13). 

The Pharisees’ external obedience lacked true submission, and Jesus exposed their heart attitude. Their hypocrisy was in obeying the “letter of the law” while violating its spirit and Jesus rebuked them sharply: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27–28). The Pharisees were obedient in some respects, but they “neglected the more important matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23). 

Today, we are not called to obey the Law of Moses, which has been fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17). We are to obey the “law of Christ,” which is a law of love (Galatians 6:2; John 13:34). Jesus stated the greatest commands of all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40). 

If we love God, we will obey Him. We won’t be perfect in our obedience, but our desire is to submit to the Lord and display good works. When we love God and obey Him, we naturally have love for one another. Obedience to God’s commands will make us light and salt in a dark, tasteless and evil world (Matthew 5:13–16). 

You might ask, “Why is obedience to God so important?” 

Because it is preposterous to disobey God and it is insane to worship any god but Almighty God. 

Obedience proves our love for God (1 John 5:2-3), demonstrates our faithfulness to Him (1 John 2:3-6), glorifies Him in the world (1 Peter 2:12), and opens avenues of blessing for us (John 13:17). 

Faith is necessary to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and if our faith is genuine and true, we will live a lifestyle characterized by righteousness, modeling the example set for us by Jesus Christ. We obey His commands, not because we have to, but because we want to, because we love Him. We are enabled to obey because, once we believe in Christ and are saved, we are made new. We are not the same people we once were, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

When we obey the Lord, we can live a life of joy, without shame, rooted deeply in Him and confident in our eternal hope. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Our obedience is actually part of our assurance that we truly know God (1 John 2:3). 

When God’s children obey their Heavenly Father, He is glorified. Jesus told us that the plan is for others to “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Of course, performing “good deeds” requires obedience to the One who calls us to good deeds. A Christian’s testimony of holiness is a strong witness that God is at work in the world. 

“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him” (Psalm 128:1). The Bible often tells us that God blesses and rewards obedience. James 1:22, 25 says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . . Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”  

God is forgiving. If we haven’t been living for Him, if we haven’t been following His commandments, if we’ve been living in and for the world, we can be transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can ask God for forgiveness, and He will give it, and will choose to forget the sin, just as if we had never committed it. God is glorified when He grants forgiveness, because it is written, “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. . . . Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16-17).

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Posted by: missionventureministries | August 30, 2017

PAUL’S WARNINGS FOR THE LAST DAYS – 2 Timothy 3:1-4

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 2 Timothy 3:1-4 

Observing people and the youth today, and considering the dark side of their captivation with technology and digital media, we may wonder if we are getting close to the generation Paul describes in these verses. In fact, we must ask – are we already there? 

The growth of technology causing rapid changes in our culture could have been a topic addressed by Jesus thousands of years ago when He spoke to His disciples about signs of the end of the age (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:14). In Mark 13:12, He also prophesied about a time when children would rebel against their parents, even to the point of death.

Paul’s message was that God is Sovereign; giving warning to a future generation of the growth of knowledge, science and technology yet to come.

People will be lovers of themselves. Self-love is pride, and is the root of all wickedness. It is a total disregard for God. It is okay to love ourselves as God’s creation, but this scripture is talking about people who love their sinful lifestyles and are actually indulging in self worship, rather that humbly worshiping our Creator and Almighty God. 

Never in history has society been so motivated by self-gratification. This is the generation of “what’s in it for me”; be it at work, at church or where ever the opportunity might present itself.

People will be “lovers of money.” The refusal to deny self anything has already increased on enormous debt to our society. Christians lament that they ‘can’t afford’ to tithe to the church or give to missions. The reason is that they are lovers of self and money; they buy too many things on credit which they cannot afford.

People will be “boastful, proud, and abusive.” They are self reliant and arrogant; they don’t need anyone and especially don’t need God in their life!

People will be “disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.” The Lord revealed to Paul a future time when the family unit would fall apart.

Looking far into the future, the apostle Paul wrote about the days when a zombie-like generation would grow up to be self-absorbed, without natural affection and contemptuous of parents. He warned of “terrible times” in the last days. 

The breakdown of family discipline, the ungrateful behavior of spoiled and undisciplined children which inevitably follows and the gross wickedness that inevitably derives from such conditions are characteristic of the current history of our times.

Paul continues with the total breakdown of society: People will be without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Finally, there will be no rules, no moral absolutes, and no restraints of any kind. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes, and woe to the person who dares to question his “lifestyle choices.”

Paul’s teaching is that the intensification and proliferation of these shall indeed mark the final apostasy.

What should be our response as we read and consider these verses? Realize that our time is short. What we do for Christ must be done now! We cannot sit back and think we have plenty of time. We are living in perilous times. People are bound in sin and we need to teach those who will listen about Jesus before it is too late.

Paul challenges us to be wise and not to be proud and rebellious…but understanding the times…take full advantage and do all we can to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ. So what can we do?

Looking at the rest of this chapter, Paul admonishes Timothy to live a godly life in the midst of a darkened world. We must be light! We must shine that others might see our good works and glorify God.

Worried parents should be looking into King Solomon’s godly wisdom that teaches them of the influence they have in shaping their children’s lives, especially those still living at home. In these early years parents still have the power to dictate the child’s relationship with technology and how frequently it can and how it should be used.

Remember: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) 

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | August 23, 2017

DO YOU REALLY LOVE GOD AND THE SAVIOR? – 1 John 2:15-16

“Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-16 

When we are told not to love the world, the Bible is referring to the world’s corrupt value system. Satan is the god of this world, and he has his own value system contrary to God’s (2 Corinthians 4:4). First John 2:16 details exactly what Satan’s system promotes: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Every sin imaginable can be summed up in those three evils; envy, adultery, pride, lying, selfishness, and a lot more spring up from those three roots. 

The world is what we leave when we come to Christ. Isaiah 55:7 says: “Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” 

Loving the world means being devoted to the world’s treasures, philosophies, and priorities. God tells His children to set their priorities according to His eternal value system. We are to “seek first” God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and we cannot be devoted to both God and the world at the same time. 

When we enter God’s family through faith in Christ, God gives us the ability to leave the world’s desires – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We become citizens of another kingdom, “for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Our desire becomes to know God, and we realize that the eternal is really important – not the temporal and we stop loving the world. 

When we have experienced the presence of our God and Savior we have a deep longing to know Him better and to become holy in our desires, thoughts and conduct.  

To continue to love the world the way unbelievers do, will cripple our spiritual growth and render us fruitless for God’s kingdom. Jesus gives us two examples about this. One is found in Luke 6:43-45:“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” 

And the other is found in John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples”.

In John 12:25, Jesus took this thought a step further when He said, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Jesus said if we love anything more than Him, we are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37-38).

In summary, the term world in the Bible refers to the evil system controlled by Satan that leads us away from worship of God. Therefore, we cannot receive God’s life if we are looking for life somewhere else.

The warning in our passage (1 John 2:15-16) corresponds beautifully to the last verse of 1 John 5 which says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” An idol is anything that replaces God, anything we make bigger than Him. Therefore, we need to remember that idolatry is when God is removed from the throne and something else is put in His place. That’s why we should examine our hearts and get on our knees before the Lord. We need to seek His forgiveness and ask Him to warn us through His Holy Spirit when we start diverting in the wrong direction.

Remember to “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). And, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

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