Category: Addictions

Posted on

I’m Not Lost-Just getting Directions from the Bible

I invite you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. If you do you will receive a notice each time there is a post. By signing up you also help this site move up in the rankings of the Google Search Rankings. Please sign-up now if you haven’t already.

___________________________________________________________

I have a new excerpt from the book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” The excerpt is about six blind men and what they “saw.”

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

_________________________________________________________

You can order the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, by clicking on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

The price for the book is $19.99 in the bookstores, but on this site it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

_________________________________________________________

 

Chapter 33

 

I’m Not Lost—Just Getting Directions from the Bible

 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

John 11:25–26 (emphasis mine)

 

Six blind men were told to feel an elephant and tell what they thought it was.

The first blind man felt the elephant’s ears and thought it was a fan.

The second blind man felt the elephant’s side and thought it was a wall.

The third blind man felt the elephant’s trunk and thought it was a rope.

The fourth blind man felt the elephant’s leg and thought it was a tree.

The fifth blind man felt the elephant’s tusk and thought it was a spear.

The sixth blind man felt the elephant’s tail and thought it was a snake.

 

This is how many people approach religious doctrine. All can look in the same book—the Bible—and see something different, often based on preconceived notions. Or, very much like the blind men, each sees only a portion of what’s in God’s Word and draws his own conclusions, usually erroneous, about the whole. The danger, of course, is that they come away basing their entire theology on one isolated Scripture instead of seeing the entirety of the written Word of God.

There are people in the church who feel the elephant and come away with a different idea of how their faith is to be expressed. They read the Bible and pick out sections they think pertain to them and follow that thought to the point of forming a new church. That is OK within a certain framework. Different church groups have different worship styles, different ways of governing themselves, and other differences.

But they all need to have one goal: To let people know that the only true way to heaven is to accept Jesus into your heart. He is the only way to God there is. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

You will never find a perfect church. Each church will have its negative aspects. If you aren’t going to church because you are looking for the perfect church, you will be looking forever.

 

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

Matthew 15:7–9

 

Further Adventures

Try to stick to what the Bible says, and not what others say the Bible says. People can twist the wording of the Bible to mean what they think they want it to mean. The words will never change. People change.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how so many of the church members of today argue over what the right doctrine is, and yet they are all walking in the same direction?

 

Posted on

What Should I look For When I go to Church?

I would like to invite you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. You will then get a notice every time I post. It also helps this site to move up the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

__________________________________________________________

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” Is now on sale on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but if you order here it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

__________________________________________________________

I have another excerpt to share with you. I hope you have been enjoying them.

Today’s excerpt is about how some people are religious nuts and actually harm the vision people see of Christianity.

__________________________________________________________

God Wants Spiritual Fruit, Not Religious Nuts

 

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts4:12

 

You’ve seen them after football games, or after basketball games. They stand on the corners yelling that the world is a sinful place, and you had better repent. Although I’ve always admired their courage, it seems like the people around me think of them as religious nuts.

There are so many types of beliefs out there that claim to be Christian. There are those who believe we need to be baptized before we are a Christian. There are those who feel God will heal without doctors. There are some who will not allow their children to be part of Halloween, Fourth of July, birthdays and many other things. Some go to church on Sundays. Some go to church on Saturdays.

But the Bible’s bottom line is: What we need to believe in is that Jesus died for us and that the only way we are able to get to heaven is through Him. We need to let Him into our heart and be born again.

There are many beliefs that agree with that basic premise, but then they twist things around to fit their doctrine. Some come from the far left, and some come from the far right. Who is right—the far left, or the far right?

Again I am here to tell you that we have one goal for our souls: to believe that Christ died for us, and we need to accept Him into our hearts.

So, whether you’re from the far left or the far right, stop fighting over who is right and get on your knees to thank the only Savior we should be talking about. You do not need to be a religious nut to gain spiritual fruit.

            Left … Right … Left … Right … Left … Right

We’re marching to the wrong tune!

 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the roadthat leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and a few find it.

Matthew 7:13–14

 

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 2:1

 

Further Adventures

I would like to suggest that you not go to church looking for a specific doctrinal stand. You’ll be overwhelmed when you find there are hundreds of different nuances to doctrine. Look instead at what is being taught. Is the Bible read during the service? Does the pastor preach from the Bible? Or does he have his own agenda? Some church leaders spend the whole service talking about current events and their views on them. That is not what God intended. He wants us to study His Word and not conform to this world’s standards in our daily living. If you find a Bible-teaching church, try it for awhile and see if it is a good fit for you.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we are so quick to judge, but not eager to be judged?

 

Posted on

Are you a Just a Church Goer, or an Actual Spiritual Member?

I would like to invite you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. When you do you are notified when I do a new post. It also helps this site move up the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

___________________________________________________________

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, ” is on sale now at the bookstore on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping is cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to take a look.

__________________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt is asks the question, ” Are you just a church goer, or are you you an actual spiritual member?” Many people come to church just to let others see they are going. They may not even bring a Bible. The spiritual members come to worship and praise.

___________________________________________________________

Chapter 30

 

God Doesn’t Want Shares of Your Life;

He Wants Controlling Interest

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

 

I’m sure there are people in your church who make you wonder why they’re even there. They’re critical about everything—the music, the organist’s clothes, the length and wording of the prayers, the color of the rug, on and on ad nauseam. They gossip about others or sit through the service without listening to the sermon.

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about these types of people. He says there are two types of people who go to church: the church attendees and the church members.1

The churchgoers come just to be able to say they go to church in order to impress their clients or neighbors—or as a promise to their mother. Often the churchgoers don’t even bring a Bible with them. Instead, they study the church bulletin the whole time, whisper to the person next to them or make out next week’s to-do list. They come only to show others they are going to church—and then they leave. You could ask them right afterward what the sermon was about, and they wouldn’t be able to tell you. They come in order to meet up and go out to lunch with someone from the church after the service is over.

“It is not what you show on Sunday that counts. It is what you show on Monday!”

The other type of church people are the spiritual members. They are members of the body of Christ. They are the ones who come humbly to church to truly worship God. They have their Bibles. They listen carefully to the sermon, taking notes to learn from it. They also are the ones who reach out to the “churchgoers,” to try to help them learn the true joy of learning about God.

When the church attendees come before God on judgment day, God will not ask them if they went to church. (He already knows everything you do.) He will ask them what they have done to deserve to be a part of His kingdom. What close encounters did they have with God? Did they totally worship Him not only on Sundays, but on Mondays also? They will try to convince God that they were very loyal, but He will say, “I do not know you; be gone!”

True members of a church reach out to those in need. They spend hours praying. They get into small groups to study the Bible. They help in the church by being an usher, singing in the choir, greeting at the door, etc. They also worship with the whole body when they are done serving. The members of a church are all part of one body, and we need to help the weaker parts of the body realize that if we lose even one finger from our body, we will suffer. We need the whole body being strong together.

I want to make sure you understand. I am not talking about a person who joins a church by having his or her name added to the membership list. I mean a member of the body of Christ.

I learned from one of the members of my Bible Study Fellowship group that a pastor of a church he knew had borrowed some money from one of the members and then never paid it back. The pastor tried to avoid the church member every Sunday so he wouldn’t have to talk to him about the money he owed the other member.

This member—even though he’s the pastor—isn’t a healthy functioning body member. Instead, he is one of the weaker parts of the body that needs help. Just joining a church “on paper” doesn’t make you a part of the body. All believers are part of the universal (transcending time and place) body of Christ and hopefully also healthy functioning members of a local body of believers called a “church.” It is too easy to “join a church” and then live off the title without ever being a part of the body of Christ.

We each need to decide if we’re going to be a church attendee/churchgoer/“pew sitter” or a true member of the body. If we are a part of the body of Christ, we will want to be in fellowship with other believers in a local church where we can be consistent in our worship of God and service to others. 

Each of us can become a prayer warrior, or be part of a Bible study group. We can help people find their seats or greet people at the door. Or we can just come humbly before God to worship each Sunday. After all, it is called a worship service.

Then we need to take God with us on Monday. Each day we can thank Him for His love. And we can look at others who might be simply “church attendees” and help them to grow into healthy functioning members.

It is often very difficult to approach the church attendees because they seem to resent anyone who challenges them. We need to convey to them that we love them enough to want them to take further steps in their live, to become a stronger part of the body. That may anger them at first, but they may thank us later when they become an integral part of the body and love God more than they ever dreamed possible.

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

 

Further Adventures

Take a “home inventory” of your own family. Are they all “members,” or is there one who is only a church attendee? If all families worked on having all their family becoming church members, there would be no need to have other church members try to help you. Even your children can be strong parts of the body of Christ by being examples to the other children in church. They can also get involved by being counselors at youth camps, singing in the youth choir, or helping in a Sunday school class.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything?

Remember: Never, ever, give up!