Tag: Bible

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

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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.

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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.

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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?

 

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

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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.

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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.

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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!

 

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Man’s Ways Leads to Hopeless End-God Way Leads to Endless Hope

Today I am sharing Chapter 5, from “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” which speaks on how we need to rely on God when we face trials, instead of trying to go through life on our own.

If you want to see more about the book, just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page. There is a special Christmas sale going on.

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Chapter 5

 

Man’s Way Leads to a Hopeless End.

God’s Way Leads to Endless Hope

 

A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is safe.

Proverbs 28:25–26

 

There are times when I think I am doing fine and do not need to worry about tomorrow. I will be strong against the sin that I may face. Every time I feel that way, I fall flat on my face, and I let Satan creep in inch by inch. You give Satan an inch, and he will become the ruler. (Another great bumper sticker!)

God has a plan for me, and I need to understand that He already had my life planned before I was even born. A plan was begun for mankind before God put the first breath into Adam. God knows my every move. Wherever I go, He will be there with me.

I sent a saying to my son when he was stationed in Iraq. It said, “I know your name, and I will be with you wherever you go.” That is true for everyone. He knows your name. He is wherever you go.

God cares for you.

And God even cares for “little people.” What I mean by little people are the people who come into your church—the ones you don’t want to sit next to them because they need a bath. They need help because they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. They are the hungry. Their clothes look like they came from a charity store.

Let me make sure you understand! God always hears and loves those who seek Him—little people or not. He doesn’t care what they wear. He doesn’t care if they smell. He does care that they are hungry. He does care that they need love—just like you do.

I realize that to love these people you are going out on a limb, taking a risk. They could take advantage of you. They may want to steal the church offering. But you should embrace them as people of worth and welcome them into your church. God cares about them—and you need to as well.

Speaking of taking a risk: Don’t you take a risk when you let your daughter go to her first dance alone? Don’t you take a risk when you give the car keys to your son for the first time? You worry about them, but you love them enough to let them stretch their wings a little. They are a little person in your eyes yet. They are still your little girl or boy, but you trust them enough to let them enjoy increasing independence.

Our heavenly Father takes a risk with His children every day. He lets us stretch our wings. He trusts us to do the right things. We don’t always do the right things, but God loves us just the same as you would still love your children if they didn’t make the right decisions.

We often try to make decisions without God’s help. But as the bumper sticker says, “Man’s way leads to a hopeless end.”

Try to remember the risk takers from the Bible. Think of David and his sling shot, Mary washing Jesus’ feet, Abraham raising his knife to kill his son. They took the risk, but they relied on God to help them. They had a heavenly Parent to trust them and protect them. He let them stretch their wings because, “God’s way leads to endless hope.”

Stay with God’s way, and the narrow path you walk will lead to endless hope. The wider path leads to destruction, disappointment, shame and despair. You may stretch your wings if you wish, but stay the course that God has in mind for you, and you will receive the final reward—the eternal love of your heavenly Parent.

 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in loved lives in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:16

 

Further Adventures

Man’s way does lead to a hopeless end. We have all been there. You think everything is going great and that you don’t need God to help you during that time. Like clockwork, something knocks you to your knees, and you are praying (crying) to God to help you through it.

Let me suggest an alternative: Pray without ceasing! Let God know every day about your day. If it was a good day, thank Him for it. If it was a bad day, ask for His loving care. It is so easy to get in touch with God. It is much better way to communicate than any electronic invention man has come up with. It is similar to e-mail, except you would call it knee mail.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if God is for us, no one can be against us?