Today I want to thank God for the children and grandchildren I’ve been blessed with. They make my life joyful. Without them, my wife and I’s lives would be different.
Even more so today, since I’m getting ready to go to a USC-UCLA with one of my daughters who got me the tickets for Father’s Day… and those moments are priceless & extremely thankful memories.
Thank You LORD for this gift.
P.S. Fight On!
I just heard the news about a young pastor who was the lead servant at the church he and his wife were serving in. He left a wife and kids who will dearly and crucially miss him. Most likely, you will hear the news about how he went home to be with the Lord. But to me, it doesn’t matter how he went homeward. What matters is that this was a tragic way for him to graduate from this life into the next. Here is where I am very critical of the church today, and I include myself in this critique:
I find it very odd that a person so well-known in his church and community would not have given signals out to the people who served alongside him day in and out. Again, I am not condemning anyone, but I am saying that if we truly are a community of believers who serve one another, this should not be happening as commonly as it has been. Just search the web for pastors committing suicide, and you understand why I am writing this.
What I see are a few things that the modern-day church could be doing better:
1. The problem with the way churches are set up today is very impersonal, especially to its elders.
They serve everyone, but no one attends to their spiritual and mental needs. The apostle Paul took to writing about Jesus’ teachings. One crucial tenet was that each one of us would learn to serve and not be served. The person who wants to be a Christian must humble him or herself and help others.
Modern churches have forgotten the value of community. Some are so large that newcomers can visit and not have anyone say hello except those that are serving in the ‘greeter’ ministry. I once attended a church that is well-known because of its founder. My family and I went in, no one in the parking or church entrance greeted us. No one during service said hello, no one said anything to us as we left the church.
I wonder how many of those people think of themselves as fulfilling the Great Commission when they see strangers walking into their church but not welcoming them into their fellowship?
2. This leads me to the next point. We have become a church of hugeness! Huge buildings, huge events, huge crusades. The personal one-on-one discipleship has been lost along the way. This is the greatest tragedy. Had this young pastor who lost his dad a few years prior had anyone like a Paul in his life, and I am not saying he did not, but it seems that all of us need to have a few Pauls, a few Timothy’s and a few Barnabas’ in our lives. If you don’t understand this example, I ask you to go to your nearest pastor or someone whom you trust and ask them what this means, it will be part of discipleship.
3. The church, meaning us the people calling ourselves Christians and not the building, has an obligation to ensure that those who serve full-time or are bi-vocational and serving, are being looked after physically, mentally and most importantly, spiritually. We need to pray for the leadership continually.
We can not be dependent on the staff or elders to heal themselves, take care of their families and then leech on to them 24-7 and expect them to stay healthy for long.
4. If you have been going to your church for at least a year, and are able to serve, start in the cleaning ministry. First, make sure you start at home. Then go and clean the bathrooms and classrooms. That is where the most help is needed.
Then when you are joyful in doing those things, ask to help in a class. But make sure you and your family are sitting together for the basics- Praying, Reading the Bible and enjoying serving one another.
I have more to say on this but will bring it in Part II soon.
P.S. Please make sure that you get to know your elders. Especially those that are always serving you. They are the ones that get hit the most and they just like you come with baggage..
Two things I will be addressing here. Please read to the end before making up your mind about this suddenly hot topic which has been brought to the political forefront and IS NOTpolitical and should never be politicized.
Leviticus chapter 19 verses 33-34
Everyone is talking about what’s going on with the immigration problem that we have.
Scriptures tell us from the beginning that God tells the Israelites they are not to take advantage of three groups of people.
God doesn’t make a distinction of ethnicity or color or how wealthy one is in order to take care of the person.
God’s only provision is this:
Do not forget:
1. The Aliens
2. The Orphans
3. The Widows
Deuteronomy chapter 24 verses 19-22
I. What I am saying and what we must do as Christians:
— All of the above groups are to be taken care of.
— It is shameful that political leaders and news media are using this horrible and imperfect law to push their agendas.
— I don’t care much for politicians and news media outlets. They have dug their own graves with the public because they are no longer viable sources who speak the truth.
— I am only speaking to those who profess to be Christians. If you call yourself a Christian, then you must, and I repeat this, m.u.s.t., follow God’s commands over any law that will contradict His statutes.
— Taking care of the alien(foreigner), the widow and the orphan is a statute to all mankind and not just what you think is right or wrong.
— We have a problem in making aliens orphans. And we know what God says to do to those two groups.
— It’s time as Christians, not whether you lean Left or Right, to come together and take care of the unborn, the kids of incarcerated parents, the alien kids and the rest of the orphans. And this should not be a question in our minds.
— Why? Because just like the Israelites, all of us including the native Americans, which I have native blood running through my veins, migrated at some point to this beautiful land we call home.
II. Now what I am not saying:
— I am not assuming for our country to keep allowing people just to get here. If we do this, we will soon be financially ruined.
— I am not saying to allow the continued infiltration of criminals who want to cause harm to our society.
— I do not want people from any other country who want to escape their awful situation and try to change the laws and Constitution of my United States.
— If you come here, don’t expect a permanent handout. But assume that if you work hard, you will reap the rewards afforded to any citizen who wants to work hard and live in peace with others.
— Do expect to help someone in need without wanting and forcing the government to help out.
Because the Bible tells us we are to work hard with our hands, be in peace with others, help the alien, widow and the orphan.
Right now, there are thousands of foster kids, alien kids and unborn kids that need our help.
It is neither a Democratic or Republican problem but a Christian problem.
Go out and do what is right, just and will glorify our Lord and Savior.
FOR CHRISTIANS:
Spirit filled people of God were spirit filled first before they spoke or witnessed. They had been in agonizing prayer before going out. They did not just talk truth. They instructed and discipled whom the Lord led them to.
“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”– Book of Acts chapter 1 verse 8. Berean Study Bible
This is to all my Christian brethren. I include myself in this. The need is urgent. The time is now:
There are Staycations, now as Christians we must do StayMissions. Our country is in a mess because we have imploded as a church. We were to go to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. But we were supposed to start at home, then our city, then our state and country. After this, we were to go all over the world.
I live in California and this state is a horrible mess spiritually. I have started praying and fasting for our city and state. I would ask that you lift up your home town and state. Also could you add California to your prayers please?The leadership in charge has become anti-christian. But I know how the story ends and am not worried.
We are to preach the gospel in full. Not just the feel good stuff but the full counsel of God. We, are not to be afraid and we must follow God first and then men. This means that God’s Law supersedes any man-made laws which contradict our faith. This is the reason for my urgency in sharing Christ’s love in my immediate area of residence.
I ask you to prayerfully consider making in home missions or as I am calling it StayMissions in your area. This could be in nursing and convalescent homes, homeless shelters, orphanages in your area jails, hospitals etc. The list is endless and the rewards are worth it…
A true Christian loves and forgives others. Make sure we’re not living a lie on Social Media.We are not perfect yet, but let’s not hurt those that love us the most while making everyone outside our homes think we are awesome . If you need to say,”I’m sorry and I love you”, go do it now…
““26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it (my emphasis); and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
Genesis Chapter 1 verses 26-28 NASB Version
The website dictionary.com has the definition of Appeasement as:
Appeasement in the Christian world is the same as on the world.
I keep hearing how Christians should not get involved in this sinful thing and that sinful thing. That we are to stay away from politics because we are just to preach the Word of God. That the world is going to be destroyed soon and that we must be about our Father’s business.
The above all sound so good and holy on the surface.
I. But that is not what God intended for us as Christians to do:
Take care of and be proactive
II. Dominion:
Strong’s Lexicon H7287 translates the word dominion as:
(râdâh, raw-daw’) a primitive root; to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off:—(come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,(-r, over), take.
This Definition is taken from Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon from BlueLetterBible.com
III. So as human beings, we are to:
rule over the earth.
IV. We as Christians have failed to take care of the earth.
V. We have allowed the non-believing world to take the earth (and everything in it) and mold it into the dark infested cesspool it has become.
There are too many Athenians appeasing the Medo-Persian hordes tormenting them at their doors. There are too many Neville Chamberlain’s pretending that the Hitler’s of the world are going to be pacified. There are too many Obama’s hiding their heads in the sand, looking the other way while thousands of Christians, Yasidi’s and their lands are being obliterated by the evil that is sweeping over their nations.
VI. The encouragements I would like to give those who say, that we are not of this world are:
It is our duty to change the world for Christ, both Spiritually and Physically.
I challenge all of us to be good stewards of this place we call our temporary home…
