Category Archives: Discipleship

Church health: be a part of the recovery and protection

Posted on February 20, 2017 by | Comments Off on Church health: be a part of the recovery and protection

church

Church attendance was low yesterday. Maybe it’s been low for a while but you’ve just noticed it. The church where I attend also had low attendance. We had a couple of Sunday School classes where no members were even there – not even the teacher! Maybe you really noticed it in the Sunday morning worship service. The local church is diseased; already it is showing several symptoms that should concern us greatly. While living in Louisiana, I heard an old country preacher describe this as “church rot.”

Church rot: the dangerous progression

Church rot begins slowly. Normally we are unaware of it starting. We can see the final results of church rot  – church buildings sit empty, its doors closed forever. The building remains as a testimony of what was once an important part of the community. Maybe your church isn’t to that point yet.  Maybe yours is experiencing low attendance for Sunday School and Sunday morning worship. It seems like the excitement and energy has gone out of the worship time. These are all signs of the onset of church rot.

I am convinced that church rot begins so slowly that many are unaware of what is going on. Every church has its occasional Sunday where things seem a bit off. When these types of Sundays become the normal, rot has set in.

Warning about the impact of unscriptural teachings

Within the New Testament, there are several warnings about false teachers and teachings. Jesus taught, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15). Paul wrote: As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9). Well-meaning members can be influenced by those having opinions or teachings contrary to sound doctrine. All a false doctrine needs is little space to grow and fester.

Peter warned of this: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction (2 Peter 2:1). There’s a lot of effort by the apostles warning about those who bring these into the church.  The destructive potential is too great to ignore. Paul wrote to the Galatians: Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (Galatians 5:7-9).

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Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Our place within the local church

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Breakwaters of faith and their role in our life

Posted on October 18, 2016 by | Comments Off on Breakwaters of faith and their role in our life
breakwaters

© Micha Fleuren | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Breakwaters play an important role in modern society but many of us never bother to think about them. Even when I lived on the Gulf Coast  I never really paid much attention to what had become a common item. I watched the television reports of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew as it churned its way up the East Coast of the United States. One news broadcast contained a weatherman in Charleston after the hurricane had passed that city.  Although he was highlighting the damage to the area near him, the breakwaters did their job. The beach behind him was in better shape than the rest of the area!

What is a breakwater?

As defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary Online, a breakwater is a wall that is built out into the sea to protect a harbor or beach from the force of waves. For the past few days I’ve been thinking about the breakwaters God intended us to have within our faith. On Wednesday evening of this past week, I was able to attend midweek services with my in-laws. The services yesterday at my local corps (this is what the Salvation Army calls its local congregations), both the morning and the evening services seemed to brush against a similar topic as Wednesday’s service. A part of our growing faith in Jesus creates such a breakwater for us to be able to bear the storms we will face.

Real storms, such as Hurricane Matthew, teaches us about the preparations made by a community for such storms. Right now, even as clean-up continues, many towns, counties, and states are already reviewing what was learned and are making preparations for the next big storm. A spiritual storm can teach us a lot about who we really are, show us where we need improvement, and will allow us to grow in our faith.

We must develop spiritual breakwaters

When I briefly lived in Gulfport, Mississippi, I learned that after Hurricane Camille, nearly every public and private organization studied ways that could have reduced the impact of that storm. By the mid 1970s, breakwaters were added along key areas of the Gulf Coast spanning from Louisiana to Florida. Within our Christian walk, we must prepare for the spiritual storms. I think of the application of what Solomon wrote, The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; (Proverbs 30:25). Already in our house, we see the occasional ant scurrying around, looking for crumbs – in preparation for winter. Solomon is advising us to pay attention to the ant and understand a simple lesson. They prepare for the bad storms now, when things are going well. It would be too late to try to gather food for the colony during the winter.

Since 2006, I have noticed changes in my spiritual walk with the Lord. At first, even the smallest storm would send waves of doubt into my mind. I would doubt my sincerity to Christ, I would doubt His forgiveness being complete, I would doubt that He could love someone as wretched as me. The problem was not Jesus’ love for me at all; the problem was I didn’t have any breakwaters to meet Satan’s spiritual attacks. Satan is not dumb. Too many Christians underestimate his ability to trip up and bring spiritual chaos to even the strongest of Christians. Remember the warning by Peter, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). 

The breakwater of asking forgiveness of our sins

Earlier this morning I was deleting some old photos off my smart phone. I came across a photo I had taken of the weekly question written on a dry erase board we use for our pre-teen Sunday school class. The question was, “Why does it seem that it takes God so long to help me when I’m in trouble?” This is a question that all Christians, at some point in our walk, will ask God. The apostle Paul, when explaining the Lord’s Supper, said: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). This examination does not begin with anything other than us examining all we do through the lens of scripture.

This is the first and important breakwater of our faith. Paul tells us why this self-examination is so important: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). When we examine ourselves honestly through scripture, we have an opportunity to confess our sins, our failures, and shortcomings before God begins to deal with us about them. When we are in the middle of a spiritual storm, there are times when the Lord will not intervene until we confess our sins that separate us from His boundless grace and love.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living, Difficulties and Trials, Discipleship

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Road work ahead: Christian growth demonstrated

Posted on March 14, 2016 by | Comments Off on Road work ahead: Christian growth demonstrated

road work ahead signRoad work is something that seems to plague modern civilization. For many of us, just the sight of the orange diamond sign sends a wave of frustration and panic into what would normally have been a fairly uneventful drive. Family vacations can become quite stressful as those all-too-familiar signs begin to warn of road work ahead. If you’re like my family where our adventures to visit family takes us through larger cities such as Nashville and Knoxville (Tennessee) and Jackson (Mississippi), it seems as if those signs are a permanent part of the landscape. On a recent trip to visit family, I began to wonder if others can see such signs as road work ahead as we journey through our faith. I once heard an old country preacher explain during a sermon that if a person isn’t growing, they are dying.

Road work ahead: our spiritual growth is ongoing

For those of you who follow this blog on Facebook, a few weeks ago I shared how I had gotten rid of about fourteen inches of CDs. I love music and still have a variety of music that includes everything from classical to heavy metal – or at least I had. Since about November of 2015, the Holy Spirit began leading me into a direction that at first I resisted: get rid of music I knew was holding me back from spiritual growth. At that time, my Bible reading had taken me to Psalms, but one verse seemed to leap off the page at me: I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me (Psalms 101:3). As I continued reading that morning, I felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit urging and pleading with me. I didn’t listen to the CDs when my daughter was home because I didn’t want her exposed to the lyrics on them. I justified keeping them because I liked the music, but as the Holy Spirit began working on my heart I realized that if I didn’t want my daughter to listen to them, I probably shouldn’t listen to them either. 

As we begin to grow and mature in our faith the Holy Spirit begins to do road work on the path that our life will take us. Jesus told us about the work of the Holy Spirit during His earthly ministry: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26). Once we have received Jesus as our personal savior, the Holy Spirit begins its work to mold us into the new creation God wants us to be.  Where the Holy Spirit began a work on my heart to rid myself of music I shouldn’t listen to, He may be doing a work in your life calling you to give up something else, such as a toxic relationship, a habit or addiction, a television show, or yes, even some sort of music. When we are obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit we actually please the Lord: And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22). Yes, I had complete free will to either obey or reject the leadership of the Holy Spirit; if I sincerely desire to place the Lord’s will above my own, then the choice becomes simple.

Rest assured, if you are a child of God, even if you do not see it, there are areas of your life, as there still are in mine, where the Holy Spirit will lead us to change. It relates directly to what the apostle Paul strove to teach the early Christians in Corinth: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). What Paul is describing in this passage is that God calls us to prepare for road work in our lives. He tells us to be ready for it!

Road work ahead is proof the Lord really cares

Each year, the local department of transportation evaluates roadways and traffic patterns around the cities within its jurisdiction. From these periodic evaluations, decisions are made to widen some roads, redirect traffic flow from others, to build new routes, and in some cases, to stop service and maintenance to others. This accurately describes what the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer.  As uncomfortable as road work can be for the traveler, it can also be uncomfortable in the life of a Christian. The Bible clearly teaches this in two verses: Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee (Deuteronomy 8:5) and For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:6). The work of the Holy Spirit within our lives is proof of the love of  the Lord towards us. The Lord would not waste the effort to correct, to mold, to direct the life of someone who rejects Him. Even Hosea the prophet testified to this: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hosea 4:6).

We continue to grow spiritually and should look forward to the growth with great excitement. Yes, there are going to be growing pains and there will be times when it seems that we are being asked to surrender more than our share. Just keep in mind that each of us are on a different path in our walk of faith with the Lord.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Discipleship, Increasing Faith, My Walk, Our relationship with God

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