Tag Archives: Matthew

You can’t approach God with a buffet bar religion

Posted on November 5, 2013 by | Comments Off on You can’t approach God with a buffet bar religion

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Within the last five days I have had the same conversation with three different people.  At the heart if it is the same problem that has always plagued man since the dawn of time.  We all want to approach God on our own terms and when we are not blessed by God the way we expect to be, we then want to blame God for not answering our prayers.  Too many people have what I refer to as “buffet bar Christianity.” As a result, their faith is hollow, their prayers unanswered, and their walk with God unsatisfying.  Could it be that too many have adopted a dangerous philosophy when it comes to their faith?

Don’t get me wrong, I love buffet bars – whether its Shoney’s, Ryan’s, Golden Corral, or one of the local Chinese ones – I enjoy being able to choose the foods I love eating.  We all do it to some extent – as we walk down the buffet bar, we load our plates with our favorites and ignore the things we do not like.  Often times, we try to do the same thing with our faith.  We only want the things we think are the best parts of Christianity and the relationship with God that it brings: blessings, joy, peace, contentment, and happiness.  We all want to skip past the more difficult offerings that Christianity has: perseverance, submission, trials, tribulation, hardship, growing pains, and a few problems that only go away with prayer and fasting.

It actually surprises us that God does not answer our prayers or does not give us what we think we are entitled to have as Christians.  The problem is not that we are Christians; the problem is that we want to approach God on our terms.  God even reminds us through the writings of his prophet Isaiah:  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD (Isaiah 55:8). Even Solomon, often considered the wisest of all the kings, recorded a dire warning for us: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).  No wonder why so many of our expectations we have towards God are met unanswered.  We attempt to make God conform to our faith when it should be us conforming to his perfect will.  In fact, through the writings of the prophet Isaiah, God offers us the chance to do that very thing: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).

Even Jesus taught the exact same concept during his earthly ministry; Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).  It should not come as a great surprise that Jesus also taught those who followed him that I [Jesus] am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). Anyone that asks of the Father must go through the Lord Jesus Christ first.  It is through the blood of Christ that ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (I Corinthians 6:20) and where according to the apostle Paul, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).  Contrast this with the lesson Jesus taught during his earthly ministry, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber (John 10:1).

While almost every Christian would agree that these verses are primarily dealing with the lost and then the debt we owe to the Lord Jesus Christ after accepting his plan of salvation as our only hope of entering Heaven, there is also another application that can be made.  How can we, as Christians, expect to approach the throne of God through our prayers, when we have neglected our other Christian responsibilities?  How can we expect to be blessed or carried through a  dark valley on our life’s path when we don’t study our Bibles, we count going to church as our “time with God,” we don’t seek him in the daily affairs of our life, and we ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?  If we expect to feel the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we must live our lives in a manner that is acceptable to God; we have to be sincere in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continued on next page.

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Setting priorities – why I still study the Bible

Posted on October 29, 2013 by | Comments Off on Setting priorities – why I still study the Bible

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After serving nearly seven years in the U.S. Army, I have always considered the pursuit of knowledge as one of the most important than anyone can set out to do.  In April 1996, I took the first major step in my education, as I thought at the time, by enrolling in Northwestern State University of Louisiana in my efforts to increase my knowledge and prospects for future employment.  Yes, I was a Christian, but I had really not devoted myself to the calling that God places before every Christian: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). Yes, I was seeking knowledge for worldly gain but when it came to studying the Bible and developing a richer faith in God, I was severely lacking.  It would not be until 2006 that I would begin to apply the same diligence in studying the Bible as I had my college coursework.

Yesterday morning, I was asked by one of my former college students a question about my faith.  Having had the opportunity to have him take three of my courses, he and I have had several conversations in the past that have ranged from current events, foreign policy, and even my faith.  This morning as he and I were discussing the dangers of humanism, he asked me if I ever feel that I have reached the point that I have learned all that I need to as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I know that for many people that would be considered a strange question; however, as a Christian that teaches in a community college, I am often asked questions about my faith from the perspective of young people that simply do not know or understand the importance of having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  I explained to him that the one thing about life is that the more I learn about the grace of God, the more I realize I do not know even half of all there is to know about Him.  We then sat for about ten minutes discussing how we should study the Bible.

What is telling from the conversation was that this young man simply assumed that by me going to church on Wednesday evening, and Sunday morning for Sunday School and the a.m. service, and again for Sunday evening service, I had learned about everything I needed to know about my faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each day I run into people professing to be Christians that do not feel the need to study the Bible for themselves.  There’s no desire to follow the spiritual advice offered from the hand of Moses as he wrote, But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).  The “thence,” if we are Christians is the day we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; for the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17).  Once we are saved there should be a natural desire to seek the Lord’s will for our lives – we do that through prayer and the reading of his Word.  If we diligently seek him with every ounce of our being, we will find him and we will find his divine plan for our lives.

Back in 2006, when I began to pursue my Bible study as much as I did my academic pursuits, I noticed that within Psalms 119, there are seven verses that have the nearly identical wording and also carry the exact same idea – David is asking God out of the sincerity of his heart for God to teach his statues to him so he might live a life that will honor God.  One particular verse, Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes (Psalm 119:124), David acknowledges that God cannot teach anything unless his mercy is given to us first – this mercy is salvation from the judgment and eternal punishment that comes from not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Before we can learn we must first do what David had to do – But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation (Psalms 13:5). There can be no other way to open the door for learning the things of our faith of of our God than trusting in his mercy and grace and rejoicing in the gift of salvation.  The apostle Paul actually reminded Christians at the church in Corinth, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (I Corinthians 6:20).  Our redemption has already been purchased and again, the apostle Paul wrote, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Our reasonable service is to open our minds and hearts to learning of the things of our faith and of our God and we do that through thoughtful and careful study of the Bible.

I choose to study the Bible because I need to be reminded daily of his love for me.  We live in a world that is full of anger, bitterness, and open hostility and for me, being reminded that God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  Being reminded that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16) reassures me and reminds me that the same God that made a way to be reconciled to him is still concerned with me.  The Bible is where we, as believers, read the simple promise given us by the Lord Jesus Christ: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31).

I choose to to study the Bible because, just as the psalmist David, I do not want to willfully sin against my God: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalms 119:11). As I spend time each day reading my Bible, I am amazed at the completeness of God. Each time I read through Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, I remain in awe of how relevant those ancient writings are in this high-tech and modern world.  It truly is a humbling experience to be reminded of God’s love for us and the simple truth that we do matter in a world that tells us that we don’t matter and asks us why bother.

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Building a fort around your family and church

Posted on August 14, 2013 by | Comments Off on Building a fort around your family and church

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A few summers ago, we went down to Saint Augustine, Florida to visit my mother and father in law, Bruce and Vicki Stefanik, who are ministers with the Salvation Army.  In this particular visit, we took the time to go see the old Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos.  As we were there touring the place, we were able to watch a group of reenactors stage a battery firing by the order.  For those of you not familiar, it was a Spanish method of assuring that the cannon did not misfire or explode.

This innovation involved a member of the clergy praying over the cannon, a member of the crew sweeping the barrel, followed by another brief prayer, then the crew loading the gunpowder and reciting scripture (in Spanish), followed by another prayer, then the packing of the cannonball and wadding, followed by a prayer for the sovereign, then the command to fire.  The entire event took about five to seven minutes before the whole process to repeat itself.  Although today it sounds odd that anyone would pray for a cannon – a weapon of war – the process actually solved a critical problem:  how to prevent the cannon from suffering a catastrophic and deadly misfire.

The rest of the tour of the fort highlighted the various earthworks, strong houses, and gates of the fort.  Each fortification had a purpose and when properly manned, would have been extremely efficient as a defensive post in its day.  A lot of planning and preparation went into the design and the eventual operation of the fort. That fort was intentionally designed to provide a protective shielding to all that were inside while offering the best possible offensive position available to the troops inside defending it. I often wonder what would happen if Christians would spend as much time fortifying their families against the attacks of Satan and his legions of devils.

Within the writings of the apostle Peter, he instructs Christians, Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:13).  Just as making the plans for the earthly defenses at the Spanish fortification were done by a man with a sober mind, able to see the possible weaknesses and strengths of any fortification built at that location, we must also strive to have a sober mind and able to see the strengths and weaknesses of our homes.  We must be aware that television shows, music, movies, newspapers, magazines, and even those we invite into our houses.  We are now living in a time where the cause of Christ is under continual attack by the mainstream media, schools, politicians, and special interest groups.

The apostle Peter also wrote to the early church that they needed to Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8).  Yes, Peter is talking about each individual Christian needs to be on alert, but each Christian also must be alert for the others in their family and in their church.  Consider the spiritual implications when this passage written by Ezekiel is added to the mix: Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me (Ezekiel 33:2-7).  As a Christian, I have an obligation to be watchful for my family and for those that I attend church and worship with.

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