Tilling and Planting

Tag: Identity

  • Unanswered Questions

    Unanswered Questions

    Intro

    Have you ever asked God questions when life doesn’t make any sense? Or when things go off the rails? I know I have. Often the question is “Why God?” And how many of those questions has God answered? For me personally, it feels like many questions go unanswered. When it comes to questioning God, some say it’s not right while others say God is big enough to handle our questions. So before I dig into why God might leave questions unanswered, I want to address the question of should we question Him.

    Can I Question God?

    In a word, yes! You most certainly can. However, there is this small matter called intent that I need to address.

    Look throughout the Scriptures and you’ll find people who asked God questions all the time – and you’ll see a whole lot of them God left unanswered. For most people, God remained gentle and kind toward them in their questioning. In many of those cases (Abraham, Job, Moses, others), He reaffirmed who He was to them without directly answering their questions. And that was enough for them.

    However, there’s also those whom God rebuked (Israelites in the wilderness, Pharisees, Zechariah – New Testament). So what’s the difference? Why did God rebuke some and respond with love and compassion to others? It comes down to their heart. As God told Samuel, He “looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

    The Heart Question

    Those that God rebuked questioned God (or Jesus) as if they knew better. They actively resisted receiving Him with thanksgiving (Israelites), praise (all of them), and recognition even though they should have known better (Pharisees). And others questioned Him with doubt and bitterness (Zechariah). They had no faith in God and this became the genesis of their questions. Consequently their questions went largely unanswered. Instead the people got rebuked for their questioning. Honestly, getting the answers would not have changed their hearts. Thought at least in Zechariah’s case, the rebuke resulted in a heart change. Praise God that even those whom God Almighty rebukes can get a second chance.

    For those He didn’t rebuke, their questions came from places of honest doubt, confusion, and humility. They genuinely sought God and whether He answered their questions directly or not, they all chose to trust Him. And that’s the key. When we have questions, we need to be prepared to trust God no matter the answer – or lack thereof.

    Reasons

    Before I go on, I do want to address different types of reasons that could be the answer when we say “why”.

    The first type is because of a choice we make. Sometimes I think some Christians assume that they can make careless choices and not suffer the consequences. And then ask God “why” when they do. But God never once promises that we will not suffer the consequences of our choices. In fact, just the opposite. The Bible speaks about people dealing with the consequences of their choices all the time. Paul warns about it quite a bit in his letters. Going 20 over the speed limit? God is not obligated to blind all the police to your dangerous speeding. In fact, God might urge a cop to pull you over so you learn your lesson before you hurt someone or yourself.

    Secondly, if it wasn’t by your choice, maybe it was the choice of someone else. We live in a fallen world where people have free will. Why did that person die in a car crash? Because the other person made a choice to drive drunk. People resist God all the time and make choices that unfortunately hurt His followers.

    The third type would be the ones that are truly not from any choice anyone made. Such as cancer or other diseases and sickness. Why do these happen to godly people? The short version goes back to we live in a fallen world where that just happens to people. We can’t control it. Now to move on to answering the “Why do these things happen to godly people” question.

    Why do These Things Happen?

    Of the three types of reasons that I went over, the second two are the ones that are most relevant here I think. I don’t want to spend any more time on the first one since that one can be summed up as “I made a bad choice and suffered the consequences.” And hopefully I learned a lesson to never do something like that again.

    I didn’t do it

    The second two are a bit more complicated since I (or you) didn’t make any choices and something bad still happened to us. In those cases the question oftentimes comes from why didn’t God protect His children from either the choices of others or the fallen nature of the world. I think one answer can be found in how God’s sovereignty actually works – and is the topic that is often on trial for these things, along with God’s love, goodness, and justice. I address a lot of these in my posts on God’s Goodness and God’s Sovereignty.

    To summarize this position, God is good all the time and only does good things. He never uses evil to “get around to something good”. God chooses to limit Himself in a way by operating primarily through finite beings (us, angels). He wants us to exercise our free will and make the choices that will advance His Kingdom.

    Another possible answer to why some of these things happen can be found in the Bible in Romans and James.

    Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

    Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

    Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

    James 1:2-4 (NIV)

    I wish to reiterate that God will not bring the trials and sufferings upon us (though He will ask us to get outside our comfort zone at times, however that is very different from the trials and sufferings described here). However, when these things happen, God promises to be with us and to fashion in us a more Christ-like character and to work things out for the good. Jesus promised that we will have troubles in this world (John 16:33). After all, the world hated Him first (John 15:18-19).

    War

    And on top of that, Satan hates us Christians so much that he’s going to do what he can to derail us and make us ineffective and turn away from God. We are in a real war with a real enemy. So we can expect all kinds of attacks. Physical, financial, mental, etc.

    I Still Didn’t Answer the Question

    You might be thinking, Cory, you still didn’t answer the question of why God leaves some questions unanswered. And you’re right. Because truthfully, I don’t know why God doesn’t answer all our questions. I can only try to throw out ideas that might help you better understand why things happen. Unfortunately the Bible doesn’t give a clear answer in this area of God’s decision to not answer questions. All I can say is two things: He is God and He does what He will and second, He calls us to trust in Him when we don’t understand. And I believe that sometimes it’s because we don’t have the answers that we have to learn to trust God more and ultimately be drawn closer to Him. That’s the best answer I have.

    Wrapping Up

    I hope I introduced some insight into why bad things happen to good people. Whether by our own choices, the choices of others, this fallen natural world, or straight up attacks from the enemy, the bad things fall into one of these categories. I recognize I cannot give a concrete reason for God leaving questions unanswered, but He never promised to answer all our questions. He only promised to be with us and that we can trust Him always. And that’s something we need to ask God to help us become okay with. That’s one question He’ll gladly answer.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Beatitudes of Jesus

    Beatitudes of Jesus

    Intro

    When I say “The Beatitudes”, I think you all know what I’m talking about. They are the opening statements of Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. They have been immortalized in so many different ways that I couldn’t count them if I tried. The number of sermons preached about them and in so many different ways is only known by God. Even in our culture that wants nothing to do with God, a few of these can still be found in some form. And yet, despite all this, many people don’t fully understand what Jesus was telling the people of His day – much less what He’s telling us today. And as my pattern has been for all my posts, I aim to bridge the gap between knowing about Biblical truths and understanding Biblical truths.

    Just to give you a heads up, this post is the opening to a series of posts on the Sermon on the Mount. Stay tuned! There’s going to be quite a few, so subscribe if you haven’t so you don’t miss a single one (it’s free!).

    The Beatitudes

    First of all, some review. What exactly are the Beatitudes? They were a series of blessings that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5 – the opening to His Sermon on the Mount I referenced. Jesus gives these as a roadmap to living a God-pleasing life. They are also promises of values that lead to prosperity and salvation. By following the principles laid out in the Beatitudes, Christians can live a life pleasing to God and positively impact the world around them.

    However, it is worth noting that many of these would have shocked Jesus’ listeners as they go against what they had been taught in Synagogue. One person I read describes them as “laser-guided bombs” and “grenades”. Which is pretty heavy stuff. As I go through, I’ll point out any I can find that differ from what the culture expected.

    Oh, by the way, I’ll be posting snippets of the passages as I go, but if you want to follow along with the entire thing, here’s a link to the whole passage: Matthew 5:1-12. All of these will be in the NIV.

    The Poor in Spirit

    Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (V3)

    I mentioned that when Jesus spoke these, they were not what His listeners expected. Here’s a great example of one. The Jews believed that because they were descendants of Abraham, they had the Kingdom of God. But Jesus didn’t say that. He also didn’t say Jews or Pharisees, or even good, moral people. He said the poor in spirit, that’s who inherits the Kingdom of God.

    And just what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? It means humility. Specifically people who admit their fragile nature and choose to lean on God and let Him change their lives. It’s those who recognize that they have a spiritual need that the law – or their own good deeds – cannot fulfill and cannot save. When you humble yourself before God and admit your need for Him, you will see His Kingdom manifest in and through your life.

    The Mourning

    Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (V4)

    The mourning described here isn’t necessarily a grieving over someone (or something) you’ve lost. The type of mourning Jesus describes here is a mourning over sin. God promises His people in the Old Testament that anyone who mourns over the sins of Israel will be comforted. I think Jesus echoes that here, but for those of us Gentiles (and in light of the new covenant), Jesus is also calling out those who mourn over their own sinful state.

    But it can also be applied to those who mourn for other people in our lives. That kind of mourning leads to us reaching out to others to provide encouragement. Or even to bring witness to them about the love of God.

    I don’t think this one shocked the listeners so much – just because of the Old Testament parallels.

    The Meek

    Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (V5)

    All too often people associate meekness with weakness. But that’s just not the case. I actually covered this definition in my post on the Fruit of the Spirit. Here’s what I had to say about meekness there.

    When applied to wild animals, the Greek word actually means “tame”. In other words, the wild animal has not lost any strength. But it knows how to control it and when to use that strength….And we must be like that. Humble, knowing our strength, but not lording it over people.

    Those who choose to be meek and submit to God’s will can expect peace and tranquility in the next life when the earth is remade.

    I could see some people being shocked by this one. After all, the religious leaders tended to lord their authority over the common people. And that’s nothing compared to how the Romans lorded their authority and strength over the conquered people. Furthermore, the people at this time were looking for a conquering Messiah to rescue them from oppression. So the idea of being meek and inheriting the earth likely sounded foreign to many of those listening.

    The Hungry

    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (V6)

    In our next of the Beatitudes, we have the people who hunger and thirst after righteousness. These people long for virtue in their lives. They recognize that they have no righteousness of their own and need to rely on God’s righteousness. People who hunger after this rely on God’s righteousness for salvation, for transformation, etc.

    Pharisees and other religious leaders likely felt stung by this one. Jesus tells them here that their self-proclaimed-righteousness does not make them blessed.

    The Merciful

    Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (V7)

    Luke writes that we must “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Jesus tells us by showing mercy to others, we ourselves will be shown mercy. Mercy from others and mercy from God Himself. How do you show mercy? By caring and acting for the good of others, especially when they don’t deserve it nor can repay it. After all, God in His mercy sent His Son to die for our sins. How can we repay such an act? And if we are to be merciful as He is, then we should perform acts of service towards others when they can’t repay us.

    Taking it a step deeper, this includes forgiving others even when they aren’t sorry for whatever they did to you. And I think this is one of the things that would have made it difficult for those listening to Jesus to accept this statement. After all, the Law of Moses allowed for retribution in different ways – depending on the offense. This will actually come up in a later post, Jesus addresses this more directly later on in the Sermon on the Mount.

    The Pure in Heart

    Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (V8)

    The pure in heart. First thing to say about this is that it does not mean free of all wrong thinking or sin. Which is good, because otherwise this blessing would be next to impossible to receive. Rather to be pure of heart means you are free of selfish purposes and self-seeking motivations. It means your heart is undivided, you’re going after one thing and one thing alone. And when you are free of selfish ambitions and are in genuine pursuit of God, you will find Him. And He will cleanse your heart and will fashion His righteousness and character in you.

    It’s pretty easy to have a divided heart. Just look at all the stuff around us to distract us. All in pursuit of “The American Dream”, whatever that is. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day certainly had divided hearts. They loved attention, wealth, power, etc. And they desired to be perfect in the Law and obtain salvation to be with God forever. I imagine there might have been some who felt like Jesus targeted them with this one. Some might have even felt a tug of conviction on their hearts.

    The Peacemakers

    Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (V9)

    I like this one a lot. Mostly because I feel like I am one of these peacemakers. As a kid/teenager, I mediated arguments and debates between my sister and her friend. It seemed all my sisters would come to me to vent any frustrations they had with any of the other sisters. And that continued for a long time. And I’ve taken different types of personality tests, and if any of the defined ones included something about striving for peace and harmony or had the label “Peacemaker”, I always got it at the top. Never failed. I always seek to live a peaceful life. Peace between me and everyone around me. And I want others to live in that as well, so I’ll do what I can to help others achieve that. And this is what Jesus is talking about here.

    However, in order to do this we need to cultivate peace within ourselves. We can’t give to others what we do not possess. And this has been an up and down in my life. I don’t always have the peace I need and desire in my life. But I continue to strive for it and pray for more of God’s peace in my life.

    The other thing that falls in this one is sharing the truth of God’s peace and love with other people so they can achieve peace in their own lives. And peace does not mean perfect lives with no conflicts, but it does come with it a sense of “Everything will be okay” as God spoke to me.

    Jesus’ use of the phrase “children of God” likely caused a stir. After all, as children of Abraham they’re also children of God. Right? Not according to Jesus.

    And now we turn to the last of the Beatitudes.

    The Persecuted

    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (V10-12)

    The last of the Beatitudes is one of the hardest to swallow. After all no one wants to be persecuted, right? No one wants people jeering them or hating them simply because of their beliefs. But Jesus promised that we would face persecution in this world. He never said it would be easy, in fact He said the opposite multiple times (John 15:20-21; John 16:33). Of all the Beatitudes, this one probably makes the least sense in terms of being blessed. But rest assured that in the end, we will receive great reward for enduring such persecutions. And in the short term, the Spirit of God remains with us and draws us closer to Him in those moments of trial. That’s a blessing in and of itself. Praise God!

    And for the Jews, persecution was normal from the Romans. So this one for sure would have stung. As I said, it makes no sense that there could be blessing in persecution. And then His statement that it would be on His account. Not because of being Jewish, but because of being followers of Jesus. That’s radical, unless of course you intend to revolt against the social norms. Which is precisely what Jesus did. And what He expects us to do. Don’t follow society, follow Jesus. Expect ridicule and other forms of persecution, but hold steady. You are and will be blessed.

    And that’s the Beatitudes in a nutshell. Peace be upon you all and stay tuned for my next post on the Sermon on the Mount.

    Wrapping Up

    By taking to heart all that Jesus said here in these Beatitudes, we can find peace, comfort, and a practical guide on what Jesus looks for in His followers. I hope that you all will seek after God and submit to Him that way you can see all these things manifest in your own life. God bless!

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Victory in Jesus

    Victory in Jesus

    Intro

    The church in America has been infected with a defeatist mindset. I don’t know how long ago it started, but at some point the Church forgot it has victory in Jesus over the enemies of God. All too often we live like we have been defeated and won’t even bother trying to fight. We say things like, “That’s just the way it is” and other similar things. Many Christians don’t realize that we don’t have to settle for struggling with sin and muttering “I can’t wait to get to Heaven to not have to deal with this struggle.” They don’t realize that in Jesus we have victory over the devil and he has to flee from us when we tell him to. Some people might even claim that we are powerless to do anything. I beg to differ. The Bible tells a very different story. Check it out.

    Victory Over Sin

    The Bible says that Jesus was tempted and yet didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross atoned for the sins of the every person ever born from the creation of the world until now. And beyond. Jesus’ supreme victory over sin enables us to live victorious over temptations and sinful lifestyles.

    Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 (NIV)

    No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9 (NIV)

    Now I hear you saying, “But, Cory, I’m saved, but I still sin. What gives?” And my answer is simple. Ask yourself this question, “Am I living in a sinful lifestyle with no intention of changing, or am I actively fighting my sinful tendencies?” If you are actively fighting, then don’t worry, you’re on the right track! When John says “they cannot go on sinning” he means that we as Christians cannot live a lifestyle of sin and enjoy it like we used to. This means that we have victory in Jesus to overcome our sinful past and the temptations that crop up.

    Victory Over Satan

    When Jesus rose from the dead, He also defeated Satan once and for all. When Satan tempted Jesus, He claimed to own the Kingdoms of the world and could give them to Jesus. All Jesus had to do was bow down and worship Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). But look at what Jesus said after He rose from the dead.

    Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18 (NIV)

    Jesus reclaimed all the earth through the Cross and the Resurrection! And to top it off, this passage – referred to as the Great Commission – shows Jesus telling His disciples that He gives them His authority as well. Furthermore, during Jesus’ ministry, He sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons and evil spirits. So, why then are so many Christians afraid of Satan and his minions? Jesus gave us authority over them. There’s nothing to be afraid of. If you suspect that there’s some demonic spirit affecting you or a loved one, tell it to go! They have to obey. If it doesn’t seem to work or you are just struggling with the idea, then seek out someone with experience.

    Victory Over Struggles

    I’ve already talked about the sin struggles and struggles against demonic enemies. So what other struggles could I be referring to? How about mental struggles. Stuff like fear, anxiety, depression, general pessimism towards life, negative attitudes, addictions, etc. All these things can (and do) plague Christians every single day. But they shouldn’t. These are all things that Christ gave us victory over on the Cross. God says 365 times (or 366 times, I’ve heard it both ways) in the Bible “Do not fear”. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God doesn’t give out spirits of fear. He gives a spirit of a sound mind. A sound mind in this context is one of calmness. One that remains unbothered by what’s going on in the world. Yes, you should acknowledge that terrible things are happening, but you shouldn’t let it drive you into fear or anxiety.

    We are not slaves to the thoughts that hit our mind.

    We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

    In Jesus, you have the victory to take every thought you have and give it to Jesus and instead force yourself to think about holy, pure, righteous things (Philippians 4:8). Jesus gave this power to us. But so much of the time, we allow the news and other negative talk dominate our thoughts and minds. I’m so grateful that I don’t have to allow it. I can turn around and combat it with the Spirit of God that lives in me.

    How to Walk in Victory?

    The question that all this brings up is, how do I do this? How do I actually overcome the struggles in my life? I hinted at part of it in the last section. The mind. All these struggles I mentioned have at their roots a particular mindset. Whether that mindset is “I can’t control the thoughts that enter my mind” or “Satan is so powerful I’ll never overcome him” or even “I have an advanced stage of cancer, I need to prepare for the inevitable”. In all these cases, in order to start walking with the victory we have in Jesus, you need a mindset change. And here’s some practical ways to go about getting that mindset change.

    The Practical Side

    1. First, you need to believe it. Choose today that you are going to start believing that Jesus already gave you victory over these things. And remind yourself of this every day.
    2. Start every day reading the Word. Fill your mind with what the Bible says about who God is and who He says you are.
    3. Speak life into your life. Declare out loud (doesn’t have to be loud) what God says about you from the Bible. Some good ones to start with are “I am more than a conqueror”, “God is with me”, and “I walk by faith, not by sight”.
    4. Let go of shame. Do not allow sins and mistakes of the past rob you of joy or of being who God called you to be. Jesus already paid for those. Let it go.
    5. Walk in obedience. Obey what God says in his Word and obey what God has called you to personally. The more you walk in obedience, the less you’ll find yourself doing or thinking the things you struggle with.
    6. Surround yourself with people of faith. This goes back to a previous post of mine. It’s impossible to live this Christian life without a community of believers around you to build you up.
    7. And lastly, pray with boldness. Did you know that God says we can come boldly to His throne (Hebrews 4:16)? But all too often we come with hesitancy and pleading, begging God to do something. The early church did not pray that way. In fact, they prayed with boldness, declaring the victory of Jesus over situations – and it happened! So pray like you have the victory. Pray with boldness. And if you struggle with boldness, pray for boldness! Acts chapter 4 says that the church prayed for boldness and God answered that prayer.

    Wrapping Up

    As I wrap this up, I just want to say that I’m talking to myself just as much as I’m talking to you. I struggle with thoughts and temptations and (at times) fear. I struggle with physical issues that I’m seeking healing on, but haven’t seen yet. My mindset isn’t fully renewed to see myself walk in the full victory of Jesus. But I’m learning, I’m moving forward not backward. And at the end of the day, that’s all God asks from us. To move forward. And God will do the rest. He’ll get us there. So, get out there and walk with your head held high and a smile on your face. People might think you’re crazy, but we have a hope that the world doesn’t have. And we are victorious in every way possible. So why shouldn’t we smile?

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Fellowship: Skip?

    Fellowship: Skip?

    Intro

    Do I need to attend church every Sunday? Do I need to do this thing called “fellowship with other believers”? Can’t I stay home from church and do my own private thing with my family? And hang out with who I want and still have a deep meaningful relationship with God and be a “good Christian”? These questions have been asked for a long time. And more people ask them every year. And having known more than a couple of people in my life who have thought this, I wish to communicate why I believe that it is difficult to maintain a deep relationship with God when you neglect to fellowship with other believers.

    Reasons and Dangers

    There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t skip attending church on a regular basis. And many dangers and risks that you subject yourself to. The list I’m going to go through isn’t exhaustive, but I think will convey my point well.

    Disobedience to God

    Right off the bat, not attending church regularly disobeys the command of God found in Hebrews.

     And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

    Here the author of Hebrews makes clear that we are to not give up fellowship with one another. In fact, it even gives a good reason to meet with other believers: to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and we are to encourage one another.

    Worthy of Worship?

    If someone tells you that they love God and follow Him, but they don’t prioritize going to church to worship Him, what would you think? I see two possible impressions you might have. 1. Does this person really love God? and 2. Is God truly worthy of worship? The first impression is a form of hypocrisy. The second impression is a form of trivializing God and denying Him before men. And there’s a serious danger in that according to Matthew.

    But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:33 (NIV)

    God calls us to proclaim His name to all. But, if we give them the impression that God isn’t worthy of worship, then why should they listen to us?

    Can’t Minister

    Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

    Did you know that attending church is more than going to get your own spiritual needs met? It’s true! When we get together to fellowship, we are called to minister to one another and serve each other in accordance with the gifts we have. So, by skipping church, not only do you lose out on your spiritual needs being met, but you lose on being able to minister to fellow believers. And there are studies that show helping people releases endorphins and thus make you feel good as well. It’s a fantastic mood booster and motivator!

    Along with this is missing out on community. The community of believers in a church opens up opportunities for building deep, meaningful friendships and getting encouragement and healing for yourself and encouraging others. We also learn from each other how to live out our faith and hold each other accountable. God gives gifts to all believers for the purpose of ministering to one another. But you can’t exercise it when you skip church. In fact, without attending church and being in fellowship with others, you (and I) will likely be ill-equipped to know how to properly exercise our gift or feel comfortable using it. After all, we need to learn and practice somewhere. What better place than at church?

    A Foretaste

    Did you know that worshipping with other believers is a foretaste of Heaven? God created us to worship Him and Revelation gives us pictures of Heaven being filled with people worshipping God. So, here on Earth when we gather together to worship God, we are joining with those in Heaven already; thus, giving us a glimpse of what Heaven is like. That’s pretty incredible.

    Spiritual Growth

    Attending church allows for spiritual growth to take place. Whether it’s through hearing something in the sermon that you take to heart and implement or being touched supernaturally by God during the worship or talking to someone about a struggle you have and receiving prayer that heals and encourages you. Attending church and prioritizing fellowship with other believers allows for spiritual growth to take place – the way God intended.

    Unequipped

    So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:12 (NIV)

    In Ephesians, Paul writes that all the offices we recognize today (evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc.) have the job of equipping God’s people (you and me) to do the work of the ministry. What does that mean? It means that you and I are called to go out into all the world and preach the gospel! The pastors, missionaries, and evangelists can’t reach everybody. You and I must do the day-to-day work where we are at. Our places of work, home life, friends outside of church, etc. And in order to be properly equipped, we learn at the feet of those God calls to preach and teach.

    Character Development

    Ever hear the saying “show me your five closest friends and I’ll show you your future”? This saying demonstrates that the people we spend the most time with have the greatest influence on how our character develops. As a Christian, our desire should be to reflect the character of Christ. In order to do that we need to spend time with Him, both privately and corporately. Doing so corporately allows for you to fellowship with people who might be a bit farther along in life and their faith and can pass you wisdom for the roads you walk. You learn to become godlier when you spend time with people who are godly. I find it truly amazing just how much I grow from spending time with other believers.

    Loss of Discernment

    A big danger of not attending church, is not having a proper understanding of the Word of God. This opens you up to believing in heresy and allowing false doctrines to skew your view of God and consequently, dictate how you live your life (in a less than godly way). I’ve known people over the years who have fallen for things that they never would have just a few years prior to quitting church. It’s a big risk you take not attending church regularly. And if you have any questions about the importance of believing the Bible and its infallibility, here’s a link to my blog about that very subject.

    The worst part about falling into heresy is that it’s usually a slow process. And apart from attending a church that preaches heresy, the process often starts by not attending church at all. This often moves to thinking that the Bible doesn’t have it all right. Then you start picking and choosing what parts of the Bible to take seriously and what parts to ignore. Before you know it, you’re believing something that the Bible explicitly condemns or denies.

    What I’m Not Saying

    I don’t want you to come away from this thinking that you can’t have non-believing friends that you hang out with. Truly the Bible calls us to be witnesses to the unbeliever. And most people come to the Lord through relationship with a believer. Whether that relationship is familial, friends, coworker, etc., having meaningful relationships with people is one of the best was to witness.

    Secondly, if you are physically incapable of getting to church, I’m not condemning you. In those situations, being able to watch services online would be good and having fellow believers come to you and spend time with you and pray and worship with you are all good substitutes.

    Wrapping Up

    If you got to the end with a better understanding of the importance of fellowshipping with other believers, than I have done what I set out to do. It’s my hope that you all prioritize this and help others to do the same. Don’t forget that popular saying found in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This verse greatly sums up this entire post.

    And one final thing, don’t just willy nilly go to a random church and believe everything the pastor says. Talk to people you know who attend church. Do research and find a church that preaches the Bible and holds themselves to the standards found in it. And most importantly, read the Bible yourself to know if the church is preaching it or not.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Adopted

    Adopted

    Intro

    The New Testament repeatedly tells us that God adopted us into His family. The topic of adoption is at the forefront of my mind right now. I recently came off of volunteering for a week at a camp that my church put on for kids in the foster care system. (See For The Children’s website for more information about the non-profit organization that my church partners with to make it happen). I’ve done it now five years running, and I intend to continue to do it as much as possible. People who adopt (or even foster) children and children who have been adopted both offer a different perspective (I would think) on this concept of God adopting us than the average person. So, today I’m going to explain what it means for God to adopt us as His children.

    Why Adoption?

    First of all, why do we need to be adopted in the first place? Aren’t we all God’s children? Adam and Eve’s sin resulted in separation from God. Humans were no longer a part of God’s family. Jesus tells the pharisees that they are children of the devil rather than of God (John 8:31-47 for whole context). Furthermore, 1 John 3:9-10 states “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” (NLT). The Bible demonstrates that not everyone (not even all Jews – God’s chosen people) can claim to be children of God.

    Now that I’ve established that we are not naturally born of God, it becomes clear that we need to be adopted. And Galatians 4:4-6 says it so well, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption into sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hears, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (NIV). I find this a beautiful passage since it affirms our adoption into God’s family and declares that we have the right to call Him “Abba, Father”.

    Roman Adoption

    It’s interesting to note that the writers of the Bible really only used the adoption metaphor with Gentiles and not Jews. Adoption was uncommon in the Jewish world and would have been a difficult concept to grasp. However, it really is a perfect metaphor to us Gentiles who aren’t part of God’s chosen people. The Gentile readers readily understood adoption in the Roman world. For Romans, if there was no heir for a man to leave his wealth to (or he deemed the heir unfit) then he would adopt someone. When he adopted someone, that person would get a name change and have any previous debts cancelled. And he would receive all the rights and privileges that come with being a natural born son.

    That sounds a lot like what happens when we come into relationship with Jesus. Jesus paid our debts on the cross (Colossians 2:13-14) and we are now co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:14-17). And to take it a step farther, the Romans made adoptions irreversible.

    Benefits of Being Adopted

    So, what do we get out of being adopted by God? Probably a lot more than what I’m going to talk about today!

    A Relationship with God

    First and foremost, we get a loving relationship with God as our Father. I’m not going to spend much time here because I have an entire post about God as our Father here. One thing I didn’t mention there but I will here is that as our Father, He has an inheritance for us. And while I’m sure there’s more to it than this, our inheritance includes a glorified body, a permanent place of residence in His coming kingdom, and being able to enjoy all of eternity with Him in a new heaven and new earth.

    Led by Holy Spirit

    A major benefit of being adopted by God is that Holy Spirit indwells in us and leads us into what God has for us on this earth. Holy Spirit convicts, corrects, comforts, and empowers us in this life. He enables us to approach the throne room of grace with boldness and talk to the God of the universe. You can read a bit more about Him in my post here.

    Part of a Global Family

    Have you ever run into another believer that you’ve never met before and immediately connected with them? I have. It’s incredible to say the least. Any time I would go to Lifest, I would inevitably have at least one short conversation with a complete stranger and yet feel this connection I’ve never had with any non-believer. All people who have God’s Spirit living in them are part of this giant family that goes beyond all earthly boundaries such as language, nation, race, ethnicity, etc. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 covers this very well.

    Blessed by God

    Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” As members of God’s family, He blesses us richly. Blessings such as hope, peace, and joy in the midst of difficulties. Endurance in times of tribulation. The power to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgiveable. Through Holy Spirit we conquer every fear, worry, and anxiety through the power of Christ. We employ the Armor of God to defeat every attack of the enemy (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are on the winning side in a war between kingdoms. And lastly, we get to spend all of eternity in the presence of the Holiest of Holies, the Great I Am, the Alpha and Omega, God Almighty, Amen.

    What Adoption Does Not Mean

    Now, I need to address a very serious misconception that exists within the church. Called Replacement Theology, it supposes that when the Jews rejected Jesus, God replaced the Jews with the Church as His chosen people. It claims that any prophecies regarding Israel’s future are for the Church, and not Israel. In the minds of those who adhere to Replacement Theology, God has no plans for Israel’s future. He rejected them when they rejected Christ.

    I’m not going to talk about this in any depth here. In fact, I plan on doing a whole separate post about it. I wanted to mention it here though and just say that this is an erroneous doctrine. The Bible declares God’s plans for Israel over and over again. God is far from done with the Jewish people. Refuting false doctrine will be new territory for me in this blog, but I feel it needs to be addressed. I don’t plan on writing up a lot of refutations on false doctrine, but I will address it where necessary.

    Wrapping Up

    After this I hope you see the blessings of adoption into God’s family. And I only scratched the surface of it. I encourage you to look into this more and find out for yourself just how much God loves us to choose to adopt us.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!