Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Bosnian Ministry

     Every week I receive a lengthy and informative e-mail from a couple ministering in Bosnia and surrounding countries. I am not familiar with all of their history except that they are from Bosnia and are doing what appears to be an apostolic work. My interaction with them began through a house church group, one of whose members was friends with an American missionary who knew the Bosnian couple personally. They minister in an orphanage which has a number of mentally challenged children. They also hold regular meetings for the church and attract unbelievers by offering English classes and other educational seminars.
     As their group has expanded they now go into a senior center to minister there. In addition they are establishing house groups in other parts of Bosnia and in neighboring countries. Recently when Bosnia had severe flooding and electricity was lost over extensive areas they were able to minister to people that ordinarily would not have listened.
     Bosnia is a train wreck of a country, probably the poorest in Europe, with hostile ethnic groups due to centuries of fighting. Yet God is faithful to raise up this couple to preach His gospel there. I find their e-mails very encouraging even with all the hardships that they face.
     James admonishes us to "Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." ( James 4:7-8) And Matthew writes that, "He who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations ( even Bosnia) and then the end shall come." ( Matthew 24:13-14 ESV) May God be praised as His Word comes true through the dedication and sacrifice of many disciples.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Control Issues

     In over forty years of experience with Christians groups in the US, I have interacted with many "leaders." Almost all had "control issues." Simply defined, control issues are a need, sometimes bordering on mania, to control one's environment, which means the people around you. I am not saying that there is no authority exercised by people in the Church. Rather that it is all too common for that authority to be exercised in an unhealthy and unproductive way.
     What causes this misuse of legitimate authority? Usually this stems from a problematic childhood where the person suffered in some way that they do not want to repeat. As a child they did not have control over what was or wasn't done to them, sometimes with horrific results. As the child becomes an adult there is a conscious or unconscious desire to stop this from ever happening again. The result is someone who has to control others.
    Many tend to accept this control to one degree or another either because they want someone else to take responsibility or because of a strong lack of self worth or dependence. Typically this won't last forever which provokes conflict. Many Christians accept the idea of authority coming from God as Romans 13 teaches and are reluctant to buck the one in authority. Unfortunately this often produces spiritual casualties.
     How can we avoid or alleviate this scenario? One Biblical antidote is the plurality of leadership taught in the New Testament. There are sixteen different references to elders of the church in the NT. All are plural. Only when an individual is referring to himself alone is it singular. Another is insuring that elders/pastors are truly Biblically qualified. A third is seeking healing for our problematic childhoods. No one had perfect parents. A fourth is cultivating humility including a willingness to step away from positions of authority.
  

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Characteristics of a New Testament Church




CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

Any group of people can get together and call themselves a church but what does the New Testament say about this? Probably the most important truth is that Jesus will build His church. ( Matthew 16:18) How can we recognize local congregations that He is building? According to the NT, the church exercises accountability and discipline towards those involved. ( Matthew 18:17, 1 Cor. 5:12, 6:4) Churches have a plurality of elders to lead and care for them. ( Acts 14:23, 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:5, James 5:16.) A church has multiple gifts represented. ( Acts 13:11, 1 Cor. 12:28)
Churches are in homes. (Romans 16:5, 23, 1 Cor. 16:19, Colossians 4:5, Philemon 1:2) Churches are
of a city. ( 1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:1)
A church also appoints people for outside ministries (2 Cor. 8:19, Acts 15:5), gives to needs (1 Cor. 16:1), cares for eligible widows (1 Tim. 5:16), submits to Christ (Eph. 5:24) , and receives teaching (Acts 11:26). A church should not be divided (1 Cor. 11:18), or humiliate the poor (1 Cor. 11:22).Prophecy should take place ( 1 Cor. 14:4,5) and edification occur ( 1 Cor. 14) in the church.

Finally, and of the utmost importance, a church should be composed of disciples. ( Matthew 28:18-20) Otherwise it will never be a healthy church. The discipling relationships are the bonds that tie the church together.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Heaven

    Heaven is where God sits on His throne. "You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth." (Psalm 80:1b) It is also the place where God receives continual worship. ( Revelation 4:6b-11; 5:9-14) Those who have put their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior ( Romans 10:9, Titus 3:4-7) will live with God forever. "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." ( Colossians 3:4) We have wonderful Scriptural promises about our future state. "Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." ( 1 John 3:2 ESV)
    Our lives here are marked by disappointment, suffering, trials and tribulations. "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." ( Acts 14:22 ESV) "For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly." ( 1 Peter 2:19)
     While not repeating the Thessalonian error of ceasing our labor for the Lord in hope of His imminent return, we should not forget the hope of heaven. Our lives here are temporary. "As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more." ( Psalm 103: 15-16) "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." ( 1 John 5:13)
    So we have need of endurance and perseverance in our walk and life with God. He has not promised that we will not have hardship in this life. He has promised that He will never leave or forsake us. ( Hebrews 13:5) And with Paul we will be rescued from every evil deed and brought safely into His heavenly kingdom. ( 2 Timothy 4:18)

Friday, August 8, 2014

A Little Kingdom Thinking about Skin Color

     Recently i had the privilege of fellowship with a team of mostly young Brazilian Christians along with a number of others residing in the US and Canada. Was extremely blessed with their hearts for God manifested in many ways. However I also heard at least four troubling conversations of varying lengths between different individuals with reference to skin color. The gist of these was that how light or dark made a difference. ( The team had a wide range in this regard)
     Now in the USA this has come to be a taboo subject, one which cannot be discussed, rationally or otherwise, without reprisal or accusation of some kind. But the US is a pagan nation. What should the thinking be for those who belong to the Kingdom of God?
     Suprisingly, perhaps to some, the Bible is virtually silent on this subject. Jeremiah 13:23 asks whether the leopard can change his spots or the Ethiopian his skin; a rhetorical device. The song of Solomon (1:5-6) states "I am very dark but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not gaze upon me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me." To the best of my knowledge that is all. The Bible has 1,189 chapters and about 33,000 verses. ( roughly equal to a sentence) It is a very long book and yet this subject, so important to the world, is barely mentioned.
     In fact, it is so unimportant that no explanation is even given as to why people have different skin colors. So why the difference between the world and the Bible on this subject? This lies in the purpose of Satan and his kingdom as stated by Jesus in John 10:10. "The thief ( referring to the devil) comes only to steal, kill and destroy..." One of the ways that he does this to divide people against each other. In contrast those with Kingdom of God thinking understand the significance of verses like Colossians 3:11. "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all, and in all."
     The Kingdom truth is that ultimately there are only two groups of people. There are those in the Kingdom of God and those in the kingdom of the devil. Skin color does not matter. We have no choice in the matter anyway. God has created us as He has chosen. May we be thankful.