HAND TO HAND COMBAT

I recently attended the youth event in Gatlinburg, TN called Challenge Youth Conference (CYC). I was very impressed with this year's theme of "Hooked." I felt that the speakers really challenged the teens and others at this event to be very careful about satan trying to get them hooked on sin. But something that jumped out at me this weekend was a statement by one of the speakers that got me thinking. We as Christians are in God's army. And there are many weapons that we must carry along with us. These weapons are mention in Ephesians. But there is one type of fighting that we must also include in our arsenal; "hand to hand combat."

Now I know that this sounds funny. And some might not understand what I am trying to impress upon you. So let me help you visualize it more clearly. Take your right hand and then take your left hand, place them together and interlock your fingers. Now you have the "hand to hand" part. The combat is when we go to God in prayer in this position. Is there a better way to combat satan than to pray and ask for God's help? Trying times are all around us. We need His help.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul writes that we can receive comfort from God. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (emp. jer). Can you see just how much love is recorded in the above two verses with the word "comfort?" Five times this word is used. But it does not mean what we normally think that the word comfort means. According to an online dictionary, comfort means, "a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety" (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comfort). Now, if this is the Biblical meaning for comfort then we can say that God promises us freedom from all pain. That we will always be in a state of ease and not having to work. But God has not promised us that we will be without any pain or that we will have a life of ease and relaxation. So, the Biblical definition has to mean something else.

The word “comfort” in 2 Corinthians 1 comes from a greek word meaning, “to call near” (www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/paraklesis.html). The word has in its meaning the idea of strength as well. So to be comforted by God means not an absence of pain and suffering but the strength to endure anything that satan or life throws at us as we draw closer to God. This is the comfort that Christians will receive. This is an ability to find strength in times of physical and spiritual pain and tribulation. This is accomplished once we use our "hand to hand combat" and pray. A wonderful verse that helps us fully comprehend this is found in 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting your cares upon Him for He cares for you." We "pray" our cares away to God. So, continue to pray for this type of comfort for yourself and others around you. Make this your ministering message.

THE VOW

First, I need to preface this article by saying that I have not seen the movie nor read the book entitled, "The Vow." I most likely will not go see the movie due to the fact that it has some nudity in it according to kids-in-mind.com. I am not one that will attend or support movies no matter how good people "say" that it might be. Anyway, that is not the point of this writing.

I want to focus on the theme of the movie, the vow made between a husband and his wife. As society is quick to remind us, by the way they live, this vow that is made on ones wedding day is meaningless. So many today go into a marriage with an "If I don't like this arrangement, then I can get out" attitude. One or both of those getting a divorce have forgotten the solemn vow made not just to each other but also unto God. Jesus said, "they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:6 emp. jer). Our society must take this vow more seriously or the family as we know it will be destroyed. It might be too late already.

The vow goes somewhat as follows, "Wilt thou have this Man/Woman to be thy wedded husband/wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love him/her, comfort him/her, honor, and keep him/her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her/him, so long as ye both shall live?" Added to this is also, "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, according to God's holy ordinance." This is not just any vow. This is a vow of dedication to one another no matter what the future holds. No matter what the spouse looks like in 10, 20 or 30 years. If the spouse loses his/her memory or the ability to walk, see, hear or anything else you are still faithful.

This is a vow that I do not take lightly. I made this vow to my wife over 16 years ago and plan on keeping it. The idea of divorce is never an option in our house. This is because each of us have not only made the vow but have understood it as well. I know what it means to go through difficult times. And I know what it means to go through positive times. God continues to bless us because we seek Him first. When we have gone through a trying time in our marriage, we turned to God for the guidance. Then the problem was worked out completely. Now I do not want anyone to get the wrong idea. My wife and I have never been even close to a divorce or even a separation. But every family has difficulties, whether it be money, health, jobs, children or etc. Again, do not try to read anything into this article. I just want to share with you the fact that every problem a couple has can be worked out if God is involved and each couple is committed to the vow.

Why do so many today not take this vow as seriously as they should? I believe for many reasons. One is because of selfish ambition. Paul told the church in a letter to the Philippians, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better them himself" (2:3). If more families used this model then more families would stay together. You must have a 100/100 marriage, and not a 50/50 marriage. Every husband and every wife must give of themselves completely in order to make their marriage successful.

Finally, I want to share with you a societal influence that is gaining ground. This influence is two-fold. First, our teens and young adults go into every "relationship" with a dating philosophy. This makes every relationship that they enter into a temporary one. As this continues throughout their lives, it becomes embedded in their minds and many times will carry over into the marriage. I continue to teach teens that you must have a "relationship building" mentality. Every time you find someone that you are "infatuated" with start by building a relationship with them. Become friends and as your relationship grows make sure that God is the foundation. You cannot go wrong then once the relationship enters into the marriage bond.

The other societal influence is the "let's just live together" philosophy. This is looked at as a trial period, just to make sure that you can live with the other. Again, another method used by satan and the world to say that marriage is either not important or temporary. God condemns this type of situation. Paul writes, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness" (Galatians 5:19). Fornication is a sin! No matter how you try to define it.

My prayer is that couples will look at the marriage vow as God intended, "one man and one woman for life." God bless your marriage and continue to be a minister with a message.

THE SALVATION PUZZLE 2

I want to continue my study on the "salvation puzzle." These are more of the puzzle pieces that are required in order to be totally and completely saved. If you missed the first two piece and the introduction then please look for it on this blog site. God bless you in your continued study.

Thirdly, is the piece found in Ephesians 2:8. This verse must be understood again as only a piece of the puzzle and not the entire salvation puzzle. Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Grace no doubt saves us through a working faith (Ephesians 2:10). So many people want to only read this one verse and none other. In fact there is more in this very chapter that discusses how one gets to the point of grace. So you would do a great benefit to yourself to read the first seven verses of Ephesians 2.

Now back to the salvation puzzle. I find still another piece in James 1:21, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." Do you see the saving piece? That piece is "the word saves." So up to this point I have four pieces that are required in order to complete this life altering puzzle. What I am trying to do here is share with you only the pieces to this puzzle. I hope that you will study further and understand the meaning of each piece and how to follow them.

Again, back to the search. Our next piece is called "doctrine saves." Now where in the Bible does it say that doctrine saves me? Lets turn to 1 Timothy 4:16. Paul instructing Timothy writes, "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." You must continue in the doctrine that you were taught in order to be saved. This is not just any doctrine. This is not the Catholic doctrine, the Baptist doctrine or the Methodist doctrine. This is the doctrine we find in the word of God. I must submit to the doctrine of Christ in order to have salvation.

There are still more pieces to be found. And the one that we search out and find is called the "gospel saves" piece. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Paul writes, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain." Do you see? Paul said that the gospel saves us. But what is that gospel that saves? In the next two verses of 1 Corinthians 15 it is outlined for us, "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." So the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now who can argue that point.

We are getting closer to the puzzle finding completion. I go in the puzzle box, the word of God, and pull out another piece. This one is called the "repentance saves" piece. Jesus said, "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Jesus repeats this statement in Luke 13:5. I cannot expect to gain salvation unless I am willing to repent or make an absolute effort to turn from all the worldly stuff I did in the past. In other words, I need to literally die to the world. Death is a separation. When one dies physically he/she is separated from the spirit (James 2:26). I must also be willing to make right, when possible, that which I have done wrong. If I stole, then try to return what was taken. Now, if I have done something that cannot be righted then I must have the godly sorrow for what I have committed.

The next piece is called "confession saves." In Romans 10:9, Paul writes, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This is the confession that Philip commanded the eunuch to utter in Acts 8:37, "Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."' This is such an amazing acknowledgement of the believer's understanding of the Christ and that He rose from the grave.

Now to the most difficult piece to place in the salvation puzzle. This is not to say that it is difficult for the honest believing heart, but for the majority of the religious world. This piece is called "baptism saves." So many will try to stop me here and say that there is no verse in the Bible that requires baptism. But they would be severely wrong. The most plain and straight forward verse is found in 1 Peter 3:21, "There is also an antitype which now saves us - baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Clearly Peter says that baptism saves us. He does not say that baptism alone saves but that baptism is a saving piece. Another verse would be where Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Again another verse that clearly teaches that baptism saves us. Galatians 3:27 tells us that the way "into" Christ or to "put on" Christ is through baptism.

So we come to the end of the box. But wait! As I look into the box I see a final piece of the puzzle. It is called the "faithful life saves" piece. Revelation 2:10, "...Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This is a piece that some would like to forget about. Some would like to end salvation at the belief stage, or repentance stage, maybe the confession stage or even the baptism stage. But the Salvation Puzzle needs that one last piece to be complete.

The question is posed to you, "Do you have your Salvation Puzzle put together or are you missing pieces?" This is the true way to minister your message.

THE SALVATION PUZZLE 1

The Bible has a glorious theme that runs throughout its 66 books. Each of these books is like a piece of the puzzle, that when you place the them all together you can see the "big picture." The "big picture" theme is "The Reconciliation of God and Man through Jesus Christ." Our central figure is Christ and He is the only one that can bring mankind back into a proper relationship with God.

Now, while the act of "saving" originates with God, He does work through agents. Agents are defined as, "a natural force or object producing or used for obtaining specific results" (dictionary.reference.com/browse/agents). The "specific results" that we are trying to obtain is that saving grace. So, some of the action is on God's part (grace), while some of the action is on man's part through agents (faith, obedience). Salvation does require the cooperation of both God and man. I cannot be saved without God and God will not force me to be saved if I am not willing.

I want to look now at what God's Word tells us that saves us. Throughout this article I want you to study this with an open mind and an open Bible. I am not going to give you my opinion about what saves us but what God says saves us. Some of these the religious world will agree while others the religious world will not. Also, you cannot go to just one verse that tells you that something saves you and end your search. This is to leave God's pattern for salvation as an incomplete puzzle. According to Milton Terry in his book entitled "Biblical Hermeneutics" he writes, "general harmony of fundamental doctrine which pervades the entire Scriptures. It assumes that the Bible is a self-interpreting book, and what is obscure in one passage may be illuminated by another. No single statement or obscure passage of one book can be allowed to set aside a doctrine which is clearly established by many passages." I know a lot of words to say one important thing, and that is each of us must read more than one passage in order to find out God's complete message.

Let us examine more that just one or a select few verses and pinpoint the complete message about how to be saved.

The first piece of the puzzle is "belief saves." John quotes Jesus in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Now the only problem that so many in the world seem to be faced with is that this is their only piece of the salvation puzzle. But belief is not all that saves us. There is another verse in the Bible that tells us that "belief saves." That verse is found in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Yes, without a doubt belief saves but not belief alone. More on Mark 16:16 later, so we have to search out the other pieces.

Next, is the piece found in Revelation 1:5. The apostle John writes, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." So the next salvation piece is the that the "blood saves." This is stated in the verse that the blood "washed us from our sins" which is salvation.

This is not the end. But this is to be continued on to the next article. God bless you as you minister the message.

THE NEED IS ERGENT!!!

Today I read that Whitney Houston passed away. She was, by many judgments, the most talented singer ever. I am not ashamed to say that I was a fan in the 80s and 90s. Foxnews.com has reported that she sold more than 55 million records in the United States alone during her career. She had her ups and her wildly spiral of downs. But no matter the ups or downs she did give one of the most amazing renditions of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl. On the other hand, according to the Associated Press, she had a very dismal European Tour just recently. With all her positives and negatives, she still remains the highest selling recording woman artist in history. I will continue to pray for her family and friends that are grieving now and will grieve in the future. The funeral for Whitney will be elaborate and many stars will attend. Her influence on music will be sorely missed.

There is nothing that can be done for her spiritually, no matter whether she was a New Testament Christian or not. That is not the point of this article. The point I am trying to articulate is what is recorded for us in Hebrews 9:27, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," (ESV). I wish that I had the opportunity to sit down with Whitney and teach her the truth about God and His will. But I never was blessed with that opportunity. But this brings up something that needs to be discussed. Who do we know, famous or not, that is not a Christian and with whom we have not shared the gospel? Does this tragic event in our news helped us see the desperate times we are in with those around us?

I would be willing to go out on a limb and say that Whitney was unaware that today was her last. In fact many reports said that she was getting ready to go to a Grammy party on the evening of or the next of her death. Reality must set in for all of us. Today might be my last day on this earth. I cannot see around life's corner. I do not know what is lurking tomorrow. With this tragic death in our minds, I must take every opportunity to preach the word. If your non-Christian neighbor were to die tonight, would you be able to say that you tried to share the Gospel? This is something that only you and God know.

Every opportunity must be placed in the context of James 4:13-15, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" If we do not minister God's message to those around us now, then we might never have the chance. "Today is the day of salvation..." (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Sources

- www.foxnews.com, "Singer Whitney Houston Found Dead" 2/11/12.

- www.ap.org, "Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies", NEKESA MUMBI MOODY AP Music Writer, Feb. 11, 2012.

EASY WAYS TO EVANGELIZE

"It is just too hard to evangelize." This is a statement that I hear from time to time. And for the most part I understand and have felt this way as well. But I am here to say that evangelism is not as hard as people want to make it. The hardest part is to over come your fear of spreading the gospel. I have put together some helpful suggestions to build some confidence the next time you share the gospel with someone.

First, you do not have to necessarily talk directly to someone to evangelize. The mail system, no matter how slow it might be, is a great way to share the gospel. Many people in America send out Christmas cards each year. I would be willing to venture a guess that some of those that you send to are not Christians. This is a wonderful opportunity to slip in a tract about the church or one on the plan of salvation. Also, I have heard of people sending tracts along with their bills. You might never know who would get their hands on that particular piece of valuable information. Even if it gets thrown in the trash, the janitor might pick it out and read it.

Second, financially support a House to House / Heart to Heart (HH/HH) mailing in your neighborhood. This is a wonderful means of getting God's word out. This paper is professionally done in a high gloss and colorful format. Many times mailings are targeted for an entire zip code. The staff at HH/HH can work with you and work within your budget. You can target a neighborhood, entire town, entire county or even an entire state. A congregation can even place all their information on the front page. Depending on how many pieces you mail this is a very inexpensive way of spreading the truth. The HH/HH publication even encourages people to go to their web site for more information on the church. If you are interested in this wonderful piece of evangelistic endeavor go to www.housetohouse.com.

Another great method of evangelism is the Matthew 5:16 method. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." People are all the time watching us. As a Christian, this can be the best way to open up a conversation with someone about the gospel. So many people are hurting in this world. They constantly are looking for a way out of the pain. Most of this pain is spiritual. When they see you shining the light of God in your life, they now have an avenue to finally seek the way to a better life. If you continually shine your light at work, school or in the community people will notice. And don't be surprised if they ask you to pray for them. Again, another way to spread the gospel or evangelize in an easy way.

Many people will say, "I can do these things." You see, evangelism is not as difficult as you might have first thought. As time goes on, I will share other articles that can help you evangelize the world around you. Remember, be a minister with the message of God.