Christian Living

It seems obvious that whenever we take a step of faith we are going to be attacked. The devil hates it when men obey God and live by faith. I have seen those who are faithful to God go through great tests, but gold must be tried and purified. When we face the trials, we must remember that we are to count it all joy (James 1:2).

I have always enjoyed the story of Moses sending the 12 spies from the 12 tribes of Israel when they were on the verge of entering the Land of Canaan. I was taught the song in Sunday school as a little boy, “Twelve men went to spy in Canaan; ten were bad and two were good!” I am sure many of you remember that song as well! I would like to draw your attention to 4 things the spies saw.

Peter knelt in the water, intent on washing his nets. Unaware of the crowd of people thronging Jesus, he, along with James and John, continued the task of rinsing grime from the Galilean Sea off their empty nets. The night had been long and fruitless. They had not a single fish to show for their efforts.

These are alarming times. Financially and economically, the world seems to be barreling down the road toward the precipice. Politically, the country seems to have lost its sanity. Morally, everybody seems to have thrown it all overboard. And Christians seem to have no idea what to do.

Part of the joy of ministry is that of enjoying it with fellow laborers in the work. In the secular workplace, friendship with coworkers is often a corny topic. When your expected ambition at work is to support your family and perhaps also further your career, who cares if you enjoy time with your coworkers? But the work of the ministry isn’t the same as the work of factory.

Have you noticed that there seems to be less unity in fundamentalism than there used to be? It has often been bemoaned that fundamentalism is fragmenting. We have been cut into “camps,” fragmented into factions, and separated into splinters.

You know them—they slap your back and say an encouraging word…without really pausing to hear how you’re doing, or if you actually need encouragement, or maybe a listening ear. That’s annoying, but the worst problem with a professional backslapper is not what they do, but what they miss—especially when they are a spiritual leader.

What is God’s will for my life? This question has brought much agony to the hearts of many sincere single adults. Many people are searching books, reading stories, and getting hours of counsel for something that God has already made extremely clear in His Word!

From time to time, I hear people criticizing Christianity as being too negative. They often point to the “legalistic” rules of the Bible, the “hell fire and brimstone” preaching, or the conservative lifestyle of its followers as reasons for rejecting the message of God. The very words Baptist, or fundamentalist, or even Christian scare them. They fear that an acceptance of Bible truth will make their lives miserable and lonely.

There are few tools that have the power to multiply your ministry like encouragement. Soulwinning and evangelism is the main thing. Discipleship is no less important. And encouragement is indispensable for both.

Have you looked around our country recently? America is in deep water morally. For the first time in our history there are more unmarried households than married, and divorce is a real problem in our world. More and more children are being reared in single parent homes. Too many children in our country are living without the guidance and direction of their fathers.

The best way to define revival is biblically. Oftentimes we get off on the wrong foot by defining revivals by history. We learn about revival from the Bible, but history simply illustrates Bible truths about revival. Revival is God bringing His people back to spiritual health.

The Corinthian church was in desperate need of preaching. Every chapter seems to open one more sore, one more conflict in need of healing—troubles the church members often did not recognize.

Some of the most impressionable memories are those of personal encouragement. Most of us can easily remember timely words or actions of encouragement that took place even years ago.

One of my favorite things about serving the Lord as a missionary in a country that does not have a Christian heritage is that virtually everything in the Bible is new to the people. Sadly, many Christians who grew up with the Bible eventually get bored with the Bible. I don’t think it has to be that way, but oftentimes it is.

If you think it’s difficult to read through biblical genealogies, try preaching through one! I recently preached from Luke 3:23–38—a full sixteen verses listing the genealogy of Jesus. If it weren’t for the fact that when I began the Journey with Jesus preaching series I promised our church that we would cover every verse, I think I would have skipped these verses!

God sees more in us than we see in ourselves. While we see our own insufficiencies, He sees His ability to do mighty things through the lives of those who will take Him at His Word.

The Apostle Paul took a bold, strong, uncompromising stand for the Lord Jesus and yet did so with a sweet and gracious spirit. In Acts 16, Timothy joined Paul and Silas on their missionary endeavor. He submitted to the rite of circumcision in order to be a good testimony to the Jews, to whom they would preach the Gospel.

Ministry—even good ministry—can be built on a shaky foundation. When Jesus gave the word picture of a house built on the sand or on a rock, He wasn’t only speaking to the Pharisees. He was speaking to you and me. Of course, His promise to those who build their lives on truth is also for you and me.

For the longest time, I thought faithfulness had died in our culture. I was so wrong. Faithfulness has not died; it has been misplaced. Every single person on this earth is faithful to something. The problem with our faithfulness is the object of our faithfulness.