How to be a Man of God 1 Timothy 4:7-12

I know its been a while since I've blogged and I'm skipping a couple of verses but just wanted to reflect over this passage.  This whole book is really an encouragement from Paul to a young new pastor Timothy.

Paul shifted in this passage to an athletic illustration at this point in his letter.  Just as a Greek or Roman athlete had to refuse certain things, eat the right food, and do the right exercises so a Christian should practice "spiritual exercises." If a Christian puts as much energy and discipline into his spiritual life as an athlete does into his game, the Christian makes opportunities for him to grow faster.

The Temporary: Again, this is an athletic image.  Certainly we ought to care for our bodies, and exercise is a part of that care (yeah I just said that).  But bodily exercise benefits us only during this life; godly exercise is profitable now and for eternity.  Paul did not ask Timothy to choose between the two; I think God expects us to practice both.          

Godliness: Phillips Brooks said, "The greatest purpose of Life the shaping of character by truth." Godly character and conduct are far more important then gold metals, world series rings, or super bowl trophies, though it is possible for a person to have both.  Pauls challenge to Timothy to be devoted to godliness as an athlete is to his sport.  We are living laboring and striving for eternity!!! Christians must make his/her body his servant and not his master.  The point I'm making here is there are spiritual exercises that I ought to be doing Prayer, meditation, self-examination, fellowship, service, sacrifice, submission to the will of others, witness, all  of these are spiritual exercises to help develop me into a more godly man.  A Christian that wants to excel spiritually needs to work at it!!  But exercising ourselves in godly living is not only profitable for us; it is also profitable for others.  Paul named several areas of life in which you and I should be examples:

In Word:  Implies our speech should be honest and loving  speak the truth in love. (Eph 4:15)
In Conduct: Our lives are controlled by the Word of God
In Love: This is the motivation of the lives in which we live.  We do not obey God to be applauded by men but because we love God and love God's people
In Faith: We trust God and our faithful to Him.  Faith leads to faithfulness
In Purity: Keep yourself pure in mind, heart and body

Just as Timothy was to spread this message to the early church so are we!! Verse eleven says command and teach these things The local church is a unit in God's spiritual army, and its leaders are to pass God's orders along to the people with authority and conviction.  

 

  

Women in the church 1 timothy 2:9-15

Let me first state this is one of those passages in scripture that is often misinterpreted and over the years has caused conflict between both men and women. In this blog I'm going to express my view on what this passage is trying to communicate to us.

I've heard it said that the apostle Paul was sexist towards women. Those of us who hold to the inspiration and authority of the Word of God know that Paul's teaching came from God and not from himself. If we have an issue on what the Bible says about women in the church, the issue is not with Paul or Peter, (1Peter 3:1-7), but with the Lord who gave the word (2 Tim 3:16-17). The word of God is either true or it isn't we can't pick and choose what we want to believe from it.

In verse eleven we see this word submission being used and what it literally means is "to rank under." Anyone who has served in the military knows that rank has to do with order and authority, not with value or ability. For example a Major is higher in rank then a private, but that does not necessarily mean the Major is a better man than the private. It only means that the Major has a higher rank and, therefore, more authority. "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40) is a principle that God follows in His creation. Just as an army would be in confusion if there were no levels of authority, so society would be in chaos without submission. For example children should submit to their parents because God has given the authority to train and discipline them in love. Submission is not subjugation. Submission is recognizing God's order in the home, and the church and joyfully obeying it. Submission is the key to spiritual growth and ministry. Husbands should be submitted to the Lord, Christians Should submit to each other (Eph 5:21), and wives should be submitted to the Lord and their husbands. The emphasis in this section (1 Tim 2:9-15) is on the place of a women in the local church. Paul admonished these believing women to give evidence of their submission in several ways.

Modest Dress 2:9: Paul did not forbid the use of jewelry or lovely clothes, but rather the excessive use of them as substitutes for the true beauty of "a meek and quite spirit" (see 1 Peter 3:1-6. The word translated "modest" simply means "decent and orderly." Ephesus was a wealthy commercial city, and some women there competed against each other for attention and popularity (its hard to believe women would do this lol) . In that day expensive hairdos arrayed with costly jewelry were an accepted way to get to the top socially. Paul admonished the Christian women to major on the "inner person" the true beauty that only Christ can give. He did not forbid the use of nice clothing or ornaments. He cautioned balance and propriety, with the emphasis on modesty and holy character.

Godly Works 2:10: Paul did not suggest that good works are a substitute for clothing. Rather he was contrasting the "cheapness" of expensive clothes and jewelry with the true value of godly character and Christian service. Godliness must come from within. Women played an important role in the ministry of the church. The gospel message had a tremendous impact o them because it affirmed their value before God and their equality in the body of Christ (Gal. 3:28). Women had a low place in the Roman world, but the gospel changed that. The New Testament is filled with women who put their faith into action. For example

Luke 8:1-3: Devoted women who ministered to Jesus in the days of His earthly ministry. They were present at his crucifixion and burial, and it was a women who first heralded the new of the resurrection.

Acts 9:36 We meet Dorcas

Acts 16:14, Lydia

Acts 18:1-3 Priscilla

Romans 16: Paul greeted at least eight women in Romans 16 and Phoebe, who carried the Roman epistle to its destination, was a deaconess in a local church.

Learning 2:11; "Silence" is an unfortunate translation because it gives the impression that believing women were never to open their mouths in the assembly. This is the same word that is translated "peaceable" in verse 2. The point here is not that women as a group should not speak - it’s that there were several types of women who needed to learn before they spoke. It included Jewish and Greek women who had been under the hand of a harsh culture towards women. They sometimes flaunted their new found freedom in Christ and disrupted services (1 Cor 14:34). Paul was saying that women should "learn" was actually a good thing. In that culture women were not allowed to study or discuss issues with men.

Authority 2:12-15: The meaning and application of Paul's statement, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:12), have puzzled interpreters and resulted in a variety of positions on the role of women in ministry to this day. A reading of the entire passage of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 I feel suggests that Paul was giving Timothy advice about dealing with some heretical teachings and practices specifically involving women in the church at Ephesus. The heresy may have been so serious that he had to say about the Ephesian women, “I am not allowing women to teach or have authority over a man.” I feel if all is done decently and in order then God will bless. Well, these again our my thoughts let me know what you think.

Men of the church Timothy 2:1-8

As we look at this passage we see Paul giving instructions to Timothy on how the church needs to conduct themselves. Apparently Timothy was experiencing a congregation that was losing their order and effectiveness, because both men and women members of the church were disobeying God's Word. Paul in this passage is trying to tell Timothy on how both men and women are to conduct themselves.

The first eight verses in this chapter revolve around men of the church need to be about prayer. I once heard this quote "Much prayer, much power! No prayer no power." Prayer was as much a part of the apostolic ministry as preaching the Word (Acts 6:4) I truly believe when a local church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry. True Christians pray in order to please God. This suggests that we must pray in the will of God, because it certainly does not please the Father when we pray selfishly (James 4:1-10, 1 John 5:14-15). I've heard it often said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.

So what is Gods will: The salvation of lost souls for one thing. We can pray for "all men" because it is God's will that "all men" come to the knowledge of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. God loved the world (John 3:16) and Christ died for the whole world (1 John 2:2; 4:14). Jesus died on the cross that He might draw "all men" to salvation (John 12:32). We pray for "all" because Christ died for "all" and it is God's will that "all" be saved. We must give ourselves to God to be a part of His worldwide program to reach people before it is to late.

Some food for thought effective praying, then, demands that I be in a right relationship with God and with my fellow believers. Jesus taught the same truth (Mark 11:24-26). If we spent more time preparing to pray and getting our hearts right before God, our prayers would be more effective!! So what's stopping us from having an effective prayer life??

Job Description : The Harvest is great workers are few

Imagine with me if Jesus had advertised for workers. I wonder if his flyer or brochure would have sounded something like this; Men and women wanted for difficult task of helping to build My church. You will often be misunderstood, even by those who will be working with you. You will face constant attack from an invisible enemy. You may never see the results of your labor, and your full reward will not come till after all your work is completed. It may cost you your home, your ambitions, even your life. If people new up front what they were getting into would they honestly commit to it? (It makes you wonder.) In spite of the demands he makes Jesus receives the applications of many who have chosen to give their all for him. Timothy is one of those men who responded to Jesus call to help build his church.

Paul wrote the letter we call 1 Timothy to encourage Timothy, to explain how a local church should be managed, and to enforce his own authority as a servant of God. Paul in this chapter explains 3 responsibilities of a pastor but not just of a pastor but members of the church. I'm going to suggest that part of our job description as followers of Christ is carrying out these responsibilities

1. Teach Sound Doctrine (1:1-11)

In this time period there were teachers of false doctrines in Paul's day just as there are today, and we must take them seriously. These false teachers have no good news for lost sinners. They seek instead to lead Christians astray and capture them for their causes. The reason for this false doctrine was a misuse of the Old Testament Law. These false teachers did not understand the content or the purpose of God's Law. They were leading believers out of the liberty of grace into the bondage of legalism, a tragedy that still occurs today. The flesh loves religious legalism because rules and regulations enable a person to appear holy without really having to change his heart. Thats why Paul is writing this letter to Timothy to encourage him in this challenging time in his life. Paul was trying to convey to Timothy you are not only a pastor of the church in a difficult city. You are also a Christian soldier under orders from the King. Now pass these orders along to those that are under your leadership.

2. Proclaim the Gospel (1 Tim. 1:12-17)

Paul in this passage shares his personal testimony.

A. What Paul used to be: Saul of Tarsus was a brilliant man and well-educated his mind was blinded from the truth. He was a religious man, yet he was not headed for heaven! It was not until he put faith in Jesus Christ that he was saved.

B. How Paul was Saved: How could the holy God ever save and forgive such a self-righteous sinner? The key words are mercy and grace. God in His mercy did not give Paul what he did deserve; instead God in His grace gave Paul what he did not deserve. Grace and mercy are God's love in action.

C. What Paul Became: The Damascus road had a life changing effect on Paul. So dramatic was the change in Paul's life that the Jerusalem church suspected that it was a trick and they had a hard time accepting Paul's transformation (Acts 9:26-31). Paul has become a great example of what the Holy Spirit can do in your life. He is proof that the grace of God can change any sinner!! Today I want to challenge you maybe you know somebody who is far from God and you have spent years trying to reach out to them but feel like it's a lost cause. I want to challenge you lets NEVER GIVE UP!! If God can make a change in Paul's life I'm sure he can change anybody else.

3. Defend the Faith (1 tim. 1:18-20)

Timothy must have been greatly helped and encouraged when he read the opening to this letter. God had called Timothy, equipped him, and put him into his place of ministry. When someone obeys God's call to serve, God always equips and enables that person. Timothy's job was not to run all over Ephesus, being involved in a multitude of tasks. His job was to care for the church by winning the lost, teaching the saved, and defending the faith. Any task that did not relate to these ministries would have to be abandoned. I want to leave you with this question taking spiritual inventory of yourself, what tasks is God calling you to do and our there things in your life that are keeping you from what God has called you to ?

Guard your heart Proverbs 4:23-27

In this passage of scripture Solomon gives us some godly wisdom on how we should use our body to avoid folly. In these couple of verses he names our heart, mouth, eyes, and our feet. This passage instructs believers to “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” I have thought about this verse often and I ask myself okay, what does that mean and look like to truly guard your heart? When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the inner core of a person, the thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and choices that make that person who he/she is. The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become (Proverbs 23:7, 27:19). The mind of a man reflects who he really is, not simply his actions or words. That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be. Just as there are many diseases and disorders that can affect the physical heart, there are many ailments of the spiritual heart that can impair growth and development as a believer. If we could see a picture of your spiritual heart what would it look like?The Apostle Paul instructs us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”(Philippians 4:8). Dwelling on these things will help to build a guard fence around our hearts. So the reflective question I have for you is how protected is your heart??

Wisdom Directs our Path Proverbs 3:1-12

The key verses in this chapter are verses 5-6, a promise God's people have often claimed as they have sought the Lord's direction for their lives. And this promise has never failed them-if they have obeyed the conditions God has laid down in verses 1-12. God ALWAYS keeps His promises when we obey His precepts, because our obedience prepares us to receive and enjoy what He has planned for us.

The first condition for receiving God's guidance is that We learn God's truth (1-4). The will of God is revealed in the Word of God, and the only way to know His will is to study His Word and obey it. It isn't enough for believers to carry the Bible in their hands; they must let the Holy Spirit write it on their hearts. Obedience to the Word can add years to your life and life to your years.

Secondly Obey God's will (Verse 5-8): This means we must trust Him with all our heart and obey Him in all our ways, total commitment to Him. The word translated "trust" in verse five means to lie helpless face down. It pictures a servant waiting for the master's command in readiness to obey, or a defeated soldier yielding himself to the conquering general. The danger that we might experience is that we lean on our own understanding and thereby miss God's will. This warning doesn't suggest that God's children turn of their brains and ignore their intelligence and common sense. It warns us not to depend on our own wisdom and experience or the wisdom and experience of others. Let this be a reminder to all of us be careful of times when we become wise in our own eyes Prov.3:7 then were heading on the path of trouble.

Third Share God's blessing: (Verse 9-10): If we don't faithfully give to the Lord, we don't really trust the Lord. Our tithes and offerings aren't payment for His blessings; rather their evidence of our faith and obedience. Christian industrialist R.G. LeTourneau used to say, "If you give because it pays, it won't pay." Giving is heart preparation for what God wants to say to us and do for us. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also Matt. 6:21.

Submit to God discipline: (Proverbs 3:11-12) Discipline is part of God's plan to help His sons and daughters mature in godly character (Heb.12:1-11). God disciples us, not as a judge punishes a criminal but as a parent disciplines a child. He acts in love and His purpose is that we might become partakers of His holiness (Heb.12:10). Sometimes God might discipline us because we have rebelled and need t0 repent; other times He disciplines us to keep us from sinning and to prepare us for His special blessing. No matter how much the experience hurts us, it will never harm us, because God always disciplines in love (Deut. 8:2-5). Take sometime and reflect and ask yourself how is your path being directed? Are you leaning on your strength or are you relying on Gods wisdom to lead you?

Proverbs 2:1-15 the search for wisdom

In these verses of scripture it reveals three things about wisdom

Wisdom is sought after by man (Verses 1-5)

If you were told that in your front lawn,there was burried chest of silver and gold, wouldn’t you dig up every inch of it? The knowledge of God is the greatest treasure anyone can find because it brings with it eternal life (John 17:3). How important that we should search for it with all our heart! Sadly it seems our search for wisdom is often over before we even start.

II. IT HAS TO BE GIVEN BY GOD (6-9)
We can only "discover" God as he reveals to us. He has done this in nature, in the Bible, and supremely, of course, in the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

III. IT HAS TO BE APPLIED TO LIFE (10-15)
To say that we know God, and to continue "to walk in the ways of darkness" (13) is, of course, a complete contradiction. Knowing Him should keep us from sin in every shape and form. Look at 8:13 where we read, "The fear of the Lord" (and that is the beginning of wisdom) "is hatred of evil."

My prayer is that we would search after Godly wisdom for our lives. It's not going to be easy or quick but its what we need to rely on.

Voice of Salvation Proverbs 1:20-33

To whom does wisdom speak to in this passage? To three classes of sinners : the simple ones, the mockers and the fools. The simple are naive people who beleive anything but examine nothing. They are gullible and easily lead astray. They have not taken ownership of their faith and so every new idea or thought leads them astray. Mockers think they know everything and belittle, ignore or even laugh at the things that are really important. The simple ones may be lost or confused the mockers wear a sneer. Fools on the other hand are people who are ignorant of the truth because they are dull and stubborn. Their problem isn't a low IQ or poor education; their problem is a lack of spiritual desire to seek and find God's wisdom. Fools enjoy their foolishness but don't know how foolish they are! The outlook of fools is purely materialistic and humanistic. They hate knowledge and have no interest in things eternal .
How does wisdom respond to them? First she brings a charge agaisnt them and asks how long they plan to remain in their dangerous spiritual condition. wisdom has spoken to them again and again but they have refused to listen, and this will make their judgment even more severe. After this wisdom issues an invitation that they turn from their evil ways and receive her gifts. This is really a call to repentence and faith. She promises to change their hearts and teach them the wisdom of God from the Word of God.
Tragically the simple, the mockers, and the fools refuse to obey her voice. They laugh at her warnings; and mock her words. Note the word "also" in verse 26. Because they laughed at Wisdom, one day Wisdom will also laugh at them. Because they mocked her, she will mock them. Wisdom sees a storm of judgement coming that will bring distress and anguish to all who reject God's invitation. When that judgment comes sinners will call upon the Lord but it will be to late. How tragic that day will be. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isa. 55:6). They turned away their ears from hearing the truth and were complacently comfortable wit beleiving lies. In contrast to the judment promised to unblievers, wisdom promises security and peace to those who will listen to her and beleive (Prov.1:33). Question what is wisdom sayinng to you?

The voice of Temptation Proverbs 1:11-14

Looking at these friends in these four verse its easy to say there not friends at all. Anybody who makes it easy for us to disobey God certainly isn't a friend. Lets be honest and say sin is appeasing to the eye and our flesh, if sin wasn't then nobody would do it. In Hebrews 11:25 it says, "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." Sin sounds exciting to our flesh but it only leads to disaster and death. How tragic that a group of people would find enjoyment in doing evil; and how foolish they were for thinking their quick fix or their fast cash would satisfy their desires. That's the thing about our sinful desires there never satisfied. We as people don't realize how far we have strayed until its rock bottom. Sometimes it even feels like we have blinders on and we forget what's really important, and the only thing we care about is our sinful agenda. It seems like it's a bunch of small compromises that lead to bigger and bigger compromises of our choices and character. They rejected the eternal treasures of wisdom for the cheap trinkets of this world, and they lost their souls in the bargain. As I reread this passage I thought a lot about Judas and how he sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver. Question how many times do we sell Jesus out for less? How many times do we give up Godly blessings for worldly treasures? Something to think about.

The voice of Instruction? Part 1 Proverbs 1:8-32

I think one of the greatest tragedies is that there's so much noise that people can't hear the things they really need to hear. God is trying to get through to them with the voice of wisdom but all they hear are foolish voices that lead them farther away from the truth. This passage of scripture reveals three voices that we as he reader need to identify. I'm going to try and break it into 3 blogs so stay tuned for part 2, and 3.

The voice of Instruction (Verse 8-10, 15-19): This is a voice of a godly father, urging his son to listen to wisdom and to obey what he hears. Both the father and mother of this son have taught him well. Both parents warn him not to abandon what he's been told. These parents have obeyed the instructions of Moses (Deut. 6:6-9) and have faithfully taught their family the Word of God. But what will the children do with their fathers and mothers teaching? A question we all have to ask ourselves. There comes a point in all of our lives when we reach the point of making decisions on our own. How do we respond to those who have tried to instruct us spiritually? In Proverbs 1:15-19 The father tells his son how to avoid yielding to temptation. First: He says, check carefully the path you're on and don't walk with the wrong crowd. Bad company corrupts good character. Stop sticking up for those people in your life that really have a negative effect on you, 1 Corinthians 10:12, "So if you think you are standing firm be careful that you do not fall." No your limits.

Second: don't play with temptation, because temptation always leads to a trap. Lets not play the game how close to the line of sin can I get to without actually sinning. Thats a losing battle avoid the line altogether!! We should always have an exit strategy in mind there is no temptation for us that is to much to bare. Lets be honest whatever the temptation is we always linger to long with the thought after the thought we try to justify our sin to make it sound okay before we actually sin. Then we commit the sin and regret remorse and guilt always follow. Proverbs 1:17 "Birds don't take when they can plainly see the trap," we should be smarter then birds. Be aware of the traps!!

Third: When you disobey God by harming others, you only harm yourself (verse 18-19). You're free to take what you want from life, but eventually you'll have to pay for it , and the price you pay is higher than the value you gain. You end up sacrificing the permanent for the immediate, and thats an awful investment. There will come a day when we will all stand before God what will your investments show??

What in the World Does a Christian Do? Luke 10

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I'm a Christian now what? What's supposes to be different? Where gonna take a look at Luke chapter ten because it displays three points that answer this question, and I'm gonna break it down over the next couple of blogs. The first thing we notice is that we are the Lord's ambassadors, sent to represent Him in this world (verse 1-24). The 72 people that were sent out were about to embark of a difficult calling. Harvesting is hard work, even when there are many people helping you, but these men were sent into a vast field with very few workers to help them reap a great harvest. Instead of praying for an easier job, they were to pray that more laborers would join the Masters cause, we today need to echo this prayer. It's interesting to point out that it is laborers, not spectators, who pray for more laborers! To many Christians are praying for somebody else to do a job they are unwilling to do themselves. IT'S TIME TO START WORKING AND STOP WAITING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO IT!!! LETS GET IN THE GAME! I don't mean to yell but the older I get the more tired I get and I'm tired of living a mediocre christian life. I want to be used by God to do amazing things in his name!! Its time to get off the sidelines and step out in faith. I respect the 72 so much they were given a task to go and reap a harvest they weren't promised a Holiday inn or a great meal everywhere they went they need to rely on the Lord for there blessing, provision, and their comfort. Lord help me realize the security in which I seek can only be found in You! They're calling was a dangerous one. As They invaded enemy territory they would be like lambs among wolves. But as long as they relied on the Lord, they would win the battle. It would require discipline and faith for them to do the job. They were ambassadors of peace, bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the possessed, and the Good News of salvation to lost sinners. We can understand the joy of the Seventy-two as they returned to report their victories to Jesus. He had given them power and authority to heal, to cast out demons and to preach the Word, and they were successful!! In the midst of their great joy, they were careful to give God the glory. Christ's ambassadors were indeed privileged people. They were able to see and hear things that the greatest saints in the Old Testament ages yearned to see and hear but could not. The Messiah was at work, and they were a part of His work! Here I sit thousands of years later and I yearn to be a part of that work. I want to be obedient to what God has called me to be and do. I want to end this blog with Ruth 1:16 Ruth in this passage is talking to Naomi but as I thought about it I pray Ruth Response would be our response to our Lord and savior. Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

Enduring, (Luke 9:37-62)

"How long shall I stay with you and put up with you?" Is one phrase that is mentioned in this passage of scripture by Jesus. When you look at this portion of scripture you can better understand why Jesus spoke those words: He was grieved over the failures of His followers. He had given His apostles authority over Satan, yet they were to weak to cast out a demon (vv. 37-45). In feeding the 5,000 Jesus gave them an example of compassion, yet they persisted in manifesting selfishness and lack of love (vv. 46-56). He taught clearly what it meant to follow Him, yet the volunteers turned out to be "me first" disciples (vv.57-62). It's starting to make sense why Jesus is grieved.

Lack of Power(vv.37-45): The disciples had the power and authority to heal this boy but they did not have the success why? When you study all three reports (Matt. 17; Mark 9), you discover what was lacking in their lives. The first thing that was lacking was faith (Matt.17:19-20); they were part of an unbeleving generation and had lost the confidence that they needed in order to use their power. (If I can be honest and say their generation sounds a lot like the one in which we find ourselves in today). But prayer and fasting were also lacking (Mark 9:29), which indicates that these men had allowed their devotional disciplines to erode during their Lord's brief absence. No matter what spiritual gifts we may have, their exercise is never automatic. Jesus restores the boy gives him back to his father then took the twelve aside for another lesson about the cross.

Lack of Love (vv. 46-56): The disciples did not have much love for each other, or they would not have argued over who was the greatest. I'm not sure why this arguement started was it pride or was it envy, either way the disciples where more concerned about who is first instead of really listening to Jesus. In His kingdom, the example of greatness is a little child. somebody who is dependent, without status living by faith. There is a big difference from being child like and childish. The disciples showed a lack of love for beleivers outside their own group. Maybe John was trying to impress Jesus with his zeal for protecting His name, but the Lord was not impressed. John thought they were the only group that was blessed and recognized by Jesus that was not true then and its not true for us today. Beleivers who think their group is the only group God recognizes and blesses are in for a shock when heaven is revealed to them. Nor did the disciples love their enemies (51-56). James and John had seen the Prophet Elijah on the mount, so they thought they might imitate him and call down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1)! The Samaritans and Jews had been enemies for centuries so it would make sense for the village to reject Jesus as he traveled toward Jerusalem. Samaria would be later reached with the Gospel in (Acts 8).

Lack of Discipline (vv.57-62). Three man could have become disciples, buy they failed to meet the requirements that Jesus required. The first man had to deny himself which he was not willing to do. The second man was called by Jesus (what an honor!) but he was rejected because he would not take up his cross and die to self. Jesus is not suggesting here that we dishonor our parents, but only that we not permit our love for family to weaken our love for the Lord. The third man also volunteered, but he could not follow Christ because he was looking back instead of ahead. Jesus saw that this man's heart was not wholly with Him, but that he would be plowing and looking back.

After reading this passage it seems like what Jesus taught His disciples and the multitudes had done them little good. They lacked power, love, and discipline, and they grieved His heart. These spiritual essentials are available to us from the Lord. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but of power, of love, and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7). So the question I have for you is what are you lacking?? Are we a joy to Jesus Christ, or are we breaking His heart?

Teaching Luke 9:18-27

In The Roman world, the cross was a symbol of shame, guilt suffering, and rejection. There could be no more despicable way to die. Crucifixion was not mentioned in polite conversation. Jesus laid down the stern requirements for discipleship. We must first "say no" to ourselves not simply to pleasures or possessions, but to self-and then take up our cross and follow him daily. This means to be identified with Him in surrender, suffering, and sacrifice. You cannot crucify yourself; you can only yield your body (Rom. 12:1-2) and let God do the rest. This life seems foolish to the world; but to the Christian it is wisdom. To save your life is to lose it, and how can you ever get it back again? But to give your life to Christ is to save it and to live it in fullness. If a person owned the whole world, he would still be to poor to buy back a lost life. Discipleship is a daily discipline: we follow Jesus a step at a time, a day at a time. Our motive should always be to glorify Christ. Anyone who is ashamed of Christ will never take up a cross and follow Him. But if we are ashamed of Him now, He will be ashamed of us when He comes again and we will be ashamed before Him. Jesus asks Peter two questions in this passage and as I think about I think he's asking the same questions to us. 1.Who do people say that I am, 2. And who do you say that I am. So I want to leave you with that question who is Jesus to you??

Feeding Luke 9:12-17

In the crisis hours of life, when your resources are low and your responsibilities are great, it is good to remember that God already has the problem solved. Jesus started with what they had, before we ask God to do the impossible, let's start wit the possible and give Him what we have. The Lord looked up to heaven, the source of our daily bread (Matt. 6:11), gave thanks, and blessed the food; and the bread and fish were multiplied. Jesus was the producer and his disciples were the distributors. Were in the same role today Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith and we our the distributors of the grace that He has shed on us. The amazing thing is that everybody was served and satisfied, and there were twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each of the disciples. This miracle was more than an act of mercy for hungry people, although that was important. It was also a sign of our Lord's Messiahship and an illustration of God's gracious provision for man's salvation. The next day, Jesus preached a sermon on "the bread of life" and urged the people to receive Him just as they had received the bread (John 6:22-59). But the people were more interested in their stomachs than their souls, and completely missed the spiritual impact of the miracle. How often is that true in our lives. God maybe directing us, or leading us, or revealing something to us and all we see is the small picture and miss the real miracle. Their desire was to make Jesus king so He could give them bread for the rest of their lives! (John 6:14-15.)

I often have wondered after Jesus returned to heaven did the disciples ever sit around and reminisce about all of Jesus miracles? This miracle teaches us to have compassion, to look upon problems as opportunities for God to work, and to give Him all that we have and trust Him to meet our needs. If we do all we can, He will step in and do the rest. Corrie Ten Boom said, "Let God's promises shine on your problems." That is good counsel for us to rely on.

Four Aspects of Ministry Luke 9:1-11

Luke chapter 9 is an amazing passage of scripture. In the next four blogs I'm going to break down four aspects of ministry that are found in this chapter. The first aspect of ministry we see is Jesus SENDING out the 12. The 12 had been ordained by Jesus some months before and had been traveling with Jesus as His helpers. Now he was going to send them out in pairs to put into practice what they had learned. Before Jesus sent them out, He gave them the equipment needed to get the job done, as well as the instructions to follow. Jesus told the apostles what to take on their journey, with an emphasis on urgency and simplicity. They were to rely on the Lord knowing He would open doors for there provision. (Wow what an awesome piece of scripture). It reminds me of God leading the people of Israel out of Egypt and how they needed to rely on his provision. Application for us are we ready to step out, and trust that the Lord is still holding us in the palm of his hand? Are we relying on God's provision for our life? Or our we holding unto our "security blankets." I challenge you to think about your life who are you relying on? Are you making steps of faith or are we making steps in comfort. Let us not forget that he is our provider our help and ever present need. God knows what your going threw he doesn't abandon his people. the disciples where provided for just like the people of Israel where. If God is calling you to go or do something rely on his provision and step out in faith.

"The Parable of the Sower" Luke 8:1-15

The seed without the soil is fruitless, and the soil without the seed is almost useless. The human heart is like soil: if it is prepared properly, it can receive the seed of the Word of God and produce a fruitful harvest. In this passage Jesus described four different kinds of hearts, three of which did not produce any fruit. The proof of salvation is fruit and not merely hearing the Word or making a profession of faith in Christ. Jesus had made that clear in His "Sermon on the Mount" (Luke 6:43-49).

Hard Soil: Represents the person who hears the Word but immediately allows the devil to snatch the seed away.

The Shallow Soil: Illustrates the emotional hearer who quickly responds to the message, but he quickly loses interest and does not continue. In many places in Israel you find a substratum of limestone covered with a thin layer of soil. The shoot can grow up, but the roots cannot go down, and the sun withers the rootless plant. The sun represents the testing that comes to all professing believers to prove their faith. The sun is good for plants if they have roots. Persecution can deepen the roots of a true Christian, but it only exposes the shallowness of the false Christian.

The Crowded Soil: Illustrates the person who does not repent and "weed out" the things that hinder the harvest. There is enough soil so the roots can go down, but not enough room for the plant to grow up and produce fruit. the plant is crowded out and the fruit is choked. The person with the crowded heart comes closest to salvation, but he still does not bring forth "fruit to perfection."

The Good Soil: Alone is fruitful. It illustrates the individual who hears the Word, understands it, receives it within and is truly saved, and proves it by patiently producing fruit. Not everybody produces the same amount of fruit but all true believers will produce some fruit as evidence of spiritual life. That fruit may include winning others to Christ (Rom. 1:13). Financially supporting the work of the Lord (Rom. 15:25-28), good works (Col.1:10), Christian character (Gal. 5:22-23), and praise to the Lord (Heb. 13:15).

This parable shows that Jesus was not impressed by the great crowds that followed Him. He knew that most of the people did not really "hear" the Word and receive it in their hearts. He gave this story to encourage the disciples in their future ministry, and to encourage us today. When you consider how much teaching, and preaching in the course of a month or a year, you wonder why there is such a small harvest. The fault does not lie with the sower or the seed. The problem is with the soil. The human heart will not submit to God, repent, and receive the Word and be saved. Close with this as you think of your life what kind of growth are you producing in your own life?

Amazing Faith!! Luke 7:1-10

In the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Roman centurions are presented as quality men of character, and the one found in our text is a prime example of that. The Jewish people in that time had little or really no love for the Romans soldiers. However these Jewish elders commended this officer to Jesus. This Roman centurion loved his servant and did not want him to die. I'm really impressed by this Centurions love but also his humility. Imagine a Roman officer telling a poor Jewish rabbi that he was unworthy to have Him enter his house! (Talk about counter cultural) this Centurion is definitely going against the grain. The Romans were not known for displaying humility especially to Jewish people. But the characteristic that most impressed Jesus was the man's faith. Twice in the Gospel record we are told that Jesus marveled. Here in Capernaum, He marveled at the faith of a Gentile; and in Nazareth, He marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6). The only other person Jesus commended for having "great faith" was a Gentile woman whose daughter He delivered from a demon.

The centurion's faith certainly was remarkable. After all, he was a Gentile whose background was pagan. He was a Roman soldier, trained to be self sufficient, and we have no evidence that he had ever heard Jesus preach. What Jesus and this Centurion had in common was they where both under authority, and because they were under authority, they had the right to exercise authority. All they had to do is say the word and things happened. This centurion displayed amazing faith no wonder Jesus marveled!!

Application:

If this Roman, with very little spiritual instruction, had that kind of faith in Jesus how much greater our faith ought to be! We have the Word of God to encourage us, and yet we are guilty of no faith MArk 4:40 or little faith Matt. 14:31. Our prayer needs to be Lord increase my faith Luke 17:5

Blind leading the blind Luke 6:37-45

This is amazing piece of scripture and I want to encourage you to read this whole chapter it's definitely life changing. But today I want to reflect on verse 37-45 in chapter 6. I think this section of scripture teaches us some important lessons about ministry. As disciples of Christ we must be sure that we see clearly enough to guide others in their spiritual walk. Jesus in this passage was referring to the Pharisees who were leading the people astray (MAtt. 15:14, 23:16). If we see ourselves as excellent guides, but do not realize our blindness, we will only lead people into the ditch (Rom. 2:17-22).

The Pharisees were excellent at judging other people to make themselves look and feel better about themselves. After reflecting over these verses A question comes to mind. Is it ever okay to judge somebody? If you look at scripture there are several verses that say judging is okay (I'm not going to list all of them heres a couple (John 7:24, 1 Corinthians 6:1-5) In fact there is a whole book called Judges found in the Old Testament. The question isn't is it okay to judge somebody else the real question is what is your intent of your judging? Difference between Righteous judgement and condemning judgement: when you condemn your giving no hope. It’s to late. You can't ever atone for your sins. Righteous judgement is to help restore that person. Matthew 18:15-17 is a perfect example of two brothers in Christ one judging another on his fruit. Today we use the word accountability and if you think about it when your accountable to somebody else your really judging them. Your saying there's a standard that I'm suppose to hold you to and if you live contrary to that standard it's my responsibility in love to approach you and confront you.

Again Jesus in this passage is speaking to the Pharisees people who new the law. People that should have known better!! The Pharisees were always judging the gentiles, people who didn't know the law. The pharisees should have been showing people grace not condemnation. And this is where the application lies as man and women of God we need to show the love grace and compassion of our savior to those who our outside the family of God. Is there sin in the world absolutely but we can't hold people to a Christian standard if they don't know who Jesus is. Another key point of this passage is before you go around judging other peoples lives judge yourself first. Verse 40 reminds us that we cannot lead others where we have not been ourselves, nor can we be all that our Master is. In fact the more we strive to be like Him, the more we realize how far short we fall. This is a warning against pride, for nothing blinds a person like pride. It certainly is not wrong to help a brother get a painful speck of dirt out of his eye, provided we can see what we are doing. If you think about it, it's kind of humorous to see an eye doctor with a plank in his eye preforming surgery on somebody that has a spec in his eye. The emphasis here is on being honest with ourselves and not becoming hypocrites. It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just so we can cover up our own sins! Here's a thought to reflect on people who are constantly criticizing others are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives. So lets remove the planks in our eyes before we remove specs from others.

Follow the Leader Luke 5:27-31

In this passage Jesus has an encounter with a tax collector named Levi or other wise known as Matthew. Tax collectors were regarded as traitors to Israel because they collected taxes for the hated Romans. And not only were they seen as traitors, but also as thieves, because Rome only required a fixed sum but allowed the tax collectors the right to charge people any amount above that sum for their own pay. And sometimes they would charge exorbitant amounts. The people had to pay whatever the tax collectors demanded because these were the representatives of Rome. Now along comes Jesus - walking down the road - and he stops right in front of Matthew’s table. And He says nothing more than: “Follow me.” Matthew jumps right up, closes shop and leaves everything to follow Jesus. As I thought about this I couldn't imagine somebody I didn't no coming into my office and say follow me and actually take that person serious. Put yourself in Matthew's shoes your in the middle of your job working a man comes by and says follow me. What do you do?? How crazy does that sound. Matthew gets so excited about following this stranger named Jesus, that he holds a meal and invites all his friends to come and meet him. I want to blog about three observations this passage has revealed to me.

1. Jesus went looking for Matthew

Jesus only had 12 disciples. These were primary builders of His early church. And here Jesus hand-picks Matthew to be one of those followers. A lot of people would not have picked Matthew after all he was a tax collector. But people like Matthew is who Jesus was looking for. People who were sick inside and who wanted to change their lives. This is why I think Matthew was so prone to follow Jesus when he said, "Follow Me" Matthew needed a change from the inside out.

2. Jesus looked for Matthew because He knew Matthew was ready to change.

Most people would have written Matthew off he's a tax collector lowest of low. There are people out there that we just don’t think are interested so we don’t invite them or don't talk about our faith. I want to challenge you to never give up on people you don't know what the Holy Spirit is doing in their heart. Sometimes it can be simple words like follow me that have such an impact on somebody's life. Thats all Jesus said to Matthew and his life was forever changed. Some of the people that you may have written off long ago may be ready to be changed from the inside out and there waiting for you to step up and say something!!!

3rd thing we learn from this story is that every new person we bring to Christ has friends.

Matthew had friends probably not many but the ones he did have he wanted to share his new found faith with. A relationship with Jesus is contagious as a Christian we have the greatest gift ever offered what are we doing with it??

Rejected Luke 4:14 -30

By this time in the gospel of Luke the news has spread widely about the miracle worker from Nazareth so His family, friends, and neighbors were anxious to see and hear Him. Jesus was asked to read the Scripture text and to give the sermon. The passage He read included Isaiah 61:1-2 and He selected it for His text. The Jewish rabbis interpreted this passage to refer to the Messiah, and the people in the synagogue knew it. Can you imagine how shocked they were when Jesus boldly said that it was written about Him and that He had come to usher in the "acceptable year of the Lord." The reference here is the "Year of Jubilee" described in Leviticus 25. Jesus was bringing a spiritual "Year of Jubilee" for the nation of Israel.

The problem was that His listeners would not believe in Him. They saw Him only as the son of Mary and Joseph, the boy they had watched grow up in their own city. How crazy is that!!!! Jesus is right there in front of them and all they see is the son of Mary and Joseph. The crowd wanted Jesus to preform miracles in Nazareth like he did in Capernaum, but He refused. That's the meaning of the phrase, "Physician heal thyself.

At first, they admired the way He taught, but it didn't take long for their admiration to turn into antagonism. Why? Because Jesus reminded them of God's goodness to the Gentiles! The prophet Elijah bypassed all the Jewish widows and helped a gentile widow in Sidon 1 Kings 17:8-16, and his successor Elisha healed a gentile leper from Syria 2 Kings 5:1-15. Our Lord's message of grace was a blow to the proud Jewish exclusivism of the congregation, and they would not repent. Jesus is saying that Jews had to be saved by grace just like the pagan gentiles!! The congregation was so angry they waned to kill Jesus! Augustine said, "They love truth when it enlightens them, but hate truth when it accuses them." (Ouch!!!) This applies to us today we want gracious words but we don't want to face the truth.

In spite of the unbelief of the people in Nazareth, the scriptures declared that Jesus of Nazareth is God's Son, the Messiah sent to fulfill His promises. I bloged about this passage because maybe like Jesus you feel like the hardest people to reach are the ones who have known you the longest. Be encouraged today that if you face rejection from those who say they know you your in good company.