The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" Romans 10:13-15
It's becoming fashionable in the name of diversity or non-judgmentalism that one not hold firm beliefs anymore, or at least not share them openly if you do.
There are a few things I do know for sure! Yes, there are absolutes. There is truth that stands for all times, generations and locations. Truth is truth whether you believe it or not and truth will prevail.
Some do not proclaim absolutes because they are afraid of offending others or hurting them but perhaps the worst way in the world to hurt someone would be to fail to speak the truth and thereafter have them face tragic consequences as a result. People stay silent to "show love" but are we really showing love by withholding the truth of God's Word? The Word is controversial and those who declare it boldly without fear will be dubbed as such as well. The Bible is so controversial there are people who fight to get parts taken out of it. There are those living certain lifestyles who claim that the Bible has given them "mental anguish" over their lifetime who have gone so far as to sue bible publishers. By the way, there is a total cure for that anguish. It's called repentance.
God gave us His Word to guide us and we don't have to guess what it says or what it means - we can know. We are instructed in II Timothy 2 to study to show ourselves approved and correctly handle the Word of truth. If there wasn't a correct way, the Word wouldn't indicate that such is even possible. God has never asked us to do anything that isn't possible for us to do. We don't have to sit around wondering -- we can KNOW truth. We do not have to be afraid of studying science along with the Bible, for it will always lead us back to the same conclusion of truth. Many who have gone before us like Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel have exhausted the evidence and come to the same conclusion as countless others. We can and should exhaust the evidence ourselves -- and truth will always come to the surface.
There's an old saying, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." I believe God weeps over milquetoast preachers who don't have the guts to preach His Word without compromise. Not only can some of them not preach it anymore - they can't even declare it over coffee with a friend because they stand in fear of man instead of God. Referring to the end times Matthew 24 says that even the elect will be deceived. Surely we are seeing that happen even now as many "ministers" question things that were once the very bedrock of our faith. God is calling on His remnant to take a stand for biblical truth or allow ourselves to be swept away with the deluge of leaders who have zipped their lips in the name of the great commandment forgetting that it goes hand in hand with the great commission. When you "go" you have to have something to "go" with. What are you "going" on behalf of? World peace? Health insurance? Global climate change? What balderdash! As ministers we aren't called to go forth on behalf of any of that but to GO with the message that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but there is a Savior who has paid the price to forgive our sin. Jesus made it clear, there is NO OTHER NAME, and NO OTHER WAY. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 Yes, that's tight. Intentionally. He didn't die so that we could tiptoe around the issue, or lump Him in with a bunch of other things we want to dabble in. He's an all or nothing God.
In the land of Oprahology uncompromising preachers have become rather unpopular, but God's men and women on the front lines must be faithful to declare the full counsel of the Word of God and not rely on a social gospel to get people to heaven.
It's becoming fashionable in the name of diversity or non-judgmentalism that one not hold firm beliefs anymore, or at least not share them openly if you do. Some do not proclaim absolutes because they are afraid of offending others or hurting them but perhaps the worst way in the world to hurt someone would be to fail to speak the truth and thereafter have them face tragic consequences as a result. People stay silent to "show love" but are we really showing love by withholding the truth of God's Word? The Word is controversial and those who declare it boldly without fear will be dubbed as such as well. The Bible is so controversial there are people who fight to get parts taken out of it. There are those living certain lifestyles who claim that the Bible has given them "mental anguish" over their lifetime who have gone so far as to sue bible publishers. By the way, there is a total cure for that anguish. It's called repentance.
God gave us His Word to guide us and we don't have to guess what it says or what it means - we can know. We are instructed in II Timothy 2 to study to show ourselves approved and correctly handle the Word of truth. If there wasn't a correct way, the Word wouldn't indicate that such is even possible. God has never asked us to do anything that isn't possible for us to do. We don't have to sit around wondering -- we can KNOW truth. We do not have to be afraid of studying science along with the Bible, for it will always lead us back to the same conclusion of truth. Many who have gone before us like Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel have exhausted the evidence and come to the same conclusion as countless others. We can and should exhaust the evidence ourselves -- and truth will always come to the surface.
There's an old saying, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." I believe God weeps over milquetoast preachers who don't have the guts to preach His Word without compromise. Not only can some of them not preach it anymore - they can't even declare it over coffee with a friend because they stand in fear of man instead of God. Referring to the end times Matthew 24 says that even the elect will be deceived. Surely we are seeing that happen even now as many "ministers" question things that were once the very bedrock of our faith. God is calling on His remnant to take a stand for biblical truth or allow ourselves to be swept away with the deluge of leaders who have zipped their lips in the name of the great commandment forgetting that it goes hand in hand with the great commission. When you "go" you have to have something to "go" with. What are you "going" on behalf of? World peace? Health insurance? Global climate change? What balderdash! As ministers we aren't called to go forth on behalf of any of that but to GO with the message that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but there is a Savior who has paid the price to forgive our sin. Jesus made it clear, there is NO OTHER NAME, and NO OTHER WAY. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 Yes, that's tight. Intentionally. He didn't die so that we could tiptoe around the issue, or lump Him in with a bunch of other things we want to dabble in. He's an all or nothing God.
In the land of Oprahology uncompromising preachers have become rather unpopular, but God's men and women on the front lines must be faithful to declare the full counsel of the Word of God and not rely on a social gospel to get people to heaven.
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But that's just it: community MINISTRY!!!
So we can have our soup kitchens and food pantries; we can tutor kids in our Sunday School classrooms in the afternoons; or start any number of social outreach programs. But make sure the gospel is included, or you'll have a bunch of smart, well-fed people who are still going to hell.
Believing that Jesus is God, that he lived a sinless life, died, and rose again and is the only way to get to God is Christianity. Anything other than that is not. Period.