Category: Audio/Video (Page 70 of 77)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

During my second visit to India I met a lady who was part of a House Church in Hyderabad. She invited us into her home and was very eager to share her testimony. I don’t remember if there was some sort of crisis in her life at that time of her conversion. I do remember how she came to know Christ. Most of us come to know Him through the testimony of another who already knows Him. Occasionally, we do hear stories of people who come from having a supernatural vision of Him. They are often people that are in areas like hers in which the knowledge of Christianity is limited.

This dear lady had all her life been a believer in the Hindu religion, when one night Christ appeared to her in a dream. What do you suppose was His message to her? His message to her was for her to find a Bible and begin reading it! It was there that she found about the Gospel and the plan of God for her life, and was born again. Eventually she did find other believers and the fellowship of our friends in Hyderabad.

In countries like America, the Gospel is widely proclaimed and there are churches in every neighborhood. An individual might embrace the Christian faith simply because of a family tradition. That could not be said in this case. She would never have that hint of doubt that might lay in the heart of one whose faith was handed down “second hand.”

That is why each of us need to seek the Lord and get to know Him for ourselves. I am tremendously thankful that I was raised in a Christian home, but oh how glad I am to know for myself that Jesus Christ is real and truly the Lord of all!

It can be a sad thing when people know the Christian life only as a family tradition. Some people take pride in their knowledge of the Bible in much the same way. You probably know someone who knows the Bible but has not allowed it to change his or her heart and attitudes.

On the other hand, it is equally sad to have a spiritual experience without allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct our minds through His Word. These days it is becoming popular for Christians to make light of Bible study. Some assume that anyone who takes the Bible seriously is not “spiritually minded.” Most of these people have no idea of the power they have from simply absorbing the Scripture from our American culture! We learn more of the Bible by accident than people from many other parts of the world. It is in our holidays, the names of our cities, our common clichés and even in our commercials!

The most spiritual man who ever lived was Jesus of Nazareth. And yet; no one had a higher view of Scripture than Him. He brandied the Sword of the Spirit with great skill against the temptations of the devil. Even as a young boy he amazed the teachers of the law with His insights into the Scriptures. As a man, the way He bested the Bible scholars of His day incited them to great jealousy, hatred and even murder.

Before I understood the value of knowing the Scripture, my Christian life was weak and unstable. After I began this life-long adventure of learning and living in the Word of God, all that changed! That adventure began when I recognized Jesus as Lord of my life and that He desired to continually teach me how to live that life through His Word, as found in the Bible.

Some would call me a “Bible worshiper.” All I can say, is that like the sister I met in India, Jesus Himself has directed me to learn about Him through the Scriptures, that were “given by inspiration of God.” (2 Timothy 3:16). They will prove to be profitable to anyone who believes in Him. Even those who may not already believe are in danger of becoming believers. It was John, who wrote His Gospel those things about Jesus in order that the reader might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing they might have life in His Name! (John 20:31).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Trouble in this life is merely a symptom of being alive on the planet Earth. There is however, an ancient memory in the hearts of humans around the world that things were once better than they are now. There is also a desire in our hearts for that perfection and bliss that existed in the beginning. Where does that desire come from? If we are only the product of an accidental collision of atoms and molecules and random events over a period of billions of years, why should we expect anything different than what we currently experience?

In fact, some of the most intelligent and scientifically minded people in the last several hundred years have clearly accepted the view that there is really no purpose for our being here. Yet this desire for a better life persists, and also the conviction that we truly have a right to it. That conviction is even formally stated in one of the United State’s founding documents, our Declaration of Independence.

Every political revolution and uprising in the world is driven by this desire to create a better, freer society, or at least for the freedom of those revolting. The only problem is that after we win our political freedom, we find we are still prisoners or slaves of something else. There is something still missing after all external restraints are removed. Why else would so many who live in this great and wonderful nation of ours deliberately chain themselves to things that poison and destroy their health, prosperity and the very happiness they seek?

Then when all is said and done they seek relief in finding someone else to blame, whether society, their parents, their school teachers, their churches, or their genes.

An ancient and often ridiculed book, the Bible, offers the clear explanation and answer to all these problems. Many people who call themselves Christians and who claim to believe the Bible would do well to take it more seriously. It tells of the original declaration of independence. This was made by the first humans to their Creator and Heavenly Father, God. Their decision was to judge right and wrong for themselves, instead of trusting Him and His goodness to guide them in life.

This tendency to trust in our own opinions has continued in us from that time on, and has brought untold heartache, pain, destruction and death throughout the ages. God’s love for humanity has not abated, however. He has continued to shower blessing after blessing upon us in spite of ourselves. He has also placed this hope in the heart of humanity and creation itself, that a better day is ahead! That hope is the only explanation for the good things we do which have even the slightest hint of a pure motive.

He has placed eternity in our hearts!

Yes, we were all born into a fallen and decaying world. Yes, we have all experienced pain and suffering which we cannot understand. From these statements you might consider yourself a victim. How does that help anyway?

No, I am not a victim! In fact, by the mercy of God I have learned of His plan for me to overcome all of the disadvantages I encounter in life. His life, His love, His peace and joy far outweigh my struggles and difficulties. The promise of eternity in heaven with Him alone is enough to enrapture my heart! The riches of His Kingdom that I experience now are just icing on the cake!

When I read the pages of the New Testament, it is hard to find the self-pity that we nurture in our society today. Instead we are encouraged to endure hardship, persecution and temptation with confidence and even joy! A complaining attitude just does not fit in an environment of gratitude and praise to God. It is time to abandon this trend towards a victim mentality in the church.

Our songs of worship and praise are not enough. Our conversations need to express that same attitude of thanksgiving towards God and for the life He has provided.

It is certainly easy to find reasons for complaining. People are often unfair. They don’t always keep their promises. They lie, cheat and steal. But how about me? Do I ever fail? That is why Jesus told us to forgive. We need forgiveness too.

When I say I am not a victim, that does not mean I am never victimized. It is just that God has given me a better outlook. I am not a victim. That is not who I am. Neither are you, if you are in Christ. In Him we are more than overcomers — more than conquerors!

No one was more of an innocent victim than Jesus. Even the ungodly Pilate could find no wrong in Him. But He conquered it all. He conquered their hatred, their spitting upon Him, their curses, their beatings, their nailing His hands and feet to the Cross. Not only did He endure it all, forgiving them all, but He returned from the grave to prove His Lordship over all!

You and I can believe this story is true, because we know it is true! We can turn from trusting in our own decisions, our own wisdom, our own feelings, and begin trusting in His grace to save us. He will then fill us with His power and victory over our circumstances. He will begin to live His life through us, so we will never think of ourselves as victims again!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

There was a time when I understood the Kingdom of God to be the place where Christians go when they die. Therefor it was very exciting moment when as a young Christian I realized that it had much more to do with life on this earth than I had previously thought.

This is how it happened: I had been for some time resisting the call of God to a greater level of obedience and dedication unto Him. In fact my resistance led me to a very low place and a lower moral lifestyle than ever before. But family and friends had been praying for me and several from my former church reached out to me.

Before I thought I could be faithful to God without attending church. Now that I had made such a wreck of things, I was ready to give it a try again. One night after serious soul searching, I understood the great patience that God had for me. It broke my heart to realize that I had so taken for granted His great love and concern for me! At that point I poured out my heart in repentance and asked for His forgiveness. What a relief I felt in that moment of absolute truth about myself and God!

It wasn’t until the next morning that I experienced the full result of that time before Him. It seemed as if the world itself had changed! The sky was bluer and the grass was greener! The problems in my life did not go away, but that did not matter. Everything was fresh and new! It was like I had entered into entirely different dimension! I had experienced His salvation at 12 years of age, but this event was so much more dramatic. Now what I had heard about our future home in heaven was confirmed by this foretaste of heaven that was real to me now!

It was then that I developed a greater appetite for the Bible as God’s very Word. So I started reading the New Testament from the beginning, the Gospel according to Matthew. Then I came to chapter 3 where John the Baptist and then Jesus Himself in chapter 4:17 began preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Likely because of recently experiencing this heavenly dimension I stopped reading. I thought, “If the kingdom of heaven was near then, where is it today?” Could it be that the kingdom of heaven was more a state of being than a physical location? Could it be that the riches of His kingdom were not material, but were His very attributes? Could it be that Jesus wanted us to begin experiencing this kingdom even while in this life, and on this earth?

In my excitement, I began calling other older Christians and telling them of my “new revelation,” only to find that they were already there ahead of me. They also pointed out other passages that confirmed my suspicion. In Luke 17:21 Jesus said that “the kingdom of God is within you,” and in Romans 14:17 Paul said that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost!”

That was forty years ago, and I have never gotten over this experience. It has marked me permanently. But there was much more to come! During this time I was in great financial trouble, with no end in sight. If you have ever been there, you may have found what I found — that your mind can become so clouded that you tend to make decisions which only increase the problem.

So, reading along in Matthew, I found Jesus taking about me and directly to me. In chapter 6:25-34, He addressed worry over material needs and how to rid ourselves from it. After showing how foolish worry really is, He instructed us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (our physical needs) shall be added unto you.”

At this point I had nothing to lose. My methods were getting me nowhere. I thought, “this just might work. I am going to devote my energies to seeking the kingdom of God wholeheartedly,” as I then understood it. To me that meant absorbing myself in the Scriptures and prayer, continuing to attend my church, and trying to take in all that was presented there. It also meant being submissive to those older, more mature believers who had been on this road long before me.

That is not to say that I became careless or irresponsible with my finances. In fact, the Lord fulfilled His part wonderfully, by sending me financial counselors and extra part-time work. The change was that I laid this burden aside, and took His yoke upon me! Amazingly my bills were paid in a matter of months, but more importantly my faith was being more firmly planted. The Scriptures were being opened up to me by both my pastor at church and my uncle that hired me for part-time work! I would never go back to that state if ignorance and foolishness again!

This was just the beginning of a life-long pursuit of discovering what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God, one that continues to this day!

The Increase of His Kingdom

The impression I had as a child was that Christianity was a losing movement. It was a win for those of us who would eventually go to heaven, but there was nothing to really look forward to in this life. The Good News of the Kingdom of God changed all that. Now I saw in the Scriptures that there were many benefits in this life for the believer, and there were many cases showing that the movement itself was gaining ground in the earth.

Sadly, I have since seen two directions that people in this perspective have taken which trouble me. The first was that the kingdom became spiritualized or intellectualized into irrelevance. That is, that it is all in my head, or in my personal level of tranquility. In some, I have seen the quest for tranquility evolve into a retreat from reality which Jesus would have never condoned.

Even worse, the “Kingdom Now” has in some circles become an obsession with possessions, material possessions now, in this life. Even though God does promise blessings in this life, I want to be clear that when I speak of the Kingdom of God, that is not at all what I am talking about.

There is personal peace for those who live in harmony with the reign of God over the earth. There is also room for success in earthly ventures. In fact God’s first command to humanity was to be fruitful and multiply in the earth! However, a self-centered existence is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of the one to which Christ would lead us (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23).

My earlier focus on personal peace with God was always connected with His intention to extend that peace throughout the entire planet. Christianity is not a losing enterprise, even though it may appear to be so at times. In order for His Kingdom to increase, we must first participate in that advancement through our prayers. This is no small matter. It is the foundation for all Kingdom activity! (Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:2).

Men and women of God from many diverse times and backgrounds have helped my understanding of God’s Kingdom, challenging my thinking on many levels. Do I fully understand what God has in mind regarding His Kingdom? Not likely. But I have enough to motivate me to encourage others to get involved with the purpose of God for their lives, so we all can see an increasing demonstration of His reign on this earth!

It always comes through His power and authority, but He in fact intends to exercise that power through his people. To the extent they have yielded unto Him, they can truly demonstrate its reality. When we respond to the reign of God we are changed, and in turn become agents of change for the world around us.

What a privilege! What an opportunity for life and that more abundantly, in Christ!