Praying for Emily, others and ourselves

As partners in ministry with our team, you may ask, “How can I pray specifically for the church leaders and community members being served through our efforts?” Individuals like Emily who shared her testimony recently of coming to Christ through participation in the Abundant Life Program.

The apostle Paul provides a wonderful template in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, as you pray for Emily, your friends and family, and your own spiritual growth.

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul prays for two “means”, worthy walk and joyful service, leading to the “end” of glorifying Christ, which is the chief aim of man.

 Behavior Consistent with our Identity in Christ

“that our God may make you worthy of his calling”

 God takes sinners, worthy only of death (Rom. 1:32), and makes them worthy of His kingdom by imputing Christ’s positional righteousness to them (2 Cor. 5:21). However, Paul prayed that, beyond that amazing gift of grace, the Thessalonians would also prove worthy in practical righteousness through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

Delight in Serving the Lord

“and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power”

Emphasizing the contrast between guilt-induced duty and the inner delight that should characterize a Christian’s service, the late J. B. Lightfoot translated the phrase “delight in well-doing” as believers serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2).

As we become more like Christ through a worthy walk and joyful service, we become more deserving to bear His name, and he is glorified.

May that be our prayer for own lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe today.

Ministry in Haiti

Last week members of our team spent some time in Haiti’s central plateau, following up with a ministry partner facilitating our Church Savings Group program. The smiles on the faces of Pastor Marino, Esperanza, and Johnson remind me of the joy that the Lord periodically provides us through the faithfulness of other believers.

 

You can sense such an overflowing joy in the words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Thessalonica as he struggled to adequately express to God the thanks which filled his heart:

 

“For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account.” (1 Thessalonians 3:9)

 

Legend has it that recognizing her husband Charles Haddon Spurgeon needed some encouragement during a tough stretch of ministry, Susannah Spurgeon posted a passage of Scripture on the ceiling directly above Charles’s side of the bed, so that every morning and evening the image was there to greet and encourage him.

 

Likewise, I pray this image is an encouragement to you today.

Savings Group Launch in Haiti

Many years ago my pastor at the time, Lon Solomon, encouraged the congregation with the value of reading the biographies of great men and women of God.

One such individual that I have grown to greatly admire is the late Bishop J.C. Ryle, described as “bold as a lion for the truth of God’s Word and his Gospel.”

I thought of Ryle as we recently celebrated launching our Savings Groups program in 11 churches in the central plateau region of Haiti.

Bishop Ryle famously stated,

Empires have risen and fallen in rapid succession. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Tyre, Carthage, Rome, Greece, Venice–where are all these now? They were all the creations of man’s hand, and have passed away. But the Church of Christ lives on.

Amidst the chaos in our world and notably in the nation of Haiti, Christ continues to build His Church.

Spotlight: Savings Group Program

As believers, we recognize that God’s ownership is all-inclusive. And yet, amazingly, His preeminence is elevated by His delegation.

Psalm 8 clarifies: 

  • The superiority of God’s position (whose name is majestic above all the earth. Ps. 8:1, 9)
  • and the subservience of man’s purpose (graciously given dominion over the work of His hands. Ps. 8:6)

Pastor Steve Lawson explains how the supremacy of God is only heightened by the stewardship of man in “putting all things under his feet,” (Ps. 8:6)

“The greatness of God is seen in the fact that he has entrusted so much, his creation, to man. Only the supreme God could elevate those so low to a position so high—dominion over creation.”

At the heart of our Savings Groups program is teaching the all-encompassing life principle of biblical stewardship. The apostle Paul wrote, “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2).  As we offer the program in both Spanish and Creole, the objective is not merely to teach the particular practice of financial management, but the overarching principle of biblical stewardship.

 Please keep Pastor Widmy and his team in your thoughts as they work to…

 “Facilitate a church-based initiative addressing personal financial management, in which participants study scripture, pray, and fellowship together, experiencing social and spiritual restoration.”

Thoughts on Rover

Back in July we packed the kids in the car and drove the twelve hours down to Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch of the Mars Perseverance Rover. So when it touched down on the red planet last week, I was glued to the computer screen. This morning, as I was in the midst of my reading plan in 1 Corinthians, Perseverance came back to mind.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him” —

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Cor. 2:6-10)

We often falsely assume Paul’s quote above from Isaiah is referring to heaven, but he is, in fact, describing the wisdom God has for believers here on earth in His Word.

Which brings us back to the Rover and this quote from JB Phillips,

“Man has truly extraordinary intellectual powers. He has explored the secrets of the atom and learned much about the marvels and mysteries of space. He has split the atom, explored the genetic structure of living things, and put men on the moon. There seems nothing man cannot do when it comes to science, technology, and engineering. However, God is not to be discovered by gazing into a microscope or a telescope. We can see His fingerprints everywhere in creation, but we can never know Him, His mind, His heart, His will, apart from divine revelation. The great truths revealed in the Bible never could have been thought out by the mind of man.”

It is said that man has two great resources: observation and reason. This is what enabled us to successfully send Perseverance on a 300-million-mile journey.

However, both are equally useless in discovering spiritual truth, apart from the Holy Spirit’s:

  • Revelation – imparting to the Bible writers truth incapable of being discovered by man’s unaided reason;
  • Inspiration – enabling the Bible writers to write down in God-chosen words, infallibly, the truth revealed;
  • Illumination – enabling believers to understand the truth given by revelation and written down by inspiration. (Wuest)

As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Spiritual men have an inner eye and ear to which the Spirit grants discernment.”

Spotlight: Genesis Program

God himself ordained marriage and the family as the basic building block of human civilization.
 
He established it at creation, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). 
 
Jesus Christ affirmed the sanctity and permanence of marriage as an institution, quoting the above verse in Matthew 19:5.
 
Scripture tells us that we ignore God’s law at our own peril.  (Psalm 119:24)
 
And yet, here in the Washington D.C. area that is exactly what is transpiring at a breakneck pace, with legislative bodies seeking to undermine parental rights and the very nature of sexuality and definition of marriage, and organizations committed to destructive indoctrination through public school curriculum.  A fool’s errand guaranteed to produce an ill-equipped generation, characterized by division, confusion and frustration, given the abandonment and contempt of God’s law upon which it is based. 
 
Yet amidst this discouraging backdrop in the United States, I wanted to encourage you with the video below, demonstrating that God is still on His throne and building His Church, by highlighting the work of the Genesis program. 
 
The quote below highlights why we are so passionate and enthusiastic about the biblical foundation and generational impact of the Genesis program,

“As society continues its mad quest to eliminate the family, and as our whole culture therefore unravels more and more, it becomes more important than ever for Christians to understand what the Bible teaches about the family, and to put it into practice in our homes. It may well be that the example we set before the world through strong homes and healthy families will in the long run be one of the most powerful, attractive, and living proofs that when the Bible speaks, it speaks with the authority of the God who created us—and whose design for the family is perfect. “ – John MacArthur

The Offense of Sin

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a class on The Offense of Sin.

Below are a few of the key concepts.

Weight of sin

Question: Of the Bible’s 66 books and 1,189 chapters, only two books and four chapters do not mention sin or sinner.

Answer: Genesis 1-2 describes creation before sin and Revelation 21-22 depicts the new heaven and earth that will never be infected by sin.

Genesis 4 to the end of Revelation deals with God’s response to and remedy for the events of the Fall in Genesis 3

Why is an understanding of sin important?

Believer

He who wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. – JC Ryle

Unbeliever

The plain truth is that a right understanding of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity…The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with “light,” and so also does the spiritual creation. Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day…I believe that one of the chief wants of the contemporary church has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin. – JC Ryle

Sin: A definition

“Sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4 KJV).

– Sin must be understood from a God-centered standpoint: it is a violation of the Creator-creature relationship.
– Every sin: acting autonomously, usurping God’s authority and saying, “My will be done…not God’s Will be done.” (Luke 22:42)
– There are sins of Omission as well as Commission (James 4:17

God judges sin based on two criteria:

1. Outward acts/Inward thoughts (horizontal relationships) – to see if they conform to His law (Matt. 5:21-28)

2. Inward motivation (vertical relationship) – a desire to please God (the heart)

Only the Holy Spirit can change our natural disposition and inclination and create in our souls a genuine love for God.

Unless He moves to change us, the only good we will ever do is on the horizontal plane, and that will not satisfy the law of God.

Abundant Life Graduation

Recently, I had the opportunity to address graduates of our most recent Abundant Life Program class.  Below are my notes:

2 short thoughts:

-What do CHURCHES need, as transformational agents in their communities?
-What do YOU need, as you continue to seek what are the good works God ordained you walk in?

What do the churches need?

1. Commitment to the Gospel

Acts 13 – First Missionaries: Paul and Barnabas give the 1st missionary sermon

15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

23 “From this man’s descendants (David) God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

More than any program, communities need the person of Jesus Christ

2. Leaders equipped to serve

Titus 1:9 – Regarding Elders

9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

What do You need?

There are two commitments you must carry with you wherever you go:

1. To be persistent and teachable students of God’s Word.

-We must submit to the wisdom of the Word (I delight to do your will. Ps. 40:8)
-We must crave the nutrition of the Word  (Like newborns crave milk. 1 Pet. 2:2)
-We must be equipped by the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

 

 

 

2. To a habit of ongoing self-examination.

You and I need to get used to standing before the mirror of the Word of God, so that we can see ourselves as we really are.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Healthy Christianity is found at the intersection of accurate self-knowledge and the true knowledge of God.

Colossians 2:6-7 reads, Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Just as you have faithfully completed Abundant Life, continue to grow in Christ-likeness and serve your community for His glory.

Serving Churches

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia,

“Each new generation must learn what God has done for His people so that “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19)

Recently, I was reading John MacArthur’s new book, Final Word: Why We Need the Bible, and reminded of what a privilege and pleasure it is to serve Christ’s Church, “helping to supplement the spiritual sustenance the local church requires from God’s Word.”

“My heart goes out to those true believers who can’t find a reliable church that provides real spiritual food. I hear from people in that situation all the time. They’re committed to their local church, but they’re not being faithfully fed. They have to survive with weak teaching, scrounging for morsels instead of feasting on the riches of God’s Word. And in that malnourished state, they develop deficient immune systems, succumbing to heresies and errors they would otherwise know to avoid. That’s the cost of weak preaching and weak pastors—they leave the people under them exposed and vulnerable to lies that would not confuse or corrupt stronger believers. Today, too many pulpits are occupied by hirelings who don’t know the first thing about how to feed their flocks—they’re either incapable of feeding God’s sheep or unwilling to do so. My prayer is that believers caught in such situations would find faithful ministries to help supplement the spiritual sustenance they require from God’s Word.“

God’s Ordained Institution

Pastor Warren Wiersbe writes,

“Each new generation must learn what God has done for His people so that they will obey His Word and trust Him for the future.  When you have a living faith in a living God, the past is not ‘dead history.’ It throbs with living reality.”

This is the heart of the Genesis Family Ministry Program: strengthening church leaders, in order that they might encourage and equip parents as the primary disciplers of their children, remembering that the family is God’s ordained institution for passing faith from one generation to the next.

We find inspiration and instruction in passages such as the one below from Psalm 78:1-8:

Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach them to their children,
That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments,
And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.