by Charles R. Swindoll

Scripture: Psalm 100:3-4

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
- Psalm 100:3-4 (NKJV)

Psalm 100 is an extended command to worship the Lord, giving specific instructions to follow. The first three commands in 100:1-2 are directly related to cultivating a spirit of joy. The next four call for our response to the Lord's identity and character. We'll examine the first two of these commands.

Know that the LORD Himself is God (100:3). At first glance, this seems like an odd command. A close examination of the Hebrew terms will help clarify what the psalmist intends.

The Hebrew word rendered "know" is yada. When used in reference to a person, it denotes a personal, experiential knowledge, not mere recognition. It's the same term biblical writers used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse (see Genesis 4:1; 19:8; Numbers 31:17, 35; Judges 11:39; 21:11; 1 Kings 1:4; 1 Samuel 1:19). Our knowledge of God should be personal and experiential, not merely theological.

The word "LORD" translates God's personal name, represented in Hebrew by the four consonants YHWH, and considered too holy to pronounce audibly. You may recall it's based on the verb "to be," identifying Him as the deity who actually exists. The late Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer called Him "the God who is there" (as opposed to all the gods who are not!).

"Himself " serves to single out YHWH as the subject of the verb, emphasizing that no other name qualifies for this distinction. The sentence might just as well be rendered, "Know that YHWH, He is God" or "He alone is God." I like the additional qualification tacked on by one contemporary songwriter: "He is God (and I am not!)"

The English word "God" at the end of the verse translates the Hebrew term elohim, which emphasizes the grandeur of God, much like calling a king "His Royal Highness." So, when you put the entire command together, it could be paraphrased, "Know by personal experience that YHWH alone is the sovereign God of all."

I see two implications of practical importance here. First, God is sovereign over each of us, individually. He's not merely the ruler of the universe, having dominion over galaxies and able to command the forces of nature. He's my sovereign. He's your king. He's the boss; we answer to Him. When we surrender to that fact, life becomes much easier to understand and joy takes the place of frustration.

Second, our knowledge of God as our sovereign Lord must be gained through personal experience. That implies a personal relationship in which He leads and we follow. And through that ongoing interchange, the decision to trust Him becomes a settled, unshakable confidence. Confident people are joyful people.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise (100:4). What was in the psalmist's mind? To what do the "gates" and "courts" refer? There are two possibilities. First, it could refer to the stronghold of a ruler, where he holds court, deciding cases and granting favors. If so, the invitation is to enter the great hall with praises and thanksgiving rather than seeking something from the Ruler.

The second possibility is a reference to the temple, the place where the people of God approached the Lord. In the Old Testament, the otherworldly glow of His glory - called the shekinah by the Hebrews - filled the Most Holy Place in the temple (2 Chronicles 5:14 and 1 Kings 8:10–11). The temple had gates and courts, both of which gave access to the presence of God.

by Dr. Ray Pritchard

Scripture: Acts 4:13

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus"
- Acts 4:13.

"Uneducated, common men."
That was not a compliment.

Here's how The Voice translates this verse:

"Now the leaders were surprised and confused. They looked at Peter and John and realized they were typical peasants - uneducated, utterly ordinary fellows - with extraordinary confidence. The leaders recognized them as companions of Jesus."

So what we have is this:

The Jewish leaders were astonished by the boldness of Peter and John.
They weren't impressed with their background.
They realized that they had been with Jesus.

But how did they know this?

It wasn't in their education. They had no formal religious training.
It wasn't in their credentials. They had none.
It wasn't in their religious pedigree. They didn't have one.

It was in the Spirit-filled boldness that was born out of knowing Jesus.

Consider the context. Peter and John have just healed a crippled man at the temple (Acts 3:1-10). When a crowd gathers, Peter seizes the moment to preach a gospel message (Acts 3:11-26). After they are arrested and thrown in jail, Peter addresses the religious leaders (Acts 4:1-12). In thinking about what he said, it helps to remember one key fact:

He is standing in front of murderers.
These are the men who conspired to kill Jesus a few weeks earlier.

It's all to his credit that he didn't back down. He clearly identifies their guilt and God's declaration concerning his Son:

"Jesus . . . whom you crucified" (10).
"Jesus . . . whom God raised" (10).

He concludes with a clarion call:

"There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"
- Acts 4:12.

Revealed by a Crisis

It has been well said that a crisis never made any man. It only reveals what he already is. In this case, the crisis of their arrest revealed the truth about Peter and John.

The religious leaders couldn't figure them out.
They couldn't deny the healing.
They couldn't deny their boldness.
How then would they explain these men?
How could these "uneducated, ordinary fellows" make such an impact?

Why were they not intimidated by their arrest?
How could they dare to speak so freely?
What was their secret?

When the religious leaders considered all the facts, they came to one simple conclusion:

They had been with Jesus.

No fact is more important for our consideration today. All around us we see signs of the diminishing impact of Christianity on our culture. We bemoan the advance of secularism as we watch the crumbling of social institutions that have stood in place for thousands of years. We wonder why Christians have lost our influence in society. I think this verse offers us a very clear answer.

The early Christians turned the world upside down because they had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. That single fact explains the boldness of the first generation of believers who took the gospel from Jerusalem across the Roman Empire. They did not fit into the ordinary categories of religion.

It was more than just knowledge.
It was more than a few prayers.
It was more than religion as a hobby.

It was something that produced a dynamic power that transformed ordinary men into bold witnesses for Christ. Yet it had nothing to do with a degree or a seminary education.

Around But Not With

This leads to an important conclusion: It is dangerous to be around Jesus and not be with Jesus

There is a difference between . . .

Being around Jesus and being with Jesus,
Being around Christians and being with Jesus
Being around Christian events and being with Jesus
Being around the church and being with Jesus

Because the disciples had been "with" Jesus, that changed everything. Even their enemies could see the difference Christ had made in their lives. We might call this the doctrine of unconscious influence. We don't know what others know about us.

Often we are not good judges of our own influence. Others will see things about us we do not see about ourselves.

We are not told that Peter and John said, "We have been with Jesus."

That would be true.
It would not be boasting.
But they didn't say anything like that.

The Jewish leaders were not impressed by Peter and John, but they were in for a big surprise.

"What chance had these uneducated fishermen in the presence of whole college of learned Rabbis? Yet the Rabbis were made to look very foolish, and the fishermen won a triumph such as a philosopher might have envied."
(J. W. Burn)

Remember that Peter and John weren't looking for a confrontation. They had gone to the temple to pray, not to perform a healing, not to preach, and certainly not to get themselves arrested.

This is nothing more than ordinary obedience. It happens when honorable men do the right thing.

Sometimes it gets you into trouble.

Courage on Steroids

They were doing what Christians should always do. They were "ready to give an answer" for the hope that was in them (1 Peter 3:15). They gave an answer and it got them in trouble. Acts 4:2 even pinpoints the exact issue. The Jewish leaders were "greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead" (Acts 4:2).

They simply told the truth:

"You crucified Jesus."
"God raised him from the dead."

That's bold.
That's powerful.
That's courage on steroids.

Here's the response:

"Many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand" (v. 4).

Look at the sequence of events:

Obedience
Miracle
Preaching
Thousands saved
Jail
Boldness under pressure

No wonder their enemies said, "These men have been with Jesus." Shaky Peter has become solid as a rock. When Christ commandeers a life, the change will be evident to all.

"There is something in the conduct, disposition, and countenance of a good man that reports itself; his influence is felt in the world, the Church, the family circle. A Divine life cannot be concealed; the light must shine."
(John Woodhouse)

Though the leaders hated what Peter said, they could not deny what Christ had done in him. Even their enemies knew that Peter and John had been with Jesus. No higher compliment could be paid to a child of God. As we think about how to apply this truth today, let's consider some practical questions.

1. What are the marks of someone who has been with Jesus?

Obviously we want something of Jesus to "rub off" on us. Exactly what does that look like? I find it hard to improve on John 1:14, which says that Jesus was "full of grace and truth." As I ponder that phrase, I am drawn to the fact that Jesus was "full of" grace and truth. Anyone can be truthful some of the time or loving some of the time. Jesus was filled to overflowing with truth and grace.

He spoke the truth with grace.
He showed grace in truth.

Jesus never had to choose between truth or grace.

Those who follow him will have that "grace and truth" rub off on them. That points to a life marked by humility, honesty, approachability, kindness under pressure, and truth-telling when it would be easier to lie.

A life like this carries with it the aroma of heaven. As I thought about this, I remembered a comment someone made about a certain Christian leader:

"Whenever he entered the room, I felt a little closer to heaven."

I have known a few people like that in my life. This isn't a comment about a pious face or a solemn demeanor. It's not about a "holy voice." A man or woman filled with grace and truth draws you closer to the Lord whether they are talking or listening, laughing or crying, standing or sitting, following or leading.

2. How is this developed?

This sort of life comes about mostly through people and pain. As I think about the Christians I have known, the ones I remember most fondly are those who have gone through suffering and come out singing. The best Christians I know have proved the truth of Job 23:10,

"He knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I will come forth as gold."

There are no shortcuts to a life of tested gold. You've got to go through the furnace so that God can refine in you the gold of tested character. Until then, it's all theory. After the furnace, you know from experience the power of Christ to deliver you.

The world knows nothing about this, doesn't understand it, and can't duplicate it. John Woodhouse put it this way:

There is a wide difference between a Christian and a worldly man in times of trouble. The worldly man is timid, irritable, and restless; the Christian man is calm, courageous, and hopeful. Nothing can calm and strengthen a man more than a full assurance of God's protection.

As Spurgeon said, "Any fool can sing in the sunlight." What will you do when you lose your job, when your son is in jail, when your marriage collapses, when the church splits, when the cancer returns, when your best friend betrays you? What do you do when you are thrown in jail for your faith?

If you're Peter and John, you preach Jesus.

This is costly, but when trouble comes, even your enemies can see the difference that Christ has made in your life.

Several years ago a friend showed me a video of some pastors in central India who were brutally attacked by Hindu extremists. When the attackers entered their homes and beat them, the pastors would say, "Lord Jesus, forgive them," "Lord Jesus, have mercy on them." I confess that my blood boiled with anger at those who attacked the pastors. I'm not sure I could have responded with as much grace as they did. But this much was clear. Those pastors were full of grace and truth. No one could doubt that they had been with Jesus.

3. Where should we begin?

As I was working on this message, I came across a sermon on this text that Charles Spurgeon preached in 1855 called Christ's People - Imitators of Him.

In the sermon he covers the why and where of becoming more like Christ. His last section urges his readers to know Christ personally and to seek to be like him. But then he adds one more thing. If we would be more like Christ, we must seek more of the Spirit of God:

"Lastly, as the best advice I can give, seek more of the Spirit of God, for this is the way to become Christ-like. Vain are all your attempts to be like him till you have sought his Spirit.

So take your heart, not cold as it is, not stony as it is by nature, but put it into the furnace; there let it be molten, and after that it can be turned like wax to the seal, and fashioned into the image of Jesus Christ."

If we want to be like Christ, we must seek the Spirit of Christ. We will not become Christ-like by accident. Nor does it happen by osmosis or by hanging around church and going through all the religious motions.

As I was preparing this message I began to sing to myself an old gospel song called "Breathe on Me." Written by Edwin Hatch, with music by B. B. McKinney, the song goes like this

Holy Spirit, breathe on me,
until my heart is clean;
let sunshine fill its inmost part,
with not a cloud between.

Chorus:

Breathe on me, breathe on me
Holy Spirit, breathe on me;
Take Thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit breathe on me.

I like that song because it puts the emphasis in the right place. We do not become like Christ merely by self-effort. Without the Holy Spirit, we will stay exactly as we are.

As Spurgeon came to the end of his sermon, he concluded by saying that if we have been like Christ on earth, we will be like him in heaven. He imagines an angel at the gate waiting to admit those who look like Jesus. The angel turns away a man with a crown of earthly greatness and a man with a vast education and someone who possesses rare beauty. Finally the angel turns away a celebrity.

None of that will matter in the least at the gate of heaven. But if the things that matter on earth don't matter in heaven, who then will ever be admitted?

Here is Spurgeon's answer:

"Then there appears another: poor he may have been; illiterate he may have been, but the angel, as he looks at him, smiles and says, "It is Christ again, a second edition of Jesus Christ is there. Come in, come in. Eternal glory thou shalt win. Thou art like Christ. In heaven thou shalt sit because thou art like him."

We are not there yet.
But we are on the way.

This is our challenge, our calling, and our prayer:

May Christ be seen in us.
May the Holy Spirit fill us with grace and truth.
May the whole world know by the way we live that we have been with Jesus.

by Dr. David Jeremiah

While the entire Bible stresses certainty and assurance, there's one section of Scripture that stakes out this theme as its central focus - the letter of 1 John.

As we carefully read through 1 John, we notice a five-fold argument for the assurance of salvation - five of the birthmarks of the Christian.

The Birthmark of Confession

The first is the birthmark of confession, described in 1 John 5:1: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." Before you can have assurance of salvation, you have to believe and be saved. You have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people assume they are saved because they grew up in a Christian culture, or they have gone to church all their lives, or they have been baptized, or they have tried to live a good life. Yet they've never distinctly and personally confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The Bible teaches that we are sinners, separated from God by a sinful nature. We can never earn, buy, or climb our way into heaven. By our own efforts or goodness, we can never be saved. That's why God became a man who lived a wholly righteous life, died on the cross, shed His blood for us, and rose from the dead. He paid our penalty, took our judgment upon Himself, and He offers us the opportunity to be born again.

The Birthmark of Change

If the first birthmark is our confession of Christ as our Savior and Lord, the second is a changed life, as we see in 1 John 2:29: "Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." When Jesus truly saves us, it makes a difference in how we think, act, speak, and conduct ourselves. The Bible says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As we begin learning to practice righteousness, our habits change. We will not be sinlessly perfect while we're on this planet; but if we're Christians, we need to behave like Christians. If we say we're saved but nothing has changed about us, something is wrong. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works, and the Gospel is a transforming agent in our lives.

The Birthmark of Compassion

Those who are truly saved also bear the birthmark of compassion. How can you know that you are a Christian? By what you believe, by how you live, and by whom you love. Love is a recurring theme in 1 John, and the apostle leaves no doubt about how it permeates the lives of true Christians. "Beloved," he wrote, "let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. . . . We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 4:7; 3:14).

Do you love your brothers and sisters in the family of God? Those who are truly saved are those who enjoy and bless the household of faith, the family of God.

The Birthmark of Conflict

A fourth sign of being truly saved is conflict. According to 1 John 5:4, "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith." The word overcome implies a struggle. We're faced with an adversary whom we must overcome. Our adversary is identified in 1 John 2:14 as the wicked one: "I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." John went on in the next verses to say: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. . . . For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-17).

When you're genuinely born of God, you'll be growing to be an overcomer as you deal with the temptations around you - the world, the flesh, and the devil. You may not be victorious over every temptation every time, but you'll make progress in gaining more victories and losing less battles as you grow stronger in Christ and in the power of the abiding Word of God.

The Birthmark of Conduct

That leads to the final point I want to make: We can see evidence for the validity of salvation in our desire to conduct ourselves in a way that pleases God. According to 1 John 3:9, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God."

If we're not careful, we might interpret this verse to teach that anyone who is born of God never sins. That would conflict with other passages in the Bible that describe us as fallible and often failing.

In 1 John 3:9, the word for sin is a present active infinitive and it describes a continuous action. John is not saying that whoever sins once is not born of God. That would disqualify all of us. It would certainly disqualify me. But John is saying, in effect, "Whoever keeps on willfully sinning, violating God's law with stubborn disregard and ongoing wickedness, cannot have assurance of salvation."

If we are truly saved, we will grieve over our sins, confess them, and seek God's grace to do better.

His grace is inexhaustible and His salvation is irreversible. Make sure you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then trust Him with your eternal future. He will never leave you or forsake you. His Word was given that you might know Jesus Christ as your Savior and that you might know that you have eternal life.

You can have assurance of salvation today.

by Dr. Joe McKeever

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not the things I tell you"
(Luke 6:46).

"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"
(John 13:17).

I apologize for the title. There are wonderful churches filled with faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who are getting these things right; I don't mean to imply otherwise. But that does not negate the fact that untold thousands of churches still exist primarily for themselves, have no vision outside their doors and no compassion for anyone knocking on those doors.

If none of this fits you or your congregation, give thanks. If it does, you are hereby assigned to take the lead in reversing matters. However, do not miss our notes at the conclusion.

1) We keep forgetting the second commandment is a command.

We want our religion to be private, just "me and the Lord."

Jesus refuses to play that game. He said, "And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39). This is a command, not an option, an opinion, a wish, a Facebook "like," or a good idea. To love one's neighbor strongly is a key component of the kind of witness Jesus envisioned His people extending to the world.

So, why don't we obey it? We have found it inconvenient, difficult, and demanding. When we love people - truly care for them to the point that they know it - they might need us and that would interfere with our schedule. It's much easier to love the lovely, to care for the appreciative, and to reach out to those who need little or nothing.

2) We keep forgetting two things about His command to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, visit the sick, etc., in Matthew 25.

First, we forget that this is a command and is not optional, something the Lord hopes we might find time to do along life's way while attending to more important matters. Jesus honestly expects His people to do this. I'm happy to report many churches are taking this seriously, and are involving their people in strong ministries to the down and out, the voiceless, the forgotten.

Secondly, when we do these things "unto the least of these my brethren," He takes it personally. We are to do good to everyone, but brothers and sisters in Christ have dibs on our assistance. Paul said, "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10).

A side note: Nowhere - underscore that - nowhere! does the Bible tell the church to take care of all the poor of the world. It gets tiresome hearing people say that the government would not have to get involved in welfare if the church did its duty. (It's almost ludicrous to imagine Jesus telling the handful of disciples in Jerusalem they were to go into all the world and meet the physical needs of the billions. He did not do this. Let us give thanks.)

3) We forget that loving people and loving the Lord is all about action, not emotion.

When our Lord told us to "love your enemies" in Luke 6:27ff, He immediately explained that what He's calling for is action: do good, bless, pray, give, etc. Throughout the Upper Room discourse (John 13-16), Jesus emphasized that whoever loves Him keeps His commands. Words are important, of course, and emotions can be, too. But nothing packs more punch than actions, the works we do. The Lord said, "Whoever hears these words of mine and does them is like one who builds his house on a rock" (Matthew 7:24).

No one can command his own emotions - fear, anger, love, hate, etc - to the point of being able to turn them on or off at will. So, if love is merely a feeling, in calling on us to love anyone (God, neighbor, family, disciples, enemies) the Lord is asking for what cannot be given. Fortunately, what He is calling for is far more manageable and doable. We can give, pray, bless and/or help others. To do so - regardless how we feel about it! - is to do a loving thing.

4) We keep forgetting the Lord told us to expect to be treated badly.

"An hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God" (John 16:2).

God's people keep expecting to be loved and appreciated by those to whom we minister and often end up getting blind-sided by their hostility. We wonder, "Why are they treating us this way? All I was doing was helping and blessing." "Where is God? What's wrong?"

Answer: Nothing is wrong. You are right on schedule.

We have forgotten Matthew 10:16-22 and similar passages where Jesus warned we would be hated "by all for (His) name's sake."

I run into disillusioned ministers who were badly treated by churches, and are angry at the Lord who called them into this work but seems to have no place for them to serve. Some no longer go to church. You wonder if these people don't read their Bibles. Don't they see that Scripture warns us to expect trouble from inside the church as well as outside? (Acts 20:28ff for one.)

5) We keep forgetting He told us to love our enemies.

This point follows on the heels of the previous ones for good reason. They treat us badly and how are we to react? We are to love them, not nurse our anger, bear grudges or protect our resentment as though we now possess a get-out-of-jail-free card entitling us to despise them.

Anyone who spends even a few minutes on Facebook reading the posts of professing Christians will come away horrified at the hostility some of the Lord's people express toward other religions, worldly pleasure-lovers, and wayward politicians.

6. We no long remember we are commissioned to throw parties for the undeserving and undesirable.

"When you give a reception (banquet), invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous" (Luke 14:13-14).

These people have our Lord's heart. They are special to Him. "He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord," Scripture says in Proverbs. The closer we are to Jesus, the more such ones will matter to us, too. (If you haven't read Tony Campolo's "The Kingdom of God is a Party," then get it and dive in. Tony has a way of hitting us between the eyes with the 2 x 4 of God's love.)

7. We conveniently forget that "Jesus saves."

We know He forgives and we love to sing about it. What we have pushed to the back burner however is the fact that He came to save sinners (see Matthew 1:21 and Luke 2:11 for starters) and that is to be our business too.

We who devote ourselves to feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and so forth, sometimes think we have fulfilled our assignment. Not even close. We fail people when we give them bread but keep silent about the Savior who can meet their true needs, fill their deepest hungers, and heal their greatest hurts.

8. We forget that with Jesus, change is the norm.

Luke 5:36-39 presents new wineskins as the Lord's pattern for His disciples: strong, flexible, faithful, growing, etc.

We do love our status quo. Physicists call it "inertia," the tendency of a body to go on doing whatever it's doing at the moment, moving or remaining stationary. However, the Lord does not play this game with us. He is forever calling us out of our comfort zones, away from our customary methods, into new ways of seeing and doing and achieving. No one unwilling to constantly be changing and adapting can follow Jesus Christ for long.

9. We keep forgetting that the object is not to keep rules.

The object is obedience to the Lord, not slavishly keeping the rules. Many of the Lord's well-intentioned children miss the fine line between those two.

"The letter of the law kills, the Spirit gives life (II Cor 3:6)." Anyone who requires a demonstration of that proof needs only to drop in on a legalistic church and hang around a few weeks. They will be heartbroken over the way rule-keepers "omit the weightier matters" in order to "tithe mint and dill and cummin" (Matthew 23:23).

Recently, while I was preaching in a church located near a sizeable Amish community, the pastor had stories about the interesting ways of these neighbors. One man had disinherited his adult sons for buying a car. Yet, that same man would hire a car and driver to transport him to Nashville where he would board planes to take him all over the world.

To the legalists who were twisting God's laws into shackles for their neighbors, our Lord said, "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27).

I say without fear of contradiction that every church in the land has members (and often leaders) who need constant reminders of this.

10. We keep forgetting to read all the Word and not take a verse or two out of context.

"Here a verse, there a verse." I stand before you today to confess that I'm as guilty as anyone I know. We do love our verses, don't we? They fit so conveniently on bumper stickers and in our tweets.

How many people know and love Jeremiah 29:11 ("I know the plans I have for you….") and claim it as their own but have no clue what's going on in that chapter and to whom it was given.

Here's another: In Luke 9:3, Jesus said to the disciples, "Take nothing for your journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece." Clear enough, right? Wrong.

Not long ago, a distinguished Christian columnist quoted Luke 9:3 as the basis of God expecting poverty from Christian workers. However, the Lord reversed that command in Luke 22:35-36.

It's an easy mistake to make unless you are a diligent student of the Word.

All of which proves once again that His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

We do like our religion easy and palatable, comfortable and undemanding with instant rewards and no room for outsiders unless they quickly become like us.

Now, you read this and conclude your church is guilty of forgetting the Lord's teachings and is existing primarily for itself. What to do?

1) Consider yourself a committee of one to begin to reverse matters.

2) But you must never ever become angry at your fellow members and begin to harass them for their negligence.

3) Instead, begin showing compassion (that is, doing deeds of love) to everyone around you.

4) Then, after, say, four months of such active love, you begin to speak to a few friends in church - perhaps your Sunday School class or your fellow deacons - on your concern, giving your own testimony. See that? "Your testimony." Do not tell anyone what they are to do. (It's such a temptation, but squelch it.) Just tell what the Lord burdened you with and what you have decided.

5) Then, wait on the Lord. Keep close to Him, pray constantly for your leadership and the membership, and stay obedient.

6) Be patient. The decline did not set in just last week and the rotten wood in the church did not occur overnight, so reversing it will not automatically take place just because one member got his heart right.

The Lord bless you and give you great joy in serving Him and blessing others in the name of Jesus.

I leave you (and this subject) with one of the most powerful and overlooked scriptures on this subject: Jeremiah 22:16.

by Ron Edmondson

He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
- Genesis 28:17

There is something about fear and faith working together that intrigues me. It seems, at least in my life, that the times of greatest fear are the times God is calling me to display the greatest faith. I wonder if (really I know) God does this so the attention and glory will not be on me, but on Him who can do all things. Somehow, if I was able to easily accomplish what God asked me to do, or even to endure, it wouldn't make God seem that special; even that important.

Of course, God is special. His glory created the Heavens and the earth. He really doesn't "need" me for anything. He chooses to use me simply to display His glory and honor. To do this, He must do through me things I couldn't do apart from Him. So, He calls me to God-sized tasks that require an increase in faith beyond what I have ever experienced previously. It may be to move in some new area of my life or to simply remain patiently as I wait for Him to move again, but both require faith. Each new challenge grows my faith to another level.

What is God calling you to do today that is bigger than you; that in order to accomplish it will require an even greater display of faith than you have ever displayed before.

Is it to end a relationship you know is not God-honoring?
Is it to begin a new chapter in your career life?
Is it to step out in faith into some ministry opportunity?
Is it to forgive the person who hurt you the most?
Is it to simply trust Him with your finances, your family, or your future?

Once you know God is calling you to something and you become afraid, the question then is what are you going to do about it? Will you reside in fear or surrender by faith to God's plan for your life?

As Henry Blackaby says, "What you do next reveals what you believe about God!"