Are Words Optional?

“Preach the gospel always: when necessary use words.” -- Saint Francis of Assisi

A recent blog post by The Voice of the Martyrs makes a very good point! I have often used this quote/concept from St. Francis of Assisi as an excuse to remain in my own comfort zone by not mentioning the Name of Jesus! Did Jesus Himself just use actions to preach the Gospel? Did Paul the apostle?

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Anyone can be a kind or nice person, but what is the motive? If Jesus is not mentioned people are likely to glorify that person for the kindness, but it takes true courage and humility to give the glory and credit to Christ! Consider the words of John the Baptist:

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

So take courage fellow believer! The Lord Himself is with us when we act and speak in His Name:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20


http://www.persecutionblog.com/2013/07/use-your-words.html

Is Heaven Boring?

People sometimes have a skewed image of heaven in their minds. They think that it will be a boring place of constant, slave-like singing or harp playing, while sitting on a white, fluffy cloud. That's not what God's word says at all!

God created pleasure, and therefore is no stranger to it! All too often we equate the word "pleasure" with sin, but pleasure is not sin unless it is gained in a manner contrary to God's design and intention for His creation.

Now imagine the most pleasureable experience you can have in this life... Guess what! It is nothing in comparison with what it will be like in the everlasting presence of the Creator of pleasure Himself!

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11

Never Retreat!

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests , but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:57-62

During the revolutionary war, Washington came with his army Brandywine Creek. After they had crossed the bridge spanning the stream, one of the soldiers asked him, "General, shall we burn the bridge or leave it? After all, the enemy might drive us back, and then we would need it to make good our retreat!" Washington gave a memorable reply: "Burn the bridge! It is victory or death!"
 
Bridges of compromise must ever be burned behind us so that we leave no way back into the world. We must make a complete break with our old sinful life. The furrows of our testimony will only be straight as we keep our eyes on Jesus. Follow Him no matter what the cost, Christian. Never look back! Never retreat!
 
We know not where the path may lead,
As yet by us untrod:
We "look not back" but sweetly trust
The providence of God!
 
 
By Henry G. Bosch (1914-1995) from "Bread for Each Day"

Andrew

I want to post in memoriam a friend of mine. I found out today, that he died yesterday in his sleep at the age of 28. He had significant emotional and health issues, and struggled much in life to find peace, but I believe that he is in God's wonderful, and incomprehensible presence now, because he had a child-like faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Andrew ("Drew") was a fun guy, had an awesome laugh, and a great, contagious smile! He loved people, and wanted to hang out often. In the days leading up to his death, he seemed to be showing increasing interest in being right with and living for God. He even asked for help in starting a Bible Study at the group home where he lived. It is as if the LORD was drawing him ever nearer in his heart, in the days before seeing Him face-to-face.

In the end, that is really all that matters: being right with God. All of us have sinned against the LORD. It is only through His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, that reconciliation with our Creator is possible. Where will you go when you die? It's going to happen sooner or later. My prayer is that you will receive and follow Jesus, and end up in the endless Paradise of Heaven!

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. -- Jesus (John 14:6)

Mysteriously Answered Prayer

Pray on in hope. Many a one has had his prayer for others answered after he had been dead. There was a father who had prayed for many years for his sons and daughters, and yet they were not converted but became exceedingly worldly. His time came to die. He gathered his children around his bed, hoping to bear such a witness for Christ at the end that it might be blessed to their conversion. But, unhappy for him, he was in deep distress of soul; he had doubts about his own interest in Christ. He was one of God's children who are put to bed in the dark. This was, above all, the worse fear of his mind, that his dear children would see his distress and be prejudiced against religion. The good man was buried, his sons came to his funeral, and God heard the man's prayer that very day. For as they went away from the grave, one of them said to the other, "Brother, our father died a most unhappy death."

"He did, brother. I was very astonished at it, for I never knew a better man than our father."

"Ah," said the first brother, "if a holy man such as our father found it a hard thing to die, it will be a dreadful thing for us who have no faith when our time comes." That same thought had struck them all and drove them to the cross, and so the good man's prayer was heard in a mysterious way.

From The Power in Prayer by Charles H. Spurgeon 1834-1892

Atheists Believe

In the various conversations that I have had with atheists/evolutionists, I have found a consistent pattern. They will often claim to be willing to "convert" if shown evidence for creation and the existence of God. Yet, when you try to present or lead them to such evidence, they are entirely uninterested, and refuse to even look into it. This, however, comes as no surprise. It is not about a sincere search for the truth, but rather about defending and clinging to what they want to believe, which suits their chosen path of sin, and self-diefication. It's just like Jesus said...

"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."
John 3:19

The apostle Peter explains how people intentionally convince themselves, against the evidence, that there was no flood/judgement of God.

For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2 Peter 3:5-7

In the heart of every person is the knowledge of a Supreme Being -- the God of the whole universe who, revealed Himself to us through the people of Israel in the Bible. The hostility of the atheist against our God and His Son Jesus Christ, is clear evidence of this. They know deep down that He is real, and are angry and afraid. Consider the chilling last words of dying atheist George Villiers, The Duke of Buckingham...

"You see, my dear doctor, the apprehensions of death will soon bring the most profligate to a proper use of their understanding. In my life, to purchase a smile from a blockhead, whom I despised, I have frequently treated the virtuous with disrespect, and sported with the holy name of heaven. Now I am haunted by remorse, despised by my aquantance, and, I fear, forsaken by my God."

Why do "Christians" fall away?

1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness , although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
2 Timothy 3:1-5


I have seen it many times -- people who claim to be Christians, yet over time, fall away from the Faith, to serve their sinful desires, rather than Christ. We see in the above Scripture that it was prophesied that this would happen, and as I was pondering the possible reasons for this phenomenon, the simple answer suddenly became clear to me.

Folks all too often fall for the false message that teaches us that God's aim in our lives is to keep us happy and successful. But Jesus' message to us is very different. It is one of holiness above happiness!

The answer is simple. People delude themselves into believing the unbiblical teaching just mentioned, then they forget or fail to recognize the Biblical truth of God's coming wrath against sin.

One is either born-again, or not. One is either a new creation in Christ, or not. God will not be mocked; believing in Him in the modern sense of the word, is not enough, as the demons do that. When the New Testament was written, to "believe in", meant to trust, follow, and obey with the whole heart!



9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate , nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11



As times become more and more difficult, Professing Christians will have to choose between Christ and the world, and between the hard narrow road that leads to life, and the easy broad road that leads to destruction. Professing Christians will have to choose whether they want to be among the Wheat, or among the Tares. God will reserve for Himself a Faithful Remnant, as He always has. May we be among them!