Ten Questions for a New Year by Don Whitney

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going.

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai: “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5). He urged them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.

Ten Questions

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. A great time for us to “Consider our ways.” To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you can do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

Our enjoyment of God comes primarily through the means of grace he has given us. He has promised to bless us most directly and consistently through means such as his word, prayer, and the church. One specific suggestion I’d offer would be to include some meditation on Scripture along with your daily reading. It’s better to read less — if necessary — and yet as the result of meditation remember something, than to read more and remember nothing.

2. What’s an impossible prayer you can pray?

There are more than a dozen “but God” statements in Scripture, such as in Romans 5:8, which reads, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Situations that were humanly impossible were transformed by “but God” (Ephesians 2:1–7). What’s a “but God” prayer you can pray for the coming year?

3. What’s the most important thing you could do to improve your family life?

If your family doesn’t practice family worship, beginning there is the single best recommendation I could make. Just ten minutes a day, simply reading the Bible, praying, and singing together — an event that requires no preparation — is all it takes. My little book titled Family Worship can tell you more.

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year?

Would it be a personal spiritual discipline (that is, one you practice alone), or an interpersonal spiritual discipline (one you practice with other believers)? Once you decide, determine the next step to take and when you will take it.

5. What’s the single biggest time-waster in your life, and how can you redeem the time?

Social media? TV? Video games? Sports? Hobbies? It’s easy for any of these (or something else) to take too much of our hearts and time. Is repentance required? Trying to stop, by itself, is probably not the answer. Actively replacing it with something better helps us in “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

6. What’s the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

While we often stress the fact that individual believers are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15), the New Testament actually says seven times to one that the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23). We mustn’t let our frequent emphasis on our personal relationship with Christ minimize the importance of our service to Jesus through his body. How can your church be stronger this year because of you? Serving? Giving? Praying?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

Praying frequently and fervently for someone’s salvation makes us more sensitive to opportunities to share the gospel with him or her. Will you commit to praying for at least one person’s salvation every day this new year?

8. What’s the most important way, by God’s grace, you will try to make this year different from last?

Obviously, God’s sovereignty rules over all things, and there is nothing we can do about much that he brings into our lives. On the other hand, under his sovereignty he gives us a measure of responsibility over many areas of life. In which of these would you most like to see a change from last year? You may find that your answer to this question is found in one of your answers above. To which of them do you sense the Holy Spirit calling your attention most urgently?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

For many, it might be as simple as designating a time exclusively for prayer instead of praying only “on the go” types of prayers. For others, it might be learning the simple, biblical practice of praying the Bible.

10. What single thing can you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Short-term deadlines tend to dominate our attention. Busyness and fatigue often limit our vision to just getting through today. But don’t let the tyranny of the urgent distract you from something you’re neglecting that would have enormous long-term impact on your soul, your family, or your church.

Consider Your New Year

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by making a goal to encourage one person in particular this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn’t set that goal.

If you’ve found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace — on your phone, computer, calendar, or wherever you put reminders — where you can review them frequently.

I hope this article will help you to “consider your ways,” to make plans and goals, and to live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering the principle that “the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance” (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things, let’s also remember our dependence on our King, who said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Have You Ever Been Hurt? by Bill Elliff

Everyone gets hurt.

It can start early, with a parent, a friend, an enemy. It could be a classmate, a colleague, or an associate. We live in a fallen world, and one of the most devastating parts of our sinfulness is that we hurt each other, by things we say and things we do.

Or, it could be a circumstance or tragedy that has hurt you. You may have misunderstood its intent, failing to see God’s sovereign hand above it all.

It could be the loving discipline of the Lord, sent to train and develop you.

If we fail to understand God’s purposes in our training, we can become angry and hurt. And hurt internalized and held onto becomes bitterness.

Bitterness is a corruption in my spirit which comes from my failure to thank God for every person and circumstance He allows in my life. And bitterness in my soul is a horrible disease.

A Warning from Hebrews

The author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us not to hold onto hurt:

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled (Hebrews 12:15 NASB).

Bitterness will always . . .

• SPRING UP: You can’t hide harbored hurt. It will always manifest itself.
• CAUSE TROUBLE: When we are hurt, we build strategies so we don’t get hurt again. If we continue these, they become part of our character, of who we are. Anger, insecurity, fear, lack of faith in God, unbelief, criticism, gossip, cynicism … the list goes on. All of these are symptoms of the root of bitterness.
• DEFILE MANY: Our bitterness always affects others. Not only will it hurt them, but it can lead to the same root of bitterness developing in their lives.

The Remedy

The only remedy for this vicious cycle is the grace of God. When we are under difficulty or hardship, we must cry out to Him and thank Him.

Responding to our circumstances and the people who hurt us with humility and forgiveness unleashes the grace of God, because God is opposed to the proud (He actually resists proud people!), BUT He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Instead of harboring hurt, we can learn and grow and become better, not bitter. By God’s grace, no person or circumstance can ultimately hurt us; everything will be used to develop Christlikeness in our lives if we make the choice to see things from God’s perspective and respond as He instructs.

If you look closely, there are probably some broken places in your heart where you have never accepted God’s sovereign working and thanked Him for it. There are people you still need to forgive and release from your courtroom (where you are judge, jury, and executioner) to God’s courtroom.

As you do, you will discover that nothing can really hurt the true, forgiving believer, because our God “causes all things to work together for good” to conform us to the image of His Son!

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:28-39)

Marriage is declining while living together is rising...by James Emery White

According to the Pew Research Center analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth, marriage is declining while living together outside of marriage is rising. Probably not a surprising headline. But coupled with this is how most Americans now find it acceptable for unmarried couples to live together, even if they have no plans to get married. Only a very narrow majority believe there are societal benefits in marriage. The report also explored the experiences of adults who are married and those who are living with a partner, and found that married adults express higher levels of relationship satisfaction and trust in their partner than those who are cohabiting. Here, in more detail, were the three most significant findings: 1. A larger share of adults have cohabited than have been married. Among adults ages 18-44, 59% have lived with an unmarried partner at some point in their lives. Interestingly, the rise in cohabitation increased 5% since 2002, but the “ever married” decreased a whopping 10% over the same period. Only 53% of adults are currently married.

2. Most Americans (69%) say cohabitation is acceptable even if a couple doesn’t plan to get married. This number jumps to 78% among those younger than 30. Only 14% say it’s never acceptable for an unmarried couple to live together. Good news? Most still see societal benefits in marriage, with a narrow majority (53%) saying that society is better off if couples who want to stay together long term eventually get married. Bad news? A whopping 46% say society is just as well off if they decide not to marry.

3. Married adults have higher levels of relationship satisfaction and trust than those living with a partner. This is the headline one would hope would make the news as opposed to the more clickbait-ish drop in marriage and rise in cohabitation. Anyone in support of marriage should certainly trumpet it loud and clear. When you ask cohabiting couples about satisfaction and trust, specifically if things are going well, only 41% answer in the affirmative. But when you ask those who are married if things are going well, 58% answer in the affirmative. That’s quite a swing.

To sum up, there are fewer people getting married, more people living together outside of marriage, but those who choose marriage are happier than those who don’t. James Emery White Sources Nikki Graf, “Key Findings on Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S.,” Pew Research Center, November 6, 2019, read online.

About the Author James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His newest book, Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians, is now available at Amazon or wherever books are sold. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on Twitter , Facebookand Instagram.

Day 1 of the Week of Prayer for International Missions

IMB President Dr. Paul Chitwood knew missionaries faced challenges in taking the gospel to the unreached. But on a recent trip to East Africa, every ride down a dusty road and every walk down a city street was a reminder that every single missionary faces unique struggles. And every single prayer for a missionary matters.

So Paul offered these ways you can pray for missionaries spread all over the world:

1. PRAY for missionaries as they lead in different types of trauma-healing ministry all over the world. It can take a toll on them. In refugee ministry, for instance, missionaries’ continuous exposure to horrific pain and loss can create its own trauma—trauma that can manifest itself in anger over injustice or a sense of helplessness and depression in the face of so much human need. They can also deal with compassion fatigue. Pray missionaries would have spiritual, emotional, and physical stamina to carry out their ministry over the long haul.
2. PRAY for missionaries as they face the practical struggles of their ministry assignments. From navigating massive amounts of city traffic to maintaining vehicles for use in remote areas, missionaries can have enormous challenges just getting to the people they are trying to reach.
3. PRAY for personnel to work well with a diverse team of partners on the field—national partners, other US-based agencies, and missionaries from other countries.
4. PRAY for missionaries as they struggle with being so far away from their home church, country, and family members. Pray they would have peace in knowing that they are not forgotten by us.

Mark Cole: Everything Big Starts Small by Mark Cole

What’s your dream?

Think about it—what is the one thing that you would love to see accomplished in your lifetime? If I had to guess, it’s probably pretty big. And that’s a good thing—as long as what I say next doesn’t discourage you:

Everything big started small.

I’m sure you remember those famous first words of Neil Armstrong as he walked out on the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The funny thing about that historic achievement is the first steps were taken long before that infamous “first small step.”

President John F. Kennedy birthed the vision in a speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962 when he declared that the United States would “go to the moon in this decade.” Because the President chose to make this endeavor a priority and aligned the budget accordingly, we saw the vision come to reality seven years later on July 20, 1969.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That is so true! Don’t let your big dream overwhelm you before you even begin—start small.

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something.” According to StrengthsFinder 2.0, every person can do one thing better than the next ten thousand people.

What’s your one thing? Find it and focus on growing it everyday.

John Maxwell shares an eye opening thought about the compounding effect of doing something small to grow daily: “If you start with just a single penny and double it every day for thirty-one days, you end up with $21,474,836.48.” Just consider the possible return from practicing your one thing with excellence every day!

Remember, success is gained in inches, not miles. Maybe the first step for you is a small change. Trying to make big changes too quickly can paralyze you with fear because it can appear unachievable.

Try organizing your desk to be more efficient, rearranging your calendar to get more out of your day, or reading a book that broadens your perspective. Any small change that can make you better is worth making.

The greatest mistake I see young leaders make is attempting to skip the small steps in the beginning. When they do this they end up missing out on the many important lessons that must be learned before big steps can be taken. They spend all of their time looking around at other leaders doing big things and get tricked into thinking they should be there already.

It may sound simple but the only place you can start is where you are.

Don’t be fooled: success is a journey, not a destination. And it all starts with one small step.

Pastor, Don’t Imply That Church Is Optional by Trevin Wax

All across the world this weekend, people will gather in groups—some bigger, many smaller—to worship Jesus. To sing songs, to pray together, to hear God’s Word preached. Voluntarily. No one forces millions of people to show up, to come together for worship, and yet it happens. It happens not just this week, but every single Sunday.

Unfortunately, as recent surveys show, the percentage of Americans attending church has declined in recent years, even in evangelical denominations. The decline of churchgoers isn’t massive, but the data suggest that the infrequent attenders from 20 or 30 years ago have moved further away while the religiously devoted (though a slightly lower percentage) continue to attend.

A survey from several years ago showed that only 35 percent of Americans believe that attending worship services constitutes an “essential part of being a Christian.” The theologian in me wants to quibble with that word “essential,” because I wouldn’t want to imply that going to church makes you a Christian, or that any person who is currently not attending church is necessarily lost. But the vast majority of people who answered that survey weren’t analyzing it theologically. They were simply asked what’s important or essential to being a faithful Christian. And only 35 percent of American Christians said church attendance is a big deal. That means most Christians see church attendance as something optional, something good if it helps you along in your personal spiritual life, but not something that is commanded, required, or essential to your faith. You can have a personal faith that’s strong, and if the church helps with that, great! If you’re fine on your own, that’s great, too!

Why such a low percentage of American Christians who believe churchgoing is necessary?

The first answer is obvious. We live in a highly individualistic culture. In a fragmented era of expressive individualism, many people see themselves as lone individuals who only come together based on common interests or goals. Any commitments we make are on our own terms. In an individualistic culture, the community aspect of our existence can suffer. Church attendance suffers, too.

A second reason for that low percentage? We live in an anti-institutional age. Institutions—whether they be educational or political or religious—get a bad rap, and some of that is deserved. We see how corruption can take root in institutions or how rituals and routines can stifle creativity and innovation. Americans are suspicious toward institutions, including religious ones, and tend to trust individuals to figure out what’s best for themselves, not listen to a church or a pastor or a political figure tell them what to do.

But there’s a third reason, and it’s one we do well to consider because this “churchgoing is optional” mindset may be a negative effect of things we ourselves have said.

In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a rise in church attendance. Much of the churchgoing during that time was cultural. Upstanding citizens in the community would go to church because, well, that’s what upstanding citizens did, not always because they had a genuine faith or a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In response, some preachers and pastors emphasized the distinction between cultural Christianity and what it means to be “born again”—a Christian who has genuinely been converted.  (This was always an evangelical hallmark—to say it’s not enough to just be nominally religious but radically saved.) To heighten the contrast, church leaders would say things like, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. You need to, as an individual, have personal faith in Jesus.”

Looking back, we may conclude that was the right move at the time. Distinguishing between the trappings of faith and the substance of salvation remains vital. But I wonder if, in the decades that followed, the truth that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian morphed into a different idea—that being a Christian doesn’t necessarily include going to church. I wonder if people started thinking that personal, individual faith in Jesus is the only important thing, and if the church can help with that, fine, but if not, that’s fine, too.

Here’s where the problem shows up. The idea that belonging to a church is an optional add-on to one’s Christian life is far from the biblical picture. The idea of an unchurched Christian wouldn’t have made sense to the writers of the New Testament.

When I was a student in Romania, American evangelists would come and preach, and they’d sometimes say things like, “I’m calling you to trust in Jesus, not to become part of the church.” The translators would always change that last part. I remember one of my professors (who was also a pastor) saying, “That’s not really true. When we call people to follow Jesus, we’re calling them to become part of his people.” I think the Romanians were right. When we urge people in our congregation to trust in Jesus and to turn from sin, we are also calling them to become part of our fellowship. We call people into the family of God.

Over the years, I’ve written about the beauty and significance of gathering with the church, the challenges of congregations full of “part-time churchgoers,” and why expressive individualism heightens the struggle for faithful church attendance. The challenges are real due to the first two reasons I mentioned above. Let’s not make them even harder with statements that seem to pit true Christianity against the church.

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR by Micah Fries

I love Mr. Rogers. I have watched his show for years—including now as an adult. I have books and documentaries about his life. There is something deeply comforting about him walking in the room, putting on his cardigan, changing his shoes, and asking, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

WE ARE CALLED TO BE NEIGHBORS

This call to be a neighbor is, of course, a deeply Christian sentiment. In Luke 10 we find Jesus being questioned by a religious expert, as the scripture defines him. The question the religious expert asks is, “And who is my neighbor?” He asks this question because he understood that loving God and loving neighbor was an expectation of the life that honors God. “Who is my neighbor?” was, then, an attempt to define boundaries around who he was called to love. Likely, as was true for many Jews in the first century, this expert carried racial and cultural animosity towards groups of people like the Samaritans, who were half-Jew, half-Gentile, as well as towards Gentiles themselves, the Romans likely chief among them.

The Jews, of course, had reasons for not liking the Samaritans and the Gentiles. They had religious objections to the Samaritans. We see those objections play out in the story of the Woman at the Well when the woman and Jesus converse about the differences in their worship. The Gentiles were not only ungodly in the Jewish mind, but they were also the oppressors of the Jews. All of this to say, the religious expert wanted to justify his lack of love toward some specific groups of people. In essence, when he asked “Who is my neighbor?” the religious expert was actually clarifying that there were many people for whom he did not consider himself a neighbor – and that was perfectly fine in his worldview.

“There is no one for whom we can absolve ourselves from being neighborly.”

Jesus upends his definition of a neighbor. Jesus clarifies, through the story of the Good Samaritan, that the whole world is full of our neighbors. He helps the religious expert see that those who follow God and those who don’t, those for whom some might have religious, cultural or racial objections are all among our neighbors. Jesus clarifies that there is no one for whom we can absolve ourselves from being neighborly. But you likely already know all of that.

KINDNESS AMIDST DIVISION

There is one specific question that Jesus asks the religious expert that I think is incredibly appropriate for us today. Jesus queried the religious expert, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” This piercing question reveals the flaw in the religious expert’s faith. The religious expert provided an answer back to Jesus that was 100% correct. He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” And yet, even though his answer was correct, Jesus indicates in the story that the religious expert was wrong. Why? Because, although he got the theology right, he got the application wrong. Jesus asked him two questions. First, “What is written in the law?” In other words, “What does the Bible say?” The second question, though, is where the expert got tripped up. Jesus asked, “How do you read it?” In other words, “How do you apply the text? How do you practice your theology?” The religious expert was completely orthodox, and yet far from God. You and I can be completely orthodox, and yet far from God.

We live in a time of great division. We often seem to justify our partisan spirits and our aggressively angry postures toward one another. This is true in the culture at large, and this is sadly often true among those who call ourselves followers of Christ. Consider, if you will, who it is that you think is to blame for the problems in our culture. Republicans? Democrats? Immigrants? Secularists? Religious people? Irreligious people? Muslims? Members of the LGBTQ+ community? It doesn’t matter who it is, but consider your posture toward them. Do you view them as your neighbor? Do you view them as someone to be loved; someone to serve? To be even more specific, ask yourself this question: when was the last time that you were friends with, had extended conversations with, shared a meal with, or served in humility someone with whom you have a profound disagreement? If it’s been a while, or maybe you can’t remember a time at all, it could be true that you have functionally become like the religious expert; someone who is orthodox in your theology, but far from God in your practice.

BOTH TRUTH AND LOVE

To be clear, I don’t think the Bible is calling you to abandon your convictions or to give up any attempts to teach biblical truth. Jesus never condemned the religious expert’s orthodoxy. We ought to hold tightly to biblical truth. Jesus’s objection was with the religious expert’s practice. I think the lesson here is to hold tightly to biblical convictions, but to pass them on, and to engage our neighbors, in a way that demonstrates love and grace—in a way that demonstrates the value of every person created in the image of God. Including, and maybe most especially, those whom we disagree with the most.

Whatever Happened to "Surrendering to Ministry"? by Jason K. Allen

A generation ago, “surrendering to ministry” was common parlance in Baptist churches. In fact, hardly an invitation was extended in my home church that did not include a call to surrender to ministry, immediately after an appeal to follow Christ, be baptized, or join the church.

As a boy, the phrase “surrender to ministry” both mystified and unnerved me. It sounded as though one was embracing an unwanted life, a call to a distant land to engage in an undesired work. It seemed like a call one intuitively resisted—as long as possible—until finally buckling under the Spirit’s pressure and embarking on a life of ministry that, albeit noble, would be marked by sacrifice and hardship.

In hindsight, I do not think that is what my pastor meant, nor do I think that is what the New Testament implies. As I found in my own life, surrendering to ministry is not caving to an unwanted vocation; it is embracing what becomes increasingly irresistible—the gospel ministry.

“Surrendering to ministry” is a phrase the church needs to recover and a ministry-posture the church needs to cultivate. Every faithful ministry begins with a surrendered life, and that submissiveness shapes every aspect of one’s ministry, including why, where, and what one preaches.

Why You Preach           

First, “surrendering to ministry” rightly establishes the preacher’s motivation. After all, the preacher’s incentive should not be filthy lucre, the applause of men, or any other earthly enticement. Rather, the preacher should, like the Apostle Paul, know in his heart, “If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”^[1]

Surrendering to preach is to be so gripped by God’s call and so moved for his glory that one knows Jeremiah’s burden: “If I say, ‘I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,’ then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it.”^[2]

The urgency with which one preaches may ebb and flow based on a multitude of factors including the receptivity of the congregation, the preacher’s spiritual vitality, and the tenor of the text itself. But, for the preacher rightly surrendered to ministry, the “why” of the ministry is settled—it is for Christ and his glory.

Where You Preach

Second, “surrendering to ministry” includes a determination to follow God’s call—wherever it may lead. The minister is to be at God’s disposal, sensing and seeking his leadership for where he would have the minister go and to whom he would have the minister serve.

Initially, this includes a willingness to leave family and friends, to go to a distant place, or to undertake a new work.  After all, Jesus reflected, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”^[3] Too many ministers are perfectly willing to follow God’s call as long as it does not lead out of their hometown. Such kingdom restrictiveness is alien to the New Testament and stymies one’s availability to be used by God.

Additionally, a willingness to go wherever includes a willingness to minister to whomever. There are churches across the land poised for anything but numerical success.  Challenging demographics, an unreceptive audience, or a dilapidated neighborhood might make God’s call unattractive, but if it is God’s call, it is a glorious one—regardless of the zip code. After all, struggling churches and dying communities need ministers too.

What You Preach

Third, “surrendering to ministry” means operating under the authority of God’s Word. Most especially, this relates to the act of preaching itself. The role of the preacher is not to cobble together anecdotes with human insights, and then sprinkle in a couple of Bible verses to produce a “homily.”

To surrender to ministry is to submit to preach God’s Word. The surrendered preacher knows he has a predetermined message—the Word of God—and a predetermined responsibility—to preach that Word. The preacher’s job description is to read, explain, and apply the text, bringing it to bear on God’s people.

The faithful preacher tunes his ear to the Spirit of God, not the critic’s grumble. His finger is on the text, not in the air gauging the wind, and his voice is given to preaching the Word—not peddling shallow sermons for shallow people.

Too many pastors are textual acrobats, contorting their preaching to avoid Scripture’s sharper edges. Such preachers have become adept at explaining away angular texts and dodging confrontational verses. On the contrary, the preacher’s charge is clear: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort with great patience and instruction.”^[4]

Conclusion

These days the phrase “surrendering to ministry” seems to have gone the way of the El Camino car and the waterbed. This is more than unfortunate; it is altogether unhealthy—and the church is the big loser.

A surrendered life is integral to a healthy ministry. “Surrendering to ministry” is a phrase to be recovered, but, more importantly, it is a heart-posture to be cultivated and pursued.

Has God called you to ministry? If so, in the words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he has issued to you “the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.”^[5] Respond to him by surrendering to his ministry and cultivating a life of submission to Christ and his Word.

Editor's Note: This originally published at JasonKAllen.com

Notes

1. ^ I Corinthians 9:16.
2. ^ Jeremiah 20:9.
3. ^ Matthew 8:20. 
4. ^ II Timothy 4:2. 
5. ^ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973), 17.

Triple Filter Test Before Speaking By George Yates

The great Greek philosopher, Socrates is credited with introducing the Triple Filter test. One version of the story is, a man, possibly a disciple of Socrates, came to the philosopher and said, “Let me tell you what I heard about one of your friends.”

Socrates said, “Hold on a minute. Before you tell me, it might be good to run it through the triple filter test. First, have you made absolutely sure what you are about to tell me is true?”

“No,” came the reply. “I just heard it, I do not know, I have not checked to insure if it is true.”

“Okay,” replied Socrates, “Let’s try the second filter. Is what you are about to say something good about my friend?”

“No, quite the opposite…”

Socrates interrupted the man, not wanting him to share the news yet. “Okay, you do not know if it is true. It is not good. But you might still pass the test with the third filter. Is what you are about to tell me useful?”

“No, not really.”

“Well,” said Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is not true, good or useful, why do you want to tell me at all?”

Can you visualize a culture where this triple filter test was practiced in the workplace, churches, and in homes, even in our private casual conversations with friends and family? A culture with no gossip, backbiting, or insinuations about others. Sounds like a utopia, doesn’t it?

It all starts with one person, you. Will you this week commit to put into practice the triple filter test before you speak and before you allow anyone to share information about others? With whom will you share this concept, perhaps even make a triple filter test pact with?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

Does Islam Have a Lot in Common With the Christian Faith? by Wade Trimmer

The Muslim’s message to Christians in the West these days is,” We have a lot in common, we are similar, accept us, listen to us…”

Pastor Sam Storms reports on the contents of a billboard in Oklahoma City: “On the right side of the sign, in huge letters, is the word ISLAM. On the left side, under the title One Family, are the names of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.” Sam rightly exclaims, “No! We are not one family with those who deny that Jesus is God. Abraham and Moses are two of the great saints of the old covenant, but they lived in anticipation of the coming of Jesus. Their words and deeds and prophetic utterances pointed forward to the coming Son of God, the one true Messiah, Jesus. To suggest that Jesus is merely one of a long line of revered prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad, is blasphemous. Worse still, it is damning. To believe this lie is to consign your soul to eternal death.”

The “we worship the same God and are basically similar” assertion of Islam to the typical, biblically illiterate American, is readily accepted and is certainly the politically correct position.

But in reality it is a ploy that Muslim leaders use to spread their political and religious system. After they gain the upper hand, the Muslims’ message will be, “We have nothing in common with you, you are kafirs/infidels who worship three gods, and follow a corrupt Bible. You are dhimmis (non-Muslims in an Islamic society who are subjugated and second-class citizens) who must accept Islam or pay jizya (a penalty tax) for being Christians…”

Islam is superficially similar but radically different to Evangelical Christianity. The Bible makes it clear that, “last of all,” God the Father sent His Son Jesus (Matthew 21:37), and that the Bible, which hasn’t been corrupted, is God’s last revelation (Revelation 22:18).

In John 5:23, Jesus makes a clear and unmistakable claim not only to being equal with God the Father, but also to being God himself. John 5:23 that “whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

In light of the truth of the above verse, the question for any person – religious or atheist, is, “Do they honor Jesus Christ, acknowledging that He is God who became flesh and made a sacrifice for the sins of men and women by dying on the cross and physically and bodily rising from the dead three days later? Do they know and celebrate Jesus as the true Messiah – the full, final, and forever revelation of God? Do they honor and praise him for being equal with God the Father in deity, glory, and majesty?

Do Muslims honor the Son according to the Scriptures? No! In fact they reject his being the Son of God, his atoning sacrificial death on the cross, and his bodily resurrection. The assertion that only through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ can someone be saved is rejected and repulsive to them.

The fact is that the differences between Christianity and Islam are very deep, and irreconcilable. The space limitation will enable us to list just a few.

The Christian God is not their Allah

Our God is a loving Father, who, along with the Son and the Holy Spirit, is One God.

• To Muslims, the concept of a triune God is a blasphemy.
  ” They do blaspheme who say God is one of three…, for there is no God except one God.” The Koran, verse, or Surah 5:73
• Allah of Islam is a deceiver.
  “They plot and plan, and God, too plans, but the best of planners (deceivers) is God.” Surah 8:30 

The Christian Jesus is not their Isa

Our Jesus is the Son of God who died on the Cross to save the whole world. (In the Quran Jesus ‘ name is Isa.)

• Isa is a created human being.
  “The similitude of Isa before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, Then said to him: “Be”: And he was.” Surah 3:59
• Isa is just an apostle.
  “O people of the book (Christians) commit no excess in your religion: nor say of God aught but truth, Christ Isa the son of Mary was (No more than) an apostle of God.” Surah 4: 171 
• Isa was not crucified.
  “That they said (in boast) “we killed Christ Isa, the son of Mary”…but they killed him not, nor crucified him.” Surah 4:157
• Isa will return to earth to destroy the Cross.
  ” The hour will not be established until the son of Mary (Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the Cross..” Hadith vol. 3:656

The Christian Holy Spirit is not their Angel Gabriel

Our Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead. His work is to comfort, convict, regenerate, guide, give power and bring forth fruit.

• The Holy Spirit in Islam is an angel.
  “Then we (Allah) sent to her (Mary) our Angel (our spirit), and he (Angel Gabriel) appeared before her as a man in all respects.” Surah 19:17
  “Say the Holy Spirit (the Angel Gabriel) has brought the revelation (the Quran) from thy Lord in Truth.” Surah 16:102

 The Christian Ethics are not their Sharia

Christian ethics are based on love, forgiveness, equality, tolerance and free-choice.

• Islam teaches revenge.
  “If any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress likewise against him.” Surah 2:194 
• Islam does not treat women and men as equal.
  “To the male a portion equal to that of two females.” Surah 4:11
• Islam allows men to beat their wives.
  “… As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse to share their beds, beat them .” Surah 4:34
• Islam imposes harsh punishment on wrongdoers.
  *A thief is punished by the amputation of hands. Surah 5:38
  *A drunk is punished by 80 lashes. Hadith vol. 8:770
  *An adulterer is punished by 100 lashes. Surah 24:2
• No Muslim can ever leave Islam. To do so is to become an apostate and is punishable by death.
  “Whoever changes his (Islamic) religion, kill him.” Hadith vol. 9:57

The Christian Salvation is not their straight path

Our Salvation is guaranteed by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, on the Cross.

• In Islam there is no Original Sin, and no need for the Cross; Allah, the all powerful, has the supreme authority to punish or to forgive whomever He pleases, whenever He pleases.
  “He (Allah) forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth, for God has power over all things.” Surah 2:284 
• In Islam good deeds cancel bad deeds.
  “For those things that are good remove those that are evil.” Surah 11:114 

The Christian Heaven is not their Paradise

In Christianity Heaven’s pleasures are pleasures of spirit, pleasures of purity.

• In Islam Paradise is the place where a Muslim will be reclining, eating meats and delicious fruits, drinking exquisite wines, and engaging in sex with beautiful women (and perpetually young beautiful boys “Wildan or Ghilman”, according to some Muslim theologians).
  “As to the righteous, they will be in gardens and in happiness (to them will be said:) “Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your (good) deeds “They will recline (with ease) on thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and we shall join (marry) them to companions with beautiful big and lustrous eyes… And we shall bestow on them, of fruit and meat, anything they desire. They shall there exchange, one another, a cup free of frivolity, free of all taint of ill. Round about them youth (handsome) as pearls well-guarded.” Surah 52:17, 19, 20 & 22-24

The conflict between Christ and Muhammad cannot be ignored. Either Jesus is Lord or Muhammad was a false prophet.

In my humble opinion, we have the greatest opportunity in history to bring masses of Muslims to faith in the one true and living God through our Lord Jesus Christ! However, if this is to happen, we must recover a God-centered, Christ-exalting, cross-shaped, Spirit-empowered, kingdom-focused gospel and begin to proclaim it without fear and with great confidence. We must start ministering in faith because we have eyes to see what the natural man cannot – that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, and Father God wills for – and will see to it – that massive numbers believe in His beloved Son!