What is needed TODAY to begin 2021....a blog from Wade Burleson

 

I've got three seconds to pique your interest to read this article. Some of you have already scanned it and said, "I'm not reading it; it's too long." Here's the reason why you should.

You may be the woman whose husband left you for a younger, prettier version of yourself. 

You may be the adult who endured trauma during your childhood at the hands of one who should have loved you but instead abused you.

You may be someone who has been falsely accused by others in an intentional attempt to ruin your reputation and career.

You may be the church member who experienced spiritual abuse by authoritarian church leaders who seemed more interested in protecting their institution than offering loving support to members of said institution.

In other words,  you may be a person in need of an understanding of biblical forgiveness.

Let's begin:

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." 

 

These words are from Jesus on the cross. In his Concise Commentary on the Scripture, Matthew Henry writes, "As soon as Christ was fastened to the cross, he prayed for those who crucified him."

 

A couple of things need to be said about those for whom He prayed:

 

(1). They were intentional. They were intentional in their shouts, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" They were intentional in their desires that Jesus is killed. They were intentional in everything they did.

(2). They brought injury.  It's self-evident that crucifixion brought injury to Jesus. Yet, not many consider the injury that came to His mother who watched Him die. Nor do any of us fully understand the injury of those who had followed Him every step of the way for the previous three years.

(3). They possessed ignorance. According to biblical scholar John Gill, "they did not know that Jesus was the Messiah, nor the prophecies concerning him, nor the evil they were committing." Paul said they would not have crucified the LORD (Acts 3:27). This ignorance is simply descriptive of the persons crucifying Jesus. Ignorance is not the basis for their forgiveness. Remember, they were intentionally injurious; the ignorance was concerning "Whom" they were crucifying.

Had not this forgiving spirit been in the Son and His request to forgive been made, the Father very well may have struck all the crucifiers down immediately and catastrophically in righteous judgment.

 

These ten words of Jesus, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," comprise the first of seven last statements of Jesus from the cross. They also fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12; "He made intercession for the transgressors." 


This spirit toward intentional, injurious, and ignorant sinners is a peculiar character quality of God's people. Nobody else in the world has this spirit.

A Difference Between the Spirit and the Act of Forgiveness

Much of the confusion over"forgiveness" can be resolved when one understands the difference between the spirit of forgiveness and the act of forgiveness.  Only God can ultimately forgive sin. ("Father, forgive them...") for in the end, all sin is ultimately against God.

Though our God alone is ultimately the One who forgives, we are called to maintain a spirit of forgiveness toward all people, just as Christ had this spirit of forgiveness on the cross.

Albert Barnes put it like this: 

"No other religion "teaches" people to pray for the forgiveness of enemies; no other "disposes" them to do it. Men of the world seek for "revenge;" the Christian bears reproaches and persecutions with patience, and prays that God would pardon those who injure them, and save them from their sins."

We must actively maintain a spirit of forgiveness toward the injurious, intentional and often ignorant persons who are in the act of harming us. Jesus language on the cross was in the present, active tense, "Father, forgive them for what they are doing..." 

Here's another hard truth about the spirit of forgiveness. When the injurious, intentional and often ignorant person says "I repent," we are to forgive. Forgiveness is not granted until there is repentance, but I've found that as long as there is always a willingness (spirit) to forgive, the act of forgiveness is relatively easy. It's a little bit like "We love Him because He FIRST loved us." 

In a spirit and climate where people are known to be willing to forgive by evidencing a spirit of forgiveness, repentance from sinners grows like flowers in a well-water garden.

Someone has said, "Forgiveness without forgetting is like loving without liking." I tend to agree. That's why it is impossible for people to judicially forgive and why we should remember that ultimately only God forgives sin. Still, we should all possess His Son's spirit of forgiveness. 

We should want the intentional, injurious, and ignorant sinners who cause harm others to come to the place of repentance, find peace with God, and change their injurious behavior. Until they do, we will always maintain a spirit of forgiveness, forgiving them when they say, "I repent." 

Also, until injurious sinners come to repentance, we will, in love, continue to point out sin when it occurs. Further, we will even forgive the intentional, injurious, and ignorant sinners for the same sin, again-and again-and-again - even if they sin repetitively (seven times in one day) or infinitely (seventy times seven) because this is precisely what Jesus commanded us to do.

Two Key Questions

1. So, how do we know that we have the spirit of forgiveness? 

Answer: We don't question the motives of the intentional, injurious, and ignorant people who cause us harm when they say they repent. 

2. If we 'forgive,' does that mean we don't remember their sin in the future?

Answer: No. We are human. Only God can judicially forget. The child predator's actions must be remembered, and standards of accountability implemented. The unfaithful spouse's actions must be remembered, and the consequences of the infidelity felt (i.e., "divorce, annulment, etc...). The action of an oppressive church leadership government that places a covenant above a congregant must be remembered, and steps are taken to stop the spiritual abuse, if not completely abandon, of the abusive church.

But the entire time we stand for truth, we must always display a spirit that is willing, hopeful, and desirous of God to forgive and bring to repentance.

Though Jesus was willing to forgive those who crucified Him, they were not forgiven until they acknowledged their wrong and repented of it (Luke 23:34; Acts 2:36-39). When one refuses to repent, he is regarded as a "heathen and a tax collector to you" (Matt. 18:15-17). That means we consider the person without grace. We love sinners without grace like Jesus loved them, but we don't pretend they know Christ when there is no evidence of repentance.

Here's the difficulty for us all. "How do we know someone has 'truly repented?'" Answer: We don't. All we can do is maintain a spirit of forgiveness, speaking truth where we see sin, and granting forgiveness when a brother or sister in Christ says, "I repent." 

So here's the formula: Speak the truth in love. Be a person full of grace and truth. Be willing to forgive when repentance comes, and don't be a judge of whether or not repentance is real by questioning the motive of someone's statement of repentance. Forgive and forget as much as humanly possible, but never be afraid to speak out against sin, and never neglect the protection of the helpless.

Maintaining a spirit of forgiveness means we must make a separation between the injurious person's actions and our acceptance of that injurious person. 

(1). In having a forgiving spirit I will want those who injure to ultimately be blessed by God in the same manner that I am blessed by Him - "Father, forgive them..."

(2). I am not dependent on the behavior of others for my personal happiness; I look to God for my inner satisfaction and happiness. To the extent I am able to trust God with my past, present and future is the measure of my ability to pray- "Father, forgive them...".

(3). I will never confuse actual forgiveness with a spirit of forgiveness. Ultimately God will cast sin and its consequences into the sea of forgetfulness, but until then, I will continue to point out injustice, I will continue to protect the helpless, and I will continue to encourage the broken -- all the while praying for the intentional, injurious and ignorant persons who harm the innocent.  

This spirit is unique among Christians. It's a spirit evidenced in the One we follow. 

The Story of Bertha Smith

In 1887 the famous missionary Lottie Moon was struggling on the mission field in China.  She knew that the harvest was great and she was doing her best to reap the harvest. But she also knew that more workers were needed.  In that year Moon wrote a letter requesting funds for help on the field.  That Christmas an offering was taken that eventually bore her name and continues to make a lasting impact on the work of Southern Baptists around that world.

But that wasn’t the only big event in world missions that year. Across the world in the small town of Cowpens, SC a baby girl was born to John and Frances Smith.  Olive Bertha Smith was born the same year of Lottie Moon’s letter and would go on to make her own impact on the people of China and world missions.

Bertha grew up in a busy house, the fifth of eight children.  Her family was in church often and she was saved at the age of 16 after struggling with the call of God for some time.  She came to understand that she must go to the cross to be saved, and came forward at a public invitation.

“I was on the front seat, having gone forward at the first verse. I knew that I would go; there was no use to wait. It was but a step to where the pastor stood. I took it, gave him my hand to signify that I trusted in Christ’s death to save me. By the time I took the second step, which was back to my seat, my years of burden of sin had rolled away, and the joy of the Lord filled my soul.”

She attended college to become a teacher and worked as teacher for one year before feeling the call to missions. She enrolled in the Woman’s Missionary Union Training School in Louisville, Kentucky, graduating in 1916.

On July 3 19, 1917 she was appointed by the Foreign Mission Board of the SBC as a missionary to China, and arrived in the Shantung Province on September 4th the same year. She had been in China less than a year when tragedy struck her family at home when her father died in the 1918 flu epidemic.

Bertha had been content to be single and never have children but the sight of other missionary families pushed her devotion to the limit.  In desperation she called to God for help.

“After leaving the last mission home before reaching my station, I traveled for two days along a lonely road. Realizing what I was going back to, and that this was for life, I wept most of the first day. By the next day I knew that something had to be done…. Calling upon a nearby peak to be my witness, I made a covenant with the Lord: Lord, I want to enter into an agreement with you today. You called me to China and You gave me grace to follow in coming. I am here to win souls for You. The only thing that will take the place of my own children will be spiritual children. If You will take from my heart this pain, I will be willing to go through with just as much inconvenience, self-denial, and pain to see children born into the family of God, as is necessary for a mother to endure for children to be born in the flesh!

In desperation I was calling upon the mighty God for help in facing the difficulties and accepting the compensations of His service, and I was not disappointed.

From that moment forward there were no more tears, for the Lord met my every heart need. I became content with my lot and began to study the Bible and books on soul-winning with a new interest. Prayer became more definite  for individuals, and every opportunity to speak for the Lord was seized. The transaction has lasted until this day, and many, many times I have praised the Lord for the privilege of being a single woman with the other person’s soul need having first place in my heart.”

After two years of language study she took over the local girls boarding school teaching Bible and English.  Her home was always open to the students for Bible studies.

After returning from furlough in in 1925 she witnessed the roots of the Shantung Revival through the work of many missionaries in the region, including her baptist colleague CL Culpepper and his wife.  Thousands of Chinese were converted to Christ during this revival and the effects are still felt in the region today. The Shantung Revival was compared to the Welsh Revivial  and others through history by EM Dodd, former SBC President. The revival began with the healing of Ola Culpepper after prayer from Marie Monsen a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran missionary with the China Inland Mission.  The revival had a focus on being filled with the spirit and prayer that shaped the rest of Bertha Smith’s ministry in China and even the rest of her life.

Reports began to come that SBC missionaries were giving in to “pentecostal excess.” In 1935, the Executive Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board, Charles E.Maddry, visited North China Mission to see for himself the work God was doing there. His report spoke of the great work God was doing in China.

  “A glorious revival is sweeping Northern and Interior China, such as we have not seen in America in a hundred years. We have seen it and felt its power. It is a revival of fire and burning. Sin is being burned out of broken lives and men and women are being absolutely made over. The power of Christ has come to grips with the power of Satan and it is a fearful conflict. Satan has held sway and dominion over China for unnumbered and weary centuries. His kingdom is suddenly being challenged and broken by the power of a risen and enthroned Christ.”

In 1937 Japan invaded China and many missionaries were hampered in their work.  Upon her return from furlough in 1940 Bertha was held in prison for 6 months by the Japanese.  She recounted that during this time she regularly sent half of her missionary salary back to her mother and sister to help them as they struggled in the Great Depression.

Through all the difficulties she faced she continually kept her focus on God and trusted Him through every hard work in her life.  When asked by Chinese co-workers why the God they trusted permitted bombs to fall on the mission grounds she responded by pointing them to God.

“Why did God, in whom we were trusting, permit those bombs to drop here on our mission grounds?” I had known the Lord since before they were born and could answer, “We never ask ‘Why’ about anything that God permits. He knew that we were here and He knew that we were trusting Him. We may not understand in this life, but this is not evil. The Lord permitted this for some purpose. He, the mighty God, does not have to explain Himself to human beings – at least not now.”

After being expelled from China by the communists Bertha Smith became the first FMB appointed missionary to Taiwan, where she remained for a decade until she became 70 years old.

At that time the FMB automatically retired missionaries at 70 years of age, and by that time Bertha had been on the field for almost 42 years.  She recounts that she was still working 15 hour days and “felt that I was just then qualified from experience for missionary work.”

Even though she retired her work was far from over as she spent her retirement traveling across the world spreading the good news of Jesus. She spoke extensively at churches across America and visited Australia, Burma, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines, South America, and Zimbabwe. She also authored several books recounting her time on the field. In 1973 she dedicated the Peniel Prayer Center in her hometown, a prayer retreat for Christians from across the world.

When she retired from the FMB the number of believers in China was estimated to be 5 million, but by her death that number had grown to over 50 million.  After her retirement she continued to serve in active work for another 29 years, always laboring to serve the Lord wherever she went.

Bertha Smith passed away on June 12, 1988 at the age of 99 years old.   She was a woman of prayer and one of Southern Baptist’s most influential missionaries.   

Listen to her share her experiences and teach (preach?) at Sermon Index. 

Further Reading

Danny Akin: Bertha Smith, A Soul Winning Missionary

Lewis Drummond: Bertha Smith, Woman of Revival

Bertha Smith: Go Home and Tell

From the Shepherd's Heart...Wednesday, December 2, 2020

 

The Book of Job raises for us some questions that we cannot ignore if we are going to be responsible students of the Word of God.  

* What is the connection of sin to suffering?

* Is there a formula with God?  Do good and you will be well and prosperous?  Do evil and you will have sickness and be poor?

* Does God want everyone to be healed?

* Is healing for today?  If so, does individuals carry the gift of healing?  If so, why don't they go into every hospital healing everyone?

* What is the role of faith in healing?  If you are not healed, is it a lack of faith on your part?

Tonight, we will begin addressing "The Present Day Ministry of Healing."  For the last few weeks, we looked at the healing ministry of Jesus which is the base for the teachings beginning tonight.  

Join us tonight in person at 6:10 at Rainsville First Baptist Church or online at rfbc.sermon.net or on Facebook at Rainsville First.  

20 Ways to Support the 2020 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering by Chuck Lawless

As we prepare for our annual "March to the Manger" on Sunday, December 13, Chuck Lawless gave these suggestions for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering which is a part of our Christmas offering on Dec. 13.  

 If you are a Southern Baptist reader, you probably know that we’re in the season of giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Our goal this year is to raise $175 million dollars (this is the 175^thanniversary of the IMB). So, here are 20 ways to consider giving to the offering this year. And even if you’re not a Southern Baptist, maybe these simple ideas will help you think about gifts you might give to missions this year:

1. Give to God’s mission the equivalent of the dollars (plus at least one dollar more) that you plan to spend for Christmas presents. Spend some dollars on eternity.
2. Give 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, 75¢, $1.00, or more per unreached people group (@ 7000 groups). That would mean $350, $700, $1750, $3500, $5250, or $7000. The sacrifice might be steep, but billions still need to hear.
3. Instead of giving gifts, give Lottie Moon Christmas gifts in honor of someone you love. Many of our loved ones won’t be offended if they receive no gift; after all, the world needs the gospel.
4. Give $10, $25, $50, $100, or more for every year you’ve been a Christian. I’ve been a believer for 46 years, so $100 per year would mean $4,600 for this offering. Even if I gave multiple times that amount, though, I could still never match what God gave for me.
5. Let the Word motivate you to give. Read, for example, the story of the cross in the Gospels. When we read and hear the Word, we really have no other option but to give.
6. Give sacrificially in honor of the one who shared Christ with you. Give because you have been one of the privileged ones to hear. I’m ever grateful for the 12 year old friend who told me about Jesus.
7. Remember your largest gift given to ANY need — then add to that amount. Give more to Lottie Moon than you’ve ever given.
8. Give 10% of your church’s Lottie Moon goal. If nine others join you, you’ve met the goal. If more than nine join you, praise the Lord!
9. Train your children to give their allowance to missions this season. The dollars may be few, but the missions DNA you’re developing in the next generation will pay long-term dividends.
10. Give to cover the cost of keeping a missionary on the field for a certain number of days. The daily cost is approximately $170; use that figure, and multiply it times the number of days you will cover.
11. Give sacrificially in honor of a veteran, retired missionary. These folks will always be missionaries who want to get the gospel to those who’ve never heard. Honor them by supporting that work.
12. Fast for one meal per week between now and Christmas, and instead give the cost for those meals to the offering. Praying and fasting will likely only increase our giving – and missing one meal a week won’t hurt most of us.
13. Listen to these Week of Prayer stories, and be challenged to give. It’s hard to hear these stories and not want to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel and the world. We’re privileged to support brothers and sisters who are giving their lives for God.
14. Give 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1.00, or more per unengaged, unreached people group (@ 3000 groups). Help get the gospel to groups for whom there is no current witness.
15. Challenge your church small group to reach a combined goal for Lottie Moon. Push one another to give, and help each other follow through with the commitment.
16. Match your monthly gift to your church. Of course, I’m assuming here that you give well to support your church. If so, do the same for the LMCO. If not, commit to increasing both!
17. Sell some “stuff,” and give the funds to the nations. Many of us have much more “stuff” than we will ever need. We can live without it, but the world cannot live without Jesus.
18. Set up a recurring monthly gift to the LMCO. By giving this way, you can spread your giving through the entire year.
19. Give $10, $25, $50, $100, or more for every year that Lottie Moon served in China. She served for 39 years, so multiply the numbers to determine your gift.
20. Prayerfully give until your faith is genuinely stretched. Many of us give only out of our excess. Ask God to help you to give this year until you’re forced to trust Him to meet your remaining needs.

The Persecuted Church by James Emery White

 

I’ve often heard Christians in the U.S. speak about being “persecuted” for their beliefs, or for being marginalized as a result of their convictions. While I believe there have been isolated cases of Christians in America being wrongly prosecuted for taking various stands, I’m not ready to call anything any American Christian has suffered persecution.   Not when real persecution exists around the world in ways that can only be deemed unconscionable. As in imprisonment, torture and death. Currently 2,983 Christians are killed every year. In other words, eight Christians are killed for their faith every day.   A study just released by the Pew Research Center has found that government restrictions on religion have reached their highest level globally in more than a decade. The total number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions has risen to 56, representing 28% of all countries/territories in the world.    Most of these countries are in the Asia-Pacific region (25 countries, or half of all countries in that region) or the Middle East-North Africa region (18 countries, or 90% of all countries in the region). Of the two, the Asia-Pacific region has the largest increase due to a greater number of governments in the region using force against religious groups, including property damage, detention, displacement, abuse and killings.

China continues to have the highest score on the Government Restrictions Index (GRI) out of all 198 countries and territories in the study. The Chinese government restricts religion in a variety of ways, including banning entire religious groups (such as the Falun Gong movement and several Christian groups), prohibiting certain religious practices, raiding places of worship, and detaining and torturing individuals.     Of particular interest to Christians would be the rising number of “anti-conversion” laws—not simply in Muslim countries, but in places such as India in regard to Hinduism. In all, 21 countries currently criminalize what they deem “apostasy” (e.g., a Muslim or Hindu becoming a Christian).   The good news?   Consider China, where the Protestant church has grown from 1.3 million members in 1949 to at least 81 million members today. The Catholic Church in China has grown from 3 million members to more than 12 million during the same 50-year period.   Though Christianity is “harassed” in 145 nations (representing 260 million Christians worldwide), the gospel of Jesus Christ will not be contained, nor the spread of its message intimidated.    But make no mistake:   American Christians are not being persecuted,   … but Christians in other countries are.   James Emery White     Sources   “In 2018, Government Restrictions on Religion Reach Highest Level Globally in More than a Decade,” Pew Research Center, November 10, 2020, read online.   Jayson Casper, “Pew and IDOP Agree: Religious Persecution Is Worsening Worldwide,” Christianity Today, November 10, 2020, read online.   International Day of Prayer (IDOP), 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: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions, is now available on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller. 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, Facebook and Instagram @JamesEmeryWhite.

The Ministry of Intercession - Preparing for Sunday, November 22, 2020

 

The month of November our preaching has been centered around teaching on the subject of prayer ending with at least ten minutes of prayer time each Sunday.  It was the request of the disciples in Luke 11:1 "Teach us to pray."

Tomorrow (11-22-20) we are dealing with what I consider to be the most vital and blessed aspect of prayer - intercession.  It is the reason last Sunday we dealt with confession - so a believer is clean before God so He can go "boldly to the throne of grace" and as Aaron, the priest, bring others with you.

It is the current ministry of Jesus to intercede for us and the Holy Spirit intercedes. 

I have taught the church in years past how to do a prayer journal (different than your daily journal used to chronicle your walk with God).  Here I just want to remind you what I use.  The tool you use to keep people before your heart and God's may be different, and that is fine.  But if this can help, then use it.

Each day of the week I focus on praying for:

Sunday - Your Church (leaders, the worship service) - Colossians 1:3

Monday - Your Family - Joshua 24:15

Tuesday - Fellow believers - Acts 20:20

Wednesday - Those in authority - I Timothy 2: 1-4

Thursday - Lost and backslidden - John 3:18; I Timothy 2:4

Friday - World vision and missionaries - Acts 4:29; Matthew 24:14

Saturday - Other churches and pastors - II Timothy 4:2; Acts 18:10

CHURCH IS HARD, SO KEEP SHOWING UP by Sierra Pearson

 Anybody who knows me would call me a social butterfly. They might even joke that I go to church mainly for the coffee and fellowship. Well, they wouldn’t be far off. I so enjoy studying God’s word, singing rich worship songs, and hearing a gospel-centered sermon on Sunday morning. But I also enjoy gathering and talking with other believers, encouraging one another in the Lord. Isn’t that what draws most of us to a church—the people who welcome us and walk alongside us on the journey of faith?

Anything but Normal

Then came a pandemic, and as you know, things have changed drastically for churches and congregations across the country. COVID-19 hit, and we were left trying to figure out how to make Sundays normal when they are anything but normal.

When the pandemic first arrived, my church met virtually. It was novel and cool for the first couple of weeks, but before long the newness of the experience wore off. For the last few months, we have been worshipping together through a limited outdoor and indoor service. Most people wear masks and leave quickly. Between the wind, the heat, and tired kids, it is hard to stay present during the service. My mind wants to wander to my to-do list or to the problems in my life that I think I can solve (instead of listening to the sermon and hearing from the God who holds all things together). I struggled with these things before COVID, but they feel especially prevalent now.

Fellowship is the most difficult, because in order to hold services we must remain physically distant. Most people go home right away after the service. Conversation is hard. It is hard to know what to talk about except the “thing” that made fellowshipping hard in the first place. And no one actually wants to talk about the “thing” that is on our minds all the time. I am weary, and some Sundays I really don’t want to go. I would rather push against the hard than embrace it.

Encouragement When Church Feels Hard

The early church definitely knew something about hard. Between family divisions (Mark 10:29), disputes among church members (1 Cor. 6:5-6), and various forms of persecution and suffering(Acts 8:3, Heb.13:3), the believers of the early church definitely had reason to stop going. But this is exactly why Paul felt called and inspired by the Spirit to write and encourage the early churches in his letters.

The writer to the Hebrews wrote a letter encouraging them in their faith as they faced persecution. He cautioned them, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb.10:24-25). In the face of potential loss of income and property, and even life itself, these Christians were tempted to stay away from the church. But the writer urged them to continue worshipping with their brothers and sisters in Christ, and more, to encourage one another forward in the faith.

For those of us today, what encouragement might we need when church feels too hard?

First, we need to remember that church is ultimately not about us. It is not about what we get out of it, but what we give to the Lord in worship (Ps. 95:67, Ps. 99:5, Ps. 132:7). We were created to worship the One who made us. Our Savior gave up his life for our sakes so that we could freely come into the presence of God. We come to worship each week out of gratitude and love for the One who rescued and redeemed us from sin and made us right with God.

Second, the church is the gathered Body of Christ, with Christ as our head and we make up the parts (1 Cor. 12:12). The church body is not whole or complete when some of her members are apart. We need each member, for the body cannot be without its ears, its arms, or its feet. In fact, as Paul taught us, God has given us the body of believers to encourage one another. And during these difficult times, we all likely need encouragement to continue forward. Some members may feel discouraged because of how different church feels these days; others are discouraged because they can’t attend due to health concerns. There is freedom in sharing these struggles with one another, with voicing our discouragements, sorrows, and uncertainties. In sharing with one another, we can help each other move forward in faith. We can urge one another on to obedience in the face of all that is hard.

Third, we have the power of the Holy Spirit working on our hearts before our emotions catch up (Jhn. 14:26, Jhn.16:13-14). The Spirit knows before we do what interactions we may have with another person at church. What if we miss out on our greatest friendships, our deepest conversations, and our building up the church by giving up on her? It might take a while for our emotions to catch up with our actions, but we can trust that God is producing good fruit in our lives, even when we can’t yet see the fruit (Col. 1:10, Heb. 12:11). Also, God does not leave us to struggle with our discouragement on our own. We can come to him confidently in prayer, asking him to comfort and change our hearts. He is more than able to carry us through this unusual time. And when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit intercedes to the Father for us (Rom. 8:26). Sometimes all we can do is cry out, “Help me, God!” and the Spirit will do the rest.

Keep Showing Up

I do not want to look over the fact that some of us may not be going to church right now for health and safety reasons. You may be attending church online or meeting with a small group virtually. But these things still apply. Do not neglect being filled with the preaching of God’s Word and meeting with other believers to talk and encourage one another, even if it is online.

No matter what our feelings are on any given Sunday (especially during a pandemic!), we need to be with the body of Christ. Our hearts and souls need communion with God and others on a regular basis. When we neglect meeting together, it becomes a habit that is hard to break. The church, the gathered Body of Christ, is a picture of heaven. It is a foretaste of the fellowship we will have with God and our brothers and sisters in Christ forever. By going to church we bring a little bit of heaven to earth each week.

May we be like King David, calling out joyfully “Let us go up to the house of the Lord!”(Ps. 122:1). For there is no better place to be.

 

About the Author:

Sierra Pearson

Sierra lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with her husband, Josh, and their two children, Corra and Henry. They are members of Forestgate PCA, where Sierra currently sings in the worship ensemble and co-leads the women’s Bible study. She works part-time as a music director for Starz Children’s Theatre in Colorado Springs. Her favorite things are hand embroidery, hiking with her family, and Friday night movies with her hubby.

Preparing for this Sunday, November 15, 2020

This Sunday we continue our teaching "Teach Us To Pray" with the emphasis on Confession.  One of the things I will mention is that we have sins of omission that I need to be reminded of what I am not doing.  Chuck Lawless, professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote this blog on November 10, 2020 entitled "10 Things It's Tough to Confess (and, in fact, to recognize in some cases).  May this help us.

Also, this Sunday I will be sharing a three-page prayer help from Life Action Ministries and you can view it for yourself here.

Now, Chuck Lawless' article:   

We are to confess our sin to God and trust Him to forgive us (1 John 4:9). My experience as a pastor and professor, though, has shown that some sins are tougher to recognize and confess. In fact, my personal experience suggests the same. Here are some of those things:

1. Idolatry. We know how strongly the Bible condemns idolatry, and we don’t want any part of that problem. It’s just that we still sometimes put people, things, choices, and actions above God. 
2. Ego. I’ve met very few egotistical people who admit their ego. I have met some who “brag” about their humility, however—which is just another sign of their pride. Many of us don’t quickly recognize our ego. 
3. Selfishness. The natural inclination of selfishness is to “bow up” and defend our choices—to protect our turf, to claim our “rightness” and our privilege. Whenever you put yourself on top, it’s tough to confess that issue. 
4. Lukewarmness. Few of us want to admit that we’re not as on fire for God as we once were. In fact, lukewarmness is so much the norm now that we think it’s okay. 
5. Apathy. I’m thinking particularly about our overall commitment to walk with God. Sometimes we’re just not committed to ongoing, continual, intentional spiritual growth.  
6. Greed. After all, it’s the American dream to get as much stuff as we can—and then compare what we have to what others have. We’re hard-working and blessed, we assume—not greedy. 
7. Laziness. Again, I don’t think I’ve ever met a lazy person who admitted it or who didn’t quickly run to an excuse for his or her inactivity. Other people are lazy; not us. 
8. Gluttony. We might see habitual overeating as not good for us, but we don’t always see it from a spiritual perspective. Recognizing there might be other issues involved, apparent gluttony is often idolatry.  
9. Ingratitude. We’re coming up on a week of thanksgiving, but we do that because November comes around again. Too often, we’re like the healed lepers who received God’s blessing but never returned to thank Jesus (Luke 17:12-19). 
10. Unconcern. We have neighbors, co-workers, family members, friends, classmates, etc., who don’t know Jesus. Billions have never heard His name. Our lack to attention to getting the gospel to them is a sign of our unconcern—and it’s tough to admit. 
    
    
    

The local church is the headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention

 

The local church is the headquarters of our Southern Baptist Convention The SBC is a convention of churches. Churches plant churches and churches send missionaries. Associations, state conventions, and national entities do not plant churches or send missionaries. These regional, statewide, and national Baptist bodies have the role of assisting churches in their Great Commission work. The local church is the headquarters of our Southern Baptist Convention. Therefore, our Convention headquarters is not located in one of our 1,200 associations, one of our 41 state conventions, or one of our 12 national entities. If the Lord tarries, I cannot guarantee the organization of the SBC will exist when Jesus comes again. However, I am more than confident the Church will still exist when Jesus comes again. Baptist bodies are not superior to local churches. Local churches are assisted and served by each of these Baptist bodies. Therefore, the last thing our Convention needs is for churches to be minimized and pastors demonized. We believe in the primacy of local churches and the high calling of pastors. As the Scripture refers to the Church as the Body of Christ, we realize this forever family of God is comprised of persons from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Therefore, we give ourselves to the vision of reaching every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation. While our Baptist bodies may record the work of our churches and report their work together to the people called Southern Baptists, these bodies are not the Church. There is nothing like the Church. Where would America be without the Church? The SBC would have no reason to exist if not for the Church and Jesus’ calling upon it to make disciples of all the nations. Why is this so? Churches plant churches and churches send missionaries. Churches go and make disciples of all the nations. Churches baptize new believers and churches teach all things Jesus commands us to do. Jesus will be with His Church always, even to the end of the age. Why is this so important? If we ever invert this order in our mindset and practice, then we will begin a downhill slide that may become irreversible. Churches operate under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, not under Baptist bodies who exist to assist these churches in their work of the Great Commission. I served as a local church pastor for more than four decades. God placed me in one of our Southern Baptist churches as senior pastor for more than 32 years. Upon my calling to the SBC Executive Committee in May 2019, that church sent me and placed upon me the humble privilege of being their pastor emeritus. It was from that church I was called to my present role in order to assist churches in their Great Commission work and to encourage churches to work together in finishing the task of fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let me be more than clear: I deeply believe the Church is God’s anointed people to take the gospel to the world. Furthermore, as a Baptist, I also believe when our churches voluntarily choose to cooperate in this grand task, we will do much more together than we will ever do alone. There is nothing more dynamic and representative of our Lord than when we love Jesus with all of our hearts, love one another as He loves us, and combine all of our energies to cooperate together to give the Good News of Jesus Christ to the whole world. Now is the time to lead,

From the Shepherd's Heart....Tuesday, November 10, 2020

 

It has been exactly one week since the presidential election was happening "big-scale" throughout our nation but we all know, that it is never "officially" decided until the Electoral College votes on December 14.  The upheaval now of whether the media called the election too early, if President Trump has the right or should be contesting votes, etc is dominating our news as much, or more so, than the actual election.

Well, I have great news for all Christians....you can live in peace about it.  We have cast our vote (or maybe you didn't - that is your choice realizing you are answerable to God for who you vote for) and whoever is President of the United States will not change our relationship or commitment to the President.   

1.  Whoever is President, we will not worship him or put our trust in him.  That is reserved for the only one true God that we know through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Man will ALWAYS disappoint us, but God never will.  Politicians serve us, we don't serve them.

2.  We will pray for him.  We will ask God to protect him and his family, to grant him physical health, to guide him in the paths of righteousness, to place people around him that will give him wise and godly advice.

3.  We will thank God for him.  That's right...thank God for him because according to Romans 13: 1 no one gets into power that God does not put there and leaders are a gift from God.  So, we say, thank you God for your gift.

4.  We will honor him.  The office of the President, as it is with anyone ordained by God in leadership, should be honored.  The person holding the office may not deserve the honor, but the office he occupies qualifies him for our honor. 

From the Shepherd's Heart....Monday, October 26, 2020

I have long admired John Piper and have read and listened to him often.  While I don't always agree with everything (and I don't even agree with myself sometimes), he often gives me much to think about. He wrote a controversial article recently about the upcoming election that I will not post here so that it does not come across as endorsing everything he says, but in that article, he included the following words to pastors.  What wisdom in these words to pastors.  I have believed for a long time the church in America had better get ready for suffering.  This coming Sunday we will be observing the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Why should American Christians be exempt from what most of the believers are going through in the world? Here are Piper's words:

Word to Pastors

May I suggest to pastors that in the quietness of your study you do this? Imagine that America collapses. First anarchy, then tyranny — from the right or the left. Imagine that religious freedom is gone. What remains for Christians is fines, prison, exile, and martyrdom. Then ask yourself this: Has my preaching been developing real, radical Christians? Christians who can sing on the scaffold,

Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still;
His kingdom is forever.

Christians who will act like the believers in Hebrews 10:34: “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” Christians who will face hate and reviling and exclusion for Christ’s sake and yet “rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, [their] reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:22–23).

Have you been cultivating real Christians who see the beauty and the worth of the Son of God? Have you faithfully unfolded and heralded “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8)? Are you raising up generations of those who say with Paul, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8)?

Have you shown them that they are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), and that their “citizenship is in heaven,” from which they “await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)? Do they feel in their bones that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)?

Or have you neglected these greatest of all realities and repeatedly diverted their attention onto the strategies of politics? Have you inadvertently created the mindset that the greatest issue in life is saving America and its earthly benefits? Or have you shown your people that the greatest issue is exalting Christ with or without America? Have you shown them that the people who do the most good for the greatest number for the longest time (including America!) are people who have the aroma of another world with another King?