God's Word

In the past, the "Roman Catholic church" determined that people could not own the Bible- God's Word.  That is in direct conflict with God's Word.  That organization allows it today, but it was not by their choice.  Men like William Tyndale died to bring this Bible to the people.  At Providence Church today, Pastor Greg Gunn spoke a little of William Tyndale's sacrifice to get God's Word into the hands of the "common" people.  Eventually, it cost him his life.

How could people hide God's Word in their hearts to avoid sinning against Him (Psalm 119.11) if they were banned from having His Word?  How could God's Word illuminate their paths (Psalm 119.105) if they did not have it to read?  It was the height of arrogance and demonic influence to keep God's Word away from the people.  For it to perpetrated by those claiming to represent God was despicable.  They were sons of hell itself: priests and popes, monks and bishops, cardinals and rulers controlled by Rome.

To "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3.16) you need the Word! How hellish the "church" that keeps His Word from the people!! (Either by physically keeping it as the Romanist approach, or by sermons not based on Scripture but human 'wisdom.'

Putting this into applicable language... Embrace His Word.  Many things are inspiring, only God's Word is INSPIRED.  God's Word is powerful.  His Gospel is "the power of salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1.16)- it will change lives when applied and trusted.

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Pete Garbacki is a minister with Time for Truth Ministries and Mission.Brasil. Follow him on Twitter @mission_brasil or FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/pete.garbacki.

A Time for Change

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

An old year has passed away.  A new year, 2013, is upon us.  This is the time of resolutions- with many that go unkept; a time to consider what the future might bring. We may decide to lose weight or to pick up a new hobby.  New Year's Day is often considered a time of change.

Many of us- especially those who tend toward rebellious attitudes (such as me)- reject the idea of making resolutions simply because we change calendars.  In fact, the only resolution I have ever made and kept was the one I made in 1997.  In 1997 I resolved to never make another New Year's resolution.  Ah, success! (I do not suggest this is the way to go, serious resolutions are often beneficial- but take them seriously!)

However, the emphasis on change at this time of the year (years?), leads me to think about a time of true change.  It is the time a person surrenders his or her will to Christ and inherits salvation.

This change is more extreme than a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly (hat tip: Greg Gunn, Pastor, Providence Church, Spring Hill, FL).  A wonderful example of this change is seen in dramatic fashion in Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament.  He said, 

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Timothy 1.12-15 ESV)

Christians all have one thing in common: we are not who we once were.  In 1 Corinthians 6.9-11 Paul writes,

Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)

Sometimes we may wonder why one Christian may show a dramatic change while another progresses more slowly.  Our dedication can be one major factor- are we studying God's Word faithfully? Are we seeking Him in prayer?  Surely, through God's Word and prayer we learn about Him and get to know His character.  We can be the sheep that know the voice of our Good Shepherd. As we devote ourselves to Him, we grow.  We change.  We are not who we were.  Though we might have been enslaved to sin (see Romans 6), we are now free and made into a new creation.

More important than an old year passing away with a new one rising up is the passing of who we were as we take on the image of Christ in our lives.

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Pete Garbacki is a minister with Time for Truth Ministries and Mission.Brasil. Follow him on Twitter @mission_brasil or FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/pete.garbacki.

Fuel for the Fire

Have you ever tried to start a fire with limited supplies?  Probably you haven’t.  It’s common today for lighters and paper to be readily accessible, and if you’re truly brazen (or a little crazy) you can always throw in a little gasoline or lighter fluid.  But, remember that scene in the movie “Cast Away”?  Tom Hanks is stranded on an island and his limited survival skills tell him he needs a fire.  Like a desperate boy scout, he tries twisting a stick between his palms till they blister.  He rubs splintered wood till he cuts his hand.  The frustration mounts as he begins throwing things and yelling.  Eventually Tom makes the fire, and he pours on it every branch and twig he can find.  It’s even comical as he begins dancing around the fire like a boy, caught up in the wonder and power of it all.

Now, take notice, before the fire could be marveled at there had to be supplies to make it and fuel to keep it going.  In the Christian walk is it possible that we lose our sense of wonder, not because we have heard it all, but because we have not heard it enough?

The famous apologist, Ravi Zacharias, was asked in Q&A time about his personal devotion routine.  He described it simply as daily morning scripture reading and prayer, adding with his typical sophisticated insightfulness, "You will never have a sense of wonder until you have an input of ideas that exceeds the outflow of words."

As a minister this struck me hard.  It is easy and even tempting at times to lose sight of personal growth in the Lord as we focus on the growth of those to whom we minister.  However, with time, the wonder fades.  The joy seeps away, and it becomes more and more difficult to find the right text or illustration, to plan ahead, dream big, or even care about the flock given to us.  Essentially, we start to run on empty.  

George Müller, a preacher in the 1800‘s who established 117 schools, understood this well ...

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord . . . not how much I might serve the Lord, . . . but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers . . . and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit. Before this time my practice had been . . . to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.  -  “The Life of Trust” George Müller

What fuel are you giving your soul?  Before you meet that coworker who needs the gospel, before you wrestle with the difficult task of showing Jesus to your kids, before you endure the temptations of the day is your soul prepared with the Spirit?  Is your soul happy in the Lord?  Is your soul filled with wonder at the life of Christ?