What Do You Have, What Can You Do?

"Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. But He answered and said to them, You give them something to eat. And they said to Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? But He said to them, How many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they found out they said, Five, and two fish."
Mark 6:36-38 (NKJV)

Many people know the story from Mark 6 about the feeding of the 5,000.  The disciples were concerned about the crowd of people having something to eat and Jesus told the disciples that they should provide the crowd with some food.  Immediately the disciples started talking about the problem and asking if they were supposed to go and buy food for all the people; they were more focused on what they didn't have than what they did have.  Jesus replied by asking the disciples what they did have and the end of the story is that Jesus used what was available to meet the need.

We can see this principle repeated over and over again in the Bible, that God wants us to make use of what we have and start with what we can do.  God will take what we have and use what we can do to meet the need and bring a solution to the problem.  Two other good Bible stories about this can be found in 1 Kings 17 and in 2 Kings 4.  Both situations show someone in need who followed God's direction and took what they had and did what they could and found a solution.  It may be true that there are some things we don't have yet or can't do at the moment but what is available to us right now?

So often we find ourselves in situations where we feel inadequate and don't think we can do what needs to be done.  We focus on what we don't have instead of what we do have.  God will meet all of our needs and help us with whatever problem we face, but sometimes we need to take the first step.  If we use the principle we see from the feeding of the five thousand we will first find out what we do have and what we can do.  Then we can give those things to God and allow Him to help us meet the need and to do what needs to be done.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,"
Philippians 3:13 (NKJV)

Recently I thought of the phrase, "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk".  My problem was not spilled milk but there was a fly in my coffee.  I had made myself some coffee and I went out onto the balcony of my apartment with my computer to do some work outside.  But, when I went to take the first drink of coffee a fly had landed in my drink.  So, rather than just sit there with a sense of disappointment and thirst I removed the fly and got something else to drink.  In the same way, when we deal with difficulties in our life, we need to do what is necessary to take care of the situation and just move on.

When we have a problem it makes no sense to sit there and cry about it, that won't change anything; this is where the idea for the saying about the milk came from.  In Philippians 3:13 Paul talked about forgetting what happened in the past and moving forward.  Paul admitted to not having had a perfect past but he didn't allow the problems of the past to cloud his future.  We can see similar things with other people in the Bible who continued to move forward with God's plan in their life despite the problems and disappointments they faced.

Everyone will deal with difficulties in life but it is what we do when we experience the difficulties that matters.  If we just stop and feel badly or if we don't do anything about the problem nothing will get better.  In the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation Jesus talks about the rewards overcomers will receive, but there are no rewards for those who just give up and cry about the problems they have faced.  Hebrews 13:6 tells us that we can boldly say the Lord is our Helper; with God's help we can clean up any mess we encounter in life, move forward, and fulfill the will of God!

Christian First, Missionary Second

One thing that has helped me over the years is having the right perspective about who I am.  My identity first and foremost is who I am in Christ, I am a Christian.  After my identity as a child of God comes the plan God has for my life; because I am His child I go to Him to see what it is He wants me to do.  However, if I get these two things mixed up I might have some problems.

As someone who lives and works for God in a country that is not their country of origin I am usually referred to as a missionary.  As I wrote about in a previous blog, the word missionary is used to identify people who actually do many different things but generally a missionary is someone who lives in a country they do not originate from.  No matter what work a missionary may do, or what anyone might do for that matter, our work does not define us.  And no matter where we live, our location does not define us; it is our relationship to God that matters.

One problem that missionaries have had in the past is that rather than go to evangelize and teach others, missionaries have gone to countries and worked more to change customs and culture than they have to promote God and His Word.  When living in another country where things may be different than what we are used to it can be tempting to only focus on trying to make others like us and not to make them disciples like Jesus talked about in Matthew 28:18-20.  This focusing on changing customs and culture without changing people normally ends in failure and frustration.

Many missionaries, spiritual leaders, and other people working for God get "burned out" because they are focusing on the wrong things.  Too often people are missionaries first and Christians second or even, Americans first and Christians second.  While I am very thankful for the work God has called me to and I certainly do appreciate my country of origin, my plan is to focus first of all on being a Christian and to let everything else come into line after that.  In my view that is the way to be successful as a missionary or in anything else we might do for God.

Were The "Good Old Days" Really That Good?

"Do not say, Why were the old days better than these? For it is not wise or because of wisdom that you ask this."
Ecclesiastics 7:10 (Amplified)

In the Old Testament we read about God delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt.  The people of Israel were in "oppression" in Egypt (Exodus 3:7), they were "mistreated and afflicted" by the Egyptians (Deuteronomy 26:6), and there was even a time when the Pharaoh commanded the people of Israel to kill all of their baby boys (Exodus 1:16).  If you continue reading the story about Israel being delivered and their journey towards the land God promised them you see something very strange happening, the people of Israel started saying that they wished they were back in Egypt!  Over and over again when Israel ran into a problem in their present situation they said they would have been better off in Egypt.

What happened with Israel in the Old Testament sounds a bit crazy, people talking about going back into slavery just because things get difficult.  But what the Israelites did is the same thing that happens today when people talk about "The Good Old Days" and how wonderful things were in the past.   When we face a problem in life and things are difficult it is easy to look back to the past and think that everything was better back then.  If we are looking back to some time or situation in the past and believing that it was so much better than what we have now we are falling prey to deception. 

In Philippians 3:13, 14 Paul talked about forgetting the past and moving forward to the goal God has for us.  If you really take an objective look back, the "Good Old Days" were really not always as good as we remember.  If we stop or slow down to take a look behind us we will delay our process of moving forward and even create more problems for ourselves.  We need to stop being deceived by romantic views of the past and move forward in our life. God has a plan and a purpose for us and it is not found in the past but in our future!

Walking In Love - Specks And Planks

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Matthew 7:3-5 (NKJV)

In these verses we see a situation that too often repeats itself, someone pointing out the problems of another person without taking note of their own problem areas.  It is quite sad to me how frequently I have seen or heard stories of someone who is quick to point out something negative about someone else.  It is easy to spend time looking for the problems that other people have but it is better to look for areas in our own life that need development.  Besides that, the New Testament says more about building up and encouraging others than about judging one another.

If we read 1 Corinthians 13, and specifically verses four through seven, we get a very good view of what love is; my favorite Bible version of these verses is the Amplified version.  In 1 Corinthians 13 we see that love is patient, kind, not touchy, it bears up under anything and everything, and love believes the best about other people.  Try to point fingers at others and judge them with all of that in mind!

How much time do we spend looking for ways to build people up, encourage them and help them go the right direction?  If we focused more on helping people go the right direction then we would not have to be so concerned about people going the wrong direction.   Let's spend more time dealing with our own "planks" and not be so concerned about the "specks" we see in the lives of others.  Remember that God is love and He does not just spend all of His time telling you about your problems but instead He is trying to help you grow and develop spiritually so that you can be an effective part of the Body of Christ.  That is a good example to follow!

Untaught And Unstable

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."
2 Peter 3:16 (NKJV)

In 2 Peter 3:16 there is an interesting combination of words, "untaught" and "unstable".  The word "untaught" comes from a Greek word meaning ignorant or uninformed, describing a person who does not know something.  The word "unstable" means "unfixed", giving us the picture of someone who is not settled in one place, someone who lacks a firm foundation.  Peter did not say untaught and stable, or taught and unstable and I think that is an important point to notice, Peter connects being unstable with being untaught.  You may be a nice person but if you are untaught you will probably be unstable.

Peter is saying that some untaught and unstable people had taken things that Paul had written and "twisted" them, resulting in their own destruction.  It would seem that if those same people had been taught correctly that they would have been more stable and they would have been less likely to have misunderstood or misinterpreted what Paul wrote.  Usually we don't have problems with the things we know about, it is the things we don't know about that we have problems with.  Many Christians are very wonderful people who love God but they are uniformed about what the Bible has to say.

It is sad to say but many Christians have not been taught well and they tend to be unstable.  Too often people are like what Paul described in Ephesians 4:14 where he said "that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine"; that is a picture of an unstable person.  God needs stable, mature people to carry our His plans and purposes in the earth today.  God's Word gives us a firm foundation to live a successful life.  We need to regularly spend time with God's Word so that we are not untaught or unstable and we don't destroy ourselves or others.

Christian Cruise Control

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."
2 Peter 3:16 (NKJV)

On a recent trip I took through several states in the USA, I rented a car that had cruise control, as most cars do today.  As I drove along, I would get up to the speed limit and then set the cruise control.  What I noticed was that some cars passed me but I later caught up to them and passed them.  Other cars were going much slower than I was but when I got close to them they would then increase their speed.  For me this was all very odd but it made me think of a spiritual comparison and how so many people are not stable in life, they are always up and down.  It seems like what they need is some Christian cruise control.

If we base our Christian life on circumstances, our feelings, what other people say, the current economic or political situation and so on, we will not have a steady, stable life.  If we choose instead to live our Christian life based on what God has said in His Word, then no matter what we face in life we will continue on the right path unhindered by the different things that could possibly get us off our course.  The only way to have a steady stable life based on God's Word is to know God's Word and put it into action in our life.

So many Christians don't seem to know a lot about the Bible, and this is definitely a problem.  Often people just rely on what they hear in church for their spiritual nourishment.  While I am certainly not against good churches that teach the truth of God's Word, every Christian needs to take some time each day to read and study the Bible.  There is no substitute for our learning God's Word and making it the basis for what we do, think, and say every day.  By doing this we are setting our Christian cruise control for success and we will live the kind of life that God has planned for us.

Abraham Was Fully Convinced

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Romans 4:20-21 (NKJV)

Have you ever had someone tell you something that you did not think was really true?  Maybe they told you about something that happened and you found it hard to believe that it could have happened as they said it did.  But what if they had several friends with them who also said that this thing took place, would you believe it then?  What if that person then showed you a picture or a video of what they were talking about, would you be convinced then?  While you may not have believed what they said to start with and you had your doubts, eventually you were convinced that what was said was true.

When God promised that Abraham would have a son, Abraham was not convinced.  In fact, he laughed and even tried to suggest to God how something else would work just as well.  Abraham did not believe what God said but Romans 4 tells us that Abraham was fully convinced that God could do what He said.  So how did Abraham go from not being convinced to being fully convinced?  In Genesis 17 God changed Abram's name to Abraham.  The name Abraham means, "father of a multitude", but this was not the natural reality in Abraham's life. Then in Romans 4:17 it quotes what is said in Genesis 17 and adds "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did".

Abraham made the decision to talk about himself in the same way that God did and that is the key.  As Abraham continued to act and speak in faith, by simply saying what God had said, he grew stronger in his faith and became fully convinced that what God had said was true.  Many people are weak in faith and unconvinced about what God says in His Word, first of all because they don't really know God's Word, and secondly because they are not talking like God talks or seeing themselves as God sees them. No matter what is happening in our life we need to go back to God's Word and see what God has to say about it and then speak and act accordingly.

New Things In The New Year

As the New Year is about to begin there is a lot of talk about people doing new things and making changes to their lives. Many people make New Year's resolutions in an effort to make positive changes in their lives and in turn make the New Year better than the last year. Although it should be obvious that nothing special takes place between December 31st and January 1st, many people use the changing of the calendar as the point to make a change in their lives.

No one is perfect and we can all find areas in our life where we can grow and develop, but we don't have to wait until the end of a calendar year to do so. There is something about the change of the year that gives people new hope and the belief that things can change and be better. For anyone who is a Christian we know that God has promised to help us and God has given us the Holy Spirit to assist us in our daily lives. Positive changes can be made at any time and with God's help the change can be a permanent one.

Permanent change is another aspect of having new things in the New Year. Many people start the New Year wanting to change and trying to change, but by February some have already made a mess of things and they give up. Or they get sidetracked with things in their life and they lose their focus on the intended change only to remember it later and then feel remorse at the fact that no real change has taken place. The good news is that even if you get off course you don't have to wait until the next New Year to start over again and pick up where you left off.

For any real change to take place in a person's life there has to be a willingness to change; the hard part is to keep going after the initial change is made. Recently I heard about an App for Smart Phones that will remind a person about their New Year's resolution. When I heard that I thought about how God has given us the Holy Spirit to remind us about the changes we need to make and to help us make the desired change. So make this coming year a year of positive change and development with new things in the New Year.

The Light Of The World Or Just Like The World?

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
John 9:5 (NKJV)

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."
Matthew 5:14 (NKJV)

In John 9:5 Jesus said that as long as He was in the world that He was the light of the world. Then in Matthew 5:14 Jesus told His disciples that they were the light of the world. What was Jesus saying and how does it apply to us today? Jesus is the light of the world and as Christians we are His representatives in the world. Jesus is no longer physically present in this world but He is here through His Body, the Church.

Anyone can say "I am a Christian and I follow Jesus", but being a Christian is more than just saying a certain set of words; people often say one thing and then begin to act in a way that contradicts what they just said. There is an interesting verse in Titus 1:16 that talks about people who say that they know God but with their works (their actions) they deny Him. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that because of what they were doing they were carnal and acting like mere men. In other words they were not being the light of the world; they were acting just like the world!

So am I suggesting that Christians should live a life of following some rules and regulations in order to prove that they are Christians? Actually no, because as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:16 no one is put in a right position with God based on their works. What I am saying is similar to what we read in James 2:20 where it says that faith without works is dead. We don't do good works to get saved but because we are saved our life should produce good works.

Romans 12:1, 2 talks about Christians not being like the world but instead presenting our bodies to God to do His will and renewing our minds with the Word of God. By doing this we are transformed to be like Jesus instead of being conformed to the world; people who are not Christians need to see a difference in our lives because we are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Make the decision today that you will carry on the work of Jesus and be a light to the dark world around you. You may be in this world but you are different than the world, let your light shine!

God's Word Works The Same For Everyone Everywhere

There is a misconception that many Christians have about God and His Word. Many Christians think that God plays favorites and does some things for some people that He would not do for other people. Some people also believe that the things that God does in one place with a certain person or group of people is limited to that person or those people. None of those ideas come from God or His Word because God's Word works the same for everyone everywhere.

The Bible tells us in Romans 2:11 that there is no partiality with God, God has no favorite children. In Mark 9:23 Jesus said that all things are possible to those who believe and 1 Corinthians 12:6, 11 shows us that it is God Who works through people as He wills. God may use different people in different ways but it is still God working through that person.

We can look at the disciples of Jesus for an example here. Jesus picked twelve men from various backgrounds to follow Him and carry out His work. Jesus did not just select a certain class of people or people who had some special abilities, Jesus picked ordinary men who became extraordinary when they followed Him and acted on what He said. The same is true for people we read about in the book of Acts, God uses all kinds of people to do His will.

Today God is looking for people that He can use and we need to be ready to work with God. If we think that God and His Word work differently for some people based purely on some preference God has or that person being special then we are limiting ourselves and God. Jesus said in Mark 11:23 that whoever speaks to the mountain and does not doubt in his heart will have whatever he is saying. Remember, God's Word works the same for everyone everywhere but we still have to put it to work. Find out what God has to say about you and your life then believe it and act on it; you'll be glad that you did!

Speaking To Or Speaking About?

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."
Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

A Bible principle that many people misunderstand is that our words are very important; what we say will set the course for our life, good or bad.  There has been some wrong teaching in this area but this wrong teaching does not take away from the truth of this Bible principle.  The Bible shows us that our words are vital to our success in life, but many people are not saying what God says about the situation they are in, they are simply talking about their problem.

In Mark 11:23 Jesus told His disciples that they needed to speak to the mountain.  Jesus did not tell them to talk about the mountain or describe it in some way but rather to speak to it.  What we say about our life, in every area, will have a big part in determining whether or not we will have success or failure.  No matter what situation you face today, no matter what mountain may be in your life, speak God's Word out of your mouth to the situation and continue to say what God has said.

Many people are so focused on the problem that all they do is talk about the problem, but this is not what we see in the Bible.  For example, when God created the world, God did not say "Wow, it is really dark out there!"  No, God said "Let there be light".  When David met Goliath, David did not talk about how big Goliath was but David talked about how he would defeat and kill Goliath.  Over and over again we see this principle in the Bible and it is one we need to practice on a regular basis.  If we continue to stand in faith on God's Word by speaking His Word.

Encourage Yourself In The Lord

"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 1 Samuel 30:6 (KJV)

In 1 Samuel 30 we read the story of David and his men returning to their homes and finding the city burned and all of their families taken away as captives. 1 Samuel 30:4 tells us that all of the people, including David, "... wept until they had no more power to weep". This was obviously a very difficult situation and things then went from bad to worse when all of the people somehow decided David was to blame and they wanted to kill him. The good news is that David did not die that day but he went on to become the king of Israel.

The important thing to notice here is what David did in this difficult situation. Yes David faced some bad circumstances and his first reaction of crying would be the normal thing to do; but David did not just cry, he dried his tears and encouraged himself in God! David turned from his emotions and simply focusing on the problem to focusing on God and looking to God for the answer to the problem. Although it is not specifically stated here, I believe that David did exactly what he did in many of the Psalms he wrote; he started talking about how big God is and how God has the answer to any problem that comes along.

How about us? What will we do when we face a problem or a difficult circumstance? Will we just cry and look at the problem wondering what we are going to do? Or will we follow David's example and start talking about God working in our life, God being on our side, God leading us into victory, and God having an answer bigger than the problem? When we do those things we are encouraging ourselves in the Lord and tapping into the strength that God is always ready to give us in every situation. Next time you face a problem don't just look at the problem, see what God's Word has to say about the problem and then start talking about that. You will find yourself growing stronger rather than weaker and you will put yourself into the place where God can speak to you, just like He did to David, and God will show you the way to victory!

What Is A Missionary?

Although it may surprise some people, the word missionary is actually not in the Bible. The word missionary came into use in the early 1600s and the word means, a person who goes on a mission, especially a religious mission. The closest word in the Bible that could be used for what is known as a missionary would be the word apostle, which means someone who is a delegate or an ambassador, someone who is sent out. However, because the word apostle has often been misused in the church world I would not want to call myself an apostle. But the word missionary can be so vague and it sometimes gives the wrong impression.

When people think about a missionary they often think of someone who lives in a jungle or some other primitive conditions. While this can be true many people like me live in very modern cities in modern countries. So a missionary cannot be defined just by where or how they live.

Some people think missionaries are those who help the underprivileged get access to food and clean drinking water. This may be the case but not always. Some missionaries combine humanitarian work along with their spiritual work but this depends on the missionary and the work they are called to do. Some missionaries spend time translating the Bible into the language of the people they work with. That is not an issue in Germany; Martin Luther translated the Bible into German about 500 years ago.

Missionaries can be from any one of the five spiritual leadership offices listed in Ephesians 4 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher) or even in the helps ministry. But to define a missionary as only being a pastor or evangelist would not be accurate. Sometimes I have difficulty explaining to people that while I am considered a missionary and that I use the term because people understand it, my real calling in the context of Ephesians 4 is that I am a teacher and teaching the Bible is what I am called to do.

So what is a missionary? A missionary is someone sent out and equipped by God. Missionaries live in a variety of places, under a variety of conditions, doing all kinds of work. While every Christian is not sent out to another country, every Christian is called and equipped by God for some "mission" so in one sense of the word everyone is called to be a missionary. Next time you meet or hear about a missionary in another country, find out exactly what God has called them to do; I am sure you will be happy you did.

God And His Word Do Not Change, We Change

In 2 Kings 22 there is a story about King Josiah. King Josiah commissioned people to do some work in the temple and while these people were working they found a copy of the Book of the Law, which would have been the first five books of the Bible. When they read what was written to the king he had a dramatic reaction to what he heard. It says that King Josiah tore his clothes, which was a sign of his deep sorrow. King Josiah realized that he and the people had gotten away from the principles God had given them to live by. King Josiah made a positive change when he heard what God's Word said and King Josiah's change in turn affected the whole nation.

In Jeremiah 36 there is a story about another king, King Jehoiakim. God gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for the king with the intent that the king would repent and change his ways, which is what King Josiah had done. However, when King Jehoiakim heard the message God had given to Jeremiah and that Jeremiah had written on a scroll, the king took a knife and cut the scroll up and threw it into the fire! This is quite a different approach and attitude towards what God had said than King Josiah's. The end of those stories is that God blessed King Josiah but King Jehoiakim was taken captive and carried away to Babylon.

In James 1:21 we are told to receive the word with meekness, which means we need to come to God's Word with a sense of humility. There will be times in the life of every Christian when they see something in God's Word that is contrary to what they see in their own life. This is when we have the choice to be humble, put God's Word first and make a change; this is what King Josiah did. The opposite reaction is to try to ignore what we have learned or try to justify why we need to continue living the way we live; this what King Jehoiakim did.

There is one thing we can be very sure of; God and His Word do not change. God has given us His Word to show us the best way to live and to fulfill His will for our lives, if a change needs to take place that change will be with us. Sometimes our actions, attitudes, or beliefs needs to change to line up with what God's Word has to say. If we are wise we will be like King Josiah and make the change because the end result will be for our benefit.