by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD; for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” 1Samuel 2:17 In 1Samuel 2 God describes the wickedness of Eli’s sons. In essence they abused the privileges of the priesthood, violating the specific instructions of the Lord. When they failed to adhere to the specific instructions of God, He charged them with holding His Word in contempt. The Old Testament Law is filled with great detail on how things were to be done. The greater the detail, however, the greater the temptation to modify the instructions. “God doesn’t really care about the details; it is the spirit that counts,” is how we rationalize. Like the sons of Eli, such people frequently get into trouble with God. In the New Testament, by and large, God does not give a great deal of detail. In rites such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and congregating in His name, no specifics are given. Thus we are free to improvise as we please. But instead of enjoying our freedom in Christ, we fragment over the details. Denominations come into existence over mode of baptism, the exact meaning of the bread and wine, and what we do when we congregate in His name. Unity is lost in violation of His wish that we be one. On the other hand, we ignore with seeming impunity the specific commands of God with which we do not agree. It seems that no matter what God asks, we want to argue with Him. Instead of obeying His simple commands, we emulate...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?” 1Samuel 2:29 Because of the sin of Eli’s sons, God sent His man to rebuke Eli. These were not sins that Eli committed, but the sins of his children. Because Eli refused to discipline his children and hold them accountable for their crimes, God disciplined Eli. As you read the narrative, the consequences are severe: “A time is coming when I will break your power and that of your father’s house, and there shall be no elder in your house…And this shall be a sign for you: The fate of your two sons Hophni and Phinehas — they shall both die on the same day. And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will act in accordance with My wishes and My purposes…And all the survivors of your house shall come and bow low to him for the sake of a money fee and a loaf of bread, and shall say, ‘Please, assign me to one of the priestly duties, that I may have a morsel of bread to eat.’”[1] Paul spells out in I Corinthians 5 the steps we must take when the commandments of God are broken. If Eli teaches us anything, it is that when a man refuses to exercise biblical discipline with his children, God comes looking for the father. [1] 1Samuel...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19 Intrinsic to sin is a sense of shame. You see this in Genesis 3, “They knew they were naked and they hid.” [Genesis 3:10] Before sin Adam and Eve had nothing to hide. With the transgression came a loss of innocence. Most crime is committed under the cover of darkness. Instinctively children seek to hide whatever wrong they commit, either by lying about it or hiding the stolen object where it can’t be found. Occasionally you find people who, in an act of defiance, call evil good and openly confess and commit what others, in their embarrassment, seek to hide. The philosophy of “free love” a number of year ago encouraged open sin. People quickly fall beyond the pale of redemption when they lose their sense of shame when sinning. Paul, cataloging the sins of the human race said, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie.” [Romans 1:25] Never sanction or give approval to what God calls evil. When you cover disobedience with the cloak of righteousness, as for example with euthanasia, you engage in the most insidious form of hiding. God again and again calls to mind the foolishness of such endeavors, for although you can hide your motives and actions from people, you cannot hide them from God. He will bring them to light “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” [Romans 2:16] Assuming that you agree that you cannot hide...
by MIMADMIN | Feb 25, 2015 | Articles
God called us to a quality of life. Are you experiencing that life? We are called to future glory and an abundant life while on earth. We are to experience the unmerited love of the Holy Spirit while we are in the temporal life. 1. We have a new identity in Christ; by grace we are pardoned of our sins and are new children of God. Think of yourself as “among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” (Rom 1:6) The Spirit of grace called us to be saints; the object of God’s mercy, prepared in advance for glory (Rom 9:26). As John said, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1) 2. We are called to a holy life. “Join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.” (2Tim 1:8-9) We are distinct from those not called. 3. We are given liberty. Unlike those not called we are free from sinful passions. Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36, Gal 5:13. Slaves to sin have no permanent place in God’s moral and spiritual family. John 8:35 4. God calls us to a life of peace in the body of Christ. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called...
by MIMADMIN | Jan 27, 2015 | Articles, Testimonies
Street ministries, under such umbrella titles as ‘Street Pastors’ or ‘Street Angels’ have been around a few decades in England, owing much to the work of the Salvation Army. These Christian ministries take a middle way between evangelism and social action. There is a book to yet be written echoing the famous ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’, which could be entitled, ‘The Cross and Lollipop’. Because armed with lollies, chocolate bars and hot soup, street pastors are out in cities and towns, when there hundreds of (mostly) young folk ‘clubbing and pubbing’, that is going to nightclubs and public houses (bars). There are other people to be encountered such as the street homeless; men and women, some little older than children forced to sleep rough; and there are others making money from the night economy, prostitutes and drug dealers. Alton is a small, market town in rural Hampshire, we do not have clubs, nor street prostitution, nor open drug dealing; yet we have people sleeping in doorways and drugs are prevalent and ubiquitous – but come Friday and Saturday night, many people go to the pubs to drink and socialise. Since November 2014, the local churches of Alton, Hampshire, have combined to send a team of four or five people to mingle with Saturday night revellers. We are identifiable by our hi-vis vests, that have ‘ALTON TOWN PASTORS’ across the back and ATP (with the T written as the Cross) emblazoned on the front. We call ourselves pastors because we administer pastoral care, not because we need to be ‘Pastors’, ordained church ministers or priests. We readily identify ourselves...
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