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Me Is Exalted

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People called to full-time ministry often face the temptation of making things happen by the arm of the flesh. I’ve heard stories about messes ministers created when trying to expand their ministries ahead of God’s timing. Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” I’m willing to help a brother or sister advance in their calling if the Lord leads me to. Romans 12:10 talks about “giving preference to one another.” Still, I find it annoying when preachers promote their ministries on my web pages without asking first. A few individuals had frequently done this on my Facebook Wall despite my asking them to stop. That prompted me to change my account settings so people could only write comments in response to my articles and praise reports. Then one pastor started posting announcements ( irrelevant to my writings) about various endeavors he was involved in. The first two times I simply removed his posts. A...

Kicked Out of Church

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Church should be a safe place for believers. Unfortunately, no fellowship is perfect. Even pastors can sometimes get in the flesh and act in ways inconsistent with Scripture. A friend told me about one church he went to where the congregation took turns giving a short sermon since the pastor wasn’t there that particular Sunday. My friend didn’t have time to complete his message but the handouts he gave revealed a doctrine the leadership disagreed with. A couple of weeks later when my friend returned to this church, the pastor instructed him not to come back there again. Assuming my friend told this story accurately, I thought the pastor acted too hastily. He could have privately discussed the matter with my friend before possibly excommunicating him. In Matthew 18, Jesus taught us the right way to confront someone in error... 15 “ Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But i...

Where Is That In The Bible?

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Occasionally, I receive critical messages from people who don’t agree with things I show in my videos. A remark I often hear is, “Where’s that in the Bible?” Certainly I agree the Word of God is our standard in which everything we do and say must be judged. But has it occurred to you that some generally accepted Christian traditions aren't specifically mentioned in Scripture? For example, Sunday Schools cannot be found in the Bible yet most churches have them. The same thing could be said about altar calls for salvation. God uses people in different ways because we are all unique. Jesus Himself did unusual things like spitting and putting mud in people's eyes to bring healing. No doubt things like that done today in our congregations would offend many church folk. John 21 says that Jesus did many other things that were not written down. Those "other things" could have been more radical than what was recorded in the Scriptures. Of course, we must reject all id...