“Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow by it” (I Peter 2:1-2).

With the breakup of the home we are becoming an angry nation.  With the advent of kids who are angry at life and what it has done to them there is an uptick in gun violence.  What used to be settled through normal communicable channels and court systems, we are now discounted and unsettled through the vengeance of young men or women with a gun.

The race issue has surfaced like days before.  Except now the media covers quickly what it took papers days to print.  Many conservative speakers can no longer enter our universities because of radical leftists who have resorted to violence.  Add white supremacists into the mix and we could have a war on our hands.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lamented the fact that students and professors during the Hitler era resorted to silence so as not to lose their jobs, etc.  Today in our institutions Christian students, and especially professors, have to keep their convictions to themselves in order to graduate or continue teaching.  One cannot even say, “Jesus“, in a classroom without repercussions.

I have no hope that the immigration crisis will be ever resolved.  As both sides demonize each other we will continue to have a toxic atmosphere of name-calling and political posturing.  The good news with all of this is that the churches have the privilege of welcoming whomever God sends to us.

God has called us to honor Him by letting our light shine despite the consequences.  What is at stake are the eternal values that has been handed down to us.  The Lord Jesus has given His Church (notice that I said, “His Church“) all the resources she needs to be faithful in every culture, every generation, and every circumstance.  He will not forsake us now!  By His Grace let the Church be the Church!

“Then the Lord said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me. My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth” (Jeremiah 15:1).

One would think that God would hear the prayer of His servant Moses and Samuel in any circumstance. But here we learn that the people of God were resilient in their behavior unfavorably before God. They were recalcitrant and rebellious.

Jeremiah is heavy in heart. He is running out of steam. He has prayed, prayed, and prayed some more and yet he is not seeing the God of Israel move. God doesn’t even seem to care about saving them out of their upcoming judgment and Jeremiah is also caught in the judgment.

What do we do when America doesn’t seem to understand? What do we do when our children and grandchildren do not understand and we don’t seem to get our prayers answered? We have to be taught like Jeremiah to run with the footmen, and to contend with the horses. Don’t wear out where you are but look up to where God is.

Our source of grace is found in the Lord. Our strength is found in Him. Things are going to get worse but we need to get better. Don’t run from your assignments because it doesn’t matter where you are God has you there to train you, to form you, and to fill you.

Though the world loves to wander away from God, nor restrain their feet from living in pleasure, don’t you do it? Keep on the line with God. Let God toughen you! Things are going to get worse but let God make you the man or woman of God you need to be.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Only What’s Done for Christ Will Last

“And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity” (Leviticus 7:16).

God commanded the people of Israel not to eat of the flesh of the sacrifice after three days. For if the offering is given to God it will not be accepted. The Bible tells us that it is “an abomination.” For whosoever eats of the sacrifice on the third day will bear his own perverseness in penalty.

When you and I are not enjoying the presence of Christ daily then we begin to stale-out and contaminate those around us. Our families are affected, our coworkers are contaminated, and all around us are brought down lower than where they were before.

The church suffers and the glory of Christ becomes a non-reality in the life. What an abomination before God and among others. God brought us out of the bondage of sin, given us newness of life, and supplies us the opportunity for nobility of life.

The sacrifice of the peace offering was meant for identification with Christ and with others. It was a meal shared together as well. He has become our peace and since we have the peace of God then we are to be at peace with one another. But the person who is compromised, the person who is play-acting, the one who is not in God’s Word failing to read, study, and feed off of Christ, will fail others and will fail to glorify God in the only life they have to offer to God.

“I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it…” (Revelation
3:8).

What determines the ability of a leader to function? What is the difference
between a Pastor, Song Leader, Sunday School Teacher, Deacon, Youth Leader,
or a Church Member who is successful and others who are unsuccessful. Is it
their genetics? Is it their family background? What about their birth? What
makes a leader succeed? Is it their giftedness or personality that makes for
success.

No, none of these. The single most factor that makes a successful leader
from an unsuccessful leader is their persistence. No matter the obstacles,
no matter the differences, it is the ability to pursue their God-given goals
by moving forward. The heart is devoted, the face is set, and to do or die,
is not to reason why.