Do you ever have one of those days?  Maybe it’s weeks, months or even years for some.  Sometimes it seems as though everything comes at you at once, and doesn’t seem like it will let up.  I wonder how many people can look at hard situations, and truly consider it a blessing, as a gift from the Lord.  I have friends that are terminally ill… they are blessed.  I have friends that have lost those they love… they are blessed.  I have friends who have been through extremely difficult issues… and they are blessed too.  Our perspective is the key.  Not to view God as punishing us, but growing us through our circumstances in life.

     I have been reflecting a bit on the concept of the Lord disciplining those whom He loves.  Is God disciplining you?  None of us are obviously perfect, and we all have things that the Lord needs to work on.  But do we really feel like we need to be disciplined?  Do we need a “spanking” from God… or more politically correct, a timeout?  What does it really mean for God to discipline us?  Certainly it means correction of behavior that doesn’t line up with His will.  We should expect that as His beloved.  When we think of discipline, we generally think of things like telling your son to stop making faces at his younger brother to cause him to act up at the dinner table, and then warning of a consequence.  I know about that kind of discipline.  And it is that in some ways from the Lord, but it is also sometimes instruction, correction of wrong beliefs/attitudes, chastening, gaining wisdom and discernment.

     Whenever we do anything for the Lord, the enemy is also right there waiting as the prowling lion that he is for the opportunity to turn things on its head.  We need to be ready for it before it has the potential for damage.  We need to let the Lord discipline us, follow His leading and be prepared for the attack.  It isn’t an “if”, but “when”.  We need to have a strategic response for the devil’s schemes.  Have you experienced a season of everything going well in all areas of life?  Have joy!  But persecution in some form will come eventually… and have joy!

     The street outreach ministry has been changing and growing recently.  I’ve really had a sense that God is going to be raising up a battalion of men and women that will stand up and fight for His glory this year and beyond.  I’ve been so encouraged to see people getting inspired to learn how to share their faith, and then actually taking the steps to make it happen.  Knowledge is great, but action is what shows its validity.  One could memorize the entire Bible, and still be an ineffective slouch for the Kingdom’s work.  Are you stretching, growing and acting under the Spirit’s leading?  Don’t wait for the opportunity to share the Gospel with those around you, make it.  God has promised to be with us in it, and He has never let me down.  People will from time to time tell me that I’m “gifted” as a form of encouragement.  You don’t need a special gift to share your faith, other than being born of the Spirit.  I am no different than any one of you.  If you are a child of the King, then you also have the “gift”.  Every time as I prepare to preach the Gospel, especially when we preach to crowds of people, I realize that I can’t do it.  But God can, and He shows up and blows me away each time.  Set your fears aside, set any negative view of yourself and your abilities aside, and let God use you and He will do great things.    

 My son, do not forget my teaching,
       but keep my commands in your heart,
 for they will prolong your life many years
       and bring you prosperity.
 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
       bind them around your neck,
       write them on the tablet of your heart.
 Then you will win favor and a good name
       in the sight of God and man.
 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.
 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
       fear the LORD and shun evil.
 This will bring health to your body
       and nourishment to your bones.
 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
       with the firstfruits of all your crops;
  then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
       and your vats will brim over with new wine.
  My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
       and do not resent his rebuke,
  because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
       as a father the son he delights in.

NIV 

by Tom Akers

     I remember a request about 6 years or so ago while serving as a deacon at my church.  A visitor had come in, and a friend introduced us.  They were a family with a young child, and were unable to make rent for that month.  They asked if the church could give them $400.00 so they wouldn’t be evicted from their home.  I wanted more details before I brought it to the board, so I arranged to meet with them at their home to discuss it.  I arrived on the next day, and sat down in their living room, started discussing the financial situation and tried to figure out some options.  I found that the man actually had a pretty stable job, and while he only made about $10.00 an hour, they should have had enough money to live on their income.  Of course, there were some bad decisions that caused the turmoil, like the husband getting mad and moving out into a hotel from time to time when he got angry.  I left with the phone number of the landlord.  I spoke with her, and explained the situation and we worked it out where the couple would pay $150 a week until it caught up with their $400 a month rent.  I was excited when I called the family on the phone to break the news.  He wasn’t as excited as I was.  In fact, he took the opportunity to curse me out, call me names and tell me I wasn’t even a Christian.  We need to teach people how to fish, not give them a gift card to Red Lobster.

     Much of the time, people don’t want to hear the solution, they want a hand out.  Or they just want to do it their own way.  Just last week, open air preaching during period breaks of the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game to the smoking crowd was evidence of people choosing their own way, creating their own faith.  We spoke with many forms of post-modernity that night.  Specifically, I remember a professing Jew that didn’t believe in the Old Testament, and a professing Roman Catholic and Muslim that rejected the concept of Hell.  When I asked the Muslim whether or not he thought I would end up in Hell for trusting in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He said he didn’t, and then explained that he was a liberal Muslim!  Isn’t that convenient.  While we see this a fair amount in professing Christians, changing ones beliefs to suit their own desires is common in all faith systems.  We had a pretty hostile crowd for a Griffins game.  Occasionally people came up to tell us we shouldn’t be forcing our beliefs on people.  I could easily explain that we were weren’t forcing our beliefs, but simply sharing the Truth.  One guy actually interrupted a woman at the microphone that didn’t like what we were doing.  I let this young woman speak for a good 5 minutes about how she really thinks what we were doing was judgmental.  The guy very nicely stepped in to counter her opinion, and it was clear that others felt the same.  People are listening even when we don’t realize it.  When push comes to shove, people really want answers since they have never really gotten them.  The Gospel is by nature offensive, and we need to expect opposition.  If we plow forward in love for the Lord and the lost, then it is always a winning situation whether they receive it or reject it.
 

by Kris Zoerman

     Poor decisions happen when we assume too much, too little, too quickly, too slowly, etc. I’m sure someone famous said it first, but a wise teacher once told me, it’s not whether or not we should assume, but how much should we assume. So the real question should be, is how can we grow towards the discernment of Christ. Tim Challies in his book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment gives some great advice, “Start with Proverbs…One needs to read only seven verses into Proverbs to learn the key to wisdom. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.(Proverbs 1:7). The Geneva Study Bible calls it “a reverent awe and worshipful response of faith to the God who reveals Himself as Creator, Savior and Judge.” And of course we must be teachable.

This fear, this reverence of God’s just judgment against our sin against him is what the Holy Spirit uses to open up a heart to the wisdom found in the simple message of the Gospel. To create a humble heart that cries out for the mercy that only Christ can provide. This should always be our message when we share the gospel with others. 

     Challies book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, “looks to the Bible to seek what God teaches on the subject of spiritual discernment, a term he defines as the skill of understanding and applying God's Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong. Written for the general reader and in a way that is suitable for a wide audience, the book teaches people to think biblically so they might act biblically. It appeals for discernment, teaching the importance of this discipline in guarding the good news God has entrusted to us.”  The last few chapters also touch on the pitfalls of discernment, that boldness of Truth needs to be coupled with patience and grace.

   “There is no absolute truth. You can’t be sure of anything!”

     Those who say that there are no absolutes are often very adamant about their belief. If they say that they are absolutely sure, then they are wrong because their own statement is an absolute. If they are not 100 percent sure, then there is a chance that they are wrong and they are risking their eternal salvation by trusting in a wrong belief. God tells us that there is an objective, absolute truth that is not subject to man’s interpretations or whims, on which we can base our eternity. That truth is the Word of God (John 17:7).

Excerpted from the Evidence Bible
 

      There has been an awful lot of excitement of the book The Shack over the last year, even by people I love and respect.  There are some major concerns with the general theology put forward in this book, unfortunately.  Are we asking that you go to your local bookstore, buy up the books, and have a book burning in the Barnes & Noble parking lot?  Of course not.  Before you give a ringing endorsement of any book though, especially a supposed Christian allegory, you need to know the repercussions.  Tim Challies, mentioned above, has a thorough review of the book that is highly recommended here.  Here is also a YouTube video link of Mark Driscoll speaking on some of the important issues with the book here.

 

     We are getting close to finishing up our Grand Rapids Griffins hockey preaching season at the VanAndel Arena.  It has been blisteringly cold, but has been a very fruitful winter.  While we won’t miss the snow, we will miss the weekly encounters at these events.  We would love to have you come out as we finish this portion up.  The final games are 3/13, 3/20 and 4/10, with planned one to one and video interviews on Friday nights in between.  Mark your calendars, email us to let us know you’re coming and come on out!  We'll be downtown tonight for interviews at the Rail Jam.  Should be a good one...
 

"The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation."

Charles Spurgeon