The Gospel Truth

Within the last couple of months, Christianity has been under attack. Not necessarily by bombs and terrorists, but by agnostics and psuedo christians. As a bible believing and thumping person, this distresses me greatly. Not because non-believers are adhering to the teachings of these so called gospel truths, but that christians are believing these teachings to be true. As it is written in Galatians "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Gal 1:6,7 NIV) It is time for Christians to get a backbone, stand up, stop making excuses and start evangelizing the Truth.
I know some of you reading this is thinking, "Wow, something has gotten Daniels dandruff all a twitter, he's not being funny like he usually is" When it comes to "perverting" the Truth, I get all shades of miffed. (And that's using nice terminology)
What is the Gospel Truth? At the end of the first four books of the New Testament, Christians are given the great commision, in one form or another. (Matt 28:19,20 Mark 16:15 Luke24:47 John20:21) We are commanded to preach the Gospel (or good news) What then is the Gospel Truth?
"Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Cor 1 :22,23 NIV) In essence the Gospel Truth is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anything that does not recognize this basic truth is FALSE. Any writing, speech, or hand gestures that teaches Jesus was not resurrected or died for mankind is false. And the thing I learned in school (something actually stuck with me aren't you proud Ms. Cowen) about true false questions is this: If any part of the statement is false, then the whole thing is false. Do not be persuaded by false teachings, just because it's packaged neatly and sounds cool.
Some of you might ask "But, what I have read in this book doesn't dispute that, it just says other things that the bible doesn't say. Can you explain that?" Thanks for asking, I will do my best.
Other false teachings especially found the "Gnostic Gospels" can be found and disputed by using the bible and facts throughout history. Currently right now, there is a big to do about the "Gospel of Judas" One of the most glaring false teachings is that Jesus conspired with Judas to have Judas betray him. Let's look at what the bible says about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. First, Judas stood before the pharisees and conspired with them to turn Jesus in. Second, Jesus knew what was on Judas' heart and knew what was going on. Third, at the last supper, Jesus announced to all that someone was going to betray him and when he pointed out Judas, all Jesus said to him was "What you are about to do, do quickly" (John 13:27b) That is not conspiring with Judas, that is similar to when you are at work and someone says they will inform the boss of your misdeeds and you say, "Fine, do what you have to do" Does that mean you have conspired with him to turn you into the boss? No. It just means, you know what's going to happen, so get it done with.
What about that other book, the one about the painter that are making a movie about. That my dear brothers and sisters is another time. As they say in TV "Stay Tuned"
Know the truth and preach the truth. Stand firm and do not waver. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Gal 1:10 NIV)
Have a blessed week
Daniel

Busyness of Life

On the TV (not on it literally, just being shown by it) is a car commercial featuring a little "demonic" thing named "My Fast". Every commercial I've seen has put the emphasis on the speed of the vehicle and everything else is secondary. One commercial has a male and female duo (I'm not sure if they're married or dating) but the "beast" wants the male to hear the roar of the engine and the wind whipping through the vehicle. At one point of the commercial the male , not so delicately, tells the woman to be quiet. Why? Because "My Fast" has to be heard. The point of the commercial is life is fast and you have to be fast to enjoy it.
Society has taught us we must always be busy for life to be meaningful. We have to do many things and accomplish a lot. I am reminded of 2 sisters who were exact opposites. One rushed around trying to get preparations made for a visitor. The other sister just relaxed, sat there, and at one point, washed the guests feet. The two sisters; Martha and Mary, the guest; Jesus.
Martha was busy with preparations for a banquet. Mary was content with sitting at Jesus' feet enjoying the time with Him. At one point Martha exploded and wanted Jesus to reprimand Mary for being lazy and to send her to the kitchen. Jesus did the opposite, He reprimanded Martha for concerning herself with other less important things, while Mary focused on Jesus needs at that moment.
How many times have we done that? Knowing that what we are doing, we are doing for the Lord, but we are going about it all wrong. Martha was focused on pleasing Jesus, but was doing it in a manner that wasn't needed. She was remaining busy, but forgetting the important things. Mary was focused on Jesus, but in a spiritual way. A way that was pleasing unto the Lord.
A lot of times we need to get away from a works mentality and get into a faith mentality. We should remain focused on Jesus and what He wants from us. How do we make Jesus the central part of our lives? First get into the word. Study the bible daily. No matter how busy you claim to be, always find time to study the bible. If you think you don't have time, look at this story

George Mueller Read The Bible 100 Times
Is reading the Bible a necessary part of your day or does it have a low priority in your life? George Mueller, after having read the Bible through one hundred times with increasing delight, made this statement: "I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God. Friends often say, 'I have so much to do, so many people to see, I cannot find time for Scripture study.' Perhaps there are not many who have more to do than I.
For more than half a century I have never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through. For 4 years I have had annually about 30,000 letters, and most of these have passed through my own hands.
Then, as pastor of a church with 1,200 believers, great has been my care. Besides, I have had charge of five immense orphanages; also, at my publishing depot, the printing and circulating of millions of tracts, books, and Bibles; but I have always made it a rule never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and His Word. The blessing I have received has been wonderful."
Counter Attack, Jay Carty, Multnomah Press, 1988, pp. 155ff

Second pray daily. I pray five times a day. I'm not boasting about that, I'm almost ashamed of it. I pray when I wake up, breakfast, dinner, supper, and bedtime. That's five times. I need to increase it. How? When I have free time, I can pause and thank God for the blessings I have. So can you. Scripture says to pray continuously, always be in the frame of mindful prayer. Prayer is a conversation with God. Since He is your Father in heaven, talk to Him like you would your father on earth. Prayer does not solely consist of asking God to do things for you, but it consists of asking God what He wants you to do. To paraphrase a President, "Ask not what God can do for you, but ask what you can do for God."
Third witness daily. Tell others about Christ. Tell others what Jesus means to you. Tell others what Jesus has done for you. Don't get into an exegisis of scripture with them, (unless they ask). Just tell them what Jesus means to you and how He has changed your life.
Fourth prioritize. What is the most important thing to you? Is it your family, work, Star Wars? The most important thing to you should be God. God is above all things, then comes your family, then Star Wars, then your job. If God is your focus everything else will fall into place. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well," (Matt 6:33 NIV)
God Bless
Daniel

For Such a Time as This IV: Divine Purpose

In some circles, Socrates is considered the father of philosophy. He would gather the students in a circle and teach them. Not by telling them what they should know, but by asking them questions and letting them search for the answers. He would ask questions like, "Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? Why do we war? What was in that tea?"
These questions gave rise to more questions by other philosophers. Is the world flat? Is the moon made of cheese? Am I descended from monkeys? Why is there air? Why am I here? I can answer those questions. No. No. NO! and as the great philosopher Bill Cosby said, "There's air to blow up volleyballs, to blow up basketballs"
As for being here, you have a purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God has a plan for you.
What is God's plan you might ask? The answer is found in that scripture. His plan is to prosper you and give you hope and a future. But, there is more, there is more to God's plan that you should fulfill.
Jesus had a purpose. His purpose was to give eternal life to all those that believed in Him. His purpose was to reveal the truth. His purpose was to die so that you may live (John 3:17, John 17:2, John 18:37) While He walked the earth He revealed your purpose, God's plan for you. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt 29:19 NIV) And the continuation of that, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation," (Mark 16:15 NIV)
Our purpose is to reach, preach, and teach people about Jesus Christ. What all do we tell them about Jesus Christ? When witnessing to a non-believer don't go into a detailed discussion of the nuances of Mark 8. That's the quickest and surest way to turn them away. When witnessing to someone we must remember what Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1Cor 1:22,23)
Tell them that Jesus died and rose again so that they may live. Tell them what Jesus has done in your life since you've accepted Him as your savior. Don't condemn them for the sinful life that they lead. Just lead them to Christ. You may just plant a seed, so don't get discouraged if they don't immediately scream Hallalujah! Keep witnessing in both words and actions.
Remember, at some time, someone led you to Jesus. God gave you an encounter to find him. You were then selected and appointed by God for a Divine Purpose. The purpose to lead others to Christ.
God Bless
Daniel

For Such a Time as This III: Divine Appointment

Throughout history, some people seem to be in the right place at the right time. And others tend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And still others tend to let life and all its excitements go by without any care or worry in the world.
When a situation arises, we tend to ask "Why am I here? What am I to do?" There was a queen who asked that question and was appointed to do a great thing for a nation. The queens name was Esther.
A long time ago in a nation far away, the first beauty pageant was held. Unlike todays pageants, the winner was actually crowned queen of the nation. Unsure as to why she became queen, the answer quickly showed itself. Haman, (possibly Hitlers ancestor) wanted to destroy all the jews. Esther talked with her cousin, who informed her ,"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) She was appointed queen for this reason.
Esther did what she needed and saved a multitude of Jews. Later on, Jesus, spoke to his disciples and said to them ,"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (John 15:16NIV) The disciples were appointed to bear fruit. To teach others about Jesus.
What about me, you might ask? (And if you didn't, pretend you did, so you can keep reading) You have also been appointed. You've been appointed by God for the same purpose as Esther, the Disciples, Paul (Daniel, you didn't mention Paul earlier? I know, but Paul was appointed (Acts 26:16, 1 Tim 2:7) What is that purpose? To bear fruit so that people will not perish.
You may not have been appointed to be a king/queen, governor, mayor, pastor, or any other job you're not in. You have been appointed as a christian to witness to others. Whether it is to plant a seed or water the plant, you have been appointed. "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of seaon; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Tim 4:2 NIV)

God Bless
Daniel

For Such a Time as This II: Divine Selection

When your boss (work or home) asks (tells) you to do something unpleasant and you would rather pull out all of your nose hair with tweezers than do what they ask (tell), you may fall into the Jonah category.
Jonah was a prophet who was asked (told) by God to go to Ninevah and preach a simple message of repentance. Jonah, being a dutiful servant, jumped on a boat and headed toward the Caribbean Islands. While on the boat a huge storm arrived and threatened to tear the boat asunder. All the crew began throwing cargo over the side of the boat. Jonah did what any other sensible person would do in a time of crisis. Knowing that death may not be that far away, he went below deck and went to sleep.
The crew prayed to their gods and didn't receive a response. So, they cast lots and figured out it was Jonah's fault, so he needed to get right with his God. They managed to get Jonah up on the top deck and plead with him to make things right with God. He told them to toss him overboard and the storm will stop. Knowing that there was an all powerful God throwing a hurricane at them, and Jonah was a prophet, they (the crew) were a little hesitant to kill a prophet of God. But not too hesitant, for they asked for forgiveness and then launched Jonah overboard. There waiting for lunch was a giant fish and it swallowed Jonah.
Jonah was selected by God to preach to Ninevah. The storm was selected by God to keep Jonah on course. The fish was selected by God to preserve Jonah in the sea. God's selection process may stump us, but they are with reason. Let's look at another example:
Jesus was walking along the sea and saw a couple of fishermen. Jesus approached them and said, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men" They immediately followed Him. Jesus traveled a little further and came upon a couple more fishermen and said the same thing. And again, they immediately followed Him.
These fishermen didn't ask Jesus why they should follow him. They didn't ask how much they were going to make. They didn't ask when they would be back. They didn't ask Him to come back another day. And they didn't ask to send someone else. They were selected by Jesus for a reason. The reason was to be fishers of men, among other reasons.
Just like Jonah and the disciples you have been selected. For what reason you might ask? (And if you didn't ask, just pretend you did so you can keep reading) First there is the great commandment: Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (NIV) Then there is the great commission Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV) We are to preach, teach and reach others with the gospel.
When you are selected to do God's work are you going to be like Jonah and run, or are you going to be like the disciples and immediately do what God wants.

Have a blessed week
Daniel V

For Such a Time as This I: Divine Encounters

As we go through this wonderful blessing known as life, we meet thousands and thousands of people (unless you live in Mankato, then it's tens of people). With each salutation and good bye we become a living witness to people. Some people can take 15 seconds and know a person thoroughly, and others it can take decades and they still won't know a person. But the question that I pose (and will attempt to answer) is: Does God put people in our lives at just the right moment, to help us through a trial, tribulation, or dinner?
While I was reading in Genesis (spec. 37:12-36) I came across something that intrigued me. At this point, Joseph had angered his brothers by telling them that he would rule over them. Now the idea of the second youngest being in charge was rarely thought of. In fact, society at that time, dictated that the oldest son got the bulk of the glory and the youngest ones got the bulk of the droppings. So when Joseph announced that he would rule over them, his brothers got a bit angered and annoyed with him.
An opportunity presented itself to rid the brothers of Joseph. They wanted to kill him, but Rueben, the eldest, said no that's not a bright idea, let's throw him in a hole instead (he wanted to rescue him later). After they gently tossed Joseph in the hole, Rueben left. (I don't want to speculate, but he may have went to make his favorite sandwich) Along came a caravan of Ishmaelites, and the brothers had another idea. Judah convinced the other brothers that it would be bad if they killed Joseph, but it would be ok to sell him into slavery. (My thoughts on that is Judah was hoping the Ishmaelites would kill Joseph, especially after Joseph would tell them of his dreams of ruling over them) The Ishmaelites bought him and away they went.
This is what got me thinking about divine encounters. If the Ishmaelites wouldn't have shown up, what would the brothers have done. Rueben was hoping to rescue Joseph and take him back to his father. The others were getting more and more furious at Joseph's dreams of ruling over them. God's plan was to have Joseph lifted up and to save his brothers at a later time. In order for that to happen, the other things had to have happened. Was it God's plan to have the caravan show up at that precise moment? If the caravan passed two hours earlier or later, what would the outcome have been?
This happens more times than we think. God is continually sending people in our direction. Some need to be led to the Lord, others are there to help us in our time of need. Look at the woman at the well. If she would have gone to the well earlier or later, she wouldn't have met Jesus. Then she wouldn't have told the villagers about it. Then . . . well, God knows what would happen. Same thing with the disciples, Paul, Timothy, me and you. Someone, somewhere, spent time with us teaching us about Jesus. Whether it be a parent, friend, neighbor, bowling buddy, someone was there.
The next time we get the urge to go buy cookies at the supermarket at 10:30 at night, or to stop by a friends house when a wild party is going on, we should ask "What does God want me to do here." Chances are he is setting you up for a divine encounter and wants you to plant a seed, water a plant, or get watered yourself.
God Bless
Daniel

Children of God

An interesting comment was made to me the other day. One that I pondered about for a while and even turned into my lesson for the Wednesday night service. The comment was "I don't know why people treat others the way they do when we are all children of God" (emphasis mine) I thought about that and something about that statement didn't sit right with me. So I went to the one place I know where I can find all the answers, and there it was. 1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother" (NIV)
To fully appreciate the context of this begin at 1 John 2:28 and read through 1 John 3:10. It declares who the children of God are and gives a great definition of sin. v4 "sin is lawlessness" (NIV)

Verse 10 gives a separation between God's children and the devils children. The first separation is anyone who does not do what is right. Doing what is right is not based on mans philosophy of what is right, but on Gods unbreakable absolute truths. If God said it's wrong then it's wrong. If you go against Gods laws then you're not doing what is right. You may think you're living a goodly righteous life, but so did the pharisees. Jesus looked at the righteous pharisees and said, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44, NIV) Look to God and do what is right in the eyes of God.
The second separation is "anyone who does not love his brother". He is not referring to a physical family member, but a spiritual family member. It does not say "love those only in your church" or "love those only in your denomination". Love your brother. When someone accepts Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer they join the family. They become your brother. You must love your brother. (I don't want to sound like a sexist pig or anything, but anytime brother is mentioned it is in reference to both genders brother and sister) If you do not love your brother you are not a child of God. If you slander, mistreat, badmouth, etc other christians you are not loving them.
Within this text there is one warning to believers. That is v 7 "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous." Do not let anyone lead you astray. If you have questions, doubts, misunderstandings, go to the Bible. Read it, study it, meditate on it. Ask God for guidance and search for the truth. If someone (myself included) misteaches something call them on it. Show them in the bible where they are wrong. If they are truly a Godly person, they will correct themselves. Also, afford others the same opportunity, if you are wrong, please accept the correction and fix it.
Are we all children of God?

Have a blessed day
Daniel

Welcome

Welcome

I will be sharing thoughts on many things here. As I prepare for the ministry, I will be posting my thoughts on what Jesus has in store for me. I will post the various messages that I plan to present, and the blessings that God has in store for me

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a line. I will do my best to answer and help.

Have a blessed week

Daniel V