Are You A Do, Do, Do Christian?

I'm finally, after walking with the Lord for almost 20 years, getting this.

 

Church Service, for Believers or Unbelievers?

'Is it not the point of Church services and assemblies “the assembling of ourselves together?” Assembling of saints together exhorting one another, considering each other to provoke unto love and to good works? Outrageous would the claim be that this too is applicable to the unbelieving world is it not? Then why is it that men still continue to pursue such a thought? Why is it though having known this text people still endeavor to change what is to be by Scripture to what their hearts and minds desire? As all things that are in this ever so rising tide of infidelity it is because we think we know better. The oldest sin in the book.' Full article HERE.

Related Links:

Something Is Missing In The Church by Leonard Ravenhill

Why Is There So Much Sin In The Church?

Bring True Converts to Church

You Might Be a Pragmatist

Do You Really Love Your Neighbor?

What makes me sad and feel helpless as a mother is to see subtle social bullying by those who profess to be Christian. If you claim to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and you shun, avoid, spurn or ignore people who are different...repent, or better yet examine yourself to see if you're in the faith. You are called to love your neighbor as yourself.

When God saved me 20 years ago, the first thing I noticed was the love I had for His people. It confused me when I would see Christians treating other believers poorly. I'm not saying I've never done it, but this behavior should not be a regular part of our lives. 

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8

Encourage Your Pastor ~ Charles Spurgeon

If you do not encourage your minister, your minister will probably sink down in despair. Remember that the man himself needs encouragement, because he is weak. Who is sufficient for these things?

To serve in any part of the spiritual army is dangerous, but to be a captain is to be doubly exposed. The most of the shots are aimed at the officers. If Satan can find a flaw in our character, then it will be, "Publish it, publish it, publish it!" If he can lead us to keep back a doctrine or go amiss in practice, or wander in experience, he is glad enough. How delighted is the devil to break the vessels of mercy.

Pray for the poor man, whom you expose to perish if you do not preserve him by supplication. If there were a ship at sea stranded and broken on the rocks, and someone volunteered to carry a rope to the sinking crew, you, standing on the shore, could do no more, methinks you could not do less, than cry, "O God! help him to bear the rope to that wrecked ship."

Pray for the minister and encourage him, for there are plenty to discourage him. There are always carping spirits abroad who will remind him of any fault; he will be afflicted by those dastards who will not dare to sign their names to a letter, but send it to him anonymously; and then there is the devil, who, the moment the man has got out of the pulpit, will say, "There is a poor sermon! You will never dare to preach again."

After he has been preaching for weeks there will come a suggestion, "You are not in your proper sphere of labor." There are all sorts of discouragements to be met with. Professing Christians will backslide. Those who do remain will often be inconsistent, and he will be sighing and crying in his closet, while you, perhaps, are thanking God that your souls have been fed under him.

Encourage your minister, I pray you, wherever you attend—encourage him for your own sake. A discouraged minister is a serious burden upon the congregation. When the fountain gets out of order, you cannot expect to find water at any of the taps; and if the minister be not right, it is something like a steam engine in a great manufactory—everybody's loom is idle when the motive-power is out of order.

See that he is resting upon God and receiving his divine power, and you will all know, each Sabbath day, the benefit of it. This is the least thing you can do. There are many other things which may cause you expense, effort, time, but to encourage the minister is so easy, so simple a matter, that I may well press upon you to do it.

Wretched: Paul Washer How to KNOW you are a Christian.

Charo Washer ~ Being a Wife and Mother

For those who know me or read my blog must know that I highly admire Paul Washer. I have his same passion for the lost, false converts, the church, and the family.

 Here is his wife, Charo, who gave an amazing testimony in 2006 of her own false conversion as a missionary and pastor's wife. Since then she has experienced our God's amazing transformation and is teaching on the family. I like that there is not a whole lot of fluffy or flowery talk. This is just straight up wisdom which I believe women really need in our day. Even though this is a translation it's still worth the time.

False Converts: My Deepest Burden

I get some opposition from my Christian friends that I'm judgmental when I've shared my concern about false converts. Most of what I post here echos that burden because it is love that motivates me; it's love for God, love for His church, and love for people.

Below is a list from Todd Friel of "Evangelical Phrases that Produce False Converts 13 Evangelistic Phrases That Produce False Converts.

Before reading on, it's important to understand that true faith as well as repentance is a gift from God. We can't muster faith anymore than Lazarus can raise himself from the dead. He responded to the call from Jesus himself.

Have you received the amazing supernatural gift of being transformed (repentance) by the Holy Spirit?

1. Make Jesus your Lord and Savior. We cannot make Jesus our Lord and Savior, He is our Lord and Savior. We are living in rebellion to Him and He commands us to repent and trust Him.

2. Ask Jesus into your heart. Does Jesus come into our hearts? Yes He does. The question is, “How does He get in there?” It is not by simply asking Him in; it is by repentance and faith.

3. Just believe in Jesus. The demons believe and they tremble. We must repent and trust.

4. You have a God-shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it. We have far more than a hole that needs to be filled so we can feel complete; we have a wretched, deceitful, sinful heart that needs cleansing. Repentance and faith applies the blood of the lamb for that cleansing.

5. Accept Jesus. Whoa. We need to accept Jesus? This is entirely backward. We need Jesus to accept us–and He will, if we repent and trust.

6. Make a decision for Jesus. Decisional regeneration puts man in the driver’s seat of salvation. When we repent and trust, Jesus decides to save us. That puts Him in the driver’s seat…where He demands.

7. It is easy to believe. While the formula of repentance and faith sounds simple, a complete surrendering of self in repentance is anything but easy. It’s hard.

8. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The only promises for the convert are trials, temptation and persecution. If that is how you define a wonderful life, fine. Otherwise we must command all men everywhere to repent and trust.

9. Come to Jesus just as you are. We should come to Jesus just as the sinners we are, but He also expects a broken heart and contrite spirit demonstrated in repentance and faith.

10. Come to Jesus and you will receive forgiveness of sins and ________________ (fill in the blank with money, health, a healed marriage). Jesus didn’t promise healed marriages; in fact He promised broken homes because we would divide when one member repents and trusts.

11. Come to Jesus and experience love, joy, peace. Do we get the fruit of the Spirit upon conversion? Yes. But if we come seeking the gifts and not the giver, we will receive neither. Instead, we must repent and trust.

12. Jesus is the missing piece. Um, no, the God of the universe is not the missing piece, He demands that He is the center of our lives when we repent and trust.

13. Jesus is better than fame and fortune. That is an understatement, and frankly, it is insulting. Saying Jesus is better than money is like saying that a steak dinner is better than eating a dung hill. He defies comparison and we trivialize the Son of God. Instead, we should be pleading with all men everywhere to repent and trust.

A.W. Pink: Unbelievers