LFF Blog
I just graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City with a bachelor's degree in finance. Like most 23-year-olds, my plan was to begin a career, find a wife, and start a family. I had plans for my future and I was content with how everything was playing out. But then God opened up the opportunity to go to Kenya for a year.
Some churches could be strictly adhering to the traditional, costly model of training and sending missionaries overseas, while overlooking the Middle Eastern community in their own backyard. There is no contradiction in doing both, but unfortunately many churches are likely to be neglecting the Arabs and other Middle Easterners right around the corner. It looks like God has brought the mission field to us! The question is, “How do we reach the Middle Easterners here in the US with the gospel?”
…if we allow ourselves to be consumed by our devices, then we will undoubtedly be ineffective in the mission we have been given. If we are to make disciples of all nations, then we cannot be obsessed with ourselves. If we are to reach the nations, then we must live in victory over stress and anxiety. How are we to be workmen in the word, how are we to delight in and meditate on the book if we cannot give attention to it? We are barely scratching the surface on the effects of the internet on our hearts and minds.
Unfortunately, there are many believers who are caught up in a similar cycle. Instead of focusing on what God has literally said through his word, they choose to focus on what they assume God really meant. And their lives reflect their private interpretation through the immaturity of their relationships and the drama that seems to follow them wherever they go in life.
And that’s the beauty of pursuing righteousness—because preventative measures were taken, you never have to find out the consequences of a passive, wicked decision. Diligently and intentionally pursuing righteousness in our marriages is essential to fulfill our responsibilities to one another as husband and wife, and it will keep us from having to dig ourselves out of a hole that could have been avoided altogether.
The Christian is not promised exemption from suffering or sorrow; instead, Scripture guarantees persecution for the godly person. Furthermore, for the great heroes of the faith, Scripture records even greater amounts of hardship… But the greatest suffering was endured by the greatest one – Christ Jesus.
My liberty is not a liberty that says I can make a life for myself, make a name for myself, be whatever I want to be, have whatever I want to have, or change whatever I want to change. My freedom is meant for one thing and one thing only: to let Christ live through me, and that means I am to extend the love of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, to selflessly lay down my flesh, my desires, and my hopes and dreams to love others, to fulfill the law of Christ!
While there are certainly nuances to which pagan deity or deities God was attacking with each plague, it is clear from the context of scripture that God was indeed taking aim at the pagan deities of Egypt with each successive plague. However, it is important to keep in mind that these plagues were not only a judgment on Egypt, but a sign to God’s chosen people Israel that proved the veracity of Moses’ ministry and their call to leave Egypt.
The more that you understand the ins and outs of English grammar, the more you’re going to be able to understand the ins and outs of the preserved word of God in English. Yes, you can understand great doctrines without being able to identify a prepositional phrase. But you can also get yourself into doctrinal trouble by misunderstanding how words in a sentence fit together.
Inclusivism suggests that since Christ is the solution it would not be fair for God to condemn those who never knew they had a problem, and, since we know he is good and fair, surely God would never condemn those who never had a chance to receive Christ. It would feel nice if this were the case, and we could assume most people are heaven-bound with a right relationship with God through their best efforts; however, those who preach the gospel would be pretty deplorable, the worst enemies of mankind—spreading the “good news” would be sending people to hell! But what does the Bible say about this inclusive logic?
The military will get chaplains but how many that enter will serve God and allow for the Bible to be their ultimate authority? The military is in need of godly men prepared, ready, and willing to share the gospel. Ezekiel issued a challenge to the men of Israel to stand in the gap in Ezekiel 22:30 saying, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” I hope and pray that other men will join me to stand in the gap while Jesus delays his return.
