by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Christian Living Truth's
Over the course of time the Apostle Peter oversaw his work with the Lord in a way that showed spiritual maturity. He, like every servant of the Lord who is sent to bring forth a new work, faced criticism. The Book of Acts records one of the times when the cancer of traditionalism kept Christians from recognizing a powerful move of God. “The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, ‘You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.’ Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:” (Acts 11:1-4) “When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.’” (Acts 11:18) A ministry matured in the Holy Spirit defeats criticism.
The Holy Spirit reveals the importance of God’s work through Peter by moving Luke to refer to the events of the ministry in Cornelius’s household three different times in the Book of Acts. I would propose to you if the work of the Lord was important enough to have the Holy Spirit move Luke to write down the events of Peter’s ministry, it should be important enough for the Body of Christ to take note of the truths surrounding Peter’s ministry.
It is important to note that those who criticized Peter’s ministry to the Gentiles were Jewish Christians, “circumcised believers” who needed a fuller understanding of the whole counsel of the Word of God. Everyone in the church can easily fall into the same spiritual blindness as the religious people of Peter’s day. Thus Christians prayerfully seek Holy Spirit illumination of the whole of Scripture to cleanse them from the cancers of traditionalism, legalism, faddism, and denominationalism. They desire to mature in ministry and give Biblical accountability, like Peter did.
When Christians learn how to Biblically seek revelation from God and Biblically present His revelation to the Body of Christ, spiritual leaders will rejoice in the work of the Lord. Seek Biblical maturity and defeat human criticism.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Thankful for Christians
Paul knew how to say thanks to God and to those who were in partnership with him in the Lord’s work. Philippians 1:3-11 says, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.”
The Apostle Paul presents to us the heartbeat of a mature Christian. These passages of Scripture present concisely and clearly the expressions of thanksgiving that are so desperately needed in the Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul at Philippi is maltreated; there he is scourged and put in the stocks. At the time he writes of this portion of the letter he has seen little fruit from his labors, and yet he remembers Philippi with joy. He looks upon his sufferings for Christ as his credit and his comfort, and he is so thankful. The Apostle is not alone in the world, he is not the only one living for Christ. He is part of a great family of believers. He is not in the presence of the Body of Christ, yet in his Roman prison he has great joy in remembering that there are others who are serving the Lord and living in a sweet fellowship with God and Christ.
Those involved in the work of the Lord are not alone. There is the whole Body of Christ with different spiritual gifts and committed to their work for the Lord. Those who are illuminated with this truth are just like the Apostle who wrote, “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:12) Whether you are with a certain group of Christians or you are just remembering the labors and faithfulness of others, there can be a wonderful joy that floods your heart as you thank God for calling you into Kingdom service. Be Thankful for other Christians!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Thanksgiving
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Enjoying the promises in this passage of Scripture begins with understanding confession. “Confess” (homologeo) can mean to agree with. It also means to confess publicly the wrong we have committed. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary; Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament; Vines Amplified Expository Dictionary of the New Testament; Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains; The Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament; Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)
If you have sinned against your children, spouse, church or anyone, then you must confess to the wrong and ask for forgiveness from them and God. If it is against the leadership of the church and you have taken it publicly to others in the Body of Christ, then a public confession is a necessity. If you have sinned against leadership in the work place and made it public, then it needs to be set right before man and God. This does not include unknowing sins or unintentional offensive. Before 1 John 1:9 is verse eight, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We can be in bondage in some way and convince ourselves that we are innocent.
Walter B. Night wrote in “You Wicked Wretch” about a governor’s visit to a large penitentiary: “It was his secret plan to pardon a prisoner who met a certain condition, known only to himself. He mingled with a great number of prisoners, all claiming to be victims of injustice, all claiming to have been wrongly treated and were innocent of their crimes. Finally, one inmate said, ‘I have no reason to complain. I am guilty of my crime, wicked and desperate.’
The governor took this man to the warden, identified himself to the prisoner and said, ‘It is a pity that you should be here among so many innocent, honest men! According to your own confession, you are bad enough to corrupt them all! You shall not stay with them one day longer!’ The governor pardoned him and ordered preparations to be made for his release.”
Your pardon from God comes through confession.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Thanksgiving
Psalm 100 says, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanks giving and His courts with Praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Psalm 100 is indeed a psalm of praise. Thus, this passage of Scripture should be wholeheartedly looked to when considering what true thanksgiving to God is all about.
The Hebrew word for “shout” literally means, with an expression that can be easily heard, you are to shout for joy to the Lord. Just as football fans shout for joy when their hometown team makes a touchdown in a football game, Spirit-filled, born again Christians are to give a loud praise unto the Lord for His great works. In all places of Christian service, whether in private, family or public worship He is to be given joyful praise.
The child of God who desires to give thanks to his Creator will give his heart, ears and mouth to songs that glorify the Lord. God’s children know that He has created them; they belong to Him because Jesus purchased them with His life’s blood. They have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and they will worship Him in spirit and truth. They will enter into public worship for there is an agreement in their hearts with the psalmist David when he wrote, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’’” (Psalm 122:1) Gospel-worshipers are given an ordinance to be joyful worshipers for this is what brings communion with the Father, the Son and fellowship through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
The psalmist reminds us that the Lord is the only true living God. His loves endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
People of this world worship gods created in their own minds and hearts. A god is whatever gets the first fruits of your attention, your money and your extra time.
Time for your checkup… what types of songs get your adoration, money and time? Whose praises are constantly upon your lips? How loud do you shout at ball games versus the exuberance of your praises to the Lord for His redemption, provision and continued faithfulness? What keeps you away from Christian fellowship, church attendance, and quality Bible studies? Does your life reflect true gladness in service to Jesus Christ? The Bible says that true worship is “…offering your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Hebrews 12:1)
Make this Thanksgiving season the time you begin expressing joyful praise to the Living God who created you!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 30, 2016 | Thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” To fail to give God thanks is a symptom of unbelief. (Romans 1:21)
The true victories enjoyed in this life by born again Christians are obtained through thankfulness to God. As long as the child of God is prayerfully seeking God’s guidance, he can look at aggravations, temptations, afflictions and persecutions as being opportunities for being transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. …to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…”
Jesus knew aggravation in ministry. In Gethsemane, Jesus took Peter, James, and John into the garden with him and gave them very clear instructions, “stay here and keep watch with Me.” (Matthew 26:38) “Keep watch with me,” meant “stay awake and pray!” These three disciples were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, (Matthew 17) and they were with Jesus in the home of Jairus where they witnessed the raising of a dead girl. (Luke 8) If anyone would be fired up, ready to walk in obedience, we would think it would be these three, yet they failed the Lord.
Jesus knew Satan’s attacks in service to His Father. Matthew 4:1 says, “…Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Having Satan after you open’s the door for tough times.
The Apostle Paul knew persecution and Satan’s afflictions in ministry so that he may enjoy Christ’s power in the Lord’s work. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) The whole of Scripture teaches us, if we are seeking with all our hearts and strength to walk in obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in our afflictions we can be thankful for the opportunity to rest in “Christ’s” power. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
In reality, there are tough times. Being alone in prayer, being attacked by the devil, suffering affliction and even persecution are tough times. However, these are opportunities to find strength through the Holy Spirit and be formed into the image of Christ. Grow Christ-like through a life of thankfulness in tough times
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