Abigail

The story of Abigail is one that is often overlooked, but in continuing to understand the personality of a Christian woman her story needs to be addressed. Abigail is described as “an intelligent and beautiful woman” 1 Samuel 25:3, and is the exact opposite of her husband Nabal, whose name means “fool” and was a man who was “surly and mean in his dealings” 1 Samuel 25:3. Through the story of Abigail, we can learn a great deal about what is means to have a discerning heart and how to apply a spirit of gentleness in a difficult situation.

The full story of Abigail can be found in 1 Samuel 25, but I will give a brief background on her as well.  As already mentioned, Abigail was married to Nabal who had a place of business in Carmel.  David, who had not become King yet, and his men had moved into the Desert of Maon and while there had protected Nabal’s shepherds.  Upon hearing that Nabal was in the area, David sent some of his men to ask Nabal to “be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.” 1 Samuel 25:8

Nabal’s answer was true to his name, he denied any knowledge of David and the agreement they had for the protection of his shepherds.  This response angered David who began to plan an attack on Nabal and his household.  However, a servant of Nabal’s found Abigail and reported to her what her husband had said, but also what David’s men had done for them.  Abigail without hesitation grabs compensation and set out to meet with David.  When she found him, Abigail bowed down before David and asked that the blame be put on her, she begs David to ignore her husband since “his name is Fool, and folly goes with him” 1 Samuel 25:25, she states that had she seen David’s servants and heard the request they would have received compensation, Abigail then asks that David rethink his attack.  She states that “Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. 27 Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.” 1 Samuel 25:26-31.

David accepts Abigail’s compensation and tells her to “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.” 1 Samuel 25:35.  When Abigail returns to her husband, she finds him feasting like a king and very drunk.  She wisely waits to tell him of what she had done until the morning when Nabal was not in the middle of his gluttony.  When Nabal heard what had been done “his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.” 1 Samuel 25:37-38.  Upon hearing of Nabal’s demise, David praised God for dealing with Nabal and keeping David from wrongdoing.  David then extends to Abigail an invitation to be his wife, which she accepts.

Through this story we can see that we are called to have a discerning heart and to deal graciously with trouble.  This story could have turned out differently if Abigail had chosen to hesitate upon hearing the news that her husband was going to deny David payment for his protection.  Not only would David have participated in needless bloodshed and would have later regretted his actions of killing many innocent people due to the actions of one man. Or if Abigail had acted harshly it would have led to the same bloodshed.  Abigail’s reaction to the servant’s news always recalls Proverbs 14:6, “A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.”  It is no doubt that Nabal is acting as a scoffer, seeking his own wisdom but missing God’s.  Abigail however, understands what must be done and this understanding makes the decision easy to make.  She knew that neglecting those who had helped them would only bring trouble to her family.  The only way to stop this was to confront the situation.

Now we see through Abigail’s actions that confrontation does not necessarily mean harsh words.  She approached David with the spirit of humbleness, she brought herself to the place of a servant in order to deal with her husband’s actions. She begged for forgiveness and even took the blame upon herself even though she was not the one who saw the original messengers.  She approached the situation as someone from Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.  Her words spoken in a tone of gentleness and respect, got through to the angry David.  His response to her perfectly sums up how a gentle answer can turn away anger.  “Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,” 1 Samuel 25:32. David recognized that it was the Lord who had sent Abigail to him to turn him away from actions that he would have regretted. 

The angry future King had been pacified and Abigail must now return home to her husband.  Nabal, unaware of the threat that his wife had stopped, was feasting and drinking.  Here is another example of how having discernment can only help those who belong to God. Imagine if Abigail had told her drunk husband what had happened.  Do you think he would have seen the errors in his way? Or do you think it more likely that he would have acted, like his namesake, foolishly.  I believe this is the most likely occurrence from seeing the characteristic of Nabal from early on in this chapter. It is likely that had he heard that David was planning an attack, Nabal would have decided to attack as well, and the needless bloodshed that Abigail was trying to prevent would have taken place.  Abigail once again acted wisely and waited until after Nabal was sober to tell him the news.  The resulting death of Nabal shows that in His own time, God will deal with the enemies of his people.  Nabal’s fate is a perfect example of Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling”. Nabal had thought that he had gotten away with not paying David, hosted a feast, and later meet his demise.

Now hearing the story of Abigail, it brings to mind Proverbs 2:11, “Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you”.  Through her discretion and understanding of the situation Abigail guarded herself and those around her.  Abigail is a great example of what to do when we are faced with a situation that we know we can have an impact on. Abigail should be accredited with not only having discernment but for being courageous, for without her many innocent people would have died. When discernment is used correctly, we can be resolute in our need to not sit and let a situation pass us by, there are times we need to confront the situation head on and times we should allow events to play out. Abigail knew when to go to David to fix the issue before needless blood was shed, but also knew when to wait to tell Nabal. Abagail even shows her discernment to know what is outside of her control when her husband is taken from her, she wisely waits upon the Lord who graciously gives her a better man.  No matter if the situation requires a direct approach or not, confronting difficulty with a spirit of humbleness will often get a better response.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,

                        Alex

Our 411 to Understanding Scripture

Historical accounts state that when explorers first discovered Niagara Falls, they were told by the local Native Americans of the legends of how the great waterfall was formed. The locals believed the falls were formed by the “great snake”, and a young girl would have to be sacrificed to this snake in order to pacify the falls. The idea of a mystical relationship between man and the great falls was established and practiced. However, this practice was built on a lack of knowledge of the actual river.

As time went by and settlers moved further west, the nation grew, and Niagara Falls became known as the “honeymoon Capital of the World”, here tourist from all over would come and enjoy from a distance the magnificence of the falls. There was no intimacy of knowing what the falls were. As time went by engineers found another practical aspect of the falls, and that was to have a hydroelectric power plant. By drawing on the natural force and resources they could produce power for hundreds of thousands of people.[1]

Now you might be wondering where I am going with this, but what if I told you that Niagara Falls is a great example of the relationship man has, at times, with the Holy Spirit. Some Christians have a magical idea of the Holy Spirit, just like the Native Americans with Niagara Falls. Other Christians look at the Holy Spirit much like the tourist who simply enjoy watching from a distance and never fully experiencing the power of the falls. The final group of Christians have come to terms with what the Holy Spirit is wanting to do in our daily life and are experiencing the full power of what He is doing.

Intellectually the Holy Spirit can be an exceedingly difficult part of the Trinity to understand. All humans have a father, all humans have dealt with a son or someone who is a son of someone else. However, it becomes difficult for us at times to fully understand the Holy Spirit. As a child I treated the Holy Spirit more as the tourist, knowing God the Holy Spirit was there but only as one part of the Trinity, while never fully understanding God in this character and as He wished for me to know. In my young adult years, I pictured the Holy Spirit as more of the Native Americans. I thought He was mystical and would bestow gifts on those who were the most emotionally swayed. It would not be until I grew older that I started to grasp the scripturally sound person of the Holy Spirit.

Now today is not a deep dive going over the entire aspects of the Holy Spirit, nor is it a post regarding the spiritual gifts. Today we are going over the simplicity of why we need to have the Holy Spirit, not just with salvation but rather in our daily walk.

Sadly, the reality of the situation is that many believers today are not aware of the power of the Holy Spirit. This is to their disadvantage since the biggest aspects of the Holy Spirit after salvation are with the Holy Spirit guiding the Christian in their understanding of the Word. This is missed by 99.99 percent of Christians today. Allow us to go to the book of John and see one of the first times that Jesus describes the Holy Spirit and the necessary need of Him to show up.

5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:5-15

This is an especially important aspect for us to understand. Jesus Christ did not state the Gifts of the Spirit as being the reason for the Holy Spirit, and it is vital that we understand this. The first reason why the Holy Spirit is sent is for “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” this can be clearly seen from the number of Christians there are. The very fact that Christians exist today, although none of us have walked with Jesus Christ as the Disciples did during His life on earth, and none of us had the experiences of seeing the written miracles described in the Bible. Yet, here we are, born again saved Christians. This is only because of the work that the Holy Spirit has done. The conviction and recognition of our sin is brought through the Holy Spirit. This is only the beginning for a Christian, to fully understand the power of what the Holy Spirit wants to do in us we must recognize, just like the engineers with Niagara Falls, what is there. Reread verse 12-15“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

Yes, the answer is that simple. The Holy Spirit outside of the salvation process is poised to help us primarily with understanding scripture and to have a better understanding of God as a whole. I would argue that the symptoms of many in the Christian life today highlight the apparent lack of knowledge or understanding of the Holy Spirit’s desire to help us learn. Many believers think that the gifts of the Spirit is the main reason He is here today, however I would point out that the disciples had not received the Holy Spirit when Jesus sent them out to minister in Luke 10:1-24. I am not saying the gifts of the spirit do not exist today, however the discussion is deliberately being put aside for the Holy Spirit’s greater calling with us. If Christians would better understand the person of the Holy Spirit and His desire to help us, much of the scripture and its applicability would become apparent.

A good example of this is the Proverb’s challenge. Read each chapter of Proverb at the beginning of your day on the date of that chapter. Ask for God to reveal the wisdom found in those chapters. There have been several times I have been at a crossroads of wanting to say something, do something, or at a loss on how to act. Sure enough, after years of reading those chapters I find a verse that will “pop” in my head which will give me the guidance I need. Remember “through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel.” Proverbs 13:10. The Word of God is alive to those who are willing and capable of listening. It is apparent that, to those who are not saved they will not understand scripture, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:5, The world is not capable of understanding “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Corinthians 2:14.

So why do so many Christians seek non-Christian guidance? It is because they do not know the magnitude of the intimacy God the Holy Spirit wants in their life, “but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24. Remember this warning found in Proverbs 19:27 “Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” Jesus Christ told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come as described in Luke 24:49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Yet from comparing the scriptures we can see that Jesus Christ had already given them the Holy Spirit, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them.” John 20:22.

So what changed? What happened? For that answer we go back to John chapter 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” The Holy Spirit was breathed on them by Jesus, but they were told to wait for the Holy Spirit’s time on earth, for their apparent blessing of God. The Holy Spirit was coming to empower them, to teach them, and to show them. Just look at the transformational difference between Peter before and after. He is denying he knew Jesus Christ to a little girl “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” Matthew 26:69-70 yet a little over a month later he is declaring to thousands Jesus Christ. Many people highlight the transformational conviction in Peter’s words and how passionate he is, however, I would argue he is giving us a prime example of the Holy Spirit guiding us in understanding the scripture as promised in John 16. Just look at what Peter says in Acts 2 and how he connects Old Testament scripture to what was going on at that time.

“14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25 For David says of Him,

‘I saw the Lord always in my presence;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’

29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The “so what” factor must now come into play, for us living today in the 21st century we have two choices that we must make regarding the Holy Spirit. The first is with the salvation and acceptance of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, knowing He was the perfect justification for you and I to be saved. We fail, where He rightfully succeeds. Based off of that justification the Holy Spirit is able to place in us a new heart and a new spirit as described in Ezekiel 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” The second choice is allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us scripture. So, take a few things with you the next time you attempt to read your Bible. You cannot go wrong with this,

1) First ask God for Him to teach you the word, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21

2) Context, Context, Context. Make sure you know the who, what, where, how, and why of the scripture. “every prudent man acts with knowledge” Proverbs 13:16

3) Be careful who you ask for guidance, “the naïve believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps” Proverbs 14:15.

4) Whatever is told to you go back to scripture and see for yourself, “the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”  Acts 17:10-11.

5) And the final thing to remember, be in the Bible daily! Just as the people in Berea who examined the scripture daily.

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, He has as much right to be worshiped and respected as the Father and Son. However, do not reject His biggest purpose for coming to earth for the Christian, to help guide and teach you the scriptures. So read the Bible not just spiritually or literally, but seriously. There are parts which are poetic, historical, literal, and so much more. Examine the words carefully remembering, “if the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense less you find nonsense.” If you lean on God the Holy Spirit, watch how He will be able to do a good work in you as you study the Word of God. The Word of God will truly become alive for you as it was for those who have gone before us today.

Hold until relieved, Our blessed Hope is coming

JL

[1] Concise Bible Doctrines Elmer L. Towns

Mary and Martha

Perhaps you have heard the story of the sisters Mary and Martha before. If not, it can be found in Luke 10:38-41, “38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

            This may seem like an interesting start in learning what it means to be a Christian woman, especially if you look at the woman described in Proverbs 31, but in today’s world there are a lot more Martha’s than Mary’s.  Granted, right now with a large amount of the population confined to their homes we are forced to slow down some, but this isn’t always the case.  I’m sure we have all been in the situation of trying to get a meal ready, clean the house, and going through a mental checklist of all the things that need to be done. Often times, we wake up with that list going through our heads and before we know it, its evening and we haven’t spent any time with the Lord. Being busy isn’t a bad thing, in fact the Bible is clear that we are not to be idle.  Just look at Proverbs 6:9-11 for a result of what happens if we are idle, or 1 Timothy 5:13 which shows that when we are idle we become busybodies and gossips talking about things that do not need to be mentioned.  We are not called to by idle in the Word of God, or in our relationship with Him, but to be active.  The issue of being busy comes when we are busy for the sake of being busy.

            Take Martha for example, she literally has the Lord in her house! And instead of learning from Him, she is focused on other things.  I know this is an issue that I have struggled with in the past, wanting to spend time in the Word, but my mind is elsewhere.  I’ll be reading through my Bible but my mind is more focused on what needs to be done today, what my daughter is doing, what we should have for dinner, well you get the picture. And I know in that moment that I am not truly with the Lord. I am treating this time as just another check mark to be done on my daily list.  And just like Martha, when I am so busy with other things I become anxious.  My mind wanders from the Scriptures and I begin to worry about making sure all doctor appointments are scheduled, if we have the groceries that we need, did we pay the bills, or did I miss something? In that moment, I am exactly like Martha, I have God’s word in front of me but I am not listening to what He is teaching me.

 Christ, however, being the Good Counselor that He is, reminds Martha “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one”.  This reminds me of Proverbs 12:25 “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Christ comes alongside the anxious Martha, and tells her that only one thing is needed. Now this could be a reminder to her that a small meal is better than an elaborate one, but I believe that it is more important to consider that Christ meant that the only thing that is needed is Him.  The logic for this argument can be seen if you look at Mary.

Mary knows that Christ and His disciples need to eat, she knows there is a lot to be done, but she is focused on what is important.  Learning from the feet of our Lord. She is living out Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Mary knows that the living God is before her and is sitting still listening to Him.  This aspect needs to be applied to our own time with God, push the thoughts of what needs to be done during the day away and focus solely on your time in the Word. By being still and listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say, will ensure that we can gain wisdom and discernment.

            Look at the nature of the two sisters, one is anxious and fretful while the other is calm and still.  By leaning on the Lord we can be like in Psalm 34:4 “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”  Or again in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Again look at the anxious Martha, she definitely was not seeing how God can provide rest for us.  Mary on the other hand was relying on Him to teach her and was able to see how God’s yoke is easy and the burden light.

Christ wants us to spend time with Him, it’s how we get to know Him.  And just like in our earthly relationships, if we do not give our undivided time, we do not get to know God as deeply as we might have.  I encourage you all to remind yourselves of Mary when next you do your Bible study.  And know that Christ will come along side you to remind you that He is all that is needed.

Seek the Truth and encourage one another,               

  Alex

Christians Be Warned!

I was once asked if being from the United States meant I was automatically a Christian, I thought for a moment about how to best answer the question. The person who stood before me had never been to the United States, and to him “Americans” meant being a Christian. No matter where you come from or the life that you have chosen, there comes a point in our life which we will have to come to grips with the realization of who Christ is personally to us. For many He is a good man, to others He is a wise teacher, but He is so much more!

In the United States, I have seen the rise of the “kristian” a mockery, a forgery, the world’s replication of a Christian. A “kristian”, as I like to call them, is a person who appears to have the attributes of a born-again believer but is not one of us. The Spirit of God does not dwell in them, they have not been found Righteous in Jesus Christ. However, the “kristian” does dwell right now with us, they live among us; they worship in the same churches and in some cases, they are even the leadership inside the church. The “kristian” is presently with us and there is no denying it. Some might say that this is an inaccurate idea and not representing the reality of what is really happening. My answer to them would simply be, let’s go back to scripture and see what it says.

 15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:15-23

God is aware that this would happen; He even gave a parable regarding how He would deal with the issue plaguing the Church having imposters. Matthew chapter 13. Here we see Jesus Christ talking to His disciples and explaining the issue of the impersonator and the true follower of God.

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.” Matthew 13:24-27.

Here we see the wheat and the tares are indistinguishable at the beginning. Christians and “kristians” are living next to one another, serving in church with one another, and even disciplining one another. This is a dilemma, for a Christian to fully grow he or she must be firmly planted in Jesus Christ.  If they are getting spiritual guidance from “kristians”, someone who is not a part of the heavenly family of God, then it is all for naught.

At this point some might be questioning the logic, they might be saying “well isn’t that harsh, that person is only trying to be the godly person they need to be.” Well I would say that you are correct. A “kristian”, is trying to be a godly person. In fact, I would say that they are being a very godly person. Yet, it isn’t good enough. Scripture says, “for all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Jesus even goes on to say, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own” John 15:18.

So, we now know that being a “kristian” is to be loved by the world. It is simple yet powerful, short but monumental. In plain speech it can be said like this, to have a Christian and a “kristian” in a room together is to have one really saved and one damned to hell. My last example I will give to help explain the evidence of this is Judas Iscariot. He lived with the eleven as well as Jesus, he went out with them, he was part of their daily lessons at Jesus Christ’s feet. He was with them until the point he went to betray Jesus. This is how a “kristian” is and will be. They follow Jesus, they listen to Him, they do the things to mimic, but they are not really one of His. Yet, what is a Christian to do about this? For the Church is infiltrated! Heresy is rampant, hypocrisy preached at the pulpit, and worship music dedicated to the embracing of demons is exalted. The 21st century believer really does find himself/herself in a real pickle.

Nevertheless, do not be dismayed for Jesus Christ who was and is and is to come, has planned for such an issue and is capable of delivering the wheats from the tares. For this however, we must go back to Matthew chapter 13.

“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’29 But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Matthew 13:28-30.

The worst thing to ever happen to the Church was for it to become legal in the Roman Empire in 313 AD with the Edict Milan. A short 10 years later and it would be the official religion of the empire. The “kristian” would join the community and thus “mudding” the lines between the two.

Here in the United States, the “kristian” has influenced daily life with the Christian so much that the Christian has been negatively influenced by the “kristian”. Thankfully, due to Christ’s unwavering promises, we are not thrown away. Yet, the simplicity of a Christian to come away from the “kristian” is found only when something happens. When the world is allowed to persecute what it hates. In the United States, we have been protected for years however all that is changing. The world has set its eyes and agenda against the last few areas to which Christians are located freely. Do not fret, for this is a good thing! We are told in scripture,

“Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” Acts 5:41

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance” Romans 5:3

“For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

You see, as the hardship comes, the “kristian” will flee. In fact, they will follow their real master, the world. They will be plucked away, and the Christian will be left, victorious in Jesus Christ. This does not mean that our days should be spent looking for someone to attack, berate, or hurt us but rather for us to stand firm in Christ. As a political scientist I have had the luxury of seeing the trends regarding the conservative movement in American politics and what was first a strong union between “kristian” and Christian within a voting bloc has been dwindled to the point where “kristians” are swayed and even arguing for rights that are against Christian core beliefs. The damage, however, is not only in our country but rather the world. Christians have been so plagued by the “kristian”, that we do not even know what we stand for. Bible prophecy is not taught but shunned in churches. I recently heard a pastor declare that there will be no more temples in Jerusalem. Even though Daniel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and so many more books in the Bible all talk about another temple or the events around it. Even Jesus Christ’s own words prophecy of a coming temple in Matthew 24 were rejected and spiritualized by the pastor.

Now we come to the “so what” factor, why bring this up, why tell us about this issue? I must admit my first blog post on Mill House Ministries was not planned to be this. Yet, the thoughts of what was stated in Ezekiel

“When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood” Ezekiel 3:18.

Yet I want you the reader to know that we will not hold back from telling the truth. We love you too much, we love Jesus Christ too much to not tell you the truth of what He would have us say. Reflecting back to the beginning when asked if I was a Christian because I was an American, I simply stated no to the individual “I was a Christian before I was an American” he looked at me with a quizzical look and asked “before?” I smiled at him and replied, “I am willing to share with you if you want to know.” We eagerly sat down together and began to talk about Jesus Christ. 

Our culture, our identity, cannot be with this world but only in Christ. So even though the “kristians” have their “coalitions,” their “faith claim it movements” and “ear tickling ministries,”  we want you to know that the true body of Christ, the real Church is unharmed by such worldly trickery if we stand firm in Jesus Christ and His word. So, let it be said of us that when our brothers and sisters looked left or to the right, we stood our ground and encouraged them to keep their eyes on Christ. Let us not be moved or shaken by the world, for while it mocks, screams, and taunts us who are born again have someone in us who is greater than this world, we have someone who states the simple phrase, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming!

JL

Edition 1.

From Blessed Hope Podcast to Mill House Ministries

First, I want to thank you the reader for taking the time and seeing what this is all about. If this is your first-time hearing about any of this than enjoy seeing how God worked in our lives to transform from a simple podcast to a full ministry. If you were an avid listener of the podcast, I understand that this might be considered a crazy turn of events! Not only has the podcast not been running but it has transformed into something that it was not. Rest assured our hearts are still aimed at the Titus 2 approach and serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The only thing that has changed is the method.

Podcasting has always been a passion of mine, and the Blessed Hope Podcast was able to reach the hearts and minds of thousands around the globe. Nevertheless, there were many serious drawbacks from having only a podcast. We realized that a new approach was needed to ensure that we were meeting the needs of our listeners and getting the Word of God out there while still upholding to a professional quality level.

After many weeks of praying and seeking the Lord, we came to the conclusion that a ministry was needed. Here we can do a blog for those who need it, have the capacity to have ministry resources, and to allow believers who also share in our aim of serving the Lord Jesus Christ to aid in our mission. Thus, Mill House Ministries was born. Yes, one day we might bring back the podcast, but if we do it will be a part of the Mill House Ministries umbrella. Nevertheless, if you want to hear the episodes of Blessed Hope Podcast, don’t worry you can always go back and listen (link provided https://anchor.fm/the-blessed-hope-podcast ).

I would point out one quick thing before signing off, the Blessed Hope Podcast was never meant to be a one stop shop for people in their growth in Christ and neither is this ministry, but I would ask that you give it a chance to aid you in your personal relationship with Christ. Subscribe and follow along. AND AS I ALWAYS SAID IN THE BLESSED HOPE PODCAST!

1) TAKE EVERYTHING BACK TO THE WORD OF GOD!

2) SPEND TIME WITH HIM EACH AND EVERYDAY!

3) KEEP FOCUSED ON THE RETURN OF OUR BLESSED HOPE!

Remember that our actions here in this life will have a lasting impact on the Kingdom to come. Let us not wait, let us not sit idly by, let us finish the race so that we all might hear “well done my good and faithful servant.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming!

JL

An Introduction

Hello there! I am Alex, and if any of our followers from the Blessed Hope Podcast are here you would know me as the one who reads the daily Bible verses.  If you are not one of our followers from there that’s ok! We are excited to have you here.  So since this is my first blog, I wanted to give everyone a chance to get to know me.  I became a Christian in January of 2012, before that I was someone who would “play Christian”, but I had no idea what it actually meant to be a Christian and that is a Follower of Christ. This was nothing against my upbringing, in fact I had a great childhood.  I went to church camps where I had heard of Christ and heard that He had died for me, but I did not yet understand the significance of that action. I did not understand that I was a sinner, and that it was my sins that put Christ on that cross.  I believed that as long as I was a good enough person that I would make it to Heaven on my own merit. It wasn’t until I met JL in collage that I began to notice that there was something different about the Christ that JL was following, and the “Christian” actions I was doing.  After months of discussion and learning that it is through faith alone, in Christ alone, would I be saved and reconciled to God, I put my faith in Christ.

Now that you know a little bit more about me, I want to go into what the purpose of this part of Mill House Ministries is about. While this blog is directed towards women, I am in no way a Pastor.  I am simply a woman who loves Christ and wants to share what I have learned about my Savior with others, with the Bible being the ultimate authority.  I place the theme of this blog to be Titus 2:3-5 “3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” And the second part of this blog can be found in Ephesians 5:1-2 “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

If your immediate reaction is to recoil at some “hot-buttons”, give me some time and I am sure I will address it, especially since when I was a baby believer I probably would have had the same reaction.  What I aim to do, is to share with you and help encourage Woman of Christ. I have seen far too many woman acting “religion,” having a works-based faith, or simply having a lack of understanding what the Scriptures say about our Lord and Savior. I want to be someone who “teaches what is good”, so that I can urge others to love those around them like God loves us. I want to help encourage others to be like the women found throughout the Bible, and not just the Proverbs 31 woman, but women like Ruth, Naomi, and Abigail. If you are new to the faith or have questions about what it means to be a Christian and don’t know these stories, don’t worry I have blogs planned to go into them, but I do encourage you to look them up yourself.  I want to encourage woman to be imitators of God, but mostly I do not want to malign the word of God.

From my background, I know that there are a lot of misunderstandings about what it means to be a Christian woman. In fact, I was once in a room where the leaders wanted the woman to stand up to apologize to the men for bringing sin into the world through Eve. Let me just say that this is very much wrong! And it is from that, and other experiences, that I can say I know Titus 2:3-5, has some “hot-buttons”. My goal with this blog is to help women truly see what God has for us, and I can tell you that it is an exciting journey to get to know our God!

As I said in the beginning, the Bible is the ultimate authority, and every post that I do will have the Scriptures there for you to read.  I implore you to read the verses on your own much like those found in Acts 17:11 “ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Take back everything that I say to the Word to make sure that what I am saying is true, and if you see things a little differently, reach out to me! I want to hear from you! 

Sincerely,

Alex