Tag

believers

Exhorted to Trust God

By | Eyesalve

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” II kings 5:13

 

One of the most valuable things about belonging to a loving fellowship of believers, is that there are those there who will encourage you when you have moments of doubt. If Naaman’s servant could convince him to trust what the prophet said, how much more should we be encouraged by the brethren who exhort us to trust God?

Speak of Them

By | Eyesalve

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” I Peter 4:4

 

While those who speak evil of us believers who will not run with them, we believers can speak to God about them who will not run with us.

They’re Strange

By | Eyesalve

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” I Peter 4:4

 

The world think it is strange that we believers do not run with them. Well, I think it is strange that they don’t run with us. So there.

Is It True That Christians Shouldn’t Judge

By | Articles

“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (I Corinthians 5:11-13).

 

It has been said that the most quoted scripture in the Bible is John 3:16. I dispute that and say there is another scripture that is quoted more often, not just by Christians, but by the world too. To be fair, the scripture that I am referring to is not quoted in entirety and it is paraphrased. Matthew 7:1 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Here is how it is most often said, “Thou shall not judge,” or “Who are you to judge?” If you would ask most people if it is alright to judge anyone, most would say no. Christians and sinners alike, are growing more resistant to the idea of anyone judging their life. I can understand non-believers hate being judged, but true followers of Christ need to understand that it is biblical to judge the body of Christ.

Many Christians have a hard time with the whole thought of judging others. One of the biggest reasons is they do not judge themselves. If believers never evaluate their walk with the Lord, then they may feel uncomfortable with judging others in the body of Christ, and rightfully so. There is nothing that makes one a hypocrite more than rebuking others for sin, when the one who is rebuking everyone is himself living a sinful life. No doubt we have way too many so called believers who live carnal lives and yet are judging and condemning other believers for their short comings. No one appreciates these kind of people speaking into their life.

Even for Christians who do live godly lives, they still may find it hard to judge the body of Christ. That is the reason for this article. Good righteous judgment is very important for the body of Christ to help keep her healthy. It is meant for the good of the individual believer and the whole of the body of Christ. Any of us can get drawn away into idolatry or some other sinful thing. It is a beautiful thing, though not comfortable at first, when a brother or sister sees a saint who is overtaken by sin and lovingly confronts them with the hope they would repent and get back to right standing with the Lord.

Before any believer should judge another they need to remember this important thing. Judging needs to start with yourself first. This is one time you can put yourself first. You need to examine your own life before you speak up to others about theirs.

 

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates” (II Corinthians 3:5)?

 

When you do examine yourself, don’t see how you stack up against man, but see how your life lines up with the word of God. Ask God what He thinks of your walk, not man. I am sure many people appreciate the medical experts teaching us different self-examination techniques we can perform on our bodies to detect unwanted growths that could lead to death. How much more, should we as believers, be thankful that we can examine our walk to see if there is something there that could lead to spiritual death. When the Holy Spirit does put His finger on something in our lives we must then confess it and forsake it. He is a loving God that is patient and always willing to forgive us by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

The Christian who has sinned at times and then made it right with God, will understand how a believer can fall into sin, and will be much more patient and loving in their judging a brother or sister. They won’t be doing it with a self-righteous spirit. They will do it in such a way that even the one who is being judged should recognize the love. We already read Matthew 7:1, now let’s look at the next two verses. We will see how this speaks to the thought that we can judge only after we dealt with the things in our life.

 

“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye” (Matthew 7:2-3)?

 

Verse two tells us that when we do judge, we are opening ourselves to be judged the same way. So if you don’t want to be judged by self-righteous people, then you better not judge in self-righteousness. If you don’t want people condemning you for your sinful failures, then don’t go condemning anyone else. In verse three we learn that it is alright to judge another believer, after we get the beam out of our own eye. It is then that we can judge righteously. It is then we can judge in love. The true heart behind righteous judgment is always for the sake of the believer and the body of Christ.

There are those saints who are the most eager to judge their fellow brethren. If you are one of them, make sure your life is right, make sure your heart is pure and make sure it is righteous judgment. The heart of judging anyone must always be for restoration and the desire for the one being judged to live a life that brings glory to God. If one who claims to be a Christian and refuses to repent of a sinful life, then for the sake and spiritual health of the body, that one must be removed. This is a right judgment. In fact, God expects us to have such a love for the body that we should not allow any person, no matter how much they may be loved, to be a cancer to the body of Christ. If the Bible says, “…put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” then a judgment has to be made about that person living in sin. We are not even so supposed to eat with a brother or sister who is living a sinful life. This does not mean that we can’t eat with any Christian who sins. If that were the case, you wouldn’t be able to eat with me. I have sinned many times since I have become a believer, but the difference is that I have confessed those sins to the Lord. It is the person who refuses to repent and continues to live in open sin that the body of Christ must put out. This isn’t an easy thing to do. I have done it a few times in my church because I love Christ and His body too much to allow any individuals to spread their sin amongst the church. So to conclude; Yes judging is right, as long as it is done right.

 

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Galatians 6:1-3).

Eyesalve: The Famine is Here

By | Eyesalve

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11-12

 

The days of a famine of the word are indeed upon us. No doubt, there are many Christians who are church hoppers, going from church to church looking to satisfy their carnal needs. But times have changed since I got saved over thirty years ago. There are still many Christians who are going from church to church today, except now they are searching for a church where the word of God is preached in Spirit and in truth. God, grant that these desperate hungry believers do find a church where there is a bountiful supply of the word of God.

Eyesalve: You Will be Excluded

By | Eyesalve

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” (Luke 6:22)

 

Strong faithful believers never have a difficult time staying separate from the world, for the world excludes them from joining them.

Eyesalve: Is God With Them?

By | Eyesalve

Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. 6He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. 7But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.” II Chronicles 25:5-7

 

Before we are quick to involve some believers in ministries, we should make sure that God is with them.

The Heart of a Remnant Believer

By | Articles

“And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).

 

When Nehemiah heard what condition the remnant of Israel was in, who were living in Judah, he wept and fasted. He was deeply grieved over the condition his brethren was living under. The wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates were burned with fire. The physical affliction the Jews in Judah were living in is a type of spiritual affliction many sincere believers live in today. I need to tell you that the burden Nehemiah had for his brethren is similar to the burden I have for the church of Jesus Christ, who are my brethren. As Nehemiah was distraught over the remnant in Judah, I too am distraught with the condition that many Christians have to live under. I am not talking about the disintegration of our society here in America, I am talking about the famine of the word of God, and the lack of the Holy Spirit that is in so many churches today.

There are many people in the church today who probably don’t care much if the church is shallow and lacking the presence of God. Some prefer it that way because the presence of God and a strong word brings conviction. However, in many of these churches there is a people, a set apart people, a remnant, who desire a deeper relationship with the Lord. I believe with all sincerity that these remnant believers are some, if not the most neglected people in the church. As we hear so many lectures on how we must accept people and come down to their level, and how we appoint people to greet new faces, the remnant are quietly being ignored. As the emphasis is to preach simple salvation messages over and over again in some churches, the remnant believers are starving for some meat. As you continue to read this article, you may start to see that you may be one of the remnant, if you don’t already realize that.

Remnant believers want more, but so often they don’t quite understand what that more is. People in church around them might seem to be rolling with the flow, but in their own heart there is a dissatisfaction. This lack of contentment in remnant believers can actually make them feel bad for feeling so dissatisfied. They know that they should be more appreciative of what God has done for them. They know they have been saved and washed by the blood of the Lamb. They know they have been given a brand new life and even life more abundant. They know that they ultimately deserve hell, yet they are given eternity in heaven. So they feel bad when they find themselves looking for something more. They sense something is not quite right. Actually, what is really going on in them is that Holy Spirit is being quenched by carnal halfhearted Christians and churches, and the seed of Christ in them wants to bust out and grow. It is hard for any Christian to grow if they are in an environment that discourages growth.

The discontentment that remnant believers have is right and good because it is just a symptom of a longing for a deeper relationship with God. They are appalled with the low life living that is so often being offered. Miller Brewing Company is located in Milwaukee. They make a beer called Miller High Life. Let me tell you friends, drinking beer and alcoholic beverages is not the high life. It is the opposite, it is the low life. It has destroyed millions upon millions of lives. Walk around Milwaukee and see all the drunks wandering around and know that there is nothing high about that life. Knowing the Lord and pursuing a deeper relationship with Him is the high life. Christians live the high life, or at least have the potential to do so.

 

“He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places” (Psalm 18:33).

 

Again I want to say, remnant believers desire something more, but many don’t quite know what it is.  If they are gathered in the midst of the merely religious, the discontentment they may feel is because they desire a closer relationship with God. If they are in a dead church, they desire abundant life. If they are in the midst of doubters, they want to be where there are those of strong faith. If they are amongst those who water down and short change the word of God, they want to be where the truth of the word is elevated and proclaimed.

Today it seems if you desire to live a holy righteous life, there are many so-called Christians who will accuse you of legalism or trying to earn your salvation. If you try to believe the Bible for the simple truth it is and live it out, you have those who say that you don’t understand the Bible correctly because you don’t know the Hebrew or Greek of a word or sentence. I am not against that kind of study, but isn’t our Bible already translated from the Hebrew and Greek for us? I have no problem with looking up these words for a little deeper understanding, but I have never found any word that was translated incorrectly.

Through my experience, I have seen one thing that really stirs the heart of remnant believers. It is coming to the realization of just how true the word of God is. They come to realize the unifier that truth is. They come to realize just how much the truth sets free. Remnant believers are the one group of believers who are truly like-minded. It is because they love truth so much, the Spirit of truth constantly reveals the truth to them; therefore they don’t come up with their own interpretations of the word. They believe the word as the Spirit of truth teaches it. If they believe something in the Bible incorrectly, they have a humble teachable spirit to be corrected. They don’t spit and sputter, trying to hang onto their own interpretation of the word of God. I love when remnant believers get in a discussion on spiritual things and one of them, from a sincere heart, says something that isn’t accurate. Then another remnant believer gently corrects them with a simple application of clear scripture and the attitude of all is, “WELL, THAT SETTLES THAT!” It takes a genuine humble heart to love the truth enough to allow yourself to be openly corrected. That is what is lodged in the heart of remnant believers.

Remnant believers do not need, nor do they want all the fancies and frills, gadgets and gizmos that the church offers today. They may feel a little disconnected with their church when they depend on these things. The remnant can’t seem to quite get on board with these things and they feel they are being a little contentious. What it really is however, is they just want more of the Christ they are being deprived of. They are offered all kinds of carnal techniques to accomplish spiritual things, but all they want is the presence and the power of the Spirit. It is right for remnant believers to want to come out from amongst her. Sometimes they just don’t know how.

This is what is in the heart of remnant believers. ARE YOU OF THE REMNANT SORT?

 

 

Eyesalve: The Real Jesus

By | Eyesalve

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Acts 5:42

 

Other bible translations of this verse say, “preach Jesus as the Christ.” The point is that the message that the disciples preached was one of proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah whom they have been waiting for. In America, there are few that have not heard of Jesus. Even the cults and false religions heard of Jesus. We believers in America, no doubt preach that Jesus is the Savior of the world, but we have even a more difficult work before us. We need to preach and demonstrate who the real Jesus is. Preach the real Jesus, not the one made in man’s image.

Eyesalve: Why I Love Going to Church (Reason #4)

By | Eyesalve

“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” I Cor. 12:25-26

If I am committed to a fellowship of believers I will be there to suffer with those that suffer. I will also rejoice with those that rejoice. So too, will those brethren that are committed to the same fellowship suffer and rejoice with me. Those that are independent of the church will suffer alone and rejoice alone.