T'is the Season for Faith and Family

My Dear Friend,

     A common question I am asked is how to speak with family members about the Lord Jesus and the New Covenant.  There is a normal increase in these questions during this time of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is a time when a lot of people visit with family, in-laws and outlaws.  I get more questions from parents wanting help with their children than children wanting help with their parents, but they tend to be similar.  A resurrected believer in the Lord Jesus will grow to have concern for the salvation of those who do not know Him, but there is normally a special desire for those who are closest to us.

     For those of you who do not have many relatives who agree with you when it comes to the most significant matters of your faith, you probably have noticed that those who do not agree with you don't enjoy being around you as much as you would like.  It turns out that when you have something people do not want, they will not likely want to be around you very much.  You will find yourself being partially excluded from conversations and get the sense that some of them just don't like you at all.  What I would like you to consider is that when you talk with family members about your faith, this obvious exclusion is going to probably be very important to them.  They are going to look at the people around them and you, and the larger group of people will have an influence on them.  The thought will come to mind that if they agree with you, they will be rejected by the, "family" just like you are.  That is a consequence of taking a position on who is Jesus and what did He accomplish.

     Most of what I teach is from my own personal experiences in life, failures and successes.  If you find yourself feeling alone often, I want you to know that the Lord has numerous people who feel the same way.  I have a small group of friends who I spend time with outside of my work in the ministry who are like minded in faith, but I have no family other than that, with whom I am able to rest with like I can with them.  For thirty years now I have been sharing the Gospel with people and it has always been that way since I came to know the Lord Jesus.  Some may be discouraged by this, desiring more, but I have come to know that the Lord does more work growing His kingdom when it is more difficult for us to assemble together as often as we would like and in larger numbers.  He continues to use us to reach into people's lives who do not know Him, by sometimes making it difficult for us to just meet with each other instead.  While we may want, "more," do not forget that through not having, "more," the Lord uses us so He can have, "more" through our being in the lives of others who do not yet know Him.  Do not forget that He will go with you wherever you go and will see through your eyes, hear through your ears, touch with your hands and speak with your mouth.

     Do remember that there is a cost for believing what you believe.  Most others will not be willing to pay that cost because there will be things more valuable to them than the truth.  They certainly will never tell you, confess or admit it, because doing so would clearly expose a poor decision.  However, exposure to the truth gives the Holy Spirit additional opportunities to convict a person in their hearts and they will reconsider when no one is looking.  This is one of the advantages of radio broadcasting.  People normally listen to the radio programs in their cars and homes when no one is around.  I talk with a lot of people who are wrestling with what I am teaching them.  Some of them return after a year or two and others believe privately and try not to let others know about what they are learning from me.  After a while I hear back from them because they just can't hold it in anymore and they start telling others about what they know to be true.  Being a part of the work of the Lord is not just a project to be completed, but a life to be lived.  You and I working together like this through Living God Ministries is a way for us to do more than what we could do individually.  You and I are participants in the creation of life through telling others about the love, grace, justice, mercy and wisdom of God.

     The apostle Paul often went to the Synagogues to speak with the Jews, and this was a time of meeting with his, "relatives."  There was and always will be a unique bond with Jews that we are a tribe, a family of families, and the relational dynamics in a synagogue are similar to those found in small churches or a large get together of family members during holidays.  Some encouragement I often get is through being reminded of what happened with Paul when he was in Corinth (Acts 18:1 - 17).  In frustration, Paul shook his clothes and stormed out of the synagogue, "Your blood be upon your own head; I am clean.  From now on I will go to the Gentiles."  He left and went next door to visit with his friend Justus, but his absence created a noticeable vacuum in the lives of the people at the synagogue.  Right after he left, the head rabbi, Crispus, converted and believed the Gospel.  Crispus left his position in the synagogue, he paid the price for believing the truth and Paul had a victory after what felt like a failure.  The Lord told Paul in verse 9 and 10, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."  I'm sure Paul wanted to know who they were, but that is not normally the way the Lord works.  Through the conversion of Crispus, Paul was inspired to continue to reach out to the Jews and even take a vow that would enable him access to the temple in Jerusalem to preach the Gospel there once again.

I pray this encourages you as it does me,
With Thanks,
Aaron Budjen
www.livinggodministries.net

All Hands on Deck

The founder of Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham, stated, "An atheist once said to me, “Why doesn’t your God come and physically show Himself to us?" I replied, ”He did and they nailed Him on a cross.“" Such a simple, but truthful and profound, reply to a question many would shrink back from. For many Christians we cringe at the idea of being challenged about our faith or worry about what to say when questioned. There are many lessons which can be learned from this simple encounter shared by Ken Ham. The first lesson, and probably the most important, is the necessity for Christians to be familiar with the Word of God; the Bible. The Bible tells us to, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)." When you know the truth of the Bible then it becomes second nature to respond to questions like the atheist posed. Knowledge dispels fear and wisdom is the application of knowledge. The second lesson to be learned is that when you are equipped with the truth you are always ready to respond. 2 Timothy 4:2 reads, "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." I am not sure the circumstances Ken Ham was in when the atheist questioned him (probably after giving a lecture), but regardless of his environment, he was prepared to speak to the lost.

A third lesson is that Christians cannot rely solely on pastors, authors, seminarians, lecturers, etc. to be the main ones who "preach the word." The Bible says, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care (1 Corinthians 3:10)." While one of these "leaders" may lay a foundation, "someone else," namely other Christians like you and me, may be the ones who build on it. Therefore, we must all know how to handle the word of truth. We must all be prepared to preach the word. We must all be ready to lay, or build upon, a foundation. A fourth, and final, lesson to be learned is what Jesus described in Luke 10:2, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." In other words, Jesus is in essence saying, "All hands on deck!" It takes many laborers in order to fulfill the Great Commission. Every born again Christian on earth is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, there are millions of laborers available to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians it says, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers... (Ephesians 4:11)" It says God gave "some" to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. That means God gave "many" for them to "equip for the work of the ministry." The work is "that you believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29)." Time to get to work!

Dereliction of Duty

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11)." Dereliction of duty is the failure to fulfill one's obligation. Christians are called Ambassadors of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:20. An ambassador is an official representative to a foreign country. Jesus Christ instructed His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations." Therefore, it is safe to say that as Christians we are ambassadors of a "foreign country," the Kingdom of God, sent here to represent the Lord by making disciples through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, there seems to be an increasing focus on everything "End Times" that makes it appear that Christians are more concerned about Jesus returning and getting us out of here, instead of focusing on the lost and sharing the Gospel. I see a popular pastor promoting his book about the "Apocalypse." There are just as many Christians talking about an economic "collapse" happening in the near future. We are all familiar with the false prophets who have predicted the end of the world recently and yet we are still here. Plus, anytime there is a large earthquake or something happens in Israel or the Middle East, people act as if that particular event is the event leading to Jesus stepping out of the clouds. Now, don't get me wrong, Jesus did talk about signs of the End of the Age and how they signal our redemption being near, but I charge that there are way too many believers who seem to be derelict in their "duty" to share the Gospel and would rather keep "looking into the sky"waiting for the Lord's return.

Jesus said, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:4-7)." Do you recognize the brilliance of God in these words? There has never been a time in all of history, specifically since Jesus spoke these words, where there hasn't been false Christs deceiving people, wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines and earthquakes in various places. I believe He said this so every generation of believer from the time He was on earth until His return would have a sense of urgency about preaching the Gospel. We know He can come back at any minute or centuries from now because the signs of His return are always present. Therefore, be about your duty of spreading the Gospel and try to get people saved. As a Christian you are prepared for His return regardless of when it happens. However, for those who don't believe in Jesus Christ the clock is ticking for them. If they were to die apart from a saving faith in Jesus Christ their eternal fate is sealed with no second chance! It is to their benefit that Jesus hasn't returned yet. Use the "signs" as a way to tell people about Jesus Christ and what He did the first time He was here so they can get saved and be ready for His Second Coming. I cannot wait for Jesus to come back, but I implore you to get your eyes off the sky and on to your fellow man. The angels have already said Jesus will come back and Jesus said not to be alarmed. Let us fulfill our duties and see if we can gather a few more people for Him when He does return.