dcalbreath

God is our deliverer and our sustainer. Whatever we have to deal with, whether it be persecution or personal failure, God can restore us and heal us. He has called us and wants us to be with Him.

Peter gives us instructions to fight Satan, to resist him - both a warning and an encouragement. Pauk tells us in more detail how to fight Satan by putting on the armor of God.

Satan is the enemy, he is always on the lookout to ensnare people and he is dangerous. By donwplaying Satan and his influence, many Christians are left vulnerable to his attacks.

In Psalm 3, David writes "4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from his holy hill. 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me." That is the attitude we need to develop - in the middle of his enemies, David could sleep soundly becasue God was sustaining him. Hard to do and we can't do it on our own.

I'm a little nervous about the term "acts of humility" - sounds like some specific behaviors or actions that we check off. More to the point would be to observe the individual as he/she serves on a ministry team or takes care of a specific project. Do they serve willingly? Does it appear that they really care about the task and doing it well, or are they looking to be seen and to "look good"? Are they responsible to finish the task or fulfill the team expectations? Otherwise, we will get people who are self-serving and ineffective and most likely will be a source of major headaches for everyone else.

The issue of power depends to some extent on the church governance structure. There are pros and cons for both pastor-led and elder-led churches (I have ben in both). Solid communication about concerns always helps if all parties are really open to doing what God wants. Prayer is essential (what? it's gotten so bad that we have to pray?). Sometimes, there is nothing a person can do but walk away sorrowfully.

"Twisitng the arm" is the worst way to recruit people. They get coerced into areas they are not called to and have no vision for, with disaster as a result. The damage to the church is (1) ministries do not get carried out, because there is no true support or leadership, (2) others in the church are even more reluctant to get involved when they see leaders who are unwilling and unable to lead, and (3) those outside the church get the impression that Christians are incompetent and inept. This approach does not produce leaders. A person who has to be compelled against their will to do something is not a leader. Leaders have vision and a desire to serve.

From this passage, it appears that "elder" and "overseer" are the same, charged to look out after the flock, to provide supervision and guidance and to serve as an example. The same two terms are used synonymously in Titus chapter 1 where Paul asks Timothy to appoint elders and then refers to them as "overseers" (see also I Timothy chapter 3). A pastor has a specific teaching function "to prepare God's people for works of service (Ephesians 4:11-12, NIV). Major responsibilities that stand out to me are the leading and teaching of the members of the congregation.

If we are not willing to give our lives to follow Jesus, are we really converted? Only going part-way can lead to serious compromise with the truth and eventual turning away from Jesus.

persecute: to harass in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; specifically : to cause to suffer because of belief I'm not sure we really know what persecution is. In the United States, it is very possible to live a faithful life and share Jesus without really being persecuted. And there are times when we bring the hassles on ourselves. Many employers have a very legitimate reason for wanting their employees to do their jobs and not preach (anything). Sometimes, Christians can be very obnoxious. I have a student who practices the Native American religion. Some of the Christian students have made her miserable with the way they attack her. My point is simply this: be careful how you use the word "persecute" - take the term seriously.

Even without the graphic reality of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion", I know that the suffering that Christ experienced was far more than anything I have undergone. Whatever criticism or ridicule I may receive for being a Christian is nothing compared to what Jesus went through. If I'm in prison, being tortured for my beliefs, then maybe I'll feel I'm being persecuted. Otherwise, I'm just slightly inconvenienced for my faith, but nothing more than that.

Trying to avoid persecution leads to compromise and falling away. Having said that, I can't say I have ever really been persecuted (not like Christians in China or other oppressed countries). I've taken some flack for being a Christian, but never any real persecution. Living in the United States makes me appreciate even more the religious freedom we have. I have friends and relatives who have worked in "closed" countries where persecution is real. The examples of faithfulness they talk about are encouraging and challenging.

These people are dealing often with a high level of insecurity and hurt, some of which may go back a long way. My initial response is to criticize them until I realize I have some of the same qualities in me My primary spiritual gifts are teaching and administration. I lead the men's ministry for our church, which involves coordinating activities and leading the study on Saturday morning.

Non-Christians don't feel accountable because morality (to them) is a pesonal matter - "what's right for you is not necessarily what's right for me" -one of the fall-outs of our post-modern times. Christians don't like it because we recognize sin and hate to admit that sin is in our lives. We need to confront sin, see it as contrary to what God wants for us (which turns out to be the bets possible way to live on earth) and recognize that we cannot live Christian lives without the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

I think non-Christians want us to join them in sin for a couple of reasons. For one, they don't see it as "sin" (and often reject the idea of sin) and think we're just narrow-minded. In some instances, they want to to us stumble and lose our "holier than thou" appearance. We are often tempted to join them because we want to feel a part of a group. Sometimes,we feel we can witness better if we join them in activities that may be questionable (and sometimes we can have a very powerful witness if we are present with them, but not engaging in certain behaviors). Resisting the temptation requires an understanding of our own hearts and an awareness of our own behavior. We cannot rationalize what we are doing, but need to examine our lives closely. Having a strong Christian fellowship (church, small group, accountability group or similar) helps us because we can have other believers look at our lives and share with us in love.