elizabeth kerr

We can thank God even for terrible things that happen in our lives when we ponder what sinful lives we would probably be living if He hadn't interrupted our lives with that hurt or loss OR when we realize that the hurt or loss or suffering we experienced/are experiencing is what God used to open up the opportunities we now have to serve Christ. I have been led to reconsider my ideas in this area by reading about how Christians suffering in prison were led by the Spirit to share the gospel with their fellow prisoners, their guards, and even their interrogators and torturers with the result that more people became Christians, and by reading the interviews with Joni Eareckson Tada in the January and February 2012 issues of Christianity Today magazine. She said that if she had not become paralyzed in the diving accident as a teenager, she probably would be living a totally nonChristian life today, and that God had used her disability to lead her into a ministry to other disabled people.

If members of a congregation are not respecting their leaders (pastors or elders) because they themselves want to be in power and aren't, they may serious damage the unity of the congregation and the faith of the other Christians if they do not destory it. The church does not belong to people but to God and none of us should be seeking control of the congregation we attend. If, however, the leaders think that members of the congregation are not showing them respect because they [the members] do not obey or accept what the leaders say without question, a lot of prayer and godly wisdom will be needed to sort out the situation and heal the congregation. Sometimes, the leaders will be correct and members of the congregation will not heed their godly instructions and directions, but other times, the leaders will be wrong and those members who question their leading are the ones with the godly wisdom. For example, is it disrespectful to ask a pastor to support what he said in a sermon with Scripture or to ask him what he meant when he contradicts himself from one sermon {saying that the Holy Spirit leaves Christians} and the next {saying that the Holy Spirit is always with Christians and never leaves us}? At least one pastor considers that to be accusing him of heresy.

God, Who determined the punishment for sexual immorality, has given reasons for making the punishment so severe in the Bible, including this description of our relationship with Him: In the OT, God described Himself as the husband of Israel, and in the NT, Jesus is the bridegroom of the church; so, when the Israelites, or the Christians, practice sexual immorality, they commit spiritual adultery, turning their backs on God and choosing someone else to "love." People have judged some sins as worse than others, but I'm not sure God does. Is homosexuality more sinful than adultery or incest or forced intercourse with adults and children (female and male!) enslaved in brothels? Is abortion more sinful than murdering a 7-year-old or a teenager or an adult? Is raping a woman more sinful than torturing a man? These are all horrid evils, but I cannot say that one is more sinful than the others. And the Bible does not tell us for sure that God thinks so either. As we read Paul's warnings about sexual immorality, we should look to ourselves and examine ourselves and our actions to see if we commit any form of sexual immorality, and if we do, we must repent and cease that behavior immediately. Only then may we exhort others who are committing sexual immorality to repent and stop that behavior, and we must do so with agape-love as our motive.

Special speakers can bring many benefits to their listeners including encouragement, connections with the universal church, preaching about Scripture passages the local pastor has not yet preached on, and more, BUT we who are listening must always be like the Bereans in Acts and diligently search the Scriptures and evaluate the speaker's teaching to make sure it conforms to what the Bible says. Otherwise, we may be deceived and believe some false teaching.

As a rule, Christians who do not gather for prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other Christians do not seem to grow much spiritually and there is no one to rebuke them when they sin or correct their misunderstanding of Scripture. However, Christians who are alone in prison for their faith in Jesus and do not have access to a Bible or any contact with Christians on the outside are often blessed by God so that not only do they grow spiritually but He draws others (non-Christian prisoners, even their persecutors) to Himself through the faithful witness and self-sacrifice for Christ of that solitary Christian prisoner.

Maybe the Jews in Thessalonica responded so strongly in opposition to Paul because they feared that if the Romans heard that Paul, a Jew, was preaching that Jesus and not the Emperor was king, they would think that he was leading the Jews in another revolt against Rome and attack the synagogue and kill or exile the Jews living in the area. Then, they would lose everything. Also they may have opposed Paul because they did not believe Jesus was God as Paul preached and considered his teaching to be blasphemy, which had to be strongly opposed to honor God. Paul had to continue preaching the gospel no matter what because he knew the gospel was the truth of God and desperately needed by his listeners, even his opponents. Additionally, Jesus had given him this work to do. Opposition should not cause us to stop ministering to others. Sometimes, God plans for us to endure much persecution serving him. Sometimes, He plans for us to move to another locale to serve Him there. But this is something we must pray about and wait, enduring the persecution as we continue the work he gave us until He answers.