Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Fishersmen APES are (A)ccountable

What is Accountability? It is a check and balance system to protect us from harm from ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are thinking and doing so we can receive encouragement and reproof, when needed. Accountability is a GOOD thing!

The Bible says God’s people are to warn sinners and to dissuade them from evil to save their lives. If we don’t, God holds us accountable. When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. Ezekiel 3:18 NIV

From the beginning, when God walked with the first men, he tried to counsel them when they were tempted to sin and hold them accountable. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Gen 4:6-6 NASV Everyone is accountable, even a beloved King. Nathan confronts David and holds him accountable after his sin against Uriah and with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12:1-13.

Being accountable and providing accountability protects us from stumbling or falling. “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” Matthew 18:15 The apostle Paul says that as believers and followers of Christ we are equipped to counsel our brothers and hold them accountable “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another (hold each other accountable).” Romans 15:14

Are you tempted in an area? Are you having trouble living up to God’s standards and struggling in an area. Build accountability! Ask a trusted fellow brother to hold you accountable. Do you have a Nathan in your life?

Friday, December 18, 2009

He struggles with God

Guys,

I wanted to pass along a neat message from my pastor on ISRAEL which means "He struggles with God." Here's the Bible Story.

There is some confusion out there as people, including the church talk about Israel, what God is doing with Israel, and what promises to whom did God make. Enjoy!

Steve

"For not all who descended from Israel are Israel." Romans 9:6b

One of the challenges of reading and understanding the Bible is to make sure that we know the definition of the words we encounter. We have mentioned this before on several occasions, but today, we are entering new territory with the word "Israel." Here's the rub: Israel can refer to a person, to a country and to a people. We have to know which is being discussed or we're in some pretty tall timber. Let's see if we can help see the trees in the forest.

When Abraham's son, Isaac, had children, there were twin boys: Esau and Jacob. The story of their upbringing is too long to comment on here, but suffice it to say that these two guys didn't get along like good brothers should. Jacob, whose name means, "the deceiver" or "he deceives," eventually found himself alone at night with an angel of God who wrestled with him all through the night hours. (sound like anything that any of you have experienced?)

As the morning dawned, the angel, speaking for God, gave Jacob a new name: Israel, which means "he wrestles with God." Israel had twelve sons, who became known as, surprise, surprise, "the children of Israel." After the children of Israel's descendants left Egypt and finally made it to Canaan, they took the country (eventually!) and renamed it, of all things, "Israel." The people who populated Israel became known as Israel (still with me?).

The name Israel at some point began to mean, "the people of God." Many times they were called Jews, which came from "Judah" and referred to those people who lived there. So, "Jews" and "Israel" at times mean the same thing.

What Paul is referring to here in our verse, and what he will talk about for a few more chapters is not Israel the man, nor is talking about Israel the land. He is talking about Israel the people, but he is NOT talking about all Jews, he is talking about those who are children of God. What he is saying is that not everyone who is Jewish is a child of God. Of course, for most Jewish readers, those were fighting words!! They believed that they were indeed children of God because they were descendants of Israel the man, living in Israel, the promised land. Not so, says Paul. It really has nothing to do with your first birth and it really has nothing to do with your country, it has to do with your relationship with Jesus, which requires a second birth!

God's children may still be referred to as Israel from time to time, but they are no longer identified by their genealogy, it is now only by faith in Jesus. So, if someone calls you Israel and you are a Christian, that's a good thing! Confused? Stick around; we'll see if we can get things straightened out!

This is Pastor Bruce

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Fishersmen APES

After writing a blog post a couple of weeks ago about the Fishersmen group, there were still questions about the nature and purpose of our group. To help us remember I’ve come up with an acronym. We’re a bunch of Fishersmen APES. Christian men who are striving in community with each other to be ACCOUNTABLE, PRAYERFUL, ENCOURAGING, AND SERVING.

ACCOUNTABLE not in that we’ll have weekly sin confessionals, but rather that we’ll enjoy close transparent relationships where we can pick a spec out of a brother’s eye and be there for one another if one is struggling.

PRAYERFUL in knowing each other well enough that we can effectively hold each other up in prayer and give thanks together.

ENCOURAGING in that we will cheerlead for each other as we seek to be more like Jesus, good husbands, good fathers, good workers, good friends, good neighbors.

SERVING in that we will meet needs in our group and in the community in the name of Christ. Particularly as it relates to discipleship and leading others in their spiritual walk.

So that’s what Fishersmen is about, just a bunch of APES.

Blessings!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

God's Wisdom

God’s word has a lot to say about wisdom, particularly in the Proverbs.

Wisdom is personified like a graceful lady and said to be a companion of God from the beginning of eternity. Wisdom is said to have companions that always go along with her, Prudence, Knowledge and Discretion. This lady also possesses sound judgement, understanding and power. God’s wisdom leads one to pursue righteousness and justice. Check out Proverbs 8.

Proverbs 1 says that the fear (or reverent respect) for the LORD (Jehovah) is the beginning of wisdom, but that those who despise wisdom or discipline (correction, or being under God’s rules) are fools. Check out Proverbs 1. The Psalmist echoes this when he says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psa. 110:10

Isaiah says that the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Sprit of counsel and of power, the Sprit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD would rest on the Messiah, aka Jesus. Matthew Mark and Luke all tell us that the people who observed Jesus knew that he had godly wisdom to go along with his miraculous powers.

But Paul tells us that there is a difference between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom, and that man’s wisdom is deemed as foolishness to God.

A concordance is a powerful tool to do a topical search on words or concepts in the Bible, thanks to the internet and Bible Gateway, we all can check it out easily online. If you are interested in being a wise guy, check out the Bible gateway listings for the WISDOM topic.

Blessings!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Fishersmen Role Model and Rules

This is an excerpt from an email to our group...

Our Fishersmen's group is a fellowship for Christian men who want to live truth and follow Christ to the best of their ability, focusing on mutual encouragement, prayer and accountability. We want to help each man who sincerely is seeking to get to know God better and live in a manner that would please Jesus.

We're not a service organization, networking group, fund raising machine. Nor are we Buddhist, Muslim, or Unitarian. We're a Christian men's Group.

So we need to have a couple of things as any group does to accomplish its purpose: A guide, or role model, and a source or reference of authority. For us, as for all Christians, our role model is Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ, and our source of authority is the Bible.

Everyone's opinion is valued and respected, but not all sources and opinions carry the same weight. If Jesus said it, or if the Bible clearly says it, then because of the group we are, that opinion is Trump. ( if you've ever played Euchre)

The constitution was referenced in a recent email, and as an analogy let's talk about authority in law. There's hierarchy of authority and interpretation. City ordinances have to submit to State Statute, State Statutes have to submit to the Constitution, and there may be a variety of opinion about the interpretation of the 2nd amendment. But, because we are Americans we submit ourselves to the Current Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution, and the current Supreme Court wisely looks at past Courts' interpretation and rulings relating to what is the true law and verdict. Christianity does similarly with the Bible. Biblical scholars who weigh past Christian theologian's opinions about what the Bible says and have boiled them down into creeds give us a guide for what is"orthodox" Christianity. Throughout Christianity, what Jesus and the Apostles have said about the law, the prophets, and the life of the biblical Jesus has been held as having more authority and being a trump opinion as opposed to the latest thinker or idea of the day.

What does authentic Christianity say about: Who is Jesus? Is the Bible true? Who wrote the Bible? Who is the Holy Spirit, who has Him or is under His influence?

Anyone's opinion has value, may be interesting or novel, sound good, or even sound inclusive and non-judgemental. But, if you're going to base your world view, your philosophy of life, your success and spiritual future on it. You, like me might want to go to the highest, and commonly respected authority. Paul commended the Bereans for checking out his New Testament teachings against the Hebrew Scriptures of the day.

Who did Jesus claim to be? Did He do anything to prove it? What does He have to say about the Bible or the Holy Spirit?

How about the people closest to Jesus? What does John or Peter, or even Paul have to say as recorded in the Bible. How did early church leaders boil their understanding, their beliefs from their study of scripture down into what is true? What do the Creeds say?

I think every honest seeker follower would want to go to these primary sources.

Here are some links and references:

Who is Jesus?

Who wrote the Bible?

Who has the Holy Spirit?

What have authentic Christians believed about Christianity for hundreds of years through persecution and prosperity?

(The Apostle's Creed)

The Bible is the most published book ever, and revered by most to be exceptions, and by many to be the word of God. Got questions? Read it.

Jesus has had more impact on the world than any other historic figure. And to millions, including myself, we are thoroughly convinced that he is who he said he is in the Bible, God in the flesh. Want to find truth? Learn what he said. Not parts of what he said. All that is recorded that he said. Then, if you're open and sincere, lets talk.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Being the BEST dad!

I visited a favorite local church this last Sunday, and wow did God give me the right message that morning. It was about being the best (B.E.S.T.) dad, or best parent I could be. The B.E.S.T. is a mnemonic with each of the initials reminding me of what our kids need from us.

The B tells us we should bless our children and not curse them or provoke them to wrath. It spoke about when we talk to others about our children we should talk about their good qualities and our pride in them.

The E tells us we should encourage our children and not criticize them. Lovingly correct yes, criticize them no. Being on their side as a cheerleader. After all isn't that what we want from our friends, encouragement.

The S says we should share with our children. Give them quality time, listen to them and their hearts. Share with them what the Lord has done for us, our struggles with life, that we love them and will always be there for them.

The T says we should touch or connect with them. Give them hugs, pats on the back, a warm, kind, gentle touch. We guys tend to be so macho. But, our kids need a touch from us. It is said that a mother's hug communicates love to a child, but a dad's bear hug communicates security to a child. Do you want your child to feel secure in this scary and wicked world? Give them a security hug today.

Guys, let's help each other be the BEST dad we can be!