Being a genuine believer in Christ Jesus has to be more than my simply saying that I am; than this being evidenced by simply attending church, even regularly, saying the right words, hanging out with other professing believers and even reading my Bible. No, being an authentic believer, blood bought and washed, Holy Spirit filled and sanctified, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, must have more evidence than simply this or even these kinds of things.
We continue our discussion today with a couple of scriptures out of First Timothy.
1 Tim 3:4-6 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? ESV
1 Tim 3:12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.
Let us continue our discussion from the last post with another quote from Brian Knowles. We continue with the thoughts of our needing, as the Body of Christ, to return to an understanding that the family is the church in miniature.
Therefore, we as parents, must accept our responsibility to see that our families and homes become, in spirit and truth, the church in miniature.
I was struck recently by an article that I was reading which began its discourse with a discussion regarding the importance of the family in Jewish thought and practice. This article was written by Brian Knowles. I was definitely impressed with it overall.
I would like to take a couple of quotes from this article and respond or expand on them over a couple of posts, as I found his remarks speaking to right where I am at, regarding this whole issue of the importance of the family.
Just a quick note to say we are in the process of moving and downsizing. As a result, I won’t be posting anything for a little while. Sorry, but this move was not expected and the need to do so has come upon us rather suddenly. Thank you for your prayers and understanding. Blessings in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Sorry for the lack of posts. I confess that I am in a bit of a writing slump and struggling with it. Yet, I hope to be back at it soon, with briefer, more edible bite sizes of postings, Lord willing. We will have to see how this all comes along and Lord willing, sooner rather than later.
Blessings in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Acts 6:4 (ESV) But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The Apostles here in this text are dealing with something that is important in the life of the Church. It is more important than simply who gets what. It has to do with the fair treatment of all and not just a few or even the many. There were a large group of Hellenists Jews who had converted over to the faith of Christ Jesus. There clearly seems to be a problem between them and the Palestine Jews or locals as it were. However, when you read this text you get the clear sense that the Apostles, yes, had to deal with the problem, but they made it clear that they were not going to carry the burden this problem. Others would have to do that. The reason for this was simply the recognition that they needed to walk as Jesus walked. How did Jesus walk? He walked in close communion in and with the Father God. He was a man of Prayer, of the Word, of Communion and Action.
This is just a note to see if there is any interest in a local low-cost, very small classes, a lot of personal attention and training, “Full Gospel School of Ministry” in the South Charleston, Ohio area. I know this blog doesn’t reach many locally but I wanted to post this just in case.
You may want to read… “Personal Mentoring/Discipleship Part One”, here and “Part Two”, here and you may also want to read: “The Great Commission, Really?”, here
Any feedback would be deeply appreciated. Thank you and …
Blessings in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Quote #1: “The fallacies are that the Bible is a uniformly simple book, that it is predominantly a book of ideas, that it is essentially a modern book, that it needs correcting in some areas, and that it was intended to be without mystery and ambiguity. I believe all of this to be the reverse of what is actually true. The truth is that the Bible is sometimes simple and sometimes difficult and complex. It is a book of stories and poetic images more than a book of abstract propositions. Furthermore, the Bible is an indisputably ancient book. As such, it is the book that in its original form is the book that God wants us to have, including much that is mysterious and requires careful pondering and unpacking.” Page 78 (Leland Ryken, Ph.D.)
My response is, yes and amen! To strip the Bible of what it actually is, to take it into our own hands and dumb it down and strip it of its mystery, complexities and wonder, under the assumption that we the people are too ignorant to hear the Lord through it as it actually is, well, is simply wrong.
(Note: this post has been further updated)
I have a great friend and brother in the Lord who belongs to a group believers who are very, very, KJV only oriented. As a result, we have had various friendly conversations on this issue and yes, I have learned a lot from him as we have over a couple of years discussed these things, off and on. It has been genuinely good for me to work through this, coming to see, by the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, and discern the true threat behind all of this innocent appearing issue.
Just recently, after not hearing from him on this subject for a good while, he sent me a text message with a request that I listen to a “you tube” video called, “Whats the Big Deal about the KJV?”. You can find it here. When I listened to it I heard many things that didn’t register as true. Therefore, I was curious if anyone had presented a case to challenge this video and its claims. There is. You can find all five parts beginning here. Both opposing presentations are insightful and very different, yet I genuinely believe that “KJV Onlyism” is genuinely standing on extremely weak ground. There is a very real deception related to King James Onlyism. Just to be clear, the King James Bible is not the bottom line, it is not The Standard by which all other Bibles are to be judged or evaluated.
