As I think about what I have learned about God from my study of the book of Jonah, one word stands out...well maybe two and those are compassion and longsuffering. Not only was God compassionate on that great city Nineveh but He was also compassionate on that stubborn and disobedient prophet named Jonah.
Wasn't Jonah supposed to be God's man? So how could he try to flee from the presence of God? As I apply what I have learned to my own life I can honestly say that I have walked in Jonah's steps many times. Sometimes I react so quickly to circumstances that I don't even stop to think about what God's word says about a particular situation. I just react and then get upset when things don't go my way. Wow. Sad but true.
Now do you want to know the good news! There is nothing in my past or future sins that Christ did not die for. Not that I want to test God by continually walking in disobedience. Besides if I continually walked in disobedience or wanted to walk in disobedience then I would question whether I was a Christian. But I digress.
It is so comforting to know that God is so relentless when it comes to fulfilling His word. He never slumbers. He never takes a break. When you finally come to repentance He takes you right back to your point of disobedience and gives you the opportunity to walk in obedience. Isn't that so wonderful! Read Jonah 3:1.
On a side note, you can study Jonah as part of great resource entitled "Lord Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 days". This book takes you step by step through the components of inductive Bible study. Sometimes it is hard to explain in a few words what inductive Bible is but this book shows what it is by taking you through a study of Jonah and Jude and other portions of Scripture. It is very good and not dry or scholarly. With that being said the author of this book, Kay Arthur, does not skimp on showing you how to study.
Jonah and Jude are very short books so that makes it helpful if you are just beginning with Bible study. So if God has been speaking to your heart about Bible study, why not start walking in obedience by trying this resource, "Lord Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 days"?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Money! Money!
I have been searching for a church home for a long time and I admit that I really was not looking into God's word and being patient. In 1Timothy, Titus, and 1Peter, God is very clear about the qualifications for elders or overseers or pastors as we would say today. Now I know that no church is perfect but I failed to evaluate the leadership based on God's Word.
Lately, the Holy Spirit has drawn me back to the book of Titus for Bible study. The Precept Upon Precept study has you do a profile of the Godly in Lesson 2. I was to list the qualities and characteristics of elders/overseers from Titus 1, 1
Timothy 1, and 1Peter 5. One thing that I found to be common to all was that the overseer or sheperd was to be free from the love of money. (Titus 1:7, 1Tim. 1:5, and 1Pet. 5:3) Wow!
Now this is not to minimize the other qualities because surely the overseer or pastor has to be able to teach and is to have a good family life otherwise how can he take care of the household of God? But is it not interesting that both Paul and Peter mentioned money in the context of pastoral qualifications?
I have been going to a new membership class recently. And last Sunday, the lesson was on Pastoral leadership. Now I am supposed to read ahead in preparation for class but I have not been doing that so I had no idea that we would be dealing with the subject. So imagine my surpise! I am not sure as to whether this is to be my church home but one thing I am doing is trying to evaluate everything on the basis of God's word.
One thing I can say is that at every other church where I had some serious problems, the leadership's focus was on money. Don't get me wrong. I understand the importance of money in doing God's work but how can a pastor care for a church and be worried about getting a bigger building at the same time?
My purpose in writing this post is not to church bash but to ask you and myself to open our eyes when evaluating church leadership. For years, I thought of myself as just a church member and that I didn't have the right to evaluate anything. But if you are in a church where the focus is to raise money not to build lives but to build a facility...well? Go to God's word and evaluate what He says about the love of money and the qualities of an overseer.
Lately, the Holy Spirit has drawn me back to the book of Titus for Bible study. The Precept Upon Precept study has you do a profile of the Godly in Lesson 2. I was to list the qualities and characteristics of elders/overseers from Titus 1, 1
Timothy 1, and 1Peter 5. One thing that I found to be common to all was that the overseer or sheperd was to be free from the love of money. (Titus 1:7, 1Tim. 1:5, and 1Pet. 5:3) Wow!
Now this is not to minimize the other qualities because surely the overseer or pastor has to be able to teach and is to have a good family life otherwise how can he take care of the household of God? But is it not interesting that both Paul and Peter mentioned money in the context of pastoral qualifications?
I have been going to a new membership class recently. And last Sunday, the lesson was on Pastoral leadership. Now I am supposed to read ahead in preparation for class but I have not been doing that so I had no idea that we would be dealing with the subject. So imagine my surpise! I am not sure as to whether this is to be my church home but one thing I am doing is trying to evaluate everything on the basis of God's word.
One thing I can say is that at every other church where I had some serious problems, the leadership's focus was on money. Don't get me wrong. I understand the importance of money in doing God's work but how can a pastor care for a church and be worried about getting a bigger building at the same time?
My purpose in writing this post is not to church bash but to ask you and myself to open our eyes when evaluating church leadership. For years, I thought of myself as just a church member and that I didn't have the right to evaluate anything. But if you are in a church where the focus is to raise money not to build lives but to build a facility...well? Go to God's word and evaluate what He says about the love of money and the qualities of an overseer.
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