Look at Spiritual Leaders

When I am looking at spiritual leaders, there are 4 tests for the leader's spiritual genuineness: First, the leader must be a good spiritual and sound leader with no tricks of theology, no demonstrations of supernatural wonders, no evidences of blind devotion on the part of the public. Watch for their "movement" and their motives. No matter how sincere they may be, spiritual leaders without discernment are sure to err and their conclusions are inevitably false because their reasoning is misleading. As far as the reasoning mind can go, they may say that it is what God is that is not described in the Bible. Just be aware. Second, every spiritual leader must be pure of heart and holy of life. This leader will not be perfect nor sinless but still the leader to be trusted is the one who lives as near like Christ as possible. Third, a spiritual leader ought to be humble, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, modest, clean living, free from the love of money, eager to promote the honor of God and just as eager to disclaim any credit or praise on self-promotion. Financial accounts will be freely open for inspection, ethical standards will be high and personal life is above reproach. Finally, as a Christian, I need to make sure that my spiritual leader have the right conception of God that is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. There are many false Christian movements out there that think they have the right image of God and when they approach that image, they feel a sense of awe that will confuse people. We are living in the times of confusion and it is sometimes hard to distinguish the false from the true. God have provided us the Word of God to save us from the consequences of our own blindness by repeated warnings and many careful instructions.

Character

Trustworthy Trustworthy means people believe in us. Honesty in communications requires a good-faith intent to convey the truth as best we know it and to avoid communicating in a way likely to mislead or deceive. In relationships involving legitimate expectations of trust along with forthrightness and frankness. Ensure to volunteer information that another person needs to know. Integrity Integrity means there are no divisions in a person's life, no difference in the way he/she makes decisions from situation to situation, no difference in the way he/she acts at work and at home, in public and alone. In simple terms, a person who act a phony or behaves unlike self do not have integrity in the person. Phony people who are not honest often leave impressions that are untrue or misleading. My dictionary defines integrity as 'consistency and sincerity, with no deception or pretense'. Integrity's overriding quality is wholeness. There is no discrepancy between what a person of integrity appears to be on the outside and what he is on the inside. That's what integrity is. Consistency, the outside and inside being the same; therefore sincerity and transparency. That's what integrity means. It is the wholeness of self; therefore faithfulness and reliability and consistency are words that are related to integrity. Reliability When we make promises or other commitments that create a legitimate basis for another person to rely upon us to perform certain tasks, we undertake moral duties that go beyond legal obligations. The ethical dimension of promise-keeping imposes the responsibility of making all reasonable efforts to fulfill our commitments. Loyalty Loyalty is a special moral responsibility to promote and protect the interests of people, organizations or affiliations. In families, people expect the highest degree of loyalty because it requires us to keep family secrets or information learned in confidence. Respect We are morally obligated to treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are and what they have done. This reflects notions such as civility, courtesy, dignity, tolerance and acceptance.

Interesting View

Interesting though that there are a lot of denominations or faiths (mostly modern or humanistic)that do not believe that Satan actually exists or the story of Job is true. And view the Bible as the witness of God rather than the Word of God. In other words, the Bible's account is symbolic. Some actually believe that the concept of salvation after death is symbolic or nonexistent. There are those who do not believe that Satan causes suffering. And of course, there are denominations that clearly states that they don't believe in any spiritual reasons for suffering.

False Movements

What are some of these teachings of the world? They look like one of us, and they bring in things that oppose God's word mixed beside some truth. Sounds like it might be difficult to discern. This is a reason to not get caught up with being so impressed with people, organizations, or movements. We can end up following these instead of the voice of God; even if they are putting out false doctrine. The impressiveness or goodness of a person, organization, or movement can blind us. We need to learn to separate what is being taught from these things. But, believing something does not make it true. They make promises by referring to Bible verses from whatever will harm them. There are many causes that affect people’s minds to make them. They seem very promising, can be very eye-opening, and may be the only option left for some people because of what has happened to them in their life or the mental state they are in. False teachings are drawing in, sucking in many people who are blinded by false hopes, false promises and false doctrine.

Authentic Christian

Many people think that the mark of an authentic Christian is doctrinal purity; if a person's beliefs are biblical and doctrinally orthodox, then he is a Christian. People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life. But we must never forget that true Christianity is more than teaching - it is a way of life. In fact, it is life itself. "He who has the Son has life," remember? When we talk about life, we are talking about something that is far more than mere morality, far more than doctrinal accuracy. Ray C. Stedman

Who Are You, Really?

A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks [in a familiar way] every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passeth knowledge. [A.W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous (Christian Publications, 1986), p. 156, seen in C. Swindoll's study guide on 2 Corinthians 1-7, A Ministry Anyone Could Trust (IFL, 1989), p. 76].

The Worst Hypocrisy

What was so bad about [the Pharisees'] hypocrisy? If we think of it as consisting merely in their teaching or pretending one thing while in fact practicing something contradictory, we will miss Jesus' main point. What He nailed them for was that they were using God and the things of God as a means to some other end. That's what was insidious about the Pharisee's example. "They do all their deeds to be noticed by men" (Mt. 23:5). . . . Theirs was a problem of priorities: Their first priority was social status, to which end God was but a means. What greater affront to God could there be? Better to ignore Him altogether than to exploit Him as a means to something else you value more highly. (John Boykin, The Gospel of Coincidence, CT, 4/24/'95).

Carole's decision for headcovering

For my wife, headcovering is a personal choice between a woman and God simply because she loves the Lord and wants to submit to Him. It's a matter of woman's understanding of spiritual submission; that it's one of self-denial, surrender andobedience to the one Who first loved us. So this is simply one must realize that the veiling is a symbol of a biblical, spiritual truth regardless what denomination you go to. Christian women who are willing to wear the veiling because it is the symbol of their place in God's order with an attitude toward the Word along with discipleship and obedience. The primary purpose of the sign of the veiled head is to show God's headship order, and the faithful submission to her part in it. One can only fully understand the deep principles it represents when they are experiencing them in their heart and walking them out in their daily life. A woman just feel the conviction (from the Holy Spirit) to wear a headcovering. Anyway, the reason I know this so well because my wife wears one simply everyday because she wanted to submit to her Lord. She even communicate with a group of online headcovering message board group. Anyway, in First Corinthians, Paul is addressing this issue in the context of Christian liberty and is not attempting to set a custom for all the churches to observe. My wife and I believe that Paul prescribes the wearing of a head covering by women in corporate worship, not a merely as a cultural convention but as a normative practice which is to be observed in the church in all ages. Regarding: Head In greek, there are two different meanings of the word head (kephale). One is a reference to the physical head, the skull, of the man and the woman. The other is a reference to the source and authority of Christ, the man and the woman. Commentators are divided on the meaning of the Greek word ‘kephale’ (head). Some interpret it to mean ‘source,’ while others maintain that it signifies ‘authority.’ Some scholars have examined the evidence and discovered that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, records a number of places where the term head figuratively means ‘chief’ or ‘ruler.’ We both believe that this applies to "the source and authority of Christ, the man and the woman". Again, I told my wife that I don't care whether she wears a cover or not. This is HER relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. If she wants to wear one, I am happy. If she does not want to wear one, I am equally happy. I just don't want to "hinder" her relationship with God. We also look at other verses for guidance such as: 1 Timothy 2:9-10, "Likewise the women are to adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and sensibleness, not in braids and gold or pearls or expensive clothing, but, as is fitting for women who profess godliness, through good works." 1 Peter 3:3-5, "Let not yours be the external adorning of braiding hair and putting on gold or wearing clothes, but the hidden person of the heart by the imperishable (jewel) of a meek and quiet spirit, which is precious before God." I want to add that I am using Romans 14:1-23, to allow God to temper our passions and the truth of God to guide our convictions. If my wife feels the convictions from the Holy Spirit, who am I to hinder her relationship with God?

Repentance

Acts 11:18 and 2 Peter 3:9 are two of the many verses that teach that repentance is necessary for salvation. My favorite: 2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NIV) Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. Repent is NOT an addition to salvation but PART of salvation along with Grace. The whole of Scripture teaches salvation by grace through faith, but at the same time, the first and initial act of obedience in the early church, the first and initial act of obedience was the public confession of that faith. Repentance basically means at salvation, we repent of our sins which is a willingness in our hearts to want to turn away from all our known sins and give them to Jesus. Christians are quick to learn that sin is destructive and besides that they don't want to offend their Loving Father. Biblically, a person who repents does not continue willfully in sin. Repentance is a turning from sin, and it always results in changed behavior (Luke 3:8). While sorrow from sin is not equivalent to repentance, it is certainly an element of scriptural repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). There will be a lot of people who will claim Jesus as Lord of their lives, but won't truly repent of their sins and won't submit to the commands of the Word of God in reference to the habit pattern of their lives.

Problem with Legalism

My problem with legalism is that it can't produce a pure heart. Rules do not protect us from sin because rules are basically guidelines that will help you avoid sinning. Jesus had a problem with the pharisees who were very legalists and they had about 613 rules to protect God's commandments. To me: Legalism is from the Law while Grace is from the Heart. Rules can be abused: Matthew 23:1-4 and Galatians 6:12-13. We are under Grace and that we are to obey God and follow His Word (the Bible). God wants a pure heart from us and He does not need to give us rules in order for our hearts to be pure. Jesus Christ cleaned our sins and all God wants us to do is be Christ-like. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8 "God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God." God wants our hearts more than He want us to follow rules. If we give our hearts to God, then we will know what is sinful and what is not sinful.

Regarding people hearing the Gospel

We want people to hear about the name "Jesus" so that people would be curious to know who is this Man. As long as Jesus Christ's name is being proclaimed, we should be glad regardless of the preachers' motives. "Some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know the Lord brought me here to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But whether or not their motives are pure, the fact remains that the message about Christ is being preached, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice." Philippians 1:15-18 (NLT) (The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached)

False Teachings from Within

However, there are false teachers who are within our faith and using Christianity to lead us from the truth. That is where the most dangerous teachings come from. There are Christians who are willing to compromise sound doctrine for the sake of self-centered interests such as self-improvement (i..e. wealth, success), love someone who are within the false teachings you are willing to follow rather than follow God, and that sort of thing. People do not realize what is happening to them because our society says "I am not satisfied with my life and I am entitled (deserved) to get I want". In other words, we are in "me first" society. Please do not let earthbound goals, dreams and hopes lead you do the wrong conclusions what God have in mind for you. Trust in God's heavenly promises and set your eyes on your "heavenly" goals.

Heartwarming Story

Someone at work thought about sharing this story with everyone. If you are like me, you might be having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. This story made me remember the true spirit of giving to others. I hope it will do the same for you. By the way, I work for EPA. It started when Emergency Response Team received a call of 275 gallons of fuel oil released from a private residence in Ohio. The release occurred when a fuel oil tank at the residence of a 94 year old woman,who fell over and released fuel into a creek and also around the foundation of her home. The fire department responded to the release and did an excellent job preventing the fuel oil from entering a nearby pond but she was left with 275 gallons of fuel oil in a creek and infiltrating the basement of her home. Enter an Emergency Response employee (let's use Jim) responded to this residence. Unfortunately, Jim explained to the woman that the fuel oil would have to be removed from the creek and from around her foundation. Her home at the time had a strong odor of fuel oil, and could not be occupied. Jim contacted the woman's insurance agency. Initially, the insurance company refused to pay for anything. Jim eventually convinced the insurance company to pay for the removal of fuel oil from the creek and to cover any damage off-site to any other properties other than her residence. The fuel oil in the creek was cleaned up. The contaminated soil was removed on other properties, but the poor woman was left with fuel oil around her home's foundation, and odors inside her home that were unsafe. The fuel oil and the contaminated soil around her foundation needed to be removed, and her fuel oil tank needed to be replaced. She would also need a new load of fuel oil to heat her home. This poor woman had no money. She could not afford the thousands of dollars it would cause to correct the problems at her home. Jim came back the next day for a follow up inspection, and to try to help her decide what could be done to save her home or find her a place to live. When he arrived, he was shocked to find a large group of people waiting for him. Apparently, someone from the fire department, who knew what had happened at the house had informed the Pastor to the woman's church. The Pastor had informed the congregation of what had happened. People from the church just showed up at the house ready to do whatever was necessary to help her. Probably like in every parish, there was someone who was a plumber, someone who was an electrician, someone had a back-hoe for digging, some people just came to do whatever they could. The people spent the day working, with Jim coordinating, to help her. They dug soil from around the house's foundation, removed the fuel oil from around her house, replaced her foundation drains, and cleaned the odors out of her house. At the end of the day, the fuel oil from around the house had been removed and the problem had been corrected, but the house still had no heat. The original fuel oil tank for the residence had been damaged when it fell over and could not be repaired. Additionally, the fuel oil had all been lost and the woman did not have the money to replace it. The generosity continued as someone from her parish donated a new fuel oil tank, and then, a neighbor of the old woman, with four children and very little money of her own, paid $400.00 dollars to have fuel delivered to her home. In the end, this woman got her home back. Without the help of her church, maybe she would have lost the home, I don't know? My co-worker thought he would share this story. Maybe this isn't such a big story. Maybe it's only impressive to him because he see so many people in the woman's position who never have any help and have nowhere to turn. It is nice to know that people are still willing to give of themselves to others.

An idea of a ministry.

Perseverance, Character and Hope Ministry Those of us who are struggling, we are not alone because we are struggling along with God's energy, which so powerfully works in us. For it is God who is working in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. He is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. We will use the Bible to encourage people who are affected by all kinds of trials including disabilities (both visible and invisible)so that we can be conformed to God's image. The ministry's objective is to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of the afflicted people in practical ways while at the same time, Glorify God. 2 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV) For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NIV) But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. Phillipians 2:13 (NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV) We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.