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More on How to Avoid Misusing the Bible

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Be prepared to defend the Gospel

Written by Dan Lee on 06/11/2018

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Bible, Wisdom

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

Just last week, we talked about ways to avoid misinterpreting the Bible. Today, we want to conclude this two-part devotional series by pointing out something just as important – using the knowledge we gain from studying His Word to better represent the Lord. 

A while ago when I was in school, my teacher would always put us in groups to research and prepare a presentation about a certain topic related to the class. I would prepare for days! My teacher was known for asking difficult questions just to make sure we all did our work. Sure enough, when question time came around, you bet I was prepared to answer all the questions! My peers, not so much. 

It’s the same when it comes to learning the Bible. You must always be prepared so you don’t look foolish. How can you defend the Word of God when you yourself may take out of context?

Let’s use the following verses as examples of how to better interpret the Bible. 

Take it step, by step 

Let’s break down one of the most popular verses quoted by people looking for assurance of a good life. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

You might look at this verse and think that God never intends anything bad to happen to you. 

However, when we read this whole chapter in Jeremiah, we find first that something bad has already happened to Israel – they had been defeated by the Babylonians and forcibly removed from their homeland. They were living in exile, slaves to a wicked foreign empire. 

Another prophet, Hananiah, had been telling the Israelites what they wanted to hear: that their captivity would last just two years. Jeremiah’s answer to him? “You are a false prophet, and you’re going to die.” And Hananiah did die (Jeremiah 28:12-17).

Then Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon telling them the truth: They were going to be there for a while. A LONG while:

 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)

Yes, the Lord had a plan to restore Israel to their homeland, but it would take place in 70 years – after most of the listeners had died! Not only that, but the promise was conditioned on Israel praying and seeking God with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

Your calling 

So what does Jeremiah 29:11 promise for today’s believers? It does not promise peace and prosperity now, but instead promises restoration in the future. For us, the ultimate restoration comes at the return of Jesus and the establishment of His kingdom.

We don’t know when the Lord will be coming back for His church. Until then, we encourage you to go deeper in your relationship with Him and be a living testimony of the truth He brings to the world. Fall in love with His truth and be ready to defend the hope that lives within you. (1 Peter 3:15)

Pray this week:

Lord, I ask you to give me the opportunity to use the wisdom I gain through your Word to share the truth with those around me. Amen. 

Are you prepared to defend your faith when brought difficult questions?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Do you have children? Teach Them

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Do you have children?

Written by Hope on 03/11/2013

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Disciples, Life Change

 

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

 

Do you have children? If so, you might know that the Bible instructs us to "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Taking a new Christian on a path of discipleship can be compared to teaching or training a child. Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it" (Mark 10:14-15).

Faith Like a Child

Jesus taught, "unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3). He said, "anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me" (Matthew 18:5); your service to a new believer is an act of service to the Lord! But we must be careful to teach only what is in God’s Word. Jesus warned that it would be better to die than to "cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin" (Matthew 18:6).

Gift from the Lord

God loves and highly values every person. His Word tells us that "children are a gift from the Lord" (Psalm 127:3). Your disciple, believing in God with faith like a child's, is also a valuable person to the Lord. Like a child, they can turn to you to gain knowledge of the Lord. If you teach your disciple the ways of the Lord while he or she is "young" in faith, they may be more likely to follow the Lord all their life. Be encouraged: "Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, 'You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings'" (John 8:31).

Prayer, Care, and Share Jesus

"Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you!”

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

One of the most exciting ways we hope your faith is strengthened when learning from the Prayer, Care and Share Jesus guide (PCS) is by becoming more confident when sharing Jesus with others.

When you do lead someone to Christ, you might even feel led to share what you’ve learned in the PCS guide. It can be a great discipleship tool!

In Matthew 28: 19-20, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey (not just know) all of Jesus' commandments.

When you walk someone through accepting Jesus in their life, it’s a great idea to start the discipleship process right away – "teaching the new believer to obey everything Jesus commanded." You can also get them connected to a church or community of faith. You might not be able or feel led to be the one to disciple the new believer. But, you can help them find a way to get discipled by connecting with someone or a Christian community or church. When I have led people to Christ whom I won’t see again, such as taxi drivers or flight attendants, I have prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to orchestrate their follow-up.

You can teach them about things that Jesus teaches in the Bible like baptism, reading the Bible, prayer, involvement in a community of believers (such as a church or house church); taking communion (remembering Christ in the way he commanded us); and sanctification ("go and sin no more." John 8:11).These are not all of Jesus' teachings, but they are a good start for your new believer.

This week, start praying about your role in someone’s life as a discipleship mentor. Ask for guidance, wisdom and compassion.

Pray this week:

That your children and disciples will remain faithful to the Lord all their life.

Do you have questions about being a teacher? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Serving the Body

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How can we use our spiritual gifts to serve the Church?

Written by Ruth on 24/10/2017
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Church And Community
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25
Have you ever wondered why you should be part of a church? The Bible says in Hebrews 10:24-25 that gathering with other believers is something we should not neglect.

What is so important about church?
Jesus wants us, as a member of a local church, to complete the ministry He began while He was on earth. He wants you to be part of this ministry. But none of us can do this on our own. We need Him as our leader (our Head), and all the rest of the body (other believers) to get the mission accomplished as He has planned. None of us can do it alone, but all our abilities together are used by Him for His purpose. Here’s how you can be a healthy part of the body:

Encouraging each other
First, church is meant for mutual encouragement. In Hebrews 10:23 we read God’s desire for us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering.” None of us can do that by ourselves because our enemy, Satan, attacks us more when we are alone. Our responsibility to other believers is to encourage them to keep following Jesus closely.

Completing what he began
Second, Jesus left us a task to do. Just before He returned to heaven after His resurrection, He said we were to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:20). He says He is “not wishing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), but no one can know Him unless someone tells them.

In John 14:12, Jesus also said that the Church would do “greater works” than He had done while He was here. None of us who follow Him can accomplish this in our own strength. We, the Church, are called His body and are left on earth now so He can do in the whole world what He did in one region while He was here.

For this reason Jesus gives gifts (called spiritual gifts in the Bible) to each person in the church to help with this task. We read the lists of spiritual gifts in passages such as Ephesians 4:11-12. Alone, we cannot complete all the duties Jesus wants to do, but together we can. Jesus’ body, the Church has different parts just as a body has – ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet, and so on – and each part is important to completing the task. Each of us, with the spiritual gifts He has given us, have our own work to do.

Strength in unity
Third, we as believers must work together. We cannot work as a body if we are not in agreement with each other. The Bible calls this “unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:1-6). Hands cannot help a person in need if the feet will not take them to that person. The heart cannot love someone if the ears have not heard the one who needs encouragement. The arms cannot lift a heavy burden for another if the legs and back do not help with balance and strength.

Jesus gave His disciples, including us today, a wonderful promise in Matthew 16:18 – that the very gates of hell cannot stop what He wants to accomplish. Gates are not attack weapons, but instead used to keep someone out or in. The gates of hell are pictured because Satan wants to keep people from hearing Jesus’ words of hope and follow Him. However, his gates cannot stop us from entering his strongholds to tell them.

There will be times, however, as we enter those gates to invite people to follow us to Jesus, that we will be injured by Satan’s attacks. In those times, the Church – the body of Christ – rushes to help the injured one. We bind the wounds, encourage the disheartened and give strength to those who have suffered in the attacks.

Discovering your spiritual gifts
Finally, every believer is given at least one spiritual gift with which they serve Jesus’ body in a local church. It is our duty to use each gift we are given to help the local body in the church we attend. (1 Peter 4:10)

How do we discover our spiritual gifts? A few will hear God’s call to become pastors. Others will be asked to do something and discover joy in fulfilling that task. Many will try different things to find what gives them the greatest satisfaction as they serve Jesus in their church – encouraging others, giving someone a verse of wisdom when someone is searching for answers, visiting the sick and praying with them, helping a disabled person by taking them to the grocery store and carrying their bags home, or even greeting a foreigner with a word of welcome in their own language. In doing this, you will be serving the body while also finding how God has crafted you best to serve.

Pray this week:
Father, as my love for you grows, teach me also to love my church and use the way you’ve prepared me to bless and build others within it.

What do you do in church that helps others?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member