Category Archives: Christian

9-11, BP Oil Spill, Christian, God's people, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina, Matthew 5:45, Samaritan's Purse, Struggles, The Christian & Misisonary Alliance, Why does God Allow bad things?, hardship

God’s Care Amid Trouble

Posted by admin on June 1, 2010 at 11:56 am.

He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:45).

                Disastrous events like Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico typically cause people to question the goodness of God. Why does He allow these things? Why doesn’t He intervene? Isn’t He interested?

                These kinds of disasters often evoke warnings of judgment from God by the nation’s prophets, just as were heard after 9-11. Their warnings were true, though the men themselves were rebuked for not being “politically correct.”

Most of the disasters that confront us afflict the godly as well as the ungodly, largely because the proof of our faith as believers is in how we respond in times of adversity. If believing in Christ shielded us from pain and trouble, how would we know in ourselves whether our trust in Him was because we loved Him or whether it was because He provided for us? He who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12) would know, but we could never be sure.

Another reason that disasters afflict us all is that they give opportunity for God’s people to demonstrate His care to a world that denies His existence. Most unbelievers strut about imagining their invincibility until a force against which they are powerless suddenly emerges. Then they are confronted with their own mortality, or at least their own impotence, and their minds suddenly must try to make sense of the whole of life. That is when they are able to listen to His voice.

Wisely, therefore, my church – the Christian & Missionary Alliance – has a relief arm to its ministries that arrives in the aftermath of a disaster to give aid to the people. The assistance is offered to all freely (though it is usually dispensed through the local church) as a way of demonstrating the love of God for hurting people. Following the Tsunami disaster of 2004, the Muslims went into the westernmost island of Indonesia – Sumatra – and immediately rebuilt the mosques that were destroyed. But Christians – including the Alliance and Samaritan’s Purse – went in and built boats to restore the fishing industry that is the lifeblood of that region. Their concern was for their religion; ours – and God’s – was for the people.

Christian, Church Today, Doubt, Faith, Jesus, Leap of Faith

No Leap of Faith

Posted by admin on February 16, 2010 at 10:47 am.

Luke 3:1-2 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—  during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

                The challenge from the secular world and its accomplices, the mainline liberal and neo-orthodox theologians of our day,  is that we who believe in Jesus have taken a “leap of faith.” To their way of thinking, our faith is firmly planted in mid-air!

                But that is not how the New Testament reads. In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel (verse 5) and in the second chapter (verse 1) Luke includes historical markers to identify the times in which those events took place. In the passage above, he does the same – no less than in 6 different ways. He may not have used the Gregorian calendar (mostly because it hadn’t been invented yet), but Luke was very accurate in his identification of the historical documentation of the events he recorded.

                We who know Christ should protest when our faith is characterized as a “leap.” It is not. It is rooted in enough documented history that legal experts have declared events like the Resurrection of Jesus to be undeniable. These passages in Luke’s Gospel are just a few of the many intersections the Bible has with other documented secular history.

                I find it also interesting that those who usually characterize our faith as a “leap” are the same ones who say they believe in an evolutionary origin. It’s funny (ironic) that neither the “spontaneous generation” that I read about in my high school science texts nor the more recent suggestion that life was dropped upon this world from outer space are considered “ leaps.” But I shouldn’t be surprised because the politically correct Lexicon has to re-define even the word “is!”

Christian, Church, Church Today, Hearts, Missionary Alliance, Missionary Alliance Church, New Testament Church, Oak Ridge, Prayer, Psalms, Sovereign Lord

He moves the hearts of His people to pray

Posted by admin on February 6, 2010 at 11:29 pm.

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

                A while back I read a tract which asked the provocative question, “Does God do anything in this world apart from prayer?” At first it was tempting to observe the lack of prayer in the churches of America today and conclude that He must –otherwise He would be doing precious little! But the more that question marinates in my mind, the more I am inclined to believe that He does not. He moves the hearts of His people to pray, prompting His actions.

                As much as it grieves me to say it, this could be the answer to the decline of the Church in America today. The attraction of most churches today has less to do with the solid exposition of the Scriptures (and obedience to it) than it does with the entertainment brought by contemporary bands and “worship teams.” This entertainment has replaced the activity of God in the lives of people, because it is so much easier to entertain than it is to feed them with the Word. Feeding them requires prayer; entertaining them does not.

                The verse quoted above seems to confirm that the answer to this question should be, “No, He does nothing apart from prayer.”This is not to say that He is not a sovereign God or that we command Him rather than be commanded by Him. He prompts His people to pray; then He acts. (And, as with Rhoda in Acts 12, we then are usually surprised!) It is no wonder then that the Psalmist calls our prayers, “the glory of all His saints” (Psalm 149:9).

We at the Oak Ridge Alliace Church believe in the power of prayer and have chosen to meet together for prayer several times a week. We meet Monday thru Friday mornings at 6:30 am and Wednesday evenings at 7 pm for prayer. We encourage you to go forth with us in prayer.  For more information on the Missionary Alliance Church meeting in Oak Ridge Tennessee please call us at 865-483-0606.  We are looking forward to praying with you.

Christ's afflictions, Christian, Daily Struggles of Life, Jesus, Missionary Alliance Church, Oak Ridge, Promise, Psalms, Restoration, Struggles, Tennessee, Walk with Jesus

Struggles of Christian Life

Posted by admin on February 6, 2010 at 2:57 am.

“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hos 6:1-3)

                This passage speaks first of God’s sovereign control over the events of our lives. Others don’t injure us or reproach us or revile us – He allows it. Certainly we experience struggles at the hands of other people (usually) but – as with Job – only with the divine permission of the Father.

But the promise is for restoration. It could be that Hosea is conditioning our restoration upon our “return” (i.e., repentance). Or it could be that he is saying that in view of the certainty of His restoration, we should return to Him. The interpretation here doesn’t really matter to me. As one who wants to know the fullness of a relationship with Him, I seek to maintain a repentant spirit, holding to the promise that “nothing can separate me from the love of Christ” (Rom 8 ) – not even tribulation.

The challenge of this passage is in the phrase, “let us press on to acknowledge Him.” The call to disciplined and diligent effort is clearer in some other translations, notably the NAS, but it is still in this translation. So, in the midst of my torn and injured spirit, it is my duty to press on to know Him. I am to count the pain as insignificant to my service for Him, as best I can, and move forward in my knowledge of Him. Admittedly, that is easier said than done.

Paul recognized that to a certain extent, we who are in Christ “fill up that which was lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1) – although not in a redemptive sense. This experience allows us to know “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil 3:10-11) and “face death all day long” (Rom 8:36).

I have found that the struggle of the Christian life (which, although I am in ministry, is not confined to professional ministry) is often best met by reading the Psalms. Often my human desire is to lash out at those whom Satan uses to criticize me and impugn my motives, but I am checked in my spirit by the words of Jesus to turn the other cheek and to forgive as I have been forgiven. But despite these commands, my anger remains. Yet there is something encouraging about David’s writings where he calls down judgment on his enemies. If he, as a “man after God’s own heart,” can hold these thoughts, then I imagine that I can too. (However, this is a far cry from acting upon them!) Reading these thoughts from David (or the other psalmists) gives my spirit time to heal from whatever wound I am feeling.

If you are going thru struggles in your Christian life and need a place to fellowship with believers that can understand and encourage you in your walk with Jesus, we at the Oak Ridge Alliance Church in Oak Ridge Tennessee would love to walk beside you and encourage you in your journey. Please feel free to call us at 865-483-0606.