Thought - Two Options in front of a preacher of gospel

If I had to go to Babylon and start a church among the captives who came from Judah then I will have two options.

1. Option 1 - Start a conservative Jewish church which has all God's law in its statement of faith and which follow everything law demands.  This church preaches against sin and call people to repentance and genuine spiritual life. Then I will have only four members in my church. They are Brother Daniel, Bro.Shadrach, Bro.Meshach and Bro.Abednego.
2. Option 2 - Next option is to start a seeker friendly church  (I can name it like Babylon Jewish Community or Nebuchadnezzar Assembly or something which does not reveal what the church is all about). It only has few things in its statement of faith and it accepts everything. Mostly preaching will be about prosperity and giving people hope that captivity is going to end soon.  You will get to hear things like this often -Get ready for something amazing, unexpected, Babylonian power will break because of you, God is going to use you etc. Only condition is come once in a week. I don't care if you bow down to king and worship or what you eat and wear. Come once in week and don't forget your offering. This church may have hundreds in attendance.

Which one is better?   Starting and maintaining a Jewish church in Babylon is not easy. There will be so many challenges. Then the challenge and pressure of number of people. Today everything is measured in quantity and not quality.

If I hold Calvinistic view then I don't need to decide, whatever I choose does not matter since I will choose what was  predestined by God. If I hold Armenian view then I need to decide on one option.  Option 1 seems more aligned with Bible but Option 2 looks more aligned to and desirable in today's world. You may say Option 2 is what we need today to reach the world. What to do?

It’s a challenge which a conservative minister of gospel may faces daily in ministry!

Thought - My Past and My Attitude

There are times when it is really difficult to keep past things out of our mind. If it is about bad things others did to you and if it is something which can be compared as Reuben and other brothers roaming around free at their father's house when poor Joseph is in prison, then it gets tougher. Only revenge and wrong idea comes to your mind. You may feel helpless. If you find yourself in a similar situation then you need to remind yourself of the story of Joseph and decide that real forgiveness will allow safe passage to people even in your mind, even to those who did to you what Jacob did to Esau (deceived). 

What should I do? If I am a child of God then I need to behave and react like Joseph and not like Cain. Sometimes this will require intentional prayer and seeking God's help.

God changes us through Holy Spirit

I was very angry. I had a genuine reason to be angry and wanted to shout. I wanted to say all things which a worldly man would say when he gets angry or mad at someone or something. I barely managed to keep my words to a limit and boundaries of the ethics I follow. At times I wanted to speak out words which I normally don’t use or speak but I know are used by people when they are angry. After this I could stand in front of anyone and justify the reason for me being angry and argue that I was correct and there was nothing wrong. I was sure at I would win my case in any court which may put me on trial for getting angry.

Then came the difficult part. I went to God to pray knowing that I did nothing wrong. I could not pray with my heart, with my lips I could, but my heart and my conscience was wandering. What I knew in theory started arguing with me. I knew theoretically that I should not get angry or shout rather I should always be sober and kind and patient. But the situation made me to overcome all those things and justify my action. What my flesh wanted to do was trying to prevail over what God wanted me to do. The way my flesh wanted me to react was overpowering how God wanted me to react. Finally I had to surrender and confess that I was wrong in what I did and asked for forgiveness and more grace and strength to react and behave better next time. I could sense and experience the peace of God. Fake lip service to God changed to heart felt service. I could understand that I was wrong. None of my justification or law points could stand against the word of God which was working in my heart. Holy Sprit was reminding me everything I have read and I knew theoretically and asking me to make it practical in my life. I gave up and said, “Lord have thine own way."

You may ask what it was. It was God working through the Holy Spirit in a person’s life reminding him of Scriptures to transform him into his likeness. It was the Holy Spirit at work to change me so that I can be transformed more into the image of God and reflect the character and attitude of Jesus Christ through my life. I am glad God works even today through the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can resist that work easily and lose our sensitivity. We should try not to lose in and make sure we are reaching out toGod with our hearts and not only with lips.

Some people may question the need of confession and reconciliation for such matters. The Bible is clear on these things and I believe that the beauty of a Christian life is not only in having theoretical knowledge of different terms like justification, grace, sanctification, dispensation etc.  An important aspect is walking with God and hearing His voice and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives resulting in transformation.    

God Bless you!

Thought - Theology and Confusion

Completed a paper on Wesleyan and Reformed theology and tradition. My conclusion - I finished it by grace alone. I reasoned and experienced that it is complete because traditionally people who finish and submit it have completed it. But only my paper can validate if it’s complete or not. In order to validate, you will have to read it and understand. Then your method of reading and understanding may not be same as the way I wanted you to read and understand. So you may read in a different way than I wanted you to understand. I wrote in based on my culture, education, understanding and by circumstances.

If you are confused then I am sorry and you are like me. But if you understood what I just wrote then you are a theologian.

Note:- This is my way of appreciating people who spend countless hours dealing with theological issues.

Thought - Close to God with Heart or Lips

You may say that you prayed today. What about your heart? Did you reach out to God with your heart or just with your lips? In Mathew 15:1-20, Jesus stated what is more important. If we reach out to God only with our lips and not with our heart then we should go on our knees. It is a serious concern which needs to be resolved on our knees. We should not allow fake spirituality to prosper in our life. We should seek God in prayer and meditation of his Word and arrest the growth of fake spirituality and cultivate and nurture true spirituality. What is the test of true spirituality. One simple test is to check if you are close to God with your heart. What dominates your thought life?