Love is Sound Doctrine!

But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)

What is the basis or principles of what Christians should stand? This seems like a redundant question, but surveys and many assessments have reveal that truth is relative and subjective, to the world and in the church. Has mass media shaped are perceptions, has access to different social medias crafted are views? Have we become desensitized by our sin or carnal mindsets?

The disciple fought and question Jesus throughout their lives. Early Christians had various issues with numerous leaders of their era. Reformations, holy wars, schisms, martyrs, and a host of others have been effect by the generation of the time. History repeats itself, and again the answer is we must live on the very principles that we claim, sound doctrine! It is obvious that we have moved from a world of absolutes, objectivity, and dogmatism. To an era of relativism, subjectivism, and tolerance, sound familiar. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

I don’t know about the rest of the world but I’m resolved to represent Christ in these unclear times. To love God with every fiber in my body. To truly love my neighbor, with the love and commitment that God communicates in the Word.

In addition, Jesus says to love your neighbor as you yourself, not instead of yourself. Respect and love yourself; how can you have healthy respect for God or anyone else if you do not appreciate that you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. In turn your love for Him, will keep his commands, not because it is the rule, but out of your love for Him.

Love is sound doctrine. Love is the bedrock of our Christianity. Jesus Christ provided this unconditional love to impregnate are minds, our hearts and are attitudes. Sidebar: Love does not mean I accept your lifestyle, it means I will see you through it. “Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love–and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) – Chaplain Juan Mendez is a graduate of the Colony. He is also a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. You can email him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 35-36; Acts 17:1-15

Think About This: We must not allow anything in our churches to compete with the high visibility of the gospel. —Ray Ortlund

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Gospel-Worthy Courage

Philippians 1:19-22

In Philippians 1:27, the apostle Paul repeats a frequent theme of his: that Christians let their lives be worthy of the gospel.

This idea is a powerful one. What Paul is telling the church is what we all need to hear—and, in fact, what he needed to hear himself.

Paul issues this exhortation to the Christians at Philippi in the context of Philippians 1:19–22. In these verses, Paul shares that he is in the midst of great trial, suffering, and adversity.  In verse 19, he declares that he will rejoice in the prayers of the church and the spiritual enablement and deliverance he will experience.

In verse 20, he states his hope and expectation that he will not be ashamed, but that Christ will be honored. Paul’s shame would be to falter, to give in, to despair.  Whether he lives or dies, he desires that Christ be honored in his body “with full courage” in the midst of his circumstances, facing whatever God has in store for him.

In verse 21, he declares, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” And while verse 22 shows that he is conflicted about which outcome would be best, he acknowledges that if he is to live, it means fruitful labor.

Paul’s viewpoint takes real courage, but that courage is built on faith. It makes us both bolder and stronger. It means that no matter what our circumstances, we are to press on. We are to persevere.  We are to stand firm.  We are to continue to strive to serve Christ with our whole being.

Too often, when we think of courage, we think of heroic acts, dramatic outcomes, and historical figures who are larger than life.  But the reality is that we are all called to live every day courageously, holding firm to the gospel, and walking in a manner worthy of it.

It is the kind of quiet courage that Paul exhibits and desires to see in other Christians that makes all the difference. It is remembering that we are the beneficiaries of Christ’s sacrifice, bought with a price, in the midst of the challenges, suffering, and adversity of everyday life. Gospel-worthy courage is to mark our lives every day.

Below is a prayer that I have found very inspiring and powerful in my own life:

Almighty God, send us out into life, not for cheap things and not for self, but to do battle for Thy purposes. We have not been trained for beds of ease. At times, we dare to ask that Thou wilt send us to where the struggle is the hardest. We ask Thee not for easier tasks, but for strength equal to our tasks. We ask not to be left apart with smooth lives dead at heart. Make real to us, O God, the nobility of work, that we might accept its disciplines as the price which leads in the end to the joy of creation through Christ. Amen. – Dr. Todd Williams is the President of Cairn University and was our Week 1 speaker this summer at America’s Keswick. You can watch his messages at www.americaskeswick.org.

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 19-21; Matthew 15:21-39

Think About This: Today, God gives each of us a choice as we face life’s challenges. We can deliberately choose to follow him and rest in His truth and promises or we can choose to surrender our minds to pointless worry and the resulting stress that worry brings. Joshua 24:15
Katherine Walden

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Freedom of Expression? Really?

“I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1 (NLT)

It’s funny how I kick back at times and watch the world try and re-invent the wheel. Whether we like or not there are just some things out there that have an order to it and we need to stick to that order or we’ll end up with a wheel that’s always flat on the bottom. But we have folks in this world that are hell bent to prove they are right and will do so almost to the point of no return. It’s like they lie in wait, looking for that moment to strike out and say, “I TOLD YOU SO!!” Then everything has to be changed in order for that moment of “I told you so” to last FOREVER.  Even to the point where it is taken to a panel of judges and made the law of the land. Sad but true…

It’s like this freedom of expression nonsense that we are surrounded by. The only thing I see expressed (for the most part) is that people want to intentionally behave badly and do NOT want to suffer consequence for it. They want to shove it under your nose (like dung) and make you sniff it so that you get a whiff of it. It comes from so many different angles and I guess the hope is that once we are saturated by it we’ll become numb to it and it will therefore gain acceptance. And dare not speak out against this people or you will be called things like…well I gotta lot of words to put here but if you have ears to hear you get the gist. But one word that I think can get away with, without upsetting you all is “INTOLERANT.”  And to be called that these days is a badge of honor in my book.

Intolerant has been said of the Apostle Paul back in his day. When he was Saul, a “Pharisees Pharisee” he was intolerant of those who were following “The Way”. So intolerant of them that he hunted them down, with permission of The Sanhedrin, had them arrested and then done away with. Now we aren’t too far away from this happening again but keep in mind society wants to re-invent the wheel without paying attention to its history. And it’s in that history where we see that Saul had a major encounter that forever changed the way he looked at everything. And that encounter was with someone who this present world wants to re-invent and that person is Jesus Christ.

His encounter was so deep and strong that it changed “The Way” forever but Paul did not do this of his own doing. It took Jesus Christ to do it through him and he knew that. He preached it and suffered for it. He didn’t lose heart over it either, as a matter of fact he would tell the church at Corinth to “imitate me as I imitate Christ”.  And I’m sure that wasn’t the only place he said it. Today we have so many say the name but so little name the name that what they are placing under our noses doesn’t smell of Christianity it smells of heresy but pleases the world. After all, we don’t want to offend the offender with our intolerance of bad behavior. Maybe we should just bake a cake and celebrate the disobedience of God’s will…maybe we’ll invite Him as well. (please don’t send me hate mail over that)

Here’s what I am hoping to convey to you this day. Just because the world around us has it upside down doesn’t mean it is okay for us to accept it. Our response to it all is key and if we can respond as Jesus did then we can impart the same grace to an unsaved world that was imparted to us. Sometimes I think we, as Christians, have forgotten how to respond to intentional bad behavior with grace. Instead we get all Levitical about things and then the world gets to go “AH HA… I TOLD YOU SO!!” and the testimony of Jesus Christ’s saving grace gets trampled underfoot and we along with it. Sad but true. I realize it’s a fine balance to achieve but we are called to achieve it, remember we are in the world and not of it, if there is suffering in it take a look at The Cross and see what they can’t re-invent…even if they tried. Amen? Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and blogs weekly for Freedom Fighter

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 31-32; Acts 16:1-21

Think About This: “As Jesus looked across the horizon of His future, He could see many targets. Many flags were flapping in the wind, each of which he could have pursued. He could have been a political revolutionary, He could been content to be a teacher and educate our minds…But in the end He chose to be a Savior and save souls.”—Max Lucado

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

To Stay Sharp, Let God Have His Way; And Live For Jesus Everyday

John 14:15; Proverbs 23:26; Deuteronomy 5:29; Luke 9:23-26

There is no grace in performance. We will never be able to perform enough good works to receive God’s love before we were saved or after we are saved (Romans 4:5). But IF we love Jesus we can express it by obeying His Commands (John 14:15).

A key danger of performance Christianity is a failure to nurture our inner self; we are always on. Part of this is due to the fear others would perceive us as ashamed to bear the cross or the bragging rights of how much we deny ourselves. This leads to measuring our spirituality by success, time on site, program participation, the praise of men, and, of course, prosperity and cash.

There is another side in Jesus statement to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him. To take up our cross carries with it the idea at some point we lay our cross down.

Why do we lay our cross down? Since the way of Jesus is the way of suffering, shame and even death, it requires renewal of commitment daily. To deny ourselves is not just about giving up things, it is about relinquishing personal control of our lives to God. To take up our cross is a considered daily choice to face rejection and even death. Consider the Coptic Christians recently slaughtered. To follow Jesus is to join the disciples world wide in fulfilling the great commission.

What do we do in the downtime? We approach our Strength (Psalm 59:17) asking for guidance as we consider our choice. Some of the questions we might ask are: Who is in control? In what ways have I experienced the heavy burden of trying to remain in control of my life? Which areas of my life am I reluctant to surrender to God?

We remember what Jesus said, “Simply put, if you are not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people and kiss it goodbye, you can’t be my disciple” (Luke 14:26MSG).

Will you join me taking up your cross as I take up mine today?

Today’s Affirmation:

I’ll Stay Sharp, I’ll Express My Love By Obeying Jesus Everyday As I Live The Way

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 29-30; Acts 15:22-41

Think About This: Only the Gospel goes deep enough to effect real hard change. Everything else is just behavior modification. —Jared Wilson

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Pray Courageously For Your Family

Last week I shared with you that we are going to be challenging our guests this summer to pray courageously for four days, and hopefully when they leave here, they will continue that practice in their lives.

Today we are pray courageously for our families. Here is the list for today. I invite you to take some time today to pray for your wife, your kids, your grandkids:

Pray

that your spouse will grow spiritually. Pray that they will guard their heart by developing spiritual disciplines – Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc.

that your spouse’s relationship with God and His Word will bear fruit in their life. Pray that they will be a man/woman of wisdom & understanding, fearing the Lord.

that your spouse will be humble and quick to agree with God about their sin. Pray that their heart will be tender toward the voice of the Lord.

that your spouse will be faithful to their wedding vows. Pray that they will have a desire to cultivate a relationship as a sign of their loyalty and commitment to you, and as a picture of Christ’s love for the church.

that your spouse will recognize the lies of the enemy in their life. Pray that their attitudes and actions will be guided by the truth as they bring their thoughts into captivity to the Word of God.

that the Lord will create in your children a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within them (Psalm 51:10).

that your children will walk after You, God, and fear You and keep Your commandments and obey Your voice. May they serve You and hold fast to You (Deuteronomy 13:4).

that your children will be strong and courageous and not fear or be in dread, for it is You, Lord, our God, who goes with them. You will never leave them or forsake them (Deuteronomy 31:6)

that your children will walk before You, God, as King David walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that You have commanded them, and keeping Your statutes and rules (1 Kings 9:4)

that God will protect your children from the temptations from the world, the flesh and the devil (1 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 2:16). Thanks for joining me. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Click here to download the Pray Courageously guide

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 26-28; Acts 15:1-21

Think About This: Prayer should be done regularly, persistently, resolutely, and tenaciously at least daily, whether we feel like it or not. —Tim Keller

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Abraham’s Tipping Point

(This was written back in March of 2012…thought this a good reminder for today)

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.” Gen 22:1-3 (ESV)

I recently spent a Saturday in Allentown, Pa. I was attending a conference titled, Christian Life and Ministry or C.L.A.M. for short. It is sponsored by the Penn-Jersey Wesleyan Church District and they have this conference for church teachers, preachers and group leaders. The keynote speaker, Dr. Karl Eastlack, preached a really cool message at the end of the event. (Just for the record, he also preach an equally really cool opening message.) He starts off with all of us snapping our fingers and singing “AMEN” and when we finish he warns us to watch how we say it as by saying it means we come into an agreement.

Dr. Eastlack has us open our Bibles to chapter 22 in Genesis where we find the story of God instructing Abraham to offer up Isaac to Him. He goes on to say that at 100 years old God has something strange yet awesome in store for Abraham. We can also notice that nowhere in the passage does Abraham say anything to Sarah, ever. The key verse to take note here is verse five, “Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” The key is “come again with you”…what faith Abraham demonstrates. This is after a three day journey, enough time to back out of Gods command. Oh by the way, Abraham has also said nothing to Isaac.

Dr. Eastlack then takes us to verses 10-12 (please look that up) and it is what is said by God in verse 12 that we all understand that an AMEN is due! It is at this very point where God has made known that Abraham fears Him. Now there are three things to pull out of Abraham’s tipping point. The first is that there is access without condition. In Genesis 22:1 and 22:11 Abraham says “Here I am!” Whereas in Genesis 3:9 we read, “Where are you?” Do you have unfettered access or are you in the spiritual dark? The second thing is there is trust without information. Abraham was given no details. Good thing he wasn’t a control freak or a daily planner, huh?

As for the third thing we can pull out of this story is that there is obedience without delay. When we look at verse three, “So Abraham rose early in the morning” notice there is no sleeping in to think this over. When we look at verse ten, “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” There was no moment of debate or hesitation. Just think about how much easier things may have been for King Saul back there in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 if he just did as he was told to do. Think about how things may have been different if Mary hadn’t said “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” This is the part where you say AMEN!!

I, myself, have had issues with this blind obedience stuff in the past. And as time as gone by it has gotten a bit easier but it still is uncomfortable until I have gone all the way through. I was reminded of that on a Saturday afternoon in Allentown, PA. But how about you? How far are you willing to go for your church, community or even God Himself? Will you let Him know you are with Him by just saying, “Here I am!” Or do you find yourself hiding in The Garden with nothing but a fig leaf to keep you warm when out of nowhere you hear, ‘Where are you?” Hmm…now can you say amen? By the way, fig leaves aren’t very fashionable these days…just sayin’. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger.  Email him at cphuges515@verizon.net

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 18-19; Acts 13:1-25

Think About This: “So the final test of love is obedience. Not sweet emotions, not willingness to sacrifice, not zeal, but obedience to the commandments of Christ.” —A.W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47

Somethings Gotta Give

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 16-17; Acts 12

Think About This: When the Lord lays His hand upon a man, that man ceases at once to be ordinary. He immediately becomes extraordinary, and his life takes on cosmic significance. The angels in heaven take notice of him and go forth to become his ministers (Hebrews 1:14). Though the man had before been only one of the faceless multitude, a mere cipher in the universe, an invisible dust grain blown across endless wastes–now he gets a face and a name and a place in the scheme of meaningful things. Christ knows His own sheep “by name.”… There are no unknown Christians, no insignificant sons of God. Each one signifies, each is a “sign” drawing the attention of the Triune God day and night upon him. The faceless man has a face, the nameless man a name, when Jesus picks him out of the multitude and calls him to Himself. A W Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47

The War Within

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war Within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. (James 4:1-2 ESV)

I love the way the book of James doesn’t sugarcoat the root of issues. It is very practical and challenging. For me, it is my spiritual guide for practical living.

These verses exposes where the source of my conflict derives. My actions directly reflect my personal desires. This is the type of insight that challenges my heart to understand that there is a battle raging between my desires and God’s purpose for my life. It’s not the outside circumstances or the people as I supposed. My thinking, my perception; skews situations to the point of irrational assessments. The conflicts are Within.

Example: Traffic jams or city traffic in general pushes my buttons to the point of no return. I have had conversations with other drivers and cars. I say things that are not edifying or think things that don’t bring God the glory. Why are these drivers doing the speed limit, we all know the 5 mile grace period.

I have spoken with officers, there is no 5-mile grace, and the problem is not with other drivers. The problem is me, and everyone is interrupting the kingdom of me. Where I have to go, what I have to do is more important, at that moment, than anyone else’s priorities. The inner selfishness wages war with the spirit of God Within me.

Here is a challenge, next time you are in a conflict that angers you; first try to discover if it is because you didn’t get your way. Or if you are like me, I realize I don’t trust God enough that He works everything out for my good, and His glory. Wake up; it is not everything and everybody else. It is the War Within. Be a Blessing! – Chaplain Juan Mendez serves full-time at America’s Keswick and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. You can email him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 13-15; Acts 11

Think About This: To pray is to accept that we are, and always will be, wholly dependent on God for everything. —Tim Keller

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47

To Feel Sharp, Testify Each Day

John 3: 21; 1 John 3:16-24 

The Christian life is the life of unmasking. We are transformed initially when the Holy Spirit makes our spirit alive. Then it is a life of continuous transformation as the masks are removed exposing the life of Christ within.

We can only testify to what is true in our experience with God, to go beyond it is to misrepresent God and ourselves (Romans 12:3). The devil, sitting on the throne of sin delights in reminding us of how sinful we are, he even points out our sins to God (Revelation 12:10). We are hindered from speaking about the transforming power of God when we buy into the lie: dwelling on past sins, fretting about confessed sins in the present, and paralyzed by fear of future sins. It is hollow evidence. So we tell ourselves the truth: “God in Christ has forgiven me” (Ephesians 4:32). Say it over and over. “Praise God! In Christ I am forgiven.”

To testify is to tell the truth. It is not only the evidence of our words but also the evidence of our actions as we live out our lives. The alignment of our soul and spirit with God’s Word under the direction of the Holy Spirit allows our body to take action which is in harmony with our soul and spirit. This harmony gives a true representation of the life of Christ within us as it flows outward toward others revealing the love of Christ.

Before we testify, we need to prepare. We prepare by prayer for ourselves and others; we read the Word of God; we confess those sins the Holy Spirit brings to mind; we compare our life with the Word of God and determine a plan to obey it with the Holy Spirit’s help. We are then ready to testify (be a witness, Acts1:8), to be an imitator of God (Ephesians 5:1, 2) to a watching world.

We are ready to enter the activities of life. We are alert; we see others needs. We breathe prayers for guidance; our life is an ongoing conversation with The Living God. Our life becomes an act of worship. Will you join me today?

Today’s affirmation: I’ll feel sharp, I’ll speak the truth about myself and live the truth by God’s Spirit. – Pastor Bob Wood is committed to discipling and mentoring and has a heart for prayer. You can email him at DGTBOB@aol.com

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 10-12; Acts 10:24-48

Think About This: Legalism lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys but it does not adore. —Geerhardus Vos

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47

Praying Courageously

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Last night we started our five weeks of Live Courageously conferences at America’s Keswick and we are so excited to see what God is going to do this summer. I want to remind you that you are welcome to come join us each morning (Monday-Thursday) at 9:30 AM and evening (Sunday – Thursday) at 7:00 PM.

This week Pastor Lloyd Pulley from Calvary Chapel Old Bridge will be sharing in the evening sessions, and Dr. Todd Williams, President of Cairn University will be sharing in the mornings. You can watch live each day by visiting www.americaskeswick.org or go back and watch the archives of each session.

This summer at our Morning Prayer times, we are challenging our friends and partners to PRAY COURAGROUSLY. When I was praying for a verse for our printed guide, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Hebrews 4:16. When I read the word “boldly” in the verse, I went to my online Greek dictionary and was excited to learn that the word means “with courage!” How cool is that.

For four mornings we will be PRAYING COURAGOUSLY and would love for you to join us:

Monday – Praying Courageously for our Families
Tuesday – Praying Courageously for our Pastors
Wednesday – Praying Courageously for our Nation
Thursday – Praying Courageously for the ministry of Addiction Recovery

I am reading a brand new book on prayer tied in with the soon to be released movie, WAR ROOM. Two quotes jumped off the page:

Every generation needs courageous believers who will trust God at His Word and pick up the baton of intercession, continuing the powerful legacy of faithfully standing in the gap and seeking His heart in prayer.

No church program, religious event, political effort, or humanitarian cause can trump the awesome power of what God can do in response to the prayers of His people.

Kendrick, Stephen; Kendrick, Alex (2015-07-05). The Battle Plan for Prayer: From Basic Training to Targeted Strategies (Kindle Locations 205-206). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Will you join me in PRAYING COURAGEOUSLY? You can download the PDF version of our guide or if you will email me your address, I will send you a guide that you can tuck in your Bible.  God bless you! – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 7-9; Acts 10:1-23

Think About This: Prayer means that God’s miracle-working power is always a possible solution to whatever challenge stands before us. – Stephen Kendrick

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47