Category — Ministry Tools

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. John 16:8 NLT, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” A number of years ago, I began discipling a guy who had just come to Christ. He had been a drug dealer and was associated with all the other crime that revolves around drug trafficking. We were walking through a grocery store buying some items that I needed to pick up.

I noticed my friend picking up candy from the bulk bins and eating it in the store. We arrived at the checkout and I casually asked him in the hearing of the cashier how many candies he had eaten so we could pay for them. I asked him without any hint of accusation or condemnation. He stated a number and I paid for them. [Read more →]

The Holy Spirit teaches us what to say. In Luke 12:11-12 Jesus said, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

In the mid 1970’s I was serving in the US Army in Berlin. The Army mandated several days of training to deter racial discrimination. The facilitator presented lots of issues, but didn’t seem to have any solutions. So when he asked for some, I volunteered to the group that I thought Jesus Christ was the answer to our racial discrimination troubles. The facilitator exploded in anger and verbally abused me publicly and forbade me to talk about Christ in our sessions again. [Read more →]

Jesus told his disciples very clearly that his sheep “follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4 & 16). Jesus also explained an amazing thing to his bewildered disciples in John 14 to 16. He said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Here’s what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do for his followers: be with us forever (14:16); teach us all things and remind us of what Jesus said (14:26); he will testify about Jesus to enable us to testify of Jesus to others (15:26-27); he will guide us into all the truth, speak to us and tell us what is to come (16:13); he will make known to us what Jesus has for us (16:15). [Read more →]

Our relationship with Jesus Christ transcends all other relationships in a primary way. Because Jesus does not physically live among us right now, he sent his Holy Spirit to live in us. Jesus explained to his disciples that it is actually to our benefit that he is not physically here so the Holy Spirit might live in us and be with us.

When Jesus took on human form, he chose not to be in all places at once. As a human in a body he confined himself to the limitations of the physical realm (which he created). But his Holy Spirit is spirit and not limited by the laws of physics as we know them. As a result, the Holy Spirit indwells all followers of Christ everywhere simultaneously. This truth is fantastic and mind boggling! [Read more →]

Have you ever stopped to consider how essential communication is to relationship? In fact, I believe we could rightly assert that without two-way communication, relationship cannot exist. Without two-way communication, relationship can neither begin nor continue. Our relationship with God is no different.

A while ago I was meditating on this subject of how God communicates with us and we with him. It struck me how vital two-way communication is to any relationship—especially our relationship with God. I was looking for an illustration that demonstrates the essential function that communication serves in a relationship and Helen Keller came to mind. By way of analogy, I’d like to use her story. [Read more →]

The first and greatest commandment in the Bible is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) What confuses many is how loving God can be a command. “Can genuine love result from edict?” they ask. Know that God did not make a mistake. He did not overlook the fact that genuine love cannot be demanded.

Instead, think about this commandment in terms of a loving father coaching his son. “Son, let me give you one over-arching principle for all of life. Center your life on this one thing and all else will come into focus: Love God with all your heart, soul and strength. Cultivate desire and affection in your life for him. Let him enthrall and captivate you! Spend time with him and get to know him intimately, mustering all your available resources to pursue him!” This represents the heart of God and the essence of this commandment. [Read more →]

Trust is another core relational response to God. Some synonyms of trust include: to have faith in, believe in, rely on, depend on, confide in, have confidence in, count on, and put one’s hope in. Trust or faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation and for our continued growth in him.
 
God is trustworthy. That is, he is worthy of our trust. He is faithful and true. “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” (Joshua 21:45) “The word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” (Psalm 33:4) “The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” (Psalm 145:13) “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) And God promises us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) [Read more →]

God initiates a relationship with us through Jesus Christ. And any interpersonal relationship requires interaction. The nature of our interaction determines the quality or health of a relationship. This holds true in our relationship with God as well as with people. For instance, arrogance, mistrust and self-centeredness all breed dysfunction and conflict in a relationship. Whereas humility, trust and love all produce harmony and enjoyment.

As God’s children he desires that we grow in our relationship with him. To a great extent, the nature of our interaction with God will determine the health of our relationship with him. From Scripture I see a trio of interactions (relational responses) that are always appropriate, proper and healthy in our relationship with God. [Read more →]

Uncommon Cents is a personal study and small group curriculum that will introduce you to tools and concepts that will help you deal with issues and questions like:

• “Am I on track with God in my finances?  What does he want or expect of me in this regard?”
• “How do I determine my financial health?  And how do I improve it?”
• “How do I get out of and stay out of debt?”
• “How do I know how much to give to God?”
• “Why is it we never seem to have enough money to make it until the next paycheck?”
• “I make enough money and have money to spare, but I sense there is more God wants me to do and that it has to do with my finances.”

[Read more →]

Relationship with God stands at the core of biblical Christianity

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.’” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

This is an amazing truth—that the God who created the universe and everything in it—created you and me for relationship with him. Let the magnitude of that truth sink in! God went to great extremes in order to restore our relationship with him even when we were still in rebellion against him. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT) [Read more →]