Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

So,…….what are you fishing for?

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

“There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Romans 3:10-12

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;”

Romans 3:23

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Romans 5:12

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some  would even dare to die.”  

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:7&8

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which we preach;”

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” 

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  

“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” 

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”  

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:8-13.

If your wife is further along spiritually than you, you are probably wondering how you can be a spiritual leader to her under such conditions.  First of all don’t be discouraged.  You don’t have to have a college degree to be a spiritual leader.  What God requires, He also delivers.  Here are some observations that may be helpful.

• Husbands need to lead biblically.  Christ is the shepherd.  He doesn’t herd the sheep from behind.  Herding from behind scares the sheep and they will scatter.  Jesus leads the sheep which means He is out front and the sheep are following Him. They follow Him because they know Him and He knows them.

Leading biblically is about relationships.  Does your wife know you love her?  Is she secure in your love for her or does she have reason to doubt?  Does she know that aside from your relationship with God that she and the children are the most important priorities you have?  

Are you making an effort to love her as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it?  Are you loving her as you love your own body and as you love yourself?  This love in action is servant leadership. It is the result of biblical submission which is a characteristic of being controlled by the Holy Spirit.  See Ephesians 5:18 – 6:9.

• Are you a stranger to your children?  Do you know them?  The Lord said “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.”  Sheep will not follow a stranger.  To know one’s children is to be involved in their lives.  It will be difficult to lead your children if you are not there.
• It will be difficult to lead them if you believe it is the wife’s responsibility to raise the children.  Parenting is a team effort. To be a team member one must be present and conscious of what is happening in the home.  
• The true shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

A memory that I often recall with great emotion is triggered by a picture that was taken during the county fair when all four of our children were showing cattle.  It was a silhouette of myself and our children leaning on show sticks and facing each other just outside a holding corral.  

All four of our kids were facing me and listening as I talked with them.  Although I was most likely not giving spiritual instruction at the time, that picture reminds me of Deuteronomy 6:6 & 7 where God instructs fathers as follows:

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up.”

Spiritual leadership can be as simple as being interested in the things of God and as profound as having a devotion to Christ and His word that shows up in one’s own life first.  

Spiritual leadership should involve taking the initiative.  Taking the initiative begins with priorities.  What is most important in my own life?  It should be my personal relationship with God followed by my relationship with my wife and my children.  Is there evidence that these are my priorities?  

• Do not demand that the family be spiritual.  They can no more produce spirituality by demand than anyone can increase height by taking thought.  Spiritual life and it’s evidence is from God.  
• Do not be discouraged if there is no spiritual evidence in the life a child.   Be glad you are not being deceived by outward conformity.  A gentle reminder to a rebellious child should be “the way of the transgressor is hard”.
• Parents should pray for their children as Job did for his. 
• Parents should live out their own relationship with God in front of their children.  It should not be acting, it should be genuine.
• A wise man once observed that although God has a multitude of children,  there are some who may not be presently living for Him.  Does that make God a bad parent?  

During my college days in Atlanta, I picked up a Christian publication one day that was left in a pew after chapel.  There was a poem in that paper entitled “Don’t Quit”.  

I was so impressed by the message of that poem that I cut it out of the paper and kept it nearby for many years after that.  I lost track of it a few years ago when changing jobs and I just recently found it again.  I would like to share it with you.

DON’T QUIT!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit!

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out,

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,  

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worse,

that you must not quit.

John Greenleaf Whittier

“And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season, ye shall reap if ye faint not.” Galatians 6:9

The image of Christ that matters is not in a mud puddle, on a weather beaten wall, in the clouds of the sky, or on an ancient burial cloth.  For the believer the image of Christ should be visible each time we look in the mirror.  When you and I look in the mirror, what is it that we see?

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,………” Romans 8:29.

The song writer Thomas O. Chisholm expressed it well in his hymn;

“O to be like thee!  O to be like thee,  Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art!  Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness, Stamp thine own image deep on my heart.”

The book of Acts records the birth of the New Testament church.  It is a history of the church’s beginning.  The book of Acts is also a book of transition.  It records the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

Some aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work changed during this transitional period.  During the Old Testament period He came upon individuals to enable them to perform certain God ordained tasks and then He departed.

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit would now indwell individual believers, sealing their salvation and making them a habitation of God through the Spirit until the day of redemption.

Because the Book of Acts is a book of history and transition, it is not necessarily a standard for church ministry.

Let me illustrate.  When planning a trip one prepares the vehicle by changing the oil and filters, purchasing new tires if required, checking belts for wear, the battery for life and all the fluid levels, etc.

When departing on the trip and arriving at the first stop sign, one does not repeat the changing of the oil, filters, and tires or the checking of the belts, fluids, battery, etc.  It is not necessary to repeat these procedures every time one stops the vehicle.

Some of the aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry which were recorded during the birth of the church were no longer necessary once the New Testament church was established.

Jesus Christ came teaching, preaching and healing to prove to the Old Testament Jew that He is the promised Messiah.  The New Testament Apostles continued that ministry, enabled by the Holy Spirit, until the New Testament church was established.

Once the church was established the sign gifts (to Israel) of and by the Holy Spirit ceased.  Attempts in the contemporary church to imitate or re-create these gifts today causes confusion in the body of believers and overshadows the practical every day working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer as set forth elsewhere in the Scriptures.

Jesus speaking: 

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

“Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:21-24

Jesus continues:

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his  love.”

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:10-14

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18

The only sin that can send anyone to hell is unbelief.  All other sins can be forgiven.  God has made provision for forgiveness of our sin through the substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.  The only sin that will keep one from accessing that provision of salvation and forgiveness in Christ alone is the sin of unbelief.

Is an infant capable of committing the sin of unbelief?  If not, then what is the purpose for baptizing infants?  

No one goes to hell for Adam’s sin.  The only sin that can keep one from accessing God’s grace for salvation and forgiveness is the sin of unbelief (John 3:18).

• No parent wants their child to be unforgiven and separated from God.  Most parents would gladly paint themselves with purple polka dots if their spiritual leaders said it was necessary to keep the child out of hell.  The problem is that the Bible gives no precedent or instruction for purple polka dots or infant baptism.  
• Parents expect their spiritual leaders to give them good instruction, rightly dividing the word of truth.  The Bible is the foundation for all we know concerning Christianity.  Without the Scriptures there would be no basis for Christianity.   Church tradition that violates biblical truth is heresy and is a violation of a sacred trust between the people, their spiritual leaders and God.  
• The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture and He never contradicts Himself.  He is God and He cannot lie.  Christians are supposed to be people of the Book.  That is why Christians need to read the Bible and study it for themselves, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” I John 4:1

He Is Risen!!!

The written word is living, powerful, sure, light, life, truth, exalted, fire, eternal, and it is my meditation.

It is the agent of salvation, spiritual growth, sanctification, cleansing, and the Spirit’s filling.

We are to hear it, read it, receive it, believe it, keep it, obey it, teach it, preach it and remember it.

It brings love, faith, hope, joy, wisdom, strength, boldness, growth, conviction, power, healing and judgment.

The written word reveals Christ.

Have you seen Him today?