The Sabbath in the Book of Acts

There is a 4000 year tradition of Sabbath in the Old Covenant. There is a strong Sabbath example and doctrine in the life of Jesus. Into the future via Jesus and the prophets, we can see a Sabbath just before the Millennium, and a Sabbath during the Millennium. Only the Gentile church is in question. Now the history of the beginnings of the church, both Jewish and Gentile, is found in the next book of the Bible, Acts. Just what happens to the Sabbath after the resurrection of Jesus? Do the Jews change? Do the Gentiles demand a change? Above all, what does God say, if anything, about this day?

First, there is essentially no mention of a Sabbath day until the 13th chapter. But I consider this passage quite interesting in our search for the Sabbath truth.

Acts 13:14. "But when they [the apostles] departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down."

It was Paul's custom, as it was Jesus', to attend synagogue services and to teach at them. They were, after all, Jewish rabbis. Following this introductory word, Luke relates the very lesson Paul taught, after which the Jews filed out. But...

Acts 13:42, 44. "...when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath... and the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God."

I find it interesting that Gentiles cared not one whit that they were entering into some Jewish practice. They had heard about this Jesus phenomenon and wanted in. So the first totally Gentile meeting of saints recorded in Scripture is on the Sabbath. This so angered the Jews that they became jealous and opposed Paul. So Paul says he will from now on go to the Gentiles. Do you think that Paul then told these Gentiles that they should change the rest day now? They were not worried about a seventh day rest. Why should Paul have been? And I ask humbly and carefully now, why should we be?

Though this history is sound and exemplary, most persons looking for light on the subject in the book of Acts want to go to Acts 15. Sabbath is not mentioned in that chapter, but perhaps it is important we stop there for awhile. A conflict arises over circumcision. This practice , like the Sabbath, and the tithe, was linked to Judaism. It seems to Paul and later the whole church that such a thing as the cutting of the flesh ought not to be bound onto Gentile believers as a requirement for salvation or even as a necessity for growth in the Lord. It seemed to them that this sign is purely a part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. A list of basics requirements of Gentile believers is then drawn up and distributed, and is accepted by us today as the bare minimum of the law of Moses that we should enjoin on new believers in Messiah. The list is as follows:

1. abstain from things polluted by idols

2. abstain from sexual immorality

3. abstain from things strangled, and blood

All else, conclude the leaders of the day, would be considered "troubling" to Gentiles now turning to God. The emphasis is to be on the grace of God, not the law of God, from this day on. Well now. What a shocking statement to men who as children memorized whole books filled with laws, every one of which was required for acceptability before a holy God!

So Jewish believers will continue on with the Sabbath and other laws of Moses, but Gentiles... Is that truly what is being said here? A double standard? Or are the Jews likewise to be totally free from their tradition and from Moses? We must look seriously at this whole legal matter later. For now, the last words about Sabbath in Acts:

Acts 16:13, 17:2, and 18:4 tell of several more Sabbath meetings, where Paul meets with Jews on their "turf" and explains to them the way of salvation, with a variety of results. There seems to be little light in this book about what to do with Sabbath. There is even a mention of a first-day meeting, in the evening, but no reason is given why. Does the day not matter any longer? Why, Acts 2 records daily meetings, house to house, and daily additions in membership. The church was a constant every-day thing. Was not one day above another any longer? What of the beautiful pattern established by Moses and all the prophets, and Jesus Himself? Can any other New Testament writer help us out?

Space fails me here, but yes, there are other New Testament insights as to whether Sabbath is for us today. I encourage my readers to continue this search throughout the rest of Scripture.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Visit to Peni-el

The Face of God. Why, that must be an exciting place to visit! Peni-el! Jacob went there. Once. Most people do not request a second go 'round.

Peni-el is a place of struggle. Paul would call it "fightings within, fears without." Pharaoh behind you, Red Sea in front. In Jacob's case, back to a forbidden land of challenge with Laban, or into the possibly violent hands of his own brother Esau. No place to go. So you are left alone. And God meets you in your extremity, but you don't recognize Him. So you fight or you die. Or a little of both. That's Peni-el.

It's also a place of losing. Oh I know, Jacob prevailed. In the way a fighter prevails in the ring by staying standing after 15 bloody rounds. Jacob would not go down. Jacob would not be denied. But Jacob limped away from that encounter and my sense is that he limped the rest of his life. It's costly fighting with God. You better know what you want, and be willing to lose it. Then be ready to know what He wants, because He is going to win the battle even if you get the blessing you crave. That's Peni-el. You see His face and you limp away forever changed.

It's a place of transition. You come in certain of your past, unsure of your future. You go out loathing your past, but with clear direction. You come to Peni-el full of your own self-importance, demanding your needs be met, and now. You leave not able ever to trust yourself again, filled with the Importance of Heaven.

Been there? Peni-el? You've lived to talk about it, but do you want to? You suffered a nasty blow as you looked in His Face and were transformed. It's not what you thought it would be, looking at Him. You expected sweet rest and angelic countenance, but saw a man, and a fighter at that. But you prevailed? And He did too? That's Peni-el.

And I promise, none of the above makes any sense, 'til you've been there.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com - There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs, over 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

How Can I Know The True Church?

Let's set the record straight. There's only one Body of Christ. It has no name but His Name. It has no creed but the Spirit-anointed Book with 66 parts. It has no head but Christ. Its members are wildly diverse in thinking, looks, skin-color, and giftedness.

That means that my group is not the only group. That means I can't draw circles around my group that exclude you. Even doctrinal circles. Our understandings are growing. No denomination has arrived. They are all flawed. The perfect churches are the ones on fire with God's awesomeness and being persecuted by the fires of man's awfulness. Perfect does not mean only doctrinally pure.

No Pope or Chief Elder or Superintendent died for your sins. They are not worthy to lead. True men of God in the church of Jesus will submit to each other and all to Christ. Little lords are not needed. One big One is enough. Men who are lording over God's inheritance need to step down.

No label fits the child of God. No doctrinal or denominational title says it all. Throw me a label and I will throw it back. I will not be written off or written out because someone has said I do not belong. If my sins are washed away, and if the Word of God is true, and if there is one Lord and one church, I do belong, forever.

"Ah, so you are an ecumenist!" You see, here come the labels already! No, Christ excludes from his church all who are not born again, regardless of their seemingly glowing credentials. Not everyone will be saved!

"A legalist then!" No, the grace of God cuts across assemblies where most of us would not be found dead. Oh the surprised looks there will be when saints are raptured out of groups we had assigned to Hell! Oh the despair as those who attended "good" churches are lost forever!

The church has invisible borders. Only those with God-trained eyes know where the borders run. Follow the blood trail. The blood of Christ. The blood of the martyrs. There is the Church. Not your little group or mine. Not your little ideas or mine. When it is over, only God's Word and those in whom it dwells will stand.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

God Puts it in Writing

Just how important is the written word? Most of you already know.

• Complain out loud at work and not much will happen. But put in writing that you're strongly considering another job, and your post can be filled immediately.
• Try getting a loan from the bank with a smile and a please and a thanks. But sign your life away, and the money flows in.
• You can say you were at the meeting, but when the boss sees your signature on the sign-in sheet, it's a done deal.
• The government can say they want to lower your taxes, but laws to do such must be in writing.
• They can say the new machine is easily put together, even show you a picture of what it is supposed to look like. But a written set of instructions is what makes the difference.
• Government leaders can promise their counterparts that they will not attack, but a written document eases everyone's fears.
• You say this car is yours? Where's the written title?

Have I made my point? The old song goes, It's real for it's written. Yes, when it's written down is when truth becomes something we can take to the bank. Christians have been hearing good things from pulpits for many years, but how many true believers will stick around if the preacher doesn't prove that what he's preaching is written?

Oh how wonderful that our God is an author, a writer. Wonderful that He breathed His Spirit on 40+ writers over 1600 years and through them gave us a Book. Yes, it was 66 books, but the unity is so great that we have always thought of it as one book, the Book.

Brother Peter says that the prophecies of old were of Divine, not human, origin. Men were moved along by the Spirit. So the written word has come down to us. II Peter 1:20-21.

God's promises are sure. He wrote it down, and passed it on.

Our brothers and sisters in North Korea and other suffering nations need to hear the precious promises of God. He saves. He forgives. He heals. He comforts. He guides. He is coming. Eternal life. Joy. Peace. Love. It's all in there. And it's all true. They deserve to see and believe it for themselves. Who will get the Word to them?

Will you join me in prayer to that end?

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosen together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

The Coming Troubles To Jerusalem

The Lord in Matthew 24:15 referred the disciples to the prophet Daniel for an understanding of the "abomination of desolation." Before we follow the Lord's leading to go back to Daniel, it is necessary that we take a quick visit over to Brother Luke. In his 21st chapter is a passage parallel to Matthew and Daniel, presumably spoken at the same time by Jesus. But there is at least one clear difference in the text that might be disturbing to some. Luke heard from the Spirit and/or his Spirit-filled sources some words that Matthew was not led to share with us. Remember, Matthew was there. Luke was not. But we believe both men have given us the Spirit's message from the lips of Jesus.

In Luke 21:20, having gone through all the same preliminary listings of things that will not be signs that the end is near, Jesus turns to a sign related to the abomination, one that must come before that horrid scene, and one that is similarly mentioned by Daniel. According to Luke, what we will see before fleeing, should we be there on that appointed day, is an army fully surrounding Jerusalem. Oh my, the armies that have surrounded this city! I imagine Jerusalem holds the record there! Nevertheless it is one part of the sign that the Lord wanted us to have, and fulfills exactly Daniel 8:12, where an army is supplied to the evil ruler to enforce his will. He takes over the city, and then according to Paul, enters the Temple itself. There is no real difference then in the two accounts.

Noting the above truth reminds one to say that Jesus speaks nothing of the identity of a particular man, His archival. He points us to Daniel for that piece of work. He does not tell us much about background, the times, the political structure of the end times. These pieces are scattered all over the Scriptures, assuring that only the diligent and caring will find them and fit it all together. Unfortunately, the "cares of this life" choke out most of this desire to search the Word for answers. May God change our priorities!

Luke brings out another important piece of information. In the same passage in which Jesus talks of the very end of all things, parallel to Matthew and Mark, Luke quotes Jesus as saying that Jews will once more be led away captive to all nations!

We remember how this happened when Babylonia and Assyria attacked Israel. Surely the Jews have been all over the world since the much later days of Rome too. But Luke says this happens yet again after the "signal" of the surrounding armies and the following desecration of the Temple. He says further that following the abomination are the days of vengeance when every prophecy about everything is fulfilled (verse 22)! This is the end time.

Will there indeed be time in the few short years that follow before the coming of Jesus for yet another Jewish dispersion? Especially when we have already seen how the "remnant" Jews, the 144,000 are going to be protected and confronted by Jesus?

I believe that an answer for this question is in Revelation 11:2, where according to John, Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles for three and one half years. It will be a replay of the Assyrian invasion, when that people sent their own citizens to populate Israel while taking Jews to captivity.

Yes, the book of Revelation assigns only three and one half years to the "times of the Gentiles". We were taught that that period was all the way from A.D. 70 until 1948, when the Jews recaptured Jerusalem. There were indeed some Gentiles there, mostly of Mid-eastern descent. But the Bible seems to be showing us a cosmopolitan urban center where Jews are no longer a threat to world peace. Where Gentiles rule.

I believe that this process will begin a few years earlier when a contract is signed with the Jewish nation, allowing them to have their Temple worship if they will relinquish the city to "humanity." Then Antichrist will reverse things and finish the process he has begun by eliminating Jews from their own city.

In some of these last things I speculate. But there are some definites I hope we have gleaned from this study:

1. The disciples asked for a specific sign about the end.

2. Jesus gave the disciples a specific sign and referred them to the Book of Daniel.

3. When the Temple is surrounded and desecrated, the end is near.

4. After the "sign" there is unprecedented devastation.

5. After the devastation, Jesus comes.

Troublesome days coming. Oh may we be ready for them should they be in our lifetime!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

About Today's Church Music

Older believers have to be careful how they talk, I'm told. So let me first say, yes, there are some great new songs around. The music and the words both.
Now let me tell you how I really feel...

Since the "established" church seems to have trouble with the old hymnbooks, I sing out of one most every morning. In private. I love even the poetry of these songs. I was raised on them, what can I say? There was majesty and beauty and downright sense to the words.

Take this one. I have never sung it in my life, couldn't whistle the tune if I tried, but while skimming through a particular songbook (Hymns of the Christian Life, 1936! -before even my time) , I have run across this song often. I decided to do a read only. Oh my, I was touched more than I have been in a month of Sundays in the established place. And I mean no offense to my home church. I just have trouble feeling at home during song-time. Check out these words:

1. Jesus and shall it ever be, a mortal man ashamed of Thee?

Ashamed of Thee Whom angels praise, Whose glories shine through endless days?

2. Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far let evening blush to own a star;

He sheds the beams of light divine o'er this benighted soul of mine.

3. Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend on Whom my hopes of heaven depend!

No; when I blush, be this my shame, that I no more revere His Name.

4. Ashamed of Jesus! Yes, I may when I've no guilt to wash away,

No tears to wipe, no good to crave, no fears to quell, no soul to save.

5. Till then, nor is my boasting vain, till then I boast a Saviour slain;

And O may this my glory be, that Christ is not ashamed of me.

OH how wonderful those words of Joseph Grigg. I can only imagine that Henry Oliver's tune enhances the beauty. Because that's how the old songs were, for the most part. Great lyrics, supportive music. Not the other way around.

Here's a suggestion for Mother Church, the Body of the Lord Himself. If we so desire novelty for our youth, let's teach them some of these great old songs that they have never heard. To them, they will be new. To us they will be precious. And we'll all be happy.

Suggestion two, while I'm on a roll. The Church was not created for the world, but for the saints. Let the Church remain holy and draw all men to Christ through the preached cross. Let the saints feel comfortable in their own home. The world has its own.

Did I just change the subject...? not really. Music that appeals to the flesh is of the world. Music that effects bodily changes is fleshly. Music that makes me want to cover my ears is an offense. Music that, like alcohol and tobacco, takes some getting used to needs to be eliminated before all ears are polluted and people will not even want to go to a church that does not rock.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

The Deity of Jesus Christ - The Prophets

Here is the testimony of the prophets and their New Testament counterparts regarding the deity of one called Jesus.

Jeremiah 23:6, The Lord our righteousness. The name of Jeremiah's coming "Branch" is spelled out in 23:6: "...and this is His name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." The apostle Paul explains (I Corinthians 1:30): " But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Christ is our righteousness. He must be the "Branch". He must also be "The Lord."

Amos 1:2, 3:8, The Lion. "The Lord will ROAR from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem..." "The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" And who is the Lion in the New Testament? Revelation 5:5 tells us : "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book...and I beheld a Lamb..." Jesus, the Lamb. Jesus the Lion. Jesus, God.

Micah 5:2, The everlasting one from Bethlehem. For a child to be born in Bethlehem does not make Him Divine. But Micah, in predicting the place of Messiah's birth, adds a detail that can only point to Deity: 5:2 "...Bethlehem, though thou be little..., out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Habakkuk (1:12) asks "Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God?" And we all answer, amen! The Lord God, Jesus of Bethlehem, is from everlasting!

Zechariah 2:10, The coming One. We have long preached the coming again of Jesus. Jesus specifically states this in Revelation 22:7. But it is the Lord of the Old Covenant Who says to Zechariah: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee."

Zechariah 12:10, The pierced One. That same Lord, of Zechariah, the only One he knew, the only One Who spoke to a prophet of God, says in 12:10, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication: and they shall look upon ME Whom they have pierced..." The One we call Jesus was not merely an example of human suffering, but was God Himself being wounded for our transgressions.

Zechariah 14:3-4, Lord of the Mt. of Olives. Zechariah goes on to say that theLord shall "go forth, and fight against those nations...and HIS FEET shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives..." Luke records for us (Acts 1:12), that it was the mount called Olivet from which Jesus ascended to heaven. The angels let the disciples know that Jesus "shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11) We assume that not only the manner but the location will be the same.

Zechariah 14:5, The One Who comes with the saints. "...and the LORD MY GOD shall come, and all the saints with Thee." We have established above that the title "Lord God" belongs to Jesus. What about the idea of "coming with the saints" ? This is established in Matthew 24:30-31Jesus says to His disciples "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." It is also verified in the book of Jude, via the book of Enoch, that "The Lord comes with 10,000's of his saints." Jesus is coming to earth with His gathered saints. The Lord God shall come with saints. Must be the same Person.

Zechariah 14:9, God of the One Name. There is only one God! Zechariah puts it this way: "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord and His Name one." This agrees with the text so sacred to Jews, Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One." There is one Lord! One God! One Name! Jesus and His Father are ONE!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosen together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Lord, Start This Thing!

On the 13th of September, just a couple of weeks ago, Chicagoland gets the rain of all rains for this area. Of course that means the rain of all rains since they started recording rainfalls. There were no weathermen measuring such things in Noah's day. We have to take by faith that that was the real record-setter. But this one feels like a close second. No scary thunder and lightning. No heavy threatening winds. Just drop after drop of ceaseless moisture. An incredible day.

Our house holds up pretty well. The day after the rain, I notice that people on our street are literally emptying their basements and setting it all out for the garbage. We lose only a couple of area rugs.

I first notice we have a problem when I 'm in the washroom. From somewhere across the basement there is a drip-drip-drip . Then that sinking feeling. Oh no. We've sprung a leak. Water is seeping in in small amounts and slowly directing itself to a drain made for that purpose. Not bad. We can live with that.

It occurs to me that I ought to check the sump pump in our crawl space. I open the door, and there in all its glory is most of Lake Michigan, with the rest on the way. Or so it feels to me. I don my flood control outfit and crawl over to where I can take a look. The pump is dead. And buried. In water. I am definitely going to have to change socks later.

I unplug the pump and begin a wrestling match with it. I want to get it out of there so I can take it to the store and replace it. But nothing doing. The ejection pipe to which it is attached is situated in such a way that I can't move it out of its final resting place.

Meanwhile my wife is on the phone calling contractors, who are telling me what needs to be done, but unable to come help because they're suffering a deluge of a different kind: phone calls for help. After more struggling, and hearing the price quotes on a new pump, I finally take it to the Lord.

"Lord, start this thing." Not even an exclamation mark. Just your basic cry motivated from pure exhausted desperation.

And God really does it. I am motionless, I've given up. I stop. I pray. And within a few seconds, I hear something. Oh me of little faith calls out to the wife, "Did you turn the furnace on?"

She hasn't. It's the pump. I tell her it's running. She cries. I sit down and watch the most beautiful hole in all of Chicago slowly empty itself of gallon after gallon of water.

On and on it goes, until it gets to the bottom. Then that sound Junior gets when his straw reaches the end of the glass and there just isn't any more. Now what do I do?

Hey! Why not the same thing? I start to pray for it to shut off, but that doesn't happen. Even if it would, I'd have to be praying for the initial miracle to repeat itself and so on and on. It is time for me actually to learn something.

I see the switch laying out on the dry ground. Through some playing with it, and a few other purely human activities, I finally put this once-dead pump into full gear. It's been running fine ever since.

Now this is the day that I am to be carefully preparing for my first Voice Of The Martyrs presentation on Sunday. Also on Sunday I am to be starting the book of Job with my Korean students. I've planned a calm easy afternoon shut away by myself, praying, listening, reading... Instead Niagara Falls and a wrestling match. About four and a half hours of trauma.

Plenty to learn on a day like that. God still works miracles when needed. God still refuses miracles when not needed. God "gives to each day what he deems best." And the best preparation for the ministry is life itself.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs , ovber 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com.

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Men of God, Arise!

Okay men, where are you?

Over the years I've had some pretty direct words to address to women who usurp men's leadership roles in the church. So did the apostle Paul. I still am grieved when I must sit in a meeting and listen to the Word of God preached by the opposite gender.

This is a man who otherwise lives in a woman's world, as an educator. I have known nothing but women supervisors since I began work for a major school system in a major city. So when I come to church I expect things to be a little more in line with God's patterns.

It's especially difficult to see this disorder in a "Bible believing" church. One expects liberal groups to play fast and easy with the Scriptures. Justifying. Cutting. Adding. Subtracting. Re-organizing. But in a group pledged to honor the utterances of the Spirit of God... Some time ago I heard a woman who eloquently defended our need to be strong in the Word, never twisting it, and so on. I thought, how ironic.

Well, I've fussed with women enough, I guess. What more can be said? Paul summarized his own feelings, and I'll let him summarize mine: "If someone wants to be ignorant, just let him - or her - be ignorant."

But! Where are the men? I should have fussed more with them! At my school I was intrigued at the 8th grade election procedures. Not one candidate vying for office in that class of 100 or so was a male. Yes, somewhat typical of that time of life, but never have I seen such total male abandonment of leadership as this, even for 8th graders.

These scared 8th grade boys are not alone. It's not easy to lead. Leadership demands rejection and the possibility of exposure. It means extra work and sometimes no extra glory for it all. I speak of course as a man, not as a man of God should speak. Nevertheless the parallels are obvious.

Where are the men nationally? Why did we almost have a woman elected President and Vice President? They could have done the job, sure, but where are the men? Not an important question but a symbolic one, for the church always seems to be dragged in to what the world is doing. And let no one say that female leadership was originally ordained by God in His written Word. Just isn't there, folks. The church is following the trends of the times!

But where are you, men? What's cowering you? We understand why women dominate in China, and we can't criticize a man who does not want to die an early death by being one of the visible leaders of the church. We cannot agree, but we can certainly not criticize until we have had our chance to be brave.

So, China we understand. America, no. There's simply no reason for men to be hiding on or under the pews while women slowly take their jobs. Don't men know the Scriptures and defend them? Don't men protect their women/wives/daughters and keep them from being exposed to the workings of the enemy that sooner or later go after the one in the pulpit? Do men want others gazing at their wives in this public way?

Have I totally mis-understood the Spirit-inspired teachings of the apostle? If so, it's been an expensive mistake, and I'm open to the church's Spirit-guided correction... as long as it is from the same Spirit that spoke to Paul

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs , ovber 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com.

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Who Follows in His Train?

Everyone wants to be an apostle. But no one that I know wants to live the life of an apostle or speak the exact words that the apostles spoke. "Apostle" today is equivalent to "master", whereas the true apostles considered themselves servants. And like servants, they were beaten. They were poor. They were rejected, hated. They were lied about and cursed and left for dead. And because they spoke and wrote only what God breathed into their tormented souls, they were unaccepted by many.

Acts 14:19,20 tells of an incident in apostle Paul's life. The Jews try to kill him. They stone him, drag him outside the city, and leave him to rot.

Many today do not like Paul's words. Unfortunately not all of Paul's enemies are outside the church. He is hated, maligned, ignored. His words are dragged out of context, out of the Bible, out of the church, and left for dead. His clear teachings about the place of women, the qualifications for leadership, the rise of antichrist before Jesus appears in the sky are all amazingly warped and abused by modern-day persecutors of the Word.

In the category of "misunderstood" one could place Romans 8:38, or a piece of it that goes right over most heads. "I am persuaded that neither [note his first word here:] LIFE, nor death... can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus." If Christ is in the heart, nothing can separate us. But if not, even "life" can do the trick. How could life separate one from the love of God? Isn't life itself from God? Though God gave life, Satan with man's help corrupted it. Human life without God does indeed separate us from Christ. Life with all its fun and beauty and troubles and sorrow is enough to distract us from eternity. Paul knew that.

Here's another "Paul-ism" that doesn't fit today's theologies. Romans 9:2 has Paul confessing that he has "great sorrow and continual grief" in his heart for his Jewish brothers and sisters, lost for all eternity if they will not come to Christ. Isn't this the Paul who said to "Rejoice in the Lord always..."? That verse is quoted often. But the sorrowing Paul, like the sorrowing Jesus, does not get a hero's welcome in the church's Main Street. Godly men weep alone, and lose the fellowship of the crowds, yet gain Heaven's company. Paul walked that life.

Paul, the giver of so many mysteries to the church, is himself a mystery. But with Paul we reach the end of our excuses. Jesus, we say, was God. We could never be like Him. Yet He calls us to do just that. Paul was not God. He is you and me. A great sinner. A self-willed religionist. A man who served his own interests. Then, he was mighty Saul, king-like in name and actions. He alone would bring revival to Israel.

Can't you see yourself in some part of Paul's old life? Selfish? Proud? Lost? Then why can't you do what he did by the same grace that was made available to him? By God's grace we can be as effective, as sold out, as anyone in the Kingdom. But the warning is real. Live like Paul, and be prepared to suffer like him too, to be rejected and despised as was His Master and ours.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs, ovber 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

The Sabbath in the Book of Acts

There is a 4000 year tradition of Sabbath in the Old Covenant. There is a strong Sabbath example and doctrine in the life of Jesus. Into the future via Jesus and the prophets, we can see a Sabbath just before the Millennium, and a Sabbath during the Millennium. Only the Gentile church is in question. Now the history of the beginnings of the church, both Jewish and Gentile, is found in the next book of the Bible, Acts. Just what happens to the Sabbath after the resurrection of Jesus? Do the Jews change? Do the Gentiles demand a change? Above all, what does God say, if anything, about this day?

First, there is essentially no mention of a Sabbath day until the 13th chapter. But I consider this passage quite interesting in our search for the Sabbath truth.

Acts 13:14. "But when they [the apostles] departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down."

It was Paul's custom, as it was Jesus', to attend synagogue services and to teach at them. They were, after all, Jewish rabbis. Following this introductory word, Luke relates the very lesson Paul taught, after which the Jews filed out. But...

Acts 13:42, 44. "...when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath... and the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God."

I find it interesting that Gentiles cared not one whit that they were entering into some Jewish practice. They had heard about this Jesus phenomenon and wanted in. So the first totally Gentile meeting of saints recorded in Scripture is on the Sabbath. This so angered the Jews that they became jealous and opposed Paul. So Paul says he will from now on go to the Gentiles. Do you think that Paul then told these Gentiles that they should change the rest day now? They were not worried about a seventh day rest. Why should Paul have been? And I ask humbly and carefully now, why should we be?

Though this history is sound and exemplary, most persons looking for light on the subject in the book of Acts want to go to Acts 15. Sabbath is not mentioned in that chapter, but perhaps it is important we stop there for awhile. A conflict arises over circumcision. This practice , like the Sabbath, and the tithe, was linked to Judaism. It seems to Paul and later the whole church that such a thing as the cutting of the flesh ought not to be bound onto Gentile believers as a requirement for salvation or even as a necessity for growth in the Lord. It seemed to them that this sign is purely a part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. A list of basics requirements of Gentile believers is then drawn up and distributed, and is accepted by us today as the bare minimum of the law of Moses that we should enjoin on new believers in Messiah. The list is as follows:

1. abstain from things polluted by idols

2. abstain from sexual immorality

3. abstain from things strangled, and blood

All else, conclude the leaders of the day, would be considered "troubling" to Gentiles now turning to God. The emphasis is to be on the grace of God, not the law of God, from this day on. Well now. What a shocking statement to men who as children memorized whole books filled with laws, every one of which was required for acceptability before a holy God!

So Jewish believers will continue on with the Sabbath and other laws of Moses, but Gentiles... Is that truly what is being said here? A double standard? Or are the Jews likewise to be totally free from their tradition and from Moses? We must look seriously at this whole legal matter later. For now, the last words about Sabbath in Acts:

Acts 16:13, 17:2, and 18:4 tell of several more Sabbath meetings, where Paul meets with Jews on their "turf" and explains to them the way of salvation, with a variety of results. There seems to be little light in this book about what to do with Sabbath. There is even a mention of a first-day meeting, in the evening, but no reason is given why. Does the day not matter any longer? Why, Acts 2 records daily meetings, house to house, and daily additions in membership. The church was a constant every-day thing. Was not one day above another any longer? What of the beautiful pattern established by Moses and all the prophets, and Jesus Himself? Can any other New Testament writer help us out?

Space fails me here, but yes, there are other New Testament insights as to whether Sabbath is for us today. I encourage my readers to continue this search throughout the rest of Scripture.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed , lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond .

Visit to Peni-el

The Face of God. Why, that must be an exciting place to visit! Peni-el! Jacob went there. Once. Most people do not request a second go 'round.

Peni-el is a place of struggle. Paul would call it "fightings within, fears without." Pharaoh behind you, Red Sea in front. In Jacob's case, back to a forbidden land of challenge with Laban, or into the possibly violent hands of his own brother Esau. No place to go. So you are left alone. And God meets you in your extremity, but you don't recognize Him. So you fight or you die. Or a little of both. That's Peni-el.

It's also a place of losing. Oh I know, Jacob prevailed. In the way a fighter prevails in the ring by staying standing after 15 bloody rounds. Jacob would not go down. Jacob would not be denied. But Jacob limped away from that encounter and my sense is that he limped the rest of his life. It's costly fighting with God. You better know what you want, and be willing to lose it. Then be ready to know what He wants, because He is going to win the battle even if you get the blessing you crave. That's Peni-el. You see His face and you limp away forever changed.

It's a place of transition. You come in certain of your past, unsure of your future. You go out loathing your past, but with clear direction. You come to Peni-el full of your own self-importance, demanding your needs be met, and now. You leave not able ever to trust yourself again, filled with the Importance of Heaven.

Been there? Peni-el? You've lived to talk about it, but do you want to? You suffered a nasty blow as you looked in His Face and were transformed. It's not what you thought it would be, looking at Him. You expected sweet rest and angelic countenance, but saw a man, and a fighter at that. But you prevailed? And He did too? That's Peni-el.

And I promise, none of the above makes any sense, 'til you've been there.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com - There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs, over 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Riches Can Motivate You to Start

Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth.

This statement is at the beginning of Chapter 13 from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

There are so many different methods, from so many different people, but most people don't know where to start, or plan their way to success.

I have heard some people mention the hardest part is actually starting, while others say you have to start somewhere, anywhere but start. Starting is usually the hardest part for most people, they get defeated by their own beliefs and of course never even start.

Fear of failure and fear of success, seem to be at the top of the list when thinking about starting a business. It's always been hard to imagine people being afraid to succeed, when this is what they seem to desire the most.

Wishing for riches can motivate you to start, thinking about the many different ways to succeed can motivate you to plan. A burning dire to succeed well often motivate you to start and create a plan eventually.

The key to creating wealth is developing habits and good daily habits performed over a lifetime, most of the time, will lead you to wealth beyond your wildest dream's. Sometimes this wealth is going to have nothing to do with money.

Get some books, talk to some people, watch some biographies about successful people throughout history, find out what they did and start paving your own trail. But you're going to have to start somewhere.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing, marketing and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.