Seeing Souls, Not Just Seeing People

By Dan Jenkins

I remember as a young missionary the words of another missionary in New Zealand. We were discussing how to better find individuals to teach and how to lead them to Christ. It was hard to find those interested in the Bible in New Zealand as we tried to do our work. He then said something I will never forget. “Dan, are you still seeing souls?”

The world is lost and every person you meet is a soul, but sometimes we fail to see those souls. Christ died for the lost, and our responsibility is to take the gospel to the lost. There is a vast difference between seeing people and seeing souls.

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The Radical Entrance to Jesus Kingdom (2)

By Jim Mettenbrink

Jesus gave Peter the keys to Jesus’ kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). The record of Peter opening the kingdom is in Acts 2 on Pentecost, the Jewish feast day, inviting Jews from 16 nations to enter. The apostle Paul later stated that it was actually God calling or inviting people to come into His kingdom – “…walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess 2:12). Just what is this call? Is it a free lunch? A smorgasbord of pick and choose, entering according to your own desires? In His famous sermon on the Mount (Mat 5-7), Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mat 7:13-14). So picking and choosing is nixed. The broader context tells us this narrow gate goes into God’s kingdom – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness….” ( Mat 6:32). He was speaking about entering the kingdom. So, what is this narrow, but difficult gate by which God calls us into His kingdom?

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Guide, Guard, and Direct our Paths

By Dan Jenkins

It is remarkable how often we use the same phrases as we pray. There is nothing wrong with repetition, as long as it is not vain repetition (Matt. 6:7). Over the years I have heard others pray that the preacher might “have a happy recollection of the things he has studied.” I heard it for years but was unable to know what a happy recollection was. I sometimes wondered if the person praying those words knew what he was saying. Another phrase I heard as a youth (it often preceded the words about asking all this in the name of Jesus) was that God would “guide, guard and direct our paths.” It is very possible that those who said these words thought God would whisper in their ears or give them “holy hunches” about whether to turn left or right at the next intersection.

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Jesus’ Kingdom is Radical

By Jim Mettenbrink

At the beginning of His three year walk performing miracles proving His divinity, Jesus announced that His kingdom was “at hand” (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15). “Where is His kingdom? The territory? His palace? His throne? His royal attendants? His army? His subjects? What is His royal jurisprudence (bench law and common law)? The answer is in His declaration that ‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ (John 18:36) indicating an entirely different nature of kingship and kingdom.” So what is Jesus’ kingdom?

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The Order of Inspired Words

By Dan Jenkins

When the Bible speaks of inspiration it includes both testaments—both are inspired. It includes all sixty-six books of the Bible. It includes every chapter, every verse, every sentence, every phrase and every word. It all is inspired for all the scripture is inspired—God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17). One should never read the Bible without realizing how inspiration reaches to the choice of every word.

Another way of emphasizing this truth is to look at the order in which the words of the Bible express heavenly truth. When we fail to do this and get those matters discussed in the wrong order, we create problems in our lives. Look at the following examples of the order in which God places His eternal truth.

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Jesus, The Radical King, Like None Other

By Jim Mettenbrink

That Jesus’ disciples misunderstood the nature of God’s kingdom is evident when they asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). To convince Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea to prosecute Jesus, the Jews hierarchy accused Jesus of “…perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King” (Luke 23:2). Answering Pilate’s question, Jesus said He was a king Pilate found Jesus not guilty (Lk 23:3-4; John 18:37-38). Currying favor with the Jews, Pilate allowed Jesus to be crucified.

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God Working in the Background

By Dan Jenkins

The Bible clearly says, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above” (Jas. 1:17). While we might sometimes misunderstand what is truly good, there is no doubt that there has never been a good and perfect gift which does not come from God. It is so wonderful to read the Bible and see where God reveals just how He often works in the background to bring blessings to His people.

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The Power of Your Hand

By Jack McNiel

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. (Proverbs 3:27-28 KJV)

To whom is “good” due? The New Testament tells Christians that they are to do good unto all men, especially their fellow Christians. What is meant by doing “good”? In the context here, it is something that we have a limited opportunity to share. The “good” could be showing benevolent love in providing some physical sustenance. Or more importantly it could be by showing love for their eternal welfare and speaking to them about spiritual matters.

The focus here is on the urgency of the matter at hand. This might be your or their only opportunity to give or receive. Life promises us nothing beyond this very moment. Who knows when the Lord will return or when we or our neighbor might come the end of life’s journey?

Read Galatians 6:10; James 4:13-17

“You Don’t Mess Around with…”

By Kevin Cauley

April 1st, 1972 is probably not a date that you would remember well, but on that day, Jim Croce released his song, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” The song tells the story of a pool hustler named Jim who hustled one too many people and ultimately received his comeuppance. In the chorus, Croce sings, “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the ol’ Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Jim.” It is this comical list of things that made the song famous. It rose to number eight on the billboards. Are there some things that you “don’t mess around with” in relationship to God?

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God Challenges Us to Think

By Dan Jenkins

God gave you a brain—use it! Our world has been changed in so many ways simply because we have used the intelligence we have to look around and see things as they are and then to make changes to improve our circumstances. We have the ability to think, to understand, to comprehend and to change. We are far more than animals, and we are so far above beasts. We have a brain, and God expects us to us it.

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