"And the Lord's servant must be..." different than I was today.

2 Timothy 2:24-25

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

1 Timothy 3:1-7

3 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife (lit. "a one-woman man), sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Titus 1:5-9

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

I had a moment today. I certainly failed at, I guess you could call it, correcting a brother about a particular statement made about some doctrine. I was definitely challenging wording. I care about that. Words matter. Ideas have consequences. That said, if you put all the above-bolded phrases together, I would use the word that Voddie Baucham has used - winsome. I was not winsome in my approach toward my brother. To be certain, I apologized to him.

Then, I apologized to him again. I heard my brother in Christ, Gabe Hughes, in a Q&A, and during this Q&A came up the subject of the known false teacher, Steven Anderson, in which he recently ran out someone who challenged him on the doctrine of the Trinity during a church service. His attitude was the exact opposite of the characteristics listed above. Yelling, screaming, arrogant, blasphemous. I felt immediately convicted of my own passion in today's conversation. I feel terrible. I was a bad example to him and to those who witnessed this "conversation." I am thankful to my brother who forgave me. I pray for the above characteristics to be evident in my life even in the face of concern over the precious Word of God. May I be winsome, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable (wow!) and not quick-tempered, arrogant, and the like.

Jesse Duplantis: False teacher

What is the gospel? It is, simply put, Jesus died in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried, and he rose from the dead in accordance with the Scriptures. Why? Because we are "workers of iniquity," lawbreakers (in accordance with the 10 commandments).

In his video pleading with people to help give to his $54mil plane, we do not hear a gospel presentation. I doubt he even knows what the gospel is (or rather, who!). As a Christian, I cannot stand by and not speak the truth - Jesse is a charlatan and a fraud, as are all his "friends" (Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, Joel Osteen). I pray that they hear the gospel and be saved. I think Kirk Frankin put it best in his recent Instagram post:

 This is Jessie Duplantis. A televangelist who has four planes, and is now telling us that “Jesus” wants us to buy him another one. I’m posting this because now that we see popular culture stand up to the injustices in mainstream society, I believe the church should do the same for its own as well. WE should take the lead when there is an abuse of power that affects our message to the masses; our silence can be as loud as the bigotry and racism we see in the public square. Many of these “ministries” built their wealth on the backs of poor rural minorities that put their trust in the hands of “god’s shepherds” only to see the prosperity benefit those doing the preaching. Again, there are GREAT Christian leaders, and there is NOTHING wrong with having a plane... but if the burden falls on the less fortunate and GREED is the check written by those drowning in socio-economic rivers of systemic disparities, GOD is not flying that plane.

What makes me so mad? He is using the "gospel" for his own gain. How is that even possible? Well, it's just like being a snake oil salesman. You know the story. Some unnamed fool rolls into town in his Conestoga wagon claiming his new miracle oil can cure anything from hair loss to impotence to heart trouble. You name it. Whatever you believe, it'll do it for ya. People, wanting to believe anything for a quick fix, jump at it like it's their last chance at life. And, what happens? Tar 'n' feather'im!

Yet, the same thing is happening with frauds like Jesse Duplantis and Creflo Dollar (remember his 2015 $65 million plan plea? Probably not. It got shut down pretty quickly after his initial request). The gospel is more than "I need a plane." The gospel saves from God's wrath. God, the creator of heaven and earth, has created humans who, almost immediately, rebel against God because he won't let us know what "evil" is. We are so foolish. Then, instead of squashing us like we deserve, he promises a savior to take the punishment for our sin. That was made manifest in Jesus.

Here's an article from Living Waters on our need for the gospel.

The Gospel

Four Things You Need to Know About God

By Ray Comfort

1. GOD IS HOLY AND JUST

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” (Psalm 89:14)

In civil law, a good judge must punish crime. If he turns a blind eye to injustice, then he is corrupt and he himself should be punished.

In one ten-year period in the United States, 100,000 murderers were never brought to justice. These were unsolved crimes. If God turns a blind eye to those murderers, then He is corrupt by nature. It makes sense that if He is good and just, He should be angry with those who have taken the lives of others, and He should punish murderers, rapists, etc. This is the teaching of the Bible—that God will “by no means clear the guilty.” He “will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” “God is angry with the wicked every day.”

2. HIS WORD SAYS “THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH”

“Sin is transgression of the Law.” (1 John 3:4)

Let’s look briefly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), and see if we have kept God’s Law:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me
2. You shall not make yourself a graven image
3. You shall not take God’s name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not lie
10. You shall not covet

Before we say we have obeyed the Commandments, this is what someone would be like if he kept the Law—he would always love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his strength, and with all his mind, and love his neighbor as much as he has loved himself. He has never made a god to suit himself (either with his hands or in his mind).

He has always given God’s name reverence, kept the Sabbath holy, honored his parents implicitly, and never once has he been “angry with his brother without a cause.” He has never hated anyone, had lust in his heart, or had illicit sex. He has never stolen even a paper clip or ballpoint pen, or told as much as a “white” lie, and not once desired anything that belongs to someone else. He is, and always has been “pure in heart,” perfect in thought, word, and deed.

The truth is, we are not like that. We have all “sinned” many times, and therefore we have stored up God’s wrath, which will be revealed on Judgment Day. The proof that we have sinned will be our death, and after death we must face God in judgment.

Think of it—if He has seen our every thought, word, and deed, and if He is going to bring all of our sins out as evidence of our guilt on the Day of Judgment, we will all be found to be guilty. Our conscience has shown us right from wrong; we will be without excuse. God will give us justice, and Hell will be the place of our eternal punishment. “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.”

3. GOD IS RICH IN MERCY TO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…” (Ephesians 2:4)

A youth once borrowed a fast car, and in a drunken stupor, sped through his hometown at 120 m.p.h. Since everything was horse-drawn in his country town, there were no laws against speeding. So the council passed a law saying that 30 m.p.h. was the maximum speed, and that any transgressors would be fined $100 for every m.p.h. over the speed limit.

On his way back through the town, the speedster decided to pull the same prank. He was apprehended, tried, and found guilty by his father, who was the town’s only judge. He was fined $9,000, and because he had no money and no words of defense, the youth was led off to prison. As he sat in despair behind bars, his father appeared at the door, and told him that he had sold all his own prized possessions and paid the fine for him. The son couldn’t believe that he loved him that much. They embraced as they never had before, and walked off in a new-found relationship, bonded together with love.

That’s a picture of what God did for us through the gospel

We have all broken God’s Law a multitude of times, but God came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ, and paid the fine—”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus satisfied eternal justice, and then rose from the dead, defeating death. Hundreds saw Him after His resurrection; it’s no fairy tale. Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies about the promised Savior, written in the Holy Scriptures hundreds of years before His birth. But just as we cannot earn a gift, so we cannot earn eternal life by our good works—”For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

4. GOD OFFERS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

“He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)

Life’s greatest mystery, death, was destroyed by the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” The Bible says, “He who has the Son has life…”

To find the way to God, to understand the truth of God’s Word, and to receive the gift of eternal life, begin by repentance and faith through a prayer like this: “Dear God, I understand that I have broken Your Law and sinned against You. Please forgive my sins. Thank you that Jesus suffered and died on the cross in my place and rose again. I now place my trust in Him as my Savior and Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

If you have repented and trusted in Jesus, then your sins are forgiven and you can now partake in the blessings of “the New Covenant.” Here are just ten of God’s exceedingly great and precious promises:

1. You have passed from death into life (Jn. 5:24).
2. God will supply all of your needs according to His riches (Phil. 4:19).
3. Jesus will be with you in trials, promising never to leave nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5).
4. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth, and give you the power to live a holy life (Jn. 16:13).
5. You are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ—God has removed your sins as far as the East is from the West (Ps. 103:12).
6. As you abide in Christ, you will see the “fruit” of His Spirit begin to manifest in your life (Gal. 5:22-25).
7. As you read the Bible daily, it will come alive to you and cause you to grow in your faith (1 Pet. 2:1-3).
8. When you pray, God will hear you and answer your prayers (1 Jn. 5:15).
9. The cross will be continual evidence of God’s love for you (Rom. 5:8).
10. God “is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

Search the Scriptures daily, and see what God has in store for those that love Him. Honor Christ’s command to be baptized, and find yourself a Jesus-centered, Bible-teaching church and commit yourself to it.

May God continue to bless you as you obey Him.

Baldwin rips Samantha Bee: What she did is beneath her

Though I struggle with the language, bleeped as it may be, this kind of heartless vitriol needs to be called out, no matter what side of the fence one is on, politically speaking.

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