Author Archives: lrbartel

Jul 16 2017
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Devos

Hey listen, I don’t want to call myself a “Christian” and actually be a “Mammonite!”

A lot of people call themselves “Christians” … and then there are other labels too: Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, etc. Really the word “Christian” should only apply to followers of Christ – those who in a practical and authentic way acknowledge and submit to Jesus as Lord of their lives.

 
I’m afraid, however, that some who call themselves “Christians” are actually “Mammonites!” What is a “Mammonite” you ask? Well the word “Mammon” in the Bible is used for “money or possessions.” A “Mammonite” (a word I coined… couldn’t you tell?) is an individual who, although claiming to be a Christian, actually in a practical way, worships and serves material things like money and possessions, rather than the Lord.
 
Here’s what Jesus had to say about that issue in the Bible (I read it this morning during “coffee with the Lord”)…
 
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth (“mammon” – KJV), who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (“mammon” – KJV).” (Luke 16:10–13 NIV)
 
I meet professing Christians all of the time who clearly communicate in their casual conversations and by their life pursuits that they are actually “Mammonites!”
 
Here’s the deal… I must acknowledge as a Christian – a person who claims Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – that “I’m not my own” – I’ve been “bought with a price!” In fact, the Psalmist declared, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it – the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) That means I actually “own” nothing! I am a steward of what belongs to someone else (God!) … It’s not mine – it’s His! My task is to be a faithful steward with the money and possessions God has entrusted to me for His purposes, His kingdom, and His glory!
 
I don’t want to be a “Mammonite” – I want to be a “Christian!” I don’t want to fall into the trap of allowing my culture, its advertising, its values, and the deceit of my own heart, to lead me into serving money and possessions! Instead, I want to serve God and steward possessions and manage money in a way that honors my Savior and Lord! Don’t you?
Jul 15 2017
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Devos

Colossians 1:15-20… Wow! Blows me away every time I read it!

ot onThe Supremacy of Christ

Wow! Read one of those passages this morning during “coffee with the Lord” that just left me in awe of my Savior, Jesus Christ! Plain “blew me away” (and it does every time I read it!). If reading this passage and reflecting on what it declares doesn’t induce worship in a the heart of a Christ follower – someone who has been “reconciled to God” through what Jesus did on their behalf on the cross and because of the resurrection and ascension to the Heavenly Father’s “right hand” as their “advocate,” – something is wrong!

My comment in the margin of my Bible as a result of meeting with Him this morning in prayer, worship, and reflection after reading the passage in my Bible? “Wow! What a Savior you are! That passage describes WHO you are! That’s WHAT YOU’RE LIKE! That’s WHAT YOU’VE DONE! Wow!”

Ok, here it is right out of the Bible (with a few explanatory comments from me, based upon the original languages in which the Bible came to us)…

“He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God (he reveals what God is like to us – he IS God!), the firstborn of all creation (he was there at creation!). For by him ALL THINGS were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things (he was there before creation!), and in him all things hold together (he is Creator AND Sustainer of everything!). And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead (he made the resurrection possible for EVERYONE!), that in everything he might be preeminent! For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (he not only reveals God – he IS God!), and through him to reconcile to himself ALL THINGS, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (He is the great “reconciler” – What he did at the cross not only results in our personal reconciliation to God, but has COSMIC implications… see Romans 8:18-25).“ (from Colossians 1:15–20 ESV)

Hey, I’m sorry for all the comments (I just got carried away 🙂 )!!! But, Oh my, what a Savior!!!

Jul 13 2017
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Devos

If you have decided to “Follow Jesus – no turning back!” You may have to tell some old “friends,” … “Get lost!”

Get Lost

He was a brand new “baby Christian” and had made a quality decision to follow Jesus. He had new desires and motivations. He wanted to please the Lord and overcome sinful habits. He was experiencing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and the renewal of his thinking (Romans 12:1-2) But he was clearly having a struggle! Old friends and associates were still hanging around and applying a lot of pressure to return to the old lifestyle!

Apostle Paul addressed this issue… He warned the Christians in Corinth, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning!” (1 Cor 15:33-34 NIV)

In another location this is what Apostle Peter said about that challenge: “You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:3–5 NLT)

In my Bible reading this morning I read a verse that puts the issue even more directly: The psalmist said, “Depart from me, you evildoers, so that I may keep the commandments of my God!” (Psalm 119:115 ESV)

If you have “decided to follow Jesus… No turning back! No turning back!” sometimes you just have to tell those who would pressure you to go back into sin, “Get lost! I’m going to follow Jesus and live for Him!”

So here’s my advice as someone who has discipled a lot of new Christians: Of course you want to see the old friends that you ran with and caroused with (and sinned with) come to the Lord! But you can’t allow them to pressure you to return to your old way of life! How does the Bible put it? “Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.’” (2 Peter 2:22 NIV) If your old friends will not receive your witness and testimony and try to pressure you to go back to your old lifestyle, you may have to distance yourself from them and even frankly tell them, “Get lost! I have decided to follow Jesus!” Someone else may have to be the person God uses to bring the Gospel to them.

Just say’n! You can’t afford to jeopardize your relationship with the Lord by turning your back on Him and going back into sin!

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