instruction

A Personal Story

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Matthew 1:1

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham”

I did not grow up going to church and when I was 15 years old I had never even seen a Bible. A close friend of mine went on a family trip to visit his grandmother who apparently was a believer, although I had no idea what that even meant. Upon his return he told me that he thought we needed to be “better” and stated that he was going to begin to read the Bible. I told him that I would join him in this venture and when I arrived home that day I asked my mom to get me a Bible. A few days later I found a little green book on my dresser. On the front cover it read, “New Testament.” I took the book to my mom and stated that I wanted a Bible, not some modern book and she explained to me that the New Testament was the second half of the Bible. I returned to my room and began to read. Three times I started and three times my mind wandered away from the pages not understanding a single word. I tossed the book back on my dresser and said to myself, “I guess this Bible stuff is not for me.” 

If this is your first time reading through the Bible you may have encountered the same difficulty that I did. You have found that the first 17 verses of Matthew are a list of names of people that you have never heard of and have a difficult time pronouncing. Allow me to encourage you that it is OK to skip the names. Pick up in verse 18 and begin the most fascinating story about the most exceptional person who has ever walked the face of the planet. 

A few years later, after becoming a believer myself I was given a little instruction that got me past the first few verses into an adventure of getting to know God personally through His word. I want to invite you to join me on that adventure as we read the word of God together and get to know the God of the word. 

Pastor Jim 

  

pjimgallagher's avatarJim Gallagher

Matthew 1:1
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham”

I did not grow up going to church. At the age of 15 years old, I had never seen a Bible. A close friend of mine went on a family trip to visit his grandmother, who apparently was a believer, although I had no idea what that meant. Upon his return, he told me he thought we needed to be “better”. He stated, he was going to begin reading the Bible. I decided I would join him in this venture, and when I arrived home that day, I asked my mom to get me a Bible. A few days later, I found a little green book on my dresser. On the front cover it read, “New Testament.” I took the book to my mom, and told her I wanted a Bible, not…

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Words

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Ezekiel 13:2
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘ Hear the word of the Lord!’”

The world never has a shortage of people who claim to have the answer to spiritual questions. It seems almost everyone has an opinion regarding the purpose of life, and what awaits us after death. The same was true in Ezekiel’s day. The streets were filled with men and women who claimed to know what God wanted from the people. Ezekiel referred to these men and women as false prophets, because their message contradicted the Word of God. I find it interesting that the message Ezekiel delivered to them was simply, “hear the Word of the Lord.”

No matter how confused we might be about who God is, or how to react to the issues of life, the solution is to simply hear the Word of the Lord. Our questions regarding life and death are answered for us within the pages of the Bible. God does not want us to be like those who grope in the dark, but wants the light of His Word to guide our life and living.

Pastor Jim

 

Impulsive

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Proverbs 19:2
“Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet.”

IMG_1234.JPGMarketers have realized that people are impulsive by nature. As a result, it is common to find a variety of “impulse items” located near the checkout stand in just about every store. These items are things we did not plan to purchase, but bought on a whim, and include items like gum, candy or DVD’s. For the most part, these are not high dollar purchases, and getting caught up in the moment, will not break most budgets. Buying an unplanned Snickers bar on the way out of the convenience store, will probably not have long lasting economic repercussions on your life. If however, you purchase big ticket items, without giving adequate time to consider all the ramifications, that can be very costly.

The same is true with all decisions in life. You do not need to call a church prayer meeting, or spend time fasting, when you are determining whether to order chicken or fish. The big decisions, like who you will spend the rest of your life with, should however, be considered slowly, carefully, and with wise counsel. Solomon is reminding us, when we rush into things that we should walk slowly towards, we will end up in sin.

“Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet.”

Notice the contrast he makes between impulse and knowledge. Knowledge is something acquired over time, with careful study, examining correct resources. I remember a cartoon as a child where Bugs Bunny spent the day explaining the story of the founding of the United States to his nephew. He told wild stories of rabbits influencing the greatest moments in American history. His nephew was an avid student, hanging on every word Bugs shared. The next day he came home from school with a dunce cap on his head. It was not that he didn’t acquire knowledge; it was that he went to the wrong source. The same can happen to us. If we want to avoid making foolish, hasty and impulsive decisions, we need to look into the Word of God for guidance. It takes time to uncover the path God would have you walk, but it is worth the time it takes. Before making another big decision, and perhaps another big mistake, take time to consider the Word and to get some healthy Biblical counsel.

Pastor Jim

 

Unattended Children

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Joel 1:3
“Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.”

The days in which Joel lived were quite difficult. Israel was experiencing economically difficult times, brought about by locust swarms that had devastated the crops. Individual families were suffering greatly, finding it difficult to make ends meet or even provide enough food for the table. For the most part, people would associate their problems with natural occurrence; today we might blame it on mother nature. Joel, on the other hand, declared the condition of the nation was actually brought about because of the spiritual condition of the people. He declared things would only change when repentance occurred.

While it was important to declare this message in the chambers of the king and in the public gatherings of the people, Joel had another setting in mind where the message must be clearly taught. He wrote to parents to make sure they instructed their children to look at life through the filter of the revelation of God. Rather than seeing life through the eyes of pop culture, we must instruct our children to see the world the way God views it.

The responsibility for passing truth to the next generation is left primarily in the hands of the parents. The church, its children’s ministry, or youth group, play a role, but parents bear the primary responsibility before God of instructing their children in the ways of the Lord. The most effective way to do this is for parents to lead by example. Our kids should learn a proper world view because we have instructed them in the ways of the Lord, and set an example with our lifestyle.

Take some time today to talk with your children about the way to effectively follow Christ. If there is any area of compromise in your life, set it aside for the sake of your children.

Pastor Jim

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