Author Archives: if4es

It seems like every Disney movie I recall had the same mantra: believe in yourself.

This is the rave of pop-psychology. Believe in yourself loud enough & long enough and you will achieve whatever you want.

This is misplaced confidence and leads to destruction.

Often, those who are most confident of themselves are the least loving, least trustworthy, least kind people I know. They have a form of courage, but lack the humility to temper the pride that leads to destruction.

If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a lie.
If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a mere mortal.
If you believe in yourself, you are believing in a sinner.
If you believe in yourself, you believe in someone who makes mistakes.
It is a mistake to believe in yourself.

So who can we trust and how can we get along if we cannot believe in ourselves.

If we will humble ourselves under God, He will lift us up … in due season.
If we cast ourselves on His mercy, He will support us and come to our aid.
If we cry out for mercy, He will direct our steps.
If we look to the King, he will be the source of our confidence.
Jesus is our authority, not ourselves.

I once met a person who called himself a king. To take on titles other than those which lower ourselves in the esteem of others is foolishness. This is why I avoid calling people pastor or missionary or apostle. Perhaps some people who use these titles indeed have been entrusted by the Lord with a measure of authority, but to use that title, it to take on more authority to oneself.

Jesus himself said we should call ourselves brothers. There are not brothers at large and a few big brothers to tell everybody like it is. NO! There is one elder brother, Jesus. There is one Shepherd, Jesus.

The word shepherd (pastor) is used once to describe what some were given to be. But nowadays, anytime a saint gets religious, they want to be a pastor. An apostle. An evangelist. A teachers. Is it not enough to be a saint. A saint is merely someone who is set apart for God. This word is used more to describe God’s people in the Bible than the word Christians.

Oh, people will clamor to call themselves “like Christ” (for this is what Christian means), but are they willing to be called like Christ? Are they willing to be cursed by the world and slandered and spit upon and to have their beard torn at and their bodies beaten? This is what it means to be a Christian.

True Christianity is not merely measured in terms of assent to propositional truth. Rather it is measured in terms of obedience in the face of great cost to the implications of the Truth.

If you cry out to the Lord Jesus in truth, will you obey him whether by living or dying?

If you believe God is your Father, will you treat all others who name the Name as your equals and fellow heirs with Christ?

If you claim to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, will you manifest the Spirit’s life in the most excellent way, in love towards your most cruel enemies?

You say you love, but do you really?

If you are not willing to rebuke a wicked sinner in the hopes of turning him to salvation, though he may also turn on you beat you into the ground while you are uttering blessings and kind words to them … do you really love?

If you are not willing to stand for the most helpless unborn baby and offer to open up your home to that child, do you really love?

If you are not willing to silence gossip with a call to kindness in speech and mercy in conversation, do you really love?

If you are not willing to wait years for those you pray for to repent, if they harden their hearts, do you really love?

These are hard questions, and I must confess, I fall far short.

Like a child trying to help his father clean up the dirt and dropping in shy of the waste bag, we often make a bigger mess than we help.

Lord, have mercy, not only on us, but on all. Lord, show so much mercy, that those who reject the knowledge of God will come to realize that they have ignored YOUR mercy and not just some abstract principle of mercy. Show so much mercy, that even the hardest of hearts will be softened at your gentle voice.

Lord, show mercy on me most especially, for I, the greatest of sinners, am most in need.

Recently, I say the following news about Qatar, a place one friend was banned from.

The Top Ten Things To Know About Qatar:

The largest group of Christians in Qatar are migrant workers from countries like the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Many of them live in labor camps. They work from the early morning to late at night, sometimes seven days a week. After work, they return to their labor camp where they eat and sleep.

Christian fellowship inside labor camps is prohibited, and needs to be done in secret.

According to International Monetary Fund, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita of any country in the world.

The World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2022.
The international news group Al Jazeera is based in Qatar.

According to the Qatar Statistics Authority, the country has the highest literacy rate of any country in the Arab Speaking World.

Should it become known that someone wants to convert to Christianity, the pressure from families or their peers will be severe.

According to the US State Department, Qatar has a population of around 1.8 million people, however only 250,000 of these are citizens.

Christians ask that we pray that the country will not only present itself like a moderate and modern country, but also show that it can be. Despite the rapid changes over the past decades and growth in wealth, their Islamic heritage and culture stands firm. There is no openness to other religions, which makes it difficult for foreign workers, let alone for local believers.

…
Will you pray with me that Qatar will find the King of kings and the Isa al-Masih will rule over the Emir of Qatar?

Fix your attention on your life and on your teaching. Persevere in them, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:16)

I have lived long enough to see people I love & respect waver in their own lifestyle to the point of violating the word of God with the fallenness of their lives. I have also seen people violate the apostolic teaching after many years as a professed evangelical, Bible believing Christian. Both situations have led many astray and into sin and judgment. Then I have seen some persevere, continue, abide in the words of Jesus until the and those they ministered to were transformed.

How does this happen? How can we so run the race that we actually get the prize? Is it just a matter of living a long time or is it actually a matter of sharing in a life that surpasses this one in glory at the resurrection, the standing up again?

1. Fix your attention. Pay attention. Focus. In both the overall picture of your life as well as the details of it. Let your soul be the subject of personal study. Study your life. Are you learning anything from your mistakes? Are you correcting errors you have made? How is your heart? What is coming out of your heart?

2. On your life. My job is to repent in my life. I must seek to set an example for others. I do so poorly, I confess, so pray for me and I will pray for you. But we must refine our lives until we are corrected to walk in righteousness. It will take time, it will take effort. But it is worth it. Your life is not an accident. God invested time in your life, you should to. The goal here is obedience. Perfect, unrelenting obedience. We may not be 100% obedient in this life, but that is to be our goal. We should live in view of the cross of Jesus, not taking his sufferings for granted.

3. And on your teaching. It is not enough to live a nice life. We should also speak up. Particularly in the face of such evil. Are you failing to teach on controversial topics? Are you failing to teach the truth on those matters? Are you failing to base your version of the truth on the Scriptures which were written by holy men of old? Are you rightly dividing the word? Are these merely your interpretation or are they in accord with the teachings of the church, the ongoing body of believers which has existed since the days of Jesus?

4. Persevere in them. Continue. Don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. Finish what you started and finish well. Does your teaching accord with your own life? If not, does your life or your teaching need to change? Do your actions and words reflect the glory of God which is eternal?

5. For by doing this you will save your self. I must ask myself, am I living as though I have been saved, am being saved, and will be saved? Do I presume upon the grace of God and act as though salvation is finished and complete already and there is nothing for me to do? Am I a bench warmer at bedside baptist or a lover of the lost and a witness to the truth?

6. And your hearers? I ask you: are you also joining me in living with Jesus every day and living for Jesus every moment since the days are evil? Are you willing to die for Jesus? Or are you living and dying for yourself alone? Do you speak more about yourself or about the Lord? Are you a light in the dark or are you speaking of shadows? Does what you do and say accurately reflect the image of God? Are you making a difference in the lives of others or are you just trying to save yourself? If you want to save yourself, you must also seek to bring others into the boat.

Noah preached righteousness in his generation. He sought to save his hearers from the coming wrath. America is about to experience great judgment for judgment is being rendered which approves what God calls evil: homosexual relations. America is identifying with evil because it has relied on the sword to defend its interests. America will die if it continues to kill the unborn and care little for the aged and weak. Schools are too often opposing the teaching of the truth about the Creator and His creation. Sin is celebrated in the streets. Are you fleeing the coming wrath and preparing this nation to repent and turn back to God en-masse at the local, state, and federal levels? Are you seeking to preach repentance to the nations? Are you living in love?

IF so, praise God! He is stirring in your heart and He will stir in the lives of those you impact. IF God has made a difference in you, you will make a difference in the world.

If however, you opinions and open doors are no different from the world’s you may have made no different choices than the devil and wrath is waiting until you repent.

Who has your “Unclaimed Property”? How will you get it back?

Currently, I am trying to claim some old property that went unclaimed for a number of years. It is a small amount of cash. (Probably to be claimed quickly by current commitments & needs of those organizations I know.) It seems like a lot of hassle to go through in order to acquire this small sum, but I am willing to do it because it seems worth it.

It made me think: How many people have unclaimed joy in Jesus?

No one has told them how call on the name of the Lord Jesus.
No one has told them to pray to our Father.
No one has told them how to ask for the Holy Spirit.

Where is the department of the church which distributes unclaimed blessings to the poor in spirit? Do we just cater to those who come to us for blessings, or do we actively go looking for ways to bless the nations which are digging for gold in empty mines?

It is more blessed to give than to receive. But first you must claim your inheritance of the Father’s blessings before you can give life to others.

Mert Hershberger
1974-20_ _.

Here lies the monument to all my choices and the choices of my ancestors.
The celebration of God’s choice is prepared for the resurrection.