Hannah Was a Praying Woman

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Hannah is one of my favorite Bible characters. Her faith in God was unwavering, even when she was mistreated and was barren. Hannah never gave up believing that God would do something incredible in her life. This is extremely challenging to do when our world is being torn apart. When things (and especially when people) are against us, it shifts our world view and makes us feel like the whole world is against us. This is where people can begin to lose hope, believing that nothing will ever change and that their destiny is to have mayhem in their lives.

This would have been an easy conclusion for Hannah to come to, but she remained faithful. One day she was at the temple, deeply distressed and weeping bitterly to the Lord. Hannah made a vow that day: “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head” (1 Samuel 1:11 ESV).

Hannah became pregnant and named her son Samuel, which means “God has heard.” She was true to her promise and dedicated Samuel to the Lord, dropping him off at the temple after he was weaned. Samuel was trained by Eli the priest and became one of the greatest leaders of Israel. It was only because of Hannah’s prayers that all of this happened this way. She had the faith that God would hear, and God was faithful in answering.

Being Faithful To the End

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This past week we’ve been at Christian camp and one of the stories I taught was the story of Stephen. I don’t think I’ve ever preached on Stephen because it’s not really a story that gets nearly enough attention. It’s really incredible, though, that Stephen was chosen in the distribution of food because he was full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. His tenure did not last long at all. It turns out that Stephen could not keep silent about his God. He wanted everyone to know how amazing God is and he was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

It didn’t take long for false witnesses to arise and accuse Stephen of some very ungodly things. Stephen was arrested and he used this opportunity to preach about Jesus Christ. When Stephen accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit, they had had enough. The crowd ground their teeth at him. Stephen looked up to heaven and said, “Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56 ESV). At this, they stopped their ears, rushed him, and began stoning Stephen, laying their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

When Stephen fell to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (vs. 60). After he said this, Stephen fell asleep and died. Stephen’s faithfulness to the end and his plea for God to forgive these men of murder had to have had a major impact on Saul (later named Paul). It may not have moved Saul in the moment, but later when Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, he most likely would have been haunted by Stephen’s last words. This story shows us the importance of being faithful to the end and treating people with mercy. This one act of grace that Stephen had for Paul and the others would be a catalyst that sparked one of the most influential evangelists in the history of Christianity. We’ll rarely know what influence we’ll have on others by being faithful to God.

Remember Lot’s Wife

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Jesus told his followers that the kingdom is coming, but not in ways that can be observed. In other words, only God knows when it’s coming and we shouldn’t be focused on the proper time. Instead, knowing that the kingdom is coming for sure, we should be focused on how we are living right now. When Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God would come, he said, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20, 21).

Similar to the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus was warning people not to look back. When you are gone is too late to repent. Focusing on the past won’t move you into the future. Plowing and looking back will lead to disaster. You get the point! Jesus was clear that when the time comes, the time comes. It is unstoppable. There is nothing anyone can do to change it. He mentioned the day of Noah. People were eating and drinking. Life went on as usual. Then, unbeknownst to them, the flood waters turned on and didn’t stop until they were gone. Similarly, Sodom and Gomorrah had the same fate. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. Then on the day Lot went out of the city, fire and sulfur rained down, destroying them all. Jesus said, “So it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (vs. 30).

Then he said 3 chilling words, “Remember Lot’s wife” (vs. 32). His point was that on that day whoever is saved will be taken and whoever is not will be left behind. Don’t look back. On that day is too late to save others. There is a critical sense of urgency that Jesus is giving his followers to act now. Live life as if the kingdom is here now. Remember Lot’s wife.

The Value of Consistency

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Consistency is incredibly important. We depend on consistency, and consistent people are dependable. Without consistency we have chaos. Consistency often feels boring and mundane. Often we like to feel accomplished, so we thrive when times are good and deflate when times lack movement. Many people leave churches that are routine and migrate to churches that are full of life and energy. But is this the wisest move?

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, he addresses multiple sources of all kinds of divisions in the church. The church was on the brink of extinction because of all the division, and there was not much that was appealing about Christianity in Corinth.

Towards the end of the letter, Paul urges the saints to focus on their eternal destination. He wrote, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50 ESV). He points out that death is swallowed up in victory for the Christian. He concludes: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (vs. 58).

Amen and amen! Paul warned the Corinthians about following the “super apostles.” It’s not about getting caught up in the emotions of these powerful speakers, but about being consistent in living out their faith and serving others.

Whoever Does Not Keep His Commands Is a Liar

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There are people who wreck the lives of other innocent people. Many do this intentionally, taking advantage of innocents for their own selfish gain. This is not love. Love doesn’t intentionally hurt others. It’s crazy we have to clarify this, but you’d be surprised at just how many Christians embrace wolves whose only intent is to harm innocent people. A main reason this happens is that we are inherently terrible at identifying wolves, so the assumption is that we’re all in this church together.

John paints a very different picture. He says very bluntly, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:3-5 ESV). John goes on to say that we know that we are in Christ because whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk as he did. That’s it. People who claim to love Christ but don’t keep his commandments, hurting innocents in the process, are liars.

If we understand this one simple truth, we will be way ahead of the majority of Christians who keep welcoming wolves into the church in the name of Jesus.

Bring Children Up in the Instruction of the Lord

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Since 2016 there has been a very sharp rise in mental health issues among youth. NBC News reporter Elizabeth Chuck wrote a piece a few weeks ago, saying this: “In a joint letter, first shared with NBC News, leaders from the federal agencies called the issue a “national youth mental health crisis” and encouraged states to carefully plan how they use block grants, Medicaid state plans, waivers and other resources that come from multiple federal agencies so they are being executed without duplication.” Anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and suicide among young children are all up sharply. This trend is here to stay.

So where does this leave us? Paul gives a very clear recipe, citing the first commandment to obey parents with a promise: “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Ephesians 6:3 ESV). But the very next verse, in my opinion, is by far the most important: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (vs. 4).

It’s evident that many of the mental health issues stem from abusive or unstable homes. As mental health issues among the young increase, there is a correlation in the rapid decline of membership in churches. This trend is strong and we need fathers to step up to the plate and instruct their children in the Lord. There is no reason why this many young children should be suffering irreparable harm. The numbers are too staggering for us to take a casual approach to the problem. We need to protect our children from abuses that they face and teach them to be strong disciples of Jesus!

What Are the Distinct Characteristics of All Wolves?

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Jesus was clear that, concerning wolves, “you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The Bible makes a very clear distinction between wolves and the rest of people who often struggle with sin. They are not in the same category for this reason: people who struggle with sin repent and those who only produce bad fruit do not. It is impossible for the latter to repent, according to the scriptures.

So what are these characteristics that all wolves have? We’ll unpack this more later, but for now we need to know that wolves “go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26). They are “ravenous,” meaning they stop at nothing to destroy innocent people. They revel in their deceptions as they are feasting with the people they seek to destroy (2 Peter 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:13). In other words, they enjoy causing harm and distress to people. Put another way, they enjoy wrecking the lives of innocent people.

Finally, they are instinctive, persistent, and do not ever stop. Peter says that what the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22). This is a far cry from people who genuinely struggle (even for a lifetime) with sin. People who struggle do exactly that–they struggle. They often suffer from depression, guilt, and shame. They work hard on overcoming sin. They take no pleasure in hurting others, which is why they are overcome with guilt and shame. Contrast this with the wolf, who enjoys inflicting pain on innocent people.

Once we recognize these patterns we can better identify wolves and keep them away.