Tag: teach

Markethive

The Selfish Life? Or Jesus?

A follower is made for God’s calling.

Written by GodLife on 09/08/2016

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Evangelism, Growth, Identity, Leadership, Self Esteem

I answered, 'Why should someone like me have to run and hide in the temple to save my life? I won’t go!'

Nehemiah 6:11

Nehemiah was a leader who did not let pressure, apathy, ridicule or opposition stop him. He knew what to do and how to do it. Most of all, he knew his identity: a chosen and beloved servant of the most High God.

Here are three ways God can give you the same identity:

1. God makes sure you can relate to sinners

Sometimes new believers are surprised to find that their old nature is not gone. You’ll always need God’s grace. Without Christ as your center, you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5) Colossians 2:6 says "As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step." If you have nothing you did not receive, (1 Corinthians 4:7), and nothing to hide, (Proverbs 28:13) judgmentalism and hypocrisy make no sense.

2. God means for you to make His mission your own

Hebrews 2:10 says that God "…chose to bring many children into glory.” In chapter 12, we are told how to follow Him: "…by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross…" (Hebrews 12:2) For Jesus, the joy was anticipating you with Him in glory! Soon, heaven will be your home! But while we’re still on earth, will you be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) to those who have never heard His name?

3. God gives you a new nature

Last week's devotion described turning away from a selfish life. Once you put all your hope in Jesus, many great things happen to you: Christ comes into your life, (Revelation 3:20), you become God’s child, (John 1:12) and receive the Holy Spirit, (Romans 8:15). All your sins are forgiven, (Colossians 1:14)and you have the gift of eternal life! (1 John 5:11) You go from being a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:3) to a worker alongside God Himself! (1 Corinthians 3:9) God even approves you to represent Him to the world: "So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'" (2 Corinthians 5:20) Like Nehemiah, you are a servant of the Most High God! https://www.fgcoetzee.blogspot.com

Pray this week:

Father, teach me what it means to represent you to the world.

What does it mean to live your life in a way that is fitting for the gospel? (Philippians 1:27)

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Wounds are Better Than Kisses?

Worldly pleasures leave a bitter aftertaste

Written by GodLife on 20/09/2016

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Comfort, Idol, Idolatry, Satisfaction, Trouble

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Proverbs 27:6

We all seek happiness in life, and we often look for the answer in worldly things like making lots of money, getting a great job, or even finding the perfect significant other. Can you relate? Though the world makes us believe these things will satisfy us, true comfort and happiness do not come from worldly things. Rather, happiness comes from God, and the Bible shows us this over and over again.

Let’s be reminded of Esau, the firstborn and favorite son of Abraham’s son, Isaac. In Genesis 25 and 27, it tells how he lost his birthright and blessing. Esau ignored what was important to his father. His life shows what can happen to “those who look to this world for their reward.” (Ps. 17:14) Expect trouble from the world (John 16:33), even persecution (John 15:20).

Friendship with the world is an offense to God (James 4:4). Instead, love the world the way Jesus did (John 3:16): Reject all its temptations (1 John 2:15-16), deny yourself, and embrace the cross (Luke 9:23). The only way to really win in life is to resist the satisfaction the world offers (Mark 8:35). Christians gain victory over the world by our faith (1 John 5:4)! How amazing is that?

Many of the Bible’s stories are warnings about looking for comfort from the world rather than from God to help us learn more about how we avoid making the same mistakes. Let’s learn from the stories of three men…

1. Samson: A Story Of Entitlement And Pride

Samson felt his chosen status (Judges 13:7) and great strength gave him the right to immorality. He once set eyes on an attractive pagan woman and told his parents, “I want to marry her. Get her for me” (Judges 14:2).

Can you relate to these lustful and entitled feelings? Many of us can. The world may make us believe that these feelings are okay, but what does the Bible tell us?

Samson was deceived by Delilah, blinded and enslaved in the temple of an idol. This is a warning and a reminder to us to not live our lives in the same way.

2. Demas: A Lover Of The Present World

The Apostle Paul once considered Demas a fellow worker, naming him with Gospel writers Mark and Luke. But the last mention of him is: “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life” (2 Timothy 4:10).

Demas proved to be “The seed that fell among the thorns” in Jesus’ Sower parable, which “represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced” (Matthew 13:22).

3. Jonah: A Bitter Witness Of God’s Salvation Plan

The “overthrow” of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4) was a spiritual one. But this miraculous evangelistic call was preached by a hostile witness, Jonah. God provided him a shady shelter to observe the results, but then suddenly took it away. “And the sun’s heat came upon Jonah’s head so that he became weak and begged with all his heart to die” (Jonah 4:8). Instead of being overjoyed (the way God was — Luke 15:10), with the repentance of the city, Jonah ends with bitter opposition to God’s plan of salvation.

Christians often remind themselves of Romans 8:28-29 when trouble arises:
“…God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son…”

Any time you’re dissatisfied with what God allows, remember that the trouble and persecution of the world are symptoms of its hatred for Christ—and for His children. Discipline demonstrates you’re His child, as Hebrews 12:5-14 explains. The verses following these (15-17), show God’s perspective on the world’s children: “Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.”

Pray this week:

Father, I confess to seeking comfort, satisfaction, security in things. I know only you can meet my deepest needs. I would not want to gain the whole world and lose my soul, as your Word tells me Esau did. Teach me to rid my life of divided loyalties.

Jesus asked how His hearers could have the nerve to call Him “Lord” if they did not do as He said. Are you aware of everything He said to do? Do you have questions about them? That’s why we’re here! Someone is waiting to help you follow Jesus.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Feeling Disillusioned With Church?

The church is the Body of Christ — not a building or a passive experience led by professionals

Written by GodLife on 05/06/2018

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Church, Church And Community, Fellowship, Gifts, Membership

…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-27

There wouldn’t be books named “Mere Christianity”, “Simple Church”, “The Church of Facebook” or “Jesus Without Religion” if we were all comfortable with the way we experience church. Why is there so much appeal in questioning, simplifying and getting back to the basics Jesus intended?

Maybe a better way to put the question is, why do people have such a habit of complicating things? Do you have a personal story about how church got complicated for you? I have several. One of my pastors had an affair with a close friend. Years later, at a different church, another was caught embezzling. After a cross-country move, I found myself in almost the opposite situation in a new church. A majority vote prevented an elder board from taking a clearly biblical action. Gossip had caused the congregation to forget principle and take the wrong side of an issue.

A church is a collection of people called out of the world to follow Jesus. We worship God together. We learn to follow Christ together. We commit to love and serve one another. We are visible as the people of God in our community with a mission to do good and expand His Kingdom among them by sharing our hope and good will. Churches are meant to be attractive — they can provide a sense of belonging to people who don't have a group with a clear mission with which they can identify. We can speak authoritatively to people who need answers about life and death, right and wrong, judgement and mercy. 

What kind of membership could be more important than that? The trouble is, churches are made up of people. Even God’s people get their priorities out of order sometimes. Here are three broad categories of problems “unchurched” Christians often have with churches.

Some problems are matters of preference — and we all have preferences

When you start attending a church, sometimes things that are part of that church culture are unfamiliar to you. The worship team may prefer piano and organ music with traditional hymns, while you're a fan of contemporary worship music you hear regularly on the radio. They might use a different Bible version from the one you prefer. The pastor's speaking style may not appeal to you. As a result, you may struggle to follow the order of service and understand what the messages are about. These are matters of preference and experience. There are far more important things to be concerned about. If you have more than one option for church fellowship, you may wish to visit many until you can relate to the worship and message style. Don't let secondary issues keep you away from church altogether. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Some problems are personal — especially when it comes to your time and your stuff

It’s so easy to fade into the background. It sounds noble to draw no attention to ourselves, and to allow others take the visible and important positions in any group. But church isn't supposed to be a spectator sport. Church is us! It’s neither a building nor an institution run by professionals who don’t need others’ help. In the list of gifts given to the church in Ephesians 4:11, have you ever noticed that the gifts are people?

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11).

The church is the Body of Christ, empowered to continue His mission in the world. (John 20:21) Peter says that because each believer has received a spiritual gift, the only way to be a good steward is to use it (in the context of your church fellowship) to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:10)

Some problems should never show up in church — and yet they sometimes do

It’s uncomfortable to share the stories I shared earlier. They may tend to give the impression that corruption is the rule rather than the exception. However, I’ve been around many churches, and I’ve been a Christian a very long time. Still, the moral and ethical failures I described in the introduction happen far more often than most people expect. When a pastor or other church official has an affair, steals money or otherwise uses his authority for wicked advantage, it leads some to despair and to feel betrayed. This is a sure sign of a deeper problem: allowing the professionals, those deemed especially anointed, to decide and do almost everything. The church is not the pastor. No pastor is incapable of sin. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament warn the reader about being led astray by unspiritual leadership. Therefore, it is very important to pray for those who God has provided to give us spiritual guidance and to help us in determining God’s direction for our life. “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” (Hebrews 13:18)

We should pray for our own leaders and the leaders of other congregations. When we start seeing this kind of thing happening a lot, it's not time to cynically withdraw from fellowship with all of God's people, but to see the “corruption” in our own lives and "Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD… And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3:14-15)

Pray this week:

Oh, God, teach me how to truly love your Church and to be an effective steward of the gifts you invested in me for her sake.
 

Do you have a story to tell? Do you wonder if your church has leaders abusing their authority? Are you beginning to suspect that you’re part of a “spectator” congregation?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Do you have children? Teach Them

Do you have children?

Written by Hope on 03/11/2013

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Disciples, Life Change

 

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

 

Do you have children? If so, you might know that the Bible instructs us to "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Taking a new Christian on a path of discipleship can be compared to teaching or training a child. Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it" (Mark 10:14-15).

Faith Like a Child

Jesus taught, "unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3). He said, "anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me" (Matthew 18:5); your service to a new believer is an act of service to the Lord! But we must be careful to teach only what is in God’s Word. Jesus warned that it would be better to die than to "cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin" (Matthew 18:6).

Gift from the Lord

God loves and highly values every person. His Word tells us that "children are a gift from the Lord" (Psalm 127:3). Your disciple, believing in God with faith like a child's, is also a valuable person to the Lord. Like a child, they can turn to you to gain knowledge of the Lord. If you teach your disciple the ways of the Lord while he or she is "young" in faith, they may be more likely to follow the Lord all their life. Be encouraged: "Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, 'You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings'" (John 8:31).

Prayer, Care, and Share Jesus

"Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you!”

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

One of the most exciting ways we hope your faith is strengthened when learning from the Prayer, Care and Share Jesus guide (PCS) is by becoming more confident when sharing Jesus with others.

When you do lead someone to Christ, you might even feel led to share what you’ve learned in the PCS guide. It can be a great discipleship tool!

In Matthew 28: 19-20, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey (not just know) all of Jesus' commandments.

When you walk someone through accepting Jesus in their life, it’s a great idea to start the discipleship process right away — "teaching the new believer to obey everything Jesus commanded." You can also get them connected to a church or community of faith. You might not be able or feel led to be the one to disciple the new believer. But, you can help them find a way to get discipled by connecting with someone or a Christian community or church. When I have led people to Christ whom I won’t see again, such as taxi drivers or flight attendants, I have prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to orchestrate their follow-up.

You can teach them about things that Jesus teaches in the Bible like baptism, reading the Bible, prayer, involvement in a community of believers (such as a church or house church); taking communion (remembering Christ in the way he commanded us); and sanctification ("go and sin no more." John 8:11).These are not all of Jesus' teachings, but they are a good start for your new believer.

This week, start praying about your role in someone’s life as a discipleship mentor. Ask for guidance, wisdom and compassion.

Pray this week:

That your children and disciples will remain faithful to the Lord all their life.

Do you have questions about being a teacher? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Restored Sexuality

God’s plan for sex

Written by Joy on 14/06/2016
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Lust, Marriage, Sex, Sin
Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

Ephesians 5:10
God created sex to be a beautiful gift. In Genesis 2, God says it was not good for man to be alone so God created the perfect partner, a woman, so they could become one flesh. The chapter closes with the statement, “they were both naked and felt no shame.” Sex creates a unique relationship that involves physical, emotional and mental unity and completion.

If sex is blessed by God, what makes it immoral?

Blessings Lost
When we forget God has authority to set limits, blessings are lost. “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.” (Romans 1:28). Your phone works best when you use it the way it was designed. In the same way, God designed sex to work a certain way. Rejecting His design leads to darkness, confusion, secrecy, shame, and judgement.

Blessed Design
God used His infinite wisdom to design sex in the beginning. God does not need to “evolve.” He does not change his mind based on our opinions. Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation give a very clear picture of the kind of sex that pleases God. “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). God approves of sex when it is between one man and one woman who have made a lifelong commitment to marriage. Jesus confirmed this to be an unchanging truth in Matthew 19.

Are you willing to trust God’s wisdom and love and follow his guidelines?

Blessing Restored
“He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.” (Colossians 1:13-14). We no longer have to sit in the darkness of shame and confusion. Jesus has made us children of light! (Ephesians 5:8-11)

“You cannot say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies…If we belong to Christ our body is not our own but a temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore we should honor God with our body.” (1 Corinthians 6:13, 19-20). Obedience to God’s plan for sex is a choice we make when we want to please God, not ourselves (Colossians 3:1-17). God has given every Christian the Holy Spirit to teach us truth and empower us to obey it.

Are you going to find out what pleases the Lord and choose to live by it?

Pray this week:
Show me, Lord, where I am not pleasing you in my attitudes and actions regarding sex.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

How to Follow God’s Commands

Jonah’s story shows us what happens when we disobey God’s commands

Written by GodLife on 20/03/2018
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Grace, Mercy, Obedience, Commands, God
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:1-3
When I started college, I felt God commanding me to fully commit to a church family so that He could work through fellow believers to shape me more like Jesus.

How did I respond? I disobeyed and my life hit a sorrowful low as I continued to ignore the commands of Jesus. It was only by God’s grace and mercy that He received me back and I began to take his commands seriously again.

Have you ever tried to avoid a direct command from the Lord?

A story in the Bible of a prophet named Jonah shows us more clearly what can happen when a believer of God directly disobeys His commands — and it also reveals a lot about God’s true character.

Listening to God’s commands
We should first answer a question that many people have: “Why should we listen to God’s commands? How can we be sure God has our best interests at heart?” The Apostle Paul gives us an answer that provides a lot of hope.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

The Bible also makes it clear that following God’s commands proves our love for Jesus and appreciation for the sacrifice He made for us on the cross.

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” (2 John 1:6)

So how do we know what to follow? Well, God made it pretty easy by laying out many specific commands for us in the Scriptures, including well-known ones like ‘do not kill,’ ‘do not covet’ and others in the Ten Commandments. But he also speaks to us on a personal level — as He did in my story above — and guides us which way we should go throughout our daily lives.The Lord wants us to grow into a deeper communion with Him. We can't do that if we disregard His commands, like Jonah did. Embracing His will for us is the best way to get to know Him better.

What happens when we disobey
As seen in Jonah’s story, things go completely sideways when Jonah ignores God’s commands.

The Lord called Jonah to go to Nineveh and call it out of its sin (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah didn’t want to do this because he felt the Ninevites, an enemy of the Jewish people, didn’t deserve the grace of God, so he ran from God.

Following his disobedience, Jonah was caught in a heavy storm while on a ship and was thrown overboard where he is then swallowed by a large fish (Jonah 1:11-15).

God was making it clear to Jonah that he saw his disobedience and was not happy with it. As a result of Jonah’s disobedience, his life was thrown into chaos and he was not experiencing what God intended him to. But God also orchestrated these events in Jonah’s life so that he had no choice but to obey Him. God may not always act so obviously in our lives when we disobey Him, but this story shows how serious God is about his followers truly following Him. 

After some grumbling, Jonah ended up in Nineveh and reluctantly followed God’s command to call Nineveh out of its sin (Jonah 3:1-5). And a funny thing happened: they repented immediately (Jonah 3:6-9)! 

God’s character revealed
This is what God wanted all along, in order to show that His great grace and mercy is available to everyone, even to people that were once enemies of Him and His people. In fact, we were all once like the Ninevites — enemies of God because of our sin — but the grace and love of God is greater than any sin we can imagine.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

This opportunity for repentance was only available because Jonah eventually obeyed God’s commands. What could God do through us if we are serious about obeying His commands?

Pray this week:
“God, help me trust Your will for my life and teach me to listen to your commands. I trust that your plan for my life is the best for me. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Amen.”

How have you disobeyed God this week and how can you make steps to obey Him in the week ahead?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member