“…giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge…”  2nd Peter 1:5

Well, it is back to school time for children and adults alike, and nearly everyone agrees to the value of education in a person’s secular life.  However, many of God’s people tend to forget that growing in the knowledge of God is absolutely essential in one’s spiritual life as well?  The Lord spoke through Solomon in Proverbs 15:14, “The heart of him that has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness…”  The Bible teaches that true knowledge comes from God, but only through our diligence!  It is only when we determine to make the study of Scripture an ongoing discipline that the knowledge that comes from heaven is imparted consistently to us.  Each of us would do well to study the Bible earnestly and get knowledge, because the knowledge of doctrine will largely dictate our attitude and actions!

The great majority of times the failures in a saint’s prayer life, in both personal and corporate worship, in giving, in witnessing and a whole host of other aspects of Christian life and service is due to the failure to continue to study the Word of God!  Years ago Andrew Murray wrote a book entitled, “With Christ in the School of Prayer”.  The title says it all!  Just as children need get back in school, our heavenly Father’s children need to do likewise!

The U. S. Marines have a reputation for meticulously training their soldiers, and most recruits don’t understand why!  While holding their trays in the food line, each is required to hold their hands in a certain position.  When failing to do so, they are verbally chastised and ordered to do push-ups!  It is not until later, when they are issued their weapons, that each one learns this is the way they are to hold their rifle, whether marching, or running to combat.  What seems like meaningless repetition in the dining hall is actually critical training for the battlefield!

The fact is our heavenly Father has us in a similar mode of training.  We are instructed to study God’s Word, abide in the Truth and let the Lord’s teachings abide in us.  Sometimes it doesn’t seem that certain truths have any bearing on where our life is being lived.  Although the truths of God may appear to be far removed from our daily experience, the Lord may be using that truth to train us for future encounters!  Therefore, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge…”

Jon Moore

 “Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”  Psalm 42:11

I think it is safe to say that we are living in a time when more and more people are discouraged.  Many are showing evidence of depression.  There are obviously many things that contribute to this condition, such as personal temperament, physical and emotional health, and challenging circumstances (economic, political, family, etc.).  The devil uses all of these things to attack the child of God and tempt him or her to act in unbelief.  If it were not for unbelief the devil could not be successful! It is because Christians listen to the devil instead of listening to the Lord that we fall before his attacks.  That is why the psalmist said, “Hope thou in God!”

Years ago I read a book entitled, “Spiritual Depression” by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.  In that book Dr. Lloyd-Jones made a simple statement concerning the psalmist that has had a profound effect in my life ever since.  He said, “We must learn to take ourselves in hand.  We must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to talk to us!  Most of our unhappiness in life is due to the fact that we are listening to our self instead of talking to our self.”

Periodically (more frequently for some than others) we need to recount for ourselves who we are and what we have been given in Christ!  For example I often remind myself of the following truths from God’s Word:  I am a child of God (John 1:12); My body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1st Cor. 3:16); I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3); I am always being led in triumph in Christ (2^nd Cor. 2:14); The Holy Spirit teaches me all things (John 14:26); I am in Christ, and Christ is in me (John 15:4); I’ve been granted everything pertaining to both life and Godliness (2^nd Peter 1:3); and My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).

I offer you three recommendations I believe will help you when the enemy comes to attack you in a difficult time in your life.  1) Put to memory these and other verses of truth and promise.  2) In the meantime make a copy of this list and include it with the Bible you use in your personal devotion time.  3)  Go on a “treasure hunt” looking for Bible verses that give hope to your heart and discipline to your mind to add to your list!

Blessings,

Jon Moore

From time to time I ask church leaders, ‘Have you recently seen either in your church, or in your area any “activity of God?”’  Often following a time of ministry in a local church, I will ask the pastor to notify me of any “activity of God” he sees in the coming days.  Sometimes I will be asked to explain what I mean by the phrase, “the activity of God.”  What I do not mean is activity stirred up by people, whether emotional, political or mere religious fervor.  What I do mean is that which is clearly initiated and empowered by God!  Something that has only one explanation, “That is of God!”

Oftentimes I have to further explain it is not always what some to consider to only be “positive” things, like obvious blessings such as the salvation of a hell-bound sinner, the deliverance of one from a longstanding besetting sin, the restoring of a relationship that seemed forever broken asunder, etc.  Many times the activity can be overlooked, because the activity is seen as “negative”, not a blessing, but a bruising!  Remember what the Lord told the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity.  I am the Lord who does ALL these things!” Isaiah 45:6b,7  It was the wise man Solomon who cautioned us, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”  Proverbs 3:11,12  The writer of the letter of Hebrews quoted this Scripture, then the Holy Spirit led him to add a statement.  “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, YET TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”  Hebrews 12:11

The Lord has been reminding me lately not to miss His activity by only associating it with pleasant experiences, but often His activity in us, and around us is painful in the short term, but leads us to the peace only He can provide!

Have you seen either in your own life, or in those around you any “activity of God” recently?

Jon Moore

“…and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.” 1st Samuel 7:9b

We find ourselves these days in the midst of a hotly contested battle for who will become the next President of the United States. Needless to say this is a crucial time in America, and whoever is chosen faces an overwhelming task in leading this nation to where it needs to be in the sight of God!

That was also the case in ancient Israel after the death of Eli the high priest. At that time Samuel became their unquestioned leader. The nation had become embroiled in idolatry and accompanying immorality that extended into the priesthood (the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, who also died). How would Samuel react? What should he say? What should he do? It is to his everlasting credit that he did not appoint a focus group to study the problem and bring recommendations! Neither did he attempt to create a new strategy, or establish a new paradigm. Rather, he looked to the timeless, matchless Word of God, and declared the first order of business was for the people to repent (vv2-4).

The word repent is a familiar, but largely misunderstood word by believers today. It was the first message that Jesus preached in His public ministry. It literally means, “To have another mind.” It means a change of mind that brings about a change of behavior and attitude. That change is seen in the pouring out of water and the fasting in vv5-6 which is symbolic of rejecting the self-reliance and self-rule that resulted in God’s people straying from the Lord. The request for Samuel to cry out to the Lord speaks of a return to entire reliance on the Lord (vv7-8).

The future looks dim for America. We seem to be headed downhill at an ever-increasing rate, morally, economically, even militarily. The only hope for America is to put aside self-reliance and self-rule and return to entire reliance on the Lord. In the midst of a growing number of voices questioning whether there is a willingness, much less an ability to do so, we need to listen to the word from the pen of David in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Except the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain!”

Jon Moore

For a number of years I have made it a practice this time of the year to review the year that has just ended, and decide if I need to make some adjustments in my life for the coming year. This is a practice that is common to many people whether one is a professional, businessman, laborer, homemaker or minister. Every year I come to the conclusion that I need to repent!

Before you panic, let’s take a closer look at that word repent. There may be fewer words more misunderstood by Christians than this one. This was the message John the Baptist proclaimed, and it was the first message that the Lord Jesus preached. The Greek word in the New Testament they both used means, “To have another mind”. In Vine’s Greek New Testament Dictionary it reads, “To perceive afterwards, implying change”. In any case a study of the Bible reveals that true repentance is more of a process than an individual procedure.

First of all there must be an acknowledgement that something is missing! After all there is such a thing as doing the right thing in the wrong way. It is possible to attempt the worship and service of the Lord in the energy of the religious flesh. In 1st Samuel 7:2 after the Philistines had returned the Arc of the Lord they had captured for seven months, “All the house of Israel lamented after the Lord”! One would think that with all that is going on in our world today it would not be too hard for believers to recognize that we are missing something!

Secondly, there needs to be an agreement. 1st John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God will be faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins. The Greek word translated into our English word confess means, “To say the same thing”. That is what Biblical confession means: To say the same thing God is saying. It is so easy to try to put the blame on someone else! Nehemiah did not do that in 1:6 as he confessed the sins of the nation. He started by praying, “Confessing the
sins of the sons of Israel”, but in mid-prayer the pronouns change as he continues, “as WE have sinned against you, I AND MY FATHER’S HOUSE have sinned!”

But there is a third step in this process, and that is abandonment. Agreement with the Truth must be accompanied with adopting the Truth! Years ago there was a tribe of Indians in South America who were dying at an alarming rate from infections. Specialists discovered insects in the walls of their adobe homes that were biting and infecting them. They were presented with a choice. They could continue to stay where they were, or they could move to a new location, build new homes and live. The choice was theirs! We can never know and experience the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus as long as we are content to live in the misery of defeat!

Heavenly Father, help us as your children to face the truth of where we are as believers, agree with You as to why we are here, and move on to the joy and victory you have for us in 2016!

Jon Moore