Month: July 2013

Stay Close to Home

Proverbs 27:8
“As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.”

The shelter of the bird is its nest. Oftentimes a bird will build its nest in a location that their enemy cannot get to. Every time the bird wanders from its nest, it is putting its life in danger for it is away from the protection of its nest.

God uses this illustration to teach us that a man who wanders from his place is in danger. A young person doesn’t get into sin while they are at home, but they get into sin when they are away from home. Adults don’t get themselves into trouble when they are away from the protection of their home. The reason they get into trouble is because when they are away from home they will allow themselves to do things they wouldn’t do when they are around their family. Home is where you find protection, and if you don’t want to get into trouble, you would be wise to stay close to home. This is an important principle in many areas. Let me explain the areas and its importance.

First, be careful when you are away from your personal home. As we’ve already discussed, there are many things a person will get themselves into that they normally would not do if they were around their family. Because of this, you would be wise to set up precautions to guide you when you are away from home. One of the most important precautions you can make is to be sure you are not out late when away from home. Many people get into trouble away from home when it is late at night. Make it your habit to stay in late at night when you are away from home.

Second, spiritually you need to stay close to home. Many people compromise when they stray from the principles of the Word of God. In other words, don’t meet with people who don’t believe like you. You will find that they can sway your thinking. Many times a compromiser is not a rude person, but they are very personable and have learned the art of swaying others to them with their personality. Stay close to your home church and the Word of God, and don’t explore other beliefs that are different from yours.

Third, in the business world you need to stay close to home. Many businesses get themselves into trouble when they start trying to do something for which they are not known. For instance, a restaurant that sells burgers would be wise to stay in the burger business. If that is from where their success came, then that is where they will stay successful. Many business go bankrupt because they get away from what made them successful in the first place. They didn’t mean to go bankrupt, but they simply strayed from what they knew as a business.

Fourth, stay close to home with what you know. I do believe it is good to continually learn, but it is bad to delve into an area about which you know nothing. Simply, don’t give advice or explore opportunities in areas where you have no knowledge. Your safety is found in those areas where you are knowledgeable.

Christian, many of the heartaches we find ourselves in are in areas where we strayed from our nest. Always remember that home is where your safety is found. Stay close to home, and be extra careful when you find yourself away from the home in any area of life.

Don’t Let Go

Song of Solomon 3:4
“It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.”

Nearly every week of my life I leave to go preach at a meeting for someone. One of the hardest things I do each week is leave my wife and daughter to go to the airport. I have yet to find the easy way to do this. During my daughter’s early years, she would often grab one of my legs and hang on as I would head to the garage. She would say, “Daddy, I’m not letting you go.” I finally had to tell her that daddy had to go and help people. She reluctantly let go, and I would leave with my heart crushed because I wanted to be with her and my wife.

In the verse above, the wife said she found her husband and “would not let him go.” This lady searched her whole life for the right man, and now that she found him she was determined to hold on to him. She wasn’t going to let anything come between her and her husband. She wanted to be close to him. I would think that this type of desire the wife had for her husband had a way of keeping him close to her. Just like my daughter grabbing my leg and not letting me go made it hard for me to leave, I also believe it made it that much more difficult for this husband to leave his wife.

Married couples should have a determination that they are not going to let their spouse go. I’m constantly amazed how couples who are struggling are so quick to divorce their spouse. Where is the determination not to let their spouse go?

Every spouse should determine to hold on to their husband/wife and not let them go. Don’t let your spouse go for another person. Don’t let your spouse go for your career. Don’t let your spouse go for personality conflicts. Don’t let your spouse go because you are going through a short spell of marital problems. Your marriage can make it, and you can work through your marital problems if both husband and wife will determine not to let each other go.

Moreover, I believe parents and children need to get the determination not to let each other go. I know children grow up and some of the things like my daughter did when I left for a meeting were an childlike stage action, but you can still emotionally hang on to each other and not let things or people pull you apart. Every family needs to be careful not to let technologies pull them apart. Don’t get so wrapped up in other things that you truly never spend time with each other. Grab on to each other and spend time together, for you never know when your loved one will be gone.

Most importantly, every Christian needs to grab on to God and determine not to let Him go. Of course, you can never lose your salvation, but you must determine to hold on to God if you are going to keep Him first in your life. Don’t let trials and heartaches cause you to let go of God. Don’t let disillusionment in leaders cause you to let go of God. Latch on to God and determine that money, career advancement, outside activities or friends will not cause you to let go of God. Grab ahold of God and determine you are going to stay close to Him no matter what comes your way. Be as determined as Job was in Job 13:15 when he said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:…” Determine that you will hold on to God until the day of your death.

When to Separate

When-to-Separateby: Allen Domelle

At the writing of this article, I have been an evangelist for close to twenty-four years. I was reared in a preacher’s home, and have had the privilege of being around some men in my generation whom God used in a great way. I’m certainly by no stretch of the imagination a great man of God, but I have been around the block for quite a few years.

The older I get, the more I like to reminisce about the past. I love to go back in my mind and see what those whom I used to listen to are doing today. One day I was going through one of those times when I wanted to reminisce. My thought was to go back and look at my ordination certificate and see where those men were who were on my ordination council. To my surprise, only one man who signed my ordination certificate is even in the ministry. Some have passed away, some fell into sin and others simply changed.

I then began to think of those men who have been my pastor throughout my lifetime. Again, I was in shock. Of course, there are some who are now in Heaven, but I was amazed to think about those who used to preach with the independent Baptists who now no longer want to associate with us.

Then, I started going through my calendars and tried to remember all the men who I’ve preached for throughout the years. I was pleased that many men for whom I’ve preached are still preaching the old-time religion, but I was also amazed at how many men I can no longer preach for because they changed their stance or direction. Many men whom I was close to in years gone by are still friends, but they are distant friends because I have had to separate from them because of their directional change.

One man comes to my mind. This man is Mr. Personality! He is someone who had so much potential. Yet, I remember a time years ago when a friend of mine and myself preached for this preacher. After our meeting, I was sitting in the airport with the friend who preached with me and we discussed about whether we would come back to this church. We both agreed he was going a different direction and that we would not come back and preach for him if he invited us back. Sadly, that was the last time I preached for that man for now he no longer has Sunday school, he is about ready to cancel his Sunday night services and he associates with Southern Baptists.

The question comes, when do we separate from people or institutions? Bible colleges change just as much as preachers. When they change, we must choose to stop following them or associating with them, even if it was the Bible college where we attended. Where is the line that tells when we must choose to separate from an individual or institution?

To answer this question, I must use the Scriptures to search out this all important question. First of all, let me make it clear that there is nothing wrong with separation. Samuel separated from Saul when he disobeyed God. 1 Samuel 15:35 says, “And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Does this make Samuel a bad person because he separated from Saul? Certainly not! It was needed so that Samuel would not be influenced in a wrong manner. In 2 Thessalonians 2-3, Paul gives us advice as to when to separate.

WHEN DO I SEPARATE?

     1. Separate when doctrine is attacked.

You would think this would be a given, but to most it is not. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 says, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.” Notice that this is a command. In other words, God is not giving us a choice about whether to separate from those who attack doctrine, but He commands us to separate from them. When a brother or institution attacks doctrine, they are walking “disorderly.”

The test of what you truly believe is whether your stand for truth will cause you to separate from a friend or an institution you admire when they change doctrine. It’s easy to separate from those with whom you have no ties, but the test of what you believe is when a friend or institution stands against doctrine. You will find that many will say that it is all semantics, and that we all still believe the same. They say this so they can justify a friend or an admired institution’s change in doctrine. Galatians 1:8-9 says, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” There is no choice, God command us to separate from those who have turned from doctrinal truth.

Furthermore, we are admonished in Jude 1:3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Contending for the faith is not always going to be easy when those whom you contend against are those with whom you used to be friendly; however, this is the truest test of what you believe. It matters not who it is or what place it is that stands against the doctrines of the Word of God, you are to separate from them.

     2. Separate when direction is different.

I want you to notice again that God says in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “…withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.” It is important that you understand that a tradition is the direction in which a person is heading. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” A directional change is normally a change of methods or precepts of living. Notice, there are some traditions that are taught by “our epistle.” God is showing us that when a person stops doing what they used to do, and changed to do things differently, then their direction has changed and we are to withdraw or separate from them.

A person’s direction is very important, for their direction will determine their destination. If you want to end up in the right place, then you better be sure that you are going the right direction. A direction is determined by finding out who someone reads, whose conferences they attend, whose methods they are following, and what music they play. Determining one’s direction is one of the most important things you will learn to determine.

     3. Separate when associations are wrong.

When a person starts running with the wrong crowd, then it is time to separate. If we are to withdraw ourselves from a brother who walks “disorderly,” then I would think that God expects us to withdraw ourselves from those who associate with those who walk “disorderly” or whose doctrine is incorrect.

Friend, with whom you choose to associate will highly determine who you will become. When you see a person recommending books of those who believe differently, then you need to separate from that person. When you see a person preaching with those with whom they should not preach, then you need to separate. Just because someone can preach good doesn’t mean you should preach with them or listen to them. Throughout the Scriptures people were influenced by associations. If you are going to stay strong in the faith, then you must be very choosy with your associations. Only choose to associate with those who have the same associations as you do. If you run with a crowd whose associations are weak, then they will eventually influence you. Separation is needed when associations are wrong.

HOW DO I SEPARATE?

It is very important how you separate. Let me make this clear, you don’t have to attack a person just because you are separating from them. Many times you are drawing attention to one who would never get the attention because of your attacks. Let me give you a couple thoughts on how to separate.

     1. Separate slowly

Don’t completely cut someone off at the first sign they begin to change. What you perceived as change could simply be a misunderstanding. You would be wise to watch them for two or three years. In that amount of time you will be able to determine whether you should separate.

     2. Separate quietly

You don’t have to publicly attack someone just because you are separating from them. I’ve learned that if I publicly attack someone, that I forfeit the right to help them if they ever choose to come back. I am not saying that you shouldn’t fight the battle if it becomes public, but I am saying that a quiet separation may allow you to help them in the future if they choose to come back.

      3. Separate prayerfully

Don’t give up on that person or institution because you had to separate. Pray that God would bring them back to where they ought to be. When Samuel separated from Saul, he mourned for him, and I would imagine he prayed for him. Separation does not mean you stop praying for someone, but it means you continue to pray that they would come back to where they should be.

Separation is a necessary part of life. It is not pleasant at all, but if you are going to be who you should be throughout your life, then you are going to have to separate from individuals and institutions at some point. These thoughts will help you when you are faced with whether you should separate.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

The Simple Life

Ecclesiastes 4:6
“Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.”

I remember going to visit my grandparents when I was a young boy. Neither set of grandparents had a lavish home. I remember visiting my mother’s parents in Illinois. My grandmother did not have a big home. I believe she had a two bedroom house, and the porch was converted into another room in which to sleep when we came to visit. Her simple home was nothing you would look back to and wish you could have, but the one thing that stands out in my mind is that she was happy.

My father’s parents also had a very small home. They lived in a small town in Shelby, Indiana. Their home was a three bedroom home, but two of the three bedrooms were nothing more than an oversized closet. They lived in that home for several decades and seemed to be very happy living there.

When I look back to both sets of grandparents, I see they did not have big homes or lavish possessions, but what they did have was happiness. I believe their happiness came from living a simple life. They didn’t feel they needed all the updated technologies or possessions that others had. Though they didn’t have a lot of possessions, their simple life did give them happiness.

The verse above says, “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” One of the things many miss in life is the happiness that a simple life brings. You can have your hands full with every possession the world offers, and have all the newest technological gadgets, but if you don’t have happiness, you are a very poor person. Too many people get caught up in making their life complex by having to have more, thus they bring strife and discontent into their homes. You will always find that those who tend to live a more simple life will normally have a happier life because they don’t have to squabble over “things.”

You would be wise not to get caught up in the status game. Be careful that you don’t purchase a home that is truly too big for your family. I’m not against bigger homes, but I do feel that sometimes we purchase homes that are too big, and the price of those homes force husband and wife to have to work to pay the bills. Always remember when you purchase a home that eventually your children will be gone. Don’t think that you have to have a bigger home just to stay up with someone else.

Furthermore, be careful about falling into the trap of always having to get some gadget or technological device that someone else has. Most of us have, at one time or another, gotten something we really didn’t need, and ended up selling it in a yard sale. Learn to wait a while before going out and buying something that someone else has. You will find that many times you really don’t need it.

Christian, there is nothing wrong with having things, but don’t fall into the trap of having to have something because someone else has it, or getting something for the sake of status. Live within your means. When you learn to keep your life simple, you will find true happiness is easier to obtain.

How Can a Woman Judge Over a Man

QUESTION:

I wanted to ask you about a verse. Judges 4:4, “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.” Someone from work asked me about this verse and I wanted to answer her correctly. Can you tell me about this verse? How can a women judge over a man? How is she a prophetess? How is this woman a judge of a country? Those were some of the questions. Thank you and God bless.

Brian

ANSWER:

Dear Brian,

Let me answer your questions one at a time. First, a “prophetess” simply means that she was the prophets wife. The Scriptures don’t say, but I suspect that her husband was dead, and she became the leader of the country because no man would stand up and lead. You must remember that this story is in the Book of Judges. This was not a spiritual time in Israel’s history. The Scriptures describe this time in Judges 21:25 by saying, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” You will notice, they were not looking to do right in God’s eyes, but in man’s eyes.

With this in mind, you must realize that God is not justifying her ruling over men, it was just that no man would take a stand. Barak wouldn’t go unless Deborah went with him. You must always remember that in the void of leadership, someone must lead. If men won’t lead, then the women will step up and lead. This has happened in the homes of America. It doesn’t make it right, it simply shows that someone has to lead.

It should motivate every man to fulfill his role of leadership. Likewise, you must be careful about taking the philosophy that a lady is second class. This is not true! God simply chose for men to be the leaders. I hope this helps answer your question.

Are You Being Groomed?

Job 24:15
“The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.”

One of the things that many people don’t want to acknowledge is how wicked we as humans are. According to James 1:15, before we ever commit a sin, we conceive a plan on how to commit the sin without being caught. It only goes to show that the validity of Jeremiah 17:9 when it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:…”

The verse above, by way of a statement, gives a warning of the wickedness of an adulterer. When you read Job 24:15-17, you will learn how manipulative and conniving the adulterer is. God says that the adulterer “waiteth for the twilight.” In other words, the adulterer is bent on doing wrong. It is not a mistake; rather, it is choice one makes. You never fall into adultery; you always choose to commit adultery. God shows us that the adulterer literally anticipates the time they can commit their wicked act when it says, “the adulterer waiteth for the twilight.” The heart of the adulterer is so wicked they anticipate doing wrong.

Moreover, the adulterer plans their actions. Notice it says, “No eye shall see me:…” God is showing us that the adulterer plans to do their act when they feel nobody is watching. It shows the premeditated heart of the adulterer.

Furthermore, the adulterer is deceptive. God says that the adulterer “disguiseth his face.” The adulterer is one who pretends to be something they are not. This is how they lure in their prey. They show how great they are, but they never allow you to see who they truly are.

One of the most disturbing statements about the adulterer is found in verse 16 when it says, “In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime:…” Friend, when you look at this statement you realize that the adulterer is literally casing people out to find whom they may prey upon. They look for the one who is weak. They look for the one who may at a weak moment do something that they will regret later. Once they find their prey, they mark them and start their deceptive work to lure them in.

Proverbs 7:9-27 shows us the work the adulterer begins to do once they’ve marked the one whom they want to destroy. Make no mistake, an adulterer has a very evil heart. They care not whom they destroy, for their whole purpose is to get what they want. God says about the adulterer in Job 24:17, “For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death:…” Why do they look at the morning with such horror? Because according to John 3:19, they love darkness more than light because their deeds are evil.

Friend, I cannot warn you enough about the dangers of adultery. The adulterer or adulteress will groom you like a prey until they lure you in and destroy you. What you take as a compliment from the flirt of another person is nothing more than them grooming you to lure you in to commit sin with them. Let me warn you, DON’T DO IT! Take the warning of Proverbs 6:32-33 to heart when it says, “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.” Always remember that someone has groomed you until they believe you are weak enough to agree to their wicked invitation to commit adultery. Whenever you are faced with the temptation of adultery, do as Joseph did and run from it as fast as you can. Don’t let the reproach of adultery stain your name and life.

You’re Not Spiritual Enough

Job 1:5
“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

Having godly parents is a great blessing for anyone. Certainly, when you look at Job’s children, they could easily say that they had a godly dad. For God to give the commendation to Satan about Job is nothing short of amazing. God said there was no one like Job. God bragged about Job’s spirituality. His children had no excuse not to be spiritual themselves.

However, one of the mistakes that Job made was thinking he could be spiritual for his children. It says in the verse above that Job sacrificed burnt offerings for his children just in case they sinned against God. Job felt that he could do for them what they should’ve done for themselves. Job needed to understand that as much as he loved his children, he could not pass his spirituality down to them like an inheritance.

Parent, you cannot be spiritual enough to pass your spirituality down to your children. Being spiritual is not a possession; it is an action. Far too many parents think their children are spiritual because they serve God. As much as I love my daughter, I cannot pass my spirituality down to her as an inheritance. I am only as spiritual as I am because I do what I’m supposed to do. If your children are going to be spiritual, then they must do spiritual things. Your children will not be spiritual because you are. They will be spiritual because they do right.

However, you can be spiritual enough to influence them in the ways of God. Though you cannot pass your spirituality down to them, you can influence them in the right ways to become what they are supposed to be. This is what you must understand about rearing your children. Your children are not going to become spiritual through osmosis, but you can make sure that all of their influences are spiritual so that they have a better chance of choosing to do spiritual things.

If you want your children to be spiritual, then be sure they’re in a constant atmosphere of spirituality. In other words, make your home life a spiritual life. Don’t leave your spirituality at church; instead live a spiritual life 24/7. Be sure your children attend spiritual activities. When the youth department at your church has activities, be sure they are involved in those activities so they can have an enjoyable time in a spiritual atmosphere.

Furthermore, be sure your children have spiritual friends. Friends will influence your children more than anything else. One of your responsibilities as a parent is to be sure your children have the right friends. They may not like you telling them not to spend time with a certain person, but it is your responsibility to be sure their friends are spiritual.

Finally, be sure you do spiritual things with them. Every night it would be good to have family devotions. Read the Scriptures and pray with your children on a daily basis. Be sure they have a personal time alone with God.

It would be a wonderful thing if we could put in our will that we are passing our spirituality down to our children, but we can’t. So, the best thing you can do is to be sure they are around a spiritual atmosphere and that they do spiritual things. Ultimately, spirituality is their choice, but you can make sure their choice is influenced by spiritual things.

Handfuls of Purpose

Handfuls-of-Purposeby: Dr. Steve Heidenreich

Ruth 2:16, “And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”

Just as Boaz commanded his young men to let fall some handfuls of purpose for Ruth and leave them that she may glean them, we must also let fall some handfuls of the Word of God that others may have them to learn of the Saviour.

Earlier this year I took a missions trip to Panama with the college students from Texas Baptist College in Longview, Texas. Of course, the greatest thing to do on a mission trip is to go soul winning and try to reach as many people with the Gospel. We traveled a long distance to a village that was way out in the back areas of Panama with a national pastor who had planned a service for us that night. We got there a couple hours before the service, so we thought we would go out soul winning and invite more people to attend that service. We had people saved and others ready to come to the service. We had a great service, and when the invitation came other people raised their hand and went forward and received Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

We returned to the hotel that night rejoicing in what God had done, and were excited to do more for him the next day. We decided to go back to the same area to do more soul winning, and to branch out into other areas nearby. We were able to see many more people saved and were able to pass out hundreds of the book of Romans. We came to the plaza of that little village, and as we were busy passing copies of the book of Romans, a pickup truck full of people stopped to get more passengers. We had a young man by the name of Juan who was our main interpreter give the plan of salvation to those in the back of the truck. There were about 20 people who accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. One young man had gotten off the truck and came to me to ask me a question. I asked Juan to interpret for me, and he said the young man was asking me for some of the book of Romans that we were passing out. The young man had been saved in the service the night before. He said he had been watching us lead people to Jesus Christ the day before. He had just watched Juan give the presentation of the Gospel to the people in the back of the truck. He said, “I think I can give the plan of salvation to the people back over the mountain where I live.” The book of Romans that we were passing out had a clear presentation of the Gospel inside. I was so excited to be able to give him the book of Romans, so I gave him a great big stack of Romans to take back over the mountain to his people.

It is amazing how God works when you take the Gospel to other areas. A few hours earlier we tried to go over the great big mountain to be able to take the Gospel to the villages beyond, but were unable to because the van did not have enough power to get over the mountain. We were disappointed because there was a large village on the other side of the mountain, but we were not able to get to it. But, God had prepared a way to get the Gospel to that village through a new convert. It’s exciting to see a new convert that is excited about telling other people about the Saviour that he just received. I was excited about him taking the book of Romans back to his village and his people, but at the same time I was brokenhearted because he had no material or Bibles to help disciple his new converts.

Missions is more than leading people to Christ. It is also providing new converts with a way to learn more about Jesus Christ. It is also providing a way for them to be able to lead others to Christ and disciple their converts. The end result is to plant a church for those people.

Would you continue to pray with me that more people would be willing to go to other countries and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you also pray with me as new converts who are excited about sharing the Gospel with their loved ones and others would have an opportunity to at least have the book of Romans with the plan of salvation marked in it, and also have a way to disciples their new converts. Pray that a church will be organized to where they will have their own pastor and a place to worship the Lord.

The mission trip was a great success, and there were over 500 people saved and many thousands of the book of Romans given out, but as you can see, there was so much more that needed to be done.

Dr. Steve Heidenreich
http://missionsminutes.blogspot.com

Should I Flee?

Nehemiah 6:11
“And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”

Opposition is always going to be a part of the ministry. The enemy is never thrilled when God’s work is going forward. Nehemiah figured that out early in the project of rebuilding the walls. Two of his chief opponents were Sanballat and Tobiah. These men were evil and were bent on stopping the rebuilding of the walls.

One of their attacks was to falsely accuse Nehemiah of rebuilding the walls so that he could rebel and become king of Israel. Of course, they spread this rumor trying to scare Nehemiah into quitting. Then they asked Nehemiah to come and meet with them to discuss this accusation. Nehemiah wisely asked himself, “Should such a man as I flee?” Not knowing whether their threats were real, Nehemiah kept on building and did not allow the threats to deter him from what the LORD called him to do.

One of the ugly parts of serving the LORD is dealing with threats. Nobody likes to deal with the threats of the enemy. Sadly, many times these threats come from Christian brethren. As much as we would like to change this from happening, it is part of the ministry and you will have to deal with it. Dealing with these threats will literally make or break your success. Let me give you some advice on what to do when threats come your way.

First, don’t run! If you run, then the enemy’s threats have succeeded. Their purpose is to get you to stop doing the LORD’s work. If you run, you will never know how the LORD will deliver you. Imagine if Nehemiah would have run. The walls would have never been finished, and the motivating story of the Book of Nehemiah would not be here to read. When threats come your way, dig your heals in and decide to stay. You don’t know if the threats are empty or real, but most of the time they will be empty threats.

Second, stay focused on the work at hand. In the midst of threats, Nehemiah kept building the wall. He didn’t become sidetracked with the threat and pull the workers from the wall to hold their swords; instead, they simply put a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other and kept on building. When threats come, keep doing the LORD’s work. Don’t stop soul winning, preaching, praying and helping lives to fight the threats. Let the LORD take care of the threats while you keep doing His work. What better way to get the LORD to fight for you than to continue doing His work.

Third, don’t negotiate with the opponent. When threats come, part of what they want you to do is to change. Nehemiah kept building the wall and would not meet with these wicked men to discuss the threats. When threats come, there is nothing to talk about. What are you going to discuss; how to compromise? You must determine that you are going to continue doing what you have always done. Don’t ever sit at the negotiating table with the opponent. If you do, they win and you lose.

Friend, as much as we don’t like this subject, this is a real part of the ministry. I have had to deal with these threats several times in my ministry and have had to help others deal with threats. These three steps have helped me and will help you to keep doing the LORD’s work. In the midst of threats always remember 2 Chronicles 20:15, “Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” Let God fight the battles while you continue doing what the LORD has called and commanded you to do.

So, I Prayed

Nehemiah 2:4
“Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.”

What was the secret to Nehemiah’s ability to overcome every obstacle that stood between him and completing the wall of Jerusalem? Was it his position with the king that caused him to be successful? I think not! Was it his ability to plan? I think not! Was it his ability to rally others to his cause? I think not? Was it his ability to outwit the enemy? I think not! Was it his charisma or personality? I think not! Was it his prowess to stand alone? I think not! One who wonders may come up with many good answers that may have contributed to his success, but the answer is found in the verse above when he said, “So I prayed…” This is why he found such great success in building the wall.

Nehemiah’s success comes down to one thing; he prayed! Though his talent was part of the reason for his success, it was his prayer life that enhanced that talent. Though bravery was a small portion of his capability to withstand the enemy, it was his prayer life that strengthened him in times of fear. Though his position may have given him access to the king so his petition could be heard, it was his prayer life that caused God to move the heart of the king to listen. Though his leadership ability was one of the best in the Scriptures, it was his prayer life that helped to guide his leadership ability. The greatest attribute of Nehemiah was that he prayed.

Nehemiah’s prayer life was more than just a repetition of a prayer list, it was a pouring out of his heart. His prayer life was more than a time that he set aside to pray. His prayer life was a part of his life. He didn’t leave his prayer life in the prayer closet, but he took his prayer life with him throughout the day. At a moments notice he was praying to God for a need to be supplied. Whenever he faced any problem, he prayed. That was Nehemiah’s great secret to success.

You will only be as successful as your prayer life. Yes, your talent may take you to great heights, but a prayer life will take you to greater heights. Certainly, your charisma may take you places that others would never see, but a prayer life will take you to places that you could not imagine. Without a doubt, your associations with the right people will help you obtain the resources you need, but a prayer life will supply every need when others try to cut off your resources. Your valor may help you to not flinch with the enemy’s attack, but a prayer life will bring the enemy’s attack to nought. Your determination may help you not quit when faced with great adversity, but your prayer life will help you to overcome all adversity.

Like Nehemiah, it should be said about you, “So, he prayed!” That is the answer to what you face today. You can try every method, philosophy and theory, but prayer is the only thing that will bring you through. I don’t know what you face today, but you need to pray. You will find that the hardest thing you will accomplish in your Christian life is having a prayer life, but if you can establish one you will find God’s hand will be upon you.

If there is anything I can ever motivate you to do, it would be to pray. More than anything else in the life, your prayer life will determine the degree of success you will have in the Christian life. A prayer life will not demand your time, but you must demand time to pray. Set everything else aside if you must, but pray. It is better to let other things slip, but don’t ever let your prayer life slip. Let prayer be at the tip of your tongue in everything you do. Let prayer be the answer to which you run for every obstacle and problem you face.