Be Authentic

Be Authentic!
Scripture: John 1:19-23
[19]Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
[20]He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
[21]They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
[22]Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
[23]John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”

Have you ever been concerned about individuals who claim to be what they are not? Maybe because they can perform certain things in unique ways then they have wanted to be in positions they don't belong to. I have seen a number of religious leaders try to take the position of God and have led many a stray. The sheep of God have worshiped men instead of worshiping God because the self proclaimed "gods" have taken the positions that ain't theirs at all.

In our scripture today, John the baptist is approached to tell his identity.  According to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, John equated to the expected Messiah, or Elijah or Moses. When he is prompted to tell whether he is one of these, he plainly states that he isn't any of those but just a voice of one calling in the wildernesses. He refused to be the other person or to take glory or a position that doesn't belong to him. He had the chance to accept such great names or titles but he remained authentic.

Christianity is about being authentic and not a copy of the other thing or person. We have to stay original and avoid competing with God no matter how mighty He is using our lives. We have to make the people be directed to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith and never direct the ship to ourselves. Christ Himself even though He was fully God but he didn't compete with God. He took the position of a servant and remained loyal and humbled to God even to the point of death. Let us be original and not a photocopy of what we are not.

Eliazar Wambo

Pastor and Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries

Total Obedience!

Scripture: Genesis 6:15-22
Focus verses: [15]This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[16]Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door on the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
[22]Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Imagine you hire a builder to build you a nice home. You sit down with him, you explain to him what kind of house you need, the plan of the house and all that he should do to make the house be just as you had wanted it. You later come back and realize that he has done the opposite and placed things opposite your plan. He uses materials different from what you had told him and you just realize that even though he had the manual with him, he has deliberately done the opposite. What would you do to such a builder? I know you may be thinking as I do, "fire him", and you may never want to see him near that structure. I wanna ask us today, "how many of us deserve firing today because of how we live our lives even after God has given us the manual for life (Bible)?"

In our focus verse, God instructs Noah to make an ark that He would use to rescue him from the floods that were going to wipe the face of the earth since the people had rebelled against Him and were living wicked lives. God presents to Noah the construction plan and he explains everything to Noah including where to put the decks, their measurements, the type of materials to use, the roof type among many other instructions. Noah keenly listens to God's instruction and as verse 22 puts it, he "did everything just as God had instructed him."

Today many believers are struggling with being obedient to God for even one year, but Noah took 100 years building the ark and in all these years, he did just as God had instructed him. He fully obeyed God! The life of a believer must remain a life of obedience to God's instruction. God has given us a manual of life (Bible), and we are called to total obedience to His manual. We must not like some parts and hate other parts but must be willing to obey it fully. We are the Noah of today and if we want God to spare us from the consequences of God's discipline, then we have to decide to be obedient no matter how long it takes. If we have not been obedient to Him, we can confess and repent of our sins of disobedience and be grateful for His forgiveness. Amen.

Eliazar Wambo

Director Bethesda Faith Ministries, 

Mfangano Kenya 

PS. Extra reading James chapter 1

Commissioned By Jesus

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Focus Verse: 1 Corinthians 1:18  “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”

Every believer has been commissioned by Jesus to go into the world and spread the good news of the Gospel.  However this message of the cross is sometimes met with resistance and people will call it foolishness.  This hesitancy is because they don’t understand the importance of what Jesus did for us on the cross when He died for the sins of the whole world.  The eternal destiny heaven or hell is at stake.  Sometimes believers are not comfortable telling others about Jesus, and those who are not believers are not comfortable being told they are sinners.  But we are called to do this and it’s called The Great Commission.  And for those who accept, it is abundant life.

 

The New Testament talks about two variations to The Great Commission.  Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”  And Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” So we are to tell others about the Gospel, and then when they come to faith in Christ we disciple them and help them to grow in their walk with Christ.  This is not just the job for your pastor to do, it’s your job as well.  Are you doing your part to tell others? 

 

Most times the world is not going to come to us, we must go to the world.  Jesus has commissioned each of us now lets go do our job.  If you’re not sure how to tell others the good news, talk with your pastor or another trusted Christian friend, they would love to show you how.  Then practice it.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

God Protects Us

Scripture Reading: Psalm 91

Focus Verse: Psalm 91:5  “Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.”

I can remember some years ago I went on a safari in Kenya at Amboseli National Park that was near Mount Kilimanjaro.  We were staying in tents and I can remember you could hear the animals outside the tents and it was kind of scary.  Since it was at night and you couldn’t see the animals that made it more scary.  

 

When the Bible talks about the “terrors of the night” it’s talking about something that could hurt us.  Then the Bible talks about arrows that fly in the daytime.  During the time the Bible was written they didn’t have guns and other weapons like we have now for modern warfare.  They had arrows they would shoot at the enemy. Because we are followers of the Lord Jesus, our enemy, Satan (and his demons) desire to attack us.

 

Satan's attacks can be described as shooting flaming arrows at us.  Maybe it’s the arrow called lust, or maybe pride, or even hatred.  You know what arrows the enemy shoots at you, but God will protect us day and night if we are His children.  Psalm 91 is talking of God’s protection, but the Bible does not say that we will never have problems or difficulties.  We will go through hard times in this life but God has promised to protect us by being with us each step of the way.  In verse 9, it says that if you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you.  We know that the enemy can not win when we shelter in the Lord.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

 

Extra reading:  "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7