Archive for the ‘Christian Living’ Category

The Sin of Entitlement: MK Perspective

Friday, November 4th, 2016

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When we believe that we deserve something that we have not earned or worked for, we have the sin of entitlement. Having grown up as a missionary kid in a third world country, entitlement is one of the worst qualities I’ve seen in Americans. This sin is truly ugly and selfish. It’s strange that people feel so entitled in such a rich country.

I have seen my Guatemalan friends in houses with dirt floors, completely at peace. They don’t have a bratty, angry attitude like Americans do about deserving better… that their condition is somehow someone else’s fault.

People in third world countries who are in true poverty know that they are not entitled to anything. They try to find some clean water to drink and to produce enough food in their field not to starve.

So many Americans want “free” handouts from the government, not realizing that all government money comes from taxes—the sweat and tears of the common people. By demanding more goods without working for them, they are forcing the middle class into poverty. Higher taxes mean less money to pay bills for normal people who are working.

Americans demand rights that God never gave them. No one deserves anything. You should get what you earn. The only thing you deserve is what you work for.

The richest nation on earth is the most miserable—with a huge proportion of its population on pharmaceudical drugs. Yes, people are so miserable because of their bratty attitudes where they think that if they don’t have a perfect house, a perfect marriage, and perfect kids without putting in continuous work, they need mood-altering drugs to put up with their misery.

Entitled people are often bored with their lives. All bored people are sinning. They are not walking by the Spirit. There is always something God wants you to be doing in any given situation, and He will empower you to do it and give you joy in ministering to others. Boredom indicates that you feel that you are entitled to a continuous variety of entertainment, otherwise you will snap at the people around you.

I’m fed up with this attitude.

A sense of entitlement is sin. Pay for your own goods and services. Stop demanding that other people sweat and break their backs to provide for your entertainment and gluttony. I see people who say they are poor but own a cell phone. This is not a necessity. Nope. If you have $100 a month for a cell phone, I will not give you a single penny for your basic bills because you are a squanderer. If you’ve paid all your bills and you are not mooching off others, you are allowed to get a cell phone. You are not entitled to the luxury of a cell phone if you are not able to pay your basic bills.

You are responsible for your own bills. Other people should not have to pay your bills. Scripture says if you don’t work, neither shall you eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). And if you are frugal and still have bills, ask God, and He will provide. God is not a liar. James 4:2-3 says that we have not because we ask not, and the reason we ask is to self-pamper and spend our money on our own lusts (including gluttony, which is eating out all the time because we are bratty about “boring homemade food.”) God will not provide monetarily for brats who have been unfaithful with the money He has already provided.

Let’s repent of our national sin of entitlement. Let’s work and pay our own bills. Let’s not expect to go on vacations and eat out and be constantly entertained. Take back your life for the Lord, and live for Him. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

This is the first in a series of “Indictments Against the Sins of America.”

  1. The Sin of Entitlement (this post)
  2. The Sin of Boredom
  3. The Sin of Lust

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101 Reasons to Pray

Monday, June 20th, 2016

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If you are wondering why you should bother to pray, here are some good reasons to pray:

  1. To have a relationship with God.
  2. To experience God’s peace.
  3. To be transformed into the image of Christ.
  4. Because God commands us to pray.
  5. To be involved in God’s work in people’s lives.
  6. To show people we love them enough to pray for them.
  7. To receive guidance from the Holy Spirit.
  8. To get wisdom in a difficult situation.
  9. To see how God answers prayer.
  10. To learn perseverance and endurance.
  11. To get rid of anxiety and worry.
  12. To turn God-ward.
  13. To give us a proper perspective.
  14. To know the love of God.
  15. To connect to the God of the universe.
  16. To learn thankfulness.
  17. Life is hard. Without Jesus beside us, it would be unbearable.
  18. To feel the presence of God during trials.
  19. To stand in the gap for a loved one.
  20. To ask for the salvation of someone.
  21. To ask that God would transform a difficult person.
  22. If we have a need, that God would provide it.
  23. To receive comfort during sadness.
  24. To align your heart to God’s heart and feel what He feels.
  25. To receive forgiveness for sins.
  26. For God to help us to control our words.
  27. To adore the Creator.
  28. When someone is in the hospital, that God would bring healing.
  29. After a car accident or other trauma–for the ability to get through the situation.
  30. For the reconciliation of a broken marriage.
  31. For an estranged child to come back to Christ.
  32. For our bills to be paid.
  33. For safety during travel.
  34. For God to use our spiritual gifts for the edification of the church.
  35. For God to unify His people.
  36. To accomplish God’s work.
  37. To perform our daily tasks well.
  38. To raise our children with hearts for God.
  39. To talk with God, to commune with Him.
  40. To receive insight into God’s Word.
  41. For God to give us the right thing to say to someone.
  42. To remove fear and give us confidence.
  43. To receive encouragement from God.
  44. To delight in the Lord.
  45. To be strengthened inwardly.
  46. To grow in faith and trust.
  47. To glorify the Lord.
  48. To receive answers to specific prayers and praise God.
  49. For the church to have revival.
  50. To listen to God.
  51. To find God’s purpose and calling for your life.
  52. To push back the powers of darkness and shine light to others.
  53. To gain clarity in a confusing situation.
  54. To be able to commit ourselves to God when falsely accused.
  55. To make Jesus Lord of our lives and allow Him to rule us.
  56. To abide in Christ like a branch in a vine.
  57. To set people free from bondage.
  58. To learn to trust God and to see His faithfulness.
  59. To be sanctified so that we can be useful vessels to the Master.
  60. To grow in our faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
  61. To receive more rewards when we finally are with Christ in heaven.
  62. To gain assurance of salvation.
  63. For protection in a dangerous situation.
  64. To remove excuses for sin.
  65. To be guided by God and His Word.
  66. To be convicted over sin and retain a clear conscience.
  67. To bring delight to God.
  68. To repair a friendship.
  69. To receive wisdom for parenting.
  70. To know how to prioritize a busy day.
  71. To grow in holiness.
  72. To enable us to rejoice in all things.
  73. To know that all things will work out for our good.
  74. To gain boldness in evangelism.
  75. To acquire gentleness in rebuking someone.
  76. To learn to live in dependence upon God and not our own resources.
  77. To be set free from our own strongholds or sinful patterns of thought.
  78. To gain generosity to help the poor.
  79. To give true encouragement to the fainthearted.
  80. To help someone feel that they are not alone.
  81. To grow in intimacy with a spouse.
  82. To get excited about Christ’s return.
  83. To get rid of false guilt and condemnation.
  84. To have hope in a hopeless situation.
  85. To take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
  86. To gain a greater awe for God.
  87. To not grow weary in doing good.
  88. To discover the hidden things of God.
  89. To ignite a deeper love and commitment to God.
  90. To ask God how to lead His children closer to Himself.
  91. To align your will to God’s will.
  92. To thank God for our daily food and His provision of it.
  93. To overcome temptation.
  94. To appreciate what God has given.
  95. To ask God to enable you to get out of debt.
  96. To not be blind to an area of sin.
  97. To break harmful addictions.
  98. To set our hearts on things above and not on earthly things.
  99. To learn contentment.
  100. To be a rock for other people in the midst of a storm.
  101. To enjoy the presence of God.

I hope you can see that prayer is vital and that there are so many reasons to pray. Can you think of other reasons we should pray?

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Awe and Trembling in Prayer

Friday, April 22nd, 2016

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Prophets in Scripture trembled in the presence of God. Do we fear God like we should? Do you ever experience awe and trembling in prayer? In Scripture, when the greatest men and women are in the presence of God, they are physically trembling. Here are a few Scriptures to show how fear and trembling display proper honor to the Lord:

  • Jeremiah 5:22a NASB “Do you not fear Me?” declares the Lord. “Do you not tremble in My presence?”
  • Psalm 114:7 NASB “Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob.”
  • Daniel 10:7-9 ESV  “And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.”
  • Isaiah 6:5 NASB “Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’”
  • Ezekiel 38:20 ESV “The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.”
  • Psalm 2:11 ESV “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
  • Philippians 2:12 ESV “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

The wisdom books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes boil down to “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So do you have wisdom? Do you fear God?

As you can see in the above Scriptures, fear of God often involves trembling. People fall on their faces when approaching God. If we truly understood the magnitude of the enormous power of God, we would find ourselves shaking in His presence, even though He is our Abba Father.

Some people might object by saying perfect love casts out fear (I John 4:18). In some ways, because we are on God’s side, we need not fear death or condemnation. However, we should be afraid to sin because it grieves a holy God. Are we scared to sin? Do we understand the full ramifications of the sins that we commit against a holy God, or do we sin flippantly? God promises to discipline His people when they sin (Hebrews 12:11).

We ought to tremble because we realize that we sin and that we are unclean before a holy God. In Isaiah 6, even the sinless angels block their eyes before a holy God. Justice would demand that we who are sinful be struck dead, and yet God allows us to enter into a personal relationship with Him. How exquisite and beautiful is His love for us, that He condescends to interact with His creatures!

Awe and Trembling in Prayer (Prayer Video # 13)

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Groanings Too Deep for Words

Friday, April 8th, 2016

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What does it mean when the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words?

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  (Romans 8:26-27 NASB)

Sometimes all we can do is come to the Lord in silence.

The Spirit Himself prays through us, translating our groanings and aligning our prayer to the will of God so that the request can be answered. Many times the answer is not immediate, and the best we can experience is the comfort of the Spirit (II Corinthians 1:4).

As you pour out your heart to the Lord, express whatever is in your soul. In the Psalms, David expressed sorrow, outrage, grief, and bewilderment that God wasn’t acting. But then he waited on God and put his hope in God. God is able to handle your raw unprocessed emotions. It is not a sin to pour out your heart to God. Job did so and was not rebuked by God. Go ahead and be honest because God already knows the reality of what you are going through.

If the Holy Spirit aligns our prayer to God’s will, what does that mean? The will of God is our sanctification (I Thessalonians 4:3-4). As we yield more to the Spirit, He produces more endurance and love in our lives, and we are more conformed to the image of Christ. The purpose of every hardship is to draw us closer to Christ, regardless of the outcome of the difficulty.

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How are we made holy? Through the furnace of affliction.

Character is forged through suffering, and that character will matter for eternity. We are not instantly identical in heaven. Only what happens on this earth will differentiate our eternity. Some will rule over others because they have acquired more wisdom in this life because they went through more suffering and were purified more.

Through suffering you can experience God in a way that is not possible without the suffering. You have a depth to your character that is not there when you do not suffer.

Don’t purposely seek suffering. It will find you. If you love others at all, you will suffer. Those who never suffer don’t love others. If you open your eyes to the people around you, you will see suffering everywhere. Go ahead and share their suffering, and it will bring them comfort.

Groanings Too Deep for Words (Video # 12)

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