Opposing Godly Men

For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. (Gal. 2.8)

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. (Gal. 2:11)

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? (Gal. 2:14)

When I see other church leaders who are clearly in the wrong, how do I approach the situation in a way that doesn’t cause damage to the ministry that they are doing? Paul clearly believed that God was at work in the ministry of Peter, yet there came a time when Paul had to rebuke Peter in front of the others. Peter’s actions were causing damage to the Gentiles, and he didn’t realize it!

This is the struggle I am facing: I see people who are doing God’s ministry, and doing much for the kingdom of Heaven, yet they are also doing things that are causing damage to the people that God has called me to minister to! Like Paul telling the story to the Galatians, I need to explain to the people I’m ministering to that these actions are not right, yet without disparaging the work of the ministry that these good, Godly men are doing.

What do you think? How do I follow the example of Paul today?

Dow Plunges 513, Debt Compromise deal doesn’t help stalled economy.

After weeks of political wrangling, the debt-ceiling was finally raised, to the dissatisfaction of pretty much everybody involved. Polls show cynicism and distrust among the American people. Now the world economy is driving further investment deals down. Amid fears of a double-dip recession, and comparisons starting to be made regarding the Great Depression, many people are asking what to do now?

I don’t know what the general public is to do, or the political parties, or the economists. I am a pastor, and my focus is on our hope beyond things that we can control. If you do not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elijah, the God whose name is known as Y-H-W-H, then I say to you, go back to doing what you are doing. Be the best economist, politician, businessperson, parent, etc. that you can. This message is not for you.

For those who do claim to worship Y-H-W-H, we have family business to discuss.

In the years of the housing market boom, when jobs were plentiful, and before gas prices skyrocketed, we began to get too lazy spiritually. We looked in pride at the work of our hands, and we forgot to cry out to God to provide for us. There was a spiritual slump in this country, even among devoted church-goers. In our bountiful harvest, we forgot to offer thanks to “Jehovah-jireh” the God who provides.

At the time, a group of pastors I was meeting with began to worry about this spiritual complacency, and we began to pray that God would begin to draw his people back to himself, doing whatever it takes, even destroying our economy to get our eyes off of ourselves.

Like the prophet Elijah declaring a famine because of Israel’s unbelief, it seemed almost instantly that our economy began falling apart. It has been a time of economic famine, and our faith in our own ability to provide for ourselves is faltering.

Now the politicians have been unable to save us, and the world economy is teetering. There is only one place to put your hope now: Y-H-W-H, the God of the Bible.

I can almost hear Elijah taunting us now: “Where are your gods? Shout louder, maybe they can’t hear you! Perhaps they are busy somewhere else!”

But like the epic showdown on Mount Carmel, the priests of Baal cannot bring down fire, or even rain. It is time for us to pray like Elijah: ““O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 
Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (I Kings 18:36-37).

It is time for us to cry out in worship: “The LORD (Y-H-W-H), he is God!”

Then perhaps he will end this drought in the Land, and pour out rain on a starving economy.

(For the full story of Elijah, the famine, and the challenge to the priests of Baal see 1 Kings 17 and 18.)