What Are Your Plans for God in 2012?

I am writing this post three days before we enter 2012. There is no biblical mandate to do so, but I tend to view the beginning of a new year as a good time to make assessments of certain aspects of my life. One area in particular has to do with my service to God.

What I don’t want to do is to become nonchalant about what I do for the Lord. Rather, I want to make sure that I remain a vibrant servant for Him. Hopefully, you feel the same way. So have you seriously thought about what are your plans for God in 2012?

This post is not a call to making any New Year’s resolutions. No, it’s far more important than that. Consider Paul the apostle’s letter to the church at Corinth in which he wrote, “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….” (1 Corinthians 15:58a). The word abounding in this verse comes from a root word that means to be more than enough or to be in abundance.

The point is rather clear that as Christians, we should never allow ourselves to become slack in serving the Lord. If we are not careful, that can happen to us over time.

This year was an extremely busy and productive year for me. I am impressed with the rate of growth of this blog page the past year, for example. I want to thank all of you for making that possible. The same is true of my website, which is located at a different domain. Also, I maintained a heavy preaching schedule this year.

I thank God for all that He blessed me to do this past year. Now, however, I am looking ahead to next year. I am very excited about my plans for God in 2012. And I want you to know that whatever God has called you to do is just as important as what He has called me or anybody else to do. In fact, our work for the Lord is the most important work in the world. Let us always embrace it as such.

Maybe you have had and are still facing serious challenges to your faithfully serving the Lord. Or perhaps, no one seems to appreciate what you do for the Lord and you question its worth. Well here is the rest of that verse I quoted above: “forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15;58b). So be encouraged. What you do for the Lord is never in vain. Finally, as you serve the Lord, may you experience heaven’s best for you in 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Statistics on the Christian Population in the World

Ever wondered how many Christians are in the world today? Or how many Christians live in America? Or what is the regional distribution of Christians in the world? The results of a comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries were released earlier this week. The study was done by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life. You can read the complete analysis of the report on the group’s website.

This subject interests me because, in what we commonly refer to as the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV). The Pew Forum’s study can be an aid in helping us to assess where we are in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission.

According to the study, there are approximately 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. This represents nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Thirty-seven percent of all Christians live in the Americas; twenty-six percent live in Europe; twenty-four percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and thirteen percent live in Asia and the Pacific.

As the world’s population grew from about 1.8 billion in 1910 to about 6.9 billion in 2010, the Christian population in the world grew from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. The result is that during the past 100 years, the portion of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity has remained about the same. Actually, it dropped slightly from about 35 percent in 1910 to 32 percent in 2010, according to the survey results.

The Christian population estimates for 232 countries and self-administering territories were based on the acquisition and the analyses of about 2400 data sources, including censuses and general population surveys. In countries where detailed estimates on some Christian bodies were not available, researchers estimated the population based on figures provided by Christian organizations around the world.

Based on the above statistics, there are approximately 5 billion people in the world today who do not identify themselves as a Christian. Moreover, over the past 100 years, there has been a slight drop in the percentage of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity. (And yes, I do know that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is in fact a Christian.) To me, these two findings clearly suggest that the Christian church has much work to do toward her efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Be Strong in the Lord

If we want to live a victorious life, we must learn how to be strong in the Lord. What I am saying to you is no different from what Paul the apostle wrote to the church at Ephesus: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Notice the phrase, “in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” This is the key. In other words, we must learn how to live our life by the power that is of God and not by our own strength. The logical question is, how do we do that? We find a clue in the next verse of Paul’s letter: “Put on the whole armor of God” (verse 11a). It’s interesting that Paul uses the term armor. It denotes warfare. And friend, that is exactly what we are engaged in.

But we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, Paul explains. I know our struggles tend to manifest themselves through people, but the Bible says we need the whole armor of God “that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (verse 11b). This brings us to the reason for my very first statement of this post, which was, “If we want to live a victorious life, we must learn how to be strong in the Lord.”

The point is that human strength alone is no match for the battle at hand. For the Bible teaches that our real enemy is the devil. I submit to you that one of the things that makes life so challenging for all of us is the spiritual wickedness that’s prevalent in our world. Believe me, if we were dealing with only natural laws and human behavior, we would have most of our world’s problems figured out by now.

Remember, the Bible says that if we want to stand against the tricks and strategies of the enemy, we must put on the whole armor of God. It is beyond the scope of this post to go into detail, but let’s summarize what the Bible refers to as the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and continual prayer (verses 14-18).

The bottom line is that the more we grow in our faith, and the more we grow in the knowledge and application of the Word of God, and the more we learn how to effectively pray, etc., the more victorious we will be in life. That's because these are components of our armor that come from God, and the Bible says we must put on the whole armor of God. This is how to be strong in the Lord, and this is the only way we can win against the real enemy, which is the devil.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Deity of Christ

I am writing this post two weeks before Christmas Day. Even though we are that close to the holiday, if I didn’t know any better, based on what I have seen around town so far, I would be led to believe that Christmas is all about shopping, eating, and decorating. But I know that for Christians, the significance of Christmas centers around the birth of Christ the Savior.

Baby Jesus was not your average baby. No, He was in a class all by Himself. For Jesus was God manifested in the flesh! Perhaps some of you have problems embracing the idea of the deity of Christ. But the Bible teaches that the baby who was born in a manger was both human and divinity.

Hence, hundreds of years before Jesus was born, it had been written of Him in the Scriptures: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”! (Matthew 1:23, KJV).

Imagine that. When Jesus was born on earth, He was literally God with us. Let me be even more emphatic: “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” the Bible says (Colossians 2:9, NIV).

So how can a baby who was born in a manger grow up to become the embodiment of the fullness of deity? I haven’t a clue. This truth speaks to the mystery of the person of Christ. It’s what I find so intriguing about the account of that first Christmas.

As the biblical record goes, during the time Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus, “Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world….And everyone went to his own town to register” (Luke 2:1). And it was while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem that Mary gave birth to baby Jesus.

That must have been a hectic time in Bethlehem as everybody rushed to obey Caesar’s decree. By the time Joseph and Mary had arrived, there was no room in the inn for them to stay. That’s why they ended up staying in an animal stable and Jesus was born in a manger. So little did most people in Bethlehem know, on that particular night, God was with them in the person of a baby born in a manger.

Now let me close by taking this point one step closer. Yes, when Jesus was born, it was literally God with us. But it was also a sign that God is with us. In other words, Jesus’ birth ushered in the acceptable year of the Lord. That means because Jesus came, men can now be saved from sin and reconciled to God. Because Jesus came, mortals can now have fellowship with the immortal God. In short, Because Jesus came, God is with us! For the people of God, this is the real meaning of Christmas.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Christmas Message: Why Jesus Came

(Article first published as Christmas Message: Why Jesus Came on Technorati)

Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Christ, is my favorite time of the year. During this season, the atmosphere seems to be supercharged with excitement. Not because of the gift-buying and the other things we do to ourselves to make Christmastime one of the most hectic times of the year, but because of the birth of Christ and why Jesus came.

I submit to you that one of the main reasons He came was to heal broken relationships.

First and foremost, Jesus came to heal our relationship with God. You see, before the fall of man in the Garden, we enjoyed a wholesome relationship with our heavenly Father. But sin separated us from Him so that we could no longer enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. This breach in our relationship with God was unacceptable to Him because He values our relationship with Him.

What did God do about this problem? He sent His Son that first Christmas as a means for us to be reconciled with God through faith in His Son: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Not only did God send Jesus Christ on earth so that we might be reconciled with our heavenly Father, but also Jesus came to heal our individual families. Indeed it is a blessing when we are able to enjoy the time we share with family members and loved ones. During the Thanksgiving holiday on last month, for instance, I and seven other family members drove 500 miles to Virginia to spend several days with my oldest son who is in the Navy. We shared priceless moments together just enjoying each other.

This past weekend, I went to Atlanta, GA, to preach at a church where my youngest brother serves as the senior pastor. Instead of staying at a hotel, my wife and I stayed with my brother and his family during our time there. We enjoyed our time together at his house the day before worship service, during worship at church the next day, and out to dinner that afternoon. I truly thank God for the quality of relationship I have with my wife, my children, brothers and sisters, mother, etc. And I am looking forward to enjoyable time with my family this Christmas.

I know that some of you reading this post don’t feel the same way about your family. Perhaps it’s falling apart at the seams. If so, hear me friend, Jesus came that first Christmas Day  so that through Him God might heal broken families.  Consider what Paul the apostle said to the jailor after asking what he needed to do to be saved": "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, AND your house" (Acts 16:31).  Throughout Jesus' public ministry, He "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil" (Acts 10:38). For those who place their faith in Him, He still does that today.

Thanks be to God for giving us His only Son. Through faith in Him, who was born of a virgin on that first Christmas day, may each of you experience peace with God and wholesome relationships with your family members and loved ones during this Yuletide.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Kentucky Church Overturns Ban on Interracial Couples

(Article first published as Kentucky Church Overturns Ban on Interracial Couples on Technorati)

On Sunday, the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church, a small congregation in Kentucky, voted to overturn its recent ban on allowing interracial couples to be members of the church. This latest action came on the heels of much criticism following the congregation’s recent ban.

So let me guess; Gulnare is not the last holdout. That is, just because the Kentucky church has overturned its ban does not mean there aren’t other congregations that classify themselves as Christian, and that oppose interracial couples. But in this case, a white girl and her African boyfriend visited Gulnare Free Will Baptist last summer and sang for the congregation. A serious line had been crossed, and the members of the congregation were forced to assert their position on interracial couples.

Of course, we already knew that racism in America is still a significant problem. Also, we know that not everybody is open to interracial dating. Why did I make two separate statements that appear to be the same? Because they are not necessarily the same. In other words, I don’t believe that just because a person opposes interracial dating that it automatically makes the person a racist.

On the other hand, I do believe that the Christian church must take the lead in seeing beyond the color of a person’s skin. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus said to His disciples (Matthew 5:14). That means we the Christian community should be showing the way to those outside of the Christian community. This recent incident suggests, however, that the Christian church has a long ways to go in the way of interracial relations.

I do commend Gulnare for overturning its recent ban. Let’s face it; there are no perfect congregations. The question is, when we acknowledge the error of our ways, what will we do? In this case, the church took the right corrective action. According to news reports, Sunday’s resolution to welcome all believers passed with a unanimous vote.

But this is but the first step. Merely agreeing to do the right thing—or even legislating the same—does not guarantee success. It’s reasonable to assume that in a church that has held the position that Gulnare has over the years, embracing interracial couples will be much easier said than done for some members of the congregation. But they don’t have to do it in their own strength. Christians can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Power of the Gospel

Before I became a Christian, my wife and I attended a church in Central Florida. At the time, I just could not understand why the church’s pastor used to get so excited about preaching the Word of God from the Bible. Many of the church members also got excited as he preached. I was just sitting there at a loss.

A few years later, however, I became a Christian and then I also became a preacher. That’s when the Bible became more than mere words on a page to me. Also, I came to understand what Paul the apostle meant when he said, “ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes….” (Romans 1:16, NIV).

Paul's words underscore the power of the gospel. God gave it to us to proclaim so those who don't know Christ as their Savior can hear and believe and be saved from eternal damnation.

I might add that the preaching of the gospel is the only thing the Bible refers to as the power of God for salvation. Of course, Christian ministry involves more than preaching. Some megachurches today offer just about any service you can imagine: exercise classes, feeding and clothing ministries, employment preparation, car repair, movie night, etc. These all meet human needs, but it’s important for us to know that these types of outreaches and programs are not, and cannot be, substitutes for the preaching of the gospel. Just thought I would throw that out there since some churches seems to think that way.

So what makes the preaching of the gospel the power of God with salvation for its end? It is that when true-to-the-Bible preaching occurs, all of heaven is one with the same. For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son to save us, Jesus in turn became obedient to the cross to pay for our offences, and now the Holy Spirit is among us working in the hearts of men to miraculously change lives.

In other words, when we faithfully preach the gospel to point men and women to the Savior, we become laborers with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to save the lost! Clearly, if local churches want to be a part of what God is doing, they must commit themselves to being good stewards of the preaching of the gospel.

As I go different places preaching, I continue to be amazed at how the simple and clear preaching of the Bible results in radically transformed lives. Furthermore, I am persuaded that no one is beyond the reach of God’s saving power. In these days during which so many people have yet to know Christ the Savior, let us not be ashamed of the gospel, but let us boldly proclaim it.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.