Overcome Evil with Good

 Some people can be so difficult to deal with. No, that’s not what I want to say. What I really want to say is that some people are just outright evil. They delight in making the lives of other people miserable. It’s as if they look to find that button they can push to make you explode and lose it so they can gloat, “mission accomplished.” Well, before you execute your master plan of personal revenge to take out the enemy, consider this advice from the Bible:  “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

I know—this is one of those hard sayings in the Bible. It just seems fair that when someone persecutes us without a cause that we would be justified in giving them what they are asking for.  And let me guess, as many of you read this post, at least one person comes to mind who brings you face to face with the challenge of obeying the abovementioned biblical advice.

During my last pastorate, I had this one church member who was certainly the most difficult congregant I ever had to deal with as a church leader. This lady really got under my skin times without number. She tried hard to provoke me to lose it before the congregation so she could portray me in a negative way. But I refused to let her get the upper hand.

I was at my wits’ end with her. I confronted her many times but little came out of our meetings. But I knew that if I prayed in faith and walked in obedience to God’s Word, He would fight my battle in due season, and He did. This was not a quick fix. My test went on several years before I saw any breakthrough.

The verse I quoted above is not about being a wimp and allowing people to walk over us. Rather, we can be assertive without getting ugly. We can maintain the high road no matter how low others choose to go. For those of us who are Christians, we are called to demonstrate the power of well-doing in the face of ill-treatment. This is one way we bring glory to the name of our Lord. Last but not least, don’t fret the evildoer. For it is the Lord who avenges us: “Vengeance is mine: I will repay saith the Lord” (verse 19). So stand strong, and watch God work on your behalf.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

We Can Faithfully Live for Christ in Today’s World

I believe it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to faithfully live for Christ in today’s world. On the other hand, it is definitely not impossible to do so. In fact, the Lord will have it no other way for His people than that they live faithfully for Him.

One of the reasons it’s more difficult to faithfully live for Christ today is because of the culture in which we live. Consider, for example, the slew of TV programming available through cable TV and satellite dishes. Producers continue to push the envelope in terms of the sewage that’s piped into our homes through the small screen.  The same is true of the silver screen. It is increasingly more difficult to find TV programs and movies suitable for the Christian family—profanity and sexually explicit scenes abound.

What we see on TV and at the movies is not driving the direction of our society but they reflect what we have become and where we are going as a society. I am saying that if there were no market for this kind of increasingly trashy content, it would not be produced.

Nevertheless, I want you to know that it doesn’t matter what the moral state of our world is or becomes, we can faithfully live for Christ. In the end, we can have the same testimony that Paul the apostle had when he was nearing the end of his earthly journey: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

As a preacher of the gospel, I have learned an important key to faithfully living for Christ. Most of my time is preoccupied with preaching, teaching, blogging, podcasting, etc. In fact, to tell you the truth, I think I’m a little too busy at times. It goes without saying that this lifestyle requires that I study the Bible and pray regularly as well. So by default, I spend lots of my time doing the work of the Lord. The benefit is that I feel no struggle in my quest to faithfully live for Christ.

I don’t live in a vacuum. I have a wife and family. I know the challenges of parenting (my wife and I have six children), and I live in the same corrupt world everyone else does. But because—by the help of the Holy Spirit—I stay focused on Christ and heaven’s agenda, I am not moved by these things.  I believe that my experience is not the exception but the rule. That is, as we abound in the work of the Lord, the Holy Spirit empowers us to faithfully live for Christ. Furthermore, it is to this end that God has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us and to abide with us forever.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Don’t Live Your Life in the Past

Have you ever tried running forward while steadfastly looking back? That’s very hard to do. But that’s how some people live their life. They preoccupy themselves with weeping over past failures in life. The truth is, it’s hard to move forward while living life in the past.

Consider Paul the apostle. Based on what he shares about himself in the third chapter of his letter to the Philippians, you can see that he was a very gifted man. But he was willing to abandon everything to become an avid follower of Christ. He said he was “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13).

Embracing these words of Paul the apostle will help to safeguard you against living your life in the past. During my previous pastorate, for instance, I thought I was going to conquer the world. The truth is that I stayed at the church almost ten years, and it never grew. During the time I labored in that church, I felt I had given my best shot at growing the ministry. I will tell you I was not happy with how things turned out.

But my friend, I refused to allow that past experience to define my future. I have “forgotten” those things which are behind, and I am reaching forth to those things which are before me. We can’t change yesterday, but we can refuse to allow it to negatively impact tomorrow. That’s because our great God knows how to give us a fresh start that's full of blessings and possibilities—in spite of our past failures and disappointments. I am convinced that there is absolutely nothing you have done in the past that would make you an exception to what I just said.

Of course, we should learn from our past. Some of our worst failures can be the best teachers for our future success. I believe that in order for us to be successful in life, we must be able to do at least two things with our failures. One, we must know how to constructively learn from them. And, two, we must be able to see beyond our failures and stay focused on our goal. What I am saying is that real champions in life know how to make past failures a friend and not a foe. What about you?

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Study: Most Christians Seldom Share Their Faith

(Article first published as Study: Most Christians Seldom Share Their Faith on Technorati)

In a recent and an extensive discipleship research project aimed at measuring spiritual maturity in churchgoers, LifeWay Research identified eight attributes that were consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Among these attributes, “Sharing Christ” was found to have the lowest average score among Protestant church attendees.

Their poor performance in such an important Christian duty is not due to ignorance; according to the study, 80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith. Neither is their negligence in sharing Christ with others due to a sense of inability; again, according to the study, three-quarters of churchgoers say they feel comfortable in their ability to effectively share their faith.

Still, 61 percent say they have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months!

Let me get this straight—80 percent believe they have a Christian duty to share Christ with others; about 75 percent believe they can effectively carry out that duty; but in the past six months, over 60 percent have not shared their faith with another person.

As a Christian leader, I find the results of the study unsettling. In my attempt to reconcile all of the above findings, I come up with one word—not ignorance, not inability, but disobedience. In other words, if we believe we have a duty to do something, and we feel competent to do the same but we never do it, this inaction constitutes disobedience or negligence.

The bigger issue I see with the results of LifeWay Research’s study has to do with the negative impact on the spread of Christianity. The gospel cannot spread or remain vibrant in our society simply by current churchgoers attending church regularly to learn about their Christian duties, and to become better equipped to carry them out, but never being obedient to share Christ with others.

As Christians, “we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He has returned to the Father, and has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. Accordingly, God wants to use His people to help lost men and women to become reconciled to Him. This won’t happen if we just attend church to hear the good news only to go home and sit on it. Based on LifeWay’s study, sounds as if a whole lot of that is what’s going on.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Christian Marriage and the Importance of Mate Compatibility

One of the favorite pieces of advice we tend to give young Christians who have reached the point of dating or to those about to get married or looking forward to marriage in the future is found in Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

It’s interesting that the Bible uses the term “yoke.” Animals can be physically yoked together with the intent that they will work together as a team, thereby greatly enhancing productivity. Similarly, it’s not unusual for two individuals to become so-called best friends, and most of the time when you see one you see the other. In this case, the two have socially yoked themselves together.

The  point is that the yoke referred to in the verse above is  not limited to marriage; on the other hand, marriage is the strongest kind of yoke that can exists between two persons because God said that when a man leaves his parents and marries a woman the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

Also, note the reason why this verse says believers should not yoke themselves with unbelievers. It is not to suggest that believers are any better than unbelievers because that’s not true. The problem has to do with compatibility--or the lack thereof: true believers pursue righteousness as defined by the Scriptures, unbelievers do not; true believers strive to walk in the light, unbelievers tend to walk in darkness. It is vitally important that I add that this verse does not say Christians should shun unbelievers; rather, the former should not yoke themselves with the latter.

Now brace yourself for what I am about to say because it is the main point of this post: Just because two persons are Christians does not mean they are a good match for each other in marriage. Am I saying that if two persons are genuine Christians they may still not be a good match? That’s exactly what I am saying. Believe me, you can be a Christian and still be screwed up in the way you think about life and marriage.

The point is that compatibility must not be limited to spiritual compatibility. For instance, if one person grew up in the country and the other in the big city and their resulting differences keep raising their ugly heads during dating, this is not to be ignored. Also, individual attitudes toward money management can be radically different.  One mate may be responsible with budgeting and spending while the other mate just lives for the moment. It’s hard to get ahead that way, and eventually this can become a serious problem. More times than one, I have even seen serious problems result because one mate is very passionate for God and spiritual growth while the other person is spiritually slack.

I am only scratching the surface here but I think you get my drift. Sometimes these issues can be worked out so that the marriage at least survives and sometimes they can’t. The point is that just because two persons love each other and they are Christians does not assure a successful Christian marriage. Actually, true Christians divorce every day. But the broader the base of compatibility that exists between two persons, the better their chances are for success AND happiness in marriage.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

God Has Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear

I’ve been reflecting on the recent incidents regarding the LGBT community’s attacks against Chick-fil-A because its president Dan Cathy expressed his belief in “the biblical definition of the family unit,” which also I believe in—without apology. Why would anyone be surprised that Mr. Cathy responded this way during an interview with the Baptist Press on last month? Long before that, it was no secret that he was a Christian. Moreover, his belief is consistent with the Christian faith.

Several mayors have joined the LGBT community’s cause by publicizing that Chick-fil-A is not welcome in “their” cities.

As a voice in the Christian community, my concern here is that many Christians will allow these recent events to intimidate them to the point of fearing to express their faith. Nothing would make many in the LGBT community happier. The same is true about many of our politicians. But hear me friends, fear to express our faith is not the will of God for His people. “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Based on this verse, if you are feeling a sense of fear as a result of the recent events, know that this is not from God.

In America, each person has the right to express his personal beliefs. Even if he is a businessman, he can have religious beliefs, and he can express the same. This basic right to freedom of speech applies to every American citizen--including Christians.

I find it rather troubling that high-ranking city leaders would be so bold as to say—even if they can’t make good on their threat—that a company cannot locate in “their” city because they disagree with the religious beliefs of the company’s leader. If this mindset were to become the order of the day, America would cease to be the country we know her to be.

This issue with Chick-fil-A is not an isolated case. Sad but true, it is just one more example of a growing intolerance in America for true Christian convictions.

Freedom of speech is not reserved for some sectors of our society at the expense of the others. More importantly, the will of God is that we Christians boldly live out and express our faith. This we must do, if we are to carry out the Great Commission commanded by our Lord. We know there is much work yet to be done. For America today is not getting closer to God but she is moving farther from Him. And Jesus said He will be with us even until the end of this present age (see Matthew 28:20).

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Be Your Best for God

Whatever you do to serve the Lord, it is important that you be your best for God. I have been entertaining this idea since I watched a little of the 2012 Olympics on yesterday. At this mega event, the greatest athletes from around the world come together to compete. What amazes me is the untold hours of training they do to perfect their performance.

While I was sitting at the barber yesterday, a news piece came on TV announcing Gabby Douglas’ historic achievement in the women’s gymnastics. What really amazes me is the moving story behind the journey of this sixteen-year-old athlete to the top, which I won’t recap here since I am sure by now most of the world knows.

What does this have to do with Christianity and our service to God? In contrast to the excellence I see displayed at the Olympics, I see too much sloppy work for the Kingdom of God. Let me just vent a little, in this regard. These are just a few of my gripes about the way some churches handle God’s business:

• They fail to take pride in the outer appearance of the church’s property

• The choir sings as if it had not practiced and perfected what it presents in worship service

• When new members unite with the church, the congregation has no infrastructure in place for making them disciples and moving them into responsible ministry

• The church’s website is not kept current, and the content is sketchy at best

Brothers and sisters, these things ought not be. Now let me clarify this statement. I realize there are churches in very poor parts of the world, and they do a great job with the resources and people they have to work with. No offense intended. I also know there are struggling local churches in prosperous countries like America and other places as well. But the bullets I listed above are based on my observations of some local churches that have but one bottom line problem—a lack of commitment to the work of the Lord.

You see, my conviction is that the work of the Lord is the most important work in the world. We, the people of God, ought to handle it as such. I don’t watch a lot of the Olympics, but I can tell you that during the portions I see, it is evident that the athletes have made the preparations necessary to do their thing with excellence.

Personally, I admire the sacrifices the athletes competing in the 2012 Olympics make to train and to perfect their performance, hoping to bring home the gold. “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Cor. 9: 25). That’s the point: What we do for God is far more important and the crown we shall receive is far more valuable, so why don't we commit ourselves to excellence in our service to God?

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.