Mark Ballenger | AGW MINISTRIES

What’s More Important, Preaching or Helping People With Practical Needs?

September 15, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

preaching practical needs — And Jesus said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I have come.” Mark 1:38

In response to growing up in a dead church environment where the deeds often didn’t match the words, there is a movement in the American Church towards emphasizing social justice. If you ask most people about why they don’t like Christianity, hypocrisy is the number one answer. Nobody wants to be fake. It makes sense, then, of why Christians are seeking to live out their faith by helping the poor and less fortunate (besides the biblical command to do so).

This is right. Jesus clearly healed the sick, provided food for the hungry, and had a special affection for orphans and widows due to their helplessness. James 1:22, 27 states, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . . Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Jesus Actually Healed Less So He Could Preach More

With all of that said, helping people with their physical needs is not the main point of Christianity.

What’s the Point of Reading the Bible?

September 12, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Why Should I read the Bible every day — Psalm 119

The Bible has never been more available to people. For example, by simply clicking on BibleGateway.com or downloading the free app, you can have every version of the English Bible right in your pocket.

But no matter how many options we have to read the Bible, we never will read it unless we know why we should. So what’s the point of reading the Bible? If you can’t answer the question, “Why should I read the Bible?” odds are you probably won’t read it.

Is It Wrong to Want to Be Married?

February 15, 2018September 8, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Some Christians are called to singleness. These types of people are typically quite content with not being in a romantic relationship, they don’t struggle with sexual temptation, and their desire for singleness is rooted in their desire to serve God.

Most Christians who are single, however, don’t fall into this category. The vast majority of us have not been blessed with the gift of singleness. One lie churches often unintentionally teach Christian singles is that it’s not okay to be discontent with their singleness. Through well meant teachings and seminars on how Christian singles must find all their contentment in Christ, people often end up feeling guilty for being unhappy about their lack of marriage. Many people feel it is wrong to want to be married.

What Does the Number Three Mean in the Bible?

May 28, 2018September 7, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

meaning of three in Bible — Matthew 16:21, Acts 2:23-24

God reveals his power in many ways, but one of those ways is by prophesying what’s going to happen and using specific numbers repeatedly, such as the number three.

Biblical Numerology is the study of numbers in the Bible. Many times when we start studying numbers in the Bible, we get off track because it often times requires us to make inferences at the meaning of these numbers. Most times the Bible does not explain why certain numbers are used in certain situations.

So when studying the numbers mentioned in the Bible, like the number three, we must be careful to only draw conclusions that are obvious and supported by other parts of Scripture.

Are You Dating or Married to God?

September 4, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

The difference between teen romance and a deeply committed marriage is persevering faithfulness. When you date, you are gauging whether or not you want to remain with that person. When you get married, your only thought is to remain, love, and be faithful no matter what happens. Likewise, to be Christian, you must move past the dating season and fully commit to your marriage with God.

How to Love Your Enemies

September 3, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

If you could, you’d make sure everyone was happy with you. Normal people don’t want other people to hate them. But no matter how hard we try, eventually someone becomes our enemy.

You don’t have to hate someone for them to be your enemy. They just have to hate you. Romans 5:8, 10 explains, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

God didn’t hate us. He loved us. But the Bible says we were his enemy. Likewise, even if you don’t hate anyone on earth, this does not mean you don’t have enemies. As hard as we try, some people just don’t like us. They may hate you for your faith, your skin color, your gender, or just for the sound of your voice. Sinners sin, and often times sin comes in the form of hate.

We all have enemies. So what are we to do?

God Says We Should Care About What Others Think of Us

July 7, 2018September 2, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

what does the bible say about not caring what others think God — Colossians 4:3-6, Galatians 1:10

Does the Bible say we should not care what others think about us? No, but it does say we must seek to please God over people.

As every Christian matures, one of the things the Holy Spirit will surely convict us of is seeking the praise of man over God. In our sinful nature, we care about what others think of us for the wrong reasons.

Caring What Others Think of You Can Be Expressed Wrongly in Two Ways

When we seek the praise of people, it can be expressed in many different ways. The two ends of the spectrum are obsessive pursuit and obsessive avoidance. One person may do anything to be praised by people, while another person will do anything not to be seen by people, but both can have the same root issue – caring too much about what people think of them.

7 Ways To Use Your Christian Singleness

December 3, 2017August 31, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

dont waste your singleness — Proverbs 6:4-11, 2 Corinthians 9:6

Getting married changes everything. The hope is that it changes your life for the better, but the guarantee is that marriage will change you no matter what.

My Identity in Christ

August 30, 2016August 29, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

“Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”- Genesis 27:18 (NLT)

What is my identity in Christ? Every Christian has asked it. It seems basic, like we all should know what our identity in Christ is.

But when answering the question, “What’s my identity in Christ?” we have to first start with what we were so we can better understand what we are now through putting
our faith in Jesus.

Before My Identity Was in Christ, My Identity Was Found in the Family of Liars (Sinful Man)

Abraham pretended to be Sarah’s brother (Genesis 12, 20), Isaac did the same thing to his wife Rebekah, Jacob pretended to be Esau (Genesis 27), and on Jacob’s wedding night Leah pretended to be Rachel.

Out of this family of lies, to highlight God’s amazing grace, came the whole nation of Israel, and out of the nation of Israel came the Savior, thus fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).

Abraham and his family was such a fitting choice for God to bring about redemption through because the whole human race sins just like them. We all lie about ourselves. We try to survive on this planet by adapting our identities to the present situation around us.

If it is more fitting to be a womanizer at work so we will fit it with the guys, we adapt into that. If a man you desire to date likes women who dress provocatively, your wardrobe changes. If the woman you desire to date wants a well mannered man, you put on a different face than you have when with the guys at the gym.

All sin is a marring of God’s original image for you. God made man in his likeness, with a godly, holy, and pure identity. Sin occurs when we change who we are to protect ourselves from earthly threats rather than obeying and trusting God.

So before my identity was in Christ, my identity was rooted in lies.

Christ’s Identity Never Changed Like Mine

Why Is the Trinity So Confusing?

August 28, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

trinity, confusing, Bible — Genesis 1:26, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19

Why is the Trinity so confusing?

It is perhaps the most important doctrine in all of Christianity. And the Trinity is probably the most confusing doctrine as well. God is one, and God is three. It sounds like a really hard math problem. But God is not an equation to be figured out, but rather our Lord to be loved, enjoyed, and obeyed.