Loving People | 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.

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.

How to Submit to Authority Without Feeling Devalued

August 27, 2016August 26, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

How to Submit to Authority Scriptures — Philippians 2:3-7

Taking orders is difficult. Like players yelling at the officials in a sports competition, our natural reaction is to rebel against anyone who may exercise their authority over us. When a professor gives us poor marks on a paper we thought was top quality, we instantly feel the need to attack them verbally behind their backs not because we disagree so much but because we despise the idea of the professor being able to do what she likes to our paper.

What Does the Bible Say About Spoiling Your Child?

January 24, 2017August 5, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Parenting seems like an impossible balancing act. On one hand, you don’t want to be harsh, overbearing, and cruel to your child. You want to show grace and mercy like God shows you.

But you also don’t want to spoil your child, turning them into a rotten person who feels entitled, yells to get their way, and needs to be pampered to be appeased.

So what does the Bible say about spoiling your child?

What Does the Bible Say About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

July 31, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

When answering questions like “What does the bible say about those who have never heard the gospel?” or “How could God send people to hell if they’ve never heard the name of Jesus?” or even “How can a loving God send people to hell at all?” it’s impossible not to take a logical, textual approach.

The problem with that is these questions are wrapped up with all kinds of emotions, and rightfully so. Something is wrong if you are a Christian and you flippantly talk about the reality of hell. Hell is a horrible truth. But it is a part of the truth.

With that said, what follows is a biblically blunt answer to the question, “What happens to those who have never heard the gospel or the name of Jesus?”

Loyalty and Love

June 30, 2018July 29, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Loyalty and love. Are these not one in the same? When loyal you are loving and when loving you are loyal. Love remains because it’s loyal, and loyalty exists because of love. Who can separate these two?

3 Christian/Biblical Counseling Tips

November 26, 2018July 22, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Christian_Biblical Counseling Tips advice — Colossians 4:5-6

Most Christians desire to give biblical counsel to those in need. Christians have been given amazing insight to humanities’ problems through the wisdom of God found within the Bible. But knowing the truth and counseling other people to understand the truth are entirely different.

So here are 3 tips for Christians who desire to offer biblical counsel to those in need.

Tip 1: Christians Must Show They Care Before They Offer Biblical Counsel

During my years as a pastor, I had a reoccurring experience while counseling people at public places like coffee shops or restaurants. I would be right in the middle of offering biblical counsel to someone and a nearby Christian who neither of us knew would over hear our conversation and chime in with their thoughts.

Campaigning Vs. Proclaiming

July 17, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Sometimes I confuse the idea of being a disciple of Jesus with being a campaign manager. I often think instead of doing his will by following Jesus in an intimate way like a true disciple was made to do, I am actually here to promote God by playing politics.

But God isn’t running for office because he doesn’t need to be elected. Even though we often forget this fact, he’s the one who does the electing. He rules whether people would vote for him or not. He’s the Supreme King, not an earthly president.

It’s a dangerous and hurtful message when someone pleads with people to follow Jesus, as though Jesus is in need of people rather than the people being in need of Jesus. God isn’t campaigning. He’s already ruling. Proclaiming this is the Christians’ mission.