How to Serve in Crazy Situations

by
Mark Ballenger
Luke 10:17-20

If you were to walk into the ER doctors’ break room, you might be surprised at how calm and casual these men and women are who have just been in life and death situations. Eating food, reading the comics, laughing about something one of the nurses said, only to then step back out to treat a life-threatening gun wound. It might seem an odd thing to look into a bunker full of soldiers at war playing a game of cards before the next mission. To watch a crime scene investigator sip his coffee as he approaches a murder scene might be a bit chilling to the average citizen.

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How to Know What Your Calling Is from God

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(1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 9:16, 1 Timothy 4:14-16)
(1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 9:16, 1 Timothy 4:14-16)

Every Christian wants to know what their calling is from God. However, this question is perhaps one of the most difficult to answer for a variety of reasons: you have to know you are actually hearing from God, you have to know the Scriptures to make sure your calling is congruent with truth, you have to be flexible enough to know who you are today is not who God will make you into five years from now, and you have to be humble enough to accept that your understanding of God’s calling on you will progress and even change throughout the years.

So how do we know what our calling is from God? It helps to break this questions up into two parts: 1. What always is your ultimate calling? 2. What is your specific calling in this season of life?

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The Healing Power of Worshiping God

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(Note: To get the most out of this article, consider taking some time to prepare by using BibleGateway.com or the Bible Gateway App and do a "keyword" search for "worship." You will then get an amazing list of Bible verses to help you have a foundation for a biblical understanding of worship.)
(Note: To get the most out of this article, consider taking some time to prepare by using BibleGateway.com or the Bible Gateway App and do a “keyword” search for “worship.” You will then get an amazing list of Bible verses to help you have a foundation for a biblical understanding of worship.)

I remember when a close friend of mine was going through a season of turmoil and pain. His brother had just died from cancer at a young age. Other relational challenges were happening as well that were causing him to feel extremely isolated and depressed. And to top it all off he was under immense spiritual warfare through this extremely difficult time in his life.

What could I say?

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2 Biblical Solutions to Fear

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two ways to overcome fear

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. -Luke 12:4-7

When I was a boy and one of our friends hurt themselves, we had a trick to help them with the pain, “Hey, do you want me get the pain in your finger to go away?” And then we would punch them in the arm so that their arm would hurt more than their finger, thus making them forget the pain in their finger.

Humans naturally pay attention to whatever is causing, or has the ability to cause, the most pain. Jesus knows this, so he reminds us all that the one who can cause us the most pain is actually God himself.

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An Excerpt from Intertwined

by
Mark Ballenger
(Click the image to learn more.)

Never in the Bible is there a miracle without a mess. Jesus never heals anyone who isn’t first sick. He never quiets calm waters. He never produces food for people who already have enough. God always displays his glory in a miraculous way by first allowing a massive problem to arise. He doesn’t do miracles for entertainment purposes or to produce tingles on our necks. His purpose is always to display the power of Jesus to save.

Without A Death Their Can’t Be A Resurrection

God loves us so much that he allows short-term pain in our lives to display his glory which then produces long-term joy. I think this is what Jesus was trying to teach us through the raising of Lazarus:

3 So the sisters [Mary and Martha] sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” (John 11:3-6)

To most of us, the phrase “the one you love is sick” seems like an oxymoron. If Jesus loves Lazarus, why the heck is he sick? We naturally associate easy external circumstances with God’s pleasure towards us and hard external circumstances with God’s displeasure towards us.

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Freedom from the Riot

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Acts 19:23-29
Acts 19:23-29

Each of us has those untouchable topics in our life. Whenever they are brought up, whenever we are confronted there, or whenever that certain itch is not scratched, being “enraged” and “crying out” (Acts 19:28) is sure to follow.

We don’t want to yell at our spouse when they confront our eating habits. We don’t want to go into a rage when our kids break a window . . . again. Nobody wants to get into the car after a long day’s work to then fume in fury as we sit helplessly in traffic. Nobody wants to rage and yell, and yet we do far more often than we would like to admit. Why?

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9 Biblical Ways to Avoid Being Deceived By a Leader

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How to avoid being deceived by others
(Note: Most of AGW’s content is much shorter. I’ve categorized this piece under “sermons” due to its length.)

In Genesis 20, Abimelech was deceived by Abraham. Abraham lied to Abimelech about Sarah being his sister rather than his wife. In Genesis 20:18 we see that Abimelech was negatively impacted by the deceit of Abraham. Abimelech did nothing but believe the words of Abraham, and yet God did not spare Abimelech of the consequences of following Abraham’s lies.

Likewise, when we are deceived by others and thus participate in their wrong doings, either inadvertently or otherwise, God still holds each of us accountable for doing the right things regardless if we were duped or not.

In short, God expects all of us to avoid being deceived by others. Thankfully, we can learn from Genesis 20:1-18 on how to avoid falling for the lies of others.

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