Be The Few

There's a verse that gets quoted at the start of almost every small church gathering, Bible study, and home fellowship. It's warm, it's familiar, and it's often misunderstood: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." — Matthew 18:20 (KJV) Most Christians hear this as a cozy promise: "Jesus shows up when we pray together." And that's true as far as it goes. But if you read it in context, this verse is something far more radical. It's actually Jesus giving us His definition of church — and it's nothing like what we've built. The Context Changes Everything Matthew 18 is a chapter about church discipline, reconciliation, and authority. In verse 15, Jesus talks about confronting a brother who sins against you. In verse 16, He says bring one or two witnesses. In verse 17, He says tell it to the church. Then verse 18 gives the disciples authority to bind and loose. Verse 19 talks abo...

If you've been in church long enough, you've heard it. Someone starts missing services, and the verse comes out like a hammer: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is." — Hebrews 10:25 (KJV) The implication is clear: you're disobeying God if you're not in a pew on Sunday morning. But here's the problem — that verse has been ripped out of context and used to prop up a system that looks nothing like what the New Testament describes. Let's look at what it actually means, and what it doesn't mean. What "Forsake Not" Actually Meant The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who were facing intense persecution. They were being threatened, ostracized, and tempted to abandon Christianity altogether and slip back into Judaism. When the author says "forsake not the assembling," he's pleading with them: Don't abandon the faith. Don't isolate yourself. Stay connected to othe...

Strength Through Life's Trials Life often presents us with moments of difficulty and pain. Yet, within these experiences lies a profound paradox: suffering can lead to spiritual growth. This paradox challenges us to see beyond the immediate discomfort of our hardships and discover hidden blessings within our trials. As we navigate through tough times, we gain insights that shape our character and enrich our faith journey. Finding purpose in pain is not easy, but it offers transformative potential. When we view our struggles as stepping stones toward something greater, they shift from burdens to valuable lessons. It's a change in mindset that empowers us to find meaning even when circumstances seem bleak. In this article, we'll explore how embracing adversity allows for personal and spiritual development. We'll discuss stories of individuals who turned their suffering into opportunities for growth and uncover strategies for reframing hardship as part of a broader journey...

The Church Doesn't Fear God Today Recently A friend brought to my attention that there is no fear of the Lord in the church. We have a generation of Christians who have become comfortable and complacent. There is no longer any fear of the Lord in the church today. A general lack of fear is a bad thing. It’s not good to be complacent and comfortable. But I think there is something much more specific that we have lost in the church today: The fear of the Lord is no longer a reality for us.  Hirelings build their congregations by tickling ears and intentionally avoiding the difficult passages in scripture. This is why it is imperative that we read the bible for ourselves. If we don't do this, we are going to be vulnerable to the hireling's message. Scripture is filled with warnings about false teachers, false prophets and wolves in sheep s clothing. A careful examination of scripture shows that the church is not immune from false teaching.   If you don't already know by no...

I got off Track When I encountered God in 1995, He said: "Read the instructions". I immediately started reading the Bible voraciously. I devoured it by reading and listening to the audio bible . But then I started thinking, why not read from the top theologians and get on the fast track? So I started reading books from PHD.s and top theologians about the Bible rather than the bible directly. I thought I was making some headway. I was reading apologetics books and fell into the eschatology rabbit hole for a while. I read thousands of pages from various authors on eschatology (end times prophecy). The whole time the spirit of God was highlighting to me obvious errors. My theology felt like a house of cards on sand rather than a solid house upon The Rock! I plowed ahead anyway thinking "They are the experts, what do I know? " I was ignoring the Spirit of Truth for the traditions of men. As I continued reading the Bible and books about the Bible, I started seeing that ...

Here is a post from Missionary Glenn Roseberry  from Kingdom Driven Ministries who is currently evangelizing in Africa.