Author: Chuck Musselwhite

Desire to Do the Hard Work

Heard a sad story the other day of how a church split and went to court over who got the church building because an Elder got mad over a boy had gotten a bigger piece of ham at a potluck than he did. Sounds silly, but these issues crop up every day in the church. That is not what Paul intended when he wrote the qualifications of an elder. He was looking for those who desire to do the hard work.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭3:1‬

“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

The role that Paul is talking about here is an Elder. The Greek word used here is “episkopos,” which can be used as Elder, Pastor, or Shepherd. It is a person who is one of the overseers, or leaders, or the church. It denotes authority and means that the person has the role of responsibility in the church. The person who aspires to this office desires a good thing.

Out of the Mouth

I am confident that if people listened twice as much as they talk, this world would be eighty percent better. We put too much value into what people have to say. The problem is that there is so much chatter that you have to say something outrageous to get noticed. Jesus said what comes out of the mouth, defiles a person and reveals what is in their heart.

Mark 7:20-23

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts… All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

I think we all will agree that our mouth has gotten us into more trouble than anything else we have done combined. Sometimes it seems like we aren’t even in control of our tongue. Words are coming out, and we are asking ourselves, “Who is this person?” That’s because the mouth reveals our real heart. Most of the time, we can keep it under wraps but add in a little anxiety and anger, and soon it is a tsunami that is destroying everything in its path. We don’t need to control our tongue; we need to root out the sin.

Prayer Changes Things

The story is told that George Mueller had a prayer list of five men who didn’t know Jesus. He prayed every day that these men would come to know Jesus. After one year, one of the men gave his life to Christ. Another one came to Jesus a decade later and then another years after that. For fifty-four years, Mueller prayed for the final two, and one gave his life to Jesus at Mueller’s funeral, and the final one did so a year after his death. The faithful prayer of one man saw five of his friends come to know Jesus. Prayer changes things.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:8

“Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”

There has never been a time when prayer is more needed than today. The church should be on its knees, crying out for a mighty move of God. This world is in need, and we have the solution through Jesus Christ. The only way people realize their need for Him is by the church coming together to pray.

Desire of God’s Heart

Every soul matters to God. I know that’s not a popular belief today but Scripture backs it up. He desires that everyone would come to know Jesus. As the Bride of Christ our desires should be the same. Our heart should be for the lost and those going to hell. This is the desire of God’s Heart.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:4‬

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God desires that everyone be saved from hell and experience the forgiveness of their sins. That is the whole purpose for sending His Son. God set His plan of redemption into action as soon as Adam committed the first sin. When He looks at people today He sees our brokenness and our inability to fix it.

Always Lead With Love

The saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Showing we care shows people they can open up to you. They are afraid of being hurt. People want to position themselves as experts and give other people answers to their problems. Jesus had the ability to show…

Time to Work

There is a big debate about Unemployment Insurance here in the United States. When COVID-19 hit, the government approved a $600 a week bonus to those who lost their jobs because of the shutdown. Now those benefits have run out, and people are begging the government to keep the payments going because they get paid…

Walk in My Ways

God made it very clear to the Israelites that they were to keep His laws. If they did, He promised them great blessings. If they didn’t, it was only a matter of time before disaster was on their doorstep. God hasn’t changed His heart. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His message is simple, “Walk in my ways.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭20:19-20

“I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

Israel had a hard time keeping their eyes on God. They didn’t obey his law or set apart the Sabbath day as holy. Instead, they did what was right in their own eyes and did whatever they wanted on the Sabbath. This leads them to be corrected by God and eventually being led into captivity. If they would’ve obeyed His Word, they would’ve been close to Him.

Book Review Replicate

From time to time I like to recommend a book or resource that I believe can help you in your walk with Jesus Christ. The book “Replicate” by Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain is one of those books. Jesus’ last command to the church was to “Go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19 I wrote a devotion here) Discipleship is the mission of the church. We are to go and make disciples. The book “Replicate” lays out all of the reasons why you and your church should be doing it and a simple plan on how to implement it.

Are You Part of the Family?

On our wall, we have several family portraits. They start with our wedding picture to our last one. Each shows our growth in both age and number. When our kids were younger, they would ask why they weren’t in specific pictures. It was hard for them to understand they weren’t born yet. Are you part of the family of God? If there was a family portrait, would you be in it?

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:32-35

And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus was sitting inside of a house, probably Peter’s in Capernaum, teaching His followers. Mom and His brothers show up, asking for Him. Some have speculated that they were coming to take Him home because rumors were swirling that He was doing crazy things.

You Can’t Have Both

It’s mind-boggling how much people spend on self-improvement. From the books, to the online courses, to personal coaching all to change how we are. Most of it fails because people want new improvements but with very little change in their lives. You can’t have both. Jesus makes that clear in that the new work that He wants to do will take some change. The sooner we prepare ourselves, the quicker it will happen.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:22

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

If you want things to change, you can’t keep doing it the way you’ve done it in the past. For the Jews, it was adhering to the old system of the law. Jesus came to change things, and the old way of doing things according to the law wasn’t going to work. They had gotten into a spiritual rut and didn’t even know the heart of God anymore.