Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”

God is upset with the shepherd of Israel.  These men were responsible for the spiritual care and nurturing of the people.  Notice the failures of these shepherds:

• They fed themselves and did not feed the flock (34:2-3).
• They did not strengthen the diseased, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back the ones that were driven away, or seek the lost (34:4).
• They ruled over the flock with cruelty and force (34:4).
• They caused the flock to be scatter and prey for the wild beasts because they were negligent to be shepherds and to protect the flock (34:5).
• They did not go looking for the flock when they wandered off and were scattered (34:6).

As we look at this list, it should be quite convicting to any mature Christian.  The responsibility of all believers is to look after each other, encourage each other, and to protect one another.  Ultimately the responsibility lies with those in spiritual leadership like pastors and ministers, but their job is to equip the body to care for the body.

The problem can be twofold:

1. Those in spiritual leadership either do not lead the church to care or try to do all the shepherding themselves and are inadquate.
2. The other problem is that the church body often fails to get involved in the shepherding and pastoring of the people.  Many times the church body will expect one or two people in leadership to do all of the shepherding.

When either one of these things happens, it will lead to a church failing in it’s spiritual responsibility to people.  May God help us to really care, to feed the flock, to help the hurting, to warn the wandering, and to seek the lost.  Most of all, may God help us to point people to Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of their Souls!

Read more devotionals at bcwe.org.

The post The Failures of the Shepherds appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Numbers 32:6-7 “And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?  And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them?”

The people of Gad and Reuben did not want to cross over the Jordan River and go into the Promised Land.  They wanted to stay where they were on the east side of Jordan.  What sounded like an innocent request was actually a request to not have to go to battle.  By even mentioning this request, they were discouraging the hearts of the others from wanting to go over into the land and face the enemies there.

1.  We are in a battle. This is a spiritual battle, and it is not going to be easy.  Sometimes people get surprised when there are difficulties, challenges, and pain as a Christian.  We should actually be surprised if it is easy to serve God.  God tells in His Word:

• 2 Timothy 2:3 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
• Acts 14:22 “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
• 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:”

2.  We must stick together in the battle. Everyone is needed in this battle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  We are responsible to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.  This is a huge undertaking and every man is needed.  When a Christian chooses to resign from the battle and does not get involved, he can greatly discourage the hearts of others who are headed into battle.  This is the reason why Moses said in Numbers 32:23 “Be sure your sin will find you out.”  It is a sin for us to discourage others – that is why we should not sit out the war.

3.  We must encourage one another. Serving the Lord is not easy; it is challenging.  We need encouragement from our brothers in Christ.  Often, there is so much bickering and fighting amongst the ranks of Christian soldiers that they have no energy to fight the real enemy!  Let us repent of our negative attitudes, our discouraging spirit, and our anger toward one another.  Let us put our eyes on Jesus, on the job ahead, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Let me ask you today:

• What is your attitude toward hardship?  Are you surprised when trouble comes?  Do you endure hardness as a good soldier?
• Are you doing your part?  Are you involved in the thick of the battle?  Or are you discouraging others by sitting on the sidelines while others go forth to war?
• How are you encouraging your fellow soldiers?  What can you do today to help someone continue on in the battle?

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post Sitting Out the War appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Numbers 27:16-17 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”

God chose Joshua to be the next leader over Israel after Moses.  Notice some things about Godly leadership from this passage:

1.  Leadership is essential. Moses is about to die.  He is not going into the Promised Land.  He prays and asks God for a man who can be over the congregation who can set an example for them, lead them, and be a shepherd to them.  Moses knew the people needed a leadership.  To Moses, leadership was essential not optional.  Lee Roberson said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”  The work of God always suffers when there are no people who will step us and be leaders.  Our homes, our nations, our communities, and our churches are in shambles because of a lack Godly leaders.

2.  God is the one who sets up leaders.  Even though he did a lot to prepare Joshua, Moses did not presume to choose the next man to be the leader.  Moses let the Lord be the one who decided who would lead.  The Bible tells us that promotion comes from the Lord and God is the one who sets up and takes down rulers.

3.  Joshua was chosen because of the presence of the spirit in his life.  There were several characteristics that qualified Joshua for leadership:

L-oved God (Joshua means “God is our Saviour”)
E-ngaged in Spiritual Warfare (Exodus 17:9-10,13)
A-uthority Submitted To (Exodus 24:13)
D-evoted to God (Exodus 33:11)
E-ndure Intimidation (Numbers 14:6-7)
R-ealise Need Holy Spirit’s Power (Numbers 27:18)
S-ervant’s Heart (Joshua 24:15)

Even though Joshua had the above characteristics, the primary one that God mentions in Numbers 27:18 was “a man in whom is the spirit.”  Leadership is not just about running for political office and being the person “most likely to succeed”.  Leadership is about God putting the power of the Holy Spirit upon us to lead.

4.  Leadership is a sacred trust. Moses in Numbers 27:20 was to “put some of [his] honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.”  Leaders follow in the footsteps of others leaders and ultimately of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Leaders are trusted with the care of the souls of many people.  Leadership is a huge responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

5.  Leadership is more about following God than it is about leading people.  Joshua was to consult with God before he made any decisions (Numbers 27:21). The focus of the leadership should be on what does God want rather than what do the people want.  Leadership is about helping people move onto God’s agenda as Richard and Henry Blackaby state in their book Spiritual Leadership.  We should not lead so we can tell people what we want to do; we should lead so we can tell people what God wants them to do and then influence them to do so with our example, our words, and our prayers.

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post A God Called Leader appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Imagine that we are TV sportscasters standing on the sidelines of a football game to give the play-by-play.

Scene #1: The team nearest us is standing together, heads bowed in prayer, with the coach in the center. Suddenly they give a great cheer, and the coach trots out onto the field by himself. The players go sit on the bench. “What’s going on?” we ask as we stick a microphone in front of a 250 pound guard. “What’s the coach doing out there?” “Oh, he’s going to play today.” “All by himself?” “Sure, why not? He’s had a lot more experience and training than the rest of us. We’ve got a lot of rookies on this team, and we might make mistakes. Anyway, they pay the coach well. We’re all here to cheer and support him–and look at the huge crowd that’s come to watch him play!” Bewildered, we watch as the opposing team kicks off. The coach catches the ball. He valiantly charges upfield, but is buried under eleven opposing tacklers. He’s carried off half- conscious…  You think that’s ridiculous? But isn’t it the picture many of us have of the church? The members expect the minister to do the preaching, praying, witnessing, and visiting because he’s paid to do the Lord’s work and he’s better trained. But listen to God’s Game Plan. According to Ephesians 4:11, 12, Christ has given the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers “to prepare God’s people for works of service.” God gives leaders to the church, not to do all the work, but to help all of God’s people to do it! Lay people are not there simply to pay pastors and evangelists to do the Lord’s work. Rather, pastors, evangelists, and teachers are to equip the so-called lay people to be ministers! Your pastor is meant to be a kind of playing coach. His main function is to help you as a Christian discover your spiritual gifts, develop them, and use them to build up the Body of Christ.

Now look at Scene #2: The team realizes they’ve all got to play, so they’re on the field in a huddle. They huddle…and huddle…and huddle. The referee calls a penalty for delaying the game and moves the ball back five yards. Still the team huddles, huddles, and huddles. The referee calls penalty after penalty, until finally the ball is moved all the way back to their own goal line. “Hey coach!” shouts the quarterback to the sidelines. “This is the greatest huddle I’ve ever been in. What a group of guys! We have the best fellowship…and some of these guys are amazing students of the play book. Some have memorized over a hundred plays and can analyze them precisely. We learn so much in this huddle!” “But why don’t you get up on the line and play?” “Why should we? What we want are bigger and better huddles! Besides, we might get hurt. No one ever got hurt in a huddle!” Your church and mine are in big trouble if they become a “holy huddle” a band of saints gathered Sunday after Sunday, singing, praising, enjoying each other–but never setting out on the line to apply what they learn. The church is supposed to be Christ’s body–his hands, his feet, his voice–by which he carries out his plans in the world. God intends that “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known” (Eph 3:10). The church is to be God’s light in a dark, corrupt society. The Christian life was never meant to be lived only in church for 83 a couple of hours on Sunday. It’s meant to be lived in the public arena–on the firing line at school, the office, and in the neighborhood, seven days a week. Of course, we need worship and training and fellowship with other Christians–a football team needs the huddle. But it’s what happens after the huddle that the game is all about.

Here’s scene #3: the team breaks out of the huddle. But instead of lining up against the opposing squad, they break into groups of two or three, arguing with each other. Soon they start shoving, and two of them actually get into a fight. “What’s wrong now?” we ask as one of them walks off the field in disgust. “That bunch of malcontents can’t agree on anything,” he says. “Those two over there are arguing over the color of the uniforms. A couple of others are quarreling over the right way to kneel in the huddle. Those two guys are arguing because one believes in what he calls ‘personal’ football, and the other believes in ‘social’ football. They can’t agree whether the individual or the team is more important. Some of the white players say the blacks should go play on their own field, and some of the black guys don’t like the band music. A couple are fighting over whether women should be allowed to play. And I’m quitting because I can pass a lot better than that other guy, and they won’t let me be the quarterback.” The Game Plan says that Christ “is our peace…His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two [Jew and Gentile], thus making peace…to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14-16). Christians talk a lot about the peace of Christ. Can the world see that peace in our church relationships? Within the Body of Christ there is plenty of room for diversity of gifts, but underlying that diversity is unity. “Be completely humble and gentle,” writes Paul, “Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all…” (Ephesians 4:2-6). Isn’t it time to show our oneness in truth and love to a watching world?

So the first half ends. The team drags off to the locker room defeated, demoralized, beaten. But when the second half begins, we see a different team. Suddenly they’re playing together with a new spirit. They huddle, slap each other on the back, and take the line. They’re off the ball with split-second timing, there is no hesitation, they know where they’re going. Each player carries out his assignment, and soon they score a touchdown, then another, and another. When the game ends, they’ve won! Afterwards in the locker room the players are exhausted, cut and bruised, but happy. “What happened at halftime to change this team?” we ask, the coach. “We were sitting here beaten,” he says, “and suddenly a kind of presence seemed to come over us. I started talking to the players, pointing out my mistakes, and theirs, and they started talking. Everyone was honest. Nobody blamed the others. We took a good look at ourselves. Then someone recalled that the Great Coach, the one who invented the game, also wrote the Master Game Plan. Wouldn’t it make sense to see what he said? “We remembered how he literally gave himself to get the game started and to teach that first team everything he knew. So we got out the original Game Plan and read about basics such as each player knowing his place and dedicating himself to it, about pulling together, being willing to sacrifice, knowing the aim of the game, and using the proper equipment he designed. “Well, we were quiet. It felt as if the Great Coach was with us, as if somehow his Spirit got inside us. Suddenly, we were up! Motivated! Ready to go! We can’t take the credit. It goes to Him!”

The post The Church Like a Football Team appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

1 Corinthians 6:7 “Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another.  Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?”

One of the problems in the Corinthians church was that they were taking their problems with each other to courts and before unsaved judges.  They could not sort out problems among themselves, so they appealed to unChristian authorities.  God says that this is a fault and should be so.

What is the remedy for resolving difficult problems among Christians?

• Take it before the saints not before the unjust (6:1).
• Let those who are least esteemed in the church judge (6:4).
• Let a wise man in the church decide (6:5).
• Never go to law with a brother before unbelievers (6:6).  It would be better to just be wronged and to let someone else defraud you than to go to court with someone (6:7).

The word defraud means “victimize, deprive of by deceit, be swindled.”  It would be better to let another brother hurt us, steal from us, and injure us unfairly than to hurt the name of Christ by fighting with them.

How willing are we to be defrauded?  Will we let others hurt our name?  Will we let them rail on us without returning railing for railing?  Are we dead to self, so that anything that someone does to us does not provoke an ungodly response?

This is a very convicting truth.  This is what Jesus did.  This is what we should do.

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post Let Yourself Be Defrauded appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath deal to every man the measure of faith.”

It is easy to get a superiority complex in the ministry, especially when you are in any kind of leadership.  We tend to think that our gifts and abilities are better to others.  We can start thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.  We can look down on others who are not doing what we are doing.

God addresses this problem in these verses.  He says several things:

1. Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should. Don’t get lifted up and think you are better than others.  Humility is not thinking little of yourself; humility is not thinking of yourself at all.  Sometimes shyness and low self-esteem is really pride in disguise because all the thoughts of a person are about how little and insignificant they are.
2. Think soberly. Be serious.  Do you really believe that you have any reason to be prideful?  All you have is of God’s mercy and grace.  Any good in your life is His doing.
3. God has dealt to every man a measure of faith.  Every man has been gifted and blessed.  God has made every one a minister in some way.  Every person can do some kind of serve for God.  So no one should get lifted up in pride over their gift, because everyone has a role and purpose in God’s plan.  It would be like the eye getting prideful and thinking the feet are not important.  How foolish.  We all need each other and every part has a role and purpose.

Use your gift.  Thank God for your gift.  Thank God for others gifts.  And don’t think you are better than you are.  Every man is a minister.

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post Every Man a Minister appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

“We ought to regard the Christian Church, not as a luxurious hostelry where Christian gentlemen may each dwell at his ease in his own inn but as a barracks in which soldiers are gathered together to be drilled and trained for war. We should regard the Christian Church, not as an association for mutual admiration and comfort, but as an army with banners, marching to the fray to achieve victories for Christ, to storm the strongholds of the foe, and to add province after province to the Redeemer’s Kingdom.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The post The Church – An Army appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Luke 21:34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

Jesus is talking about the end times and His return to the earth. As He describes the state of the earth at that time, He gives the people a warning. He tells them to beware of some things that will cause them to be caught off guard when Christ returns:

1. Surfeiting – the giddiness and headache caused by drinking wine to excess, drunkeness, debauchery, partying. We are in a battle not a party. We are in a war not a picnic. The Devil does not need to get us involved in a false religion or possessed with a demon; we are already influenced by the false gods of money and pleasure. We are partying and just enjoying the good life, while the world dies and goes to Hell. We are acting like we are on a cruise ship instead of a battle ship. If we let our hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with this partying lifestyle, we will be caught unawares and be embarrassed at Christ’s return.

2. Drunkenness - intoxication. There has been a resurgence of Christians who think that there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol, which can very easily lead to drunkenness and being controlled by wine. Under the influence of alcohol, a person’s awareness and inhibitions are lowered. Let us beware of alcohol or any substance that can make us unaware of what is going on around us. Let us not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.

3. Cares of this life – anxieties, worries, troubles, activities of this life. Many may say, “I am alert and ready for Christ’s return because I am not involved in partying and drunkenness.” The “cares of this life,” however, may be preoccupying them and keeping them from the Lord’s work. It could be just our day-to-day life, our busyness with things, our daily routines that are so full of activity that we have no time for God. We need to streamline our lives, unentangle ourselves from the world, so that we can effectively and efficiently serve God.

4. Prayerlessness - not watching in prayer. Luke 21:36 says, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy…” We can be free of partying, drunkeness, and the cares of this life, but we must also be in prayer. Prayer is how we stay in tune with God. Prayer is the work of binding Satan’s power so those under his influence can be freed. Prayer closes our eyes to this world and opens them to another.

I want to be aware and alert in these last days. I don’t want to be caught unawares when Christ returns. I know I need to guard against anything that would distract me. I know I need to be much in prayer. May God help us all to be ready!

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post Don’t Be Caught Unaware appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

Luke 11:17 “But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house faileth.”

Wiktionary says that to “divide and conquer” is: “A combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.”

Satan is a master divider.  Pride makes us prone to division.  The world tries to get us to rebel and so discord.  If our churches, our homes, and our relationships become divided, then they can be more easily conquered.

How do we fight against division?

1. Be humble. Pride is the great cause of contention.  Proverbs 13:10 says, “Only by pride cometh contention…”  If we are humble, we will be quick to admit when we are wrong, slow to speak words that we may regret, and eager to find common ground with others.  If there is constant contention in my life, my church, or my home, it must be because there is alot of pride there.  Is that not what the verse says?
2. Be truthful. If we are willing to be honest about how we feel and how we have done wrong, we can more quickly work toward a resolution.  Unity should not be unity for unity’s sake; it should be unity for the truth’s sake.  We need to be united around the truth.
3. Draw close to the Lord Jesus.  Confess your sin to the Lord.  If two people are both walking in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then they will have good fellowship with each other as well.  1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another…”
4. Pick your battles. Not every battle is worth fighting, yet some battles are worth fighting.  Make sure the hills that you choose to die on are hills such as the deity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the atonement of Christ, and others areas that are clearly taught in God’s Word.  Don’t fight over your personal opinions, ideas, or preferences.  In areas of liberty which the Bible does not spell out clearly, let every man be convinced in his own mind.  Don’t judge your brother; God will judge him one day, if he is wrong.
5. Don’t try to be friends with an angry man. Some people you will always be dividing with because they are angry people. Proverbs 22:24 says, “Make no friendship with an angry man…”  You can try to live peaceably with them, but it sometimes will not be possible.  Better to just avoid that person than to try to have a close relationship with them and end up causing more division and strife.

I hope these are some ideas that will help us as we seek to have churches, homes, and relationships that are united and strong.

Read more at bcwe.org.

The post A House Divided appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.

In Luke 6:27-37, Jesus us gives us the proper attitudes and actions that we should have toward others regardless of how they treat us.  Let us examine our lives and see if we are treating others the way Jesus taught we should:

1. Do we love our enemies?
2. Do we do good to those who hate us?
3. Do we bless those that curse us?
4. Do we pray for those that despitefully use us?
5. Do we turn the other cheek?
6. Do we let people take from us without forbidding them?
7. Do we give to every man that asketh of us?
8. Do we let people take our goods without asking for them back?
9. Do we do to others as we would have them do to us?
10. Do you only love those who love you?
11. Do you only do good to those who do good to you?
12. Do you only lend to those who can pay you back?
13. Are you kind to the unthankful?
14. Are merciful as the Father is merciful?
15. Do you judge others?
16. Do you condemn others?
17. Do you fail to forgive others?

All the above questions are quite tough, but they are the marks of true Christian living.  They ought to be the norm for our life.  May God help us to treat others the way that He has treated us.

Read more devotionals at bcwe.org.

The post How to Treat Others appeared first on Into All The World | Travis & Teri Snode.