Mark 10:15

Often when we refer to a person as “being simple,” we think of him as having limited education or perhaps being mentally challenged to some degree.

If we consider being simple in terms of a relationship with the Lord, however, the term becomes an excellent description of the person who has a deep and lasting faith in God.

According to Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary, one definition of simple is to be innocent or humble.

The Bible tells us that it is with the innocent, humble faith of a child that we are to accept Christ as Lord. Once saved, our faith begins to grow and obedience to the commands of Jesus becomes a way of life. The more we obey, the more our faith grows. Eventually, we come to accept the will of God with- out any reservation at all.

Having a child-like faith in God—no matter the circumstances—is the best description of a “simple person.”

It’s through the innocent, humble believers of the world that God accomplishes much. All too often, accolades are sung of the things people do for the Lord. The truth is, a simple person doesn’t want this kind of praise. Rather than the applause of man, he or she longs for the praise of God. Wealth, fame and accolades hold no appeal. They desire to live as righteous a life as possible and ask nothing in return.

Jesus tells us that if we are good stewards of the life given to us here on earth, when we stand before Him in heaven He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” <

It’s a simple phrase for a simple people, who have a simple faith in Christ alone.

Photo By Tony Trần

In November this year, we will bring a teaching to the pastors and missionaries in Philip’s organization who are able to travel to Yangon from outlying areas. At the conclusion of that seminar, we will travel inland again, this time north to Mandalay for a 3-day teaching to be held there. This is a brand-new location for our team.

This latter seminar will be held in conjunction with Brother Lalthlamuana ( Muana) with the Methodist Church in Mandalay. Our association with Muana stems from a meeting with the Director of Missions, Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, during a training that Muana was attending here in the States.

By combining a trip to Mandalay with a teaching in Yangon, we are able to reach considerably more people with the same travel expenses. It is our hope that we can do more of this in the future and thereby maximize your dollars for the Lord.

We are receiving invitations to teach from a number of different nations: Tanzania, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, in addition to others in Myanmar. Each request is prayerfully considered and decisions are made on the basis of what we feel God is leading us to do. We have neither the time nor the money to accept all the invitations, nor would it be prudent to do so. We are currently forming an association with a brother from Pakistan to have some of our teaching material translated into Urdu. Our mission is to accomplish the specific tasks that God gives us to do.

We are grateful to each and every one of your who make it possible for us to take God’s teaching to people who otherwise receive no outside help. Our goal always is to enable believers everywhere we go to read and study God’s word without the use of man’s commentaries. We believe this is the most effective way to minimize the risk of false teaching infiltrating their Christianity.

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”—Mark 10:35

Check out Mark 10:35-45 to read about the context of this verse. It’s a great passage about humbling ourselves just like Jesus. But there are other good things we can learn from this passage, such as letting go of our desires. As we can see from the first part of the passage, James and John approach Jesus and tell Him to do what they want to do.

“How rude!” I’ve often thought. Imagine, marching up to Jesus, the Son of God, and telling Him to do whatever it is you want, without any regard for what He wants. The nerve!

I could definitely relate with the other disciples in this passage. When they find out what James and John did, they became indignant (verse 41), which is certainly how I felt. But when I read this verse not too long ago, something suddenly occurred to me. Sadly, I am often more like James and John than the other disciples. How many times do I tell God what I want Him to do without asking Him what He would like? I may be less bossy than James and John, but that doesn’t matter–I still basically tell God to do what I want. But that’s not what God wants. We can ask Him for something, most definitely. The Bible is clear on that in several places, most notably in Matthew 7:7, when Jesus says “Ask and it will be given to you.” But, we need to seek God’s will first and foremost and see what He wants.

Jesus (as always) is the perfect example that we should follow. In the Garden of Gethsemane He asked that God would take away the cup He was about to drink, but He then prayed that God’s will would be done (Matthew 26:39). That’s exactly what we should do. We need to ask for His will to be done, no matter what His will is.

That is not an easy thing to do. It can be a daily struggle, one minute being like Jesus and the next being like James and John. It’s hard to let go of our desires and what we think is best. But when we give up those things and tell God that we are letting Him decide what is best, not only are we obeying Him, but we’re showing God how much we trust Him. It’s a deep and wonderful way of expressing not only our trust, but our love to Him.

There was a kid in our neighborhood that for no reason at all was not included in our play. In fact, whenever possible we tended to pick on her.

One day she left a little doll dressed in a kimono in my yard so the rest of us gathered in the club house and began dismantling the doll and bidding for the parts. I’m quite sure that I was the leader of this despicable act! I distinctly remember saying to the others, “It serves her right for leaving her doll in MY yard!” I know I took my fair share of the doll’s parts and got lots of goodies from the others too!

Later that same evening, the little girl’s mother came over to talk with my mom. I hid in my room. But kept an ear to the door to see if I was in trouble!

I was. Big trouble! The little girl was devastated and her mother quite concerned. Apparently, this doll had been sent to her by her father from Japan and it held a special place in the little girl’s heart.

That kimono-wrapped doll was the last contact she had from her father before he was killed by a sniper’s bullet immediately after the War. In fact, it wasn’t even delivered until after the news of his death.

My heart froze as I heard the story from our neighbor. I felt even worse when I overheard my mother assuring her that she would check with me to see if I’d seen it but she was quite certain that I hadn’t or I would have returned it already! I just knew God was going to send me directly to hell—I wouldn’t even be allowed to pass “Go”! Only 5 or 6 years old and already doomed to an eternity of fire and brimstone!

I was about as scared as a kid could get.

There’s no happy ending to this story. At least not way back then. For most of my life, I had to live with the fear of my condemnation to hell until I finally accepted Jesus as my Lord at the age of 44.

But here’s the good part. Jesus loves us just where we are—warts and all! My selfishness, my greed, my total insensitivity to others, none of this was big enough to keep God away from me. He wanted me as one of His. No matter what! And He pursued me until He got me.

If I were forced to say what the one quality I love most in our Lord God is, I guess I’d have to say His forgiving heart. It blows my mind that He can, does and will forgive anything we do.

I don’t ever want to put myself in a position requiring His forgiveness again—not after that ordeal way back then. But unfortunately, I sin today in spite of my myself. And you know what? He continues to forgive. He knows my heart. He knows I want more than anything to please Him. I just need help.

And when He forgives me, I find it easier to forgive others. If I become angry with someone, I remember how I grieve God every time I sin and how He always welcomes my repentant heart back into His arms.

In James 5:7-8 we read, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient, strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

There are other verses that say the same, some more directly than others. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:9-11, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Unquestionably, the most precious words of encouragement ever spoken came directly from the mouth of Jesus. In John 14: 1-3 He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

All three passages focus on the same theme: the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t need a bunch of magical words we have to dream up in our heads. God has already given us what to say. We can best encourage others by focusing their attention on Jesus and the promise of His coming again.

Colossians is believed to be the first of the letters Paul wrote from prison. In it he offers encouragement to a small band of believers who were still young in Christ, yet growing spiritually. Although pleased with their progress, he was concerned about the direction they might take in the future. He wrote to warn them of the false teaching that had infiltrated their community and to reinforce their faith so they would be able to stand against all the lies.

Paul was not, however, concerned solely with their relationship with Christ. He knew that believers live in a web of relationships and that these have an impact on their relationship with God. This becomes evident in his letter to the Colossian believers as we examine the list of instructions he includes in his letter.

Most of the instructions deal with the believer’s relationship with God, but a fair share address the believer’s relationship with other believers as well. Paul was well aware of the importance of community in the life of the believer.

We learn many important truths in Paul’s letters. But in the end, it’s not his teaching that matters; it’s the application of that teaching to life. The last twelve verses of Colossians consist of Paul’s greetings from those who are with him in Rome. At first glance, this seems like nothing more than a list of relatively unimportant people. However, the list has a huge application to our lives today.

Its relevance is best seen in Charles Colson’s “Ordinary People,” (Moody Monthly, May 1987.) As founder and president of Prison Fellowship, Chuck Colson visited Washington, D.C., to speak at a gathering of inmates. He was accompanied by internationally recognized gospel singer Wintley Phipp and an ex-felon. Chuck relates the comment of one inmate that was given at the closing ceremony:

“I really appreciated Chuck Colson’s message, and I was stirred by Wintley Phipp’s singing. Herman’s testimony reached me right where I was at. But frankly, those things really didn’t impress me so much as did the ladies among the volunteers who, after the crowd and TV cameras left, went into the dining hall, with all the noise and confusion, and sat at the table to have a meal with us. That’s what really got to me.”

That’s what it is all about—ordinary people doing ordinary tasks that result in extraordinary results for the Lord. These were the people Paul tells us about at the end of Colossians. Without them, Paul would never have been able to accomplish all that he did. We tend to feel we’re not good enough, or worthy enough, to do God’s work. That simply is not true. As He did in the days of the Apostle Paul, He continues to do today: He uses ordinary people to do ordinary jobs and from them He creates extraordinary results. Paul was surrounded by ordinary people who helped in ordinary ways. As a result, even while he was in prison, the gospel was spread and believers were encouraged.

There is no reason why we cannot be used in the same way.

_ Read the passage Luke 18:1-8. In your own words describe the main idea of what this parable is about.

_ Read Luke 18:1 again. According to this verse, what is the reason why Jesus tells the parable?

If you didn’t state the reason in two parts above, write the second reason in the area below.

The usual teaching of this passage emphasizes the need for our being persistent in our praying. Jesus teaches the same principle in Luke 11:5-10, so let’s take a look at that passage:

_ Read 1 Luke 11:5-10. The words that are translated by the English “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” are in the Greek present tense. This verb tense denotes an action in the present that continues into the future. It is something that is repeated. Based on the verb tense, then how should you understand Jesus’ imperative that we ask, seek and knock?

That is exactly the same principle as the first reason He gave in the Luke 18 passage for giving the parable–that the disciples “always pray”; i.e., be persistent in their praying. Now let’s look at the second reason He gave:

_ Read Luke 18:4-5 again. What was the unjust judge’s response to the widow persistent requests?

_ Read Luke 18:6-8 again. How did Jesus tie the parable about the widow’s persistent request with the believer’s persistent prayer?

_ Read Luke 18:1 again. So when Jesus says “Don’t lose heart” when you are persistently praying, what does this mean to you? What do we know that we can count on?

Verse 22 says “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful.” This worry of the world has always been one of Satan’s greatest tools against believers. He will use it to keep seekers from coming to salvation and he will use it to take believers’ focus off Jesus.

Jesus elaborates on the subject of worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He points out that we are not to worry about food, drink or clothes because God knows we have need of all these things. We were never meant to worry about the necessities but only to seek first His kingdom. If we would only do that, God promises He will make sure our needs are met.

Jesus goes on to say that we are not to worry about tomorrow for it will take care of itself; that each day has enough trouble of its own. He acknowledges that we will have trouble in this life, but that this still doesn’t justify our worrying. In His vast wisdom and grace, God has given us only one responsibility, and that is to seek His kingdom. He wants us to trust Him to take care of the worries of the world.

So the next time you are overwhelmed with the worries of this life, no matter how noble they may seem, remember that He is the one who takes care of those details— that’s His responsibility. Ours is to seek His kingdom. And if we can manage to do that one thing, we will be free from worry and free to grow in our trust in God.

    The complete story is found in Genesis Chapter 7.  God’s instruction regarding the animals is in verses 2-3, and it reads:  “Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.”   

    This  quotation is taken from the New International Version and contains the translator’s note that the word ”seven” could actually mean “seven pairs.”  More contemporary translations such as the New Living Translation, the New Revised Standard, God’s Word, and others actually say seven pairs of every kind of clean animal.

    Whether we take it as seven or seven pair, we know this:  it definitely does not say Noah is to take a single pair of all the animals as we’ve always heard.  Rather it’s a single pair of only the unclean animals and seven (or seven pair) of all the animals that are clean.

    The Word says that Noah did as God commanded, so we know that he actually ended up with seven (or seven pair) of all the clean animals and birds and one pair of every unclean animal in the Ark.  Ever wonder how Noah would have had the time to collect such a humongous number of animals?  Take a closer look at the scriptures once again, this time at verses 7, 8, 9.

    Noah and his family entered the Ark first and then the animals came to him and entered the Ark.  In other words, Noah didn’t have to gather the animals–God took care of the whole thing!

…then an in-depth study of the book of Colossians may be just what the doctor ordered.

    Beginning September 7th, Word Within International will offer a new Easy-to-Learn Inductive Bible study on Paul’s letter to the believers in Colossae.  Class will meet every Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in Room 2821, Asbury United Methodist Church.  This 10-week study ending November 9th examines God’s plan for making every believer complete in Christ.

    Too many Christians today have strong faith yet find themselves lacking in something.  That something is often simply the knowledge of God’s will for their lives.  Paul prayed for this knowledge for the faithful believers in Colossae in order that they might live a life worthy of the devotion God had showered on them.  Near the end of his own ministry, Paul wants to be sure they fully comprehend the supremacy and suffficiency of Christ, and what it means in their life.

    This book study challenges Christians to a higher standard.  Living the life God intends is not the easiest route to take but certainly it’s the most rewarding.  There are many along the way who would teach  things that are not entirely true, but Paul has prayed for you too, that you would be filled with the knowledge of God and be protected from the deluding influences of these fine-sounding arguments.

    For information and to reserve your place in the class, call 918-492-0945.