Our Enemies in Heaven Part 5

In understanding Joseph's bizarre behavior, it helps to remember that the ten brothers were not seeking a reconciliation with Joseph.

Standing before the ruler of Egypt, Joseph's ten brothers were surprised when he asked diligently about their father and their brother. Later, the ruler would have them seated correctly according to their ages. How could they not even suspect that the ruler was their brother?

Psalm 119:74 tells us: "Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word."

Christians who are hateful to other Christians don't fear the Lord, and none of Joseph's ten brothers feared the Lord. The Bible abounds in blessings for those who fear the Lord, and recognizing that none of these blessings applied to his brothers might have influenced Joseph's own behavior.

Our Enemies in Heaven Part 4

In wronging their brother, Joseph's ten brothers took advantage of failed leadership.

Jacob (Israel) was the head of the family. But Jacob had unfairly favored Joseph, and besides, he wasn't around.

Reuben, a man who excelled in strength and dignity, was unstable as water. Despite being the oldest brother, despite having enough responsibility to try to rescue Joseph, and despite being Godly enough to know that this was wrong, Reuben did not command enough respect to accomplish what was right.

Judah, a strong, courageous leader, rallied his brothers to do wrong, and he got away with it... for a long time.

Enemies in Heaven Part 3

How important is it to God that His people be reconciled? If you take every verse in Scripture that tells you how to be saved, add every verse that tells you that you cannot lose your salvation, add every verse that tells you that you need to be baptized by immersion, and then add every verse that tells you that you need to read the Bible, all of this combined is shorter than the story of how Joseph got reconciled to his brothers.

Enemies in Heaven Part 2

Folks, I am amazed at how many people have written into different forums to say that Christians who live ungodly lives will arrive in Heaven equal to Christians who live Godly lives.

In Matthew 5:15-26, Jesus warns "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

I have met fighting Christians who believe that God has authorized them to disobey the many commands to love one another, because it was so important that they harm another Christian. Jesus warns them to make peace with their adversary BEFORE the judge settles it. Christians who like to fight the saints could be very surprised when they learn their enemies' side of the story.

Our Enemies in Heaven

What happens when born-again Christians become enemies, and then they meet in Heaven? We are usually taught that they will become reconciled, but we are not taught how. Since God never changes, we can look at a Biblical story of how the Lord reconciled his hostile people, and it's not a pretty story.

A word of advice: it's better to obey God's commands to get reconciled NOW than it is to wait until God does it in Heaven.

Why Most Missionaries Fail Part 25

My college sent me as a missionary to Canton, Massachusetts, where I worked very hard and was blessed by God. But I didn't learn anything. That's because my college picked a church that believed and practiced exactly what my college believed and practiced. But in real life, Christian missionaries find themselves in situations they have not been trained for.

Different dress standards and music standards are only the beginning of the problems that occur when a missionary is on the field. Christians from different backgrounds have different attitudes and outlooks, and a missionary has to know how to deal with them. Unfortunately, colleges do not train their students to deal with different outlooks.

Separated Christians find themselves working with unsaved people in various ministries. People who donate large amounts of money have far too much authority in many ministries. Family members are often favored, leaders are often stressed-out, and some of the workers have no business at all being there.

A good, solid Bible college won't have those problems. Unfortunately, good solid Bible colleges can't give their students practical experience in dealing with them.

Why Most Missionaries Fail Part 24

We had a teacher in our Christian school whose father was a big shot in the church. She was able to rebel against our Godly principal and get away with it. She was in charge of children's church but it was a disaster, and she never volunteered to help. One day, she announced that God had called her to the mission field. She did not go soul-winning and would not obey authority, but she started raising financial support.

So the church started helping her fake her resume. We were ordered to attend a seminar she conducted on how to teach. Several of us, including me, were angered at being forced to waste our time listening to her. With help from the church, she assembled a phoney resume that was good enough to get her to the mission field. For over a quarter of a century, I have been receiving her newsletter, and she hasn't won a single soul to Christ yet.

I've learned since then that other missionaries did a lot better on their resumes than people who knew them would believe, and it is one more reason why most missionaries fail.