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paSTOR`S PAGE
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September 2018
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September 2
History follows its unabated path and life moves forward, leaving posterity to the achievements and bankruptcies of people. Some are born while others die and joy mysteriously blends with suffering. We stop in the few moments of respite, trying to understand the meaning of life, insistently seeking the meaning that justifies our temporal existence. Sometimes we feel like threads in a large braid of the spiritual, social and familial, glued and unglued to eight billion other threads that come and go unintelligibly from our lives. No thread is the whole fabric- each one brings its specific peculiarities. We feel the need to know more and more, neglecting the fact that everything we know puts more responsibility to fulfill on our shoulders. One of the characteristics of man is to lose his enthusiasm for the things he once adored. This is why in the family life, the expression “honeymoon” was established and in the spiritual “first love”. Each one of us once had a favorite toy, a car, a shirt, a favorite home, but comfort and familiarity took over and preferences shifted to newer things. This phenomenon becomes dramatic when we apply it to the spiritual life.
Unfortunately, in the spiritual life we have the “first love”, but then what follows? “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). It is true, the Savior clarifies, “the love of many” not the love of all. What does the “love of many” mean? Perhaps 80%, 90%, 95% of the born-again Christians? Many born-again Christians have become informed, but unbelieving. They know, but they do not practice – a phenomenon previously known only to ancient churches. The Bible is interpreted. Presence at church has become optional, fellowship and unity with believers has lost the war to private humanism. A critical attitude, discontent, and gossip have become commonplace, demasking the absence of the fear of the Lord and people’s shame. Bible study and prayer evenings have been replaced with many other activities, even though our expectations of God have remained the same. I ask myself, what does God have to do to wake up our generation? The Savior rhetorically asks the people of His time “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Matthew 11:18-19). One of the great risks for Christians is to no longer find anyone qualified for him to serve. History follows its unabated path and life moves forward. A moment will come when we, one by one, will be left behind and then all of these sermons and encouragements will be completely useless to us. Until then, for as long as we say “today”, God speaks to our hearts to repent and to turn to our “first love”, doing everything possible to make our lives a honeymoon.
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September 9
When we responsibly study the Bible, we discover a few principles in regards to serving in ministry, with which the Church of the Lord should be led. 1. Have the attitude of a servant. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phillipians 2:5-8). 2. Culture and tradition are not Scripture. Every nation and every local church has its own traditions and culture, but these are not “so speaks the Lord”, but instead are “these are our ways and traditions”. Our convictions should not be mistaken with God’s principles. Any concept that shifts the attention from servant ministry to a “position” or from modesty to personal merits is worldly. The quality of our ministry should not be evaluated through the prism of human pragmatism, but through holiness. 3. Compatibility between “knowing”, “being”, “doing”. You cannot lead others until you know full well where you want to lead them and you cannot take them there until you are there already. 4. Manipulation is forbidden. Even though it is ideal to positively influence the behavior of others, it is not correct to manipulate or hold others under your control, no matter how well-intentioned you may be. When the Lord’s disciples were busy discussing who would be “the first”, Jesus told them that they need to work as a team, serving each other (Luke 22:24-27). The purpose of ministry is to build the church. 5. Leading in humility. An employee receives the Lord’s acceptance in ministry as long as he avoids pride, self-sufficiency, infallibility, and indispensability. An employee who steals the glory of his Master is a thief, not a servant. 6. Prohibition of excess authority. Manipulation by any means is against the spiritual model of servant leadership. If the authority of a spiritual leader is not recognized by the majority, then the authority is probably non-existent. 7. Relationships based on trust. The Savior, knowing that people tend to jealousy and unhealthy competition, commanded them, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved You, so shall you love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). The lack of brotherly love and trust among the leaders or members in a Church reduces the efficiency of the work of Christ’s church. 8. Spiritual responsibility. No conductor and no member is above the obligation to give an account to the body of Christ. There must be a system of accountability, in the midst of which anyone who violates the principles of Christian ethics will give an account for his deed, and anyone who is in a critical situation may benefit from the council and support of the church. 9. The multiplication of leadership. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). This is the kind of ministry and service God has called us all to.
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September 23
The referendum passed by the Romanian Senate in light of changing article 48 of the Constitution, organized for October 6-7, has sparked an avalanche of contradictory views. What are some of the arguments of those who are against this referendum? 1. It is a flagrant violation of the European Union law Amnesty International is concerned that such a referendum could lead to violations of international rights of man, something that Romania has voluntarily committed to. It could lead to discrimination against homosexuals and stigma and hostility toward the LGBT community. Alongside this, “it could also affect all unmarried couples. Therefore, it could have greater consequences for society as a whole”, declared Barbora Cernusakova. As practicing Christians, we believe that it is time to represent the interest of Romanians and of Romania, not just of the European Union who has changed us into a market for its products. 2. It is a political movement initiated by PSD Mr. Florin Negruţiu, host of “În fața ta” (In your Face) on Digi24, said, “I refuse to be one of the 5.5 million Romanians alarmed by Mr. Dragnea and Mr. Tudose”. We know that the intention of modifying article 48 of the Constitution is a spiritual action, not a political one. It is the manifestation of Romanians who believe in God and the Bible. People who interpret life through the prism of politics project this paradigm of thought upon other people. This perception gives people the sentiment that they believe what everyone else believes. 3. It is a useless vote, homosexuality is not immoral. Mr. Cristian Tudor Popescu affirmed, “Dear 3 million initiators of the referendum, homosexuality is not immoral”. We are convinced that a writer and journalist is assuming that homosexuality is not a sin, but the Bible says otherwise. 4. It is an action of the church that has slowed down progress. Mr. Dragoș Pătraru, the host of “Starea Naţiei” (State of the Nation) at Prima TV, said “For me, the grandparents who raise the child after the parents go to work in a different country form a family. The single mother raising her child forms a family. Two women or two men who love each other should be able to form a family… The Church that now forbids homosexuality, previously forbid bathing the body and using perfume on the grounds that it invited lust”. We all know, as the author of the statement above, that none of us was born in a family where our father and mother were "two women" or "two men" ... We also know from the Bible that God, not the Church, designed the family with a man and a woman. We can reproach the Church for many things, but we can reproach God only for creating us, for saving us through Jesus Christ, for blessing us daily, for giving us health, and for calling us to inherit heaven.
Dear believers, the world has always been against God and His commandments. The Apostle Paul explains, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). We will go to vote for God and we will vote for what he has commanded! Our faith is in the Bible!
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September 30
The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). True love is an action, a principle, not a sentiment. His Love manifests through goodness, grace, mercy and patience.
1. God’s grace is manifested through goodness. His goodness is the manifestation of love for those found in difficulty, His preoccupation being for the goodness of those He loves, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In His goodness, He found a solution for restoring the man from his sin in Eden: “So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this… I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:14 – 15). 2. God’s love is manifested through grace. His Grace is the love shown to those who in reality only deserved punishment. God refers to people not according to their merits, but by their needs, “By grace you have been saved, by faith. And this does not come from you, it is the gift of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 3. The love of God means mercy. His Mercy is the love shown by not applying the deserved punishment for those who have sinned for a while. Mercy is His compassion toward the fallen, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). 4. The Love of God means enduring patience. Patience is the capacity to abstain from anger and being slow to anger. The response the Lord gives Peter in regards to forgiveness, expresses the will and capacity to abstain from anger, “not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). This is why the Lord Jesus said to His disciples “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). What is the teaching and Lord’s model in regards to the manifestation of love? a. The Bible teaches us to love God more than we love ourselves: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). b. The Bible teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves: “and love your neighbor as you love yourself” c. The Bible teaches us that the evidence of love towards God is manifested in the love of those near to us: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:20-21). We are loved by God and in His name, we are called to love people, all people, just as He loves them: “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
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