ARE YOU FEELING BATTLE WEARY?

by A.M. Kisly

Are you feeling battle weary? I have been. Have you ever experienced times in your life when there seems to be a battle on every side?   We sometimes experience great conflict in our lives.    Those conflicts can come from anywhere; in the home, in the workplace, with friends and neighbors…even within the body of Christ. 

As believers, the most difficult battles we face are spiritual. The Bible teaches there is a conflict between God and Satan for the souls of men and believers are in the middle of that conflict.

Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. We are to be strong "in the Lord and in the power of His might."  We are to, “Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  Ephesians 6:11
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The GOSPEL of MATTHEW: Ch. 8 – The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE:

By James Fire

The LORD Jesus Christ began His teaching ministry in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter Five by going up into a mountain (MATT. 5:1) and sitting down; His disciples all gathered around to listen, as did the people who were hungry for a word from the LORD. Up until the time of John the Baptist and the LORD Jesus, there had not been a prophet in Israel for about four hundred years!

I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit found it necessary for Matthew to make note of this, that He went up into a mountain; one might wonder, 'Why was it important for us to know that Jesus went up to a mountain to preach? Why is it significant that He did this as opposed to going to a hill or a river or a lake?'

In Scripture, mountains are sometimes symbolic of kingdoms as we see here in the book of Daniel:

DANIEL 2:35
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

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The GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW: The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE - CH. 7

By James Fire

We have been taught that when examining Scripture, in order to seek out its truth and correct interpretation, we must always look at any given verse in the context of the passage. Sometime later we learned that not only is the context of the passage important, but the entire chapter, and not just the chapter, but the book. And of course, we must interpret any verse not merely in the context of the book in which it appears, but in the entirety of God’s counsel as recorded for us in the Holy Bible.

In other words, a balanced and proper view of any verse of Scripture is ultimately provided when one examines it in the light of all the other Scriptures. When we do this, apparent contradictions disappear; verses that we thought were contrary suddenly align themselves in harmony; Scripture that would have baffled us, informs us instead when we heed the entirety of God’s Word. It should be noted that wrong interpretations, false teachings, heresies and cults are established when there is overemphasis on certain verses, to the exclusion of others.

This is why as Disciples of Christ, our reading of Scripture should never be sporadic, but systematic; that is, reading through the Word, from Genesis to Revelation, and once done, start over. This same practice is recommended for the study of Scripture; one of the important hallmarks of a healthy church fellowship is one that is committed to expositional studies.

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The GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW: Conclusion to Ch. 6:14-34 - The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

By James Fire

We now conclude chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew, picking up where we left off previously in vs. 13. The LORD Jesus just finished laying out the model prayer for the disciples to pattern their own personal prayer after, incorporating worship of the Father, petitioning for His kingdom’s arrival, for our personal needs, forgiveness of sins, protection from evil, and a worshipful declaration of the glory of God as elements of prayer.

Once He finishes this lay out, He returns to a crucial point about forgiveness:

MATTHEW 6:14-15
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Why would the LORD reiterate this point? Perhaps because He knew that we would have difficulties in forgiving each other?
To forgive in this context is to allow dismissal, to forego any offense afflicted; when one wrongs another, they are indebted to them for the wrong-doing, and the offended party holds them until rectification is accomplished, but there are times when no apology is forthcoming and so rather than ‘holding a grudge’, we release them for their wrong against us personally.
What is significant is that when we harbor unforgiveness, it is we ourselves that are bound up by it, and not the one who committed the offense. This is spiritually dangerous for many reasons – for one, such unforgiveness can deepen into bitterness (HEB 12:14-15), resentment and cynicism in general. Another even greater reason is explained in our text above: “…neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

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The GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW: Ch. 6 - The MESSIAH and HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE

By James Fire

While the Beatitudes and Similitudes have been covered in Chapter Five along with more of the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon preached by our LORD is far from complete; it continues still for another two chapters. 

Thus, this constitutes the longest, continuous teaching by Jesus Christ in Scripture (It’s interesting to note that Levi Matthias whose Gospel account we are now studying was a tax collector; this would mean he would be very skilled at dictation and likely wrote these discourses from the LORD on site while He addressed the people). 

We are about to begin Chapter Six now and there is much to cover.

The chapter begins with and maintains a warning against religious externalism and hypocrisy while also giving instruction on the proper method and purpose for prayer; also benevolence, fasting, forgiveness, service, and perspectives on eternal versus temporal values are considered.

We must remind ourselves that these teachings revolve around the central focus of the Kingdom of heaven, of which the LORD Himself is King; that is the Messiah of Israel. Yet these teachings are also in a profoundly spiritual sense applicable for the church as well, guiding and governing our attitudes and motivations through the power of the indwelling Spirit.
Without further ado then, let us begin the study.

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TYPHOON RELIEF EFFORT IN THE PHILIPPINES

TYPHOON RELIEF EFFORT:

Jane Marie Arabiana was a child seventeen years ago, when she was "adopted" by my husband through Compassion International in the Philippines. Now an adult, Jane Marie has renewed contact with us, her "American Family", and we are seeking help in collecting donations for the relief effort to aid those who have been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).  The TRUTH Under Fire has join the effort along with Whitestone Christian Fellowship and are asking for your help!

Those devastated by the recent typhoon are in desperate need. There are hundreds of thousands of displaced Filipinos. In some areas, there is total devastation. No water, no food, no medical supplies, no shelter, no communication. Literally, everything is wiped out. If you watched the news, you have seen the shocking pictures.

Jane Marie has offered to receive donations on behalf of her local church, The Independent Baptist Church of the Philippines in Cebu City. They are actively involved in collecting and purchasing supplies such as water, food, basic hygiene care, clothing and other necessities to be loaded on trucks and shipped to the more devastated areas.

Our desire is to get these donations into the hands of workers on the ground, to those who can provide relief immediately...and that every penny be spent on the victims.

If you would like more information about donating directly to the Philippine Relief Effort, please message me in our Facebook group, or my personal page.

If you would like to make a donation, please do so through Paypal to the following account:

Paul Kisly - pwk5@cornell.edu -

All donations will then be sent through Western Union directly to the Philippines, in care of Jane Marie. She is our trusted contact, and will facilitate the transfer of funds directly to the relief effort through the Independent Baptist Church in Cebu City.

Will you prayerfully consider contributing to this effort? We pray that local churches in the Philippines will rise to the challenge, minister to the needs of the suffering, and share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ!  May we see the Hand of God at work, and may we see the outpouring of the love of God to the suffering people in the Philippines, through the Church.
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