Bible – James Poitras

Stay Away from Stupid!

The world has always been focused about forming the church and Christians into their faulty, fallen fallacy. We are used to that. There is nothing new about being encouraged to conform to the prevailing culture of society. We’ve always had to be counter-culture with the world. For decades we have struggled but things seem to be sliding quickly closer and closer to home. Now, things have turned. Not only are we called upon to be counter-culture with society but with the church world.

I recently was with a couple of young people talking about the most recent books they had been reading. I was unpleasantly surprised. I walked away deeply concerned. I’m sure they thought through reading they were fulfilling Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in II Timothy 2:15. Or, at least, I hope that was their motivation. There is a big difference between studying the Word and the word of others. One is approved by God, enabling us to be a worker in God’s kingdom without shame, rightly dividing His Word. The other is detested by God, produces a person muddled, misinformed, mistaken, and mixed up; un-rightly and dangerously dividing the Word of God. Scares me just typing it! Later, I thought—and I know it isn’t rocket science— there is an enormous metamorphosis between being studious and stupid.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in being cutting-edge and up-to-snuff. I really do! Finding modern ways to express the old path; that is cutting-edge and culturally-relevant biblically. I want to be liberal enough to use new ways and conservative enough to stick with God’s solid, specific path.

Changing apostolic doctrine to fit the times is just plain stupid. It’s dangerous and not merely on the edge; it’s totally over it. I nearly freaked out an entire primary school one time when I used the word “stupid.” They had been taught using the word was paramount to cursing. Perhaps so! Changing God’s Word to facilitate prevailing thinking may very well bring a curse. Let me try to improve my wording. Changing apostolic doctrine to fit the times is unwise, senseless, ill-advised, and thoughtless. How’s that?

I am deeply disturbed and profoundly perplexed when I meet young and old alike that cannot explain why they believe our foundational, fundamental doctrine. They know what they believe but have no idea why they believe it. The danger in that is one day we could produce a generation that does not believe. What a tragedy! But the reverse is so inspiring and encouraging: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

Here are four ways that make that possible. I’m sure there any many more.

Speak it	Speak the Word of God in your life continually.
Study it	Be committed to studying God’s Word and receiving it.
Do it	Be willing to do what the Word of God says.
Love it	Love God’s Word. Depend on it; not merely the philosophies of me.

Follow those four points and you will stay away from stupid!

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November 11, 2014November 10, 2014 by Jim Poitras Tags: Apostolic, Bible, Error, False Doctrine, Stupidity, Truth, Word of God 3 Comments

Acts: His-story; Their Story

Acts: Their Story. The Past

At the turn of the 20^th century, a Bible school teacher stood in his classroom to give an assignment. Perhaps the students moaned and whispered, “Another assignment!” He reported, “I set the students at work studying out diligently what was the Bible evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost that we might go before the world with something that was indisputable because it tallied absolutely with the Word.”

Charles Parham left school for three days. He returned the morning of December 31, 1900 to collect the assignments. He wrote, “To my astonishment they all had the same story, that while there were different things occurring when the Pentecostal blessing fell, that the indisputable proof on each occasion was, that they spoke with other tongues.”

The first day of the twentieth century marked the birth of the modern Pentecostal movement. Agnes Ozman received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A few days later, Charles Parham, his wife, and twelve of his students received their personal Pentecost. They started out studying Acts, but ended up living it. The doctrine of the first church was restored as a step was made toward the Book of Acts.

Throughout the last century, the Pentecostal movement has exploded. Never has a group grown more rapidly than the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. As we wade ankle-deep into the twenty-first century, God’s army continues to sweep across the globe undaunted by worldliness and modernistic thinking, still burning with the fire ignited at Pentecost. I applaud the Pentecostal movement of the past and look forward to greater things from God and His church.

Nona Freeman once said, “The Word of God is a time-proven irrefutable fact. Whatever God has done through the ages, He can do it again, and more, much more, than our finite minds can comprehend.”

Today’s church has seen multiplied, tens of thousands receive the Holy Spirit in a single service. I have stood on overseas platforms and looked out over a sea of people with hands stretched forth to God. The floodgates of revival have opened, and a great end-time harvest is being reaped. The river of revival is flowing throughout our world. No one can stop it. Our only choice is to flow with the current or against it. The church of God is a mighty, moving army. We can sit still or get up and march in beat with the church.

Acts is not only a book of the past, but I am convinced it is God’s Training Manual for Today’s Church. The contents of Acts will motivate believers to evangelize, receive understanding of the apostles’ doctrine, and to share it with others with supernatural power. It provides further truth for any serious seeker.

August 28, 2014August 18, 2014 by Jim Poitras Tags: Acts, Acts of the Apostles, Apostolic, Bible, Church History 1 Comment

Finding Myself in the Book of Acts

I genuinely, undeniably, indescribably love the Book of Acts. Surprising since I do not enjoy history! Arnold Cook probably had me in mind when he advised, “Those who live in the past are blind in one eye. Those who never consult the past are blind in both eyes.” I am an enjoy-the-present, don’t-mess-me-up-with-reality, let-me-help-make-a-better-future kind of guy. I find it ironic that the Book of Acts, the history of the first century church, is my favorite New Testament book. I am fascinated with its twenty-eight chapters that provide thirty-three years of history. I find myself striving to walk as the early church walked—in the power of the Spirit. I struggle to preach with boldness and desire to see God at work in my ministry. Yet, I am convinced that Acts’ then and there, in the first century, has much to say to the here and now, twenty-first century church.

Acts compels me to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. I cannot get away from its message. It calls me to be an effective Christian witness, to walk in holiness, looking for the Lord’s soon return, and desiring to turn the world upside down with truth that changes lives.

I want to be victorious, to overcome obstacles, and run the race that is set before me. Like the men and women in the early church, I will not retreat into compromise or be lulled to sleep by a world calling me into tolerance. I will not conform to this world but seek to be transformed into the image of God.

I must admit, I come short of my expectations and occasionally fall flat on my face. Acts encourages me to get up, brush myself off, and try again. The ninety-five people introduced in Acts encourage me to press on. They provide role models of what I ought to, and can, be. Sixty-two of my friends are never mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. The twenty-four missionary messages of Acts correct me, convince me, convict me, challenge me, and change me. Collectively, they teach me that God has a team consumed with a passion for reaching the world. Individually, they caution me not to be afraid of standing alone and that I can make a difference. Acts has spoken hundreds of lessons to my soul, and I have felt the tug of the Spirit to write so that others may learn.

I will consult the past, but will skip living in it, choosing to face the challenges and opportunities God has given us today. As much as I love Acts, I really would not want to exchange places with Stephen, or be let down in a basket like Paul, or even knocked down on the road to Damascus. I prefer to write lessons from my corner at home, instead of a prison cell, or nestled in the belly of a ship destined for shipwreck. I will skip walking miles delivering a letter to the new Christians, and stick with the convenience of sending e-mail. I will pass when it comes to messy, time-consuming inkwells and stick with the modern convenience of my trusty laptop.

I will learn from history (even if I do not like the subject), but I am thrilled to live in the finest hour ever. We cannot live in yesteryear and have no promise of tomorrow. God continues to move all over our world, and miracles are happening that cast a shadow on the events of Acts.

August 26, 2014August 18, 2014 by Jim Poitras Tags: Acts, Acts of Apostles, Apostolic, Bible, Church Leave a comment

The Book that Transforms Lives

While I impatiently patiently wait (yep, that is a thing…with me) to speak to the national board in Ghana, Linda (my queen) sauntered around the missionary coordinator’s office hauling books off the shelf. I think she was on some sort of “Bible Study Methods” adventure (or so I discerned from the type of books she was gathering). She would sit down, glance at a book or two, and speak to herself (pretty common occurrence. Perhaps, she was listening to an expert opinion). She would then jump up and scurry off to get another book. Like I said, I took it all in impatiently-patiently. She started giggling…to herself. Remember, I am doing my utmost to be impatiently-patiently. I’m not really given to noises, even happy ones, when I am in preparation mode and a holding pattern to speak to the country’s elite. But, she ignored my impatience-patience and started to read aloud the subject of her morning humor.

“The Bible has made monumental impact in our society. Once a South Sea Islander proudly displayed his Bible to an American soldier during World War II. ‘We’ve outgrown this sort of thing,’ the soldier said. The Islander smiled back and said, ‘It is a good thing that we haven’t. If it weren’t for this book, we would have eaten you by now’” (What You Need to Know about the Bible in 12 Lessons, by Max Anders).

I chuckled too and politely grabbed the book (yep, that’s a thing…with me). I hurriedly jotted the quotation down and proudly proclaimed, “That is going to become part of a new blog.” All because my wife industriously searched, surveyed, and sampled treasures from the bookshelves while I was impatiently-patiently waiting. (Don’t worry she meticulously put everything back in proper order). No-one will ever know I copied a great story from one of her findings. Oh, yeah, unless they read my blog. In that case multiplied hundreds will know. Potentially! Right?

Bottom line here: thank God for the Book that radically transforms lives. It has certainly impacted mine through the past thirty-five years. (Yep, that’s my current age. Spiritually, that is!) It’s still the world’s best seller. In the last century alone, about five billion copies have been printed and portions have been translated in over 2,100 languages.

Here’s a sampling from the Word concerning its power to transform:

“The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple” (Psalms 119:130, AMP).

“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, AMP).

“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, AMP).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105).

“Establish my steps and direct them by [means of] Your word; let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalms 119:133, AMP).

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5, KJV).

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (Psalms 19:7-10, NIV).

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July 22, 2014July 21, 2014 by Jim Poitras Tags: Bible, God's Word, Holy Bible, Word of God 4 Comments

Know Who, What, and Why You Believe!

Kevin J. Conner in The Foundations of Christian Doctrine says believers need to know:

“WHO they believe.
WHAT they believe, and
WHY they believe it.”

He further explains that all religions are founded on doctrines and that the “teachings received, believed, obeyed, and continually practiced determine:

Character—what we are.
Behavior—what we do.
Destiny—where we go.

Strong character is determined by strong beliefs, and clearly defined doctrine makes for clear cut convictions.”

photo credit: Fr. Stephen, MSC via photo pin cc

September 27, 2012August 6, 2012 by Jim Poitras Tags: Belief, Bible, Character, Christianity, Doctrine, Jesus, Truth 1 Comment