This week

• A hot opportunity to retire tax-free…
• This Biblical fruit makes a comeback…
• If your child is in rebellion, here’s how to win them back…
• Why many Christian men struggle in relationships…
• You know stewardship is important, but how do you become a steward?…
• Are you a gambler? Here’s one bet that’s sure to pay off…

“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -  
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now (Buy Now)

Health

The Biblical Fruit That Fights Heart Disease

In Haggai 2:19, God tells us several fruits that are a blessing from Him. These include the grape, the olive, the fig, and the pomegranate. Among these four fruits, three are still in prominence today.

We see grapes everywhere. Olives are very popular too, especially the oil. And figs have their place as well, most notably in the snack Fig Newtons. But pomegranates just aren’t as popular as they were in Biblical times. Fortunately, this is changing, especially as scientists find that this fruit is full of nutrients that fight heart disease and cancer.

In fact, nutritionist Nan Kathryn Fuchs, PhD says, “Pomegranate juice has three times as many antioxidants as either green tea or red wine.”

These nutrients are great at fighting heart disease. One study found that pomegranate juice reduces hardening of the arteries by 50-90% in just one year. And the participants in the study actually experienced benefits after only one month. The longer they drank the juice, the better their results.

If you have any blockage in your arteries, you may want to consider drinking some pomegranate juice. Another study found that the juice reduces blockages and narrows arteries by 44%. It also reduces systolic blood pressure by 20%. But those participants who took the placebo found their arteries were thicker and narrower.

The pomegranate is definitely a fruit that brings many blessings from God. When the fruit is in season, eat up. You’ll love the taste. And consider drinking the juice every morning instead of orange juice or apple juice. Your heart will thank you.

– Steve Kroening

Source: Fuchs, Nan Kathryn. Women’s Health Letter, 800-728-2288.

Family & Relationships

Why Christian Men Fail in Relationships

You may have heard that Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship. If that’s true, then why do so many Christian men struggle in human relationships?

We discussed last week how a poor relationship with God is the primary reason Christian men fail in relationships. But there’s another closely related factor that many men fail to grasp. And it causes great harm in their relationships.

The reason is what I call a failure to initiate in righteousness. This principle comes from a close observation of how God acts in relationships and, in contrast, how Adam acted in his relationships with Eve.

We see in salvation that God initiates the relationship with us.

He sent His son to free us from sin and bring us back into a right relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit then draws us to Him. And He communicates to us through His Scriptures. In fact, if He didn’t initiate the communication with us, there’s no way we could know anything about Him. God is very capable of hiding Himself from us. But He doesn’t because He desires to bring us to righteousness in Christ.

In contrast, we see how Adam related to Eve when the serpent tempted her. From the context of Genesis 3, we see that Adam was standing right there. And he was silent. Instead of taking action to protect his wife and his own soul, he stood there passively watching. Only when Eve initiated in sin did he act – following her into sin.

So what’s the difference between the way God acts in relationship versus the way Adam acted? God takes action to bring others to righteousness. Adam didn’t take any action except the action that he thought would satisfy his flesh. The result of God’s action is an eternal relationship with His children. The result of Adam’s action was a broken relationship.

If you want your relationships with other believers to thrive, then the key is to initiate – take action – to help them grow in righteousness. But the sure way to see failure in your relationships is to take little action – except that which satisfies your flesh.

Obviously, this principle doesn’t always work with unbelievers. Sometimes it works – when they become believers. But unbelievers oftentimes will break a relationship with a believer who initiates in righteousness. Christ experienced this many times.

Next week, we’ll look at how this principle works in dating/courting. Whether you’re single or a parent, you won’t want to miss it. It will forever change the way you look at pre-marriage relationships.

– Steve Kroening

Success

4 Stewardship Secrets That Will Change the Way You Work

The Biblical notion of stewardship expresses the idea that people are not the ultimate owner of the material things of this life, they come from God. You can apply this principle in various areas of life, in the home, or in business. It is God’s way of providing a framework for successful relationships. There are four essential ingredients to stewardship.

1. Responsibility

You cannot be a steward unless you take responsibility. “And the Lord said, ‘Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?’” (Luke 12:42). A steward is someone whose master gives responsibility to exercise some kind of management. His master then gives increasing responsibilities according to his diligent work.

Notice that the master does not give the steward a responsibility for which he is not suited. How easy it is to give our children or our employees a task that is beyond their current level of ability to perform.

2. Accountability

With responsibility, however, goes accountability. Jesus uses this concept in one of his parables.

He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward’” (Luke 16:1,2). The rich man was holding his steward accountable for actions he had taken, or, as the text says, for his stewardship.

Too often managers give people responsibilities with no accountability. Then they wonder why those people don’t get things done to their satisfaction.

3. Measurability

Responsibility and accountability, however, require measurability. Imagine giving the children a task to do in the home, yet failing to measure their success at doing it. We can easily see the pitfall of doing this.

In business, it is often the practice of allocating tasks to people that either cannot be measured or don’t get measured properly. In either case, it leads to unnecessary tension at work.

4. Empowerment

If we are going to give people responsibility, holding them accountable by measuring their success, then it follows that workers must be empowered to fulfill their role. Perhaps no area of corporate management is under pressure today as much as this one. To give a person a task and hold him accountable for its result is ridiculous if he is not empowered to fulfill the assigned duties at the same time. This prevents the staff from completing their work without his interference in the process, and displays a lack of trust toward those under him.

Without empowerment, stewardship is impossible. You can see this in the parable of Jesus in Luke 16. Here a steward wastes his master’s possessions. The steward quickly takes action to ensure that he has friends. He went to his master’s debtors and wrote off a portion of the debts. The steward had the power to negotiate with his master’s debtors.

You can apply the principle of stewardship not only to those around you, your family, your co-workers, or your employees, but you can also apply it to your own life. Start with those things that God places in your care. And hold your stewardship to this standard: Be responsible, accountable, and willing to be measured (to see how well you’re doing). Then know that God will not give you a task for which He does not, at the same time, empower you and equip you to complete.

– Ian Hodge

Wisdom From History

Your Only Safe Gamble

Most scientists know Blaise Pascal as the developer of the first calculator, which he called the Arithmetic Machine. Other scientists know him as the inventor of the syringe or the hydraulic press.

But Pascal, who became a Christian as an adult, didn’t think either of those were his greatest work. Instead, he would consider them as the forerunners to his greatest work. In fact, he used his scientific probability studies, which he had used to develop those inventions, to develop what is now known as Pascal’s Wager.

Pascal’s Wager is his argument for man's response to whether God exists. According to his probability studies, Pascal determined, “God exists or He does not exist, and we must of necessity lay odds for or against Him.” So he proceeded to outline the odds – and the personal gain/loss for the wager:

“If I wager for God and God is – infinite gain.”

“If I wager for God and God is not – no loss.”

“If I wager against God and God is – infinite loss.”

“If I wager against God and God is not – neither loss nor gain.”

Interestingly, Jesus is the only other name you can substitute for God in Pascal’s Wager and come up with the same answers. If you substitute Muhammad, Budda, or any other name, you have to answer the questions differently. Most of these other religions allow for some sort of universalism.

So it’s obvious what the only safe wager is.

– Steve Kroening

Word for the Wise

Are You Pressed to Accomplish Your Goal?

“Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.” Acts 18:5 (KJV)

Pressed – Have you ever had that feeling inside that seemed to push you toward a goal no matter what the circumstances? Have you ever experienced an inner compulsion that just wouldn't let up? It's like a firm hand pushing you forward or a weight that you just can't lift from your shoulders. That's "pressed in the spirit." The word used here is sunecho, a combination word that expresses intense possession. It means "to have fully" or "to have with compulsion".

Paul knew what it meant to be compelled. His life is a demonstration of putting everything aside in order to complete the demands of this compulsion. He had a mission from God. Paul rarely considered the consequences of his mission. He went forward toward the goal no matter what it meant for his physical well being or for the lives of others because he was pressed by something bigger than himself.

The NIV and the NASB translate this word with “devoted.” Paul devoted himself entirely to his mission. He gave himself completely to the inner pressing so that his outward behavior was devoted to the goal.

That's the kind of devotion that I want, but when I think about all the things I have to do today, I just can't imagine how I can be completely pressed into the shape God desires and still finish the ordinary tasks of living. There are so many unimportant but necessary activities and they all interrupt my single-minded focus on the goal of total devotion. Then I read the rest of the story. Paul could be entirely focused on his mission only after two other men showed up to take over the daily tasks. Silas and Timothy arrived. They took on the burdens that Paul was carrying. Only then did Paul feel the pressure to devote himself to the task. Before they came, Paul was busy with work and preaching. After they came, Paul dropped the work and concentrated on the preaching. God pressed two other men into service in order to free Paul to be pressed into mission.

That's the key! It isn't individual devotion. It's community. In order to accomplish the mission, others had to come alongside. Paul needed help and God provided it. Others had to bear a burden in order for the mission to be accomplished. Paul couldn't do it alone. And neither can we. Your devotion to God will require the help of others. Don't expect to do it all yourself. Look for God's helpers to show up. Then grasp the opportunity.

– Skip Moen

(Ed. Note: Skip Moen, PhD, is the president of At God’s Table and the author of Words to Lead By.)

 Resources

Evangelicals Then and Now, Peter Jeffery, Evangelical Press (Buy Now)

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