“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” - C.S. Lewis
Christians are supposed to share their beliefs with everyone, whether if it is one on one, in group settings or the harder task of street evangelism. But we find ourselves too often being complacent and just simply lazy. So, here is are 3 little motivation points to why we should evangelize to others. It doesn't matter if you are a pastor or bible student, whatever major you are or whatever job you are in....we need to use that to evangelize to others. Matthew the Gospel writer was a tax collector, and Luke the Gospel writer was a physician but still evangelized and used their profession to spread the good news and used it while spreading the good news. Also, use whatever means necessary to evangelize, like the internet, blogs, facebook, myspace, use any kind of get together to talk about Christ leaning in conversation with anyone.....literally anything can be done, as long as it is done. Remember, Proverbs 3:27 (ESV) says, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it."
1) Because Jesus, the judge of our soul said so. Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." This command was not only set before the original disciples because if so...why would God's provision keep this in His word so that we read it today? I think it is because His word is commanding us to do the same, since there are still people in this world that have not heard the name of Jesus. One of my buddies stated, "so many people in this world talk about the second coming of Christ while others still haven't heard of His first." Let the world hear His name. There are some people in this very country that have not heard the truth about Jesus and are not provided with a proper vision of Jesus.
2) So that others may know the same love that you have within you. 1 John 3:16 (ESV) "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." Like I said in the last point, some people in this country have a skewed view of Jesus and don't know the truth of Him, that He came because of love and not condemnation John 3:17 (ESV) "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Let us share this love that is unfailing and limitless with the world that they too may know it, and that it only comes through Jesus Christ who is King forever and ever.
and 3) this one is not so pleasant for us complacent Christians, but it is necessary to share. Ezekiel 33:1-6 (ESV)" The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." This verse actually kind of scares me a bit. We as Christians know the truth and have a position to spread that truth. This truth is stated in John 3:18 (ESV) "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." We need to share the truth that hell awaits for those who do not know Christ, but much more than that....that merciful love awaits them when they accept Christ, and if we do not share....their condemnation will be upon us since we were the one's entrusted with the truth.
"Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it" George Bernard Shaw
"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this." C.S. Lewis
These are a few quotes that i love, and to finish off with another C.S. Lewis quote "The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be rung down at any moment: say, before you have finished this paragraph." And I saw this quote on a friend's status, "My questions: Why are.. Our voices never voiced? Our faith always hidden? Our lifeboats always sinking? We rob the world of salvation. of hope. of happiness. The greatest con-artist: a silent christian." let us not be con-artists, I want to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" not "I never knew you."
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Nature of Sin and our idolatry of ourselves
*Some of these basic thoughts are from Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline. I have added my own thoughts intertwined with Scripture and his thoughts. I encourage you to read Mr. Foster's book, it is considered one of the Christian greats to help discipline our lives as a Christian should live! Enjoy!
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I want to start off encouraging you, that even though you are about to read the nature of sin that is ingrained within the human soul and you will most likely relate to most of, if not all of it so i want to encourage you. This nature that you are about to read of is a part of you, BUT....there is always a way out, a way to get clean from the filth, and healed of the disease of sin. Jesus came because God loves you so much, so much that saying "I love you" would not be sufficient enough, so He thought He'd show actions of His love. He planned before the creation of the world the plan of redeeming humanity. If sin did not come into the world, God wouldn't have been able to show the greatest love that is to die (see John 15:13 that is mentioned later) and as Scripture states, He is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" in 2 Peter 3:9b and because of this He has made Himself known throughout all of Creation (read Romans 1:17-25) in a general sense and has revealed Himself fully in Christ (see Colossians 2:9). Even though we still have this sin nature that I am about to talk about....God still wants you, He still seeks you as Isaiah 65:1-2 (ESV) " I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a nation that was not called by my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices." So, be encouraged, God still loves you and provides mercy, if you are willing to take it.
Sin
Sin is a phenomena not fully understood by humanity, but much has been given about it through the Word. So even though we don't know much about it, let us look through Scripture to see what we do know at least. It was not a part of Creation (Creation account found in Gen. 1:1-2:3....sin was not created). It came into the world in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve violated the law that God placed, that they should not eat of a certain tree in the midst of the garden.
Therefore, we see that sin was not a part of creation, so it didn't come from God and as 1 Tim 4:4 (ESV) states "or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” Therefore, we see if sin was not created by God...and everything that God created is good (Compare 1 Tim 4:4 and Genesis 1 where all things created were good, except for man being alone). So logically, we must conclude that sin is bad. The Bible states in 1 John 3:4 (ESV) "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." If those who practice lawlessness are sinners, we must again conclude that Adam and Eve were sinners because they violated the law that God placed that they should not eat of a certain tree in the midst of the garden. In addition, because God is just there must be a punishment for sin, which God said is "death." Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Therefore, the punishment of sin is death. Paul expands on this more in Romans 5:12 (ESV) "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--". and again in Romans 6:23a (ESV) "For the wages of sin is death," but praise God He provides even one way when we don't deserve it, the same verse finishes off saying, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
God hates sin. Zechariah 8:17 states "do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD." God hates sin so much that it is a disgust within Him. Because God is perfectly pure, He cannot be in the presence of the filth of sin, because He is life, He cannot be in the decaying nature of sin, and because He is righteous, He cannot be in the presence of the lawlessness of sin. God's hatred goes as far as hating the very things that the filthy sin nature attaches itself too. We read in Psalm 5:5 (ESV) "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." Now, remember, God is perfectly righteous so He must hate what is evil and if our nature is a distorted version of "good" it must be evil, since evil was not a created entity. Moreover, because God is completely pure His hatred is not tainted with sin like ours is, and it is a righteous hate that our just God must have. In addition, His wrath must be satisfied, which can be when you accept Christ, because only Christ was untainted by sin so that He may be blemish free before God on behalf of all men. So, it was through imputation that all men are tainted by sin, and it is through imputation that all men have the possibility to be saved from hell and cleansed from sin. As 1 John 1:9 (ESV) says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Praise the Lord!
All too often, we think of sin as a single moment and act of violation of God's law. Though true, I think Paul explains the nature of sin is much more than we know true today. Romans 3:9-18 (ESV) "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” There is no fear of God before their eyes."
We see that in Scripture it states that sin works its way through us once in Romans 7:5 (ESV) "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." and again in Galatians 5:9 (ESV) "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." (leaven being yeast, so as yeast works its way through the dough, sin works its way into the nature of humanity). So, as we see again in Scripture, sin has a nature of changing things...not immediately and not completely. This is why I cannot accept the doctrine of Total Depravity from the Calvinistic camp but I do accept Total Depravity in the sense that sin works its way through all of us totally...but doesn't completely change us. For example, imagine a drop of ink into a cup of water. The water does not turn as black as black can get, so it is not totally black. Nevertheless, the ink taints the total amount of water. Humanity is not completely changed, as the dough was not completely changed and as the water was not completely changed, but sin has touched all parts of us, our strength, our thoughts, dreams, wants, even our own will. Finalizing this point, I want to state what Norman Geisler stated about the image of God within us after the fall. "That is, it does not in effect erase the image of God but only effaces it." (Chosen but Free, 116). We can affirm several times that sin is not something that takes away other things, but rather distorts them and perverts them, just as Satan distorts Scripture when trying to tempt Jesus....and even ourselves as He appears to us as an angel of light. Even physical nature was distorted and changed when sin entered the world, lets read Genesis 3:1-3 (ESV) "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Notices it doesn't say, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman freaked out because a snake just talked...." but she continued to have a conversation with it, think of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.
So we see that sin is lawlessness, being disorderly and rebellious, it changes things physically, it was not good because it was not a part of God's creation but a perversion of the goodness of God's creation that Satan brought the concept of and that Eve and Adam brought the manifest presence of. God hates sin, and hates those who have become attached to sin. Sin distorts, perverts, changes, corrupts, decays, and kills. Now, imagine this disgust twisting all the attributes of love, since God is love and we were originally made in His image.....we have a distorted version of love within us, and all the attributes of love with it as stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Romans 12:9-21; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16, Revelation 3:19 pretty frightening that we don't even know what true love is until Christ came. Oh God, cleanse us!
This sin nature that I have just expounded on, that is so disgusting has become an ingrained habit of all of humanity because of the imputation of the original man, Adam. Later in the Scriptures it expands on who all has done these terrible acts and has this horrible nature in Romans 3:23 (ESV) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We often wonder why we keep sinning and we feel so trapped and cannot escape its clutches, because even our own strength and will have sin dispersed within it. This is why we need God. Because if we think we can do it ourselves without God, we will be committing an idolatry that Paul talked about because many people were using outward exercises to try to control sin referred to in Colossians 2:21 (ESV) ""Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" and Paul states that these are wrong as he continued in verse 23 "These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. " I like what the King James states in the same verse, "Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship" Paul states that we are worshipping ourselves when we try to rely on our own outward strength, so we must rely on the strength of God....but we will not receive His strength unless we ask. Matthew 7:7 (ESV) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." and remember the great hope that we have in this, Philippians 4:13 (ESV) "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Therefore, in conclusion, we see that sin is ingrained within the human soul and nature and has distorted the image of God within us that was pure and we can do nothing about it by our own strength or will power because they are tainted by sin too. We can only be saved by His drawing of us, and if we choose Him we can be saved but cannot continue because our will power and strength are not sufficient enough to endure. This is why we need His strength. By this nature, we are impure and there is nothing within us to turn God's heart but only to turn His stomach. So the final question is, now that we know a part of this nature of sin, why would God still save us? Scripture states that He is merciful in Exodus 34:6 (ESV) "The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." God's mercy was display in Scripture because of His love and that He is love. Even though God has a righteous and justified hate toward us because of our dealings with sin, He still offers us mercy because as John 3:16 (ESV) says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Again, Romans 5:8 (ESV) says, " but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." and how do we know God's love, 1 John 3:16 (ESV) "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." This is the greatest love that anyone could have because John 15:13 (ESV) states, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Choose God today if you do not know Him, and He will get rid of your sins and restore you and progressively change you from glory to glory. If you do know Christ already, continually seek Him. Discipline yourself to a life of prayer and reading of the Scriptures that you may 1) know Him and 2) know what He has done and promised.
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I want to start off encouraging you, that even though you are about to read the nature of sin that is ingrained within the human soul and you will most likely relate to most of, if not all of it so i want to encourage you. This nature that you are about to read of is a part of you, BUT....there is always a way out, a way to get clean from the filth, and healed of the disease of sin. Jesus came because God loves you so much, so much that saying "I love you" would not be sufficient enough, so He thought He'd show actions of His love. He planned before the creation of the world the plan of redeeming humanity. If sin did not come into the world, God wouldn't have been able to show the greatest love that is to die (see John 15:13 that is mentioned later) and as Scripture states, He is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" in 2 Peter 3:9b and because of this He has made Himself known throughout all of Creation (read Romans 1:17-25) in a general sense and has revealed Himself fully in Christ (see Colossians 2:9). Even though we still have this sin nature that I am about to talk about....God still wants you, He still seeks you as Isaiah 65:1-2 (ESV) " I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a nation that was not called by my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices." So, be encouraged, God still loves you and provides mercy, if you are willing to take it.
Sin
Sin is a phenomena not fully understood by humanity, but much has been given about it through the Word. So even though we don't know much about it, let us look through Scripture to see what we do know at least. It was not a part of Creation (Creation account found in Gen. 1:1-2:3....sin was not created). It came into the world in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve violated the law that God placed, that they should not eat of a certain tree in the midst of the garden.
Therefore, we see that sin was not a part of creation, so it didn't come from God and as 1 Tim 4:4 (ESV) states "or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” Therefore, we see if sin was not created by God...and everything that God created is good (Compare 1 Tim 4:4 and Genesis 1 where all things created were good, except for man being alone). So logically, we must conclude that sin is bad. The Bible states in 1 John 3:4 (ESV) "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." If those who practice lawlessness are sinners, we must again conclude that Adam and Eve were sinners because they violated the law that God placed that they should not eat of a certain tree in the midst of the garden. In addition, because God is just there must be a punishment for sin, which God said is "death." Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Therefore, the punishment of sin is death. Paul expands on this more in Romans 5:12 (ESV) "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--". and again in Romans 6:23a (ESV) "For the wages of sin is death," but praise God He provides even one way when we don't deserve it, the same verse finishes off saying, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
God hates sin. Zechariah 8:17 states "do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD." God hates sin so much that it is a disgust within Him. Because God is perfectly pure, He cannot be in the presence of the filth of sin, because He is life, He cannot be in the decaying nature of sin, and because He is righteous, He cannot be in the presence of the lawlessness of sin. God's hatred goes as far as hating the very things that the filthy sin nature attaches itself too. We read in Psalm 5:5 (ESV) "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." Now, remember, God is perfectly righteous so He must hate what is evil and if our nature is a distorted version of "good" it must be evil, since evil was not a created entity. Moreover, because God is completely pure His hatred is not tainted with sin like ours is, and it is a righteous hate that our just God must have. In addition, His wrath must be satisfied, which can be when you accept Christ, because only Christ was untainted by sin so that He may be blemish free before God on behalf of all men. So, it was through imputation that all men are tainted by sin, and it is through imputation that all men have the possibility to be saved from hell and cleansed from sin. As 1 John 1:9 (ESV) says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Praise the Lord!
All too often, we think of sin as a single moment and act of violation of God's law. Though true, I think Paul explains the nature of sin is much more than we know true today. Romans 3:9-18 (ESV) "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” There is no fear of God before their eyes."
We see that in Scripture it states that sin works its way through us once in Romans 7:5 (ESV) "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." and again in Galatians 5:9 (ESV) "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." (leaven being yeast, so as yeast works its way through the dough, sin works its way into the nature of humanity). So, as we see again in Scripture, sin has a nature of changing things...not immediately and not completely. This is why I cannot accept the doctrine of Total Depravity from the Calvinistic camp but I do accept Total Depravity in the sense that sin works its way through all of us totally...but doesn't completely change us. For example, imagine a drop of ink into a cup of water. The water does not turn as black as black can get, so it is not totally black. Nevertheless, the ink taints the total amount of water. Humanity is not completely changed, as the dough was not completely changed and as the water was not completely changed, but sin has touched all parts of us, our strength, our thoughts, dreams, wants, even our own will. Finalizing this point, I want to state what Norman Geisler stated about the image of God within us after the fall. "That is, it does not in effect erase the image of God but only effaces it." (Chosen but Free, 116). We can affirm several times that sin is not something that takes away other things, but rather distorts them and perverts them, just as Satan distorts Scripture when trying to tempt Jesus....and even ourselves as He appears to us as an angel of light. Even physical nature was distorted and changed when sin entered the world, lets read Genesis 3:1-3 (ESV) "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Notices it doesn't say, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman freaked out because a snake just talked...." but she continued to have a conversation with it, think of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.
So we see that sin is lawlessness, being disorderly and rebellious, it changes things physically, it was not good because it was not a part of God's creation but a perversion of the goodness of God's creation that Satan brought the concept of and that Eve and Adam brought the manifest presence of. God hates sin, and hates those who have become attached to sin. Sin distorts, perverts, changes, corrupts, decays, and kills. Now, imagine this disgust twisting all the attributes of love, since God is love and we were originally made in His image.....we have a distorted version of love within us, and all the attributes of love with it as stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Romans 12:9-21; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16, Revelation 3:19 pretty frightening that we don't even know what true love is until Christ came. Oh God, cleanse us!
This sin nature that I have just expounded on, that is so disgusting has become an ingrained habit of all of humanity because of the imputation of the original man, Adam. Later in the Scriptures it expands on who all has done these terrible acts and has this horrible nature in Romans 3:23 (ESV) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We often wonder why we keep sinning and we feel so trapped and cannot escape its clutches, because even our own strength and will have sin dispersed within it. This is why we need God. Because if we think we can do it ourselves without God, we will be committing an idolatry that Paul talked about because many people were using outward exercises to try to control sin referred to in Colossians 2:21 (ESV) ""Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" and Paul states that these are wrong as he continued in verse 23 "These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. " I like what the King James states in the same verse, "Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship" Paul states that we are worshipping ourselves when we try to rely on our own outward strength, so we must rely on the strength of God....but we will not receive His strength unless we ask. Matthew 7:7 (ESV) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." and remember the great hope that we have in this, Philippians 4:13 (ESV) "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Therefore, in conclusion, we see that sin is ingrained within the human soul and nature and has distorted the image of God within us that was pure and we can do nothing about it by our own strength or will power because they are tainted by sin too. We can only be saved by His drawing of us, and if we choose Him we can be saved but cannot continue because our will power and strength are not sufficient enough to endure. This is why we need His strength. By this nature, we are impure and there is nothing within us to turn God's heart but only to turn His stomach. So the final question is, now that we know a part of this nature of sin, why would God still save us? Scripture states that He is merciful in Exodus 34:6 (ESV) "The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." God's mercy was display in Scripture because of His love and that He is love. Even though God has a righteous and justified hate toward us because of our dealings with sin, He still offers us mercy because as John 3:16 (ESV) says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Again, Romans 5:8 (ESV) says, " but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." and how do we know God's love, 1 John 3:16 (ESV) "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." This is the greatest love that anyone could have because John 15:13 (ESV) states, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Choose God today if you do not know Him, and He will get rid of your sins and restore you and progressively change you from glory to glory. If you do know Christ already, continually seek Him. Discipline yourself to a life of prayer and reading of the Scriptures that you may 1) know Him and 2) know what He has done and promised.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Unlimited, Uncondition, and Unfailing love
We constantly hear the phrase "I love you" tossed around so often by couples that are merely infatuated with each other but lack three main characteristics of true love. I was sitting in my church's Christmas service and Pastor Kitchen's brought of great points that I would like to share with you but by no means are these his words....so if i am completely wrong and a heretic lol, don't go to him but blame me. He only brought up the points and i'm expanding my thoughts surrounding the points lol. The first of these characteristic's of love is:
Unlimited Love
Psalm 103:10-12 states "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."
God has such a powerful love that it can take our sins away, as the word says "as far as the east is from the west." Now wait a second! What does that mean? Let us look at the globe for a moment and place your finger at where ever you live and start traveling north. Keep going past the north pole you are eventually headed south. Let's try this again. Put your finger where you live and start traveling west.....even if you pass the Prime Meridian.....you still will never be traveling east. Basically, God takes it forever away! His love is so unlimited that He chose the whole world to die for because He wants all men to come to salvation. He died because of His great love for us, just as a person would die for their wife and kids....this is the greatness of His love. His love is much more than just an "I love you" but it was an action. An action that was marked in history, an action so great in history that our calender revolves around His birth! Jesus loved us so much that He wanted to be with us, so in order that we may live, He died. Just as we would want our loved one's to live and take a bullet or something for them.....same position, but He was tortured and hung on a excruciating cross. His love is much more than just a regular "I love you" but He wanted to show us, so He stepped out of heaven and made His own destiny death, that we may live through Him.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
1 John 2:2 "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Unconditional Love
God loves each one of us with a love that's so great that we can do nothing to earn it, Ephesians 2:4-7 states "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." And as we read again in 1 John 4:9-10 "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." God loved us so much that He sent His only Son, to become human, into this world so that we may not be spiritually dead but awaken because of Christ Jesus! God loved us even before we accepted Christ, and God loves you even if you haven't yet accepted Christ but you have not received mercy because you choose not to receive it. God still loves you even if you are not following Christ but His justice must be quenched and if you are not under Christ....then His justice will be quenched with you, this is not a threat but a hope....a hope that you don't have to suffer the wrath of God because of your sins because Christ came into the world to become our sin, to suffer the punishment that we deserve....if you choose to love and follow Him. God's love is astounding that we don't need to do anything to earn it, and we can't do anything so great that we stop loving him because His love is unfailing.
Unfailing Love
Proverbs 19:22a states, "What is desired in a man is steadfast love..."
now, not everyone may know the full meaning of the term "steadfast" so this is what Webster's Dictionary states. Steadfast:: "firmly fixed in a place"-Immovable. "Not subject to change" and "firm in belief, determination, and adherence" - loyal. Its a synonym for faithful.
So, Scripture states, that all of humanity DESIRES steadfast love, or unfailing love as some translations have it. God is so great in His love, that since He is love and 1 Corinthians 13:8a states "love never fails" at the end of the famous love section. But these are only characteristics being closely related to God, so let us take a look at Psalm 136. Psalm 136 states over and over again, in every verse "His steadfast love endures forever." So if we logically think it through, if God is love, love never fails, and all men desire unfailing and steadfast love.....logically all humanity desires God. But don't let me speak about that, let Scripture.
Scripture states in Romans 8:35-39 states "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. " so who or what can separate us from the love of God? NOTHING!!! God's love is unlimited, unconditional, and unfailing!!
....If you don't know Jesus as your Lord, please, know Him now because He loves you so much that He left the glory of heaven as described to us in Scripture in Ezekiel 1, Daniel 7, Revelation chapters 4, and 19-22, and several other occastions, that though He was rich in heaven, He became a poor human, born in a feeding trough, was raised, did many miracles, lived as an innocent man, and died on a cross that though we were guilty...he took upon the wrath of God that we may know Him. Please, know Christ today as your savior, choose Christ and let the judgment pass over you that you may know the fulness of His love!
Unlimited Love
Psalm 103:10-12 states "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."
God has such a powerful love that it can take our sins away, as the word says "as far as the east is from the west." Now wait a second! What does that mean? Let us look at the globe for a moment and place your finger at where ever you live and start traveling north. Keep going past the north pole you are eventually headed south. Let's try this again. Put your finger where you live and start traveling west.....even if you pass the Prime Meridian.....you still will never be traveling east. Basically, God takes it forever away! His love is so unlimited that He chose the whole world to die for because He wants all men to come to salvation. He died because of His great love for us, just as a person would die for their wife and kids....this is the greatness of His love. His love is much more than just an "I love you" but it was an action. An action that was marked in history, an action so great in history that our calender revolves around His birth! Jesus loved us so much that He wanted to be with us, so in order that we may live, He died. Just as we would want our loved one's to live and take a bullet or something for them.....same position, but He was tortured and hung on a excruciating cross. His love is much more than just a regular "I love you" but He wanted to show us, so He stepped out of heaven and made His own destiny death, that we may live through Him.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
1 John 2:2 "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Unconditional Love
God loves each one of us with a love that's so great that we can do nothing to earn it, Ephesians 2:4-7 states "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." And as we read again in 1 John 4:9-10 "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." God loved us so much that He sent His only Son, to become human, into this world so that we may not be spiritually dead but awaken because of Christ Jesus! God loved us even before we accepted Christ, and God loves you even if you haven't yet accepted Christ but you have not received mercy because you choose not to receive it. God still loves you even if you are not following Christ but His justice must be quenched and if you are not under Christ....then His justice will be quenched with you, this is not a threat but a hope....a hope that you don't have to suffer the wrath of God because of your sins because Christ came into the world to become our sin, to suffer the punishment that we deserve....if you choose to love and follow Him. God's love is astounding that we don't need to do anything to earn it, and we can't do anything so great that we stop loving him because His love is unfailing.
Unfailing Love
Proverbs 19:22a states, "What is desired in a man is steadfast love..."
now, not everyone may know the full meaning of the term "steadfast" so this is what Webster's Dictionary states. Steadfast:: "firmly fixed in a place"-Immovable. "Not subject to change" and "firm in belief, determination, and adherence" - loyal. Its a synonym for faithful.
So, Scripture states, that all of humanity DESIRES steadfast love, or unfailing love as some translations have it. God is so great in His love, that since He is love and 1 Corinthians 13:8a states "love never fails" at the end of the famous love section. But these are only characteristics being closely related to God, so let us take a look at Psalm 136. Psalm 136 states over and over again, in every verse "His steadfast love endures forever." So if we logically think it through, if God is love, love never fails, and all men desire unfailing and steadfast love.....logically all humanity desires God. But don't let me speak about that, let Scripture.
Scripture states in Romans 8:35-39 states "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. " so who or what can separate us from the love of God? NOTHING!!! God's love is unlimited, unconditional, and unfailing!!
....If you don't know Jesus as your Lord, please, know Him now because He loves you so much that He left the glory of heaven as described to us in Scripture in Ezekiel 1, Daniel 7, Revelation chapters 4, and 19-22, and several other occastions, that though He was rich in heaven, He became a poor human, born in a feeding trough, was raised, did many miracles, lived as an innocent man, and died on a cross that though we were guilty...he took upon the wrath of God that we may know Him. Please, know Christ today as your savior, choose Christ and let the judgment pass over you that you may know the fulness of His love!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My Christmas Story....as told by me
This isn't exactly what you think.....so sit back, relax and please read it all, it is a bit long and I apologize, but this is my heart. Disclaimer....this is a bit rough to read so just stating this at first, and I do not want pity comments, please. This is the story that has changed my life.
when i was a young child, my mother used to very physically abusive to me. my mom was kicked out of the house after dad found out that she beat me. years later when i turned 9 my mom started a custody battle which lasted 2.5 years and drained my dad of everything he had saved up. which my mom had remarried (2 months after my mom and dad divorced) and her new husband was LOADED! after the custody battle had ended, my dad had lost his job because of so many court dates caused him to miss many many days of work and he was forcibly retired. during my 7th grade year, i started drinking and smoking weed. not much, but any is too much tho. at the beginning of my 8th grade year, i lost my virginity to a good friend of mine at the time (whom is a Christian now and has turned from her past ways as well, PRAISE JESUS!!) and through those years i was always depressed, never knew real joy. after my eighth grade year we lost our house and i lived at my buddy bruce thompson and joe dimuzio's house for a little while. at the beginning of my freshman year (at oak hills) my family stayed with my dad's friend until he kicked us out at Christmas time. and we ended up moving with who else....my mother!! (but she was living with her boyfriend at the time.....her one husband died, she remarried and divorced and had a boyfriend by this time) and i finished my freshman year at Dixie Heights High School. during my sophomore year on easter sunday we found out my dad who protected me all my life was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and he moved in with my aunt (his sister) and i moved with my friend mark for a few months (so things happening around Christmas and Easter, the two biggest Christan holidays so you see a little animosity toward Christianity...and you'll see a little more reason why later in the story). my brother and sister moved to florida with my aunt and uncle in bradenton florida. and i finished off school up there and moved down after my soph. year. that summer July 26th 2005 (it was a tuesday morning at 7 a.m.) my dad passed away. i started my 3rd high school that year, and during that summer and through the beginning of the school year i was going to the youth group at the Tabernacle in sarasota, my youth pastor and my best bud tommy russojust showed me love and compassion and just was a great friend to me, which was amazing. i always thought of Christians as these judgmental "YOUR GOING TO HELL" kind of people. but He was different. the people at this youth group were different. it was just love there. i heard this one verse while i was there Psalm 68:5 "for i am a father to the fatherless..." and i just cried. about a month later i dedicated my life to Jesus Christ, on October 12th, 2005.
i turned from the depressing way of life i was living, but not TRULY seeking after him til about a year later, october of 2006, i really was stale and i thought there was more to it, so i started really reading the word rather than just carrying it through school. one day i was like..."i only carry it....why don't i read it?!?" so i started reading it. and through my senior year i changed a lot more, stopped cussing, wasn't full of hate or anger, really loved others with the love that Christ has for it. through my first year of college (i moved back up north and i went to Thomas More College in northern kentucky right off of turkeyfoot road) and i noticed i had much free time, and instead of socializing with others....i spent the majority of it socializing with God. and my strength in my faith was MAGNIFIED. but the moment i was "too busy" was when i started to fall. i started cussing again (only for like 1 night, but it was a blow up!) and just some other really stupid things. after i moved back to florida in May of 2008, the first sunday i was at church and all the songs and the message was about grace. and i had forgotten God's grace, i was sooo focused on one part of God i forgot the other parts. and even by this last point, many Christians do not like me because I even pay attention to the laziness of the church and the justice of God which many Christians believe that God is not just anymore because of his mercy (which is completely wrong....i have explained this in a previous note God's Justice, Mercy, and our imitation of Him).
This is me. This is who I am. And my Christmas story is that a person as screwed up as I am.....it doesn't matter to Jesus Christ. Because even though He was in the glory of heaven as read about in Ezekiel chapter 1, Daniel chapter 7, and Revelation chapter 4, and chapters 19-22. But for Him to give up all that glory, to be with us "Emmanuel" (which means God with us) to be born in a feeding trough, in a stable, to be raised as a poor carpenter, to be beaten, and crucified......just so that I could be with Him for all of time and beyond. I like the way 2 Corinthians 8:9 says it, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." It breaks my heart that I have done these cruel things toward God, but I am thankful that He has rid my heart and soul from them but left them in my mind so that I would not forget where I have come from. This is not only for me, but for everyone because God desires all men to come to Him.....even you.
i hope and pray that you were blessed by this, and hope that you realize the love of God in this Christmas season, that Christ left the glory of heaven so that you may receive the riches of heaven and His presence.
when i was a young child, my mother used to very physically abusive to me. my mom was kicked out of the house after dad found out that she beat me. years later when i turned 9 my mom started a custody battle which lasted 2.5 years and drained my dad of everything he had saved up. which my mom had remarried (2 months after my mom and dad divorced) and her new husband was LOADED! after the custody battle had ended, my dad had lost his job because of so many court dates caused him to miss many many days of work and he was forcibly retired. during my 7th grade year, i started drinking and smoking weed. not much, but any is too much tho. at the beginning of my 8th grade year, i lost my virginity to a good friend of mine at the time (whom is a Christian now and has turned from her past ways as well, PRAISE JESUS!!) and through those years i was always depressed, never knew real joy. after my eighth grade year we lost our house and i lived at my buddy bruce thompson and joe dimuzio's house for a little while. at the beginning of my freshman year (at oak hills) my family stayed with my dad's friend until he kicked us out at Christmas time. and we ended up moving with who else....my mother!! (but she was living with her boyfriend at the time.....her one husband died, she remarried and divorced and had a boyfriend by this time) and i finished my freshman year at Dixie Heights High School. during my sophomore year on easter sunday we found out my dad who protected me all my life was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and he moved in with my aunt (his sister) and i moved with my friend mark for a few months (so things happening around Christmas and Easter, the two biggest Christan holidays so you see a little animosity toward Christianity...and you'll see a little more reason why later in the story). my brother and sister moved to florida with my aunt and uncle in bradenton florida. and i finished off school up there and moved down after my soph. year. that summer July 26th 2005 (it was a tuesday morning at 7 a.m.) my dad passed away. i started my 3rd high school that year, and during that summer and through the beginning of the school year i was going to the youth group at the Tabernacle in sarasota, my youth pastor and my best bud tommy russojust showed me love and compassion and just was a great friend to me, which was amazing. i always thought of Christians as these judgmental "YOUR GOING TO HELL" kind of people. but He was different. the people at this youth group were different. it was just love there. i heard this one verse while i was there Psalm 68:5 "for i am a father to the fatherless..." and i just cried. about a month later i dedicated my life to Jesus Christ, on October 12th, 2005.
i turned from the depressing way of life i was living, but not TRULY seeking after him til about a year later, october of 2006, i really was stale and i thought there was more to it, so i started really reading the word rather than just carrying it through school. one day i was like..."i only carry it....why don't i read it?!?" so i started reading it. and through my senior year i changed a lot more, stopped cussing, wasn't full of hate or anger, really loved others with the love that Christ has for it. through my first year of college (i moved back up north and i went to Thomas More College in northern kentucky right off of turkeyfoot road) and i noticed i had much free time, and instead of socializing with others....i spent the majority of it socializing with God. and my strength in my faith was MAGNIFIED. but the moment i was "too busy" was when i started to fall. i started cussing again (only for like 1 night, but it was a blow up!) and just some other really stupid things. after i moved back to florida in May of 2008, the first sunday i was at church and all the songs and the message was about grace. and i had forgotten God's grace, i was sooo focused on one part of God i forgot the other parts. and even by this last point, many Christians do not like me because I even pay attention to the laziness of the church and the justice of God which many Christians believe that God is not just anymore because of his mercy (which is completely wrong....i have explained this in a previous note God's Justice, Mercy, and our imitation of Him).
This is me. This is who I am. And my Christmas story is that a person as screwed up as I am.....it doesn't matter to Jesus Christ. Because even though He was in the glory of heaven as read about in Ezekiel chapter 1, Daniel chapter 7, and Revelation chapter 4, and chapters 19-22. But for Him to give up all that glory, to be with us "Emmanuel" (which means God with us) to be born in a feeding trough, in a stable, to be raised as a poor carpenter, to be beaten, and crucified......just so that I could be with Him for all of time and beyond. I like the way 2 Corinthians 8:9 says it, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." It breaks my heart that I have done these cruel things toward God, but I am thankful that He has rid my heart and soul from them but left them in my mind so that I would not forget where I have come from. This is not only for me, but for everyone because God desires all men to come to Him.....even you.
i hope and pray that you were blessed by this, and hope that you realize the love of God in this Christmas season, that Christ left the glory of heaven so that you may receive the riches of heaven and His presence.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
God's Justice, Mercy, and our Imitation of Him
So many Pentecostals and Charismatics focus on the mercy of God, which is oh so amazing! We say verses like::
John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 8:38-39 " For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." But because of this, we have an idolatry of God, the one of our head and not the true God who reigns on high. We forget the Justice of God as well.
And we think that God is tolerant of us because of His love. We think that since because "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16) that negates his anger and justice that must prevail. The bible only states that God is "slow to anger" (psalm 145:8 among many other verses) but though He is slow to become angry....does not mean that He does not get angry, look what happened to people throughout the Old Testament....including God's very people, the Jews. (For a vivid view of God's anger toward the Jews, read Jeremiah 21:1-7.) We see this angry God who we do not recognize so we have developed a mindset of two different God's, one of the Old Testament and one of the New Testament, or as some have developed the heresy of "dispensationalism." We see that Scripture states in Hebrew 13:8-9 states, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them." So He did not change "dispensations" or did He simply change.
So, how do we solve this predicament?
We see that in Scripture it says, "God is love" but to understand the nature of God we must take a step back and look at the nature of love. So, to understand who God is, we must ask the question, "What is love?" There are several verses in the Bible that teach us what love is such as::
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
1 John 3:16 " By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Romans 12:9-21 "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. "
Revelation 3:19 "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
So, we see all the attributes of love are:: patience, kindness, humble, graceful, is not cynical but joyful, sacrificial, truthful, enduring, hopeful, continuous, sincere/genuine, justice, physical manifestations must occur (Romans 12:10....telling others, hugs...etc.), lifting each other up with praise and encouragement, not lazy but but forceful (with our love to others, we cannot force another to love us), helping one another with service, blesses each other....even when we are not blessed by them, not conceited or prideful, merciful, peaceful, disciplinary and good to all.
Notice two of the attributes of love are: Justice and Mercy. We usually see these two in contrast toward each other, but they are not. God must administer discipline (which is also an attribute of love) because of justice to us because of the fact that He is love. It is just like our parents when they see their child reaching for a hot stove and they have one of two options: the loving parent would grab their child and pull them away and tell them sternly that they should not do that because they will get hurt, or the perverted form of love which says to "tolerate" them doing it and letting them burn themselves. (to see more on the love and tolerance juxtaposition read my note Love or Tolerance). If He is eternal....our sins are eternally before Him. But since God is a fair God, He gives us the opportunity of redemption and mercy through Jesus. James 2:13 states this, "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." because it is just to provide an opportune way for people to be redeemed. This answers two age old questions, "Why would a loving God send people to hell?" and "Why is Jesus the only way?" and "Does God hate the sin or the sinner?" God is love and must send people to hell because of the justice attribute of love, but He still provides mercy to all and if they do not take it....then essentially it is not God choosing hell for them, but themselves. And because of God's justice, we do not even deserve one way, but because of God's mercy He has given us one, and we need to stop complaining that there are not multiple ways and thank Him for giving us at least one way. And finally, God MUST hate (with a righteous hate, not perverted hatred like humanity has) the sinner because of His justice, but it is THROUGH His hatred that He has mercy....which only magnifies His mercy that His mercy has to push through His righteous hatred and He is still merciful through His hatred. So, God hates the sinner and the sin....not either or.
And for the second part of this, our imitation of Him. Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God as dearly loved children." So, how are we to imitate God, by expressing the fruit of His nature, which is love. This is why we are to understand all the attributes of love, so that we may fully love God, and each other. When Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" He answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." When we see "love" we now understand the attributes of love and we must use these attributes of love toward God and one another, for this is what true love is.
John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 8:38-39 " For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." But because of this, we have an idolatry of God, the one of our head and not the true God who reigns on high. We forget the Justice of God as well.
And we think that God is tolerant of us because of His love. We think that since because "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16) that negates his anger and justice that must prevail. The bible only states that God is "slow to anger" (psalm 145:8 among many other verses) but though He is slow to become angry....does not mean that He does not get angry, look what happened to people throughout the Old Testament....including God's very people, the Jews. (For a vivid view of God's anger toward the Jews, read Jeremiah 21:1-7.) We see this angry God who we do not recognize so we have developed a mindset of two different God's, one of the Old Testament and one of the New Testament, or as some have developed the heresy of "dispensationalism." We see that Scripture states in Hebrew 13:8-9 states, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them." So He did not change "dispensations" or did He simply change.
So, how do we solve this predicament?
We see that in Scripture it says, "God is love" but to understand the nature of God we must take a step back and look at the nature of love. So, to understand who God is, we must ask the question, "What is love?" There are several verses in the Bible that teach us what love is such as::
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
1 John 3:16 " By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Romans 12:9-21 "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. "
Revelation 3:19 "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
So, we see all the attributes of love are:: patience, kindness, humble, graceful, is not cynical but joyful, sacrificial, truthful, enduring, hopeful, continuous, sincere/genuine, justice, physical manifestations must occur (Romans 12:10....telling others, hugs...etc.), lifting each other up with praise and encouragement, not lazy but but forceful (with our love to others, we cannot force another to love us), helping one another with service, blesses each other....even when we are not blessed by them, not conceited or prideful, merciful, peaceful, disciplinary and good to all.
Notice two of the attributes of love are: Justice and Mercy. We usually see these two in contrast toward each other, but they are not. God must administer discipline (which is also an attribute of love) because of justice to us because of the fact that He is love. It is just like our parents when they see their child reaching for a hot stove and they have one of two options: the loving parent would grab their child and pull them away and tell them sternly that they should not do that because they will get hurt, or the perverted form of love which says to "tolerate" them doing it and letting them burn themselves. (to see more on the love and tolerance juxtaposition read my note Love or Tolerance). If He is eternal....our sins are eternally before Him. But since God is a fair God, He gives us the opportunity of redemption and mercy through Jesus. James 2:13 states this, "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." because it is just to provide an opportune way for people to be redeemed. This answers two age old questions, "Why would a loving God send people to hell?" and "Why is Jesus the only way?" and "Does God hate the sin or the sinner?" God is love and must send people to hell because of the justice attribute of love, but He still provides mercy to all and if they do not take it....then essentially it is not God choosing hell for them, but themselves. And because of God's justice, we do not even deserve one way, but because of God's mercy He has given us one, and we need to stop complaining that there are not multiple ways and thank Him for giving us at least one way. And finally, God MUST hate (with a righteous hate, not perverted hatred like humanity has) the sinner because of His justice, but it is THROUGH His hatred that He has mercy....which only magnifies His mercy that His mercy has to push through His righteous hatred and He is still merciful through His hatred. So, God hates the sinner and the sin....not either or.
And for the second part of this, our imitation of Him. Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God as dearly loved children." So, how are we to imitate God, by expressing the fruit of His nature, which is love. This is why we are to understand all the attributes of love, so that we may fully love God, and each other. When Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" He answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." When we see "love" we now understand the attributes of love and we must use these attributes of love toward God and one another, for this is what true love is.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Manhattan Declaration!
The Manhattan Declaration
A Call of Christian Conscience
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Please sign in support at http://manhattandeclaration.org/
A Call of Christian Conscience
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
__________________________
Please sign in support at http://manhattandeclaratio
the REAL God delusion
This is a thought we all should think about, not saying that we all have this delusion, but we need to spread the message to those that do.....
and yes there really is a delusion that we Christians have about God. but it is not what you think it is. the REAL God delusion is not what Richard Dawkins writes about in his book appropriately entitled "The God Delusion" but rather, it is the following:
God CANNOT do ALL things, because God cannot lie, cannot steal, cannot murder (though He has the power of our death, it is us that brings it upon ourselves because the punishment for sin is death), He cannot commit adultery (because He is a an entity rather than a specific gender....'He' is placed because Jews look down to women and for Christians it is because Jesus was a man, an ACTUAL man) He cannot covet...because He has everything, everything is His. but we, we can do anything and His word says just this, but it also says this "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial" saying that we as Christians (followers of Christ) really can do anything, but it is not beneficial for the spreading of God's kingdom, but we are to love one another as Christ loved us, and we are to show love just as stated in 1 Corinthians 13 (in normal situations and in correcting one another).
another delusion that "Christians" have is that they can speak something into existence, if so....they would be God so thus, there is no need for God. some Christians believe this true because they believe that God is literally BOUND by His promise....but, God will always fulfill His promises....but He has to promise it to us first for one, and next, God is the potter and WE are the clay, we cannot mold God to how we want Him to be but God is control of our lives if we choose so. God is not a dog, some Christians act as if this were so because we say "Come God, Come" "Speak God, Speak" "Stay God, Stay" let's also say "Roll over God" "Heel God" "Play dead God" ....well.....that last one He didn't do very well haha. you see, God already came, and He is still with us because He said "never will I leave you, nor will i never forsake you" so why do we say come and stay with us? He is always speaking to us but it is our ears that are not open to Him nor our heads turned to Him for He said "their ears hear but they do not understand" see, God does what He wants, it is all about Him, not us, because if things were all about us things would be even worse than they are already, and they are bad because we have made things about us and not Him anymore. and we as Christians need to get aligned with that, other wise, we are living in a Christian delusion polluted by lies from religiosity and lies straight from hell.
and yes there really is a delusion that we Christians have about God. but it is not what you think it is. the REAL God delusion is not what Richard Dawkins writes about in his book appropriately entitled "The God Delusion" but rather, it is the following:
God CANNOT do ALL things, because God cannot lie, cannot steal, cannot murder (though He has the power of our death, it is us that brings it upon ourselves because the punishment for sin is death), He cannot commit adultery (because He is a an entity rather than a specific gender....'He' is placed because Jews look down to women and for Christians it is because Jesus was a man, an ACTUAL man) He cannot covet...because He has everything, everything is His. but we, we can do anything and His word says just this, but it also says this "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial" saying that we as Christians (followers of Christ) really can do anything, but it is not beneficial for the spreading of God's kingdom, but we are to love one another as Christ loved us, and we are to show love just as stated in 1 Corinthians 13 (in normal situations and in correcting one another).
another delusion that "Christians" have is that they can speak something into existence, if so....they would be God so thus, there is no need for God. some Christians believe this true because they believe that God is literally BOUND by His promise....but, God will always fulfill His promises....but He has to promise it to us first for one, and next, God is the potter and WE are the clay, we cannot mold God to how we want Him to be but God is control of our lives if we choose so. God is not a dog, some Christians act as if this were so because we say "Come God, Come" "Speak God, Speak" "Stay God, Stay" let's also say "Roll over God" "Heel God" "Play dead God" ....well.....that last one He didn't do very well haha. you see, God already came, and He is still with us because He said "never will I leave you, nor will i never forsake you" so why do we say come and stay with us? He is always speaking to us but it is our ears that are not open to Him nor our heads turned to Him for He said "their ears hear but they do not understand" see, God does what He wants, it is all about Him, not us, because if things were all about us things would be even worse than they are already, and they are bad because we have made things about us and not Him anymore. and we as Christians need to get aligned with that, other wise, we are living in a Christian delusion polluted by lies from religiosity and lies straight from hell.
why we hide from things
Genesis 3:8-9 "The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as
He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from
the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man 'Where are you?' "
Adam and Eve used to walk with God, just strolling along talking to each
other, telling how their day went, was just chillin together. And one
day, God comes by to see how His buds are doing, and they weren't
there. God calls out "Where are you?" to the man.
Now, obviously, God knows where they are it's not informational but a
diagnostic question, He wants Adam to ask the question "where am i?"
Adam answers in verse 10 saying "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
this sets up the rest of humanity. Adam says, "I was afraid" why? "because I
was naked" because God could see parts of him that Adam was
uncomfortable with "so I hid." and hid his nakedness from God. This is
what each one of us does from God. Sometimes we have addictions in our
lives, whether it be drugs, alcohol, sexual sins, lust, media, society,
addictions to people, whatever they may be. then when someone points
them out at us and says we need to let go of them....we get
uncomfortable with it because we feel "naked" with out it.
my point is, God already knows those things that you have in your life,
you don't need to hide them from Him. He can take them away, and yes,
you will feel uncomfortable without them for a bit....maybe even
longer, but God has never broken a promise, He will be with you and He
will provide. when Jesus came to earth, He was called "Immanuel" which
means, "God with us" and He is always with us when we choose to accept
Him because His promise to us was "Never will I leave nor forsake you"
and "I will provide every need" notice that it is not every want, but
every need. Don't hide your nakedness from God, He knows what is wrong
and where you are at already....He knows the pains and hurts you go
through, even when you think that no one else can possibly know. God
wants you to just simply come back to Him, or come to Him for the first
time. He loves you and just simply wants to be with you as He dwelt
with Adam and Eve in the Garden. i love y'all.
He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from
the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man 'Where are you?' "
Adam and Eve used to walk with God, just strolling along talking to each
other, telling how their day went, was just chillin together. And one
day, God comes by to see how His buds are doing, and they weren't
there. God calls out "Where are you?" to the man.
Now, obviously, God knows where they are it's not informational but a
diagnostic question, He wants Adam to ask the question "where am i?"
Adam answers in verse 10 saying "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
this sets up the rest of humanity. Adam says, "I was afraid" why? "because I
was naked" because God could see parts of him that Adam was
uncomfortable with "so I hid." and hid his nakedness from God. This is
what each one of us does from God. Sometimes we have addictions in our
lives, whether it be drugs, alcohol, sexual sins, lust, media, society,
addictions to people, whatever they may be. then when someone points
them out at us and says we need to let go of them....we get
uncomfortable with it because we feel "naked" with out it.
my point is, God already knows those things that you have in your life,
you don't need to hide them from Him. He can take them away, and yes,
you will feel uncomfortable without them for a bit....maybe even
longer, but God has never broken a promise, He will be with you and He
will provide. when Jesus came to earth, He was called "Immanuel" which
means, "God with us" and He is always with us when we choose to accept
Him because His promise to us was "Never will I leave nor forsake you"
and "I will provide every need" notice that it is not every want, but
every need. Don't hide your nakedness from God, He knows what is wrong
and where you are at already....He knows the pains and hurts you go
through, even when you think that no one else can possibly know. God
wants you to just simply come back to Him, or come to Him for the first
time. He loves you and just simply wants to be with you as He dwelt
with Adam and Eve in the Garden. i love y'all.
the word "awesome"
Awesome God
Sometimes we use words that mean something totally different than what the meaning actually is. Like the word “gay” for example, the actual meaning of the word “gay” is “having or showing a merry, lively mood.” We use the word now for a homosexual male or female…..how did this come about??
One word that I want to speak about is the word “awesome.” We use the word awesome to describe something to be really great to be around or describing someone that is a really great person. I want to give you the actual definition of the word awesome, it is “inspiring awe” and the definition of awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like”. Just being in the presence of God, you cannot help but bow down and feel full reverence for Him, be in total admiration, be in total fear….not meaning afraid of Him but Proverbs 8:13 says “To fear the Lord is to hate evil….” and also again in chapter 9 verse 10 it says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Being in the presence of God is extremely powerful! This is what the definition of awesome really is, being in the presence of God inspires this overwhelming power of reverence and admiration.
Isaiah 6:1-4 says “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” And then in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 proclaims His righteousness. Chapter 4:3-11 says “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.”
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’ ”
This is talking about the very throne of God, it barely mentions God Himself, but all that is around Him, and everything that is bows down to Him. He is worthy of all honor, glory, power, praise and He is worthy of our very lives because we were bought with a price and ripped off our price tag saying that we are not for sale that no one else can ever buy us from Him because His price was the greatest, His own eternal life here on earth. He is worthy of even more than we can give materialistically, but He is worthy of our time and lives. He lived to show us who He really is, and He died so that we may have life.
The definition of awesome is inspiring awe, and that is what awe is…..the very presence of God. Do not use the word awesome to describe someone who had a great skateboarding trick or someone who you think is a great person, but only use the word awesome as it really is….the presence of God Almighty, the one who was, is and is to come. The Holy One that is the author and perfector of our salvation and faith. The One’s whose voice makes the mountains bow down and crumble into the sea. The One’s whose presence is like the thunder in our hearts and lightning over the mountain tops spreading across the sky. This is the truth about what “awesome” really is. We tend to forget the true awesome nature of God when we dull down and change words that mean as such, and the true majesty of God to our mindset is lowered and skewed because of this. Don’t use the word “awesome” to describe something so miniscule, but treat the word with the full respect and worth that it is, so you may treat God with the worth and respect that He deserves.
Sometimes we use words that mean something totally different than what the meaning actually is. Like the word “gay” for example, the actual meaning of the word “gay” is “having or showing a merry, lively mood.” We use the word now for a homosexual male or female…..how did this come about??
One word that I want to speak about is the word “awesome.” We use the word awesome to describe something to be really great to be around or describing someone that is a really great person. I want to give you the actual definition of the word awesome, it is “inspiring awe” and the definition of awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like”. Just being in the presence of God, you cannot help but bow down and feel full reverence for Him, be in total admiration, be in total fear….not meaning afraid of Him but Proverbs 8:13 says “To fear the Lord is to hate evil….” and also again in chapter 9 verse 10 it says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Being in the presence of God is extremely powerful! This is what the definition of awesome really is, being in the presence of God inspires this overwhelming power of reverence and admiration.
Isaiah 6:1-4 says “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” And then in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 proclaims His righteousness. Chapter 4:3-11 says “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.”
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’ ”
This is talking about the very throne of God, it barely mentions God Himself, but all that is around Him, and everything that is bows down to Him. He is worthy of all honor, glory, power, praise and He is worthy of our very lives because we were bought with a price and ripped off our price tag saying that we are not for sale that no one else can ever buy us from Him because His price was the greatest, His own eternal life here on earth. He is worthy of even more than we can give materialistically, but He is worthy of our time and lives. He lived to show us who He really is, and He died so that we may have life.
The definition of awesome is inspiring awe, and that is what awe is…..the very presence of God. Do not use the word awesome to describe someone who had a great skateboarding trick or someone who you think is a great person, but only use the word awesome as it really is….the presence of God Almighty, the one who was, is and is to come. The Holy One that is the author and perfector of our salvation and faith. The One’s whose voice makes the mountains bow down and crumble into the sea. The One’s whose presence is like the thunder in our hearts and lightning over the mountain tops spreading across the sky. This is the truth about what “awesome” really is. We tend to forget the true awesome nature of God when we dull down and change words that mean as such, and the true majesty of God to our mindset is lowered and skewed because of this. Don’t use the word “awesome” to describe something so miniscule, but treat the word with the full respect and worth that it is, so you may treat God with the worth and respect that He deserves.
You are not junk
How many of us know who we are? I still yet to have found myself, rather than even knowing myself. I don’t know what God has in store for me down to the very T, I do know some generalities, but not specifics of what He has in store for me. In Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5 it says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you….” God knew us before we even were, and He will know us even after our death from this world. We can only know us on this world, and not even the entire time then because it takes a few years before our brain to function inline, and then several years to know what our likes/dislikes are, our strengths/weaknesses are, and who we want to be. We can only know who we want to be, God already knows who we are, because why? God hand crafted and designed you, with drawn out plans and blue prints, Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you…” could that mean He had blue prints for us?? I don’t think we were created on an assembly line to all be alike, because if so, I would look like every male species on the planet. So, if you really don’t know who you are, let me introduce you to yourself.
In Corinthians it says that we have a treasure that is of God within us, treasure in Greek is translated as “Deposit” so, we have a deposit that is of God within us. God has deposited His Spirit within us, so when we say that Christ is in us, this is what it means. You are a treasure that is of God, because you are you. You have yourself hidden within you, and that is God’s treasure, if He didn’t love you….He wouldn’t have taken the time to design you to begin with, but He did, and you are here now. And it is time that you too figure out who you really are. You are not destined to fail as the world says, as your friends say, as some of your parents may say. You are not destined to fail, but prevail over each person that is not a child of God. You are destined to prevail over the gates of hell, you are destined to prevail because the Father, Almighty God has called you “More than a Conqueror” and calls you, “My beloved child, hide in the shadow of my wing and I will destroy your enemy” Isaiah 41:12-14 says “ ‘Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you’ declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”
The Almighty God handcrafted you….you are not junk. John 2:9-10 (this is right after Christ turned the water into wine) "and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then He called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
I want to emphasize the quality of Christ’s work here. The wine that Christ had made from water only, was the best the master had ever tasted even. But when we think about ourselves, when we look in the mirror everyday, or wake up each morning...do we think to ourselves "I am not junk" or do we look as say "i look like crap" or point out the bad things by saying "oh crap, i have a pimple,"? The word says in 1 John 3:1-3, "How great is the love the Father that He has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." The love of God is so great, it LAVISHES us! The definition for Lavish is “to expend or give in great amounts or without limit” which is a verb tense in the Greek, meaning…..IT STILL IS HAPPENING!! He does not call us junk, but "my beloved, my children" and the word of God says that we "shall be LIKE HIM!!" what?!? we shall be like Christ?!?
God did not create junk, the wine that He made was the BEST there was. We as Christians are bland as water sometimes, but when we obey our Lord, Jesus Christ, we may still yet feel bland when we are told to do something, but the obedience in actually pouring ourselves out as Christ told us to do, that is when we see the miracles happen and the bland water turned into the BEST tasting wine there was! God does not create junk, He created us perfectly the way He wanted us to be created…that doesn’t mean looks though, God does not judge by outward appearances but by the heart. And He created us to be perfect in His eyes….we don’t always live up to standard, but that is why Christ came, to save us and bring us back to that state in the Father's eyes by the sacrifice of His life, and the pouring out of His blood on the mercy seat. He created you by the BEST design He had for you, how you were designed to be, not assembly line, but hand crafted and placed even before the creation of the world, and He set a time for you to be born and to come back home, if you follow His words and footsteps of life.
In Corinthians it says that we have a treasure that is of God within us, treasure in Greek is translated as “Deposit” so, we have a deposit that is of God within us. God has deposited His Spirit within us, so when we say that Christ is in us, this is what it means. You are a treasure that is of God, because you are you. You have yourself hidden within you, and that is God’s treasure, if He didn’t love you….He wouldn’t have taken the time to design you to begin with, but He did, and you are here now. And it is time that you too figure out who you really are. You are not destined to fail as the world says, as your friends say, as some of your parents may say. You are not destined to fail, but prevail over each person that is not a child of God. You are destined to prevail over the gates of hell, you are destined to prevail because the Father, Almighty God has called you “More than a Conqueror” and calls you, “My beloved child, hide in the shadow of my wing and I will destroy your enemy” Isaiah 41:12-14 says “ ‘Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you’ declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”
The Almighty God handcrafted you….you are not junk. John 2:9-10 (this is right after Christ turned the water into wine) "and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then He called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
I want to emphasize the quality of Christ’s work here. The wine that Christ had made from water only, was the best the master had ever tasted even. But when we think about ourselves, when we look in the mirror everyday, or wake up each morning...do we think to ourselves "I am not junk" or do we look as say "i look like crap" or point out the bad things by saying "oh crap, i have a pimple,"? The word says in 1 John 3:1-3, "How great is the love the Father that He has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." The love of God is so great, it LAVISHES us! The definition for Lavish is “to expend or give in great amounts or without limit” which is a verb tense in the Greek, meaning…..IT STILL IS HAPPENING!! He does not call us junk, but "my beloved, my children" and the word of God says that we "shall be LIKE HIM!!" what?!? we shall be like Christ?!?
God did not create junk, the wine that He made was the BEST there was. We as Christians are bland as water sometimes, but when we obey our Lord, Jesus Christ, we may still yet feel bland when we are told to do something, but the obedience in actually pouring ourselves out as Christ told us to do, that is when we see the miracles happen and the bland water turned into the BEST tasting wine there was! God does not create junk, He created us perfectly the way He wanted us to be created…that doesn’t mean looks though, God does not judge by outward appearances but by the heart. And He created us to be perfect in His eyes….we don’t always live up to standard, but that is why Christ came, to save us and bring us back to that state in the Father's eyes by the sacrifice of His life, and the pouring out of His blood on the mercy seat. He created you by the BEST design He had for you, how you were designed to be, not assembly line, but hand crafted and placed even before the creation of the world, and He set a time for you to be born and to come back home, if you follow His words and footsteps of life.
A psychological study on the effects of what type of music we listen to
I believe God created music to pierce our hearts, anyone can agree with that. Each person listens to music that infatuates them, that keeps their interests, a lot of it being because they can relate to things that happen in the songs.
In the field of Psychology, a man named Dr. Craig Anderson is regarded as a the leading figure of the "effects of violent video games and other forms of media violence" which includes the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and just simply what we like to put into our minds. He is so highly regarded that he was asked to sit in front of the U.S. Senate to testify to a hearing on "The Impact of Interactive Violence on Children" and has served on the Media Violence Expert Panel for the Surgeon General. So this guy knows his stuff, or as I say it, he knows his crap.
Dr. Anderson was giving a lecture at Nebraska Wesleyan University on March 22, 2007 (so this is very new information) and a few students interviewed him. One student asked him:
What group of people do you think are the most susceptible to the effects of violent video games, and why?
Dr. Anderson replied, "Many researchers in the field of media violence think that people who are high on what you would call trait aggression (especially children and adolescents) are going to be more influenced by exposure to media violence that people who are low on trait aggression. In other words, many scholars believe that highly aggressive people are more susceptible to the harmful effects of media violence that are non aggressive people. However, I think that the research evidence over the years doesn't bear that out, yet. Some studies show this heightened susceptibility to highly aggressive people, but some studies show the opposite including one of my studies (Anderson, 1997). That study found that people who are lowest on trait aggression showed the biggest effect of a violent movie manipulation. Those data yielded a significant interaction between measures of trait aggression and measures of media violence exposure. The non aggressive people who watched a violent movie clip displayed more aggressive thoughts that non aggressive people who saw the nonviolent clip, but highly aggressive people were relatively unaffected by the movie clip manipulation. Other researchers have found the opposite type of interaction. For example, in some studies those who score high on trait aggressiveness and have been exposed to a lot of violent media are the ones who are most likely to have, at some time in their lives, been arrested for assault. Well, is that because the media violence effect only operates on high trait-aggressive people? Perhaps low trait-aggressive people are equally affected, but because their general level of aggression is low, media violence can't increase their willingness to aggression enough to rise to the level of assaulting sometime."
This research team led by Dr. Anderson has led a HUGE impact on the video game world in many countries around the world causing them to have restrictions on media (such as video games and the music we listen to) on various countries....except the United States. Why? Because we are too wrapped around money, people think they own money which it is actually reverse, money owns people.
One key that I find in this research is that Dr. Anderson doesn't just use video games as he was asked, he uses the term "Media Violence" that he has studied all sorts of it, movies, music, video games etc...
Also, i look at it in a spiritual level as well. Before Satan was kicked out of heaven before the revolt, what did he do? he was the worship leader. so he KNOWS music, and he knows that it was created to penetrate our heart and soul. this is why i believe that he is using it against us in every form of media because he knows that is the biggest tool that he has, but yet the most stealth as well because people would "never" associate it with him.
so it all comes down to, music was created to penetrate our heart and soul, as Dr. Anderson's study showed that it really does alter our behavior and literally changes us, but also the bible says "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" and if i have something that is a tool of satan in my heart....i will be speaking satan. maybe not directly, but in such a small way at first, it is subtle, but then eventually grow to be a larger problem later in life.
this is my own personal opinion, i just want you all to read the research and the opinion just to see if you agree. i'm not forcing this on a single person.
**interview is from Psi Chi magazine, summer 2008/volume 12/no 4
In the field of Psychology, a man named Dr. Craig Anderson is regarded as a the leading figure of the "effects of violent video games and other forms of media violence" which includes the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and just simply what we like to put into our minds. He is so highly regarded that he was asked to sit in front of the U.S. Senate to testify to a hearing on "The Impact of Interactive Violence on Children" and has served on the Media Violence Expert Panel for the Surgeon General. So this guy knows his stuff, or as I say it, he knows his crap.
Dr. Anderson was giving a lecture at Nebraska Wesleyan University on March 22, 2007 (so this is very new information) and a few students interviewed him. One student asked him:
What group of people do you think are the most susceptible to the effects of violent video games, and why?
Dr. Anderson replied, "Many researchers in the field of media violence think that people who are high on what you would call trait aggression (especially children and adolescents) are going to be more influenced by exposure to media violence that people who are low on trait aggression. In other words, many scholars believe that highly aggressive people are more susceptible to the harmful effects of media violence that are non aggressive people. However, I think that the research evidence over the years doesn't bear that out, yet. Some studies show this heightened susceptibility to highly aggressive people, but some studies show the opposite including one of my studies (Anderson, 1997). That study found that people who are lowest on trait aggression showed the biggest effect of a violent movie manipulation. Those data yielded a significant interaction between measures of trait aggression and measures of media violence exposure. The non aggressive people who watched a violent movie clip displayed more aggressive thoughts that non aggressive people who saw the nonviolent clip, but highly aggressive people were relatively unaffected by the movie clip manipulation. Other researchers have found the opposite type of interaction. For example, in some studies those who score high on trait aggressiveness and have been exposed to a lot of violent media are the ones who are most likely to have, at some time in their lives, been arrested for assault. Well, is that because the media violence effect only operates on high trait-aggressive people? Perhaps low trait-aggressive people are equally affected, but because their general level of aggression is low, media violence can't increase their willingness to aggression enough to rise to the level of assaulting sometime."
This research team led by Dr. Anderson has led a HUGE impact on the video game world in many countries around the world causing them to have restrictions on media (such as video games and the music we listen to) on various countries....except the United States. Why? Because we are too wrapped around money, people think they own money which it is actually reverse, money owns people.
One key that I find in this research is that Dr. Anderson doesn't just use video games as he was asked, he uses the term "Media Violence" that he has studied all sorts of it, movies, music, video games etc...
Also, i look at it in a spiritual level as well. Before Satan was kicked out of heaven before the revolt, what did he do? he was the worship leader. so he KNOWS music, and he knows that it was created to penetrate our heart and soul. this is why i believe that he is using it against us in every form of media because he knows that is the biggest tool that he has, but yet the most stealth as well because people would "never" associate it with him.
so it all comes down to, music was created to penetrate our heart and soul, as Dr. Anderson's study showed that it really does alter our behavior and literally changes us, but also the bible says "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" and if i have something that is a tool of satan in my heart....i will be speaking satan. maybe not directly, but in such a small way at first, it is subtle, but then eventually grow to be a larger problem later in life.
this is my own personal opinion, i just want you all to read the research and the opinion just to see if you agree. i'm not forcing this on a single person.
**interview is from Psi Chi magazine, summer 2008/volume 12/no 4
A Christian must be disciplined and orderly
We (as Christians) often preach on the Religion vs. Relationship, I wanna take it a step further beyond the charasmatic goggles and to clear a little bit up to open our eyes a little wider toward the Lord by knowledge and wisdom......
So often as humans we tend to think of discipline as a bad thing, when in actuality it is a GREAT and necessary part of life. If we were never disciplined, we would never be right because we wouldn't have ever been corrected from our own statements and opinions, even our actions. Many people are CRAZY on fire for God, which is totally GREAT! But, when you do not apply discipline to the radical love that you have for God, it is very, very dangerous. Many people are crazy “fools” running around like a chicken with their head cut off, screaming “God is Great!” which God is Great, but also you don’t do this in the middle of Wal-Mart is my point. Paul was a crazy on fire preaching sternly and without fear but, He was a man of discipline, and strong discipline at that. One things that made Paul very annoyed was when Mark had jumped ship when Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary trip, one thing I believe it was is because Mark was still a rather young man but it was because of the lack of discipline that he had (which as Mark grew into a man Paul accepted him... 2 Timothy 4:11). If you read the scriptures, it says “Paul went to the synagogue and taught there…” meaning that he knew that there was a place for it. In the early church when Christianity was still recognized by Roman authority as still apart of Judaism (which was a legal religion), Paul was by governing law allowed to teach, but many Jews did not accept him and threw him out, but He was still legally allowed to teach. My point is, He taught in synagogues and preaching in synagogues and within closed homes, he didn’t hit up the closest target and scream out “REPENT!!! JESUS IS THE KING, NOT YOUR LAW!!!” Also, all of Paul’s epistles were to rebuke and discipline the churches that he had planted in the name of the Lord. Even John the Baptist and Jesus Himself did say these things, BUT in the culture in which they lived this was proper to teach/preach/prophesied outside, unlike our culture in America today, so to solve this, we can set up outreaches that people already know that preaching and teaching of the Word is going to happen so it is not thrown in someones face. Many of our early church fathers strictly and sternly disciplined the newly labeled believers called “Christians”, to teach them about the life and ministry of Christ; also that it wasn’t just stuck in time, but that He is beyond time and that He is coming back and that we need to turn from our wicked ways and seek the light for He is in the light. So we see a balance between Radical Extremism and Empty Religiousism, which I stand for as well.....Disciplined Orthodoxy.
Discipline is a NEEDED requirement for Christians. First off, it is a fruit of the Spirit and secondly because if we are just running around in an undisciplined way of life, we are living in rebellion to God by means of a rebellious spirit....sounds like Jezebel doesn't it? Even 1 Samuel 15:23a "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry." We need to live in discipline because we are not getting anything done for the Kingdom we are just loose cannons. We tend to think of God as 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says and how we equate this to God's love for us, but it should also be our love for God as well, we should be patient with God (as God is with us stated in 2 Peter 3:9 ) we should be kind to God when things don't go our way....and so on and so forth. But then in Revelation 3:19 it states "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent," so we should imitate God and show discipline in ourselves and teach others discipline with Scripture as 2 Timothy 3:16 states “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” One thing that radical extremists (or ‘weird Christians’) say when they are preparing something to speak about is “I’m not going to prepare something at all, but I am going to be led by the Holy Spirit”, WRONG! This is a very wrong approach and is not what is implied when the word says, Mark 13:11, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” but this verse is talking about when you are throne in prison and persecuted because of your faith in Christ Jesus. Now, I do believe that if life is busy for a short time and that you do need to preach something and you don’t know what to talk about, I do believe the Lord will fill in that gap, but to live like this is very undisciplined (which is the rebellious spirit) and very unbiblical. Furthermore, this is a very ungodly attribute because He knows what to say before He says it, so we should imitate Him. But what I am not saying is that we need to fill the entire time up that we have as well, believe that we need to fill it up with the entire message that we feel on our heart to send out, and leave room for the Spirit to move as well, a balance.
A review from www.newcreation.org says about the book entitled Running the Race By John Dunn says, “The idea of sell-control or self-discipline is almost foreign to our culture. This attitude has invaded the church to such an extent that many Christians have no sense of the urgent need for holiness of life and genuine discipleship. Behind this shortcoming there often lies a low view of the grace of God and a shallow understanding of the wonder of his forgiveness.” This discipline that it is talking about is discipleship rather than crazy Christianity. Another review from the same website says “…is a call to Christians to get back to biblical basics in the areas of personal self-discipline, holy living, being Disciples of Christ and having right goals. It looks at the necessity for a consistent walk with the Lord in Bible study, prayer, worship and living in the Spirit. The author urges readers to take seriously the dire necessity to bring one's mind, body and conduct under the authority of Scripture. This affects all areas of living including our attitude to work, the use of time and money, and right conduct within our relationships. Christian self-discipline is shown to be fundamental not only to a right perspective on life here and now, but pivotal in setting our goals so that we will be in step with God's ultimate intention to bring us into glory as His sons and daughters who reflect the character of His Son.” Discipline is in all aspects of life rather than just our Christian walk, we are always living with the authority of God over us rather than us saying we have authority but so many times we don’t acknowledge the one who really has the authority over us because only God is sovereign and we are subject to Him.
Some verses on Christian order are listed in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. I want to emphasize the verse 40 though, it states, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” The example I used before, screaming “Jesus, That’s my king!” inside of Wal-Mart is not fitting and especially is not order. Paul would have had a fit with many of these “Christian weirdo’s.” Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, be he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:15, "That way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advise." Also, 10:17 "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." But like my dad used to always say, "I discipline you because I love you, if I let you do whatever you wanted then you would know I don't care about you because I wouldn't stop you from hurting yourself." (compare statement to Revelation 3:19 )
We as Christians have authority in heaven, yes, but running around like a loose cannon is 1, very dangerous and 2, is not showing that we really belong to God because the fruit of His Spirit is self-discipline is it not? His word says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us…..” again in Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children” and once more in Philippians 2:5 “Your attitude should be the same that of Christ Jesus.” Jesus did do some things that seemed unorthodox but He was a much disciplined man and He knew the true spirit behind the law. Disciplined does not mean a "religious spirit" is over us either, as some extremists may and very well might say to you when you speak to them on disciplined Christianity. First of, where do people come off saying "you have a religious spirit" anyway? Does not the Bible say in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Fathher accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after oprphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" I want everyone to notice something at the very beginning of the verse though, "Religion that God our Father accepts" meaning that God accepts religion. It is empty religion that our Father does not accept and is worthless as the previous verse states. The difference between empty religion and disciplined orthodoxy is that empty religion is forced worship and there is no heart in it, no love, it is not a choice. Disciplined Orthodoxy rather is you are crazy on fire for God, but not acting uncivilized and undignified in the wrong times, there is a time and place for that and as I stated before, in the middle of Wal-Mart is not the time and place for that, but at a huge move of the Spirit within a church body (not necessarily the 4 walls of a church). This also does not mean that you can jump and hang from chandeliers within your church because you “felt the ‘Spirit’ move you to do so…” but as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:40 “…fittingly and order.” Remember, 2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." So we must use discernment because as Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 " For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." So even spirit filled people can be deceived, so we must use wisdom. But do not worry, James 1:5 says " If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."
We need to set fire to our hearts, and not contain it at all as empty religiousism held down by a "religious spirit" as some call it, but I like to state it as what it just is.....complacency. This is why we need to show a focused and disciplined mindset that shows the nature of God rather than a radical extremist who only has a plan for the moment and has no set smaller goals to achieve larger goals and we need to earn greatness rather than fame. So, discipline is a great thing, and it doesn't always mean we have done something wrong, it is showing that the Lord is training us to be 100% in accordance with His vision; He is training us to be more like Him, but to be more like ourselves....His design for ourselves. We have set ourselves so “apart of the world” that the world cannot influence us, but if the world can’t touch us, how can we touch the world? Christ did say that “we are not of this world” but He also did say “that even though they are not of this world, they are still in the world” and that is why He was praying in John chapter 17 for our protection from the evil one. We need to keep order within ourselves, be a gentile to the gentile (not doing their acts, but living orderly among them as they live orderly) and we need to influence the world not by our craziness or our Jesus t-shirts, but by the glowing of God’s glory from our face, His love from our hearts and His order in our minds. Titus 2:10 says it PERFECTLY "...so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." We must make the teaching of Jesus Christ attractive to the world, not compromising holiness but not using force either. And this is only done with a motivation of love.
basically, have the passion that you would be willing to scream from the top of your lungs, but with self-control not to so you can "...so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive" Titus 2:10 (NIV) not meaning to be seeker-sensitive, but to show order and self-control....one of the fruits of the Spirit! We do need a passion to be able to shout it from the mountain tops, and use self-control because as 1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible' - but not everything is benificial, 'Everything is permissible' but not everything is constructive" so we need to use self-control. As my good friend Chris Davis said one day, "Unbridled passion is cause for concern, but passion controlled is beauty at its best," very true, expresses Christ's heart for order and togetherness in His bride!
Now, if some have fallen on the empty religiousism horn, pray for passion. That God may stir your heart to movement, that you do not fall under what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21,23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' But let us not fall into the other horn of the argument of Radical Extremism so that we are attractive to unbelievers as Titus 2:10 has stated. We must not be seeker sensitive but also not overbearing, we must not be crazy christian weirdos but we must not be pew fillers but have no heart for Christ to spread His truth and do nothing to stand up for Him when attacked. We must have a disciplined mindset, because that is what is truly orthodox.
Finally, remember just because the Bible says that we are a "peculiar people" doesn't mean that gives us an excuse to be a bunch of weirdos.
So often as humans we tend to think of discipline as a bad thing, when in actuality it is a GREAT and necessary part of life. If we were never disciplined, we would never be right because we wouldn't have ever been corrected from our own statements and opinions, even our actions. Many people are CRAZY on fire for God, which is totally GREAT! But, when you do not apply discipline to the radical love that you have for God, it is very, very dangerous. Many people are crazy “fools” running around like a chicken with their head cut off, screaming “God is Great!” which God is Great, but also you don’t do this in the middle of Wal-Mart is my point. Paul was a crazy on fire preaching sternly and without fear but, He was a man of discipline, and strong discipline at that. One things that made Paul very annoyed was when Mark had jumped ship when Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary trip, one thing I believe it was is because Mark was still a rather young man but it was because of the lack of discipline that he had (which as Mark grew into a man Paul accepted him... 2 Timothy 4:11). If you read the scriptures, it says “Paul went to the synagogue and taught there…” meaning that he knew that there was a place for it. In the early church when Christianity was still recognized by Roman authority as still apart of Judaism (which was a legal religion), Paul was by governing law allowed to teach, but many Jews did not accept him and threw him out, but He was still legally allowed to teach. My point is, He taught in synagogues and preaching in synagogues and within closed homes, he didn’t hit up the closest target and scream out “REPENT!!! JESUS IS THE KING, NOT YOUR LAW!!!” Also, all of Paul’s epistles were to rebuke and discipline the churches that he had planted in the name of the Lord. Even John the Baptist and Jesus Himself did say these things, BUT in the culture in which they lived this was proper to teach/preach/prophesied outside, unlike our culture in America today, so to solve this, we can set up outreaches that people already know that preaching and teaching of the Word is going to happen so it is not thrown in someones face. Many of our early church fathers strictly and sternly disciplined the newly labeled believers called “Christians”, to teach them about the life and ministry of Christ; also that it wasn’t just stuck in time, but that He is beyond time and that He is coming back and that we need to turn from our wicked ways and seek the light for He is in the light. So we see a balance between Radical Extremism and Empty Religiousism, which I stand for as well.....Disciplined Orthodoxy.
Discipline is a NEEDED requirement for Christians. First off, it is a fruit of the Spirit and secondly because if we are just running around in an undisciplined way of life, we are living in rebellion to God by means of a rebellious spirit....sounds like Jezebel doesn't it? Even 1 Samuel 15:23a "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry." We need to live in discipline because we are not getting anything done for the Kingdom we are just loose cannons. We tend to think of God as 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says and how we equate this to God's love for us, but it should also be our love for God as well, we should be patient with God (as God is with us stated in 2 Peter 3:9 ) we should be kind to God when things don't go our way....and so on and so forth. But then in Revelation 3:19 it states "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent," so we should imitate God and show discipline in ourselves and teach others discipline with Scripture as 2 Timothy 3:16 states “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” One thing that radical extremists (or ‘weird Christians’) say when they are preparing something to speak about is “I’m not going to prepare something at all, but I am going to be led by the Holy Spirit”, WRONG! This is a very wrong approach and is not what is implied when the word says, Mark 13:11, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” but this verse is talking about when you are throne in prison and persecuted because of your faith in Christ Jesus. Now, I do believe that if life is busy for a short time and that you do need to preach something and you don’t know what to talk about, I do believe the Lord will fill in that gap, but to live like this is very undisciplined (which is the rebellious spirit) and very unbiblical. Furthermore, this is a very ungodly attribute because He knows what to say before He says it, so we should imitate Him. But what I am not saying is that we need to fill the entire time up that we have as well, believe that we need to fill it up with the entire message that we feel on our heart to send out, and leave room for the Spirit to move as well, a balance.
A review from www.newcreation.org says about the book entitled Running the Race By John Dunn says, “The idea of sell-control or self-discipline is almost foreign to our culture. This attitude has invaded the church to such an extent that many Christians have no sense of the urgent need for holiness of life and genuine discipleship. Behind this shortcoming there often lies a low view of the grace of God and a shallow understanding of the wonder of his forgiveness.” This discipline that it is talking about is discipleship rather than crazy Christianity. Another review from the same website says “…is a call to Christians to get back to biblical basics in the areas of personal self-discipline, holy living, being Disciples of Christ and having right goals. It looks at the necessity for a consistent walk with the Lord in Bible study, prayer, worship and living in the Spirit. The author urges readers to take seriously the dire necessity to bring one's mind, body and conduct under the authority of Scripture. This affects all areas of living including our attitude to work, the use of time and money, and right conduct within our relationships. Christian self-discipline is shown to be fundamental not only to a right perspective on life here and now, but pivotal in setting our goals so that we will be in step with God's ultimate intention to bring us into glory as His sons and daughters who reflect the character of His Son.” Discipline is in all aspects of life rather than just our Christian walk, we are always living with the authority of God over us rather than us saying we have authority but so many times we don’t acknowledge the one who really has the authority over us because only God is sovereign and we are subject to Him.
Some verses on Christian order are listed in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. I want to emphasize the verse 40 though, it states, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” The example I used before, screaming “Jesus, That’s my king!” inside of Wal-Mart is not fitting and especially is not order. Paul would have had a fit with many of these “Christian weirdo’s.” Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, be he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:15, "That way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advise." Also, 10:17 "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." But like my dad used to always say, "I discipline you because I love you, if I let you do whatever you wanted then you would know I don't care about you because I wouldn't stop you from hurting yourself." (compare statement to Revelation 3:19 )
We as Christians have authority in heaven, yes, but running around like a loose cannon is 1, very dangerous and 2, is not showing that we really belong to God because the fruit of His Spirit is self-discipline is it not? His word says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us…..” again in Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children” and once more in Philippians 2:5 “Your attitude should be the same that of Christ Jesus.” Jesus did do some things that seemed unorthodox but He was a much disciplined man and He knew the true spirit behind the law. Disciplined does not mean a "religious spirit" is over us either, as some extremists may and very well might say to you when you speak to them on disciplined Christianity. First of, where do people come off saying "you have a religious spirit" anyway? Does not the Bible say in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Fathher accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after oprphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" I want everyone to notice something at the very beginning of the verse though, "Religion that God our Father accepts" meaning that God accepts religion. It is empty religion that our Father does not accept and is worthless as the previous verse states. The difference between empty religion and disciplined orthodoxy is that empty religion is forced worship and there is no heart in it, no love, it is not a choice. Disciplined Orthodoxy rather is you are crazy on fire for God, but not acting uncivilized and undignified in the wrong times, there is a time and place for that and as I stated before, in the middle of Wal-Mart is not the time and place for that, but at a huge move of the Spirit within a church body (not necessarily the 4 walls of a church). This also does not mean that you can jump and hang from chandeliers within your church because you “felt the ‘Spirit’ move you to do so…” but as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:40 “…fittingly and order.” Remember, 2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." So we must use discernment because as Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 " For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." So even spirit filled people can be deceived, so we must use wisdom. But do not worry, James 1:5 says " If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."
We need to set fire to our hearts, and not contain it at all as empty religiousism held down by a "religious spirit" as some call it, but I like to state it as what it just is.....complacency. This is why we need to show a focused and disciplined mindset that shows the nature of God rather than a radical extremist who only has a plan for the moment and has no set smaller goals to achieve larger goals and we need to earn greatness rather than fame. So, discipline is a great thing, and it doesn't always mean we have done something wrong, it is showing that the Lord is training us to be 100% in accordance with His vision; He is training us to be more like Him, but to be more like ourselves....His design for ourselves. We have set ourselves so “apart of the world” that the world cannot influence us, but if the world can’t touch us, how can we touch the world? Christ did say that “we are not of this world” but He also did say “that even though they are not of this world, they are still in the world” and that is why He was praying in John chapter 17 for our protection from the evil one. We need to keep order within ourselves, be a gentile to the gentile (not doing their acts, but living orderly among them as they live orderly) and we need to influence the world not by our craziness or our Jesus t-shirts, but by the glowing of God’s glory from our face, His love from our hearts and His order in our minds. Titus 2:10 says it PERFECTLY "...so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." We must make the teaching of Jesus Christ attractive to the world, not compromising holiness but not using force either. And this is only done with a motivation of love.
basically, have the passion that you would be willing to scream from the top of your lungs, but with self-control not to so you can "...so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive" Titus 2:10 (NIV) not meaning to be seeker-sensitive, but to show order and self-control....one of the fruits of the Spirit! We do need a passion to be able to shout it from the mountain tops, and use self-control because as 1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible' - but not everything is benificial, 'Everything is permissible' but not everything is constructive" so we need to use self-control. As my good friend Chris Davis said one day, "Unbridled passion is cause for concern, but passion controlled is beauty at its best," very true, expresses Christ's heart for order and togetherness in His bride!
Now, if some have fallen on the empty religiousism horn, pray for passion. That God may stir your heart to movement, that you do not fall under what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21,23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' But let us not fall into the other horn of the argument of Radical Extremism so that we are attractive to unbelievers as Titus 2:10 has stated. We must not be seeker sensitive but also not overbearing, we must not be crazy christian weirdos but we must not be pew fillers but have no heart for Christ to spread His truth and do nothing to stand up for Him when attacked. We must have a disciplined mindset, because that is what is truly orthodox.
Finally, remember just because the Bible says that we are a "peculiar people" doesn't mean that gives us an excuse to be a bunch of weirdos.
Something stirring in my spirit
If feel the better of my days haven't even started, but is about ready to begin. Time for training is over! and time for battle has started, we will recruit and train more troops to fight with HONOR, with VALOR, with the Glory in the presence of God. The war that stands before us has been brought to our doorstep, and it is time to fight for our field, for what is ours. The enemy will not have a chance, we WILL prevail. For the Son of Man is coming soon, in this age....it is time for these dry bones to rise up and TAKE THEIR STAND and fight. The was at hand is the last and final battle, but thanks be to God for he GAVE us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is time that we draw our swords and put on all our armor that God has provided for us, it is time to take arms and approach the enemy with EVERYTHING we have and and fight with HONOR, VALOR, and the glory of God will shine upon us and destroy ALL darkness. We are few but we are strong, and with every able body we will release the fire shut up in our bones and let the fire burn through the nation and we will let all who have come see the glory and power of God. The enemy may overwhelm us in number, but take heart! the Lord God has made each one of you a stronghold, everyone of you. So you dead, dry bones, rise up, may the breath of life be breathed into you, may your strength be not from fleshy muscle, but from the mighty arm of God. We will wipe out the enemy, as one, we are called into UNISON, we will walk, run, stand and fight as ONE. Dry bones rise up, for you are called by the Lord to be an army, you will fight, for yourselves, your families and friends, but most of all you are fighting for Jesus Christ. For he did great things for us, and he continues to fight right by our side, he watches our back and other points of attack. Fight like a good soldier, for the warrior within you will manafest when the holy spirit is let in and comes upon you. You are called to be a WARRIOR!!! In the words of our Lord as prophesied to Ezekiel "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know I am the LORD." For he raised dry, dead bones; which is what ALL of you are, you are merely dead bones, but the Lord wishes to put the breath of life in you. So rise you skeletons and be alive, for you are ALL called by the Sovereign Lord, to be a WARRIOR!!!
All religions, same place?
(i heard this on the radio, and it was totally sweet!! it is not verbatim but it is still good tho lol)
This is a conversation that has taken place somewhere at sometime between two people. i don't know who, and i don't know when or where or all the details, but many theologies of people think along these lines, and i am here to tell you something that i know, not to say that you are wrong but hear me out and think about it, and then decide if you want to accept Christ as Lord of your entire life and Savior in your heart.
Man 1: So, I heard these Christians preaching, haha. idiots.
Man 2: what's so stupid about it, that is what they believe, nothing stupid about it.
Man 1: yea, but don't they know all religions lead to the same place anyways, why follow some specific way when any religion can take you to a heaven of some sort?
Man 2: i'm not sure i follow you, many roads to the same place?
Man 1: basically. it's like describing a door, one religion would talk about the doors boring panels and another would talk about its golden hinges but all in all, it is the same door.
Man 2: but if a religion talks about the door so much, and never tells you how to open it, it is pointless. When we Christians choose to follow Christ, we are opening the door to see Christ waiting for us on the other side.
Man 1: (speechless)
Man 2: it doesn't matter how much you fluff up or glorify any religion, but when you choose Jesus, you are choosing a relationship in Him and with Him and He is showing you which door is the right one and teaching you how to open it.
**Basically saying, all religions do NOT lead you anywhere, but you have a door in the way of you getting into heaven. Once you find the one that has the key, Jesus Christ, He will show you how to open the door. And instead of you being fascinated by a pointless door, He will show you the glory and splendor of His kingdom in Heaven above. For He is the way, the truth and the life, and none shall get into heaven and see the Father but through Him, and following after Him in His footsteps.
** i do encourage each one to copy and paste this and post this as a note as well, so many more can see this rather than just my friends, but your friends as well, and their friends, and their friends. just keep telling your Christian friends to post this so others can see.
This is a conversation that has taken place somewhere at sometime between two people. i don't know who, and i don't know when or where or all the details, but many theologies of people think along these lines, and i am here to tell you something that i know, not to say that you are wrong but hear me out and think about it, and then decide if you want to accept Christ as Lord of your entire life and Savior in your heart.
Man 1: So, I heard these Christians preaching, haha. idiots.
Man 2: what's so stupid about it, that is what they believe, nothing stupid about it.
Man 1: yea, but don't they know all religions lead to the same place anyways, why follow some specific way when any religion can take you to a heaven of some sort?
Man 2: i'm not sure i follow you, many roads to the same place?
Man 1: basically. it's like describing a door, one religion would talk about the doors boring panels and another would talk about its golden hinges but all in all, it is the same door.
Man 2: but if a religion talks about the door so much, and never tells you how to open it, it is pointless. When we Christians choose to follow Christ, we are opening the door to see Christ waiting for us on the other side.
Man 1: (speechless)
Man 2: it doesn't matter how much you fluff up or glorify any religion, but when you choose Jesus, you are choosing a relationship in Him and with Him and He is showing you which door is the right one and teaching you how to open it.
**Basically saying, all religions do NOT lead you anywhere, but you have a door in the way of you getting into heaven. Once you find the one that has the key, Jesus Christ, He will show you how to open the door. And instead of you being fascinated by a pointless door, He will show you the glory and splendor of His kingdom in Heaven above. For He is the way, the truth and the life, and none shall get into heaven and see the Father but through Him, and following after Him in His footsteps.
** i do encourage each one to copy and paste this and post this as a note as well, so many more can see this rather than just my friends, but your friends as well, and their friends, and their friends. just keep telling your Christian friends to post this so others can see.
Love versus Tolerance
*The passage is from Josh McDowell not from me, but the italics in brackets are my own thoughts from it and with current statements that I hear in modern days.
Tolerance
One word, Two meanings
The traditional definition of tolerance means simply to recognize and respect others' beliefs, practices, and so forth without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them. This attitude, that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion, is what tolerance means to most of us.
But today's definition is vastly different. Unfortunately, this new tolerance considers every individual's beliefs, values, lifestyle and truth claims as equally valid. So not only does everyone have an equal right to his or her beliefs, but all beliefs are equal. [This is the current mindset of people today, that they confuse the idea that though everyone is entitled to an opinion does not mean that they are right. Some people think that because someone is completely sincere about their stance on a certain topic, i.e. religion, politics, homosexuality, science...etc. and they forget that just because someone is sincere doesn't mean they are correct, they could just be sincerely wrong.] The new tolerance goes beyond respecting a person's rights; it demands praise and endorsement of that person's beliefs, values and lifestyle.
Tolerance/Love
The new tolerance simply avoids offending someone; we must actively seek to promote the good of another person:
Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do." Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."
Tolerance says, "You must agree with me." Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will tell you the truth because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.'"
Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way." Love responds, "I must do something more difficult; I will plead with you to follow the right way because I believe you are worth the risk"
Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks.
Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity.
Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Josh McDowell has pointed out MANY great points here, not only the distortion from the word "tolerance" itself, but how often do we here "we all should love each other and accept each other for who they are" and then it goes into "i love you and i will let you do whatever you want" and finally "i don't want to tell them what to do, it is their life and i love them enough to let them live their own life." The flaws in these are....they are not love. Love always protects, so if someone is in danger because of their lifestyle, a person who loves them will sacrifice their time and energy to be persistent after them until the truth of love and reality sets them free. Here are a few good quotes to help us understand what love is....
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
" Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer....show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
We see that love does not tolerate ignorant behavior but perseveres and bears all things, it endures and is everlasting from its sincerity. Notice in the second statement, " Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Said more simply, Love is sincere, hate what is crap and hold on to the good things. Love is just and brings complete justice to anything, because love disciplines. For example, a parent sees their child reaching for a hot stove and pulls them away and tells them, "NO! Hot!" is an example of love. Now, tolerance on the other hand...same example....a parent sees their child reaching for a hot oven and says, "I like to let my child experiment, and learn from their own mistakes. They are creative and they will develop their own mind and life this way." This is not only not love, but hatred and idiotic, child abuse and a felony as well.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. " That is what love is, letting others know of the mistakes that have already happened, because when we do not learn from our mistakes, as the saying goes, "The one who does not study history is doomed to repeat it." Love teaches and corrects and disciplines.
Let us learn the difference between this disgust of the perverted understanding of "tolerance" and discard it from our minds and teach others the truth of tolerance that it does not mean to exalt other people beliefs, but only to acknowledge that it is there, and love shares and teaches the truth about every situation.
Tolerance
One word, Two meanings
The traditional definition of tolerance means simply to recognize and respect others' beliefs, practices, and so forth without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them. This attitude, that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion, is what tolerance means to most of us.
But today's definition is vastly different. Unfortunately, this new tolerance considers every individual's beliefs, values, lifestyle and truth claims as equally valid. So not only does everyone have an equal right to his or her beliefs, but all beliefs are equal. [This is the current mindset of people today, that they confuse the idea that though everyone is entitled to an opinion does not mean that they are right. Some people think that because someone is completely sincere about their stance on a certain topic, i.e. religion, politics, homosexuality, science...etc. and they forget that just because someone is sincere doesn't mean they are correct, they could just be sincerely wrong.] The new tolerance goes beyond respecting a person's rights; it demands praise and endorsement of that person's beliefs, values and lifestyle.
Tolerance/Love
The new tolerance simply avoids offending someone; we must actively seek to promote the good of another person:
Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do." Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."
Tolerance says, "You must agree with me." Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will tell you the truth because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.'"
Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way." Love responds, "I must do something more difficult; I will plead with you to follow the right way because I believe you are worth the risk"
Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks.
Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity.
Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.
__________________________
Josh McDowell has pointed out MANY great points here, not only the distortion from the word "tolerance" itself, but how often do we here "we all should love each other and accept each other for who they are" and then it goes into "i love you and i will let you do whatever you want" and finally "i don't want to tell them what to do, it is their life and i love them enough to let them live their own life." The flaws in these are....they are not love. Love always protects, so if someone is in danger because of their lifestyle, a person who loves them will sacrifice their time and energy to be persistent after them until the truth of love and reality sets them free. Here are a few good quotes to help us understand what love is....
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
" Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer....show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
We see that love does not tolerate ignorant behavior but perseveres and bears all things, it endures and is everlasting from its sincerity. Notice in the second statement, " Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Said more simply, Love is sincere, hate what is crap and hold on to the good things. Love is just and brings complete justice to anything, because love disciplines. For example, a parent sees their child reaching for a hot stove and pulls them away and tells them, "NO! Hot!" is an example of love. Now, tolerance on the other hand...same example....a parent sees their child reaching for a hot oven and says, "I like to let my child experiment, and learn from their own mistakes. They are creative and they will develop their own mind and life this way." This is not only not love, but hatred and idiotic, child abuse and a felony as well.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. " That is what love is, letting others know of the mistakes that have already happened, because when we do not learn from our mistakes, as the saying goes, "The one who does not study history is doomed to repeat it." Love teaches and corrects and disciplines.
Let us learn the difference between this disgust of the perverted understanding of "tolerance" and discard it from our minds and teach others the truth of tolerance that it does not mean to exalt other people beliefs, but only to acknowledge that it is there, and love shares and teaches the truth about every situation.
The Church Delusion
The Church is in a massive delusion. We see this. I have proposed a few different reasons why I believe this, and if you find any other reasons, please post. If you disagree, please correct me gently as a mother corrects her child so that I may not be in err but set on the foundation of truth. I do this for 2 reasons: 1) to point out what is wrong and 2) to offer what I believe can correct it. If we only point out what is wrong and don't do anything about it is is 1) laziness and 2) just stating an obvious (meaning, pointless). So, here are my main points.....
1) Heretics running rampant.
- I believe the reason why heretics are running all over the place is because people have lost interest and abandoned studying the Bible with good hermeneutics and exegesis (contextual and textual studies). This causes believers not to be correctly rooted and disciplined in their studies so that they may not err when it comes to biblical foundation. When people start studying the Bible for themselves, they can see what err these "anointed" teachers are actually preaching, which is heresy to say the least.
- Next, I believe heretics are running rampant because people have become cowardice in calling them out. We must be careful though, in accordance to the Bible in Matthew 18 it describes how we are to correct a brother/sister in Christ. I hear many people say, "the Bible says that we are not to talk bad about anointed ones" using the same statements that David used about Saul when Saul was in err. But what they fail to realize is that 1) Even if David did not speak bad about Saul....Saul was still in err nevertheless and 2) David did not harm Saul...but he still confronted him to ask his position on why he was doing the things he was doing....which I believe is how Christians should act. When we see a pastor, or teacher, or any brother/sister doing something that is questionable, we need to 1) confront them and ask why they say/do the things they do and 2) take their answer and do Biblical study to see if they are in correct standing or error; when we do this though, we MUST NOT take the mindset, "I'm going to find something in Scripture to disprove this guy" because if we do this, we will find what we are looking for because we have an agenda of our own and we will interpret Scripture with our agenda rather than letting Scripture interpret our lives. So, we must pray for discernment and knowledge from the Holy Spirit to guide us through reading in correct standing and then correcting the person with gentleness and kindness that is from above, but this still takes boldness.
2) Unity within the Body.
- Jesus prayed in John 17 for unity of all believers.
- We must understand the very definition of unity before we can even begin to interpret this Scripture.
Unity:: 1) Being united; oneness. 2) a Single, separate thing. 3) Harmony; agreement. 4) a complex that is a union of related parts. 5) a harmonious, unified arrangement of parts in an artistic work
Uniformity:: 1) not varying in form, rate, degree, etc.
....you see, we have confused unity with uniformity, when Jesus actually prayed for unity....not uniformity. Take a look at the definition of "unity" once again and see if you don't notice a striking resemblance between Noah Webster's Dictionary definition of unity and what Paul the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV) "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." We see that Paul writes, "the body is ONE AND HAS MANY MEMBERS" as Webster's Dictionary says, "a harmonious, unified arrangement of parts in an artistic work" and "a complex that is a union of related parts." By this, we can see that the Bible does not preach against denominations but rather denominational tension, that we are all the body of Christ and that we all need to focus on Christ in whom all things are made. Yes, we can have differences but do not think you are better than each other, as Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 12:21 (ESV) "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." So a Pentecostal cannot say to a Catholic they either is better, or a Baptist says to an Episcopalian...etc. etc. We must learn to live and love each other as Christ called us to do, live in harmony with one another. If our beliefs are not contrary to Scripture...than we need to back away from our tension and be humble before them and the Lord, but if their belief is against Scripture, study Scripture a little more so you know exactly what you are talking about and then confront them (with grace) and ask why they believe what they believe...not with harshness or bitter hearts but with gentleness and love.
- Once we learn to be united with one another, we MUST focus on God WITH each other...not in spite of each other. We must learn that other denominations are not the enemy....Satan is. And when the church is finally united, hells army will be scared beyond their belief. Satan already has a united army...why doesn't the church?!?! If we will all stand together and seek the Lord together building each other up in prayer rather than tearing each other down by doctrine, maybe the church's light will penetrate the darkness rather than being fizzled out by exhausting itself on pointlessness. If we see each other as flanks of an army with the Triune-Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) as our general, we can stand up to the world and whatever it throws at us, but we must stand in unity!
My First point talked about how to get rid of the trash within the Church. My Second point talked about how to gather ourselves together AFTER the clean up. and now, my Third point will be talking about how to not only gather ourselves together, but to spread the knowledge of Christ beyond the church.
3) Apologetics
- Since we are already firmly established in the Bible and prayer from the first point, I will not need to expound upon that.
- I believe that all people in the church should have some basic knowledge of apologetics (defense of faith), theology (study of God), and church history. I believe this because when we study apologetics we are standing up for Christ in a secular world as a dog stands up to an attacker that goes after his master. 1 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV) states, "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." Apologetics is for the DEFENSE of faith...not the offense, that would be Scripture. We should have some basic study in theology so that we may know that we are in right standing with the God of revelation...not the one of imagination. Finally, church history, so that we may know what has already been labeled heresy and that we may call out those who continue to follow these unbiblical practices (as my first point call out).
- These are some harsh statements, but reality is harsh, and the church has been passive for WAAAYY too long. I like what Matt Redman stated, "the church has been over-mothered and under-fathered" meaning that there has been a lack of discipline among believers and it is time that we clean house...according to Biblical standards.
- to finish off these points, we must understand that it is with our lives that unbelievers will see Christ as well, so we must practice what we believe, but we must study Scripture so that we may know what we believe in full. The greatest witnessing tool is not apologetics, theology, or church history...but it is our lives that bear the witness of Christ's name (since we are ambassadors as 2 Corinthians 5:20 states). These may seem like hard balances to walk, and I will say YES! they are! I will go as far as to say, they are impossible to walk without the Holy Spirit guiding your life. This is why we need to be Spirit filled believers walking by the Spirit each and every day not only to do miracles but to be the perfect representation of Christ while on earth.
I just wanted to say that I love each one of you and this is why I try not to harshly rebuke you, but to boldly state that this is what is happening and this is my solution, and that is why I ask for your points as well because I am only one man...but with the Holy Spirit, so please, I am asking for conformation. I also do this because I love Jesus Christ and His Church and I am pretty sick of the heresy, ignorance and laziness/cowardice within the church and I am calling forth those true men and women of God to take you out of your comfort zone and tell you that this is a time that we need to clean up, unite, and push forth as an army of Christ, that seeks Him...which tears down hells kingdom. I love you all, and please, make your statements known, but moreover...let your lives be known to unbelievers that they may know Christ as you do.
1) Heretics running rampant.
- I believe the reason why heretics are running all over the place is because people have lost interest and abandoned studying the Bible with good hermeneutics and exegesis (contextual and textual studies). This causes believers not to be correctly rooted and disciplined in their studies so that they may not err when it comes to biblical foundation. When people start studying the Bible for themselves, they can see what err these "anointed" teachers are actually preaching, which is heresy to say the least.
- Next, I believe heretics are running rampant because people have become cowardice in calling them out. We must be careful though, in accordance to the Bible in Matthew 18 it describes how we are to correct a brother/sister in Christ. I hear many people say, "the Bible says that we are not to talk bad about anointed ones" using the same statements that David used about Saul when Saul was in err. But what they fail to realize is that 1) Even if David did not speak bad about Saul....Saul was still in err nevertheless and 2) David did not harm Saul...but he still confronted him to ask his position on why he was doing the things he was doing....which I believe is how Christians should act. When we see a pastor, or teacher, or any brother/sister doing something that is questionable, we need to 1) confront them and ask why they say/do the things they do and 2) take their answer and do Biblical study to see if they are in correct standing or error; when we do this though, we MUST NOT take the mindset, "I'm going to find something in Scripture to disprove this guy" because if we do this, we will find what we are looking for because we have an agenda of our own and we will interpret Scripture with our agenda rather than letting Scripture interpret our lives. So, we must pray for discernment and knowledge from the Holy Spirit to guide us through reading in correct standing and then correcting the person with gentleness and kindness that is from above, but this still takes boldness.
2) Unity within the Body.
- Jesus prayed in John 17 for unity of all believers.
- We must understand the very definition of unity before we can even begin to interpret this Scripture.
Unity:: 1) Being united; oneness. 2) a Single, separate thing. 3) Harmony; agreement. 4) a complex that is a union of related parts. 5) a harmonious, unified arrangement of parts in an artistic work
Uniformity:: 1) not varying in form, rate, degree, etc.
....you see, we have confused unity with uniformity, when Jesus actually prayed for unity....not uniformity. Take a look at the definition of "unity" once again and see if you don't notice a striking resemblance between Noah Webster's Dictionary definition of unity and what Paul the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV) "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." We see that Paul writes, "the body is ONE AND HAS MANY MEMBERS" as Webster's Dictionary says, "a harmonious, unified arrangement of parts in an artistic work" and "a complex that is a union of related parts." By this, we can see that the Bible does not preach against denominations but rather denominational tension, that we are all the body of Christ and that we all need to focus on Christ in whom all things are made. Yes, we can have differences but do not think you are better than each other, as Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 12:21 (ESV) "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." So a Pentecostal cannot say to a Catholic they either is better, or a Baptist says to an Episcopalian...etc. etc. We must learn to live and love each other as Christ called us to do, live in harmony with one another. If our beliefs are not contrary to Scripture...than we need to back away from our tension and be humble before them and the Lord, but if their belief is against Scripture, study Scripture a little more so you know exactly what you are talking about and then confront them (with grace) and ask why they believe what they believe...not with harshness or bitter hearts but with gentleness and love.
- Once we learn to be united with one another, we MUST focus on God WITH each other...not in spite of each other. We must learn that other denominations are not the enemy....Satan is. And when the church is finally united, hells army will be scared beyond their belief. Satan already has a united army...why doesn't the church?!?! If we will all stand together and seek the Lord together building each other up in prayer rather than tearing each other down by doctrine, maybe the church's light will penetrate the darkness rather than being fizzled out by exhausting itself on pointlessness. If we see each other as flanks of an army with the Triune-Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) as our general, we can stand up to the world and whatever it throws at us, but we must stand in unity!
My First point talked about how to get rid of the trash within the Church. My Second point talked about how to gather ourselves together AFTER the clean up. and now, my Third point will be talking about how to not only gather ourselves together, but to spread the knowledge of Christ beyond the church.
3) Apologetics
- Since we are already firmly established in the Bible and prayer from the first point, I will not need to expound upon that.
- I believe that all people in the church should have some basic knowledge of apologetics (defense of faith), theology (study of God), and church history. I believe this because when we study apologetics we are standing up for Christ in a secular world as a dog stands up to an attacker that goes after his master. 1 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV) states, "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." Apologetics is for the DEFENSE of faith...not the offense, that would be Scripture. We should have some basic study in theology so that we may know that we are in right standing with the God of revelation...not the one of imagination. Finally, church history, so that we may know what has already been labeled heresy and that we may call out those who continue to follow these unbiblical practices (as my first point call out).
- These are some harsh statements, but reality is harsh, and the church has been passive for WAAAYY too long. I like what Matt Redman stated, "the church has been over-mothered and under-fathered" meaning that there has been a lack of discipline among believers and it is time that we clean house...according to Biblical standards.
- to finish off these points, we must understand that it is with our lives that unbelievers will see Christ as well, so we must practice what we believe, but we must study Scripture so that we may know what we believe in full. The greatest witnessing tool is not apologetics, theology, or church history...but it is our lives that bear the witness of Christ's name (since we are ambassadors as 2 Corinthians 5:20 states). These may seem like hard balances to walk, and I will say YES! they are! I will go as far as to say, they are impossible to walk without the Holy Spirit guiding your life. This is why we need to be Spirit filled believers walking by the Spirit each and every day not only to do miracles but to be the perfect representation of Christ while on earth.
I just wanted to say that I love each one of you and this is why I try not to harshly rebuke you, but to boldly state that this is what is happening and this is my solution, and that is why I ask for your points as well because I am only one man...but with the Holy Spirit, so please, I am asking for conformation. I also do this because I love Jesus Christ and His Church and I am pretty sick of the heresy, ignorance and laziness/cowardice within the church and I am calling forth those true men and women of God to take you out of your comfort zone and tell you that this is a time that we need to clean up, unite, and push forth as an army of Christ, that seeks Him...which tears down hells kingdom. I love you all, and please, make your statements known, but moreover...let your lives be known to unbelievers that they may know Christ as you do.
My main goal is for everyone to seek answers
So many people are seeking answers in the world. They may not even realize that their life is a journey, a search, a quest to finding life's ultimate questions, like:
"Where do we come from?"
"Is this life the only thing that we have?"
"Is there something more beyond death?"
We seek so many answers and some people may not even realize that there is a problem that needs answering to begin with. My first question is a restructured quote from C.S. Lewis, "If there is something within us that we cannot find the answer in this world....wouldn't that obviously show that there is something more than this world?"
So many people struggle and even die before they get this answer, but there are many that do find the answer and peace with these questions, a peace like what the Bible states as a "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." Even with simpler questions we see that when we get an answer there is a stableness within us, and there is a calm that comes upon our minds and hearts.
Finally, I finish up addressing both Christians and non-Christians:
Christians - live out your faith, question your faith because if you do not ask questions...you will not receive answers. As one of my professors stated, "Question everything. But do so without belligerence or contempt. If, with a coolness of mind, you question with patience, vigilance, and great frequency, you will discover the right questions. In asking the right questions the truth will draw near to you." But more so, do what the Bible says, "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) and "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?" (1 Corinthians 13:5). As my good friend once said, "it is time that the church needs to stop getting tube fed by pastors and start feeding themselves with the word because that is maturity." We see heresy through the Church SOOO much because people will not look through the Word themselves and they have a skewed view of Scripture because of a false teachers agenda was placed higher than Scripture and Scripture was forced into their sermon to "back" their point. Do NOT be afraid to call out someone who is in wrong...even if it is a pastor, but do so according to the patter in Matthew 18, and eventually if they are in the wrong STILL...1 Corinthians even states "hand them over to Satan" (any believer), but we must remain in LOVE the ENTIRE time, nevertheless. BUT, after we test these pastors and they are correct according to the word HOLD ON TO IT!!! keep it in your heart and use that for your own ministry. Also, while living as a Christian, remember these things....but remember one more thing, the ULTIMATE defense of your faith...live a holy life according to what a believer should that is stated in the Bible, I believe Christian philosopher William Lane Craig said it perfectly, "More often than not, it is what you are rather than what you say that will bring an unbeliever to Christ. This, then, is the ultimate apologetic. For the ultimate apologetic is: your life." The final thing is, put simply in the words of Francis of Assisi, "Preach the Gospel everywhere. When necessary, use words." Live the gospel, but when people see you and they wonder...USE YOUR WORDS!!!! People may see you and long to be as peaceful as you are but will end up burning in hell simply because you did not use your words. I love you.
Non-Christians - test everything! If there is an inner desire to seek the answer to a question...you choose to seek its answer, same thing goes about life's ultimate questions. I will go as far as saying that there are no unanswerable questions...only a lack of knowledge, wisdom, and/or experience that individuals cannot answer them, but that does not mean that they cannot be answered. There is a quote by a man named Paul Tillich, and he stated, "Religion is the ultimate about that which is ultimate," meaning that religion is the ultimate answer to life's ultimate questions and desires, the question is....which religion is correct. I do challenge you to study the Bible though, as someone who came to know Jesus Christ by studying other religions, i noticed their flaws and how they could not stand up against logic, history, and science and that Christianity is not only the only one that still stands...it is reinforced with logic, history, and science. But then when you come to the realization that Christianity is the only one that does in fact hold up....then it is the point when you need to ask yourself, "I know that Christianity is in fact the only way...will I follow Christ or will I follow a life filled with unanswered questions and live a lie?" Please, I urge you to test everything. I love you all.
(to everyone) REMEMBER::: People are seeking an answer for the worlds problems so much that they trade wisdom, knowledge and common sense and accept what many have said without testing it first. Do NOT be dooped and made a fool of. Do not be foolish, use common sense and wisdom to test everything. You will not get answers unless you ask questions.
"Where do we come from?"
"Is this life the only thing that we have?"
"Is there something more beyond death?"
We seek so many answers and some people may not even realize that there is a problem that needs answering to begin with. My first question is a restructured quote from C.S. Lewis, "If there is something within us that we cannot find the answer in this world....wouldn't that obviously show that there is something more than this world?"
So many people struggle and even die before they get this answer, but there are many that do find the answer and peace with these questions, a peace like what the Bible states as a "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." Even with simpler questions we see that when we get an answer there is a stableness within us, and there is a calm that comes upon our minds and hearts.
Finally, I finish up addressing both Christians and non-Christians:
Christians - live out your faith, question your faith because if you do not ask questions...you will not receive answers. As one of my professors stated, "Question everything. But do so without belligerence or contempt. If, with a coolness of mind, you question with patience, vigilance, and great frequency, you will discover the right questions. In asking the right questions the truth will draw near to you." But more so, do what the Bible says, "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) and "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?" (1 Corinthians 13:5). As my good friend once said, "it is time that the church needs to stop getting tube fed by pastors and start feeding themselves with the word because that is maturity." We see heresy through the Church SOOO much because people will not look through the Word themselves and they have a skewed view of Scripture because of a false teachers agenda was placed higher than Scripture and Scripture was forced into their sermon to "back" their point. Do NOT be afraid to call out someone who is in wrong...even if it is a pastor, but do so according to the patter in Matthew 18, and eventually if they are in the wrong STILL...1 Corinthians even states "hand them over to Satan" (any believer), but we must remain in LOVE the ENTIRE time, nevertheless. BUT, after we test these pastors and they are correct according to the word HOLD ON TO IT!!! keep it in your heart and use that for your own ministry. Also, while living as a Christian, remember these things....but remember one more thing, the ULTIMATE defense of your faith...live a holy life according to what a believer should that is stated in the Bible, I believe Christian philosopher William Lane Craig said it perfectly, "More often than not, it is what you are rather than what you say that will bring an unbeliever to Christ. This, then, is the ultimate apologetic. For the ultimate apologetic is: your life." The final thing is, put simply in the words of Francis of Assisi, "Preach the Gospel everywhere. When necessary, use words." Live the gospel, but when people see you and they wonder...USE YOUR WORDS!!!! People may see you and long to be as peaceful as you are but will end up burning in hell simply because you did not use your words. I love you.
Non-Christians - test everything! If there is an inner desire to seek the answer to a question...you choose to seek its answer, same thing goes about life's ultimate questions. I will go as far as saying that there are no unanswerable questions...only a lack of knowledge, wisdom, and/or experience that individuals cannot answer them, but that does not mean that they cannot be answered. There is a quote by a man named Paul Tillich, and he stated, "Religion is the ultimate about that which is ultimate," meaning that religion is the ultimate answer to life's ultimate questions and desires, the question is....which religion is correct. I do challenge you to study the Bible though, as someone who came to know Jesus Christ by studying other religions, i noticed their flaws and how they could not stand up against logic, history, and science and that Christianity is not only the only one that still stands...it is reinforced with logic, history, and science. But then when you come to the realization that Christianity is the only one that does in fact hold up....then it is the point when you need to ask yourself, "I know that Christianity is in fact the only way...will I follow Christ or will I follow a life filled with unanswered questions and live a lie?" Please, I urge you to test everything. I love you all.
(to everyone) REMEMBER::: People are seeking an answer for the worlds problems so much that they trade wisdom, knowledge and common sense and accept what many have said without testing it first. Do NOT be dooped and made a fool of. Do not be foolish, use common sense and wisdom to test everything. You will not get answers unless you ask questions.
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