we are coming up to a dark place in this world, If we haven't already arrived. We must choose quickly how we are going to fight and ready ourselves. We need to put on the warpaint and tell the devil we will no longer lay down but stand up.
I am not talking about picking more fights, more arguments, and making more redundant laws but to get on our knees and pray to our all powerful God to intervene on our behalf.
To shed light into the darkness.
I am talking about spiritual battle through prayer, fasting and fellowship. We can stand up to the darkness by getting on our knees and on our faces to pray for this world to open it's eyes and ears and soften our hearts.
.:The Armor of God:.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13
Pray for those around us who's lives are in ruins,
who are desperate for peace and love and Jesus.
Pray for a true revival.
Pray for true justice.
Love with action.
Focus on the Father.
Chaos is culminating, we must push back.
We must strengthen and enrich our lives with the word of God.
We must SHINE in this dark world!
"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can
see the light."
Luke 8:16
An American blogger shining light on the path that leads to Jesus.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Separate the Church and the State.
The church would do better to stop trying to legislate the bible and be more concerned with advancing the kingdom into the hearts of people. We need to show love to those who are sinning against God, whether we agree with their life or not. We need a clear line between government and religion as much as atheist or anyone else. If we look back at the history of the church we will see that the combined power of religion and government is too great when mixed with human pride. The kingdom advances better when we are on our knees rather than exalting ourselves in political battle.
Do we really want the government telling us how to follow Jesus?
Do we really want the government telling us how to interpret the bible?
I am certainly not advocating a loose interpretation of God's word. I am not far left or even left of center. I believe that what God says is a sin - is a sin, whether we like it or not. As people we would do better to adhere to God's law at all times even if it is against our agenda. Sometimes the old-self wants to believe that as long as you love someone then that is acceptable with God, but homosexuality goes against God's design just as polygamy does. However, if we want to make it illegal to marry someone of the same sex we should also make it illegal to have an affair, be gluttonous, gossip, disrespect our parents, miss a Sabbath, etc.... right?
Just as in the abortion issue, concentration on loving more, winning hearts and minds will shine a brighter light to the world. We need to be loving.
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:9 NIV
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
God will be the ultimate judge of this world. He will seek those who He wants to seek and/or those who seek Him and then soften their hearts. Others who continually deny Him will be turned over to their own sin.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
Romans 1:24-25
Do we really want the government to enforce the ten commandments?
Have you sinned today?
Do you think you should be punished for all your sins by human courts?
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalm 84:10 NIV
Considering the current climate in the political sphere I don't want the government near my bible, my marriage, my family or my church. I also don't want my church to be subverted by any man-made government. This is in no way a call to abandon God's law but to adhere to second most important law, to love each other. The most important being to love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul.
Do we really want the government telling us how to follow Jesus?
Do we really want the government telling us how to interpret the bible?
I am certainly not advocating a loose interpretation of God's word. I am not far left or even left of center. I believe that what God says is a sin - is a sin, whether we like it or not. As people we would do better to adhere to God's law at all times even if it is against our agenda. Sometimes the old-self wants to believe that as long as you love someone then that is acceptable with God, but homosexuality goes against God's design just as polygamy does. However, if we want to make it illegal to marry someone of the same sex we should also make it illegal to have an affair, be gluttonous, gossip, disrespect our parents, miss a Sabbath, etc.... right?
Just as in the abortion issue, concentration on loving more, winning hearts and minds will shine a brighter light to the world. We need to be loving.
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:9 NIV
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
God will be the ultimate judge of this world. He will seek those who He wants to seek and/or those who seek Him and then soften their hearts. Others who continually deny Him will be turned over to their own sin.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
Romans 1:24-25
Do we really want the government to enforce the ten commandments?
Have you sinned today?
Do you think you should be punished for all your sins by human courts?
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalm 84:10 NIV
Considering the current climate in the political sphere I don't want the government near my bible, my marriage, my family or my church. I also don't want my church to be subverted by any man-made government. This is in no way a call to abandon God's law but to adhere to second most important law, to love each other. The most important being to love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul.
Friday, March 23, 2012
On the Alter of Sex: We Lay Ourselves.
There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever - the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another.
1 Corinthians 6:16-18 MSG
Pornography is killing men's drive to be the man.
Pornography is killing men's desire for relationships with their wives.
Pornography is killing men's thirst for real fellowship with God.
Pornography is the antithesis to commitment and intimacy.
Yet, we go to the trough willingly.
As a man in this era, with any image at my disposal, within a second of weak temptation, it is easy to fail in this area. Over time pornography has has shown itself to have been the biggest wedge between me and my wife and a huge obstacle between a real relationship with God. It created a bitterness in me that led to retreating from any desire for engaging my wife mentally. For me, there was an attraction to pornography that could not be overcome without divine intervention. I did not even see it as an issue until God brought it to light. It is nothing short of a miracle, in my eyes, that I am not involved with this anymore, on a day to day basis. I can not say that I have not fallen since I started praying to have this temptation taken from me but it has subsided greatly. It can be accomplished by the power of prayer and willingness to turn away.
...and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness.
There was a period of time which I had been praying for God's help with this yet, at the first sign of opportunity, I would return to the old-self-vomit. God gave me a wake up call, in the form of a physical reaction to what I was doing. It felt like a contortion. It felt like I was being physically grappled by evil. Contorting into a self-loving/self-loathing, lover of instant gratification. Our Father in heaven wanted to remove this ugliness from my life. With it I could not love my wife properly. I could not speak to God properly. With it I could only see what was available to me through a frosted glass window.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Proverbs 26:11
...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phillippians 2:12-13
The sad thing is I don't need to put up a bunch of statistics to show you how it is killing marriages and weakening the backbone of civilization. It is an obvious conclusion. Sadly, it is sold to us today as the ultimate 'manly' thing to do in culture today. We as a society are so accepting of it that those who abstain are seen as weak 'girly-men'. We are told that all men do it, therefore it is normal. It may be normal now but that doesn't mean that we should remain the prodigal son admiring the pig's filth. Allow yourself to be truly challenged by God AND show yourself how strong you really can be.
Don't allow yourself to be weak to the temptation.
Don't let this keep you from what God has designed you to be.
Men!
Push yourselves away from the trough of vomit!
Return NO MORE!
Love your wives!
Turn to your God.
Ask for His mighty power to help you change your heart.
1 Corinthians 6:16-18 MSG
Pornography is killing men's drive to be the man.
Pornography is killing men's desire for relationships with their wives.
Pornography is killing men's thirst for real fellowship with God.
Pornography is the antithesis to commitment and intimacy.
Yet, we go to the trough willingly.
As a man in this era, with any image at my disposal, within a second of weak temptation, it is easy to fail in this area. Over time pornography has has shown itself to have been the biggest wedge between me and my wife and a huge obstacle between a real relationship with God. It created a bitterness in me that led to retreating from any desire for engaging my wife mentally. For me, there was an attraction to pornography that could not be overcome without divine intervention. I did not even see it as an issue until God brought it to light. It is nothing short of a miracle, in my eyes, that I am not involved with this anymore, on a day to day basis. I can not say that I have not fallen since I started praying to have this temptation taken from me but it has subsided greatly. It can be accomplished by the power of prayer and willingness to turn away.
...and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness.
There was a period of time which I had been praying for God's help with this yet, at the first sign of opportunity, I would return to the old-self-vomit. God gave me a wake up call, in the form of a physical reaction to what I was doing. It felt like a contortion. It felt like I was being physically grappled by evil. Contorting into a self-loving/self-loathing, lover of instant gratification. Our Father in heaven wanted to remove this ugliness from my life. With it I could not love my wife properly. I could not speak to God properly. With it I could only see what was available to me through a frosted glass window.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Proverbs 26:11
...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phillippians 2:12-13
The sad thing is I don't need to put up a bunch of statistics to show you how it is killing marriages and weakening the backbone of civilization. It is an obvious conclusion. Sadly, it is sold to us today as the ultimate 'manly' thing to do in culture today. We as a society are so accepting of it that those who abstain are seen as weak 'girly-men'. We are told that all men do it, therefore it is normal. It may be normal now but that doesn't mean that we should remain the prodigal son admiring the pig's filth. Allow yourself to be truly challenged by God AND show yourself how strong you really can be.
Don't allow yourself to be weak to the temptation.
Don't let this keep you from what God has designed you to be.
Men!
Push yourselves away from the trough of vomit!
Return NO MORE!
Love your wives!
Turn to your God.
Ask for His mighty power to help you change your heart.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
On the Alter of Pleasure: We lay Our Babies.
Americans are obsessed with comfort, happiness and pleasure. Pleasure has become the god to worship at all costs, including those of our future generations. The fetus has become the sacrifice. Humanism the theology.
We are sacrificing our babies on the alter of pleasure of sex, money, self advancement, convenience and prosperity. Which, as with all of Satan's tactics, is not a new concept. In biblical times the Hebrews turned away from God and worshiped Baal the god of fertility. Worshiping with indiscriminate sex, in turn producing babies and sacrificing them to Baal for prosperity.
Sound familiar?
Even with multiple tools to keep from getting pregnant we are still aborting our babies at a rate of about 1.5 million per year. 50 million legal abortions occurred between 1973 and 2008. Does this go unnoticed by God? These are people with souls that God had plans for. He is bringing us into the world for a purpose, not to just do our time and promote ourselves and go to the dust. Not to advance our personal agenda but His kingdom. We as a nation are undermining this effort.
You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
Job 10:10 NLT
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
We can not succeed today with self worship, remaining ignorant to evil and turning away from God yet again. If we are not advancing the kingdom of God we are only enlarging Satan's borders by enlarging the borders of selfish desire/pleasure. We can be sure that God will judge our nation.
The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites for three crimes, even four, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.
Amos 1:13
They worshiped their idols, and this led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
Psalms 106:36-37
Yet with all of our intellectual power we remain ignorant to the plans of evil.
They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
Jeremiah 32:35 NLT
These terminated pregnancies are people being taken away from God's plan for their lives and ultimately for the world. Possibly this is the front lines of the battle. In a selfish cowardice act we are throwing our children to the spiritual war-front. In the end they are not given the chance to advance the kingdom of God. In the old testament God asked for the first born children to be dedicated to Him. Similar to God asking for Isaac in Genesis Chapter 22. Different in the way that Abraham had faith that God had promised a blessed nation through Isaac.
"History and archaeology has shown us that child sacrifice, as with the example of the King of Moab, centered on the first born child. Is it simple irony or coincidence that the majority of children that will face the abortionist's knife in this country are also first born - "set apart for the Lord"?" -Eric Holmberg
It is also interesting to note that in Eric Holmberg's article that the Valley of the Son of Hinnom (Gehenna in Greek) is possibly where these sacrifices took place. In Mathew 16:18 Jesus says, "And upon this rock, I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." What if Jesus is telling us He will bust through the Gates of Hell (selfish desire) and plant His flag where the devil is no longer welcome. On the rock of self sacrifice, humility and child-like innocence.
"Jesus' use of the word Gehenna clearly substantiates that there is no greater manifestation of hell on earth than the sacrifice of children." -Eric Holmberg
Is our selfish desire, self promotion acting as the gates of hell, protecting Satan?
They have committed both adultery and murder -- adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning their children as sacrifices on their altars.
Ezekiel 23:37 NLT
Is abortion an unforgivable sin?
I don't believe so. This is in no way promoting a call to action physically but spiritually. We need to pray, forgive and love those who have fallen into this snare, who are being used as slaves to sin. We can serve a God who is forgiving in such ways that will blow your mind. I am not necessarily looking for a change in law but looking for a change in the heart of the nation. Once again, we do not need an additional law but adherence to God's laws as individuals. If people begin to turn away from the practice of abortion we can anticipate evil will justify the practice by pointing to God's request for the sacrifice of Isaac and Jesus as the bible promoting child sacrifice. We can stay ahead of it all if we listen to God's calling. Love what He loves and hate what He hates.
hu·man·ism [hyoo-muh-niz-uhm or, often, yoo-]
Philosophy: a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God.
We are sacrificing our babies on the alter of pleasure of sex, money, self advancement, convenience and prosperity. Which, as with all of Satan's tactics, is not a new concept. In biblical times the Hebrews turned away from God and worshiped Baal the god of fertility. Worshiping with indiscriminate sex, in turn producing babies and sacrificing them to Baal for prosperity.
Sound familiar?
Even with multiple tools to keep from getting pregnant we are still aborting our babies at a rate of about 1.5 million per year. 50 million legal abortions occurred between 1973 and 2008. Does this go unnoticed by God? These are people with souls that God had plans for. He is bringing us into the world for a purpose, not to just do our time and promote ourselves and go to the dust. Not to advance our personal agenda but His kingdom. We as a nation are undermining this effort.
You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
Job 10:10 NLT
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.
It has been noted in "Massacre of the Innocents" by Eric Holmberg that this is seen in Genesis Chapter 19 when the daughters of Lot, rebelling against God, deceived their father into getting them pregnant, then, their offspring worshiped Molech by way of child sacrifice. Showing itself again in 17th century France as witchcraft in the court of King Louis XIV as satanic ritual with grotesque accounts of child sacrifice.
We can not succeed today with self worship, remaining ignorant to evil and turning away from God yet again. If we are not advancing the kingdom of God we are only enlarging Satan's borders by enlarging the borders of selfish desire/pleasure. We can be sure that God will judge our nation.
I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.
The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites for three crimes, even four, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.
Amos 1:13
Archaeologists have found burial grounds with stone markers in the ancient Carthage, the capital of Phoenicia, showing that child sacrifice as pretty common. We don't even mark the graves of aborted children. I shutter to think of what happens to their bodies. I can only imagine a great repentance if our nation could see the great volume of those killed in this way.
They worshiped their idols, and this led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.Psalms 106:36-37
Yet with all of our intellectual power we remain ignorant to the plans of evil.
They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
Jeremiah 32:35 NLT
These terminated pregnancies are people being taken away from God's plan for their lives and ultimately for the world. Possibly this is the front lines of the battle. In a selfish cowardice act we are throwing our children to the spiritual war-front. In the end they are not given the chance to advance the kingdom of God. In the old testament God asked for the first born children to be dedicated to Him. Similar to God asking for Isaac in Genesis Chapter 22. Different in the way that Abraham had faith that God had promised a blessed nation through Isaac.
"History and archaeology has shown us that child sacrifice, as with the example of the King of Moab, centered on the first born child. Is it simple irony or coincidence that the majority of children that will face the abortionist's knife in this country are also first born - "set apart for the Lord"?" -Eric Holmberg
It is also interesting to note that in Eric Holmberg's article that the Valley of the Son of Hinnom (Gehenna in Greek) is possibly where these sacrifices took place. In Mathew 16:18 Jesus says, "And upon this rock, I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." What if Jesus is telling us He will bust through the Gates of Hell (selfish desire) and plant His flag where the devil is no longer welcome. On the rock of self sacrifice, humility and child-like innocence.
"Jesus' use of the word Gehenna clearly substantiates that there is no greater manifestation of hell on earth than the sacrifice of children." -Eric Holmberg
Is our selfish desire, self promotion acting as the gates of hell, protecting Satan?
They have committed both adultery and murder -- adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning their children as sacrifices on their altars.
Ezekiel 23:37 NLT
Is abortion an unforgivable sin?
I don't believe so. This is in no way promoting a call to action physically but spiritually. We need to pray, forgive and love those who have fallen into this snare, who are being used as slaves to sin. We can serve a God who is forgiving in such ways that will blow your mind. I am not necessarily looking for a change in law but looking for a change in the heart of the nation. Once again, we do not need an additional law but adherence to God's laws as individuals. If people begin to turn away from the practice of abortion we can anticipate evil will justify the practice by pointing to God's request for the sacrifice of Isaac and Jesus as the bible promoting child sacrifice. We can stay ahead of it all if we listen to God's calling. Love what He loves and hate what He hates.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
What is evil?
The devil's best hand may not necessarily be to make everyone believe he does not exist but rather to redefine evil. It is all too easy to read the news and find out that evil does in fact exist and is flourishing in this world. But if he can question what is evil than we can easily be led down the wrong path or through the slaughter gates. The moment when we are given the keys to define evil for ourselves is the moment we shut the door to God and His wisdom.
Is a serial killer evil? Absolutely!
How about a murderer? Sure!
How about someone who aborts their baby? ....next question.
The person themselves may not be evil or have evil tendencies, they have just been led down a path of acceptable selfishness. The devil sits next to a woman looking at a positive pregnancy test and asks, "Did God really say that a fetus has life?" It's an old rusty tactic from satan's first playbook, which we are still falling for. Mass aborting of babies as a country could easily be defined as evil.
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die."
Genesis 3:1-4
Is rape evil? See, there really are dumb questions.
Is pornography evil? Depends on who you ask.
Is premarital sex evil? Well....
Society has recently come to the conclusion that it is okay to live together before marriage and look at pornography as long as we are looking at consenting adults or as long as we are not hurting anyone. In the interest of full disclosure my wife and I started out this way. According to statistics we are rare in the fact that we have survived this long.
Does evil exist? Look around!
But do you know it when you see it?
We need to turn away from this path we are on.
We need to look to God for what is evil and what is love.
We need to change our hearts, more than our laws, to what God intended for us. Change our hearts to love God and His laws, not bending the lines of truth in order to match the profile of how we are living.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God.
Colossians 3:5 MSG
The further we walk away from the truth of the bible and God's love the closer we walk to the devil and deceit and anguish and confusion and chaos. The further we get from God, the easier it is to define your own morals.
Satan roams the earth seeking to devour, and if you leave yourself out there without the protection of a shepherd, you will be devoured like a lamb to a lion.
These two topics give us a picture of the two wedges separating each individual family member from each other.
The mother from the child. The father from the child.
The father from the mother. The husband from the wife.
Aside from drugs and alcohol these are all the wedges he really needs.
If he can separate us from ourselves and from God we are done.
But we can only be separated from God if we walk away.
Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.
Proverbs 27:20 MSG
Is a serial killer evil? Absolutely!
How about a murderer? Sure!
How about someone who aborts their baby? ....next question.
The person themselves may not be evil or have evil tendencies, they have just been led down a path of acceptable selfishness. The devil sits next to a woman looking at a positive pregnancy test and asks, "Did God really say that a fetus has life?" It's an old rusty tactic from satan's first playbook, which we are still falling for. Mass aborting of babies as a country could easily be defined as evil.
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die."
Genesis 3:1-4
Is rape evil? See, there really are dumb questions.
Is pornography evil? Depends on who you ask.
Is premarital sex evil? Well....
Society has recently come to the conclusion that it is okay to live together before marriage and look at pornography as long as we are looking at consenting adults or as long as we are not hurting anyone. In the interest of full disclosure my wife and I started out this way. According to statistics we are rare in the fact that we have survived this long.
Does evil exist? Look around!
But do you know it when you see it?
We need to turn away from this path we are on.
We need to look to God for what is evil and what is love.
We need to change our hearts, more than our laws, to what God intended for us. Change our hearts to love God and His laws, not bending the lines of truth in order to match the profile of how we are living.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God.
Colossians 3:5 MSG
The further we walk away from the truth of the bible and God's love the closer we walk to the devil and deceit and anguish and confusion and chaos. The further we get from God, the easier it is to define your own morals.
Satan roams the earth seeking to devour, and if you leave yourself out there without the protection of a shepherd, you will be devoured like a lamb to a lion.
These two topics give us a picture of the two wedges separating each individual family member from each other.
The mother from the child. The father from the child.
The father from the mother. The husband from the wife.
Aside from drugs and alcohol these are all the wedges he really needs.
If he can separate us from ourselves and from God we are done.
But we can only be separated from God if we walk away.
Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.
Proverbs 27:20 MSG
Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Rich Man~Poor Man
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
Mark 10:25
Often times the word of God is taken out of context to benefit an argument that is not in line with what is being said in the bible. The words of Jesus used as a political football. We as people are drawn to Jesus because he was and is revolutionary in his love for us. People on the right take his words to beat others over the head with sin and people on the left take his words to wag in the faces of those who do not follow their belief system. One side holds Him up saying, "This is how you are supposed to be!" and the other side says, "This is how you are supposed to be!" Both saying the same thing, both worlds apart, just how the devil wants us to be.
If you are interested in the truth in it's context you can find it in Mark 10:17-31. Another example of Jesus forgiving a rich man is that of Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19. A very rich chief tax collector who repents for taking more than what is owed to him. Jesus forgives him after he gives back four times what he had wrongfully taken. He was not a sinner for being rich because Jesus proclaimed him to have salvation after giving back only half of his wealth. It was the change of heart that Jesus was looking for.
Rich Man in wealth: can have all the world has to offer and fall short into spiritual poverty by not seeking God.
Poor Man in wealth: can have nothing the world has to offer but be wealthy beyond imagination spiritually, which can only be achieved by seeking God in all things.
Rich Man in Spirit: does not need anything in the world because God is supplying everything he needs by grace.
Poor Man in Spirit: May or may not have worldly wealth and without God's grace can feel alone and bitter and jealous. People with earthly wealth are not the only ones who can fall victim to greed.
The point being, God can make the impossible possible. Not to mention there will be no need for commerce in Heaven. We can only go there after being stripped of all earthly things.
"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."
1 Timothy 6:10 NLT
It's not the money itself that is evil it is the love of money. It's not about how much money you or your neighbor do or do not have. It's about where your heart is. If you love money your heart will cause you to be jealous of what someone else has. If your heart is with Jesus you will not only be happy with what you have but also happy for what others have for themselves.
Wealth is a relative term. Someone who is financially poor in this country is most likely wealthier than those in less developed countries.
If you are making $25,000 in this country, compared to the rest of the world you are in the top 10%. Does this make you wealthy? Granted we have a higher cost of living, but we also have a higher standard of living. What is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord?
He wants your heart, your mind, your body and your soul.
Whether you are rich in wealth or spirit or both.
Whether you are poor in spirit or wealth or both.
To God it is irrelevant how much money we make or how comfortable we are. He wants us to be able to seek Him in all things and have a relationship with Him. No matter how awkward it might seem.
"You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27
Calculator used to determine global wealth standings:
globalrichlist.com
Mark 10:25
Often times the word of God is taken out of context to benefit an argument that is not in line with what is being said in the bible. The words of Jesus used as a political football. We as people are drawn to Jesus because he was and is revolutionary in his love for us. People on the right take his words to beat others over the head with sin and people on the left take his words to wag in the faces of those who do not follow their belief system. One side holds Him up saying, "This is how you are supposed to be!" and the other side says, "This is how you are supposed to be!" Both saying the same thing, both worlds apart, just how the devil wants us to be.
If you are interested in the truth in it's context you can find it in Mark 10:17-31. Another example of Jesus forgiving a rich man is that of Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19. A very rich chief tax collector who repents for taking more than what is owed to him. Jesus forgives him after he gives back four times what he had wrongfully taken. He was not a sinner for being rich because Jesus proclaimed him to have salvation after giving back only half of his wealth. It was the change of heart that Jesus was looking for.
Rich Man in wealth: can have all the world has to offer and fall short into spiritual poverty by not seeking God.
Poor Man in wealth: can have nothing the world has to offer but be wealthy beyond imagination spiritually, which can only be achieved by seeking God in all things.
Rich Man in Spirit: does not need anything in the world because God is supplying everything he needs by grace.
Poor Man in Spirit: May or may not have worldly wealth and without God's grace can feel alone and bitter and jealous. People with earthly wealth are not the only ones who can fall victim to greed.
The point being, God can make the impossible possible. Not to mention there will be no need for commerce in Heaven. We can only go there after being stripped of all earthly things.
"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."
1 Timothy 6:10 NLT
It's not the money itself that is evil it is the love of money. It's not about how much money you or your neighbor do or do not have. It's about where your heart is. If you love money your heart will cause you to be jealous of what someone else has. If your heart is with Jesus you will not only be happy with what you have but also happy for what others have for themselves.
Wealth is a relative term. Someone who is financially poor in this country is most likely wealthier than those in less developed countries.
If you are making $25,000 in this country, compared to the rest of the world you are in the top 10%. Does this make you wealthy? Granted we have a higher cost of living, but we also have a higher standard of living. What is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord?
He wants your heart, your mind, your body and your soul.
Whether you are rich in wealth or spirit or both.
Whether you are poor in spirit or wealth or both.
To God it is irrelevant how much money we make or how comfortable we are. He wants us to be able to seek Him in all things and have a relationship with Him. No matter how awkward it might seem.
"You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27
Calculator used to determine global wealth standings:
globalrichlist.com
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Adopted by the Father.
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
My point is, I did not have a perfect image of a father, like more and more of us today. I am thankful that God did not give my wife and I children, prior to becoming followers of Jesus. I was a horribly selfish, conceded, self-serving, self-centered jerk and it got worse when I was drinking. There would have been no room for diapers, crying, screaming, hugs, bedtime prayers, talks, walks or love. I am in no way a perfect father now but I am thankful that I have a footing in Jesus and His love. He is the image I look to when I don't know where to turn on how to act like a father.
I am thankful that God has found me fit for adoption into His family.
"...you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children." [Abba=Daddy in Aramaic.]
He has adopted us as His own!
I now have the greatest example to look to and believe me I need to look to Him often. Even putting aside the idea that we can use God the Father as an example on how to be fathers, we can also rejoice that God the Father has taken us in. That alone is worthy of praise. If we believe in Jesus, that he has died for us, had been resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father, then God has chosen or wanted us to be a part of His family.
Co-Heirs to the throne!! Are you serious?!
Brothers, Sisters... if you are not with Jesus yet, is this not motivation enough?!
To be a co-heir to the throne is unfathomable and to think christians previous to me have been keeping this to themselves! It's the greatest secret un-shouted to the mountain tops!
If we are to suffer in this world there is no better way than with Jesus and a Father in heaven.
Romans 8:18-21
"We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us."
Romans 8:23
adopt
a·dopt [uh-dopt]
verb (used with object)
1. to choose or take as one's own; make one's own by selection or assent: to adopt a nickname.
2. to take and rear (the child of other parents) as one's own child, specifically by a formal legal act.
3. to take or receive into any kind of new relationship: to adopt a person as a protégé.
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