Be Ever Vigilant!

We must always stay on our toes. We can not rest on our laurels and just accept teachings. I urge you to always filter any teaching through The Bible. We are under attack everyday. Don't fool yourself into thinking everything is just fine. Your enemy is always seeking to deceive you. There are so many people that have been fooled and are out there teaching these false doctrines. Some of the most dangerous are the ones that fall under the umbrella of "new age". The most recognizable lately was the ever popular Oprah Winfrey. She came to believe, and the to spread the new age teaching of Eckhart Tolle. The deception here is subtle. At a glance at one of his books you might think "well this is good, it's Christian, I see Bible quotes". But do not fall into this trap. He is quoting The Bible, but then he interprets the text all wrong. I personally avoid reading any of these false doctrines, but I have heard that he changes John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. around and twists it until he claims that means each person is the way, the truth, and the life. I don't know about you, but to me John 14:6 is one the easiest to understand, most straight forward verses in The Bible. There are some things Christians can disagree on and still recognize the other as Christians. But on the other hand there are some principles that I can not waiver on. A popular one is salvation through works, but this is incorrect. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Another I can not compromise with is the trinity. This one is a little odd because the word trinity is not in The Bible. A sound understanding of The Bible tells that God exists in three states. God The Father, Jesus Christ The Son, and The Holy Spirit. But they are all one being. This is a tricky point to understand. All three were present at creation. They are all equal. Three facets of one eternal, all powerful, omnipresent being. Some other religions teach Jesus was a created being, or that God takes each form, but they can not appear together at the same time. They could all be present. My understanding of the trinity I can best explain like this: Man was created in the image of God. We have a body, a soul, and a spirit. When we die, they bury our body, it decays, and our soul goes on to Heaven. The spirit I am not sure what becomes of it, perhaps the soul and spirit become one while waiting for our glorified body in Heaven. I digress. Just when you take in a teaching, check it against The Bible. If you use a more modern translation, such as NIV, you might want to keep a KJV handy to double check. The Bible will never lead you wrong, remember it is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. That is another common doctrine that is wrongly taught. Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Exegesis

Well today at church our pastor just wrapped up I Timothy. This covered a lot of events happening in the present. Such as the sermon on young folks matched up with graduation time. Then women's ministry on Mother's Day, then the men on Father's Day. We celebrated the elderly members of the congregation one Sunday as well. But today the pastor tied it all together in a very nice way. He said that there is a part in God's plan for all people. The old and the young, the women and the men, the deacons and the pastors. He used the example of a recipe, you can make it with out one small ingredient but it won't be as good as it could be. The same is true of the church, sure it could function with out one group, but it wouldn't be the best church possible. This point was further driven home to me having a late lunch today. I was able to offer a different view on some things. I think this is why we need fellowship. Everyone has different life experiences and a little different view on scriptures. Or even focuses on a different part of scripture at that time. For instance you might have just read something, then you run into someone who is having trouble with a particular issue that you can relate your recent readings to them. This is why fellowship is so good for believers. Now don't get socializing mixed up with fellowship. Fellowship is when believers are gathered together discussing Jesus and The Bible. There is nothing wrong with socializing, but don't forget fellowship in the process.
1 Timothy 6:11-14 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,

Poor misguided Senator Obama

Just this past week I heard a broadcast cover a speech Senator Obama made in June 2006. Some of the things he spoke about are quite disturbing. Here is a quote from and article about this on MSNBC.com: "In his program, Dobson focused on examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy. For instance, Obama said Leviticus suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination. Obama also cited Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application." The entire article can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25343812?GT1=43001 So here Senator Obama is claiming that in Leviticus The Bible says slavery is OK. I searched on www.biblegateway.com and this is all I found: Leviticus 25:39-40 39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. Now when I read that I see nothing that says slavery is acceptable. I see you shall not make him a slave, but as a hired hand. This supports other verses in The Bible as well. Such as 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. Even aside from this, slavery in The Bible isn't usually the same as we think of it. Slavery is usually closer to what we call employed. Not all the references to slavery are the same, just the terms and language were quite different than what we are accustomed to. Leviticus 11:10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. So there is what else Obama was referring to in Leviticus. It does say it is an abomination, but this was under the old covenant. We are no longer under this covenant. The coming of Christ brought in the new covenant. Christ's blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins, under the old covenant they had to use sacrifices. There were tons of rules under the old covenant, but Jesus Christ freed us. Senator Obama went on to say "Folks haven't been reading their Bibles,". I think Senator Obama may need to go back and read his. He obviously doesn't have a firm grasp on the reality of The Bible. This is what happens when you spend twenty years listening to a preacher not doing his duty. I think his pastor overlooked exegesis and opted instead for eisegesis. Which means he interpreted The Bible through his own worldview, rather than on it's own merit. I'm sure everyone has heard the clips of Obama's former pastor spreading racist propaganda, or the lowest I can imagine, blasphemy from the pulpit. If the tree doesn't bear good fruits, the tree is not good. How different would Senator Obama's views be if he had been in the church of some one like John Piper? Would he still be in favor of abortions? Gay marriage? What do you all think?

Daily reading...

It might be lazy, but I don't have a specific topic for this post. I just thought I would share a few verses that jumped out at in me in my reading today. First one that leaped at me was: Ephesians 4:14 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
I included the other two so you could all see it in context with out running for your Bibles. This just seems very fitting for our current time. Even though Paul wrote this so very long ago it is very relevant today.It's almost like The Bible has a supernatural nature, OH yeah! It is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God! But seriously there are a lot of false doctrines, and tricksters, or perhaps they are deliberately deceitful, out there now. The worst part is that these charlatans are typically the ones that get the media coverage. Which to the non believer shows that is how we all are. The simplest advice for this is, have you Bible open when you listen to preaching! Any preacher worth his salt is going to want you following along with him. Those that spew forth useless words strung together won't mention The Bible. Always check everything against scripture. That is always the safe bet.
The second that struck me was:Ephesians 4:32 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
This one is self explanatory, but most of us could use the reminder to be kind. How small are others trespasses against us compared to our transgressions to God? If we think about it this way it will be easier to forgive others. Another point on this to remember, when dealing with another Christian ( yes Christians do clash with other Christians at times) is we are all part of The Body of Christ. Would your arm cut off your hand if they disagreed?
And I'll only include one more today. Psalm 119:158 158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word. Now this one came to me by chance, or divine intervention perhaps. I was listening to Adrian Rogers and he was speaking about Psalm 119. He talked about it being an acrostic, and the longest Psalm. He then went on to point out a few verses about God's Word being eternal. Some reason verse 158 caught my eye. I thought it was kind of odd cause it seems to be fitting for a lot of the posts I have so far. Before I was saved I didn't know lots of things were sins, and some I did know , like blasphemy, I tried to avoid personally but it didn't bother me terribly when others did it. Now It drives me crazy when I hear Blasphemy! Blasphemy is not only using His name with the D word, it is any time you throw out His holy name with out the reverence it is due. The most popular now day has to be "OMG". Because this doesn't contain a standard curse word, it flies all over the TV and Radio, and all around us in every day life even in church! Every time I hear it I want to just shake the offender and yell " Do you NOT know what you are doing???" So this fits me to the letter, it does disgust me to see people blatantly disregarding God's law. One last thing to follow up on that. Here is a link to a downloadable sermon that makes it all too clear. http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=770213541
It is called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and was originally preach on July 8, 1741 by Jonathan Edwards. It is an excellent piece of work, you should check it out sometime.

Gay Christians?

I know this is a controversial topic, but it seems I am hearing it every where right now. Maybe this is just due it being an election year and "gay rights" being one of the contested hot topics. I almost don't know where to start on this. Just recently California redefined marriage to allow it to include same sex couples, which other states have done so before, difference being in CA you do not have to be a resident. Which will lead to gay couples getting married there, then going back to fight their home state to recognize the so called marriage. I heard a news clip yesterday about Lutherans debating over a gay minister, I could have the details confused as I only heard it in passing. Let us first establish homosexuality is a sin.1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Leviticus 20:13 13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.
A lot of people like to get hung up there.It seems a lot of people fall into a "holier than thou" mentality over this sin. Sin is sin. Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. Just cause you may not have committed this sin, who among us has never told a lie? So don't be so quick to think you are better, it is just a different sin, but they are all just as serious. The only one given more weight than the others is blaspheming The Holy Spirit. Luke 12:10 10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. So we got that established. Now I want to dive into the concept of gay Christians. This simply can not be. See to be a Christian means you have repented and put your trust in Jesus Christ. You can't repent and still be living the same ole sin. That just isn't the Christian life. Sure Christians still sin, but as you grow, and learn to walk closer with God you fall away from sins. To say you are a gay Christian is the same as as claiming to be a Christian serial killer. The Bible is very clear about this particular sin, others you don't realize are a sin until you grow in your faith.
I want to be clear here, I am not siding with the type of people that go out with signs saying " God hates Fags". This is also wrong. The Bible teaches to be conformed unto the image of Jesus. God hates sin, not sinners. We can not forget we are all sinners before God. Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. John 3:16 doesn't say God so loved the world, except homosexuals. So don't get on the high horse please.
Let me jump to another gear here. Every year we are being forced more and more to accept the gay lifestyle. Some people claim it is not a choice, but instead they are born gay. We are ALL born sinners. That is not a valid argument. If you apply the concept of extending an idea like I have discussed before where can you go with this? What will we be expected to accept next? Bestiality? Child molestation?Rape? What happens when a child molester petitions the courts to make his lifestyle legal cause he just can't help it" I was born this way, I've just always known I liked little children". Will we then accept this in mainstream culture? If you extend out any of man's ideas you run into problems. But you never will when you apply God's Word! It will never run into these situations. In closing I can only quote the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God... Isaiah 55:8-9 8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Study reveals flaws in American churches...

Dictionary.com defines Dogmatic as follows - 2. of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative.

There is a serious problem here. In case the graphic is too blurry, it says that 57% of people in Evangelical Churches believe there is more the one way to Heaven, and 53% say that there is more than one way to correctly interpret The Bible. I am skipping over the other religions seeing as how this one hits me directly. Here is the biggest problem with those 57%: If there is more than one way, why did Jesus Christ have to suffer and die on the cross? This implies God was just playing a cruel trick on His only begotten Son. Sorry this is not the case. There is ONLY one way into Heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The narrow gate is Christ Jesus, through true repentance and faith in Him alone can you find the way to life. Those 57% have been lead down the broad road to destruction. Who would do this to them? Sadly, their churches. Be it through false teachings, or a lack of exegesis. Either way, it says their are a lot of pastors out there who are failing miserably. They are letting their congregations down. They are not being good shepherds to their flocks. To me personally it is unimaginable how some one could call themselves a Christian and think there might be another path to Heaven. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. I can only assume that the basic flaw would be with their understanding of The Bible a a whole. It is The inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God. No where in The Bible does it say there might be another way to Heaven. It is through the narrow gate, or destruction. No in between. There are many problems that come to this result, take for instance the so called prosperity gospel, the emergent movement, or even the signs and wonders movement going on in Florida. But it comes back to a point I have made on here before, a soft approach to The Gospel. Jesus did not suffer and die because you have an emptiness in your life, or you don't feel fulfilled. The true approach to the gospel comes in an understanding that you have broken God's law, and you are deserving of Hell. Then you come to The Throne broken, with repentance in your heart, not because you are scared of Hell, but because you have sinned against your Heavenly Father that gave you life and lavished his goodness on you, and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Notice I did not use the word accept. Christ accepts us. We can then die unto ourselves, and be born again in Christ, and He sends us The Holy Spirit to dwell in us, giving us a new heart with new desires. This is The Gospel. A right understanding will teach you that the only reason we can even hope to see Heaven is because of Christ's sacrifice for us. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” All in all I think it is very sad that 57% of who we thought were our fellow believers, really aren't at all.We should all examine our faith daily. Are you among the 57%?

Gem mining leads to self discovery!

I'll just jump right into explaining the title here. Sunday my wife and I went to a gem mine about 30 minutes from home. We had a good time sifting through the creek hunting for small gemstones, and even going through the bucket of dirt we bought. So we came home with a small bag of semi precious stones. Which lead me to go hunting for the rock tumbler I had years ago. Going through all these boxes searching for that, and all of it's peices, I came across a box with a lot of random junk. In the bottom of this box I found a pocket sized New Testament I had years and years ago. I mean we are talking probably between 15 and 20 years ago I had this. So it has been stored up in this box for all these years, and I pulled it out. Blew the dust off and began thumbing through it. Much to my surprise there were verses I had highlighted all that time ago. I had apparently read more than I had previously thought. Here are some of the verses I had highlighted:
Romans 12:14-15 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Philippians 4:13 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Not an in depth study, but it came as a surprise to me. I had forgotten all about reading those. Just shows what we think we know best, ourselves, sometimes we don't know them so well at all. I am quite sure I didn't have a full understanding back then, otherwise I would have repented and put my trust in Him long before I did. This also demonstrates God's perfect timing for everything. He did not mean for me to become a christian back then, there must have been something that happened in the time that lapsed that helped mold me into the person He wanted me to be when I was reconciled. I am just excited to see what the next step He has for me is.
Another note I thought of from the gem mining: We spent several hours sitting in the creek sifting through dirt and sand hunting for small gemstones. I had the thought, what if Jesus' righteousness could be applied to that creek bed like it has been in our own lives? The creek would look like a stained glass window. No dirt or sand on the bottom, just shiny sparkling gems of every color. The radiance coming from that creek would be so bright we probably couldn't look directly at it in full sunlight. Of course this creek doesn't exist, but that is what happens to us. We are credited with His righteousness, which is so brilliant we can't even imagine the full scope of the glory. The TV show Wretched with Todd Friel might refer to that as "a really lame sermon illustration", but i thought I'd throw it in there anyway.

Praise and Worship songs?

Perhaps I look at everything a little too critical, some would say a lot too critical, but I take issue with some so called "praise and worship" songs. I guess I am a bit of a dichotomy, being that I am a relatively new Christian, yet I prefer songs from the standard ole Hymnal. The past two Sundays we have sang a song in church that I basically refuse to even mouth the words to even pretend to sing it. Here is the song I am talking about in particular:

"Made Me Glad" 2001 Hillsong Publishing
I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock

I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield
My strength, my portion
Deliverer, my shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need

So that is all the lyrics we sang, well technically they sang. Now what problems do I have with that? Let me take it line by line to break it down.
Second line, I have no problems with in it's self, we should trust Him all the time. Good so far!
Third line, I am with it up until the last word in the line. Delivered me from all fear? Doesn't this cut God short? To me this is robbing Him of the glory He is due. We are delivered from far more than fear. Is fear greater than an eternity of suffering in a lake of fire "where ‘ Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ Mark 9:44 ? I think not.
Fourth line, is acceptable but is lacking in detail. Those who are saved have been set upon a rock, but just any ole rock? No, we are anchored in Christ. Just the added detail would have been more glorifying to Him.
Fifth line, I will not be moved? We would like to think so, but we must not forget our roots. Psalm 103:14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. or 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. We can not rest. We must be on guard, and on watch for sin.
The next five lines I will lump together as it is like one long sentence. "And I'll say of the Lord":
You are my shield. OK, that is true. But again He is so much more. This makes Him sound so small in comparison to His actual glory. Same with strength. Now "my portion". Dictionary.com defines portion as follows - 5. Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate. So we are allotted God by God? As in we can possess Him?? I am not sure what the writer intended this line to mean. Deliverer, finally! Yes He is! Then right back down with "my shelter". I guess in a way this is right, but again robbing God of the glory due unto Him, displaying a small version of God. Now comes "strong tower", I am at a loss here. I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean either. "My very present help in time of need". Where to begin with this one? "My", as to imply possession again? I think not. "Very present", right on! , until they drag it down with " in time of need". Wrong. One word, Omnipresent. And the the line I obviously skipped, the first. I take extra exception with this one. "I will bless the Lord forever" ? How can we, being totally unworthy of even His grace, bless Him, the Almighty Creator, with anything for even one second? God blesses us. He does not need us for anything. He created us. He is all powerful. Purely Holy. We are nothing but sinful dust created by Him, in His image. We couldn't even manage that. One rule we were given and we broke that. So that wraps up all the lines. In conclusion, this song presents a small picture of God, does not pay Him the glory and praise He is due, and implies some things that border on blasphemous in my opinion. Where is Jesus in this song? He is what Christianity is built on, yet He is not mention once in this song. All in all I think we should look more carefully at what we call "praise and worship" music.

Laminin

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093

Louie Giglio - Laminin
I am a little mixed on this one. In a sense what he is saying is right. God did make the universe and everything in it, and He is so big that He is everywhere and knows everything. One thing I take issue with is this is a soft approach to The Gospel like I spoke of before, but more than that I have a problem with his "proof". Sure his talk about Laminin is interesting, and in a way correct. Just knowing that there is such a thing should be proof enough. The problem comes in when he starts talking about the shape of Laminin. Sure the way he has it presented it looks roughly like a cross. But what does this prove? An non-believer could look at it and see something completely different, like a "x". Just cause some one finds this, or the face of Jesus on their toast, or Mary in their freezer, proves nothing. The most disturbing I heard so far was a youth pastor that saw the image of Jesus in a cheeto! To make it worse he and his colleagues named it! What would they call such a thing?Obviously they named it "cheesus". Sounds like border line blasphemy to me. If you really need proof how about this:Leviticus 12:3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And the eighth day of life just happens to be when one of the elements needed for clotting (the name escapes me right now) is at it's highest point it will be in an entire life time. That is proof of the supernatural nature of The Bible. There are many examples like that, but my point is just because a protein in the body looks like a squiggly cross proves nothing. The proof is in how perfect our bodies are created! Man has yet to make a machine that can match the mobility of the human body. Or how about the fact that the body can repair a broken piece of it's main frame. What if they discovered something in a cell that looked like a crescent moon? Would that then prove Muslims are right? No. Our truth is in Christ. He is what sets us apart from every other religion. Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Not that I think Mr. Giglio is a false prophet, just the time for signs and wonders has passed, that is not why we believe now. We have The Word to trust in. The signs and wonders have been documented, and the knowledge of God written on our hearts. We shouldn't need external proof any longer. Repent and Trust.

What's With That???

Have you noticed that the Christian life is under attack? It seems everywhere I look some part of the Christian way is coming under fire in the media. Just a couple days ago I saw a story on the news (regretfully I did not hear the entire story) about South Carolina getting some flack for offering a license plate that had a stained glass window with a cross and the words "I Believe". I have already touched on the push for the so called Fairness Doctrine that would force radio stations to broadcast the opposing view for anything deemed controversial. There are countless battles against government building displaying the Ten Commandments. I could go on listing them all, but that isn't my point here. Do you see a theme? It's almost always a fight to silence Christians. Why is that? Ever wonder? Well I do, and I think I have come up with an answer. As I have well established in my previous posts a major tenant of Christianity is accepting that you are a vile sinner in dire need of a saviour.I won't go into all of that again right now. I think that secular culture is rather indifferent to us. It seems for the most part they just have the attitude of "that's just what those Christians do", a kind of live and let live. But there is a rise in almost militant atheists and they are leading the charge against Christians. My theory as to why is this, they "love" their sinful lives, and anytime they see or hear anything Christian it forces them to think about their sins. Why would this bother some one that believes God does not exist? Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Basically saying that the law is written on every one's heart, so if they are reminded that there is a law they in turn feel guilt for their sins. (side note warning: this is commonly referred to as our conscience, con - with, science - knowledge) Try as they may to deny God, deep inside if they were to search they would have to acknowledge there is a God, and He does have a set of laws set forth for all men to abide by. Even though none of us can keep them. So it boils down to there is a large part of the population that only wants to remember God and everything He has done on Christmas, and choose to forget Him when they are loving living in sin. That reminds me of the prodigal son, he was living it up in sin. To the point he ended up in a pig sty longing to eat the pig slop! Difference being he then came to his senses and returned to his father saying “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ Luke 15:18-19 So I think if the way we live cause them to whine and complain, GREAT! We must be doing something right!

Whats Worse?

Apparently my battle posts weren't as well received as I had hoped, so I thought I would switch gears and go with a new topic I plan to continue as a series. This one, as you can see, I am calling What's Worse?. First one I want to tackle is this: What's worse 1) A church only experiences a 3% growth over a year? or... A church has a congregation with only 3% heaven bound? In my humble opinion it is hands down, with out a doubt, 100% number 2. I would rather see a church not gain a single member over an entire year if in that time they could ensure the salvation of all present members! You maybe thinking that if you are in church you are saved, nope, doesn't work that way. See some of my previous posts for details there. I worry in particular about the seeker sensitive movement. Sure you can draw lots of people to your church by giving what is popular in the culture. But... Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Church is not for the general culture. Church is supposed to be where God's sheep get fed! Another problem is a rather soft approach to The Gospel. Just like in learning to speak words, you have to learn to put the emphasis on the right syllable. The same applies here. Often times the emphasis is placed on John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Which in it's self there is nothing wrong with this verse, it is the truth we are saved by, BUT first they must know what they are being saved from. To understand what they are being saved from they must first understand why they are in peril. Which brings us back to sin. People in general think they are good, and little sins don't count. But they do! Even a little lie is very serious. In the book of Acts a husband and wife were killed for one lie. Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. I won't dwell on this like I did in the previous post, but you get the idea. When Jesus met the woman at the well He didn't tell her Believe in me and you'll live forever. Or ask her is there a void in your heart the shape of me? Or follow me and you'll be fulfilled and prosper. No! None of these. He told her all her transgressions, she was humbled and knew she was in need of saving. This is obviously the correct approach to The Gospel. Now I do know the great commission is to spread The Word, but if you do not have a right understanding you should just keep it to yourself, not fill and arena sized church with those that want to be sheep and are being lead astray. So yes I think it is better to make sure the sheep are fed rather than draw in goats!

Round 2: Back-sliders Vs. False converts

Well here we go again with a battle. This one is a little more clear cut to me. Secret in this being an easy call for me is, I don't believe in one of them. Which one is it? You'll see. First let's look at a convert. How do you become a convert? Well it's not some magical prayer, or by eating a certain diet, or really anything you can do yourself. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." There is another clue. So there is the scripture to back it up, but most people will acknowledge bad people should go to hell. The crux comes in their definition of "bad people". Being humans we tend to look at it from a human perspective. Most people when pressed would come up with some like Hitler, or BinLaden as an example of a bad person. Some may come up with a generalized "a murderer", or rapist, child molester, things that aren't excepted in polite culture. You press a little deeper into that and those same people will agree that these "bad" people should be punished. Being in this country most people have a semi Christian back ground and it's not a far leap to Hell being the punishment. Then you get into those that say that an eternal punishment isn't "fair". All that said we've come to the point, "bad" people go to Hell. An eternity of suffering that can't be fully imagined. But that was all from a human perspective. If you look to the bible for God's perspective you come to a different definition of "bad". God is completely holy. So holy that sin can not be in His presence. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," We are all sinners. A right understanding of the ten commandments will prove this. Who has never told a lie? Culture overlooks this, but Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight." and Revelation 21:8 "...and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone..." As if that wasn't enough James 2:10 "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." Matthew 5:28 "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire." So does that make it clear EVERYONE is guilty before God? All that to get to the point of conversion. When you are crushed by the reality of your sins, and the realization that God should rightfully condemn you to an eternity in Hell, then you see the amazing grace shown in Christ's suffering death on the cross so that you might be cleansed. (On a side note have you ever thought when Jesus hung on the cross why he cried out Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, it was at that moment that your sin, my sin, the sin of all humans of all time came upon Jesus, and as I said earlier God is so holy he can not have sin in His presence, so it was the one moment in all time that the trinity was separated.) It is now you can be converted to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. So back to the original point, I don't believe there is such a thing as a back slider, which leaves only false converts. It is my opinion that once you are truly converted in repentance and put your faith in Jesus Christ you cannot lose that. A true conversion should result in a radical life change. My personal thought is when a true convert looks upon a cross it should bring you to the point of tears at the thought of the suffering death our Lord suffered just for you and me. A lot of false conversions are due to a soft view of the gospel. Sure Christians are going to sin occasionally. This doesn't mean you got saved and haven't been to church in 5 years, and no twice a year does not count! So if you have any doubts about being saved, I urge you to re-examine the commandments, and yourself. It can never hurt to humble yourself before the Lord! Nothing could be more important, you do not know when you will draw your last breath, so I hope you will consider these things very seriously. Revelation 3:15-17 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[a] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
I'm not judging anyone, I try to reconsider this daily for myself as well. Just trying to pass on my thoughts, maybe this will help some one out there and if it saves one, it was worth the time.

God gave me a set of bolt cutters!

Calm down! No, I haven't gone off my rocker like Todd Bentley down there in Lakeland, Florida! I don't mean literally at all. I'm going to get there, trust me. I often hear non-Christians say their reason for staying away is they don't want to give up having fun. Silly unbelievers! To those on the outside looking in they think we Christians are oppressed. Well I am here to dispel that myth! It couldn't be farther from the truth, actually I think it could be referred to as an antonym. Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." We demonstrate true free will in deciding to turn from sin, go against the stream and follow Christ. Now here comes the bolt cutters I spoke of... the cleansing blood and forgiveness in Jesus Christ gave me the ability to turn away from sin. To the unsaved, including myself in the past, sin is like being chained to a giant rock and being thrown in the ocean. Struggle as you may to get out of the water, you are constantly being dragged down by the rock. Well when you give your life to Christ you get the spiritual equivalent of bolt cutters to free yourself from the chain, and the rock. You are now free to swim to the surface and climb out of the pool of sin. True freedom can now begin. Does this mean the saved are not subject sin? Not at all. Just we have a weapon against sin, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We as living being will struggle with sin always. Back to Christians being oppressed, we are born again with new desires. The only thing that changes is the sin. Take for example my brother, his passion was skating, now that he is saved does he no longer skate? Of course he does, more than ever! (By the way see his blog for more details) Just now he skates with out sin, and for the glory of God. Doing the same work Christ came to do, to seek and save the lost. In short, we, being saved, are free from the bondage of sin that enslaves the unsaved. There is no loss of fun, in fact only true joy comes in the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus! True power comes only through true submission. And I know I quoted this verse just a few posts back, but it is again fitting for the subject...
Ephesians 6:12 (New King James Version)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Battle Royale: Justification Vs. Sanctification

OK, so its not really like that, but it was a catchy title. I think most people don't ever think about either word, or possible think they are interchangeable. But there is a difference. It's not a huge deal, but still important. Not knowing can cause some problems if you are not careful. So what is the difference? When you die to yourself, and are born again in Christ you are given a new heart with new desire, and your sins are cast as far as the east is from the west. Psalm 103: "11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."
Thus we are justified. As in we are still just as rotten as we were just prior to to the change, But our account has been credited with the righteousness of our Lord Christ Jesus. So as we surrender our lives to Christ, his righteousness comes to us along with his cleansing blood. Clear so far? Well here's the tricky part, you can not have one with out the other. Justification and Sanctification come to us at the same time. Justification is instant. At the moment we commit our lives to following Christ, our sins are cast away, we pass from darkness to light, from death to life, and written into the book of life. Ephesians 2:
"1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." On the other hand Sanctification is a process. Confused yet? We are cleansed in God's sight at our moment of conversion, but we are still sinners. In the same moment The Holy Spirit comes on to us. This begins Sanctification. This is the new heart and new desires described. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, and we begin to turn from our sinful nature. We are natural born sinners, and can do no good works with out Jesus Christ. So the longer we live with the indwelling Holy Spirit, the more we are sanctified. As we grow as Christians we shed off more and more of our sinful nature by the works of The Holy Spirit. At the same time we are apt to fall to temptation, because we are still humans with a inherent sinful nature. So if we stay true to following Jesus Christ we will continue the process. Then after our flesh dies we rise to Heaven because we are Justified through the blood of Christ, and Sanctified by being freed from our sinful flesh, and the works of walking with The Spirit. Hope that clears up the riddle you probably never thought of before I brought it up. Helpful aren't I?

Five Solas

This may not be as good of an idea as it seems in my head, but here is my idea: Read the Five Solas and post back verses to support each Sola. Simple enough, but I think everyone would have a different take on each one. So here they are:

Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone - The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God and is accessible to all (that is, perspicuous and self-interpreting). Basically The Bible is the inspired , inerrant, infallible Word of God, and can be interpreted with only The Bible ( no external source needed).

Sola Fide - Faith alone - Pretty much that we are saved by faith alone, no works can save us.

Sola Gratia - Grace alone - Salvation comes by grace only, not through any merit on the part of the sinner. Thus salvation is an unearned gift.

Solus Christus - Christ alone - Salvation is possible through only Christ, our mediator between us and God.

Soli Deo Gloria - Glory to God alone - All the glory is due to God alone, since he did all the work — not only the atonement on the Cross, but even granting the faith which allows men to be saved by that atonement.

Well there they are, with credit due to http://www.theopedia.com/Five_Solas for the concise explanations. So what do you have on that?

A Time for revival?

Have we come to a point where we are in desperate need of a revival? More and more I am convinced we are indeed! Perhaps it is because I am a fairly new Christian, but I see so much sin all around. It seems everyday that passes sin is becoming more prevalent in our society, and we are being expected to except it. Why? When the gay community makes up such a small slice of the population, why are the rest of us expected to embrace it? This troubles me. In my view we are balanced on the edge about to fall into the same pit as Sodom and Gomorrah. And I think any one reading this is well aware of their fate. I'm not sure who gets the credit for originating the quote, but it's been said "those who do not learn from the past, are destined to repeat it". But it doesn't stop there. Women seem to dress in less and less everyday, and it is accepted now. I can't help but think , do they not know what they are doing? Are they not aware they dressing so as to cause lust is adultery? I could go on and on with all I see on a daily basis, but lets switch gears to a solution. What can be done? There is a group called Transplant Ministries that I believe has a good idea for a start. They posed the question "What would happen if for one night, 500 evangelists hit the streets of a major city with one goal..... To share the gospel of Jesus Christ." On October 18th they will find out, they will be taking 500 to the streets of Atlanta. If you want to be one of The 500, or just want to read more check them out at http://www.transplantministries.com/500/
I see this is the only possible solution to the current state, well that or the second coming. We had our chance after the flood, and we've come to this present state. What sadness this must cause God The Father. Things we take for granted would have been appalling a mere 100 years ago. Even 50 years ago! I would recommend everyone see the movie Time Changer, I won't give away the entire movie, but it demonstrates this fact. In short what can the rest of us do? Can we try to carry The 500 idea to other cities? If there will be revival it must be a grass roots effort, the time has passed when we can hope for change from the government down as the government is pushing the acceptance of sin as well. To the extent that they pass laws to the effect of if you speak against some sins, even in church, you can be arrested for a hate crime! Perhaps I should have called this blog "Wake Up!". Any thoughts?

A Random Question?

Recently it has been on my mind about how during worship songs people start lifting their hands towards the sky. It is probaly just me, but isn't that a little pretentious? When we stand in worship and praise God, and us being totally unworthy, wouldn't a more honoring response be to fall on our faces? Sure those of us that are saved are justified, but we still struggle with sin for as long as He sees fit to leave us in this fleshly form. Even when I die and complete sanctification, I still would not feel worthy to lift my hand toward the Creator, that spoke everything into existence. (On side note there, isn't interesting that even evolutionists use the word universe. Uni -one, verse - sentence.) True we are justified when we die to ourselves and are born again in Christ, but we are not sanctified because we are still sinners. We aren't saved because we are good, but because we are bad , saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And the glory is to God alone. I recently heard John Piper discussing how we never, never , never, NEVER, NEVER! out grow our need for the gospel. Why is that? Because as long as we are in the flesh we are weak to the temptation of sin. We must not forget that! We are truly unworthy of any gift from God, yet he gave us the greatest gift of all: the cleansing blood of His only son, Jesus Christ. Not to mention this planet, the water we drink , air we breathe, everything to support the life of our flesh. So if you start to think you are worthy, perhaps swing by WayOfTheMaster.com and try the Good Test! As for me I will continue to feel as though I should be on my face, not reaching up. (that one was extra random!)

Ephesians 6:12 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Fairness Doctrine

"Now, there’s new interest in bringing back the Fairness Doctrine – a measure that ultimately would give federal officials the authority to tell broadcasters – including Christian broadcasters – what to air. The fact is a return to the Fairness Doctrine is a dangerous effort that could cripple Christian broadcasting." - Taken from ACLJ.org
This to me is very disturbing. At first the Fairness Doctrine may sound harmless, but when you consider it a little deeper and apply a concept I am fond of, known as Extending an Idea, you begin to see where this could turn ugly with a quickness. For example if a christian radio program were to discuss that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, they would then be required to give equal time to opposing positions that believe in alternative ways to Heaven, or the lack there of. This wouldn't concern non-Christians, but extend the idea further... If the radio discussion was on civil rights, would they then have to give air time to racists?
If you extend out the other end of that, where does it stop? What's next? Limiting what can be talked about in Church? If the pastor discussed the sin of homosexuality, would the church be required to give time to to a gay rights representative?
This is getting long, but I warned you I had a lot of random thoughts,didn't I?
In short this seems like the edge of a slippery slope that could degenerate into the repression of all Christian freedom.

Random Thoughts

I have come to the conclusion that I have too many random thoughts to continue to contain them inside my head. This seemed as good of an outlet as any other. Now comes the daunting task of choosing where to begin with this jumbled maze that I call my brain. So many possibilities!