THE LORD WILL HOLD YOUR HAND

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

 

The adrenaline rushes through your veins as the lion stalks around you seeking the weak spot where he can come in and conquer you physically.

You must remain still and calm and be prepared to defend yourself in the manner that you have been trained, and with the weapon that you have been given to be victorious over this assault.

There are times when being still demands more strength than to flail about striking at the air and weakening your position by unwisely using the resources available to you.

Your composure is the highest result of the power within you.   Isaiah 41:11-13   

 

Whenever Jesus was accused and unlawfully charged of crimes that He did not commit, He responded with deep, unbroken silence, and His ability to do so further inflamed the pack mentality of His accusers.

Whenever we are unjustly and wrongfully accused, it will take a tremendous amount of strength to keep silent and allow God to do battle for us.

The Apostle Paul was at times during his ministry, beaten, stoned, falsely accused, hated, cast out of communities, cast into the animal den, and imprisoned for the message that he delivered, and even so was able to say that “None of these things move me.” Acts 20:24

Paul did not say “none of these things hurt me.”

It is one thing to be hurt, it is another thing to be moved, from your belief.

Matthew 10:28

Paul was a man that was able to shed tears for those he loved, for those he had never met, for he knew that they had need of a Savior and someone had to bear the truth of the Good News of Jesus to them, for without it they would perish in a sinners hell.

Yet we never read of Paul crying for himself, his concern was for others.

The Apostle had determined not to be moved from what he believed to be true, even if it damaged him physically, and financially.

Paul was concerned about one thing above all, the unchanging message of God, which is that all men are sinners and in need of a savior, and His name is Jesus.

John 3:16-17

The Apostle was not overly concerned about the approval of man, he had been given a mandate by the Son of God and therefore his only concern was the approval of a smile from his Savior.

Matthew 25:23

Be honest with yourself, what matters most , the approval of man or the approval of God?

THE UNDESERVED GIFT

A REAL LIFE CHRISTMAS STORY

 

A mother of two had just spent a week of frantic searching and shopping for just the right gifts for her family and friends.

The crowds had been thick and rude, the lines were long with tremendous times of frustration, the stores and shops were cluttered with the disarray of inventory that had been rummaged through unendingly and not placed back on the shelves in a manner that was presentable. The two children one eight and one four were tired, and unruly, and behaving badly, more so as mother became frustrated and disenchanted at her seeming inability to find a moment of rest and comfort in the seasons rush.

As the final day of shopping came to an end, and as the reality of the madness screamed in the ears of the mother, she finally reached the car that was some distance from the shopping center, and was able to get her children comfortably seated in the car, she let her emotions overwhelm her, with one long sigh and a few tears.

The Christmas joy that she once knew had escaped her and her regret was evident.

Upon noticing the anguish of the mother the eight year old inquired as to what was wrong.

The answer that the harried mother gave was this, “I don’t know who started this whole mess but they out to take him out and shoot him.”

The eight year old was taken aback by the remark, but responded, “ Mom they already know who it was and they don’t have to shoot him, because they nailed Him to a tree.”

Isaiah 9:2-7 and Isaiah 53:1-12

HIDDEN IN MY HEART

DON’T SWING A WOODEN SWORD

A gladiator in ancient Rome was a slave who lived only for the entertainment of others.

He had no rights of his own, other than the right to die a bloody death to the cheers of a decadent crowd.

If a gladiator was quick enough and was able to defend his life long enough, the emperor may in time grant the slave his freedom.

In such an instance the gladiator would be brought before the Caesar with great pomp.

He would then kneel before Caesar and be touched on the shoulder close to the neck with a symbolic wooden sword.

The gladiator would then receive the wooden sword as a sign to all that he was now set free.

The wooden sword was useless in battle. It was attractive, it was symbolic, but it had no function other than to point to the decree of Caesar.

It was the decree and not the sword, that freed the gladiator from the arena of entertainment by death.

Too many Christians today treat their Bibles-the written word of God- as if it were the gladiators wooden sword.

Many have been freed from the bondage and guarantee of death in the slave market of sin, by the preaching of justification by faith.

But Christians who have been freed from the arena of sin, are not given a wooden sword as a token of their freedom.

They are given the word of God in the form of a bible, it is not a talisman to carry around and point to the edict of the Caesars of the world.

The bible is the sword of the Spirit.  Ephesians 6:17-18

It is both our offensive and defensive weapon---we must learn to use it.

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

The Word of God living in us must become our only weapon.

God the Holy Spirit gave us the Word, He gave us His Book, and He wields that Word through the lives of every Christian, to pierce even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit,  Hebrews 4:12

God has promised in; Isaiah 55:11 that the word which comes out of His mouth “shall not return unto me void, but it will accomplish that which I please.”

It has the power to pierce the hardened heart of man and bring forth the “new creature.’

Each believer in America can obtain a copy of the Holy Bible.

That is not so in many parts of the world.

Carefully study the Word, prayerfully consider its content, apply it to your life

One day each of us will meet an enemy that will require skillful use of the Sword.

Perhaps the enemy will be betrayal- a dear friend or relative who plays a Judas Iscariot.

When sacrificed on the alter of greed of another, you will not be able to stand unless you are skillfully wielding that Sword.

Perhaps the enemy will be disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, or perhaps something even more terrifying.

Can we like the apostle, say “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

There is no fear in the warrior who trusts the two-edged Blade of God.

God is in control, I am His- I trust in Him alone- in whom shall I fear?

DONT WALK--RUN!

TRADING WEAKNESS FOR STRENGTH

Isaiah 40:27-31

The prophet Isaiah begins by telling of a believer who is totally exhausted, wrung out, spent and discouraged due to an extreme burden of ongoing injustice and now given the weights of doubt, despair, and the weakness that comes with hopelessness.

Weary in faith and physical strength, he cries out “My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God.". vs. 27

Isaiah then reminds the discouraged one that , unlike him , God who created all of heaven and earth, and still retains full creative power, never gets tired, discouraged, or faint: “Hast thou not known, or heard, that the everlasting God the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” vs. 28

The difference is obvious, the believers strength is exhaustible, but Gods is inexhaustible.

And God is willing and ready to impart His strength to every weary believer: “He giveth power to the faint; and to those who have no might he increaseth strength” vs. 29

Isaiah goes on to explain that we must receive these fresh impartation of strength, because everyone of us, even the strong, will at times grow weary with the injustices, difficulties, delays, and labors that try us and find ourselves ready to fall or fail: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” vs. 30

We can see that human strength no matter how great will eventually fail under the rigors of divine testing.

We need to be receptive to the inexhaustible strength of God.

Only by sitting in Gods presence daily, by meditatively feeding on the bread of His Word, drinking of the living water that is His Spirit in prayer, and worshipping Him with loving adoration, with a life of thanksgiving and with song, in our hearts and from our mouths.

As we wait in Gods presence something supernatural occurs. The inexhaustible God refills His exhaustible servants with His unfailing strength: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…vs. 31

A supernatural exchange takes place when we wait upon the Lord.

Strength is renewed, faith is restored, and our vision increases as we rise in ever higher spirals upon the warm breath of the Holy Spirit….”they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” vs. 31

An eagle has the ability to recognize the warmth and strength of the currents of air and can ride that breath to ever higher boundaries leaving the weak and exhausted behind to seek new realms and through their success encourage others in the knowledge of how to exchange the weak, for the limitless supply of strength..

“they will run and not grow weary, and walk and not faint” vs. 31

What has happened? Nothing short of an ongoing miracle.

By receiving Gods graciously proffered strength, we've become more like our heavenly Father: inexhaustible

AN INTERESTING INVITATION

GREAT INTEREST

Yesterday 11.29.2006 the American people were delivered a formal letter from the President of Iran, H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The letter was seen as a joke by many people in the media and in several other segments of the American public.

The letter can be seen on the FOXNEWS.com web site in the archives of 11.29.2006.

The letter was an invitation for the American populace to re-examine the job that our federal government is doing in relation to foreign policy, in regards to the war in Iraq, the battle against global terrorism and our relationship with Israel.

In the letter are two very peculiar sections, that all of those who believe that Mr. Ahmadinejad and the ruling Imams of Iran are not to be taken seriously, should look into carefully.

In the best that I can explain it, in the Imam controlled areas of the world, there is a code of morality that says that your enemies should be invited to turn to Islam and to join the jihadists in their war against the country or kingdom in question. In this case the invitation has been given to the U.S. of A.

Let me discuss two sections of the letter and break them down in regards as to the statement that is actually intended.

On page one the first full paragraph is more of a prayer than a statement.

It says

“O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers”

Seems harmless enough unless you understand who the perfect human that Mr. Ahmadinejad is speaking of.

In the beliefs of fundamental Islam there is a type of savior who is known as the twelfth Mahdi, he is the 12th grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

He is reported to have gone into hiding (down a well) in the middle of the 7th century A.D. and it is the hope of the fundamentalist that his return is imminent. He will usher in a period of war and famine on the face of the earth that will eliminate most of the infidels and will leave Islam victorious over all of her foes. The Jews, the people of the Book (Christians) and the nation of America.

In the book of Revelation we read about a beast that is released from a pit that is King over a great number of tormenters. The Kings name is Abaddon or Apollyon and his name means destroyer. Revelation ch 9

Keep in remembrance that when the true savior comes again it is not from a hole in the ground but standing on clouds so that all can see him, (Matthew 24:30) He brings peace and not destruction.

Everything that Satan is involved in is the opposite of the truth so when we see false end time religion in action it will always be a direct counterfeit of the Word of God. John 8:44

The word Quran in Arabic means submission, when the prayer is made to make us among his followers that is exactly what Mr. Ahmadinejad means , to make or to force us to follow this false prophet or king.

In the last four paragraphs of the letter; quoted below, we can see the declaration of a world of peace and safety, the warning to our government if they choose to not follow Islam, an invitation for all to take the path of faith while the opportunity is still there, and a scriptural quotation from the Quran that they believe that if there is salvation it is works based, and that God has no Son.

The very thought of God having a son is blasphemous to the Islamic ideology.

We are in a war that I fear that Western Civilization has not got the nerve or the determination to win. It is a war not with nation against nations, but with Kingdoms against Kingdoms.

Twice before Islam has attempted to over through Western civilization, in the 7th century the Islamic hordes were defeated by a King named Charles the Hammer, in the 16th century, the Islamic jihadist were thoroughly defeated at the battle of Venice by a number of nation who saw the need to defend themselves.

They are now fighting on four fronts, terrorism, propaganda, judicial, and financial, and are waging the battle to win.

The only way that they can be defeated is with overwhelming strength.

May the true God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, the God who is Father of Christ Jesus and who is our Savior, give our leaders strength, resolve, and determination for the fight that is just on the horizon.

Lift up your heads for our redemption draws near.

A HIGHER RIGHTEOUSNESS

A HIGHER RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 5:19a, 20

Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven……For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

No person can break the commandments and get away with it. But we cannot keep them in our own strength either.

The only way they can be kept is by coming to Christ Jesus, for salvation, power and strength.

The commandments are not meant as a way of salvation but as a means to guide us to the way of salvation- that comes only through the acceptance of the completed work of Christ Jesus.

What then are the commandments being referred to in Matthew 5:19?

The ones we find are emphasized by Jesus as “my words” in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew.

Matthew 7:24-27

The call made was to obedience. John 14:15,21,23; and 1 John 5:3

Does the Christian need to attempt to keep the law? The fact is that the law is still the standard; it reveals to us that we cannot measure up to Gods holy standard. This directs me to the cross of Christ. The hope we have of fulfillment of the law is by accepting the only One who could ever fulfill them, His name is Jesus Christ.

Jesus became our sacrifice and shed His own sinless blood on our behalf. He offered Himself once for all for the sins of all mankind, as a free gift to those who would truly believe. Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 26, 28, 10:10, and 1 Peter 3:18

Everything was fulfilled in the moments before Christ death on the cross He uttered the word ”tetelestai” it means paid in full. John 19:30

The second way that Christ fulfilled the Law is that He taught and commanded what Gods will under the New Covenant would be for those who will enter the Kingdom of God.

He gave us a new set of rules. Paul said that they were Christ’s Law. Some of those were the same as the Old Testament Law. Many were changed, but most of the Old Testament Law was not included at all in Christ’s Law.

For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:4

METANOIA

Repentance

"What is true repentance, and why is repentance so important for us attempting to live as Christians?

The word repent comes from the Greek word metanoia.

 It stresses a change of mind and attitude.

To repent is to make a decision that changes the total direction of one’s life.

 When Jesus preached, He issued a call to repentance which was a call to people to change their mind about Him and to make a personal commitment to Him.

 Repentance is an abandonment of those courses of action in which we once defied God and embraced those things which God dislikes and forbids.

 The Hebrew word for repent signifies a turning away from sin to God, or a returning to God. The New Testament Greek word carries the sense of changing one’s mind so that one changes one’s ways.

 Full repentance means altering one’s habits of thought, one’s attitudes, outlook, policy, direction and behavior just as fully as is needed to get one’s life off of the wrong path and onto the right one.

But changing in this way is only possible for Christian believers, who have been set free from sin’s control and made alive to God.

 Repentance comes as a result of putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ.

 Repentance flows out of true faith. It is the fruit of faith and as such, is a gift of God, according to Acts 11:18.

 Repentance is not that which saves, but it is the opposite side of the same coin as faith. One cannot have true faith unless one turns away from believing in himself and turns to believe in Christ alone to save, forgive and empower him to change.

Once again, true repentance is only possible for Christians because it’s only the Christian who in relationship with God starts to have God pull off the blinders of his life.

 The Bible tells us we do not even know how self-deceived we are about our sins, according to James 1:22 and 1 John 1:8.

 So once we place our faith in Christ, bit by bit God showsus that our deeds, our lifestyle, our thinking, our acts have offended Him. This awareness that we have offended a holy God is the soil from which repentance grows all during our life. True repentance includes a contrite heart, sorrow and remorse in having dishonored God’s goodness and love to us.

 The kind of repentance that is a false repentance is that which shows only regret for sin prompted by fear for oneself, not love for God. Repentance brings on a sincere request of God’s pardon, cleansing of conscience and help not to lapse into the same sin again.

J. I. Packer says repentance is (1) a person discerning the perversity, folly and guilt of the sin he or she has done;( 2) the desire to find forgiveness, and the willingness to abandon the sin and live a God-pleasing life from now on; (3) deciding to ask God for forgiveness and power to change, and then actually talking to God; (4) demonstrating, whether by testimony, confession, or by changed behavior that one has left one’s sins behind.

Martin Luther taught that all of life was to be repentance toward God. That is, as we walk with God, He will reveal to us things about ourselves that we didn’t know—sins and habits which need to be abandoned.

Such recurring repentance is the life of the adult disciple. Keep in mind that when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, He gave you a new heart that desires to obey God. You will only be happy and joyful when those things that offend God are turned away from and you’ve asked God to forgive you and to cleanse you.

Paradoxically, such action brings more joy because God draws closer to you and you experience more of Him. You can refuse to repent. But you should know that you will run the risk of being disciplined by God. Read Hebrews 11 and 12. God disciplines His children because He loves us and He won’t stand by and allow us to ruin our lives

THE BEST OF HOLIDAYS

THE BEST OF HOLIDAYS

In the life of any person, some things are spoken into our inner beings that are impossible to discard. The person who says these things are never forgotten and the places and circumstances of the time are forever embedded in our memories.

One of the most unforgettable things that any one ever said that I heard correctly was this.

“Wouldn't it be great, if when we went to sleep on Christmas Eve, that when we awoke, the rapture of the Church had occurred and we would be forever in the presence of the one whom Christmas was intended for?

The rapture of the Church is this: It is a sudden calling home of those whom have placed the hope of eternal life in one thing alone. The perfect sacrifice of the Son of God, whose name is Christ Jesus. The rapture of the Church is for two groups of people, those who are dead and held their trust in Christ alone, and for those who are living at the time of the calling away of His bride.

1 Corinthians 15:50-52

It is an unknown day, which means that the time and date are not predictable.

Matthew 24:36

It is however a day that believers are told to be awake to the nearness of.

Matthew 24:42

It is meant only for those who are expecting the return of the King.

Matthew 25:1-13, and 2 Timothy 4:8

As Christmas approaches and with all of the excitement , with the concern for the expectations of the Holiday, with the discouragement that hinders many, and the anguish that comes as the calendar shortens, along with the joyous reunions with family and friends, and the ultimate goal of lavishing love on so many, let us not have our eyes turned away from the imminent return of the One that we celebrate.

Let each of us honor the Savior of the world in our conduct, in our thoughts and in our desire to be with Him, with a lifestyle that reflects just that.

"Wouldn't it be great if when we went to sleep on Christmas Eve, that when we awoke, the rapture of the Church had occurred and we would be forever in the presence of the one whom Christmas was intended for?

SIN IN THE CAMP

BECAUSE OF ONE MANS SIN

Isn’t it amazing how sin will take you further than you ever intended to go, and hold you longer than you intended to stay, and will cost you more than you were ever willing to pay?

In Joshua 7:1 we read ” But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan….took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.”

The accursed thing mentioned here was ordered by God in ch 6:18: “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when you take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.”

Achan could not resist the temptation and took of the banned articles and his premeditated disobedience affected the entire nation: “and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.”

The sin that Achan chose obviously was an offense to God, but why did Gods anger burn against the whole nation? Simply because the whole of the nation was in covenant with God.

The covenant with circumcision as its sign, was made with Abraham, passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob, whose name became Israel. His descendants continued in renewal of the covenant in ch 5 after they had crossed the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership. Until ch 5 this new generation had not been circumcised. Once they determined to be circumcised and followed thru with the act, they became as a unit, now not only in covenant with God, but with each other as well.

As a nation, each member had a responsibility to honor and trust God, but, when one disobeyed, his sin not only was personal but affected the entire group. They had after all agreed to be community.

God tells them in ch 7:11 that because of Achans sin, they had broken the covenant. The whole nation or group was guilty because of one mans sin.

The covenant with God for a New Testament Church believer is not through circumcision of the flesh, but through the heart, by way of the Cross of Christ and the sacrifice of blood that was shed by Jesus Christ the perfect sacrifice.

When will we ever learn that we, who are believers, are members one of another!

What I do as a believer affects you, what you do will affect me, and what we do affects those that we have chosen to place our lives in covenantal agreement with.

Paul teaches this in Romans ch 12:5 “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members of another.”

There is no mistake about it , what one does affects the whole.

There are numerous examples of this in Scripture. In Numbers ch 12, we have an account of Miriam’s sin; God struck her with leprosy and because of her sin the whole nation was held back for seven days.

We could examine King David’s life and his willful sin with a woman, and how it caused the innocent servant to be murdered with an entire nation suffering the consequences, and we could go on, and on.

Believers are in covenant with God, through Jesus Christ, and because of that we are in covenant with one another. We are members one with another. We are to encourage each other in the faith, we are also to hold each other accountable, because our sin will affect more than just ourselves.

A Christian family operates on the same principal, sin in the fathers life affects the entire family, until dealt with under the blood of the Christ.

A Church also is like this nation, and family.

We cannot expect God to pour out his blessings when there is gossip, slander, and maligning of personalities on going.

Murmuring about what we like and don’t like, complaints about the flow of ministry, about who is and who isn’t involved, discontent in general, affects the entire congregation in a negative manner.

Sin in leadership will hinder the growth of the fellowship, and likewise sin in the fellowship will hinder the ability of those in leadership.

Sin is a breaking or betrayal of the covenant that we agree upon with God, through the Christ.

It breaks the trust bond and damages us all.

Sin cannot be hidden, it is like leprosy, it becomes an outward demonstration, of a problem inside the individual or group.

Only the Blood of Christ can cleanse the leper from the inside to the outside.

Ask yourself, as I ask myself, is there any sin in our camp.

It is a betrayal of our covenant with God and with each other.

ETERNAS CONSECUENCIAS

Amigos: la pregunta pivotal de la vida es este. Que hara usted con Jesucrito? Esto es una pregunta que solo usted puede contestar. Jesu dijo, "Soy el camino, la verdad y la vida, ningun hombre viene al Padre sino por mi." Juan 14:6. No hay ningunos hombres, ningunos Sacerdotal o ningunos Santos que pueden contestar esta pregunta para usted. Esto es personal e intimo. Usted solo es responsible de su respuesta. Considere lo que Jesus dice en Juan 3:17-18, "Para Dios envio no a su Hijo en el mundo para condenar el mundo" pero que mundo por El podria ser salvado. El que creen en El no es condenado: pero el que no cree es condenado ya porque el no ha creido en nombre del unico Hijo procreado do Dios." Las Nuevo bueno son estas. Esto si usted admite con su boca, y cree en su carazon que Dio lo ha levantado de los muertos, usted sera salvado." Romanos 10:9. La decision es todo la suya, y esto tendra consequencias eternas.  

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Friends: The pivotal question of life is this. What will you do with Jesus Christ? It is a question that only you can answer. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me." John 14:6. There are no men, no Priests and no Saints that can answer that question for you. It is personal and intimate. You alone are acountable for your response.

 Consider what Jesus says in John 3:17-18 " For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

The good news is this. "That if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. The decision is yours, and it will have eternal consequences.

TEACHERS BEWARE

 

 

 

Once again we see the mighty being brought low by devices of their own design.
And once again we begin to hear people speaking in defense of them making statements such as “well after all they will be tempted more than normal humanity just because of their position in life”. We hear defenses based upon denial of the truth, people will tell us to not believe the stories as they surely cannot be true, because from the view point of the defender, the fallen person has been idolized and it is hard to see our idols taken down.

 

When all along the real problem with the exposed person actually comes down to one glaring reality. They have lost or perhaps never had a true fear of the Lord that they have said they serve.

 

Proverbs 16:5-6  Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

 

Simply stated the fear of the Lord comes down to this quote.
“Fear of the Lord is knowing that God sees and tests every thought, motive, action, deed and attitude of a mans life; and that man will be held accountable for them in judgment.”

 

People who are held in esteem as leaders are no more tempted than the least of us, scripture states in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

 

The leader or teacher that stands before anyone in hypocrisy should study the whole matter of scripture before continuing in their chosen iniquity, look with me in scripture as we read what the word of God says about false and deceptive teachers and the punishment they will face for willingly leading others astray.
 
2 Peter 2:1-22  makes a good case for any leader or  teacher to be very cautious about how their lives are lived out before those who would trust them.

 

It would seem that the deceptive leader has never had a full understanding of just who would be allowed to enter in to heaven, after all not everyone who names Christ as Lord is really telling the truth.
Please take the time to read the following verses, some may never have heard the truth or perhaps has never taken the time to study the truth out for themselves.

 

1 Corinthians 6:8-11
1 John 2:3-6
Galatians 5:13-26
Ephesians 4:17-32
Ephesians 5:1-16

 

These may not be the comfortable teachings that so many hunger for but they are the truth as written down by holy men of God through whom the Spirit has spoken.

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

James3:1

A PICTURE OF A FALSE IDOL

 

 

         Have you ever had your sense of what is right or wrong so assaulted that your inner being feels violated to the core?  Do you ever consider that the things that go on in the world with an ever increasing hostility toward the very God that many of us serve are only allowed in our society because the members of the Church have accepted the tenant that to be a Christian means to be blind to the evils of mankind under the guise of tolerance?

          Do you feel violated as a Christian whenever we read in the news about a brother or sister in Christ who has been murdered because of their faith in the redeemer? Does the news that a racist hate-monger has burned down a church house that is used primarily by non-whites have any effect upon you? Whenever we hear of a man or woman, or child in a middle-eastern country who has come to faith in Christ that has been tortured, murdered and his entire lineage destroyed do we feel a kinship with him? Does the issue of removing the Ten Commandments from public schools, and other public buildings cause you to ponder where we are headed as a nation? Do you feel that you can share your faith boldly in your city without facing ridicule from your neighbors, family and fellow members of the Body of Christ? Try it and see how quickly those that should support you move off to the side and whisper that you have gone off the deep end.

           Have you ever been offended by our government granting your hard earned tax dollars to such organizations as the National Endowment of Arts who gleefully support men and women who are so demented that a crucifix in urine, and the virgin and child covered in animal dung are considered valuable works of art and emblems of freedom of expression?

            As a Christian, consider whenever you see a cross. Many consider it a significant religious emblem, some consider it a token of beauty by design, and almost all in our community have heard that at one time the very Son of the Living God willingly gave himself as a sacrifice for my and your sins upon a rugged cross that was the cruel weapon of choice for an execution.

             In thecity that we live in there are those people that will defend the demon mascot as harmless and mostly just for fun. They will not consider that one of the areas of the ministry of Christ while on the earth was casting demons from humanity. Yet they willingly cling to and protect their chosen idol.

             As the old song goes, On a hill far away , stands an old rugged cross, an emblem of suffering and shame. If you know the song, it sings of truth. The Christ hung upon the cross. The Christ suffered upon the cross. The Christ felt rejection from his Father upon the cross. My sins were forgiven because of the work of the cross of Christ.

              In the Moore County News Press edition of  October One, Two Thousand and Six, on the front page of the second section is a picture of a cross, it was meant as a token of memorial for a very dear person.  There is a very glaring problem with that particular cross. In the center of the cross is the name demon. That my friends is very disturbing. It rips at my inner being that in a town where there are 40 plus churches that something like this is overlooked and regarded as just a moment in a very unique culture called Dumas.

             In our city we honor the demon by building him thrones that can be seen for miles in any direction, we encourage our children in his worship by teaching them how to cheer for him, and we allow our children to go into his houses without any regard to the art work that they are encouraged to paint and decorate their hallways and rooms with. We dress them in demon regalia, and tell them how to become successful in their endeavors as demons.

             We believe that honoring demons is harmless and forget that Christ stated that when you deny him, that he will deny you in heaven, before the angels and His Father (Matthew 10:32-33).  Whenever we are called demons and do not object, we have done just that, denied Him.

              The Christ was on the cross. It is the defining moment in all of human history.(Colossians 2:14-15)

               Never has any devil or demon hung on a cross for your spiritual healing.

               I encourage you to find a copy of that issue of the Moore County News Press and see the picture for yourself. If it does not violate your senses, then I encourage you to re-visit the moment of your full belief in the Christ of the cross.

A LIFE WORTH LIVING, A REWARD WORTH DYING FOR

A LIFE WORTH LIVING, A REWARD WORTH DYING FOR

Whenever you reflect upon the things that you have done with your life to this point, what do you see? Do you see a life lived in mediocrity, do you see a life lived in the shadow of fear or doubt? Do your see a life lived selfishly, serving only yourself for the purpose of pleasure and gain?

Whenever you look at the life that is being lived by those closest to you, what do you see? It likely mirrors the life that you lead, for we are drawn to whatever and whoever makes us comfortable.

In the 5th chapter of the book of Acts we see the Apostles preaching boldly the death, burial, and resurrection of the Christ. We further see those who are the most religious who are debating on what to do with the radicals in society who would upset tradition by teaching a salvation that is not based upon man.

The decision was made by those who knew best, to allow the upstarts to say whatever they would believing that after a while the masses would tire of their teachings. When this failed the decision was made to humiliate the Apostles and hope that the crowds would turn from them in fear, or out of disbelief in the God who would allow that to happen to his servants. When ignoring the truth, and embarrassing the bearers of truth, by way of demanding their silence, had no effect, the decision was made to eventually begin killing the Apostles. (Acts 5:33-42). In all of this the church grew exponentially as the truth of the word was preached.

The Messiah had come and His name is Jesus.

During this time, some of the same ones who had made the decision to silence or ignore the Apostles teachings began to believe that Jesus was Lord and to leave the priesthood of the Pharisees.

In (Acts 6:8-15) we see an Apostle named Stephen who the Bible declares was full of faith and power, being falsely accused of blasphemy and being tried by the same type of illegal court that the Christ had to go before. Stephen was accused tried and convicted based upon lies told by men who felt power slipping away, just as those who had a few months before crucified the very Messiah that they said they longed for.

The trial of Stephen is recorded in the book of Acts chapter 7:1-53 in it Stephen tells the story of the Jewish people and their refusal to believe the truth and the mistreatment and killing of all those that God had sent to testify of the truth. Stephen preached boldly the unashamed word of the Living God before those who he knew would kill him.

In vs. 54-60 we see where Stephen was taken outside of the town (an outcast) and stoned (not with little pebbles, but with the largest stones that a man could lift overhead and cast upon another persons stretched out body) until he was dead.

As this was occurring Stephen did a remarkable thing in sight and in hearing range of his murderers, he asked that God not hold his murders at fault. Christ did the same thing as He was being nailed, to an old rugged cross.

As Stephen was being killed in a very brutal way he declared that he could see Jesus at the Fathers right hand, not seated as we see in Ephesians 1:19-21, but standing as He welcomed home a true servant and hero of the faith.

Powerful!!!!!

Go back to the first few paragraphs of this note and based upon your evaluation of your life, ask yourself soberly, “Have I done anything in my life that would make Jesus desire to stand and perhaps applaud the way that I have served Him?”

Become a Stephen, or pray that someone you influence may become a Stephen,

dream that one day your service would inspire the Christ to stand in welcome ovation of a life lived exclusively for Him.