To win a war you have to always be on the offensive. You go to the defensive position only for a temporary amount of time. So the church should engage culture and come out of the defensive posture. The church has been in the defensive much too long. What about that these things have been prophesied and we could very well be in the end times? What if we are wrong, just like all of the generations who have thought the same thing before us? This makes me think about the verse that says that the gates of hell will not be able to stand against the Kingdom of God. That means that the Kingdom of God is on the offensive. Anyway, if we fail to be on the offensive now, then what type of world will our children inherit from us? I shudder to think.
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Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Are They Truly Saved?
Why do we let people live in the lie that they are saved even though they are addicted to porn, alcohol, or drugs? Why do we not call a sin a sin? If we ignore this fact, then why do we oppose homosexuality? No wonder Christians are seen as hypocrites. No wonder those in Islam hate the western world. They say that Christianity is responsible for adultery, pornography, prostitution, homosexuality, and other sins. They say this because we have distorted the definition of "Christian." We call those who continue to live in sin Christians. This is not being judgmental, rather it's evidence that demands a verdict, and God has given us a standard to follow and that is His Son Jesus Christ. Are we allowing people to go to hell because we cannot look them in the face and tell them that they are still sinners and deserving of punishment? What has become of us? I fear that we have lost the Gospel message in an effort to love sinners, but by doing so we have abandoned them to their sin. The Gospel message is that Christ died for our sins and, although we are deserving of punishment, He has taken that punishment upon Himself. Now does that mean that we just say a prayer and that is it, we are saved? No! When we truly repent and the Holy Spirit is in us, we will have the strength to break free from sin; anything less is doubting the power of God. In the story in John 8:3-6, Jesus told the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, and, by Jewish law, deserved to be stoned to death, that since none of her accusers condemned her, neither would He. However, here is where I fear that we miss a very important point. He tells her, "Go. From now on sin no more." This is very important and if we choose to ignore that then we are just as guilty as those who we allow to live in their sin. In John 5:14, Jesus says to the man that He healed at the pool of Bethesda, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." How can we ignore these things that He says in the Bible? Preach His love and His saving power, but do not skip over His standard for our lives through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Holy Scripture was divinely inspired by God so that it is truthful in all it affirms.
What is it that makes us question the inerrancy of the Bible? Why will we not accept verbal inspiration pertaining to the writers of the Bible? Pilot asked Jesus if he was a king. Jesus answered that he was correct, that He is a king. Then Jesus said, “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37). Pilot asks, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).
Jesus started His ministry quoting from the book of Isaiah. Those in the synagogue asked Jesus to read from the Scriptures. At this request Jesus opened the Scriptures to Isaiah chapter 61 verses 1 and 2 and He began to read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Jesus closed the book and said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
Thousands of years have passed between the books of the Old Testament and those of the New Testament. However, Jesus affirms what is written in the Old Testament. He mentions Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and He quotes from the Old Testament. Yet there are some who question the inerrancy of the Bible as if to question our Lord.
The truth that Pilot was asking for is the Bible, the revelation of God.
A wrong view of inspiration will lead to the wrong view of inerrancy which will affect our worldview. If God is removed from the inspiration of the Bible then we don`t have to listen to what it says and everything becomes subjective. We will choose what we want to believe as it is in the Bible and ignore the rest. The evidence of this is the moral decay in our lives.
Many people claim to be Christian and have a distorted view of Biblical Christianity. Their Biblical worldview comes from the world outside of the Bible. There is no real difference between Christian school students and public school students.
How many people have been hindered from learning the truth because of those who teach or preach a wrong view of inerrancy? Even though this very topic, Biblical inerrancy, has been debated for hundreds of years it is important to try to shine some light on it in the hopes that it will lead some to repentance and save souls from the grasp of those liberal scholars that will face judgment.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Known in Hell.
I heard a story told by Ravi Zacharias, and I thought how awesome it would be to have such a passion for Christ! Here is the abbreviated version of the story put into my own words.
A man named Mr. Nichols led a man to Christ on a street corner. Mr. Nichols asked the man if he had any plans for that night. The man answered that he hadn't given it any thought. So Mr. Nichols asked the man to come to a prayer meeting with him. The man told Mr. Nichols that he didn't know how to pray and he didn't know what prayer meetings were about. Mr. Nichols told him to go home and read the book of Acts in the New Testament. He told him that after reading Acts he would know how to pray and what prayer meetings were all about. Mr. Nichols picked the man up at his home and brought him to the prayer meeting. Everyone was praying when Mr. Nichols asked the man when he would start praying. The man told Mr. Nichols again that he did not know how to pray. Mr. Nichols told him to say whatever comes to his mind. The man began to pray and he said, "Father, Father I pray that all in Hell will know who I am". Mr. Nichols was shocked and pulled the man outside. Mr. Nichols asked what was he thinking by saying a prayer like that. The man told Mr. Nichols again that he didn't know how to pray. Mr. Nichols said that everyone inside who was praying were asking to go to heaven but he asked to be known in Hell and that was not right. The man told Mr. Nichols that in the book of Acts the sons of Sceva were trying to command demons to come out of people in the name of Jesus, but the demons told them,"Jesus I know, Paul I know, but you I don't know." The man said, "Mr. Nichols I want to be known in Hell!"
What a story of faith! Oh, how great it is be to be known by demons that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Whenever prayer warriors get down on their knees demons tremor in fear and run for cover.
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A man named Mr. Nichols led a man to Christ on a street corner. Mr. Nichols asked the man if he had any plans for that night. The man answered that he hadn't given it any thought. So Mr. Nichols asked the man to come to a prayer meeting with him. The man told Mr. Nichols that he didn't know how to pray and he didn't know what prayer meetings were about. Mr. Nichols told him to go home and read the book of Acts in the New Testament. He told him that after reading Acts he would know how to pray and what prayer meetings were all about. Mr. Nichols picked the man up at his home and brought him to the prayer meeting. Everyone was praying when Mr. Nichols asked the man when he would start praying. The man told Mr. Nichols again that he did not know how to pray. Mr. Nichols told him to say whatever comes to his mind. The man began to pray and he said, "Father, Father I pray that all in Hell will know who I am". Mr. Nichols was shocked and pulled the man outside. Mr. Nichols asked what was he thinking by saying a prayer like that. The man told Mr. Nichols again that he didn't know how to pray. Mr. Nichols said that everyone inside who was praying were asking to go to heaven but he asked to be known in Hell and that was not right. The man told Mr. Nichols that in the book of Acts the sons of Sceva were trying to command demons to come out of people in the name of Jesus, but the demons told them,"Jesus I know, Paul I know, but you I don't know." The man said, "Mr. Nichols I want to be known in Hell!"
What a story of faith! Oh, how great it is be to be known by demons that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Whenever prayer warriors get down on their knees demons tremor in fear and run for cover.
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Sunday, July 18, 2010
25 Reasons of why I follow Jesus. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.
This list is in no particular order. It is possible that, when time permits, I will expand on my reasons for following Jesus, individually. Until then, I hope that this list will present some food for thought to those who are wondering why they should follow Jesus. Please feel free to comment and ask questions. I will do my best to answer all comments and questions. God bless you!
1) He saved me from a sinful life.
2) He gives me joy.
3) He gives me hope.
4) He provides me with all that I need.
5) He died for me.
6) He is alive and in heaven.
7) He helps me to overcome sin and sin has no dominion over me.
8) He changes lives.
9) He fills me with the Holy Spirit.
10) He called me to follow Him.
11) He keeps me loving my wife, when the world says it's alright not to.
12) He gives me the correct moral view of sin, instead of sin being relevant, and He keeps me on that path.
13) He gives peace to my soul.
14) He takes all of my worries away.
15) He gives me assurance that I am going to heaven when I die.
16) He empowers me to love my neighbors.
17) He has forgiven ALL of my sins.
18) He strengthens me to be the husband and father that I now am.
19) He is the only way to heaven.
20) He has given me truth.
21) He has taken away my feelings of guilt.
22) Through Him I have been adopted into the family of God.
23) Through Him I belong to a community of people who also follow Jesus and have been adopted into the family of God.
24) He gives me an understanding as to the condition of the world.
25) He took away my fear of death.
So there you have it. 25 reasons why I follow Jesus Christ. I made it a personal goal of mine to come up with 25 reasons because of a book I recently read. In this book the author said that he gives his students the task of coming up with 25 reasons why someone should follow Jesus Christ; they always come up with 15, but have a hard time making it to 25. I realized that I could come up with more, but I'll save them for another blog post in the future. I feel that I need to mention that this has been a humbling experience. Thank you, Jesus, for all of the reasons above that you have given me, and more!
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1) He saved me from a sinful life.
2) He gives me joy.
3) He gives me hope.
4) He provides me with all that I need.
5) He died for me.
6) He is alive and in heaven.
7) He helps me to overcome sin and sin has no dominion over me.
8) He changes lives.
9) He fills me with the Holy Spirit.
10) He called me to follow Him.
11) He keeps me loving my wife, when the world says it's alright not to.
12) He gives me the correct moral view of sin, instead of sin being relevant, and He keeps me on that path.
13) He gives peace to my soul.
14) He takes all of my worries away.
15) He gives me assurance that I am going to heaven when I die.
16) He empowers me to love my neighbors.
17) He has forgiven ALL of my sins.
18) He strengthens me to be the husband and father that I now am.
19) He is the only way to heaven.
20) He has given me truth.
21) He has taken away my feelings of guilt.
22) Through Him I have been adopted into the family of God.
23) Through Him I belong to a community of people who also follow Jesus and have been adopted into the family of God.
24) He gives me an understanding as to the condition of the world.
25) He took away my fear of death.
So there you have it. 25 reasons why I follow Jesus Christ. I made it a personal goal of mine to come up with 25 reasons because of a book I recently read. In this book the author said that he gives his students the task of coming up with 25 reasons why someone should follow Jesus Christ; they always come up with 15, but have a hard time making it to 25. I realized that I could come up with more, but I'll save them for another blog post in the future. I feel that I need to mention that this has been a humbling experience. Thank you, Jesus, for all of the reasons above that you have given me, and more!
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Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Cross
I am a sinner! I lived in sin all of my life. Those who know me know about my sinful state before I trusted Jesus 3 and a half years ago. No I never murdered anybody but just the smallest sin makes you a sinner and like the Apostle Paul, in my head, I am the "chiefest of sinners".
Although I am forgiven and have salvation, I still have to answer for the things that I did while I was here on earth. I have to give an account for my sins. One day we will all bow down to the King of kings.
I deserve to be crucified for my sins, but Jesus took that agonizing death upon himself because He loves me.
Crucifixion was the worst way to execute someone during Jesus' time. It was so terrible that a Roman citizen was exempt from such a death.
Jesus was beaten before being hung on the cross. Pieces of flesh were missing from his body and he lost a lot of blood as He carried His own cross to where the crucifixion took place.
Jesus died for sinners. He took the penalty that we deserved. He was beaten and nailed to a cross so that I would be forgiven.
You see, God is righteous and cannot sin, so he must punish all sins including those made out of ommision. But God in His righteousness gave us a way out. Instead of feeding the fires in hell with our souls, He sent his Son to die for us so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
The punishment that Jesus took on Himself was meant for me. That is what I deserve but Jesus went in my place.
The good news is that because of what Jesus did on the cross I have hope. Hope in this life and beyond.
"It is finished" John 19:30
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Although I am forgiven and have salvation, I still have to answer for the things that I did while I was here on earth. I have to give an account for my sins. One day we will all bow down to the King of kings.
I deserve to be crucified for my sins, but Jesus took that agonizing death upon himself because He loves me.
Crucifixion was the worst way to execute someone during Jesus' time. It was so terrible that a Roman citizen was exempt from such a death.
Jesus was beaten before being hung on the cross. Pieces of flesh were missing from his body and he lost a lot of blood as He carried His own cross to where the crucifixion took place.
Jesus died for sinners. He took the penalty that we deserved. He was beaten and nailed to a cross so that I would be forgiven.
You see, God is righteous and cannot sin, so he must punish all sins including those made out of ommision. But God in His righteousness gave us a way out. Instead of feeding the fires in hell with our souls, He sent his Son to die for us so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
The punishment that Jesus took on Himself was meant for me. That is what I deserve but Jesus went in my place.
The good news is that because of what Jesus did on the cross I have hope. Hope in this life and beyond.
"It is finished" John 19:30
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Thursday, July 8, 2010
Warfare
I use the phrase “true Christian” for a reason. There are those who fancy themselves to be Christians. There are thousands of people who go to church Sunday mornings and call themselves Christian. Yet there is no spiritual strife, no conflict, no self-denial, no watching, and no warring. That is not the Christianity of the Bible. A true Christian is called to be a soldier.
Who does a Christian soldier fight against? A Christian soldier’s
enemies are his flesh, the world, and Satan. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). He must either fight or be lost.
The Christian soldier fights against his flesh. Even after being born again, sin cleaves to his heart and his “spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). This is a daily struggle that is fought through prayer; he is told to “watch and pray” (Mark 14:38).
The Christian soldier must fight against the world. The subtle influences of the world must be resisted daily. The love of the things from the world, the fear of not being accepted by the world, the secret desire to be a part of the world, the secret wish to do as others in the world do. These things the Christian soldier must do battle with daily. “Friendship with the world is hostility toward God”… “therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
The Christian soldier fights a murderer and a liar, Satan. Satan does not attack those who are already living in sin. Those who are living a lifestyle that the world wants them to live. No, it is a waste of his time to attack them because he already has them. He already has a place for them in hell. Talking to Peter about Satan’s desire to attack His followers, Jesus says, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). Satan attacks the Christian soldier.
A Christian soldier does not fight with carnal weapons but with spiritual weapons. The girdle of truth, a “breastplate of righteousness”, feet shod “with the preparation of the Gospel of peace”, “the shield of faith”, “the helmet of salvation”, “the sword of the Spirit” (the Word of God) (Eph 6:14-18), and prayer (Luke 22:40), these are the weapons of the Christian soldier.
Without faith the Christian soldier will fail. Faith is a big part of the character of the Christian soldier. Regarding faith the Christian soldier can say, “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed” (2Tim 1:12), “we do not lose heart” (2Cor 4:16), for “the things which are not seen are eternal (2Cor 4:18)”.
To live the life of a Christian soldier you must first believe. Unless you believe you will do nothing.
“Fight the good fight of faith”- 1Timothy 6:12
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sin
Sin is within us, it is our natural tendency to sin. Through one man, sin entered the world (Rom 5:12). Adam was created in the image of God, innocent and righteous. Then he fell from righteousness into sinfulness. As a result, sin entered the world, and since we are born in the image of Adam, we have his sinfulness. You see, as a baby we did not learn selfishness, greed, envy, and jealousy, among other things, but yet at an early age we expressed these characteristics.
What is sin? Sin is the transgression of God's law. There are two types of sin. Those of commision and ommision. Those of ommision make us just as guilty as those of commision. Being ignorant of the sins of ommision in your life does not make you innocent (Lev 4:1-35, 5:14-19, Num 15:25-29). Jesus said that a servant who does not know his master's will and does not do his will is not excused because of his ignorance but he deserves punishment (Luke 12:48).
Our God is perfect and cannot look upon sin. So the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and God's son, Jesus Christ, paid that price with His life. God is an eternal being who created the universe and all that is in it. He keeps the planets perfectly aligned and we are weak evil creatures who have no way of knowing the true weight of sin that Jesus carried to the cross. We have no way to fathom the hideousness of our evil sin in the sight of God.
Man has always downplayed his sin. Thinking that some sins are small and others are big like there are different levels of sin. Sin is sin and all are equally evil. Some say, "I'm not hurting anyone", or "surely God won't send me to hell for something this small" or "everyone else is doing it". Sin is sin and its a deadly enemy, yet rarely does it present itself as such." The forbidden fruit seemed good and desirable to Eve; yet it cast her out of Eden" (Holiness).
We must humble ourselves in front of the throne of grace and come to a realization that we are sinners. We are "corrupt creatures in the sight of God" (Holiness). A Scriptural view of sin draws us closer to Christ. It shines a light into our, dark sin-filled, hearts so that by it we may see that we are in need of a Savior.
Sin is still ever present in our hearts even after we give ourselves to Jesus Christ. Even after we have been born again- even after we have been washed, sanctified, and justified- the roots of sin cleave to our hearts. Like leprosy it never goes away. Having the correct (Scriptural) view of sin enables us not only to come closer to Christ but to have control over the sin in our lives. Having control over sin means that sin will no longer have dominion in our lives and we can live a life of victory with the help of the Holy Spirit.
There is something wrong with Christianity today. Many people call themselves Christians, but the majority do not fit the Scriptural description of a Christian. The fix to this problem is a Scriptural view of sin. People will not be convicted, and take God's Word seriously, until they feel that they are in danger of hell.
"God be merciful to me a sinner" Luke 18:13
What is sin? Sin is the transgression of God's law. There are two types of sin. Those of commision and ommision. Those of ommision make us just as guilty as those of commision. Being ignorant of the sins of ommision in your life does not make you innocent (Lev 4:1-35, 5:14-19, Num 15:25-29). Jesus said that a servant who does not know his master's will and does not do his will is not excused because of his ignorance but he deserves punishment (Luke 12:48).
Our God is perfect and cannot look upon sin. So the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and God's son, Jesus Christ, paid that price with His life. God is an eternal being who created the universe and all that is in it. He keeps the planets perfectly aligned and we are weak evil creatures who have no way of knowing the true weight of sin that Jesus carried to the cross. We have no way to fathom the hideousness of our evil sin in the sight of God.
Man has always downplayed his sin. Thinking that some sins are small and others are big like there are different levels of sin. Sin is sin and all are equally evil. Some say, "I'm not hurting anyone", or "surely God won't send me to hell for something this small" or "everyone else is doing it". Sin is sin and its a deadly enemy, yet rarely does it present itself as such." The forbidden fruit seemed good and desirable to Eve; yet it cast her out of Eden" (Holiness).
We must humble ourselves in front of the throne of grace and come to a realization that we are sinners. We are "corrupt creatures in the sight of God" (Holiness). A Scriptural view of sin draws us closer to Christ. It shines a light into our, dark sin-filled, hearts so that by it we may see that we are in need of a Savior.
Sin is still ever present in our hearts even after we give ourselves to Jesus Christ. Even after we have been born again- even after we have been washed, sanctified, and justified- the roots of sin cleave to our hearts. Like leprosy it never goes away. Having the correct (Scriptural) view of sin enables us not only to come closer to Christ but to have control over the sin in our lives. Having control over sin means that sin will no longer have dominion in our lives and we can live a life of victory with the help of the Holy Spirit.
There is something wrong with Christianity today. Many people call themselves Christians, but the majority do not fit the Scriptural description of a Christian. The fix to this problem is a Scriptural view of sin. People will not be convicted, and take God's Word seriously, until they feel that they are in danger of hell.
"God be merciful to me a sinner" Luke 18:13
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sickness
There are those who say that, "they refuse to worship a God who is a control freak. A God who created us just to worship him has to be a control freak and if you don't worship Him then He will punish you."
God created us to be His "friend," to walk with Him in the "garden of Eden." The "garden of Eden" represents Heaven. Adam and Eve messed that up and now we have a continuous tug in our hearts towards something better than what we have here on earth. We weren't created just to worship Him, that is what the Cherubims do. Abraham was called the "friend of God" by God (Jas 2:23) because he obeyed God. He still doubted, but when it came time to obey, he did.
Now in Luke 4:38-39 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's (Peter) house. When He saw that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with fever He touched her and the fever left that instant that He touched her. Then it says that "she immediately got up and waited on them." (NASB)
You see, just like the woman, we are in sickness. The sickness of sin. And just like the woman, we don't like being sick. You know, sore throat, sneezing, burning watery eyes, stuffed nose, sinus headache, can't sleep, feeling worse than a wet dog. What a terrible feeling to be in "bed" with sin making us sick. Some of you might say, "There are a lot of sinners that are very happy!" Are they?! I think that if I were to ask those sinners if they were happy the answer would be no. I believe that beneath the surface they are crying out for something better. And that leaves them feeling yucky. The cure for the sickness is Jesus Christ. Just like when Jesus touched the woman and the fever left her instantly, so it will be if you honestly and truly repent of your sins. When you no longer feel sick but have joy in your heart, isn't that worth worshiping, or as the passage says, waiting on the one who makes it possible?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Turning to God
I started reading the Bible again from the start. I am in the Old Testament, 1st Kings to be exact. As I was reading about David in 1st and 2nd Samuel, it struck me how every time before going into battle, David would plainly ask God if he should go up against whoever happened to be his opponent in battle. David would just out right ask God, "Shall I go and attack?..." God would answer him and David obeyed. Even when David's wives had been taken captive he asked God, "Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?" (1 Sam 30:8 ESV). Any normal man, myself included, would not have hesitated to pursue and bring to justice those who have captured his wife. After all it is his wife! David, however, was committed to God, he knew where his victories came from. How many times in our own lives when we are faced with trials do we turn to God? How committed are we to the one who gives us victory over all things? Do we ask God if we should do this or that? Are you facing trouble at work? Trouble at home? How about school? Turn to the one who will give you the answers you need. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." All things, although we may not like them at the time, work for the good. Just turn to Him!
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