Sunday, December 16, 2018

Standing Up for Your Rights as a Christian



In this age of protest and broad rights, I find it strange and disheartening that so few stand up for Jesus

We have groups standing up for the rights of gays, transgender, abortion, foreigners, and anything else you can think of, but not so much for our Savior.
All this passion for earthly devices can be distracting and leaves little room for devotion to Jesus.

You have to ask yourself: 

What really matters in this world? What is the most important thing to me?

Above all else, beyond the hoopla of the stage, beyond the 15 minute Twitter fame, beyond the thrill of rebellion and the freedom of saying anything you like and acting as if it were wise and noble and progressive, lies the one true reason we all exist, the purpose and meaning of our lives: our relationship with Jesus Christ, which serves to glorify Almighty God.

So why is all this passion being wasted on slogans and jargon, which serve no purpose other than to briefly glorify those sloganeering?
According to the Word of God, all we do should ‘be done as to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:17) and not to men. If therefore our actions are in light of service to the Almighty, what manner of people ought we to be in His sight? Will you stand up for Jesus and honor Him with your works? Will you remember to let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven? (Matthew 5:16)

Remember that those without sit in darkness. The light you bear when you are near them must shine, or their current darkness may continue unabated.

You are an ambassador of Christ. Live as such. Let His promises of love and hope, peace and joy fill you up until you cannot help but shine! Jesus went about teaching and healing and admonishing. When He went up to heaven, His disciples received the Holy Spirit, and then they too went about teaching and healing and admonishing. It must be so today. The world has changed but its desperate need for the light of Christ has not. And His call and promise on our lives has not changed either.

We are called to ‘come out from among them and be separate’ (2 Corinthians 6:17). This means we do not allow ourselves to be influenced--and thereby corrupted—by the world. Rather, Christians are to be different, devoted to Christ, unmoved by the world.

We are also called to ‘go ye into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature’ (Mark 16:15). This means we share the light we have been given, spreading the good news of salvation, with teaching and healing and admonishments—signs and wonders (Mark 16:16-20).

 Remember this also: ‘He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully, will reap bountifully’ (2 Corinthians 9:6-10). You will be amazed, if you allow Him to guide you in loving your neighbors, just how rewarding it is to walk with God in the light.

Those who do not know Jesus are not afraid to stand up for what they do believe in. Will you do the same for your savior?

This is how we stand up for Jesus.
May He bless you and strengthen you and keep you always. Amen  

Sunday, December 2, 2018

The Joy and Freedom of Abiding in His Forgiveness


Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Most of us have that one down, though at times it can be difficult to forgive certain transgressions done against us or our loved ones. 

What is often overlooked in the Lord's Prayer is the necessity of forgiving ourselves.

Many of us have trouble forgiving ourselves, getting over our sin and shame. It can be quite a trial. We must remember that sin and shame and guilt have the power to keep us from receiving God's blessings and guidance.

There is good news!
 
The Lord is ready to forgive. 

He wants to forgive you all your sins, and will do so the moment you confess and repent. Psalm 103:8 says 'The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.' 

Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.' (2 Corinthians 7:10)

So experience that godly sorrow, let it lead you to repentance. Confess your sins to God and He will forgive you, leading to salvation. 

The moment you repent, you receive His forgiveness. Even for the same sin, committed over and over again, if you are truly penitent and confess it before God, genuinely seeking His grace to help overcome that weakness of the flesh, He will forgive it--seven times seventy-seven!

At that point, you receive His grace, you must receive it to free you of your guilt and shame, for He has wiped it out: 'As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us' (Psalm 103:12).

Do not dwell on your sins, your shame, your guilty conscience; do not let these things rule over you. If you do not release them to God and receive His grace, they will have power over you to keep you in bondage to the evil one.

Sin is bondage
Forgiveness is freedom

You must not allow yourself to be a slave to the flesh, to these fleshly experiences. You have confessed and repented, you are forgiven. Know it! Receive it! God does not hold it against you. If you allow yourself to dwell in guilt and shame when God has forgiven, then you will never advance in your walk with God. Colossians 1:10 warns against a stagnate faith, advising us to increase our knowledge of God. Do this by:
  • Acknowledging your godly sorrow
  • Repenting
  • Confessing before God
  • Accepting His forgiveness
  • Moving forward in your walk with Him

 If you dwell on your shortcomings instead of on the merciful grace of God’s forgiveness, then you are still letting the flesh rule over you.This is a doorway for the devil to taunt you. He will tell you that you are not good enough to be forgiven, that God cannot forgive such a sinner, and that you will just fail again. Leave it all at the cross; there is room at the cross. He died for you. He lives for you. Abide in this truth and let your mind and heart and spirit abide in the mercies of our everlasting heavenly Father. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Take joy in this truth, my fellow believers. You can have joy again, and you can have the peace of the Lord, which is unlike anything this world can offer. John 14:27. See also Romans 8:1

Friday, November 2, 2018

Commandments and Blessings

Psalm 25:5-6 'Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and loving-kindnesses, for they are from of old.'

In their prayers, many of the great prophets of old took a moment to remind God of His tender mercies, His kindnesses, His faithfulness, His promises. Of course, God does not need to be reminded of anything. Rather, His servants knew that God wanted them to reflect on all the blessings He has given in the past, to meditate on the mercies and miracles of yesterday. This does 2 things:
  1. It glorifies God. By reflecting and meditating on God's grace, we glorify Him for His works (which is the purpose of all life)
  2. It helps us to focus on Him and on all He has done for us, creating grateful, joyful hearts by keeping us from dwelling on our current distress
Throughout the Psalms David meditates on God's works in his life, and waits for Him to continue the good work. These are  actions and mindsets which serve to lift him up and keep him out of dark pits (Psalm 40 and Psalm 130).

Meditating on His works in your life, waiting on Him, and daring to stand on His promises provides the greatest balm there is. Jesus says that His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Think about this. I believe that, while Christians are expected to endure tribulations, we are also called to place our cares onto Him, for He can carry them, and only He can take them off our shoulders.

In John 14:14-15 Jesus promises He will do for us what we ask, a great and incredible assurance that is followed by the associated guideline to receiving this great promise: 'If you love Me, keep My commandments.'
 
The Word shows us the way, the truth, and life, for He is! Don't complicate things by worrying and despairing; focus on Him, obey His commandments and receive the blessings He wants to give you.

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

The Work that Matters


So often we think our job or work is not important. We wonder if our lives really mean anything, if they are really making a difference. ‘What have I done with it?’ we ask.

That is the devil at work, seeking to make you despair. In despair, we often turn to things that are not God. We begin to think along paths that the devil has wrought, and along such wide paths distractions arise in multitude. That is a dangerous way to go.

Instead, we can realize by God’s grace that what matters most in this world is our walk with God

Your relationship to the Almighty should take precedence over all else.
You may think that doctors or lawyers or firemen or scientists do more important work, and are therefore more important than . . . working that line of parts in your factory, or stocking shelves or working the cash register or driving trucks. But the bible says ‘Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might, as unto the Lord and not as unto men.’(Colossians 3:17) 

We would do well to realize that those apparently lofty careers, those people doing the ‘really important stuff’ are in fact worse off than you in their walk, for in their lofty work they are more prone to travel the line of pride-thinking. Many in those industries are self-sufficient; they believe that their work is important and so they believe they are superior. That is simply pride. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Look at things as Colossians 3:2 directs us to:

‘Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.’ 

In the grand scheme of things, in light of eternity, doctors and lawyers and scientists and the work they do are no more important than stock-boys and cashiers and the people who pick up trash. It is our walk with God that matters in light of eternity.
And anyone can walk with Him. In fact, it is easier for those in humble jobs to touch eternal souls than it is for those in lofty prestigious careers. The lowly factory worker is more likely to be humble (or has a more likely chance of being made humble), and therefore of being open to God’s directing hand. And in this state, God can use you mightily.

Anyone can touch a soul and turn hearts to Christ. But those not seduced into pride by their position are more easily led to do what really matters. What is most important is being an ambassador for Christ. So the next time you go to work, or whatever your hands find to do, remember that you belong to Him. As His servant, you can make a difference that matters in light of eternity—and that is what really matters in this walk we call life. Only in this will we have peace with God.

Every day is a gift, an opportunity without prestige to walk with God and do His will. So, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. –And you shall love your neighbor as yourself’ Matthew 22:37-40.

Take joy in this, in knowing why you live, and in knowing whom you serve. Now may the God of hope fill all with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 15:13).

Sunday, August 26, 2018

The Separation of Church and Christ


Let’s get right down to it. 

The bible says the righteous are bold as a lion. It says true apostles do not peddle the word of God to please men (2 Corinthians 2:17), but speak what they are given by the Spirit, for the glory of God. With that scripture burning in my spirit, so I share the following.



The problem with modern Christianity is that it does not challenge its disciples.

Jesus bequeathed a challenge that only His true followers obey: ‘Take up your cross and follow Me.’ (Matthew 16:24). This goes along with ‘Die to yourself that you might live for Christ’ (Galatians 2:20).
The challenge, when taken up, results in the promise of everlasting life.
Come and suffer and be rewarded in heaven for eternity.

Most Christians today do not want to hear the message of the cross—because they do not want to have to take up their own cross. They do not want to be challenged. Modern Christianity (the fluff that is being peddled in countless churches across the land, and the self-involved palaver being lived) is a religion that vows to satisfy all it followers’ earthly desires.

How has our religion been transformed from one of faith in God to one of worship of the self?

The problem stems from a growing spiritual lassitude. Our spiritual teachers are no longer properly leading us, and so we do not grow in our knowledge of God. Some of our teachers are even the devils’ dupes. In their lust for fame and greed for money, they have allowed themselves to become seduced by Satan, and have become false teachers, or Pharisees at best. They are the ones peddling the Word of God. They are the ones who preach to satisfy itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3).

And they are failing us.

Over 100 years ago Charles Sheldon summed up this problem by writing: ‘Our Christianity loves its ease and comfort too well to take up anything so rough and heavy as a cross.’

Where Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him, the Christianity of today ignores—or bypasses—the cross, and instead tells us how to improve ourselves, so that we might have everything we want (to satisfy our fleshly desires). It places importance on physical comforts, on the ease of the flesh, whereas Jesus emphasized the crucial need for His followers to look not on the things of the earth (Colossians 3:2). We are to concern ourselves with tending to eternal souls, and not so much on achieving all our worldly dreams.

(Ambition is good, but beware the source and destination of your ambition.)
 
Modern Christianity uses terms like ‘Progressive’ and ‘Corporate’.

Like placebo’s, these cleverly selected pills are (1) easy to swallow and (2) don’t really mean anything at all; they are designed to hide what they actually imply.
Progressive seems to imply an improvement on an established order. That’s good, right? Well, in most cases, sure. But what it really means when applied to our belief system is an overhaul of what the World Council of Churches considers an outmoded version of our faith.
Likewise Corporate seems to refer innocently to a united faith. What it really implies is a separation of church and Christ. After all, the only way to unite disparate faiths is to push Jesus Christ out of our religion—because He brought a sword, to make clear the dividing line between what is righteous and what is wicked, who is His and who is not (Matthew 10:34-36).

Let that sink in.

The World Council of Churches is the modern Roman Catholic Church, in that much like the RCC did for centuries until Martin Luther exposed its corruption and false ways, the WCC now tells churches across the world what to teach. And what it tells pastors and leaders to teach often has very little to do with the will of our heavenly Father.

Rare is the message on Jesus Christ and Him crucified heard in church today.
Why is that?
It is because the mention of the cross is a reminder of our fallen nature. It is a reminder that we are such sinners that we needed our God Himself to come to earth in the form of a man and sacrifice Himself to satisfy an impossible sin-debt. This is why ‘sin’ has become an unmentionable word in many churches. Christians don’t want to hear how we need someone else to save us. Most Christians today just want to hear how they have the power within themselves to improve and save themselves.

Instead of spiritual leaders today we have life-coaches.

The commission of the WCC (which is to unite all religions to create one worldwide faith, whether it admits it as such or not) has driven it to absorb the (Buddhist) belief that mankind can achieve perfection in this world. And so understanding the problem of human existence and the pursuit of personal perfection has become the Christian mission statement, our de-facto religion. Indeed, modern Christian church ‘services’ more closely resemble life-improvement seminars than devotionals and worshiping congregations or old school fire-and-brimstone revival meetings.
The Message, leading to our salvation and therefore the glory of God, is no longer the purpose of Christian churches. Instead their purpose is to bring in the numbers so that revenues will increase; they do this by:
·         Adopting secular musical styles to appeal to unbelievers
·         Compromising core Christian tenets of faith
·         Watering down scripture to make it go down easier for potential financial sources
·         Limiting mention of our Redeemer Jesus Christ
·         Avoiding all mention of the power and grace of the Holy Spirit
·         Teaching a god that is both without will and tolerant of sin (which people today call 'being progressive')
·         Exalting the power of ‘self’ to make people feel powerful and self-sufficient

Why did Jesus Christ come in the flesh?

He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and to make clear the line between saved and unsaved. He did this because He first loved us. To remove Him from church (by ignoring Him and failing to acknowledge His purpose for our lives) is to destroy the reason for church. I love Him, because He first loved me. I know this, and meditate on Matthew 10:16—that we should be ‘wise as serpents, harmless as doves.’

Remember, sufficiency comes not from our own inner strength, but from His grace entirely. ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work’ (2 Corinthians 9:8). Trust your pastor at your own risk. Better to turn to scripture and seek God's guidance there.