Silent Revelations

Stumbling To The Slaughter

2012-01-24T12:41:00.004-05:00

Something has been weighing on my heart since before I even started this blog, although I'm sure you've already seen it reflected in many of my prior posts.

And that is, that I'm deeply saddened by the number of "lukewarm Christians" roaming about in this day and age. They're everywhere! They're on TV and movies, at the grocery store, at the mall, in our workplaces, in our families- and I highly suspect that they are the majority of those who make up the numbers of largely populated churches.

Many of these people may say with their lips that they love God with all their heart. And although they call themselves followers of Christ... their actions scream a different story.

And my heart goes out to them... because I used to be one of them.

I come across so many that fit into this category- in my own life alone! There are so many people that call themselves Christians. And so many of them love to celebrate pagan originated holidays such as Easter & Christmas -and they love to say that they do it in the name of Christ- But the way they live their daily lives do not reflect a heart that celebrates Him. And that is what matters.

(Please note: I'm not criticizing anyone that chooses to celebrate those holidays. I'm simply bringing attention to the lack of consistency a large majority appear to have in this respect.)

We need to remember that "Christian" should be more than just a title. It's not an accessory that you take on and off when it is convenient for you to do so. Nor can you customize it to fit your ungodly lusts and desires. Being a Christian is a life changing lifestyle and requires a wholehearted commitment from us.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas said to the keeper of the prison in Philippi, that all he had to do was believe in Jesus Christ. This is really a summary statement though. Some people have deceived many yearning hearts- hearts of those who are hurting from the wounds and scars, wounds and scars that we receive from the wages of sin- and they have used this summary statement, and others like it, to lead many down a path that typically leads to eternal separation from God. Simply saying you believe in Jesus Christ does not save you. (My previous blog entry "Are You a Believer?" goes a little more in depth on this.) We mustn't forget that actions speak louder than words- And God knows the most inner thoughts of our hearts.

Read the New Testament and you will see that is next to impossible to maintain, nurture and grow, a relationship with God- if you aren't willing to cleanse your heart and the way you live your life.

No, it is not that we are saved by our works. That's so not what I'm saying. What I'm trying to address is a matter of the heart. I'm trying to warn those whose words and actions reflect a heart that is not truly set on following Christ. When we love God, we don't want to do the things that are displeasing to Him. Also, sin hardens our hearts. Fleshly works act as snares and thorns- they choke the "agape" love out of us. They cause us to stumble and fall. They hinder spiritual growth. They hurt our relationship with God. They bring us -as followers of Christ- down. And they grieve the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

And guess what? Sin doesn't just hurt the one sinning. It hurts those around us as well. Often, those we love and care about. It can even cause loved ones to fall, spiritually, just as much as it can cause us to- if not more. This should speak volumes to all parents!!

Yes, we're saved by grace! God's beautiful, amazing grace. But I fear that some people have twisted the meaning of this. The Word became flesh, so that through His Spirit, we could be reconciled to God. The ritual sacrifices from the Old Testament, from the Mosaic law- they couldn't cleanse from sin. Nothing but the blood of God's Son can accomplish this. We're saved by grace, through faith. And salvation is a gift we don't deserve. However, that doesn't mean we should carelessly continue to live in a way that illustrates just how much we aren't deserving of this gift. Willfully continuing to find pleasure in the lusts and desires of the flesh, reflect a heart that is not truly thankful for what God has done.

If you consider yourself a Christian, yet are still delighting in the ways of this world, and are willfully and repeatedly sinning- I urge you to repent. And "repent" doesn't mean that you simply ask God for forgiveness, then go on living your sin filled life. It means you humbly fall before God, with a sincere heart- and then set out to put an end to your unrighteous ways. I'm not saying it will be instantaneous for all things, nor am I saying that you will never sin again. What I am saying is that your attitude towards them should -pretty instantaneously- drastically change. And through God's enabling Spirit, this change in the way you view your sin will help you to overcome many of the things you find yourself struggling with!

Maybe you're afraid that you'll lose loved ones by the true act of repentance. I can relate to that. But that fear should not outweigh the fear of losing your relationship with God. And if you do fear losing someone or ones that you care about, then pray for them- and maybe your act of repentance will actually lead them to repentance too!

The great thing is that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4) -and when you are following God with all your heart- you can have faith that He will provide and sustain you through whatever trials you face. He is sufficient. I find solace in knowing that Scripture calls Him the God of peace and comfort. It also calls Him "Love".

The bottom line though- is that whatever it is you're holding onto... it's incomparable to the gift of dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty. And if you want to start loving God with your whole heart -you need to take a step back- and push through that pain and fear of losing whatever it is you're afraid of losing. You do this by falling before God, in prayer- asking Him to soften your heart, and asking Him to show you what it means to love Him with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.

I remember a time when I would cry because I knew I didn't love God the way I should. ...I now cry because my love for Him is just so unbelievably overwhelming. It's wonderful, it's amazing- unfathomable! And I want you to feel it too. But I doubt you'll be able to feel it until you make the decision to follow Christ with all of your heart. Repent. Be baptized (if you haven't already willingly done so). Pray. Read your Bible. Pray some more. Then read your Bible some more. Search for the truth. Get under good teaching. And don't give up!

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(The following Bible Passages are all quoted from the New King James Version. There a plenty more passages throughout the entire Bible that I could post to go along with this entry- but it would take me... well, a long time!)

Proverbs 24

¹¹ Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. ¹² If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

1 Corinthians 5

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! ² And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ³ For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. ⁴In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁵ deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ⁹ I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.¹⁰ Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. ¹² For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ¹³ But those who are outside God judges. Therefore“put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Colossians 3

⁵ Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷ in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. ⁸ But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, ¹⁰ and have put on the new manwho is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,¹¹where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ isall and in all. ¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷And whatever you do in word or deed, doall in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Galatians 5

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders,drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Matthew 5

¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: ³ “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great isyour reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who arein the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. ¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them,he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds therighteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ “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. ²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. ²⁷ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 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. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. ³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethrenonly, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 6

¹ “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ³But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. ⁵ “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ⁷ And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathendo.For they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. ¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ¹⁶ “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. ²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 7

¹ “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank isin your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. ⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. ¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad isthe 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. ¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Matthew 28

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go thereforeand make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Revelation 22

¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside aredogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

John 14

¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

1 John 2

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

1 John 3

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave uscommandment. ²⁴ Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Revelation 3

¹ “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ² Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. ³ Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.⁴ You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Romans 2

² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,⁶ who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; ¹⁰ but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For there is no partiality with God.

¹² For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³ (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;¹⁴for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusingthem) ¹⁶ in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Romans 6

¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ²Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of Hisresurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin.⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your membersas instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. ¹⁸ And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leadingto more lawlessness, so now present your members asslavesof righteousness for holiness.

²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things isdeath. ²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8

¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

1 Peter 4

¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ² that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. ³ For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. ⁴ In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. ⁵ They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

The Martyrdom of Perpetua

2012-01-23T11:09:00.001-05:00

Perpetua

Persecution in A.D.200:

Perpetua was a married lady 26 years old with a baby at her breast. On being taken before the proconsul Minutius, Perpetua was commanded to sacrifice to the idols. Refusing to do so, she was put in a dark dungeon and deprived of her child, but two of her keepers, Tertius and Pomponius, allowed her out in the fresh air several hours a day, during which time she was allowed to nurse her child. Finally the Christians were summoned to appear before the judge and urged to deny their Lord, but all remained firm. When Perpetua’s turn came, her father suddenly appeared, carrying her infant in his arms, and begged her to save her own life for the sake of her child. Even the judge seemed to be moved. “Spare the gray hairs of your father,” he said. “Spare your child. Offer sacrifice for the welfare of the emperor.” Perpetua answered, “I will not sacrifice.”“Are you a Christian?” demanded Hilarianus, the judge. “I am a Christian”, was her answer. Perpetua and all the other Christians tried with her that day were ordered killed by wild beasts as a show for the crowd on the next holiday. They entered the place of execution clad in the simplest of robes, Perpetua singing a hymn of triumph. The men were to be torn to pieces by leopards and bears. Perpetua and a young woman named Felicitas were hung up in nets, at first naked, but the crowd demanded that they should be allowed their clothing.When they were again returned to the arena, a bull was let loose on them. Felicitas fell, seriously wounded. Perpetua was tossed, her loose robe torn and her hair falling loose, but she hastened to the side of the denying Felicitas and gently raised her from the ground. When the bull refused to attack them again, they were dragged out of the arena, to the disappointment of the crowd, which wanted to see their deaths. Finally brought back in to be killed by gladiators, Perpetua was assigned to a trembling young man who stabbed her weakly several times, not being used to such scenes of violence. When she saw how upset the young man was, Perpetua guided his sword to a vital area and died.

(The above excerpt can be read in Foxe's Book of Martyr's. You can also read even more about the martrydom of Perpetua here.)

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Now this was a martyr story I could relate to. Truly- it was heart wrenching. It moved me to tears and it left me in awe.

Reading this account grieved me, and it was very sobering- yes. But it was also encouraging and strengthening for me at the same time.

This is what being willing to "take up your cross" is about. This portrays a moving example of what it means to love the LORD your God will your whole heart, strength, soul and mind. This is the very picture of endurance and perseverance. This is what it means to truly trust and have faith in the Lord, and in what He did for us on the cross. This is what it means to not love your life to the death.

A large number of Christians today don't even imagine this being a possibility. Many have been deceived into believing that all believers are going to, in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, be transported to Heaven- and that they won't have to face the tribulation. If you're reading this entry and are one of the Christians that have been deceived- please don't just brush me off. I used to be in your shoes. And I'm begging you, please, seriously read your Bible. Look at the full context while reading all the places that talk about Christ's second coming, and the great tribulation. I'm telling you... the pre-tribulation rapture is NOT truly supported by Scripture. Nor is it what the earliest Christians believed.

The reason it's important for us to face this false teaching- is because it is a lie, made from the father of lies, the Devil. And why on earth would you want to believe a doctrine that was conjured up by him? Another reason we need to address it, is because we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility of facing death the same way Perpetua did. Because persecution will come. Maybe it won't come to us specifically- maybe we'll make it safely to the secret place. Or maybe we'll "fall asleep" before the time comes. But regardless, we need to be sure that we love God with everything we've got. After all... that's the greatest commandment!

Tribulation aside, I can testify to all, that when you are living the way Christians are instructed to in God's Word- you are going to suffer persecution (although it pales in comparison to the story told above). You're going to experience scrutiny and ridicule. People are going to scoff at you and call you "over the top" and "extreme". Why do they do this? Well, sometimes it's because your actions are convicting when they're according to the Bible and Christ's teachings. And God can use your obedience to reach the hearts of others- others who are being drawn to Him- yet at the same time, are resisting Him. So when you see people responding in an unpleasant way to your faithfulness in Christ, I encourage you to pray for them. Keep praying, and wait patiently on the LORD- and you just might witness a miracle happen in the heart and life of that person.

Now, please put yourself in Perpetua's shoes for a moment. Would you have responded the same way she boldly and faithfully did? Would you have possessed the same heart attitude? If you have any doubts that you would have handled yourself in a similar manner- then that should be a red flag that you need to get right with God and get serious about being a follower of Christ.

Context, Context, Context!

2011-12-20T13:52:00.002-05:00

I wrote a short entry on reading the Bible in the past. In that entry I mostly went over reading plans and time management techniques that have been useful for me in my own Bible studies. However, I now feel the urgency to address something more.

You can read the Bible cover to cover 100 times- but if you aren't reading things in their context- you are not going to truly understand it. You may think you understand it, but I guarantee, if you're not taking the Bible at face value- if you're not reading it objectively and logically- you are going to find that many of the things you think the Bible says, actually contradict other places in Scripture.

So, as I said in my previous entry- "how does one go about reading the Bible?" This time I'm going to rephrase that question and say "how does one go about reading the Bible- correctly?"

I am so unbelievably thankful that God has blessed us with the teaching we have at our church. Through the teaching there I have, and am, continually learning how to accurately read, study and understand the Bible.

When reading the Bible, you need to consider the following:
-Who is the one speaking?
-Who is the audience being addressed?
-What was the historical setting at the time this part of Scripture was written?
-What revelations had already been revealed at this point in time when this particular part of Scripture was written?
-What did the previous verses talk about?
-What did the previous chapters talk about?
-Another important thing to consider is the grammar in the passage. This is an area that I personally am still tuning. This requires looking at the original Greek or Hebrew and considering the verb tense, gender, article, etc.

It is only after considering the full context of the passage, that you can accurately understand how the passage applies to you.

Look out for words such as "therefore", "for", "thus", and "furthermore"- these words indicate that the writer is adding on to something previously mentioned in that passage. So every time you come across verses that start with one of these words, you know you need to be keeping in mind what has been previously spoken of in the preceding passages, and sometimes even the preceding chapters.

It all flows together. The Bible does not consist of random thoughts. If you read something in Scripture and it appears to contradict something else said in Scripture, then you are misinterpreting one (or both) of these passages.

Remember that what the Bible says is generally what it means. What I'm saying is that there are not deep, secret, hidden mysteries that only the spiritually elect can uncover. When you start reading it subjectively, instead of objectively, it becomes a book that has endless possibilities- and this is very dangerous. When you seek truth from within yourself rather than humbly and objectively seeking it through God's Word- you have what is known as Gnosticism. The point I am trying to get across is this: Do not depend on your own intellect, reasoning, and intuition to "decipher" the "truth."

You must look at the whole picture. As I've said before, you cannot pick and choose what you want to get out of the Bible. We must take what it says in it's entirety.

Peter warned against not reading the Bible correctly in 2 Peter 3.

2 Peter 3:14-18 NKJV:
¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things ("these things" being what he had spoken about in the previous passages- Christ's 2nd coming and God's promises surrounding this), be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles , speaking in them of these things (Peter commends Paul's writings, and encourages the reader to read them. Peter is also saying that the things he spoke of in his, Peter's, epistles are in agreement with what Paul has spoken of in his, Paul's, epistles), in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Some more Scriptures that can be applied to this topic:

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV:
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

Proverbs 28:26 NKJV:
²⁶ He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 NKJV:
²⁰ O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— ²¹ by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.
Grace be with you. Amen.

Jude 1:3-4 NKJV:
³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God^[b] and our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Edit to Add, 01/05/2012: A great article that relates to this entry can be found here.

Video: "Should Christians Celebrate Christmas and Easter?"

2011-12-09T14:49:00.034-05:00

This is the first time I've come across Jim Staley- so I can't comment on whether or not I think that everything he teaches outside of this video is Biblical and sound- because I'm not familiar with his ministry or teachings. But, I can tell you that I really appreciate this video and the work that went into making it- and I truly appreciate his apparent heart intent. And the bottom line is that I highly recommend watching it!

As you may have gathered from some of my previous postings, I have been feeling conflicted on whether or not I, as a follower of Christ, should celebrate the ever popular Pagan originated modern day holidays. I've even gone as far as to say that they remind me of wolves in sheep clothing!

Something specific I want to mention about this video is its use of Jeremiah 10. It's quoted in the above video as talking about a Christmas tree, and this is a widely promoted interpretation of it- but I'm not convinced of this interpretation. I mean, I'm not convinced that it is totally impossible that this passage is talking about a Christmas tree.
However, it seems more likely that it is actually talking about the practice of cutting down a tree and making it's wood into an idol in the image of a man. In Jeremiah 10:8 it specifically calls it a "wooden idol", and in verse 5 it says that "they cannot speak"- which makes me think that the "idol" He's talking about here has the appearance of a man (with a mouth). In verse 10 God compares Himself to these idols, and in verse 11 it says that "The gods they have made..." which also leads me to believe once again that these "idols" look like men- not just a decorated fir tree. I'm not saying my interpretation is right beyond a shadow of doubt, but I felt like I needed to bring it up.

Another thing I want to point out is that Tammuz is mentioned a handful of times throughout this video. Did you know he is also mentioned in the Bible?? See Ezekiel 8 and see what God had to say in regards to him.

Ezekiel 8:13-18:
13 And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
15 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
17 And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

The goddess "Ishtar", "Easter", or "Ashtaroth" is also mentioned in the Bible! Using an electronic Bible that allows you to search for keywords, search for "Ashtoreth" and see for yourself how many times it comes up! It is never spoken of as being a good thing.

In 1 Kings 11:5 it calls Ashteroth the "goddess of the Sidonians."
In 2 King 23:13 it calls her "the abomination of the Sidonians."

Baal is also mentioned in the movie, and he too is mentioned throughout the Bible! One place being the below passage quoted from Judges.

Judges 2:11-15 NKJV:
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.[c] 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

Let me also just say that yes, God looks at the heart- He is just, good and merciful. But remember James 4.

James 4:13-17 NKJV:
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will[g] go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

In the context of verse 17, it's talking directly against boasting in arrogance. But I honestly believe this principle stated in verse 17 can be applied to all aspects of life as well.

The bottom line is that as Christians, we should be striving to follow the example of Jesus Christ as closely as possible! This heart attitude is a sign that you truly belong to Him!! Remember, faith without works is dead. I know I've quoted from this passage in James in past postings, but here it is again.

James 2:14-25 NKJV:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[d] works, and I will show you my faith by my[e] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[f] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[g]And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Do you think Jesus would have celebrated His incarnation and His resurrection using pagan practices, and on the days that the pagans practiced those practices? Do you think Paul, Peter, John, Luke (you get the picture)- do you think they would have celebrated these things in this manner? These are the questions that run through my mind when I look at this situation.

In case you didn't notice, I believe that the majority of modern Christianity is not what it should be. And sometimes I have trouble just coming out and saying this, but I do believe with all my heart that it has been corrupted. It has strayed from the truth, and it promotes practices and beliefs that are the doctrines of men- not the doctrines and teachings of the Bible, of God's Word, of Jesus Christ. It shouldn't come as a surprise though- God forewarned us about this through His Word, a number of times.

As a Christian, don't you want to abandon the "doctrines of men" that have crept into the church? Don't you feel the need to examine all that you do and purge of the things that might be displeasing to God? I know I do!!

And personally I can't, with a good conscience, just turn a blind eye to things like this.

I don't view it as coincidence that we are in the Information Age. Just about everyone has access to a computer and the internet. Just about everyone knows how to read. I do, and I know you do. I feel conviction to use this to my advantage. Don't you think God wants us to use this to our advantage?

Remember King Josiah? After the Book of the Convenant was discovered in the temple, in 2 Kings 23 we read about Josiah's heart conviction, and how he abolished all things that were contrary to God's Word. Up until that point, the Israelites had been unknowingly doing things that were despised in God's eyes. But then God provided the opportunity for it to be brought to their attention, and in that instance they acted on it- they didn't just brush it under the rug!

What about Judges 8? Gideon had all the right intentions when he made an ephod out of the enemies' plunder- but still the Bible says it became a snare to him and his household, and that all of Israel played the harlot with it.

James 1:27 NKJV:
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

A few things I disagreed with about the video:

-I think our motivation to do things that are pleasing in God's sight should first and foremost be because we want to please Him, and because we know that His ways are the right ways. Not because we want to get blessings from Him. Do I want His blessing? Of course! Do I want to be cursed by God? Of course not. Those two desires aren't my main motivation for trying to do things that are right in His sight though.

-At one point in the movie, Jim pointed out that the Vatican is pointed towards the west? Well, you may have noticed when I quoted Ezekiel 8, God was displeased that His people were facing the east. Additionally, Hebrews 8 says that Moses was divinely instructed on how to lay out the temple, which was a copy and shadow of heavenly things. And back in Exodus 26, God instructed Moses to have His temple face to the west!

-Another statement I want to make about this movie, (and this may be off topic and irrelevant to you) is that I happen to think we should tell our children why they need to hold our hands when we cross the street! That's just my opinion of course. I think it helps them remember not to do something when they know why we told them they shouldn't do it. Not to mention, in some instances, it might give them better motivation to adhere to the instruction we gave them!

These things have been weighing on my mind for quite some time, and the more I pray about it and look to God's Word... the more right I feel about the fact that my household isn't putting up Christmas decorations or doing any real Christmas shopping this year. (And, don't get me wrong, I don't think that Christians who do choose to celebrate Christmas are "bad" or necessarily not "true" Christians.) These are just some things to think about. What you decide is ultimately between you and God!

2 Corinthians 6:11-17:
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“ I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”[c]
17 Therefore
“ Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”[d]
18 “ I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty.”[e]

Deuteronomy 12:3-4 NKJV:
3 And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 NKJV:
29 “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

John 14:15 NKJV:
15 “If you love Me, keep[d] My commandments.

John 14:23 NKJV:
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Jude 1:17-18 NKJV:
17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

Revelation 18:1-5 NKJV:
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily[a] with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached[b] to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

The Importance of Being Prayerful

2011-11-22T12:22:00.006-05:00

Something I've recently discovered the value of, is prayer. Of course, I've always known the importance of praying- but there's a difference between knowing something and vigilantly doing it!

If you are a Christian...
...Do you pray?
...Do you pray everyday?
...Do you pray multiple times a day?
...Do you pray all day?

Because you should!! All of these things, you should be doing.

I know these things can be hard to do. But it's possible. I have put off finishing this blog entry for at least a month now, because I wanted to be sure that I knew what I was talking about, and that I wasn't being hypocritical in saying everything I feel about praying.

So... how does one go about praying?

Like Philippians 4 instructs, let your requests be known to God:

Philipians 4:4-7 NKJV:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Daniel prayed three times a day on his knees. I think we should strive to do this too. When we do this, we are kneeling at God's footstool! Isn't that beautiful? (The Bible calls earth God's footstool many times.) I've also found that kneeling in prayer can be quite a humbling experience- and the Bible also supports that a humble heart is pleasing in the sight of God.

Daniel 6:10 NKJV:
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Read the Gospel books, and you will find that Jesus often prayed in solitude. He also said to go into your room and shut the door when you pray.

Don't pray for the benefit of others seeing that you are praying! If you can go somewhere private and pray, do it- even if it's the bathroom. If that's not possible in that moment, then mentally shut out your surroundings and silently turn your gaze to our Father in Heaven.

What should we pray about?

We should pray for discernment and wisdom. We should pray for others. Pray for the Spirit to lead you. We should give thanks in our prayers to God for everything He's blessed us with- this includes His provision for our daily needs, people in our lives, circumstances, wisdom, His Son, His Word- You name it! As you've probably already accurately guessed, this is a list that can go on and on.

Even thank Him for the trials and temptations you encounter. Have faith, because each and every one of these trials is an opportunity for growth, and an opportunity to grow closer to God. And since trials and tribulations are inevitable, and come in many shapes, sizes and forms- Pray for endurance. Pray for strength to persevere. Pray that you will always keep your eyes on God, and on the prize. Pray for deliverance from temptation and the evil one.

Use prayer for damage control.

When you find yourself in a tough situation, and you suspect that you might be about to do, think, or say something that might be displeasing in God's eyes- When you think that you might be on the brink of doing something that isn't going to bring glory to Him, is not of His ways, and is not a good representation of Christ- Take a deep breath. Close your eyes, and pray. It's true that this requires quite a bit of self-control on our part, but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
Memorize the Lord's prayer, and pray the Lord's Prayer if it's all you can muster up in that moment. But as you pray it, be sure to really focus on the meaning of what you're saying. Focus on God. Recognize your inability to handle tough situations like these on your own. Pray for guidance and wisdom, and that the Spirit will prevail over your flesh. Pray to see the situation through His eyes.

Matthew 6:5-15 NKJV:
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.[b] 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.[c]

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(Please take note that we shouldn't pray using "vain repetitions." If you pray the Lord's prayer and don't focus on the meaning, or if it is the only prayer you ever pray... I think that would fall under the category of "vain repetitions.")

I can't express the reward that you'll reap when you pray, pray, pray. Just pray- every chance you get. Pray to the Father in Jesus' name- because this is what Jesus said His followers should do!

What about unanswered prayers?

Some Christians have the idea that whatever they pray for, they can get. The Bible does say that whatever we pray for is possible. But if it isn't God's will- it's not happening. And furthermore, I say that we shouldn't want it to happen if it's against His will! So every time you pray, keep in mind Jesus' words as He prayed to the Father for deliverance from the cross. The following passages are heart piercing:

Matthew 26:36-39 NKJV:
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Luke 22:39-44 NKJV:
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[e]

Also remember that the Apostle Paul pleaded to God that He would remove "the thorn in his flesh", (which we can conclude from Scripture was his poor eye sight), but God did not grant this request either!:

2Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV:
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

King David, fasted and mourned for the recovery of his and Bathsheba's infant son, but the boy did in fact die:

2Samuel 12:15b-18 NKJV:
And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”

But look at King David's response, a man after God's own heart:

2Samuel 12:19-23 NKJV:
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?”
And they said, “He is dead.”
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD[a] will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

These are just a few occurrences of unanswered prayers in the Bible. There are more! Jonah, Elijah, King Saul, King Zedekiah- they prayed to God for things, that in response, He did not give them. Sometimes the reason for the unanswered prayer was because of the person making the prayer's sin, but sometimes it was simply because it was not God's will and was not in accordance with His plan.

So what can we do? Knowing that our prayers will go unanswered when they are not in accordance with God's will, we should pray that we will be at peace with God's will. Most importantly, make it a priority to trust God. Trust Him, and know that everything that happens is according to His plan. It can be difficult to do this at times, but the more you do it, and the more you pray and read the Bible, the easier it seems to get!

Answered Prayers.

It's true that not all prayers are answered. But it is also true that prayers do get answered! And guess what? The more you pray, the more prayers you're likely to get answered. I have personally been witnessing more prayers being answered than ever before since I started praying more diligently! And it is such a beautiful thing.

In conclusion.

Every day, every moment of our lives, and when praying- we need to be submitting to and embracing God's will. We also need to be delighting in His Word daily!

My advice to you is to pray three times a day on your knees. And also pray throughout the day- whenever possible- and especially whenever you start to perceive that your reflection of Christ is blurring!

The Bible gives many examples of how we can pray. Below are just a few of the passages I have found to be helpful:

John 17 NKJV:
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should[a] give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,[b] that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world,[c] I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept;[d] and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Philippians 1:3-11 NKJV:
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

1 Peter 4:7-11 NKJV:
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 NKJV:
1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.
5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 NKJV:
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

Ephesians 1:15-23 NKJV:
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[c] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 4:2-6 NKJV:
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Are You a "Believer" ?

2011-11-08T16:51:00.004-05:00

You often hear the term "believer" used for Christians. I myself recently used it- which is why I feel the pressing need to address my thoughts on it. The first Scripture that comes to mind is from James 2:19:

James 2:19 NKJV:
"19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!"

Also, Romans 10:9 comes to mind. It's verses like Romans 10:9 that this "believer" title comes from.

Romans 10:1-13 NKJV:
"1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel[a] is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”[b] 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’”[d] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”[e](that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[f] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”"

The point I'm trying to get at is that there is some absolute truth and logic to calling a Christian a "Believer". BUT- I fear that the term is used too loosely. Just because someone believes there is a God, does not make them "saved". Just because someone believes that Jesus is the Christ, does not make them saved! Look to the Gospels, and you will see that even the demons Jesus encountered, knew, and therefore believed, that He was the Christ the Son of God:

Luke 4:41 NKJV:
"41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ."

Now this brings me to my next point. Christ is not Jesus' last name. Christ is His title. As "believers", we should know this. He is the Christ, the anointed One. Christ comes from the Greek word for "anointed". Messiah means the same thing, it comes from the Hebrew word for "anointed". If you've read the Old Testament, you know that Him being the "anointed One" means He is the one God has chosen to be King over His people:

"1 Samuel 16: 1-13
1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down[b] till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah."

If you're familiar with Old Testament prophecy, you know that the Jews were longingly awaiting the arrival of the anointed One, the One that would be their righteous King and rule over them for all of eternity.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV:
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

John 7:37-43 NKJV:
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing[g] in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.

This is how I feel- We "believers" should be familiar with all the prophecies concerning Christ. Not because this is what grants us eternal life- knowledge does not save a person. But seriously, when you become a Christian... it means you are "taking up your cross", it means you are turning your whole heart to God, it means you are putting your all into following Christ, being His disciple, His servant, His witness to all you encounter. If you don't even know who He is, it hurts your testimony! And speaking from experience, it can lessen your faith and weaken your commitment to Him. I have considered myself to be a Christian since I can remember. But honestly, after I exited the stage of being an innocent child in the eyes of God, I'm not so sure I truly was a true "believer" up until a couple of years ago... Because for the longest time, I thought that all I had to do was believe that Jesus died for our sins, that I just had to "open the door to my heart" and "let Him in". Then from that point on, whatever sin I committed didn't count against me- because I was saved, I was a believer! This resulted in me saying "the sinner's prayer", trying to maintain a relationship with God, feeling "on fire" about it at first each time, but being stagnant in my spiritual growth and falling back into sin, time and time again. Are we saved by our works? Absolutely not. But works are a result of faith. A true follower of Christ, a Christian, does not think "oh well, if I sin, I sin, at least I know my debt is paid." A true Christian doesn't want to sin, and they feel deep remorse when they do sin. (That can be a hard pill to swallow, believe me I know.) God's Spirit, His righteousness dwelling within us- that's what results in us ceasing to willingly sin. Christ's strength enables us to overcome temptation to conform to the ways of this sinful world, and might I add that this sinful world is getting worse by the minute! True circumcision of the heart results in a pressing desire to sin no more. I'm happy to say that, as a true "believer", sin now disgusts me, and the Bible says it disgusts God. It truly makes me cringe when I sin, or when a fellow professing "believer" sins. It makes me sick to my stomach. Please don't misinterpret what I just said- I don't despise the person who is sinning, but I do despise the sin!

Another thing that makes me fall on my face, in a mix of emotions that I don't even know how to put into words, are the false teachings that are being taught in most "Christian" churches today. I'm not saying that all who claim to be Christians but are being taught false doctrines aren't truly saved, but I certainly am saying that they aren't all truly Christians. I'm also saying that these said "Christian" churches are not following Christ's teachings and example. Many churches have and are taking the Bible- God's Word- which reveals His truth, beauty, love, mercy, righteousness, justness, faithfulness, history, magnificence, character, wisdom... and so much more- and they have taken a knife to it, they've performed plastic surgery on it! They're spewing lies in the name of my Lord and Savior. This deeply upsets me. And the closer I draw to God, the more I come to know Him, the more it devastates me all the more!

Please, if you are a Christian- read your Bible(My top recommendation would be a New King James Version). It is God's Word! If you have truly been joined to Christ, you are God's child. So if our children are instructed by God to listen to and obey us- humans that are fallen and prone to sin- don't you think He wants His own children to listen to and obey what He, Who is perfect, has to say?

Furthermore, if you do have children(or even ever plan on having children in the future), that are instructed by Scripture to obey you- remember that Scripture also says parents are to bring their children up in the "training and admonition of the Lord." It's kind of hard to do that when you yourself don't even know much about Him and aren't aiming to wholeheartedly follow Him.

My advice is to nurture your relationship with God, yearn for spiritual growth, and increase in knowledge pertaining to God and understanding of His Word. God knows I'm praying this for all of us, myself included!

(Another thing I recommend is listening to the Bible Class audios on "The Life of Jesus Christ" here on Oasis Christian Church's website.)

James 2:14-25 NKJV:
"14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[d] works, and I will show you my faith by my[e] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[f] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[g]And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Ephesians 6:1-4 NKJV:
"1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”[a]
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."

Deuteronomy 1:39 NKJV:
39 ‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

All the Days of Your Life

2011-11-05T22:49:00.001-04:00

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 NKJV:
14 “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

First of all, I love that this passage from Deuteronomy warns against the very mistake King Solomon would make. It even predicts the sobering result of his mistake! Read on to hear about the second thing I love about this passage.

In this passage, the intended audience are the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. But I especially love what it says about reading the Law!
What I love, is how this can be applied to the entire Bible for Christians today!

I know I've said it before, here I go saying it again, and I hope I say it many more times: It is extremely beneficial to read the Bible daily. In fact, for me, it plays a tremendously vital role in my relationship with God. (Prayer goes hand in hand here, but I'm saving that topic for another post I've been working on.) When I don't read the Bible daily, don't meditate on verses, passages and Scriptures- I often find myself struggling to diligently follow Christ, and I am more likely to make slip ups. I find myself thirsting for God in a way that sounds the alarm within my heart. The alarm that says something like "Hey! Watch out, you're coming dangerously close to taking some steps backwards!!" It's the kind of thirst that tells me I'm not doing everything in my power on that particular day to aid in my spiritual growth. To me, these verses confirm this belief.

Now some of you may be thinking to yourselves, that you don't make slip ups. Unlike me- you can go a day, or two, or three, without spending time in God's Word and do just fine. You could be right... But if this is what you're thinking to yourself... are you 100% certain you're right? The slip ups I'm talking about are not usually obvious or apparent to others. These are the kind of slip ups that are considered entirely normal, acceptable and expected in those that don't belong to Christ. Remember the works of the flesh from Galatians 5: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries. Remember the traits from 2 Timothy 3 that describe men in the last days: lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Some of these things are extreme, some of them are easily spotted- but not all of them. And I believe that, when Christians let their guards down, it is indeed easy to fall into one or more of these things that are displeasing in the eyes of God. Remember 1 Corinthians 13- how God loves, how we are to love. Remember everything you've ever read in the Bible describing the ways and traits of the righteous. For me, not all of those ways and traits come naturally. This is why I need to, multiple times throughout the day, spend time in prayer and in God's Word.

I wish I could post everything that stands out to me when I'm reading the Bible, because I want to share it with anyone who is willing to listen, and that has a tender heart for God. But, if I did that, I would oftentimes be lucky to even get ONE chapter of my reading done in that day! The thing I want to point out is the fact that it's taken quite a few times of reading these passages, before I began tasting these nuggets of insight and understanding, in what I once thought to be the somewhat boring and unimportant parts of the Bible. But it's not just in books like Deuteronomy and Numbers that I've been learning and seeing new, yet familiar (and thus faith affirming), things in- it's happening in the New Testament too! So I encourage you to read, read, and read your Bible- as many times, and as often, as you possibly can! The more you read and study it, the more you'll discover that it truly is the living Word of God.

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October 31 2011: Overcoming Evil with Good

2011-11-01T17:23:00.000-04:00

I regret that this is a day late- but at least it's only one day late.

As you know from my previous blog entry on Halloween, I personally just don't feel comfortable with celebrating Halloween. But- October 31st is still a day that the LORD has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it! While I don't think we should join in with the Pagan's and their practices while they celebrate their holiday about ghosts and whatnot... I also don't think we should pretend that the day October 31st doesn't exist!

Here's a thought: On Halloween, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between Pagan families, Atheist families, and Christian families. Because they all celebrate the holiday in a very similar manner. I seriously don't think it should be like that!!!

I like the idea of All Martyr's Day though. It doesn't really appear to be observed anymore. I realize that I obviously have no control over what others do. Nonetheless, from now on, October 31st or November 1st, I'd like to take the time out of the day to share a story of a faithful Christian martyr and his or her death. I think that's one way I, as a Christian, can work to overcome evil with good. So this year, I'm going to post the story of Timothy's martyrdom. I love the books of 1 and 2 Timothy, and I love that he died because he took a stand against a Pagan celebration- how perfect for this time of year!

The following is copied from Foxe's Book of Martyrs:

"Timothy was the celebrated disciple of St. Paul, and Bishop of Ephesus, where he zealously governed the church till A.D. 97. At this period, as the pagans were about to celebrate a feast called Catagogian, Timothy, meeting the procession, severely reproved them for their ridiculous idolatry, which so exasperated the people, that they fell upon him with their clubs, and beat him in so dreadful a manner, that he expired of the bruises two days after."

Another thing I'd like to start doing in the fall is putting up decorations for Sukkot, Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur!

Proverbs 18:5 NKJV:
5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

Romans 12:9-21 NKJV:
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Psalm 118:24 NKJV:
24 This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

The Whole Creation Declares the Glory of the LORD

2011-10-24T15:37:00.003-04:00

Romans 1:18-23 NKJV:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

The above passage from Romans keeps coming to mind for me lately. I'm not entirely sure if this was the purpose, but this verse made me start looking for signs of God, and parallels to His nature and Word, in all of nature and the creation.

I've always been a nature lover, although I don't recall ever liking bugs! Trees, mountains, bodies of water, grass, stars, animals, rain, clouds- the creation- it's always invoked this feeling of awe and wonder within me. I love staring at it. I think a lot of people experience this feeling of wonder when they behold the things that are not man made. And I think so many people experience this same deep appreciation for the creation, because it was made for us to dwell in- by God our Maker.

Probably 3-4 months ago, I was feeling very anxious quite often. Just uneasy and antsy. I don't remember there being really any distinct reason, but I just did not feel very at peace within myself. Honestly, I think it was because I was watching more TV than I should, and as a result, I wasn't putting enough of my time into nurturing my relationship with God. Here's an example of how God has an amazing ability to reach us even in the most unlikely of places. In one of the shows I watching, there was a little decorative stone in the background of one of the scenes, it read "Be still". Of course, the Scripture "Be still and know that I am God" came to mind. I looked it up, and thought about what this Scripture might mean. I wondered how I could apply it to my life. There are many ways, and really I could probably write a long, very detailed, blog entry just on that topic alone. But one way I found to apply it to my life, was to stare at the creation. That day, I remember specifically watching the trees outside my house sway in the wind. I was being still, my body and my mind were being still, and I was just focusing on God's sovereignty. It brought upon me a tremendous sense of peace, and admiration for my heavenly Father. That's when Romans 1:20 came to mind. I think that's when I started looking everywhere in nature for things that testified of God and His Word.

Psalm 46:10 NKJV:
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Then the book of Job came to mind. Towards the end, it just beautifully points out God's beauty and power that is found in the creation.

Every time it thunders and lightenings, I think of how the Bible often calls thunder the voice of God. I specifically think of Job in fact. I think of how the rain is sent from the one and only God. I was in my first year of middle school when the twin towers and world trade center fell. I wrote a poem about it. And because it rained in my area on September 11th, 2001, I likened the rain to God's tears in my poem. To me, rain largely represents judgement because of the story of Noah. So rain also reminds me that we live in a world that is under the curse, and that mankind has an appointment with judgement at the end of the age. It also represents a new beginning- the new beginning we're given through Christ's sacrifice for us. The darkness of the sky when it's overcast- it comforts me because it reminds me that I abide in the shadow of the Almighty, and I don't need to fear darkness when it comes.

Psalm 91:1 NKJV:
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

When I stare at the clouds... they just amaze me. I remember staring at them when I was a very little girl(preschool age), looking for family members that had passed away, and searching for my God's face. At that point, I didn't know much of what the Bible said, but I was sure that if I looked hard enough I might eventually see Him! I didn't know it then, but that's where we will meet Jesus when He returns again! I now look at those bright, white, fluffy clouds in the sky with longing and hope- knowing that one day, I will see my God & Savior standing there in the clouds.

Two nights ago I read Matthew 13. I've read it countless times- in fact, I think it was the second time this month I'd read it in personal study. This time though, I noticed verse 1:

Matthew 13:1 NKJV:
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

Now I know I could be reading too much into this verse. But I couldn't help but wonder if Jesus was staring out at that sea, at His creation, and if maybe He felt the same sense of awe and worship I feel when I stare at His creation. Of course, this is pure speculation on my part though. Anyways, yesterday (the morning after reading this verse), on our way to church (it's somewhat of a lengthy drive), I stared at the ocean(I wasn't driving), trying to see what Jesus might have been looking at if He had been in fact staring at the sea in Matthew 13:1.

It's hard to put this into words. But the way God made the ocean is amazing. It's mind boggling really. The way every little ripple moves in unison and harmony with one another. The way when it hits the rocks and changes it's appearance from clear to a creamy white... The birds fly over it, they get their food from it. Fish and plants live in it- there's a whole other world beneath it's surface. We get food from the ocean. It's refreshing. It smells good (to me). The way the light hits the ripples- when the sun is hitting it just right, the ocean glitters and sparkles. It's so bright in some spots that it hurts your eyes to look at it! But it is beautiful, so you want to look at it. And the same One that made the ocean, made you and me.

Proverbs 21:1 NKJV:
1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.

That verse from Proverbs, when I read it for the umpteenth time 3 days ago, stood out to me. The LORD is the One Who has complete control over the movement of water. Of the ocean. So as I was staring at the ocean yesterday, this verse of Scripture was also running through my mind.

Another thing that struck me is that the sun is so bright, you can't stare at it without your eyes hurting. Some people just straight up can't stare at it. I feel like it testifies of God's glory. The following verse from Isaiah came to mind as I was considering this:

Isaiah 6:1-5 NKJV:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said:
“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”

Now, with this in mind, let's get back to the ocean and the ripples. When the sun is not hitting the ripples, they're still there, but not as visible. They don't shine and sparkle like the ripples that have the sun's light hitting them. That can be likened to us! Without God, we are dark and dull, spiritually speaking. Without His Spirit abiding in us, we are ugly and disgusting. Without Christ's atonement, we are full of sin and dead. I know it may be a little strange that I got this message all from simply staring at some ripples in the water, but this is what I thought of. The ripples also reminded me of Jesus' parables about "trees" (in the passage the trees are representative of prophets) that do or don't bare fruit. Christians that bare good fruit truly have Christ. Christians that don't truly have Christ, don't bare fruit- at least not good fruit. And they appear the same as those that aren't Christians, that don't have Christ. They're the same as the ripples that don't have the sun's light to reflect. True Christians will reflect God's goodness, because they truly have His Spirit, and they belong to Christ. Those that don't truly have Christ are the same as the ripples that aren't reflecting the sun's light. The closer we draw to God, the more we will shine His goodness- just as the ripples that shone the brightest were the ones that were most directly under the sun. Those sparkling ripples also reminded me of the following Scriptures:

Matthew 13:37-43 NKJV:
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Daniel 12:1-3 NKJV:
1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5 NKJV:
1 And he showed me a pure[a] river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Moving on... Look at all of the naturally occurring colors in nature. They are listless. One tree has numerous different shades of green alone. God is a master artist. Not only do these things that He has created have zillions of colors, but they are four dimensional, and they are intelligently designed inside to function just right. Not only are they unbelievably and amazingly designed on the outside for all to behold, but they are unbelievably and amazingly designed on the inside too!

Sickness -both mental and physical- remind me that we are living under the curse.

The way our bodies work, the excretory system for example, it testifies that God wants us cleansed. As followers of Christ, we should be striving to clean ourselves, keeping our "garments" clean, striving to put to death to works of our flesh and producing fruits of His Spirit instead. I know it may sound crazy that when I blow my nose, breathe, or use the toilet I am reminded of this (LOL). But I am- and I have been for quite a while now! Did you know that our physical bodies are constantly expelling dangerous poisons? According to this website, the primary organs that perform this function are the lungs, kidneys, and skin. I recommend reading that page on the excretory system- If you're having trouble understanding what I'm saying I see, it may help you to understand where I'm coming from better.

When we're born, we're helpless infants. We know very little when we're first born. But we grow- and as we grow both physically and mentally, we learn more. We crawl, take our first steps, run. We go from drinking breastmilk, to eating mushed up food, to eating solid food! We learn to count, our ABCs, then to read, to add and subtract, multiply and divide. This is how we should be as Christians too. We should grow in Godly faith, knowledge and love.

Sleeping reminds me of death. Waking up reminds me of the resurrection of our perfected bodies. It also reminds me of Christ's death and resurrection.

When we're sad, or overcome with joy, we cry. Isn't it a strange phenomenon that liquid pours forth from our eyes when we feel enough of a certain emotion? Well, scientists believe that we cry when we're sad because the tears triggered by sadness contain high levels of manganese and the hormone prolactin. It results in a reduction of these two things in our body, which helps alleviate feelings of depression. You can read about this more on this website. Isn't that amazing though? To me, that screams that we have a Creator who loves and cares about us.

Trees produce oxygen. We breathe in oxygen, and we breathe out carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, like sin, is deadly for us. Also remember, God made the trees for us, so how amazing is it that trees produce one of the essential things we need to survive! And now that I think of it, they also produce food- another essential need for living!!

There are so many places in nature that testify of God being our Creator to me... I don't think I can type them all up. And I don't know if I'm putting this into words very well. I just want to, and I'm trying to, share the joy, praise, and love I feel for my God when I look to His creation. I want to inspire others to look at the work of His hands so that they can experience these same feelings of admiration and praise for our glorious Creator. Because I personally love doing this, and looking for how things in nature might testify of Him. It brings me closer to God and strengthens my faith.

I've posted a verses from Job below, but I encourage you to open up your Bible, ASAP, and read Chapters 36-42. The way it talks about God and His active role in creation is breathtaking.

Also, check out this blog entry, it shows an email about "God's Pharmacy" that was apparently sent around at some point in time. It's pretty neat!

matthew 24:32 NKJV:
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen[a] you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

John 16:20-22 NKJV:
20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

Romans 13:11-14 NKJV:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Matthew 7:15-23 NKJV:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Romans 8:19 NKJV:
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Isaiah 55:12 NKJV:
12 “ For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Psalm 148 (NKJV):
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.
6 He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He has exalted the horn of His people,
The praise of all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
A people near to Him.
Praise the LORD!

Genesis 9:8-17 NKJV:
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants[b] after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

1 Peter 2:1-3 NKJV:
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Colossians 1:16 NKJV:
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Job 37:3-6, 9-16, 21-24 (NKJV):
He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen. Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds. And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth. He causes it to come, Whether for correction, Or for His land, Or for mercy. “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge? Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them. He comes from the north as golden splendor; With God is awesome majesty. As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.”

Genesis 1 NKJV:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Numbers 12- Moses, Aaron & Miriam...

2011-10-23T18:43:00.001-04:00

Lessons Learned From Miriam & Aaron's Complaint:
Don't covet. Don't think highly of yourself. At least not to the extent that you think you're better than others. Especially others that have active relationships with God, and have not given you any real or recent reasons to doubt their hearts. Remember Romans 13:1.

---

Aaron & Miriam were judging their brother, Moses, because he had married a non Jewish woman. (You know, Zipporah, from Exodus 2:21? The last we heard of her being with Moses was on his way to Egypt.) God was not happy about their complaint against Moses- Because Moses was humble, faithful, and him & the LORD spoke face to face- which God points out was not typical! My point is... Moses, was extremely close to God. Also, he was their God appointed leader. Romans 13:1 says to be subject to those who are ruling over you, because they are all appointed by God. (Isn't that comforting??) Anyways, In this case, Moses was quite obviously appointed by God as Israel's leader.

I also find it noteworthy that Miriam got a greater degree of punishment than Aaron did. They both received a Divine scolding. But Miriam was the one who became a leper & had to sit outside the camp for 7 days! God likened His turning her a leper to if her father had spit in her face, which is why she had to sit outside the camp for 7 days.
I tried to think of reasons why this might be, Miriam getting a harsher punishment than Aaron. One, she could have simply had a bigger "plank in her eye" than Aaron. He was a high priest after all. Perhaps it was because Aaron was a priest that he didn't become a leper too. But I can't help but think that it may have been because she was a woman. Yes, I know that some people like to pretend this verse in Scripture doesn't exist- but the truth is, 1 Cor. 11:3 states that the head of woman is man.
It could be either, all, or none of these reasons. These are just my own thoughts!

Regardless of the reason though, this story in Scripture is a beautiful portrayal of God's faithfulness to His faithful "servants". I also think it's worth mentioning that unlike Miriam & Aaron, God didn't think lesser of Moses, despite the fact that in his past he had married a non Jewish woman- something that was frowned upon and discouraged.

How I long to be even close to being like Moses in this sense- God Himself called him faithful, humble, and a servant of the Most High.

Numbers 12 NKJV:
1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.
7 Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.
8 I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”
9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

Exodus 2:11-25 NKJV:
11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”
19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”
20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom,[b] for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Romans 13:1 NKJV:
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV:
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

1 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV:
3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

The following verses are to help clear up any confusion regarding Moses seeing God face to face:

Colossians 1:15 NKJV:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

John 1:18 NKJV:
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,[a] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

How amazing is that?? The "face of God" that Moses spoke with, was the face of our Lord and Savior Jesus! I only somewhat recently learned this, so I figured there may be some out there that weren't aware of this as well.

Likening of the 1st & 2nd Generation of Israelites

2011-10-21T14:27:00.001-04:00

While reading Numbers, the thought came to mind that perhaps the 1st generation of Israelites, (the ones that, as a result of God's judgement, ended up living in the wilderness for 40 years and dying before the 2nd generation entered the Promised land), are maybe representative of physical Israel.

Physical Israel, as in those that are biologically Abraham's offspring, but are uncircumcised in heart, and not joined to his Seed, Christ.

And then the 2nd generation, the Israelites that did get to go into the Promised Land, appear to maybe represent Spiritual Israel.

Spiritual Israel, being both Abraham's biological offspring and "gentiles" like myself. And Spiritual Israel consists of those that have been joined to Christ and will share in His inheritance.

Even more interesting to me, is that Joshua and Caleb were of the 1st generation, yet they entered with the 2nd generation into the Promised Land! It appears to me that they, Joshua and Caleb, could represent the remnant of Abraham's biological offspring that have and will convert to Christianity.

These are just my thoughts.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

2011-10-13T16:41:00.021-04:00

This is the third Halloween that I will not be celebrating. Many Christian churches will throw a "Fall Festival" or something of that effect. Why do they do this? Because they recognize that Halloween has some evil facets to it, so they figure they can make a compromise- you know, meet half way in the middle- And then it will make it okay. They can celebrate a blatantly pagan and well, demonic, holiday in the confines of a church's walls and it will make it acceptable. Honestly, I think that maybe, just maybe, these churches are worried they will lose members by not giving an alternative. Of course, if this is the case, that fear could be driven by either good or bad motives. But despite even the best of intentions, I still don't think it's a good idea. At these "festivals", they still dress up and they still do many of the Halloween traditions. I don't think this is setting a good example and making a clear, Biblically based statement to the congregation. I think that it has potential to hinder the growth of many there. As you grow in Christ, it's my experience that you will begin to feel more and more like an alien of this world. That's a good thing!! It's a good thing because it is a sign of you growing closer to God. Personally, I feel that Christians should never willingly and habitually compromise between good and evil. I see that being the case in this scenario. I feel that if I were to participate in the celebration of Halloween, I would be compromising between good and evil. Because if you ask me, the history of Halloween is very evil at it's core.

Now I'm going to share with you what brought me to this conclusion.

Where did Halloween originate from?: It dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (sow-in). The Celts' new years was on November 1st. They associated this date with death because of the winter that would soon follow. They believed that the night before their new year was the night the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead weakened. So on October 31st, they would celebrate Samhain, when they thought that the the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. They also believed that the Celtic priests would be better able to prophesy at this time. Why did they think their priests could prophesy better at this time? Because they thought the presence of the dead spirits would aid these priests with this ability.

On October 31st, they would build bonfires, at which they would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to their Celtic gods. They would also wear costumes and do fortune telling at these events.

Let's pause. These are the types of things God told the Israelites, when they were entering the Promised Land, to abstain from. Not only did He tell them to abstain from practices like sacrificing to other gods, but He brought serious judgement upon those that practiced these unholy practices. I could go on and on and throw out Bible passage after Bible passage about this, but I think I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead. I see now why Halloween is associated with horror- and it is most certainly not a horror I want to associate myself with.

Excerpt from this website:
"People (these people mentioned here being the Celtics participating in their New Years Eve fesitival) were afraid of what the spirits may do to them, so they started to dress up to disguise themselves. They would roam the streets in these disguises trying to fool the spirits into believing that they weren’t living beings. Of course the costumes weren’t nearly as elaborate as they are today, and were usually scary costumes. People would wear rags and smear ashes on their faces to disguise themselves and keep the spirits of the dead away."

Is this what we want Christian children running around imitating? When they ask their parents why they dress up for Halloween, sure, the parents could say "because it's fun honey." But is that the real reason? Historically speaking, no. I would feel like allowing my children to dress up for Halloween would be commemorating an old pagan practice, and on the anniversary of that pagan practice! No thanks.

About halfway through the first century A.D., the Roman Empire took over much of the Celtic territory. And this is when two festivals were joined with the festival of Samhain.
One of these being Feralia- a day when Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead.
The other festival being the day that the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, "Pomona", was honored. Guess what the symbol of this goddess was. ...an apple. (bobbing for apples come to mind for anyone??)

On May 13, 609 A.D., the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day, in honor of all Christian martyrs, was established in the Western church.

Then Pope Gregory later made it so that not only martyrs, but saints also, were included in the memorial. And then he moved the celebration of the holiday from May 13th to November 1st. In 1000 A.D., the church made November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. Today, the belief is widely held that in doing this, the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.

This brings me back to the question of why Christians don't observe God's feasts, the ones He introduced to the Israelites. (Obviously, without the sacrifices.) But I mean, here we are, with all these churches that are celebrating modified pagan holidays. But we don't celebrate and put a modern twist(in light of Christ's incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection) on our own God's holidays?? Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn't make sense to me. Okay, back to the the history of Halloween now.

All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to the aforementioned Celtic festival Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.

I was going to summarize the following in my own words, but decided it'd be just as good if not better coming straight from the horse's mouth. Here is what History.com has to say about modern day Halloween traditions and superstitions:

"The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter."

"Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are often depicted as more fearsome and malevolent, and our customs and superstitions are scarier too. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into cats. We try not to walk under ladders for the same reason. This superstition may have come from the ancient Egyptians, who believed that triangles were sacred; it also may have something to do with the fact that walking under a leaning ladder tends to be fairly unsafe. And around Halloween, especially, we try to avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt."

"But what about the Halloween traditions and beliefs that today's trick-or-treaters have forgotten all about? Many of these obsolete rituals focused on the future instead of the past and the living instead of the dead. In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday—with luck, by next Halloween—be married. In 18th-century Ireland, a matchmaking cook might bury a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night, hoping to bring true love to the diner who found it. In Scotland, fortune-tellers recommended that an eligible young woman name a hazelnut for each of her suitors and then toss the nuts into the fireplace. The nut that burned to ashes rather than popping or exploding, the story went, represented the girl's future husband. (In some versions of this legend, confusingly, the opposite was true: The nut that burned away symbolized a love that would not last.) Another tale had it that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband. Young women tossed apple-peels over their shoulders, hoping that the peels would fall on the floor in the shape of their future husbands' initials; tried to learn about their futures by peering at egg yolks floating in a bowl of water; and stood in front of mirrors in darkened rooms, holding candles and looking over their shoulders for their husbands' faces. Other rituals were more competitive. At some Halloween parties, the first guest to find a burr on a chestnut-hunt would be the first to marry; at others, the first successful apple-bobber would be the first down the aisle."

"Of course, whether we're asking for romantic advice or trying to avoid seven years of bad luck, each one of these Halloween superstitions relies on the good will of the very same "spirits" whose presence the early Celts felt so keenly."

History of the Jack O'Lantern according to History.com:

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns."

I also wanted to know what exactly All Saints Day was. Here are a couple of excerpts from this Lutheran website explaining All Saint's Day:
"God declares everyone who has been baptized and believes the promise of the gospel to be justified, holy, and blameless. The communion of saints therefore includes both those still living on earth and those who have died in the faith and are now living in heaven."

"All Saints' Day is a very special festival, one that enriches the worship lives of all who observe it. It is a day on which we are edified by the lives of the saints of ancient times. We recall the faithful men and women of both Testaments of the Bible and praise God for their examples. In addition to the saints of Scripture, the church's nearly 2,000-year history is full of the stories of faithful Christians, some well known (like Augustine or Luther), but the vast majority known only to God. We commemorate these holy ones as well. However, we also remember the saints of the less distant past. Many congregations memorialize those parishioners who were called to be with the Lord in recent years, particularly in the last year. An All Saints' Day worship service can therefore be an especially personal celebration as each one of us recalls the loved ones, friends, and mentors now living in heaven whose faith in Christ inspired us and gave us joy. Finally, on this day we glorify God not just for the faithfulness of the saints, but most of all for His faithfulness to the saints."

And here is the link to the Catholic Encyclopedia describing All Saint's Day.

Okay... so All Saints isn't so bad. (Although I did read that the Catholics pray to dead saints on All Saints Day- that is bad.) But we can glorify God for His faithfulness on Sukkot just as easily, which is around the same time as Halloween, and it doesn't have pagan origins. It begun last night at sundown in fact! I do think it's great to look back at the stories of God's faithful children. And I think it's both faith strengthening and sobering to read about martyrs that have died for their Christian faith. (Which brings to mind- my pastor recommended a great book, not too long ago, called Foxe's Book of Martyrs.) That being said, I can't recall ever witnessing a Christian celebrating All Saints Day on Halloween, or looking back to the stories of Christian martyrs.

It all boils down to me thinking that my celebrating Halloween isn't going to be very pleasing in God's sight. And I don't see how really any of the traditions done at Halloween are going to bring glory to Him. Furthermore, I don't want to cause my children to stumble by allowing or supporting their participation in such a holiday.

I'm not trying to come down on Christians that celebrate Halloween. I'm sure that many of them don't realize the satanic nature of the holiday. Although, I think there are many out there that do know it has evil roots(how couldn't they?), they've just decided to turn a blind eye to it and celebrate it anyways. And my personal opinion, based on what I've read and studied throughout the Bible, is that this is not a good attitude to have.

I truly don't wish to offend anyone that loves Christ with this entry I've written, or any other entry I've written in the past for that matter. I'm just trying to perhaps help shed some light on something that ideally should never have been put in the dark. The truth is, I have Christian loved ones and friends, who do currently celebrate Halloween. A number of these people have set good examples for me in one area or another, and I see ways that they have been used by God to get me to where I am today. I'm so grateful for that. I'm so thankful to have been blessed with them in my life, and to have been positively effected in various ways by them. I also don't doubt many of these loved ones' love for God.

The thing about the world we live in today though, is that the line between right and wrong -the division between many of those trying to follow Christ and those deliberately not following Christ- it has been blurred. The moral compass of society has taken a serious turn for the worse. Many Christians' moral compasses have not taken as drastic of a turn for the worse as most of society's, but it does nonetheless appear to have taken a turn. And the direction it's pointed does not appear to be in the same direction as the moral compass that the Bible portrays Christians should be following.

I guess it all falls back on us needing to read the Bible more often, striving to follow Christ more diligently, and being sure that we have turned to God with our whole hearts.

1 Thess. 5:22 NKJV:
22 Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Peter 3:11-12 NKJV:
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Proverbs 20:27 NKJV:
27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart

Ephesians 6:11-18 NKJV:
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

3 John 1:11 NKJV:
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV:
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 NKJV:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[a] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“ I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“ Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 NKJV:
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NKJV:
9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.

Romans 13:12 NKJV:
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Hosea 4:6 NKJV:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

James 1:21-27 NKJV:
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you[b] thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Matthew 18:6 NKJV:
6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NKJV:
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Ephesians 5:8-21 NKJV:
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit[b]is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

“ Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

1 Timothy 4:1-11 NKJV:
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. 7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. 10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach,[a] because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11 These things command and teach.

2 Chronicles 36:14 NKJV:
14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

James 4:17 NKJV:
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 4:26 NKJV:
26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.

Psalm 119 NKJV:
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
3 They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

Proverbs 14:12 NKJV:
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 4:19 NKJV:
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

Proverbs 12:26 NKJV:
26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Reading The Bible

2011-10-04T11:23:00.002-04:00

Many if not all of my posts, include a message from me saying that Christians need to be reading their Bibles more. I realize that the Bible is a big book, and some may not even know how to go about doing this. So this entry is designed to give you some ideas and tips.

I read the Bible from beginning to end for the first time ever, about two years ago. It took me around 90 days. I still have the printout I used for it! There were many things that went straight over my head. But I still learned so much from doing this! I definitely recommend it.

Here is the printout I used for the 90 days. I used a New King James Version(NKJV) Bible instead of a New International Version(NIV).

To help you put it in perspective:
-Read about 14 chapters a day and you will have read the whole Bible at the end of 90 days (3 months).
-Read about 7 chapters a day and you will have read the whole Bible at the end of 180 days (6 months).
-Read 3-4 chapters a day and you will have read the whole Bible at the end of 365 days (one year)

Now let me just say- reading 14 chapters a day, for me, could get pretty difficult at times. 7 chapters a day seems the most reasonably easy to me. For example, you could read 3-4 chapters in the morning, and then read 3-4 chapters before bed.

Here's a tip: Try and read a chapter every waking hour. I rarely read a chapter every hour consistently when I use this approach, but it's a great way to space out that day's reading. It's also great because it helps keep God's Word on your mind throughout the entire day.

Another tip: Read half of the day's reading from the New Testament, and half of the day's reading from the Old Testament. An example of this would be, if you were trying to read the whole Bible in 6 months- on the first day you would read 3 chapters from Matthew and 4 chapters from Genesis.

It's also very beneficial to read and study one book of the Bible at a time. But personally, I feel that reading the whole Bible is an excellent first step for Christians. And reading the Bible on your own does not fill the place of going to church and being under good teaching. They both go hand in hand.

Lastly: Reading a chapter from Proverbs every day is something that many Christians do. I'm so thankful to have had the practice introduced to me a couple of years ago! There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. So read chapter 4 on October 4th, chapter 5 on October 5th- so on and so forth. For months that have less than 31 days, you can skip the chapters that don't have corresponding days for that month, or you can double up. I.E, on the 30th of Septempber, read chapter 30 and 31.
Why read Proverbs? It was mostly written by King Solomon. 1 Kings 3:5-15 talks about how God gave King Solomon a wise and understanding heart.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV):
"16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

A Challenge.

2011-10-03T15:20:00.010-04:00

I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. If you're a Christian and do believe in it, I strongly encourage you to examine the pillars that your belief stand on. I encourage you to convince yourself that you are correct in your belief- beyond a shadow of a doubt.

It's time to get serious about our faith, to start studying the Bible ourselves and not acting like blind sheep that are unknowingly being led astray by unfaithful shepherds. We absolutely need to be under the teaching of a good and faithful shepherd of Jesus Christ. We should not forsake in the assembling of believers. We should be participating in communion in remembrance of Christ and what He has done for us. We should also pray for our Pastors. But we should also choose our pastors carefully.

When I say stop acting like blind sheep, I mean don't just believe something, like the pre-tribulation rapture, just because your pastor tells you it is true. I believed in it all of my life up until a couple of years ago. When I was a child I read the Left Behind series. I fully believed it was going to happen that way. Because that's what I was told. And I was even quoted to and shown Scriptures that appeared to support it. But then a family member from our now current church challenged that belief. I initially shook it off, but then I realized the ignorance in doing that. So then I opened my Bible and decided I was going to find out for myself. I was going to prove to myself that I was right, that what I had grown up believing to be true- was in fact true. I failed miserably at this attempt and I was shocked. It eventually caused me to seriously question the credibility of any pre-trib teaching pastor. If they are wrong about this (and I certainly believe they are wrong about it if they're preaching a pre-trib rapture), what else are they teaching that conflicts with God's Word?

You know, I didn't even really know what a pre-trib rapture was! And I'd never really concerned myself with what the tribulation would be like, because I saw no need to, seeing as I wouldn't be having to endure it. In some churches, it's just something that gets brushed under the rug and dismissed as "Oh but we'll all be caught up to the clouds, and this doesn't apply to us!! HALLELUIAH!" (I've witnessed this firsthand.)

That really bothers me.

It angers me, it saddens me, to see crucial parts of God's Word dismissed as not applicable to Believers in Christ. It angers and saddens me to see God's Word used out of context. It angers and saddens me to see people that call themselves Christians, but aren't living a very Christ-like life- or even attempting or making the effort to do so.

Come on you who call yourselves by the name of Christ- take it upon yourselves to know what this means! Don't take His name upon yourselves in vain. Take it upon yourself to know what the Bible says it truly means to be a Christian. Take it upon yourselves to truly know Christ. Don't just love Him because He died so that all may be reconciled to God. Love Him for that, but also love Him because you know Him.

Never cease learning. Make sure you are being fed good and true teachings.

Cherish the Bible. It's God's Word. It's full of wisdom, wisdom from God, and from It you can obtain knowledge. Pray for understanding.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect. I fail, I fall, I don't always do the things I know I should do as a child of God and follower of Christ. However, the closer I get to God, the more this utterly devastates me when it does happen. I pray that when I am met with temptations such as these, that I will only draw closer to God though. And I pray for conviction of our hearts, myself included, and strength to righteously act on that conviction.

*The following Bible verses are a very minute number of verses and passages that I feel apply to what I just said. Many more are in the Bible that I have not included below. My challenge to you, ultimately, is for you to open your own Bible and engulf yourself in it. So that you may equip yourself with the knowledge and understanding given from God to defend your faith and beliefs- not just to others, but to yourself as well.*

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NKJV:
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 NKJV:
"1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him."

2 Timothy 3:10-17 NKJV:
"10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Psalm 119:1-4 NKJV:
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
3 They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.

Job 23:12 NKJV:
"12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food."

2 John 1 NKJV:
8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.
9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Matthew 7:13-23 NKJV:
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[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

Proverbs 24:16 NKJV:
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Edited on 10/7/2011 to add:
I forgot to include 2 Peter 3:10 when I first posted this entry. Like in 1 Thessalonians 5, it says in 2 Peter 3 that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. This is the saying that many will use to defend the idea of the rapture occurring before the great tribulation. I know I certainly did! But in 1 Thessalonians -when read in it's context- it's really difficult to get out of that passage that believers will be surprised by Christ's second coming. However, here in 2 Peter, it's much easier to interpret a surprise rapture from it! That is, until you read verses 15-16:

2 Peter 3:10-18
"10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

(Verse 17 also appears to me to fit in with debunking the "Christ's believers will be surprised by his stealthy appearance at which time He raptures them to the clouds just before trouble comes".)

But verses 15-16 are what just, I mean... wow! Peter, in this letter, when he talks about a thief in the night- he was referring to Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica! AKA, what we know as the book of 1 Thessalonians in the New Testament of our Bibles.

What I have found to be true is that Scripture never contradicts itself. If it appears to, dig deeper, and I believe that you'll find it in fact supports the very thing you thought it was contradicting. That is certainly the case here.

Christian Holidays...

2011-10-03T12:24:00.004-04:00

Today something finally hit me, and it hit me hard. I had been aware of it, but today I was able to see it clearly for once.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate any holidays, right? I'm starting to think maybe there not too far off in that respect.

Well, I have already long since resolved, as a Christian, that Halloween is not a holiday I want to participate in the celebration of. I shudder to think of celebrating it.

I've also been aware of the pagan origins of Easter for even longer. But since Easter also falls around the same time as Passover each year, and since both holidays are about Jesus' death and resurrection(right?)- I don't feel so bad about celebrating Jesus' resurrection on "Easter", I suppose. (Nonetheless, the Easter eggs and bunnies aren't for me, and I don't like to call it "Easter".)

Now Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the birth of creation. It was on a Rosh Hashanah that Jesus' human birth into this creation occured. You know, the birth that everyone celebrates around Christmas time? In... December? Rosh Hashanah occurred in this past week, ...in September. (The Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, in case you didn't know.) Here's the real kicker though. Get ready for it. Jewish holidays were foreshadowings of something pertaining to Christ. We are Christians right? Followers and believers of Christ. And through Him we have been grafted in to the family of Abraham, of Israel, ...the Jews. I of course mean this spiritually speaking. We've been joined to Christ, who is of the tribe of Judah. And my understanding of it is that true Christians are a part of the circumcised of heart Jews. Christians are the children of the promise. The promise given to Abraham.

Romans 9:6-8 NKJV:
"6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed."

So why don't we celebrate, or at the very least even acknowledge these holidays and festivals that are detailed in the Old Testament? If they are symbolically about Christ, and that is Who we are living through and for... Why do we instead celebrate and acknowledge pagan originated holidays? Holidays that are pagan at their root, but have a mask resembling Christ. Reminds me of a wolf in sheep clothing.

It's not that I think we should be abiding by the law of the OT. It's just that the Jewish festivals have been brushed aside, as if they are meaningless to us as Christians. But they aren't! It amazes me how much value they actually hold for Christians. The bottom line is that I cannot express enough how much Christians need to pray for understanding and guidance, then open their Bibles, and read, study and meditate on God's Word.

---
Here are some great sermons that all relate to this blog entry:

Rosh Hashanah 2009
Rosh Hashanah 2010
Rosh Hashanah 2011

Yom Kippur 2009
Yom Kippur 2010
Yom Kippur 2011

Sukkot 2009
Sukkot 2010
Sukkot 2011 (Check back for this one)

Pentecost 2009
Pentecost 2010

The 7 Feasts of the Lord

The True Meaning of "Easter"
Jesus, the Resurrection & the Life
Resurrection Sunday 2011
---

Leviticus 23:2 NKJV:
"2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts."

Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV:
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 24:27 KNJV:
"25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

"I'm Not Walking Your Dog"

2011-09-29T13:01:00.001-04:00

I like Tal & Acacia's music. But this song? About walking someone's dog?? I always thought it was a pretty shallow song. There are a number of songs on their album that have touched my heart, but this song was never one of them. Until recently.

I had always thought it was meant to be interpreted as Tal, Acacia, or the listener, to be the one saying things like "I'm not walking your dog". And I just did not get what on earth this had to do with worshiping God! But then one day, in the car, on the way home from the grocery store- I decided to give this song another chance. This time I imagined that God was the one saying these things- and it made total sense this time! It's now one my favorite songs.

There are preachers out there that try to get people to turn people to God by telling them that He'll make them rich and happy. It's true, I suppose... but not in the way some of these preachers are using it.

The richness you'll obtain by turning to God, and continuously walking with God- it's not the wealth the people of this world are obsessed with obtaining.

And the happiness- it's a different type of "happy".

The truth is.. Christians will suffer through trials, ridicule, persecution, scrutiny, temptation, and battles between their own flesh and spirit. God's Spirit provides comfort through these times- and I can say firsthand that as a result of this comfort, given by His Spirit, through prayer and Scripture- produces an inexpressible joy, peace, and strength. But that doesn't mean that Christians will experience easy smooth sailing. It just means that we have the ability to endure the tempestuous waves of trials that the seas of this life throws at us.

I feel like this song illustrates this. There's a bigger picture, and it's a beautiful picture at that- one we all should want to be part of.

Now, wait a second... I'm not saying Christians will be poor and homeless! I believe the Bible supports that God will provide for those that are faithfully following Him. Of course, that doesn't mean Christians won't have to work though. I'm just saying that the expectation of becoming a millionaire and getting everything you ever desired handed to you, by turning to God- is not from above. And those that have that expectation- and those that think that they can use that to get others to turn to Christ- well, I think they need to reexamine what the Bible says and pray for understanding.

"Honor Your Father & Your Mother"

2011-09-02T03:47:00.002-04:00

When I read the Bible through for the first time, I started writing down all of my favorite or confusing verses halfway through. I really should make an effort to record all of the curious and favorite verses that I failed to write down that are in the Old Testament, because that little booklet full of mostly New Testament gems really comes in handy and is quite enjoyable to flip through. Anyways, the other night I was looking through it and noticed that I had written down Matthew 19:16-19, linking it back to Exodus 20:12.

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” –Matt 19:16-19 NKJV

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder.14 “You shall not commit adultery.15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” –Ex 20:12-16 NKJV

One of the things mentioned in both passages is the commandment to honor your father and mother. It’s a very popular commandment, one I have heard many times throughout my own life. But the other night when I read it in Exodus, a light bulb turned on and I thought to myself that there might be a deeper meaning in the widely held command. Now I could be wrong, but if I am, I will need to be convinced with scripture of it. That being said, I am not saying that God doesn’t want us to love and respect our parents, because I think scripture supports that He does- what I am saying is that I don’t think this commandment was necessarily or only addressing that. I think that, perhaps, the commandment was also reminding the Israelites to follow their father Abraham and their mother Sarah’s example, loyalty and faith in God.

Hebrews 11 specifically mentions Abraham and Sarah’s faith:

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. –Hebrews 11:8-11 NKJV

The thing that had struck me in Exodus 20:12 was that it said “that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” My first thought was why didn’t it say the same thing with the other commandments listed in that passage in Exodus 20? What was so special about honoring ones parents? I mean, murder, adultery, thievery and deception- those are all pretty grave sins, are they not? Why didn’t it say that the Israelites would get thrown out of the Promised Land if they broke these commandments? Why did it only say it in conjunction with honoring their parents??
But if you think about it, by honoring Abraham and Sarah- the bottom line is that you would do the things that God told you to do, and you would believe the things God told you He was going to do. So if the Israelites broke any of the commandments given by God, they were failing to honor their father Abraham and their mother Sarah. And by failing to honor their father and mother, their days in the Promised Land would be shortened. When we as Christians fail to follow Christ’s example and fail to place all of our hope and faith in God- we are failing to honor our spiritually adoptive parents in Christ. Those parents being Abraham and Sarah.

To test my theory, I used my Android phone Bible app to search for verses that contained the words “father” and “mother”. Then I went onto my e-sword computer software (well actually, first I got on my mysword Android phone app because my phone was closest to me) and compared the verses to one another.

What I found is that the word for father could be talking about your immediate biological father, your Father in heaven, or your father Abraham. The word for mother can be used in talking about your literal, figurative, immediate or remote mother. The conclusion I came to is that Abraham and Sarah could easily be the ones that are being talked about in the commandment to honor your father and mother. And when I take into account the whole story and patterns of the Bible, that is what makes the most sense to me.

Again, I am not saying that I think God doesn’t want us to love, honor and respect our birth parents- because I really do think He does. I’m simply saying that I don't think this is what the command to “honor your father and your mother” was really addressing. That being said, I don’t think God wants us to encourage or approve of our parents if they are living or acting in an ungodly and unrighteous manner- that is, a manner contrary to God’s word and Christ’s example.

Taking this into account...

This passage makes more sense to me now, although it could also make sense if it wasn't talking about Abraham and Sarah...:
11 There is a generation that curses its father,
And does not bless its mother. -Proverbs 30:11 NKJV

Then there are these two passages. Both were written a long time after Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac had died- yet still it says "father” (speaking of Abraham) in both passages and “Sarah who bore you” in the passage from Isaiah:

" 1 “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness,
You who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
For I called him alone,
And blessed him and increased him.” " -Isaiah 51 NKJV

" 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. " -Matthew 3:9 NKJV

Here’s a passage that also makes more sense now. I have heard of some people arguing that Jesus was breaking the commandment to honor his mother in the passage below. They might say this because Jesus doesn’t drop what He’s doing and run to His mother’s beck and call, and then He even goes on to call all the other women in the crowd He is talking to His mothers (and sisters). But when I consider that He was submitting to God’s will here, I see that He was in fact following His mother Sarah’s example and in this sense He was honoring His mother (Sarah). Oh! And as I type this up I realize, He even says that whoever does the will of God is His brother, sister and mother!:

" 31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers[e] are outside seeking You.”
33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” " –Mark 3:31-35 NKJV

In the passage below, Jesus tells a disciple of His not to worry about burying His father, but rather let someone else tend to his father’s burial. Once again, I know of people saying this does not appear to be adhering to the commandment to honor ones father and mother. But when you take into account that Jesus is advising His disciple to follow the will of God, you realize it is in fact adhering to the commandment:

" 21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” " –Matt 8:21-22 NKJV

On a side note...

A huge motivation factor in writing this blog entry was to hopefully shed some light on the fact that Christians, can and should, read and study the Bible. It's important we know what it says, and it's important that we know the whole story of the Bible- New Testament and Old Testament. Knowing and understanding the Bible brings us closer to God. We shouldn't just be going to church every Sunday, watching a guy throw a few scriptures around and tell us about his life, his friends life, his neighbor's friend's cousin's life... We should be going to church and going through the Bible with a faithful teacher of God's Word. We should be daily digging into Scripture, daily praying, daily submitting to God's will and daily doing our best to follow Christ's example- not being conformed to this sinful world that seeks to feed the desires of the flesh. Not being conformed to this world that seeks to deny the existence and awesome power of the one and true living God.

God's Word is not a joke -some churches I've been to have led me to believe that they think it is- but it's not, and it is not to be taken lightly. I pray that all who have a heart for God will realize this, and that they will see that the message being taught, and the practices being done, in so many Christian churches today, are often not following the Bible. In fact, some of the things some of these churches teach are not even in the Bible! Don't take my word for it- please, start acting more like the Bereans (as they are mentioned in Acts 17:11) and eventually see for yourself. And if you go to a church that discourages reading the Bible on your own, then I think there's a serious problem there.

" 11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. " -Romans 13:11-14 NKJV

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Becoming a Christian For The Right Reasons

2011-07-29T14:10:00.004-04:00

I was watching an old episode of a popular teen show the other day. One of the main female characters is a “Christian”- her name is Grace. Another one of the characters is not a Christian, and she is quite promiscuous- her name is Adrian. In this particular episode, Grace has a revelation. Adrian can be a virgin once again by becoming a Christian! Adrian agrees, since her current conquest at the time is a guy with class, she figures she just might have a better chance of wooing him into bed with her if she were to reclaim her virginity. So despite her awareness of Adrian’s wrongful motivation for wanting to become a Christian, Grace excitedly calls her family friend, who is also her pastor, and arranges for a meeting to be held between the three of them. At the meeting, the pastor tells Adrian that all she has to do is request of God His forgiveness for her sexual transgressions, and she will have that forgiveness, because He forgives everything- thus making her a virgin again… spiritually of course. I give him some kudos for telling Adrian that if she does this, she needs to be truly committed to a living a new life of abstinence, and that she shouldn’t just “say it to say it.” But that little caveat is far from enough if you ask me.

It really bothers me how this show inaccurately portrays what a true Christian is. This is just one of the many scenes that reveals their inaccurate portrayal of what being a Christian is really about. In that little speech to Adrian, Reverend Stone (the pastor) does not even mention Christ, he doesn’t tell her the Gospel, doesn’t mention baptism, and the bottom line is that he is not speaking the truth to Adrian. You can’t have God’s forgiveness without Christ’s atonement. You can’t have Christ’s atonement if you don’t even know who He is and you don’t know the Gospel. And I mean the true Gospel, the Gospel that is told in the Bible time and time again- both cryptically and plainly. When you truly become a Christian, you choose to follow Christ. You crucify the flesh with its passions and desires and walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:19-21 spells out the works of the flesh quite clearly:

“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

How difficult is that to understand? It even goes on to describe the “fruit” of the Spirit:

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

This is not the only place in the New Testament where the expectations of those who choose to become Christians, to follow, to imitate Christ, are spelled out for us. The New Testament is chock full of it, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand what it says. Any person that is truly serious about becoming a Christian can read the New Testament for themselves and get a pretty accurate picture of the changes they need to have in their life. It’s not always easy and it’s something you certainly can’t do on your own- it requires prayer, Bible studying, and most importantly, God’s Spirit. But you also have to be willing to change, you need to have the desire to change and you have to be ready to work at it. It takes two to tango, and just like it takes two to make a relationship work, God is not going to do all the heavy lifting for you just because you ask for His forgiveness. And you can’t have His forgiveness if you aren’t truly repentant and aren’t making the effort to seek Him out.

Have you ever had someone in your life that repeatedly hurt you, or that repeatedly disobeyed you? Did they keep saying they were sorry, only to go out and repeat the offense again? Time and time again? Do you recall the feeling that the sincerity of their apology was diminishing more and more each time? If it happened enough times, you may have even begun to feel like their apology meant absolutely nothing- if anything, it was just another way of deceiving and manipulating you. If you, being human, can see this- how much more do you think that God can see this?

“27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.” -Proverbs 20

God knows what is in your heart, He knows who is trying to becoming a Christian for the wrong reasons, and those people are not truly Christians. They are not truly saved. They are not going to inherit the kingdom of God… but they will endure His eternal judgment. Sadly, this is not the story that is told in all churches, and shame on the leaders of those churches.

The passage below talks about some elders of that time, but much of it is just as applicable today- if not more:

“10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” –Titus 1:15-16

If you want to become a Christian, make sure it’s for the right reasons. Christianity is an eternal relationship with the God of Israel, and we are given this opportunity through Christ. Those who endure and do not give up will be co-heirs with Christ in His earthly Kingdom at His second coming. God is merciful, He is so very merciful to those who turn to Him with their whole heart, but as Jesus said, you cannot serve two masters.

I’m not saying that if you whole heartedly become a Christian you will immediately, or even ever in this life, be able to entirely abandon all of your fleshly and sinful ways- but you will work on it, you will make progress with God’s help, your conscience will grow, and with time you will become an entirely different person in that respect. I can say this with confidence because I’m speaking from first-hand experience. Because I’ve turned to God half-heartedly, and it did not amount to much. If anything I only fell deeper into my fleshly ways because of my insincerity. But I can tell you today, with certainty, that most people who aren’t familiar with my dark past would never know just how sinful I once lived, because that’s how much turning to God with my whole heart has changed me in just a few short years.

You can't pick and choose what you want to get from God's message to us. It's all or nothing.

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What Do You Love About Your Church?

2011-07-09T20:35:00.005-04:00

We don't go to a local church. Our church is an hour away, a couple towns over. Many people don't get why we don't just find a local church, after all there are so many to choose from! Well as a result, I've heard a number of local friends, relatives and acquaintances tell me and other family members just how great this and that local church was.
The saddening and puzzling thing for me are the things that made their churches "so great." So below are the top reasons I've heard, and yes I have something to say about each one.

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Funny Pastor.
It's good to have a likeable pastor, don't get me wrong, but I don't attend church for my own entertainment. If I wanted to listen to a Christian comedian I'd watch videos of Tim Hawkins or arrange to attend one of his events.

Short sermons.
Um... hello!!! This is the most absurd reason to attend a church. Because the sermons are short? Really?? My pastor's sermons are never less than 36 minutes, usually closer to 50 minutes. And he doesn't beat a dead horse either, we learn things in that time frame that help us better understand who God is and what He is like. We learn what being a follower of Christ is about, what's expected of us as people who have chosen to "clothe" ourselves in Christ. We learn what God has promised His chosen people and we learn about the history of His chosen people. During that time period, we are actively going through the Bible, and the sermon is not just based on one little verse of scripture, nor do we have a little worksheet with fill in the blanks.

The music/ the worship team/ the choir
Worshiping God is a great thing, and a wonderful, almost magical feeling. Singing Him praises and feeling His Spirit, it is just absolutely amazing. I just don't feel like this is what anyone should base their decision on whether or not to attend a particular church. The experience that you have when offering songs of praise to God relies on your relationship with Him and the state of your heart. If your heart is in that state of awe, reverence and thankfulness... it doesn't matter if the music you're singing along with is recording studio quality.

Large and quickly growing congregation
This is my favorite, because so many people seem to think that this means a church is a good church. And I know that a lot of the people that use this quality to promote a church often have the best of intentions. But here's the thing: When trying to decide what restaurant to go to and what is the best product- the more people that like it, the more likelihood you have of you yourself liking it. However, my experience tells me that the same cannot be applied to a church. Why? Think back to the days of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Noah... these men were proclaiming impending judgement. How many people believed them? How many people liked what they had to say? I'll tell you- not many. Not many liked the message they taught. The people were much more keen to listen to the false prophets, those that were only spreading news of everlasting peace and happiness. I don't doubt that these false prophets encouraged the people of that time to go on doing the things that were the reason for the judgement that God would bring upon them.
So many churches tell a story that basically tells Christians it's okay to be comfortable in your sin, because "once you're saved you're always saved". People like to hear that. They like to be told that all they have to do is say a little prayer and "Voila! Eternal life granted, fiery judgement cancelled."
So when I hear that a church is highly populated and ever flourishing, red flags go up as to whether or not the message they're preaching is really going to encourage my growth and knowledge as a Christian.
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Here's what I look for when choosing a church. I want to choose a church based on what is taught there, and the manner that it is taught. And just to clarify, NO, not all Christian churches teach the same thing. When I attend church, I want to be challenged, motivated, taught, encouraged, warned. I want my weekly church experience to aid in my growth and development of my faith as a follower of Jesus Christ. I want the cold hard truth people, not the watered down, sugar coated, half piece of crock that I have gotten at so many of the other churches I've attended in the past. Picture the scriptures as being the ocean. Well I want to dive into that ocean, not just get my feet wet. I don't go to church to be entertained. I don't go to church just for the sake of being able to say that I go to church, nor do I go for a little "pep me up" talk. So many church services, I feel, basically consist of a whole bunch of "Christians" sitting around with each other, putting on a smile and talking about the same happy feel good scripture verses over and over. And often times they use those verses out of context, and sometimes that happy feel good verse is only "happy feel good, go ahead, sit back and relax" when it's used in its generic out of context sense.

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