Christians, Q?

Christians; what determines whether or not you accept what is shared with you as the “Word of God”? Do you simply accept it because it mentions God in it or do you search the scriptures to see if it coincides with God’s written word? Do you go on emotions? Do you go according to the character of the person sharing the word? Does it depend on anything other than GOD?

There are many so called “Television Evangelists” running around using God “their product” to get what they want out of people, taking God’s word and twisting it teaching perverted gospels and many unfortunately are being fooled. Ephesians 5 states that “all things exposed by the light are made visible, for everything made visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Wake up, sleeper and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore, consider carefully how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil.”

I am sure many will fight against the truth but Christ who is Truth will always prevail! Many will hate you for standing for the truth but they hated Jesus first. Stand firm in the word of God and fear not man who cannot kill your soul! Those who suffer with Christ will also glory in Christ! Church, Stand UP!

They may hate you for speaking the truth but never allow their hate to shut you up! Take courage our redeemer lives!

Bloody Sweat

Bloody Sweat! “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44

“A case of hematidrosis: the excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat. Under conditions of great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture (Lumpkin, 1978), thus mixing blood with perspiration….hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile (Barbet, 1953, pp. 74-75; Lumpkin, 1978), which would have made Christ’s pending physical insults even more painful.”

This came before the Cross, Christ was already beginning to feel the suffering of having to endure the Fathers wrath for you and me. The Cross displayed it and marked what we know as history, for ever. Yet the Cross is not considered one the this world’s greatest wonders. Neither of the original 7 or the modern 7 wonders of this world could ever compare. Such a sacrifice should never be taken lightly!

No Not One Compares!

The Original Seven Wonders of the World
-The Colossus of Rhodes
-The Great Pyramid of Giza
-The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
-The Lighthouse of Alexandria
-The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
-The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
-The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World
-Channel Tunnel
-CN Tower
-Empire State Building
-Golden Gate Bridge
-Itaipu Dam
-Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
-Panama Canal

Note to self…

Note to self….

Which if not all of these describe each of us before such a precious salvation? Which of these can we choose to boast of?  Surely, none of these are motive for us to think ourselves greater than or even think ourselves the least bit worthy of praise? That would be preposterous!

I Corinthians 1:27-29 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

What we think of ourselves is of no significance. What God thinks of us is the only thing that truly matters. Once we understand who He is and His thoughts about us we will realize that being created for the purpose of a glorious King is everything we are.

You may say but I am a King, Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, Chosen Generation, etc. To which I would ask and what part of such callings did you have anything to do with? If we are, it is only because of Christ Jesus!

God asked Job where he wad when He formed everything and set things into place. Don’t make the mistake of thinking to highly of yourself that you forget you were created for the glory of Christ!

So, If we boast, let us boast in God alone as Paul so divinely inspired suggested!

We are for the Purpose and Glory of Christ!

In Christ Alone!

Romans 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

In order to redeem the fallen, a second and greater Adam needed to come. One that would, not only out do but redeem that which was broken and lost. Not only cancel out but make all things new. Not only pay the price but extend to us all, the wages of sin be over us no more. Not only die but resurrect. Not only live but offer life and life eternal. Not only ascend to heaven but also return, to take us home and reign with Him. Not only in words but also in deeds has He satisfied the wrath of His Father, so that by Him alone, grace and the wonderful gift of righteousness will reign over All, forever more! So that no man would boast He has done it all, in Christ alone are we set )))))free((((( in Christ alone, in Christ alone!

Smooth Operators

Rom 16:17-18 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17-18 ESV)

When we think of someone causing division and putting obstacles in our way, we would most likely think of someone who is notably rebellious and shows signs of being dangerous in and out of churches. We would not normally see it in the context in which this passage declares it.

They are called Smooth talkers, flatterers and deceivers of the mind of naive people. They are people who know that they can get away with manipulating the naive and do it with no regret. Well, Paul says; “Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ,”

We tend to not question preachers and teachers on what they teach because we assume that they know what they are speaking about. Unfortunately, because so many in churches DO NOT STUDY the Word of God they are naive and easily deceived! I urge you to study the Word of GOD! Let no one deceive you! Question things if you must and require clarification when necessary! There is NOTHING wrong with questioning! We have a lot of smooth talkers occupying the pulpits in our churches and no one dares to question their teachings and frankly, I’m tired of it!

They are serving their own appetites and the naive are feeding the EGO’S of these charlatans by allowing this to happen! Furthermore, they are joining them in their worship of themselves and that my beloved is IDOLATRY! and we all know what Exodus 20:3 says: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Enough of the smooth talking and on with the true unadulterated WORD of GOD!

Pray on!

The next time you pray, remember to make it a prayer in which God will be glorified. We pray very good prayers at times but most of the time it isn’t God getting the glory through what we are asking. F.E. God use me to bring these people to you or God please give me this job I really need it or God make a way for me to get, have, receive PLEEEEEAAAASSSEEEEE!! etc.

What if we prayed as follows?: God use me as a means of grace to draw sinners to YOU for Your glory! or God if this is your will please allow me to get this job so that by it you may be glorified! or God your word says that You open and close doors and I believe it, if it is your will to open or close this door please do so, so that you are most glorified!

See there may appear to be no difference and you may say well God knows my heart, which is true, in HIS word is declared that the our heart is deceitful and we should not trust them so why should HE? So you see more than simply saying a few more words, it is an offering unto HIM declaring that HE will receive the Glory due to HIS name for what HE does and not us for being a means of His grace!

Remember that Jesus said in John 14:13 whatever you ask in MY NAME! meaning whatever will bring GOD GLORY! After all everything is by Him and for Him, it isn’t about us – it’s all for the Purpose and Glory of Christ! Ephesians 1:11-12

By praying in this manner we do not add to HIS Glory for He is complete! It indicates in the least that we acknowledge HIS will in ALL things!

It is not the fact that we simply say it in our prayers either but that we believe what we pray. That is our God given FAITH! Romans 12:3

PRAY ON!

Got Faith?

Your process may not give visible evidence as to why you do what you do. The outcome may even appear to be the same no matter why you do what you do but the truth is revealed in the presence of GOD! It is inevitable!

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law–I stopped trying to meet all its requirements–so that I might live for God. Galatians 2:19

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. Romans 7:4

The Law says you ‘Have To’ while Grace says you ‘Get To’!

It may seem like there is no difference but in reality you salvation may be in play here. If you are depending on the LAW (Have TO/Works righteousness) you are not depending on (Get to/Grace/Christ’s sacrifice). And the word says that HE gave His life for WHOSOEVER Believes in HIM! (John 3:16) Law says depend on your ability to DO! Faith says I can’t, Christ can!

Are you a whosoever? Stop trying to live up to the law and allow the Spirit of God to produce good fruit through your faith! Without Faith it is impossible to please GOD! (Hebrews 11:6) When you have Faith in Christ, he strengthens you so that you can do ALL things! (Phil 4:13) Big or Small, Simple or Difficult, Joy or Pain, Happiness or Sorrow, Leadership or Submission… He gives you the ability not only to work these out BUT to also have complete JOY, when doing so!

Have FAITH in CHRIST, He already WON!

Grace Alone!

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:21

It is simple to confuse Works Righteousness with Grace. I mean after all we all want to do good don’t we? Well, maybe not everyone does but most of us do.

So what is the fine line? What determines whether or not we are Works Righteousness driven or Grace driven? The answer my friend is simply complicated! It is LOVE! Love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! That, is what makes the difference.

Yes everyone says they do but the word says that by their fruits we can tell. Matt 7:16 I see it like this, I love God and because I have accepted Christ as my savior through repentance which means His Grace should now be operating in me. But, is it that easy? Yes and No! Yes because we cannot work hard enough to fulfil the law to receive Grace which is why Christ came humbling Himself to save man from Gods wrath. So by faith in Christ we are saved by Grace. But Paul says something very interesting and its this; “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” Phil 2:12 which is easily confused by many Christians to mean work in order to be saved and if that were the case then we disregard the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, His resurrection and that He is now at the right hand of the father.

So what did Paul mean? Thanks for asking! He actually meant what he said, work it out. Run the race and by doing so you do not earn salvation but by it you demonstrate that you are of Christ. That you do so because of the Grace you have received and not because you are trying to obtain it or maintain it. That is the function of Grace!

So you see by even insinuating that our good works have the ability of saving us, may be considered blasphemous and that my beloved is a dangerous position to be in. Kind of like still being dead in our sins. Simply, because it means we esteem our works more than Christ and Complicated because that means we are in serious Idolatry! Of which God Himself said; “I am the Lord your God, You shall have no other gods before me, You shall not make for yourself an idol.” Exodus 20:2-3 If this were to be the case our worship would be an adulterated worship. One which God detests.

So remember Grace says you “get to” out of gratitude because of what you already received, unlike work righteousness which says you “have to” out of pride, in order to receive. Grace, is free of our own works because Christ paid it all!

Making the end result that we in turn are loved by the Father and by Christ and obviously by the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Not only that, we also become partakers of the promise of Him showing Himself to us. All by Grace alone!

Reap what you SO!

Imagine you know where your money went to and what it funded. Would you think twice about buying certain products? Like Coca Cola who funded Romney or Michael Kors who funded Obama. I mean it all goes back to the same place anyway! Big GOV! So Buy, Spend, Support and Do Not Worry about who you are helping in the expansion of Corruption! Cheers! (sarcasm people sarcasm)

Actually, it does matter! I am sure I thought about it before but never really thought about it. If you know what I mean?! We are in the world but not of the world and though we work in the world and eat in the world and live in the world there are certain things in which we can be set apart about. Like what we do when we are home, on our time away from work, what we intake mentally, physically etc. That etc. contains many of things but still to generalized, so let me begin with music, clothing, T.V. shows, bars, clubs, parties, etc. wait maybe some of you are like not my cup of tea. Well how about porn, addictions, depression, fear, guilt, pride etc. no I still think there are more like Idol worship, Money, Insatiability, restlessness etc. I know there are more but you get the meaning I hope.

So yes there are all these different things we may be faced with and what we do when we are faced with them is what our lives will produce after the rain hits us. That will determine whether we bear fruit or be cut off and thrown into the fire? Believe me it will come down to it!

It takes me to the story of the people of Israel in Egypt. No matter how hard they worked, no matter how much they sweated it always benefited the Pharaoh. Far stretch? I think NOT! “America’s problem is Spiritual, not Political!” Right ON!

America’s problem is the same as Israel’s has always been. They are far from GOD and until America returns to God she will not be getting any better! There is no evading what the scriptures declare but we also should keep in mind that we are not capable of understanding God’s Mercy and Grace extended toward His people. If America repents God who is no liar would keep His promises to those who humble themselves. However, if America refuses and continues on its course, great destruction is facing America and the WORLD!

Grace and Mercy is received by believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God who is the 2^nd person of the Holy Trinity. There is nothing you or I can do to obtain salvation. We can do good deeds all our lives and yet not obtain salvation because it does not depend on our works! That is a lie from the pit of hell! Salvation is free and all we need to do is believe on Jesus Christ!

There is a better HOPE! Nothing compared to what we can obtain in this world!

Receive the love of the Father, Salvation of the Son Jesus Christ and the comfort of the precious Holy Spirit!

A drawing of mine. “The Swcrose”

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? Isaiah 53

 

A drawing of mine.