Religion's Crime Against God

# 259: Christ in You

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:37:00 +0000

It could be that most people who call themselves Christians, are not aware of the high position and responsibility they have been given when they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Making that position come to life is what this post will attempt to accomplish.

Marriage between a man and woman, most often, is the closest relationship humans can experience. That is, or should be, a relationship of oneness. What is good for one is good for the other. Likewise, what is bad and hurtful for one is bad for the other. This principle, though said in a few words, if the backbone of life in our civilized world. Take marriage away from society and life would be chaotic and lawless.

It breaks my heart more than most will ever know that Christianity ought to be is a marriage of oneness with Jesus Christ. And what do we have instead is a religion of oneness with self and company. Many will deny this serious charge, nevertheless it is the truth. Put in a simple question: what do the run-of-the-mill Christians do to advance the cause of their Lord/boss? Little or nothing! As partners with Christ, it is our duty to continue the work He started. That is the work of showing and telling the world around us exactly what Jesus Christ commanded, and the eternal benefits or repercussions if we obey or make excuses not to obey.

Other than possibly going to church and saying their prayer, if even that, people who have supposedly given their allegiance to the Son of God are not much different than upright, honest and respected atheists. In fact, atheists, quite often, live better lives. Does organized religion per se confront those who live in this manner? Why should they; if the did, they would lose money and membership. Therefore, they turn a blind-eye and say to themselves, "No one is perfect. God is a loving, merciful, compassionate and forgiving God." That is true, but the only thing, God is merciful to those who fear Him. There are over a dozen verses that teach us to fear the Lord, or else. I will quote just one. Luke 1:50. "His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation," The only thing, there is no fear of God in their lives. If they knew what fear of God meant, they would find out all that God requires from disciples of Christ, as is clearly and candidly displayed in the New Testament. Instead, their main pastime and activities are things that bring temporal pleasure and satisfaction.

If anyone is not familiar with 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, for your sake read it and see the similarities these tough verses have with our modern Christian church. Of course when I use the term organized religion, I am not referring to all churches; there are a few that preach and live according to Scriptural commands. But from my personal experience, they are few-and-far-between. Any Church with a large attendance would never qualify as being forthcoming with the imperative teachings as presented in the New Testament. Why? Mega-churches, out of greed for money and people--they call it Godly prosperity--teach a message of Biblically ear-tickling lullabies, while leaving out the meat. Then it could be said, if they never had a taste of Biblical meat and potatoes, they wouldn’t miss them.

If anyone is new to this blog and is not aware of what these commands are, the ones which are avoided by many Christian churches, just read a few of the post within this blog. For over three years, we have been and will continue to defeat the silent lies of popular churches that thrive on hypocrisies and pleasant trickery, while avoiding those that are hard to accept. There can be no tolerance from God or this Biblical blog for this deadly sin of silence.

Most Christian churches say they are Bible believing, and that is true, but they believe only the parts that are pleasant to the laity, such as the acceptance of a lifestyle where material wealth and prosperity is acceptable and even desired, while Scripture teaches that it is detestable in God’s sight, This blog quite often speaks openly on our human nature’s tendency of want/have material wealth and prosperity.

That is not to say a rich or prosperous person can’t become a disciple of Christ; everyone is more than welcome. 1st Timothy 6:17-18. "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, . . . Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." But there is one stipulation: since the rich must be generous and willing to share with those in need, the question comes up: how much of their wealth do they have to share with the needy so what remains in their possession will not be an obstacle to their Salvation? Did you notices this verse didn’t say share with their church.

When one is rich, it is an easy thing just to drop the ransom money--give or go to hell--into the basket, but to actually get out and win souls for Christ, takes guts and determination. That is what the wealthy and even the not so wealthy negate from their "christian" lives. Other than the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses--which I believe are cults--I personally don’t know of any denomination that teaches the imperative results of this personal witness. Without these good works, we are no more than lazy, decrepit, religious bystanders. Ouch!

In contrast to the aforementioned verse in 1st Timothy, this is what Jesus commands in the sections concerning the rich young ruler and the good Samaritan. Matthew 19:20-21. "All these I have kept, the young man said. What do I still lack? Jesus answered, if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." In Luke 10:25 & 27-28. ". . . What must I do to inherit eternal life? . . . He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live." Action is a precursor to discipleship. Said another way; both verses have prerequisites to eternal life: love for God, love for neighbor and the poor. They are not eternity bound Christians if they do not believe and obey these commands.

The all important question is this: why is material wealth and prosperity more than a hindrance, actually an abomination, for those who claim Christianity as their religion? The answer may surprise many. Why would wealthy people have an immediate need for eternal life when they already have all they need and even more? They want the best of both worlds. They desire to go to heaven, but don’t want to die just yet. They want to continue to be spend-thrifty and enjoy life here just a little bit longer. The implication: heaven and its future pleasures are not real, since they don’t actually need them in the secure and luxurious positions they are now in. They are having too much fun as they eat, drink and get merry. This paragraph infers that it is impossible to have one’s mind and heart on Godly matters while enjoying the things this deceitful world offers.

Where as Christians who have it hard in this world, can’t wait to go to heaven; they are longing for death (sleep) so as to end their miserable earthly lives. I am one of the latter group. Here is the last reason wealth is not acceptable for followers of Christ: how can anyone have more than they need, when there are many millions in dire need of the basics? That goes to demonstrate that the wealthy and prosperous have no Godly love for those in need. With no love, comes damnation. That is the reason Jesus said in Luke 16:15. "What is highly value among men is detestable in God’s sight." Arguably, if anyone believes the New Testament, the above verses and divine logic, ends all controversy. This seems to say that many millions of rich people who remain rich after accepting Christ as their Savior and still claim Christianity as their religion are doomed to hell. Statements like that are not welcome in organized religion. Repeating: that is the lie this blog has been exposing and hopefully defeating for over three years. I am sure this section will fall onto many deaf ears with aggressive thoughts.

I didn’t mean to stray away from the subject of ‘Christ in you’ as the title says; Christ in you is the answer for all the woes of Christianity. Colossians 1:27. ". . . Christ in you, the hope of glory." Let us start with this question: do you and I know for certain that we are possessed with the Spirit of Christ? We could easily say yes and leave it at that. That is where the problem starts and doesn’t end there.

The terms, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Christ in you, born again, and a few more are terms used which are one and the same Spirit.

Here is a test: if some are just starting out as Christians, and desire to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, it most likely won’t start out with a bang. Slowly the new convert will notice that they have loving and holy desires they never had before. These desires may vary, but they all have one thing in common: to really get to know Christ and what He expects from them. God’s Spirit never forces His ways on anyone. He must work through our freewill. When we start to obey our new desires, which are inspired by the Holy Spirit, that is some evidence that the Spirit of Christ is living in us. As we start to mature, the vast number of our actions will correspond with the instructions in the New Testament. That is more evidence that we are being guided by Christ who lives in us. Nevertheless, never forget this verse: Acts 5:32. "We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

At that point, we can honestly say that Christ is in us. That is not to say every person that is doing good is indwelt by the Spirit. Continued obedience to Christ’s commands will determine who is who. Those who don’t have God’s Spirit, but say they do, their true colors will start to show when they search for an easier way to God’s heaven, by making little of God’s unnatural commands or negating them all together. In fact, it is impossible to continue to do good works and grow in faith and love without the Spirit. Another indication of His presence is we will never be content with how much we are doing for the Lord; there will always be room for more. When we feel content with our position or works in Christ, that may be a sign that spiritual complacency is setting in, which is the beginning of the end. What is being said is to be a recipient of the Spirit of Christ is the most crucial part in the Christian life. In fact, anyone without the Spirit is not a Christian. Romans 8:9. "And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

Here is an aspect of our heavenly position that needs some down-to-earth explaining: without our knowledge, at the moment of conversion, we are justified and sanctified in God’s sight. 1st Corinthians 6:11. "But you were washed, you were sanctified, (made holy) you were justified ( made free of all sins) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." That means if one was to die a short while after one accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, eternity would be waiting for him/her. Here is my point: since God gave us a new status, now considers/made us pure and holy by forgiving all our sins; that is the perfect incentive to live pure and holy lives; if for no other reason, we will live up to our new status of how God sees us as new creations, created in the image of God.

God sees us as perfect; since the vicarious exchange of Christ taking all our sins upon himself and in exchange gave us his perfection, we are given the privilege and pleasure to live out that perfection as we "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." Luke 13:24.

Inactivity in the Christian life breeds the need for worldly joy. Spiritual joy will not materialize when one is inactive in doing God’s will. And it takes effort to do the works of God. Most prefer to take the course of least resistance. The only thing, with Christ in us, we will not take that course. For that reason, I pray to God that all who are reading this blog will continue to grow in faith and love, thus become strong in the things of God and Christ. Amen.

Since I have separated myself from most, if not all, worldly activities, and things that bring pleasure, I find no joy from living in this world, except the spiritual joy of allowing Jesus Christ to live and love through my body. For that reason, even though death is a dreaded enemy for those who are disobedient, those like this author who have a genuine hope of spending eternity with God and Christ, death is a welcome friend.

Although in the Book of Acts, it tells of when certain people initially received the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues and prophesied as a sign that they received the Spirit. Nowadays there is even better evidence of Christ in us: when one is continually being led by God’s Spirit. With that Spirit, we are given the power to lead a sin-free life; while sin is evidence that one is under the control of the evil-one. There is one exception: when a person sins inadvertently/unintentionally. That is a sin that will not lead to death. Leading a sinless life is a hard teaching. Even though it is taught throughout the New Testament, 1st John make it absolutely clear with no wiggle room: verse 3:6. "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." Also verse 8-9. "The reason the Son of God came was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed [the holy Spirit] remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."

Just a final reminder: your life and how you live it, should be of major concern; that is all you have of earthly value that can determine if you will spend eternity in the presence of a God of love or in a place of eternal and unbearable pain. For that reason, it is the business of Christ and this Biblical blog to teach you, if necessary, how God desires to make your life holy, pure and pleasing to Him. That is our quest. We pray that those who have or desire to have Christ living in them are the ones who will respond to our plea to take this post and blog seriously. Amen.

In conclusion, it is a spiritual fact, when we are recipients of the life and Spirit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is freely given, it can be said, regardless how lowly our station, we are truly living the high-life, as God meant it to be lived.

# 258: The Devil’s Trap

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:27:00 +0000

2nd Timothy 2:25-26.“Those who oppose him [the Lord] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

Mark 4:18-19. “Still others . . . hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” These are just a few of the activities most of us may be engaged in, which are the devil’s favorite traps. This similar theme is also presented in Matthew 13:22 and Luke 8:14.

When we initially accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we freely enter into the first phase of discipleship. As new disciples of Jesus Christ, we must learn how we are expected to live in a way that pleases the one who bought us. 1st Corinthians 6:19. [at this time] “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” Since we literally sold ourselves in exchange for eternal life, we now belong to Christ, and therefore we are obligated to obey all His detailed instructions. As His disciples, there is only one authority as to where we can learn what is expected of us: the New Testament (NT) of the Christian Bible. Let us make sure we have an up-to-date Bible with our modern language and not one of antiquity, like the King James Bible. There are several good ones; I prefer the New International Version.

Now for those who believe they are Christians and disciples of Christ, and are standing firm in the Lord, without an intimate knowledge of our instructions in the NT; take warning It just may be, your faith is in vain and useless. Repeating, all the instructions in the NT are of absolute necessity to know and obey. Because it is by our obedience to His commands which is conclusive evidence that we belong to the Son of God. If we are not producing good fruit/deeds/works--they are one and the same--regardless how much and how loud we shout from the roof tops that we are Christians, we are being tricked/deceived (in the devil’s trap) without knowing it. It is impossible to be genuine Christians if we are not heading in that direction of knowledge and obedience. If anyone has a legitimate argument with what is being said herein, please leave a comment or send an email.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I strongly suggest everyone to read the complete NT or listen to it via CDs at the minimum of once a month; the exception is the book of Revelation. If you have never read it before, read it once, just so you know basically how confusing and extremely difficult, if not impossible, most sections are to understand. Of course chapter 2 and 3 are informative, concerning the seven churches, as to what God hates and glories in. Even though I think most of you have in past times read the NT; notwithstanding, unless you have a photographic memory, much of what is of extreme importance will/may be forgotten. Just remember, we are not just talking about the ins and outs of religion, this is a matter of your life and death, and I am not excluded.

As we continually to listen or read the NT and become familiar with its contents, we will notice contradictions especially in the four gospels. Do not let that trouble anyone. Those errors do not take away from the holiness, love and purity of God and Christ, or the basis of Godly authority in the NT. The most likely reason why one gospel is different than another is because several centuries before any manuscripts were copulated by the early church in the third and fourth century, many people attempted to formulate the facts surrounding the life of Jesus. Apart from the four gospels we now have, there were many more accounts written of the life of Jesus Christ. They were rejected as being inconsistent with the four that seemed to be most creditable. Luke 1:1. “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, . . .” And besides that, the gospels and epistles were written, some possibly from memory, 20 to 40 and even more years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Then in 315 AD, after years of squabbling over what letters and gospels were to be included in the Holy Canon, Atheanius, a powerful, early church leader, was influential enough to finally recommend that only 27 books be included as the NT. They remain to this day. That seems to indicate, that individual gospels/letters of the NT were floating around from church to church for over two centuries. Therefore, during that time, human error or intentional changes have taken their toll. Evidence of those individuals letters moving from one church to another is seen in several places, but none are more evident than in the first verses of the books of James and 1st Peter. James 1:1. “James, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:” 1st Peter 1:1. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” If anyone desires more information on this subject, click on post # 110: “Contradictions and Uncertainties.”

The good thing about knowing that these errors exists is that no one can surprise us by throwing them into our faces, such as atheists or those who just wants to rattle our faith. Another good that can come out of these inconsistencies is if someone doesn’t really believe or has a meager faith, these errors will be a good excuse for them to forsake their religion. Good riddance

Back to the main subject: Even though living in a way which pleases God and Christ can not save us, it is absolutely necessary as confirmation that our faith is real, without any mealy-mouth excuses. Actually, it is impossible to live a holy life without the information of what Christ commands, which is available only in the NT. Some might say, “But I pray, go to church, watch Christian programing on TV etc. Isn’t that enough to prove that I am a Christian?” An astounding no! That is the reason Christianity is in the sad shape it is in. Don’t believe all that some preachers of trickery teach, what Christian books exclaim, or even this Biblical blog, even though I elaborate or try to explain the full impact of many of Christ’s teaching.

Some might ask, “How then were people saved in the middle or dark ages or even before, when Bibles were forbidden to be in the possession of the common people?” That is a good question. The only answer I can give is that God is just, and if a person’s heart is right, I am sure exceptions have/will be made. But now that Bibles are a dime a dozen, those exceptions cannot be made for ignoring God’s Word.

Another reason why Christianity has become a passive religion is because we do not obey these upcoming command and many others like them: 1st Corinthians 15:58. “Therefore, my brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Hebrews 10:24. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” That is one of the main intentions of this blog.

This is worthy of repeating: the only way we can protect ourselves, or better yet, allow God to protect us from Satan’s trickery and trap is to become familiar with all the instructions in the New Testament as to what is good and what may not appear to be evil, but still is ungodly and of the devil. When we are in the devil’s trap, we, most likely, will be the last ones to know it, since the devil makes his schemes seem acceptable and many times even godly. We must never forget this fact: the devil’s business is deceit. The sad part of deceit is that we all are being deceived--hopefully in a small way--in one way or another, regardless how holy we may believe we are. The thing is to expose our own deceits by living as close as possible to every word taught in our instruction book, the NT. Another thing: no one can get all he/she need to follow the way of holiness and love from going to any church, regardless how good and decent it may be. It is our own personal responsibility to get it straight from the horses mouth, as it were. The reason I say that is because quite often some of the imperative but seemingly impossible-to-adhere-to commands are not mentioned from most pulpits, so as not to lose church members.

Several of those pivotal verses come to mind, the ones we most often are guilty of, concerning living as part of this self-centered world. “Though we live in the world, we are not to be part of the world; 1st John 2:15-17. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has or does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” Personally, this command poses no difficulties for me, but may be a great sacrifice for some.

This next verse is one of the most difficult for me to obey: Colossians 3:1-2. “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” The reason this is difficult for me is because I take this verse literally. The word ‘set’ is what gives this verse teeth; it doesn’t mean occasionally but constantly.

There are so many worldly chores that have to be done in life where one must put his/her mind completely on what one is doing, which may have nothing to do with ‘things above.’ Therefore, we must attempt to get engaged in as few things as humanly possible that take our minds off heavenly things. No matter how I look at it, this, I believe is the most difficult command to conform to in the NT. This command is one where the evil-one can have a heyday (the devil’s trap). He loves it when we somehow have our minds on important earthly things and not on Godly things.

# 257: Stunning Short Notes and One Liners

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:38:00 +0000

This is a repeat of post # 140 which was first published on 4/16/06. As I reread it recently, I was impressed with some of the mind provoking truths it presents. I believe new bloggers may also be impressed.

What follows are a few short themes for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Many are something of an encapsulation of issues already covered in this blog. Others were more briefly touched upon, while some are new concepts. Study them; live them; they are great jumping-off points in one’s Christian walk.

In the Christian life, the main, if not the only, way to put prosperity and wealth in its proper place, is to actually start experiencing the holy life of Jesus Christ.

Having Christ-like belief leaves little room for ego.

Only a big person who knows how important he/she really is, can be truly humble without fear of losing any of his/her greatness.

Don't tell me about Christ, show me Christ.

To love people as Christ would, is to tell and give them what they need and not what they think they need, or want. In most cases this kind of love will be blatantly rejected and called judgmental.

Do you know exactly on what day Christ will return to Earth, not in the sense that one can mark it on the calendar? Read on. We know that Jesus Christ will return at the end of time to square-things-up with Mankind. If, at a given time, there was the remotest possibility that several more people would believe Him and be saved if He waited a few more days, would He wait? Certainly! He would wait and He will wait until the world is so evil that there is absolutely no chance of even one more person repenting and believing in Him. That is the day He will return. I think we are getting close to that day, don't you?

I want to ask you a two part question. Don’t tell anyone your answer, but you must give yourself an honest answer, right from your heart. Don’t lie and tell yourself something that will make you feel good. If you do, you will only be cheating yourself. If your answer makes you feel bad, it might be closer to the truth. Here are the questions. 1) What is the most valuable thing/things in your life? 2) What is the greatest desire or aspiration in your life? By giving yourself honest answers you have revealed who your god is, your source of worship and the name of your true religion.

The name of my religion for years has been “self interest”--staying young and healthy--in the name of good and God. What a rude awaking I got when I found out. Now, my God is Jesus Christ. My life now displays Him as my source of worship.

When Christians are certain of their future, they can borrow from that future to meet present day needs. In other words, since many live in the past, why can’t they live in the glorious future? Our belief in what the future will be is converted into reality by our faith.

How do you think Jesus Christ felt, being the Son of God? How do you think we should feel, by faith, having been given the same status as Jesus, which is being clones-of-Christ-in-the-making? Of course, we should feel the same way He did. When we do, O what power we will have to believe and love as He did. Then we can rightly say ‘Look out world here we come.’

One of the biggest crimes against God that one of His own can commit is to waste time on things that do not spiritually enrich our lives, even good, innocent and important as they may seem and more.

We are not made Christ-like as a means in itself, but for God to bless others through us.

When we say we are Christians but our lives do not display Christ, what evidence remains to substantiate our claim?

It is immoral not to help those who truly have needs and actually cannot help themselves. Conversely, it is immoral to enable those whose needs are fraudulent.

When we suffer for the cause of Christ, He actually shares our pain with us.

To know the truth of Jesus Christ is great, but that truth must be put into practice to be of any value. To know this truth, which makes one feel knowledgeable and important of sorts, without having a desire or ability to live it, is much more deadly than not knowing any truth at all. In other words, the deception of having knowledge of the truth and thinking it is of value, without applying it, is a greater deception than being deceived by ignorance of that truth. Are any of us guilty of this?

When someone loves you in truth, their love is like a magnet; it can either attract or repel, hurt or bless. You choose.

Any religious worship is false if it doesn't bring us closer to God so that the world can see Christ more clearly through our lives.

Our personal defeats are a great instructor in that they can bring us to Christ and His victorious life.

When we purposely do not do all the good we can in our Christian life, will grace take up the slack? I don’t think so. Grace enables us to apply our maximum effort.

What and where a person is at present is not as important to God as the future. He looks at the true desires of one’s heart.

When we love someone they are our business. Since they are our business, THEIR NEEDS ARE OUR DEBTS. Pour our lives into theirs. Love makes unity.

Grace does not release us from the responsibility to give our all; in fact, when we start to understand the value of grace, we realize that grace empowers us to give our all.

Satan has the ability to mimic, through his people, all that God does through His people. This is a solemn warning to examine the motives behind any life.

A face is worth a thousand words: As Abe Lincoln said years ago, “By the time a man is forty, he is responsible for what his face looks like.”

Debt is the worst kind of hidden poverty, since one usually doesn’t recognize it as poverty. If that is the case, this country is in sad shape with its $ 8 trillion debt and counting. It will be our downfall.

God hates it when we replace Him with religious rituals and formalities.

We all need attention. When our attention comes to us from God through faith, we don't need attention from men/women.

Although a clear conscience does not justify us in God's sight, we need a clear conscience as to our lifestyle to make sure we are not working for the enemy without knowing it.

What is of greatest value in one's life, will take over and control that life.

A person can experience the future in the present when one is sure of what the future will be.

When we are living in God's will, everything that happens to us is according to God's will, because He is in control. Praise The Lord.

No one is able to know Jesus Christ or even have a desire to do so, as long as any self-interest (ego) dominates that life.

The closer one gets to being like Jesus Christ, the more one will be misunderstood by the religious. It’s a very reliable barometer.

The face with a smile that is genuine, will continue to smile even after it is slapped.

I read good in all that God allows to happen to me.

The sin that doesn't seem like sin to us, especially the kind we theologically rationalize, will get us if we don't recognize it as the sin it is.

To have God's love is to treat everyone equally, regardless of how we feels about them.

A person’s teaching must spring from one's Christian life that is lived in bleief and obedience to God, and not merely from religious books written by others, otherwise words get passed on and then become the criteria for Christianity. Repeating, teaching must be based on Christian truth and truth must be experienced to have any value, in God’s sight.

The seal or mark of the presence of God's Spirit in a person is the holiness and love in one's life that springs from belief.

God never fails us, it is we who fail when we don't continue to believe and obey with our lives.

If there is no controlling, dominating purpose and direction in a person’s life, then there is no real reason for life, just existence.

Miracles are not for the comfort of the church, but to display the greatness and power of God in His people and all for His glory.

If obedience to His commands is LOVE for God, then disobedience to His commands is HATE for God. Amen.

The relationship we will have with Christ in eternity can be ours now through faith. In fact, we must experience it now, if even in a small way, to live as He requires.

When God gives someone more than he needs, though it may seem deserved since it came by his/her effort, it is to be used for others in need or to promote the gospel, and not for one’s pleasure or security.

An unbeliever grows older until final death. A believer grows newer day by day, as he/she grows into the likeness of Christ, and culminates with true life at the end of spiritual growth in this temporal life.

I don't want to go to that church: they are a bunch of nuts. They actually love their neighbor as themselves. Is this said of your church?

The big difference between true Christianity and all of the other religions is they may center on the desire to live a selfless life through self-improvement, whereas Christianity’s primary goal is to know and love God and care for others.

Only by doing what one believes, does one become what one believes.

Every Christian needs to believe the Father as Jesus did and then demonstrate Him to the world with the power of Jesus.

When someone does not give in to any of the body’s desires, excluding the essentials for existence, then one can be assured that they are living in Christ.

All doubt comes from the Devil. Everyone who doubts what God says is doing the Devil’s work. God says, “Love others.” Satan says, “Love and care for self.”

The truth doesn’t get much more hard-edged than the aforementioned. God bless all who take it to heart.

# 256: The Kingdom of God is Within You

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:53:00 +0000

I was inspired to explore this profound truth and the depth of implications it can reveal; even though I do not feel qualified to do so. Regardless how inadequate I feel; I must start.

The basic truth it suggests is that the love, holiness and all other Godly attitudes which are in God’s kingdom in heaven, are available to anyone on earth who through faith, love and obedience are genuine disciples of Christ. That would make our planet a place where God and His holiness abide through His children. That, by all means is the loftiest goal anyone can strive for. But is that even possible? Yes The answer is no matter how much we do to promote the cause of Christ, we could do more. There are no limits in experiencing God’s goodness. This tells me, we as God’s children have our work/obligation cutout for us.

The aforementioned statement says that when we are in the company of a truly Godly person, we are in the midst of God’s kingdom. It is like being in the presence of Jesus Christ. We are vibrant, active ambassadors for God. That leaves no room for goofing-off.

Colossians 1:22. “. . . the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.”

Could there be a more splendid lifestyle? Absolutely not. Then what are we waiting for? Let us get our butts off the couch and make this holy goal a reality. It won’t be easy to even start on this path of God’s holiness, and thus fulfill Scripture and our spiritual potential. By the way, with the Spirit’s help, it will take every bit of spiritual backbone we can muster up. Let us not forget, the more difficult the challenges life gives us in accomplishing our Godly potential, the greater the glory for God, Jesus Christ and all His holy ones. This and only this will display to all that the kingdom of God is really in us. We are the only ones who will be qualified to tell the world by our lives and words, the grandeur of living, empowered by the kingdom of God which is within us. Never forget this promise: 2 Peter 1:4. “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world by evil desires.” Also a promise of confidence. Phillipians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.

The first thing we must do is to get intimately familiar with all the instructions in the New Testament, so we through our second nature, know what we must do and not do. Of course, we can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without God’s Spirit we are nothing in God’s sight and can do nothing, regardless how much some “Christians” may shout to the contrary.

Acts 17:11: ‘Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Only thing, there is one pending difficulty: our sinful human nature. It is strong and desires its own way; not that it can’t be subdued. Here are a few tips that will help us be victors: Separate ourselves from the attitudes and desires the people of this world have. This won’t happen overnight. The best way to do this is to fill ourselves with spiritual matters, to the point where we won’t have the time and hopefully the desire to engage in them.

Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set you minds on things above, not on earthly things.

The hardest activity to conquer will, most likely, be television. The vast majority of programs on TV are ungodly junk, even on public television. Another thing is to break ourselves from worldly activities, which have nothing to do with acquiring holiness. This will be more difficult if there are children/child in the family or a non-Christian spouse.

1st John 2:15-16. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

One of human nature’s strongest desires is to be ‘king-of-the -hill.’ Being a disciple of Christ, taking the lowest place is what we must strive for and be servant of all. This type of attitude doesn’t set well with Americans who have been taught to go for the highest place. The reason for this attitude is humility never comes from the ones on top. The display of humility is love, and love without humility is a sly form of arrogance.

Matthew 18: 1-5. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Also, Mark teaches the same principle: 9:35. “Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant of all.”

We must learn to do for others instead of wanting others to do for us. I will use a play on words spoken by President John F. Kennedy. Ask not what God can do for you; rather, ask what God can do through you for others. 1st Corinthians. 6:20. “You are not our own; you were bought at a price. . . .” In other words, let us not be concerned how our standing is with Christ, rather let us be concerned with how others are doing with Christ. Genuine Christianity is to make a whole hearted effort to cater to the spiritual and material needs of others. After that we can care for our own needs. This teaching may sound strange to some, but remember, it comes from the kingdom of God that live within us, and is not of this world.

Philippians 2:3-5. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

We must love where love is not deserved, they are the ones who need it the most. Only one thing, if we listen to our human intellect, they are the ones we may resist helping, for one reason or another.

Ephesians 4:22-24. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

As most of us can tell, if and when the kingdom of God is within us, it will not be your typical Christian life as we see it in America or the world. It is a life where self is left behind and God’s Spirit is brought to life.

1st Corinthians 15: 58. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor in the lord is not in vain.”

Living life when the kingdom of God is within us is liken to putting money into God’s bank. What I am getting at is this: are all the aforementioned edicts absolutely necessary to get to heaven? I will answer that strawman question this way: it all depends where a person stands. Is one living for God’s interest or for self interest? There is no in between. We are either for Christ or against Him. And to have love for Christ means we will make every possible effort in every possible way to live to the point where we can honestly say, it is not I who live but Christ lives in me. That is exactly what the apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

When we have the kingdom of God within us, it will be our desire to please God in every thing we say, do and think. Of course, as mentioned previously, we must know what we are required to do and not do in order to please Him. That knowledge can come from only one source: the New Testament, and not so much from what religion per se, teaches us.

There is one conundrum of sorts: regardless how much effort we make in pleasing our God and Father, we who have the kingdom of God within us, will at all times be in the constant need of more and more of God’s grace and mercy; the holier we become the more we will be aware of that need. That is not an excuse for compromise, but to live our lives in the holiest and purest way possible. The Christian meaning of holiness is to separate ourselves from as many things and attitude as possible, that do not enrich our relationship with Christ. If we do compromise our efforts, others will be affected adversely who hold us as role models.

I will leave you with several more New Testament verses which imply to the greatness of living in the kingdom of God which is within us.

1st John 4:12. “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Galatians 4:19. “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of child-birth until Christ is formed in you.”

Ephesians 5:1-2. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us . . .”

1st Thessalonians 3:13. “May he strengthen your heart so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

In conclusion: this post can be condensed into one paragraph: when we have the Holy Spirit of God actively living in us, we will live in such a holy way which assures us, and confirmed by God’s Spirit that the kingdom of God is within us. It is an actual prelude of eternity in which we experience the Godly ecstasy of the kingdom of God/heaven on earth. It must be experienced to be known, just as much as the joy of love making cannot be known until sexual maturity is reached. Amen

#255: Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Webster’s definition of the word ‘thorn’: 3 anything that keeps troubling, vexing, irritating one, like a constantly pricking thorn: usually in the phrase ‘thorn in one’s side’ (or flesh). As to what the Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, as described in 2nd Corinthians 12:7, other than a gnawing discomfort, has been a puzzle for most who desire to have a clear-cut answer. And yet, there seemed to be no concise answer. Nevertheless, there are many pieces to that puzzle; and when those pieces are all coalesced, an answer seems to emerge. This subject may not interest many, but others would like a creditable answer to this intriguing question that has been no more than a poor case of mere speculation.

In this post, I will let the New Testament speak for itself. I will use over a dozen New Testament verses that are interconnected.

Paul was an extremely zealous Pharisee, a strict observer of the mosaic law, as were other Pharisees. His name was changed from Saul to Paul after he became a believer in Jesus Christ--a new life, a new name.

Before Paul’s conversion, as he was on the road to Damascus--Acts 9th Chapter--he was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. In fact, he was going to Damascus to get permission from the high priest to imprison all who belonged to the Way (an early group of Jewish Christians). When Paul was nearing Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. The light was so brilliant that it blinded him, so that he had to be lead by the hand. Jesus spoke to him of what he must do to promote the cause of Jesus Christ. In short, that was the beginning of his conversion to Christianity. While in Damascus, a man named Ananias was commanded by a holy vision to place his hands on Paul’s eyes to restore his sight. Ananias replied,” This is the man that has done much harm to your saints.” Nevertheless, he placed his hands on Paul; then Paul could see again, but apparently his vision was still impaired to some degree.

Some believe it was Paul’s poor eyesight that was his thorn. There are three verses that imply that Paul’s eyesight was not the best.

Galatians 6:10. “You see what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand ”

Romans 16:22. “I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.” (He wrote the letter of Romans for Paul). Most likely, it was difficult for Paul too write.

Galatians 4:15. “I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” Again, this implies that Paul’s eyes were impaired. Therefore, it is understandable why some believe it was Paul’s eyesight that was his thorn.

Another wild guess was that it was Paul’s wife that was his thorn, since he was away from home much of the time. Only thing, no where in Scripture does it give even a hint of Paul being married. This guess doesn’t pass ‘the smell test’, to say the least.

There is another train of thought that has been floating around–mostly by men, that turns my stomach. It is that Paul had a weakness when it came to sensual desires. This belief is farther from the truth than heaven is from hell. I am certain those who believe this way are the very ones who need an excuse to somehow justify their weakness when it comes to moral conduct. I will unequivocally refute that belief by bringing up two sections of Scripture.

First) 1st Corinthians Chapter 7. In this Chapter, he is giving instructions on how men and women must conduct themselves in marriage and its implications. Then he talks about it would be better if they stay single, but if they can’t control themselves to marry. Then in verse 6, this is what he says, “I wish that all men were as I am.” The implication here is that he is single and has no need or desire for women or marriage. Never once in any of his letter to the churches is it even implied of him being a womanizer or of being married.

Second) In Romans 7th Chapter there are several of the most misunderstood verses in the complete New Testament; and that heresy had done more damage to Christianity than any other false teaching. I have been so upset about how this section of Scripture has been so perverted, that I wrote a complete post on this very section. # 130: “The knack of Making Sin Acceptable”.

If one is not familiar with the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament, much of post #130 will sound like Greek. Not to confuse anyone, it might be best for some to skip this complex and extremely long post, until better and more complete knowledge of what the Bible is about, has been acquired.

I will summarize that complete post in a few concise sentences. In the Old Testament, some of the great prophets of God, often use the personal, pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’ to denote the nation of Israel, especially when Israel went astray from God’s commands. In that post I quoted many of those Old Testament verses. That is exactly what Paul did; he spoke the same as old Testament prophets , using the singular pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’ to refer to Israel. When people (Gentiles) who were/are not familiar/aware of that type of writing, think Paul is writing about himself. Repeating: when Paul says ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’, he, without a doubt, meant the nation of Israel. He starts in Romans Chapter 7 verse 18 and ends in verse 20. Please read it for yourself. I will only quote verse 18-19. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, but the evil I do not what to do–this I keep on doing.”

In conclusion to the three dubious theories of Paul’s thorn in the side, I now will display what, most certainly, is his thorn. First. I want everyone to imagine they did something that was very bad, and possibly, out-of-charter to do, it was very shameful and horrid act in your past life, something that adversely affected the lives of other in a very harmful way. You might have acted in innocence or actually were malicious. Either way, you were completely forgiven. And even though you were forgiven, the memory and realistic images of the people you hurt or killed--like in an auto accident–-are still constantly on your mind. You just can’t forgive yourself. This thought pattern torments you night and day. You just can’t get free of it.

Now, attempt to put yourself in the place of the Apostle Paul as a zealous Pharisee, before he was converted to Christianity. At this time, without his knowledge, Paul was doing Satan’s work in the name of Jehovah. This goes to show that religious people can unintentionally be on the evil-one’s side. He sanctioned the execution of Stephen, one of God’s great holy men. He persecuted and put many who believe in Jesus Christ in jail, and had others put to death–Act 22:4.

Let me quote a dozen or so verses, showing after he became a Christian himself, the images of those He persecuted just wouldn’t go away; he just couldn’t get the hatred he had and all the harm he has done to the people he now loves, out of his sight nor off his mind. The reason this is evident is by the many times he brought up these painful incidents in his many letters to the churches. Those persecuted people are the very ones he lovingly dealt with, after Jesus Christ made him the lead apostle in the difficult task of converting the Gentiles to Christianity.

Here are the verses that imply his past sins against Christ’ Church continually haunted him, and this remorse is his thorn in the flesh. See if you don’t agree. The following is paraphrased from 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10. The reason Christ gave Paul this thorn–-although Paul called it ‘a messenger of Satan’--is so he would not become conceited, because all the great work Christ is doing through him, and his surpassing great revelations from God. When Paul asked the Lord three times to take it away, the Lord said to him, “ My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” There is the clue: the word ‘grace’. Grace has to do mainly, if not exclusively, with forgiveness of past sins (being made acceptable and perfect in God’s sight). That tormenting guilt is exactly what he needed to keep him humble. That phrase ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ implies, Paul’s feeling of remorse will/can never separate him from the love and need–-yes need--God has for him.

1 Timothy 1:15. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” Meaning: no one persecuted the early Christians more then him. He is still the chief of sinner; nevertheless, a forgiven chief of sinner.

Philippians 3:6. “. . . as for zeal, persecuted the church;”

Acts 22:4. “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their DEATH, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.”

1st Corinthians 15:9. “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Acts 22:19. “Lord, I replied, these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarded the clothed of those who were killing him.”

Acts 8:3. “But Paul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”

Galatians 1:13. “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.”

1 Timothy 1:13. “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”

Acts 9:1. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogue in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

That murderer, devoted to God’s law, who persecuted the Jews that he felt were violating what the old Testament Scripture commanded, was turned by Christ into a man who in Romans 13:9-10, said this: “. . . Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” And He also said this in Romans 12:20. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink, . . .”

You decide for yourself if the above verses are a legitimate reason for Paul’s thorn in the flesh (the vivid memories of past crimes against Jesus Christ). Leave me a comment.

I end with this conclusion: the crux of Paul’s thorn is twofold: showing us, no matter how bad or violent one’s past is/was, God’s grace and mercy can erase it all, although the memory may still haunt the individual. God’s grace and mercy is like getting a cheap piece of the metal (lead) and turning it--clash bam allacazam--into a beautiful, shiny piece of valuable gold.

Also, when God blesses a person to do great work for Him, a thorn of some sort may be the best remedy to keep a person humble and void of conceit.

# 254: Advantages of Living Godly Lives

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:41:00 +0000

This post will, no doubt, be the most encouraging post so far in this blog. Most often I report on the shortcomings of traditional religions, which is truly needed. Without a doubt, there are many advantages that are derived from conforming to the ways of Jesus Christ, in comparison to the good things which are offered and taught by this ‘me-first’ world. There are so many advantages that I don’t know where to start. By all means, the greatest advantage is that genuine Christians have complete confidence in a hope that is sure; that hope is for life in the hear-after which is immeasurably superior to what this world offers. Hope is an attribute that makes life worthwhile. The greater and more certain the hope, the more meaningful and enjoyable life will be.

One emotion the people of this world lack is a joy that overrides all of the disappointments that are bound to come. They may have happiness, the only thing, happiness always depends on good events that are happening or have happened. The permanent joy the Lord gives through His Holy Spirit has its sights on what good things are to come: seeing Jesus Christ face to face. By not depending on “good things” in this world, we automatically have the advantage of looking forward to eternal treasures and pleasures. This type of joy must be experienced to even start understanding what is being said.

In America, not much, if any, physical suffering will be inflicted on Christians by others, because of our freedom of religion. What we will experience is being a pariah and treated with scorn by those who think we are religious nuts (out of our mind). That type of suffering I enjoy; in fact, it brings a euphoric blast to my heart.

In countries where the Christian religion is looked down on, or outlawed, the physical suffering by outsiders may be extreme. Still, joy will be in their/our hearts with the blessed possibility that we will be in the presence of our Lord and Savior because of our pending martyrdom for Jesus Christ.

Even though God loves all people and desires all to be saved, we are taught by Scripture that God has a very special love for His children. As He is the Father of all obedient Christians, it brings confidence to those who are proud of having such a powerful and influential Parent. Also, it feels great to know that we are in His care at all times. Is there a better joy that anyone can experience than to know for certain that he/she is loved and cared for by the most powerful entity in the whole universe? There is no doubt there are many more advantages for disciples of Christ. Here are a few more.

Having a roadmap for life is one of the most valuable assets in the Christian life. And that is exactly what we have. That guidance comes in two forms from the New Testament and the guidance we receive from God’s Spirit. They are never in conflict.

John 16:13. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Luke 78-79. “. . . because of the tender mercy of our God . . . to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

That is a great advantage God’s children have over the people of this world. Only one thing, we must make sure the inspiration we are listening to is not the spirit of this world. Just remember, that evil spirit comes with sweet words and presents himself as an angel of light. Most often we can tell who he is because his inspirations are not in accordance with New Testament Scriptures. That is an excellent reason to be thoroughly familiar with our holy instruction book; that is if we wholeheartedly desire to do what is right, and thus please our Savior in every way.

By the way we life, we will bring the Word of God to life. Then and only then, those who also desire to live a holy life, will have us as their model and mentor. That is the best if not the only way to propagate the life of Jesus Christ. The holy life Jesus Christ lived and the words He taught will be our guide to God’s blessed eternity.

One of the most misunderstood advantages we have is we can avoid, with little or no effort, the main thrust of this materialistic, self-centered world, which is that Christians don’t need or desire all the material trappings the pagan world goes after. For instance, things that impress others, like shiny new motor vehicles, big homes in upper-class neighborhoods, always going places and doing things, having more than enough money to blow on anything and everything to show others that they are better than them, etc. We will be content with the least of everything; all we need is the minimum amount of clothing, shelter and food. If we have these we will be more than content with them. We carry very little worthless baggage. For certain, at the same time, we must work and do all we can so as not to be in need and burden other Christians.

1st Timothy 6:8. “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

Those who get entangled with an excess of worldly things such as a desire to get rich, etc. are on a path that leads to destruction.

1st Timothy 6:9-10. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Not having a desire to compete or trying to put ourselves above others is one of the greatest advantages we have over non-Christians. We are not concerned with what people think of us; their opinions mean absolutely nothing to us. Rather, we at all times desire to please our commanding officer: Jesus Christ.

Much of my adult life, I was a man of the world. Whatever standards the world set for success, I attempted to follow. I was in a trap that could not be satisfied until I came into the path of freedom that God alone can give. The reason is materialistic attitudes or things, be what they may, can not satisfy the spirit person inside us all. Unknown to most humans, we are spirit beings with physical bodies.

The ways of the world are cruel. The reason they are that way is because it is a dog-eat-dog world, regardless how much one dresses it up as wonderful or paints it pretty.

I don’t often use Bible verses that are made infamous by traditional churches, by being over quoted and under practiced. Nevertheless, these two upcoming verses say much concerning this post and the advantages we have by living a Godly and holy life as taught by Jesus Christ.

Matthew 11:28-29. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Did you notice, these verses do not include the wealthy or the wannabe wealthy.

In conclusion, regardless how modern Christians present themselves, for the most part, they are living lies. What I mean is this: it is difficult if not impossible to separate or tell the difference between atheists and run-of-the-mill Christians, either by their appearance or casually visiting with them. That is an indictment that may tell on them at the resurrection. Our advantage is to have the desire and power to live and speak as the New Testament teaches, which has benefits not only in this world, but also in the world to come.

This is a comment worthy of being read by all the bloggers.

JC, I have come upon your blog this evening, as I was putting the final touches on my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. My church is currently without a senior minister, and I am concerned we are heading in the direction of “fluff” Christianity or Christianity “lite” where God’s grace and forgiveness are thrown out as a “get out of jail free” card instead of something to be earned and respected. I do not believe Christianity should be a meaningless love feast, like Woodstock In Jesus’s two greatest commandments, He instructed us on how to love with purpose. Christianity was never designed to be a “feel good” religion where anything goes. As you stated repeatedly, there are instructions - and awesome ones, at that on how to be a proper Christian that God gifted to us through his son Jesus Christ.

I am probably preaching to the choir here. I just wanted to tell you that I will visit your site often and am going to give our the web address tomorrow in Sunday School. While I haven’t read everything you’ve written so far, you are speaking what is in my heart and putting a finger on my disappointments in churches, as of late. The other side of “Christian lite” are the churches that ignore Christ’s commandments on loving our neighbor and absolutely are missing the ball on loving Him first and foremost, as they slyly breed hate toward those whose behaviors they do not understand (nor try to). Half the Christian churches are pushing many far from Christ and the other half are forgetting all about Christ I want to see us put Him back in the center and gravitate toward Him rather than leaving Him in a backroom somewhere prior to entering the pulpit.

I appreciate what you are doing and think it is extremely timely and necessary. I look very much forward to reading more of what you have to say.

Thank you

Rachel

jc said: Rachel, thank you very much for your encouraging words. jc

# 253: Religion Gone Bad

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:20:00 +0000

# 253: Religion Gone Bad There are thousands of religions in our world that claim to be true, yet, the majority of those religions come up short when it comes to the criteria that identifies a religion that is true. The question comes up; what is truth? That is the question Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor asked.

If there is one dominating truth, it is something that is good for every human being, regardless of race, creed, color, age, nationality, education or whatever else can separate us. That Godly truth is that everyone should have selfless love for each other. This statement paints a lofty picture of a seemingly unattainable pie-in-the-sky type aspiration.

Yet, the Christian religion was meant to be the religion of truth. Only thing, the New Testament that diligently described that truth has been compromised to the point where it no longer is taught in the vast majority organized religion. The crying shame is we hear the words ‘love and truth’ throughout many religions, but when it comes to putting that principle into practice, they come up null and void. That could be characterized as bad religion.

As has been quoted many times in this blog, that principle originates from the most basic teachings of Jesus Christ. In Luke 10:25, Jesus was asked by an expert in the law. “Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered, . . . how do you read it?” The expert in the law answers in the following verses: Luke 10:27-28. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live.” That love for God and neighbor is the absolute truth that must be the holy-grail for everyone who calls themselves Christians.

The extent that Godly truth has been compromised by none other than the greatest Christian preacher in the world, was Billy Graham. He was engaged in a crusade in 1987 in Nova Scotia. After he quoted the aforementioned verses, this is what he adamantly said: “No one in the whole world has ever kept those two commands.” After that he said no more about the most important precepts in the Christian Bible. What he did with the wave of his hand and words that flowed from his mouth was to nullify the centerpiece/foundation of all Christianity. Without question, disregarding what Graham said, it must be our main focus to love God and neighbor to the best of our ability for our entire lives, while striving to love God and neighbor to a greater degree every day as we continue to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That statement is what it means to love God with our complete being. That is the absolute truth, without compromise. Anything less than that is bad religion.

Here is a way we can spot most phonies: When people speak well of certain clergymen/women, that is a sure sign of their evil intent. Luke 6:26. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” Preaching exactly what the New Testament teaches will never win anyone a popularity contest. Therefore, I don’t expect many accolades from some readers of this blog.

When love is no more than a byword/slogan, the result is the reason why Christianity is in the shape it is in. That is Christianity gone bad, while singing the praises of Jesus. This heresy of making little of love for God and neighbor bothers me more than words can tell. By the way, there are dozens of verses which teach that the only way we can display our love for God with all our faculties is to be obedient to all the teachings presented in the New Testament. I will quote just two verses: Luke 11:28. “He replied, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” 1st John 5:3. “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” Also, there are many verses that make it obvious that we must love those in need. I will quote just one verse. 1st John 3:17. “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Truth can also be described as being a person, namely Jesus Christ. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” Through Him, truth is personified. As the love Christ has for humanity continues to grow in our lives, we have the right/duty to also personify the truth by saying, “Watch my life, hear my words and you will see truth in action.” Do you think a preacher of any large denomination would have the audacity to challenge his/her parishioners to live the truth as described in Scripture? Don’t hold your breath. In truth, God entrusted all His disciples to spread the truth of the gospel. That is exactly where churches per se, have failed miserably.

Being a disciple of Christ gives us the greatest duty that any person could ever acquire. It is our responsibility to show the lost world what truth is; thus exposing the lies of Satan’s bad religion. Do we do that? A whopping no! Why not? Because, as we were taught by compromised religion, that is not our duty. What most churches teach half truth, which is worse than no truth at all. Why I say that is because most of those church-going-religious-people believe they are going to heaven simply because they go to church and somehow think they believe what the Bible teaches. They are badly mistaken. Without an active, whole hearted love for God and neighbor, it is impossible to please God.

Our whole life must be focused on how we can please God and Jesus with our every thought, word and deed. That is the only way we can live the truth. Do we do that? An resounding NO! Why not? Repeating. because bad religion teaches us, that is not necessary. This is a hard teaching. Yet, by the grace of God and His Spirit that lives within us, we will have the desire and power to please God at all times, and not just by doing little or nothing. To put it another way, we will miss-out in the blessings of heaven more so by the good we didn’t do, and not so much by the evil we did do. It is relatively easy not to do evil things, but extremely challenging to live by the requirements that lead to real life.

It is impossible for people who don’t possess the Holy Spirit to live a life of love, regardless what churches teach to the contrary. Please remember, bad religion will sweet talk us because it wants our money and attendance. Therefore, if anyone thinks this teaching is a lot of bunk, God, Christ and I unequivocally say, you don’t have the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Faith, God’s grace and the Holy Spirit are the spiritual equipment necessary to start live in a way that pleases God. Romans 8:9. “You however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” The reason for the above verse is the Holy Spirit is the critical component which gives Christians the power, or better yet, the willpower to live the Christ-like life. Or course, the Spirit activating His will in our lives does not happen automatically; we have to continually desire Him to manifest Himself by our listening to His Holy inspiration.

Along with that, the Holy Spirit makes us one with Christ, God and each other. That is called the unity of the Spirit. John 14:20. “On the day you will realize that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” For that reason, we will never be or feel alone. This presence of God’s Spirit abiding in us will be noticed when we won’t need to be in the company of friends as much as before. This contentment will grow as we continue to live and obey as Scripture dictates.

It will make no sense or logic for those without the Spirit to live and love as Scripture and the Spirit of Christ dictates. And I can understand: I was there at one time. The problem is those without God’s Spirit can’t understand how or why they should consider others better than themselves. The only way anyone can start to understand that Godly principle is to actually start experiencing the way the truth and the life of Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, religion gone bad is rampant. Let us identify if we are part of a religion that leads to damnation and make the necessary changes. I say, no religion is better than bad religion. Amen Try to figure out why that short statement is true. Leave a comment. jc

# 252: Extensions of Jesus Christ

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:26:00 +0000

Christians believe Jesus Christ came to earth to die on a cross to save us from being sent to eternal damnation; which He did. Along with that, Jesus came to show us, by His life, how to live in a way that pleases our heavenly Father. By the life He lived and what He taught, He became an example for all people who call themselves Christians or disciples of Christ. He also became our example for another reason: so that we can become extensions of His life; then future generations will use us as examples of how to live. Christ lived a perfect life. Consequently, with perfection as our holy grail (role model), living the Christian life will be a death defying challenge as we continually strive for a greater degree of perfection.

Some might be thinking to themselves, "How can we become extensions of Christ?" Let Christ reveal a Divine mystery. First, we must realize that Almighty God is an awesome God. In fact, there are no human words that can accurately describe His greatness. He is the God of a universe with no limits. Our solar system and even our Milky-way Galaxy is but a minute speck when compared to that gigantic background. Yet, not many Christians dare speculate to the infinite number of other worlds that have the potential to inhabit intelligent life. The question comes up: how can a God give individuals on the earth special attention to the point of being extensions of Him and his Son?

The answer is simple. Well, not so simple. All the goodness that consists of what God is, could rightfully be summed up as His Spirit; His Spirit exists in countless entities, which the New Testament calls the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit is in limbo until He enters a human being (Christian). When He does enter a person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and conveys it by diligent obedience to the commands of God; at that time He will start to make His existence known to that individual. But never will He violate the freewill of the one He inhabits, even if He could.

That Holy Spirit desires to control every action, thought, desire, ambition and motivation, along with the mind, heart and the complete will of the person He indwells. Repeating. but never will He force any of God's attributes on the one He indwells. Although, He may lovingly coax Christ's ways but with no coercion. The only time the Spirit can do His work is when a person wholeheartedly desires to be changed into a Christ-like individual. When those changes start to manifest themselves, that person is starting to become an extension of Jesus Christ. As that person continues to grow He/she becomes more and more Christ-like; thus, more power will be available so that he or she can and will display to a greater degree, what Christ desires from people who are genuine Christians.

However, there is a problem: when one receives God's Holy Spirit, but there is little or no growth/change in how one lives, that would signify one's faith is not genuine. Anyone who claims to be a Christian and neglects the guidelines of the New Testament is undermining the truth of the gospel for those who will come later. Therefore unwillingly, the Spirit must leave that person, since she/he is deaf to His inspiration. People in that position may believe they are still Christians since they still religiously go to church every Sunday, pay their tithe and are "good" the rest of the week. Nevertheless, without growth into the likeness of Christ, which displays their disconnection with Christ, means they are stagnant; that is a sure sign of death. They don't show any Christ-like characteristics which would verify their extension to the life of Jesus Christ. That is a sad situation. They are the people this blog has been desperately attempting to reach for three years. The only thing is they believe they are already Christians, and since their present religion is satisfying and requires little or no effort, why should they change, thus be burdened and challenged to live as extensions of Christ?

The most important question we could ask is this: how was Jesus able to obey everything His Father commanded Him? John14: 31. " but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Come now; let us leave." The answer is that since Jesus was the possessor of His Father's Holy Spirit, and sharer of God's Divine nature, He was inspired by the love His Father had for Him and the love He had for His Father. Therefore, He was able to believe without a doubt in what His Father said. Hence, because of the certainly of His belief, He accomplished all that His Father commanded.

Let us look at Scriptural evidence that we Christians also are extensions of God and His Christ. First and foremost we must follow the example of how Jesus Christ was able to explicitly obey all that His father commanded. 1st John 2:6. "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." Ephesians 5:1. "Be imitators of God." Philippians 2:5. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." 2nd Corinthians 5:21. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." These verses and several more which display the same precepts are the open secret of why we must emulate the life of Jesus Christ. That must unequivocally be the goal of every serious Christian. One of the reasons God gave us His Holy Spirit as he gave to Jesus, was to inspire us to live like Jesus. The more we love our heavenly Father with all our facilities, the stronger our belief, and the easier it will be to live within all the guidelines of His Word, the Christian Bible. That tells us the way Jesus was connected to God, we also can be connected. That connection is the extension of his life from generation to generation through His disciples (you and I). Every Genuine Christian is one of Christ's disciples. They are one and the same; don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

When we are living as above mentioned, we can be absolutely assured of our destiny, along with making our calling and election sure. 2 Peter 1:10. "Therefore my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall."

If God could inspire Jesus, who was totally human, to have the ability to be completely obedient to all that He said, and thus give Jesus absolutely assurance of His destiny, He can and will do the same to other humans who also have an active desire to be totally obedient to all that He teaches, and thus be given absolute assurance of their Salvation. Assurance of Salvation combined with lack of obedience to New Testament Scripture is a path of complacency that, most likely, will lead to an unexpected death. Another prevalent indication of death in the modern church is a lack of sharing their faith with those without Christ. Philemon 1:6. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."

Anyone who believes they are absolutely certain of their (extension/connection) [extension/connection] with Jesus Christ, have another challenge to think about: they must be faithful and overcome the niceties the world offers until the end of life. Revelation 2:10. "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2:26. "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations." Romans 2:6-7. "God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." [Emphasis added.]

In conclusion, much of this post will not resonate well with most people who call themselves Christian, and with good reason. Why I say that is because the center piece of this post is having an active desire of becoming like Jesus is not an option but mandatory. There is nothing easy about living the lifestyle of the Christ in this pampered and coddled society. Consequently, we cannot be extensions of Christ and still engage in the dictations of our 'anything-goes' American lifestyle.

Let us not forget, if we don't strive to live as Jesus did and still call ourselves Christians, we will be propagating false examples for all other potential Christians. Isn't that what has been happening for the last several hundred years or so?

# 251: The Best Things in Life are Free

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Let us examine what is best for humankind; things that are free which give real and lasting meaning to the way we live. Since this is a Biblical blog, most if not all that will be written herein, will stem from adherence to Biblical precepts.

Wisdom: No doubt, some are born with the ability to think and act wisely. But I believe most who have wisdom acquired it a little bit as at a time. Since all holy wisdom comes from God, He is the one who gives wisdom. Another way of putting it: wisdom that is free of charge, can be gotten by clinging to all that comes from the mouth of God: the Christian Bible. To condense what that is can be summed up in two sentences. To actively worship by believing and obeying all that He teaches, to have an active desire to love Him as he requires, and to have genuine faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. At the same time, to desire the very best, spiritually and materially, for all people, especially the needy, regardless if they are rich or poor, friend or foe. That is wisdom that money can’t buy.

Godly wisdom is to think of all the outcomes which could possibly results, before acting on the spur of the moment. The appropriate action should be, if possible, what is the best for all concerned parties. Remember, wisdom that is from above, will always attempt to include the word love in the equation; without divine love, self, most often, will be the winner and not God, which is not wisdom, but worldly foolishness in the eyes of the Lord. Those who follow this rule will acquire true wisdom free of charge. It is not strange to say that Godly wisdom may sound like stupidity to most those who don’t know Jesus Christ and what He stands for, even though His name may constantly be on their lips .

The greatest free gift of all is the Salvation from damnation that God offers to everyone by His grace, through His Son Jesus Christ. This free gift cannot be had by our own goodness or effort. There is no way a person can be good enough to say, "God save me because I was good and deserved it." It is given freely when a person truly believes in a way that makes Jesus Christ their Lord (boss) and Savior. Isn’t that wonderful; eternal life free of charge. There is a catch however: the only evidence that a person really has possession of this gift is obedience to all that is taught in the New Testament. In other words, there is no obedience without the producing of good fruit. John 15:8. "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Another priceless freebie is a Devine love that can not be conjured up by our own effort. This is the selfless, powerful love that gives us the ability to love when love is not deserved, and in a realm were ordinary human love cannot function. This is a love that many "christians" do not posses, not to mention pagans. Godly love must be given to us directly from God. How do we know we have it? When the welfare of other’s is more important than our own, Devine love is the evidence we truly have faith in Jesus Christ and actually belong to Him. When we live in a way that love for self can be considered as hate, in comparison to our concern for those in need. Then we know with certainty that God’s Holy Spirit is living in us. That free gift of agape love gives us freedom from self concern. That is Christianity in its purist form. Luke 14:26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."

Another attribute we all need is to have peace with ourselves, with others and especially with God. The world could be in turmoil and our peace would remain intact. How do we gain this peace that defies all reasoning? We can’t buy it with money or influence. It is free and comes from God. It is similar to the peace that Jesus Christ had. He knew His destiny, who He was and who He belonged to. When we truly know our destiny, know who we belong to, and live according, one has one of the most valuable gifts in existence. This kind of peace is what is missing in the world today. Without that peace, we will be continually groping around at everything that comes along, hoping to find something that will permanently satisfy our emptiness.

There is much temporal happiness in the world, which comes and goes depending on circumstances. But, what we all need is a joy that withstands all conditions, the bad with the good. This is easer said than done. Some might ask, "How can someone be joyful when they are going through a living hell?" The answer can not be understood unless it is experienced. The worse we have it, the closer we get to what we are longing for. What I mean it is, when things are so bad, we give-up all hope for any good to come to us in this world. Then the day can’t come soon enough to go to a much better place to be with our Lord.

The more highly people thinks of themselves, and possible with good reason, the less patience they will have with the failings of others. And isn’t that what the majority of Americans are striving for? It seems like everyone, in their own way, wants to be a big-shot. Well, that is not the way in it is in the Christian community, or more rightly so, the way it is suppose to be. Patience is a virtue that trouble and hardship brings. There was an old man who always prayed to God for more patience, and the more fervent his prayer, the more trouble came his way. He said to the Lord, "Lord I pray for patience and all I get is trouble." The Lord responded , "The fruit of trouble is patience." In other words, even though patience is free, it comes by way of hardships. When we are able to put ourselves in the shoes of other (empathy) patience is not far off. When people have Godly patience, they can be reassured their life is pleasing to God. Pray for more patience.

Are you and I, kind? Let us not answer that question too quickly. Rather ask ourselves this question: Could we be kinder than we are to people who really don’t deserve our kindness, because of the ungodly lives they may possibly be living? If a person is not kind, one can bet their bottom dollar, they do not belong to Christ. Those of us who are not kind, let us ask ourselves this question: why not? Most likely we are secretly selfish, and lack God’s love in our lives. That may be a hard answer, but nevertheless, most often, the truth. Let us seek God’s love so that we can be kinder.

Another thing that is free for the asking is hope. When someone is living a wretched or mediocre lifestyle, a realistic hope can give that person new life. I don’t mean a hope-so type of hope, like counting on winning the lottery or something of that sort. What I mean is if you had a rich uncle who was seriously ill and his last will and testament was made out to you, now that is realistic hope. That type of hope makes life more bearable. Almighty God offers every one of us a hope that exceeds all other hopes. A hope of eternal life. Even though this hope is free, it demands that we live according to God’s rules. Hope becomes more valuable and valid when life is not going well. In fact, when life is all peaches-and-cream, hope is not necessary; why would anyone need hope when they have it made. And even if there is hope, it, most likely, is a shallow type of hope. That may be the reason eternal life may be nothing but beautiful, empty words to the wealthy. When there is hope, life can endure all things even in extreme situations. Without realistic hope for a better life, life is a dead end. That could be the reason why Jesus said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:20.

Goodness is a virtue that sums up much of the Christian life. One doesn’t have to pay for goodness it is free for the taking. As a matter of fact, without goodness there is no Christian life. Goodness is a direct result of love for God but mostly for all concerned. What I mean, one can’t be good to one person and then say I won’t be good to that person, because I don’t like him/her. True goodness that comes from God is impartial. The love God has for us can be translated into goodness. Luke 18:19. "Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good--except God alone." Yes, our God is a good God. And He is, or should be, our only role-model. Ephesians 5:1. " Be imitators of God, . . ." As we learn of Him, we must start to put it into practice to the best of our ability. The main way love can be made visible is to be good to those in need.

Thankfulness is all but missing in the world today. Whereas it should be most prevalent. This is what I mean: we have so many things to be thankful for, but we take them for granted; that is called complacency. Volumes could be written on this subject; therefore, these few paragraphs won’t even scratch that surface. Being thankful in a conscious way, especially in the spiritual sense, is absolute free and can enrich our lives more than money. That seems to say; when we are not thankful we are robbing ourselves of many joys that are not available to many of us. For instance, does anyone deserve what God so freely gives us through faith? Absolutely not. How often do we think about the great privilege of actually being a child of God?

Once a person repents before God of there wrongdoings and accepts Jesus Christ as their Boss and Savior, they are freely forgiven of all past sins. There are many, many virtues we receive freely from God; that list is too long to explore at this time. Therefore, let me go to the physical benefits we now enjoy in this 21st century which we never give thanks for. Let us compare all the benefits we now have that were not available in the 15th century or before. Let’s me give a short list of things we would be without: no running water, no automatic hot water, no central heating, no indoors toilets, no electricity, that means no computers or other electronic gadgets, no gas or electric powered transportation, no telephones, no garbage collection, no government programs to help the needy, no fresh fruit and vegetable in the winter time, except in warmer climate, no supermarkets or department stores, no paved streets, virtually no health care or much needed medicines, no trains, planes or cars, walking would be the main form of transportation, all clothing is washed by hand, cooking, for the most part, has to be done outside This list could be endless. Are we thankful for all these everyday things, and more, we now take for granted? I don’t think so. Try it; starting being thankful to God for the everyday things we now have that makes life easy. You will be surprised how much that type of attitude can cheer up a person even on a down day.

Of all the attributes in the spiritual life, prayer is my weakest link. Though I do much praying, I could do much, much more. Why is something as easy as prayer difficult for me? I don’t know why. But prayer is a powerful tool to get the attention of God’s ear. I mean prayers followed by action. How much richer our lives could be--I don’t mean material riches --if we would only pray more. It cost us nothing to prayer, only will power. It is no wonder the lives of most Christians are mediocre. They lack active prayer. After today I am going to make every effort to pray much more, not for things for myself but for the benefit of others and the Christian cause. Why don’t you bloggers do the same?

Compassion and empathy are virtues that are vital to getting closer to God. I personally have a natural form of empathy for the hurting (especially, children who are handicapped and also for adults) which is good but it hurts and produces many tears. This form of empathy bothers me because my hands are tied, in most cases, to do anything to help. Another reason why this blog was started is that I hurt and have compassion also for the millions, including some of my relatives, who believe they are Christians but don’t know what the New Testament teaches as how to live in a way to please God, along with a few atheist. If these people don’t somehow wake up to the truth, they will be going to a place of torment for eternity. This bothers me more than most can realize. Repeating, that is why this blog is mostly an emphatic warning bell to many who may think they are saved without giving hell a second thought. The possibly reason for this lethargy is they must believe hell is not real, saying to themselves, "Certainly God wouldn’t send me to a place like that; He is a loving God."

One of the most valuable gestures anyone can give that is absolutely free is to smile more. A smile tells people that you like them. Remember, if one has the joy of the Lord, they have a reason to smile. Smile especially when someone is talking to you. Also try to smile when you are talking to others; this will take practice. When you are walking along the street or wherever, when you are approaching someone give them a smile and, most likely, you may have made their day. And if not, you are at least expressing what is inside of you; hopefully the Spirit of a joyful God. In other words, a smile is the most valuable and the only thing we can give to a passing stranger. Try it, you may be surprised. Along with that, a smile although it may be not genuine, can make our day more bearable.

The word holy, in a Christian's point of view is to be separate from the ordinary. God says. "Be holy for I am holy." There is much said in the New Testament about separating ourselves from the things of this world. Christians are to be involves with the things of God and Christ. And when we are involves in worldly matters, we are robbing God of time which is suppose to be dedicated to things that promote the holy cause of Jesus Christ. We are not only free to do that, but we are commanded. If we don’t, that may be evidence we are not holy, and, most likely, do not posses God’s Holy Spirit. Think about this: God cannot be mocked. What I mean is when we say we are Christians and don’t live the way the New Testament teaches we are suppose to, we, most likely, are pseudo christians. Holiness is free but it will take a lot of holy willpower and self-control to live a holy life.

Talking about holy willpower and holy self-control, which again is free, is the mainstay of the Christian life. This is not only for Christians but for all walks of life. How do we get these precious attributes? Again, all good gifts come from God. When we are one with God and know it, God can do extraordinary things through the most ordinary people. If everyone in the world had holy willpower, this planet would be heaven on earth. Even though my Christian life may be lacking in many avenues, one thing I don’t lack is willpower and self-control. I think because of living in poverty and ignorance as a youth, those attributes were necessary to survive in this dog-eat-dog world. Because of what I lacked in wealth and knowledge, my self-control and willpower were automatically developed. Even though we don’t have to pay for them, they take much effort at all times. I sometimes ask myself, why did I get so involves with the things of God? I truly can’t answer that, but my guess it that as I lacked in physical niceties, I made up with spiritual values. That means ever though I have little of material value, I believe I am one of the wealthiest people in the world, because my eternal treasures, which are real, are in safe keeping. That is enough of my autobiography.

In conclusion, the things that have real and lasting value are free of monetary charge. Hence, the saying ‘The Best Things in Life are Free’ is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

# 250: A Brilliant Deceit

noreply@blogger.com (JC) — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:56:00 +0000

Since the majority of this blog is dedicated to exposing the schemes of many silver-tongued preachers, in simple words, this post will articulate their methods and bottom-line. There are more than a few preachers who are skilled in the art of brilliant deceit. They preach what their audience desires to hear, in a way to always include in their equation, God, Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture. They do this seductive preaching with such eloquent words, that it would take those who are thoroughly versed in the New Testament Scriptures to quickly realize their evil, self-centered motives. They may start their words with something like this: God has great things in store for all of you; He wants the very best for you. Usually their complete message is optimistic, positive and uplifting; words that are pleasant to listen to.

There are several problems with that type of preaching: it is, from beginning to end, a deceptive form of Christianity, since it does not include many portions of Scripture that are not seemingly pleasant to listen to, which pertain to how we must fulfilling our duties as disciples of Christ. These hard-edged, sometime outwardly repulsive verses must be made known. Philemon 1:6. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of all the good things we have in Christ." When those are not active in sharing their faith, the reason may be they are caught in ". . . the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." 2nd Timothy 2:26."

All New Testament verses can be summed-up in two imperative principles: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, which will always be displayed by our active obedience to all New Testament teachings; the second is like it: to actively love those in need as we love ourselves. There is nothing easy about listening to those commands when they are forcefully exhorted.

If we wholeheartedly obey those two commands, that would be solid confirmation to the genuineness of our Salvation, but if we just say we obey them but do not act on them, that is evidence that our faith may be nothing but a bunch of lovely but empty spiritual words.

The motive behind some churches that do not preaching this type of Biblical message is that many, if not most, of the laity won’t tolerate words that are not easy to digest, and eventually will go elsewhere. What preacher doesn’t want a big following? A large church membership means greater esteem and a fatter collection basket. And what church leader doesn’t desire to be distinguished, along with a coffer that is always overflowing? It really is that simple.

The champion of this pleasantly deceptive message is none other than Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston Texas. He boasts of about 30 thousand members. That is the largest membership of any church in this country. When preaching, he is pleasant to listen to. In fact, Joel Osteen has it all. He has the appearance of an angel of God; the perpetual smile only a loving mother can have for her baby; presents a flawless sermon and without notes; the composure of a head of state; the words of a skilled lawyer; a message that even heathens can accept, without changing their moral values; and the memory of any electronic recorder. No doubt, he is a whiz-kid. If anyone desires to listen to his sermons, click on http://www.joelosteen.com./ I am certain you can find at what time and channel he is on TV in your area.

All the above are a big plus for any preacher. The big problem is the contents of his messages are, as mentioned above, lacking in the most essential teaching of all: faithfully obeying all that is taught in the New Testament.

The main thrust of all his messages is for some kind of self-betterment. His latest book is titled . "Become a Better You." For instance, God wants you to have all the best things this world can offer; God desires for you are to climb the ladder of success; you will be able to afford the home of your dreams; find a perfect mate; have loving and obedient children and have all the lucky breaks in life. This list can go on and on. The greater harm this type of easy-to-listen-to preaching does, other then cheat listeners of eternal life, is that his lovely words become a paradigm for other clergymen who desire popularity rather that tell the whole truth. 1st Timothy 6: 3-5. If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understandings nothing . . . who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."

There are many, many verses in the New Testament that teach us not to love the world or anything in the world. I will quote only two: 1st John 2:15-17. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has or does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." James 4:4. "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." These type of Biblical verses--and there are many--are completely disregarded by Osteen and many other prosperity oriented churches. As the New Testament dictates many, many times is that God want us to prosper spiritually and not materially as the people of this ungodly world desire.

This is what God desires for all disciples of Jesus Christ: to actively continue the cause of what He started. Matthew 28:19-20. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . . and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." This verse like many others is cut and dry. Continuing the cause of Christ must come before our own welfare. That command is not easy to listen to or apply. Philippians 2:3-5. "Do nothing out of selfish ambitions or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

To Sunday morning christians, this next verse, most likely, is the most repulsive and disregarded verse in the New Testament: Luke 14: 26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters,--yes, even his own life--he can not be my disciple." What does Osteen do with verses like this? He must cut them out.

If Osteen preached that type of message, his many followers would drop him like a hot potato, and go to some other church that has a pleasant, soothing message which makes them feel good about themselves.

Osteen is exactly the type of talented person Satan, the great deceiver, had been waiting for many years to come on the scene to preach his popular message of worldly self-betterment in the name of Jesus Christ. This evil man dressed in saintly garb is doing more damage to the cause of Jesus Christ than can be calculated, since his weekly 30 minute program is aired throughout the world by means of 30-some satellites owned by The Trinity Broadcasting Network, a wealth and prosperity proponent.