"My 2 Sense"

Forgiveness or Separation?

2011-10-05T17:45:00.004-05:00

I find it interesting that no matter how many ways you present the truth, someone could still not see it. So what next? I have no idea because really the next step would be telling the unbridled truth which may in turn create some hurt feelings and some definite bitterness, but aren't we suppopsed to call our brothers and sisters out and try to correct a behavior. I thought the Bible was clear that we were supposed to settle our greviances with one another, forgiving one another.

How does this work? What does it look like? Before each of us committed the first sin,God had already put His forgiveness into play and also laid stipulations on it.....right? Well obviously Jesus was the sacrifice that made the way for God to forgive each of us, does that mean we are automatically forgiven? Absolutely not! The Bible is very clear about this very subject. God says I extend my forgiveness to you and it is yours for the taking if you fulfill these conditions. You must believe that you are in fact in the wrong (a sinner), then you must accept the fact that there is nothing you can do to take that forgiveness from me it is mine and mine alone to give, you must believe and accept that I sent my son Jesus to live the perfect and sinless life, die on the cross taking on your sin and shame, and rise from the dead on the third day as full, complete and total payment for your sin. You must turn your life over to me and commit to changing your thoughts and behaviors in all areas of your life. Once you have met these conditions, my forgiveness is bestowed upon you.

Isn't that what the Bible teaches? Why do we do this so differently? It is because we lack the guts to actually call people out in an attempt to correct a behavior. Yes, we must becareful and do this in love. Which by the way does not mean that there may not be some emotional reactions or maybe some tempers trying to flare. But what this does mean is that when you approach this situation in must be out of love that you are confronting the person. As the person being confronted, we must learn to listen and not be emotionally driven to react to what is being said. Not only do we confront in love, but we must receive criticism in love as well. Stop taking things so personally and take them Spiritually by listening to what is being said and using that as a mirror being placed in front of our face.

Noone likes to get out of bed first thing in the morning and go straight to the mirror, we typically grab the hairbrush really quick so that we can change our appearance first. Here is a quick rhetorical question: If you have a booger on your face, or have left over food on your chin, would you want someone to tell you? I would and guess what, I am going to be the one to tell you. Now, if that booger or food have been on your face for a while and you have seen several people before you finally figure it out, can you change what the others before have already seen? No! But, you can now change your appearance for the future. Isn't that the entire design behind confronting our brothers and sisters in love? It is because we have seen a behavior in them that is actually damaging to their image and we do not want them to be viewed in that light. So really, it should be our spiritual duty to let our brothers and sisters know in an effort to correct that behavior for the future.

If you refuse to accept the correction, you must accept the consequences that follow and that is separation in the relationship. That is also what we must suffer if we refuse to accept God's conditions on His forgiveness. So, will you take the correction which comes with total forgiveness, or will you continue to deny the problem and live in total separation?

Through the Mud

2011-04-06T16:41:00.002-05:00

I don't know if you have ever, or would ever admit to it, but I have done Jesus a great disservice through my years. I feel like Paul when he says " the things I intend to do are the things I don't do, and the things I absolutely don't want to do are the things I end up doing". I have come to see what the problem is and why this theory proves to be true in our circumstances.

Picture yourself in a river that has a pretty heavy current. Let's say you are in a boat that turns over and you find yourself with no boat in a heavy current. Would you immediately try to swim upstream? I would say no, because what would happen is you would be fighting a losing battle and become too exhausted to swim and would go down. However, if you were to turn and begin to swim downstream and add a slight angle to your stroke towards the river bank, you would move very rapidly towards safety with almost no effort.

Well here is the deal. The fact is the more we fight the devil and his rip current, the more exhausted we become and we.typically take the name of Jesus and drag it through the mud when we fail. So, when the devil comes at us, instead of coming face to face with him like we are some kind of Christian terminator, the Bible says to flee from him. Next time you find yourself confronted with a temptation turn your back and let Jesus be your angle towards safety and stop trying to be a hero. Keep in mind that Satan has been around for a few years and he knows all the tricks to manipulate you into situations you can't get out of until it's too late.

One thing that you can definitely learn from King David is that he understood that the battle was never his to fight, it is always in God's hands and he enjoys being the hero in our lives. Don't rob God of an opportunity to be God in your life, recognize your weakness and back off.

And that's,

My 2 Sense!

To Whom it May Concern

2011-04-04T11:13:00.003-05:00

Who am I? Do I matter? Do you care? What have I become?

I have wasted too many years of my life trying to be someone that those people around me want me to be. I almost feel like Jim Carey in the movie "Yes Man". You tell me what to do and I do it......or at least I give it my best effort and then beat myself up if it is not perfect. You feel like you have the right to criticize my efforts and yet offer nothing to ease the load placed on me.

I don't need your criticism. I do a well enough job of that myself. I need your support, I need you to recognize that my potential and my purpose are much bigger than the box you try to put me in.

In case you were wondering........I am a child of the Living God who has been called to something much greater than what this world has to offer. Although I appreciate the opportunity to assist you, I do not place my value in what I do for you. Unless of course what you are doing is for the higher purpose of leading people to Christ.

In my pursuit of trying to be perfect for you and doing what the world expects of me........I have lost sight of my calling. No longer will this be the case!! My value is placed in my calling to lead people to Christ and a life long devotion to him. At this point my life's focus must and shall change. I must take time to spend with my Father in Heaven confessing my sin of omission. I will beg His forgiveness for sacrificing the calling He has placed on my life for the things this world has to offer.

So, to whom it may concern......God is first in my life! Do as you see fit, but whom shall I obey? God or man? My faith is in God and I will trust that he will bless my obedience to Him and I know he expects nothing less.

And that's,

My 2 Sense

War Time

2011-03-29T09:04:00.002-05:00

I have become some what complacent over the past few years with who I am as a Christian........much like most of you. I can recite scripture to you that is supposed to help remind us of the attacks the enemy constantly makes on our lives, homes, and relationships and yet we still get comfortable. Today I come to you with the attitude of Paul......"I am the chief of all sinners". I do not approach as someone who is qualified or even in a place of authority, just a place of humility to warn you.

We tend to get into a place of thinking that satan wants nothing to do with us, but what we fail to see is that is exactly what he wants from us. The idea or preconceived notion that the devil gets to a point where he just leaves us alone is incorrect. He is always at work to destroy our ministry and he continues to attack us, although he may take a break until you get comfortable, he does come back and he fires with all he has when he attacks. The problem is that we are never prepared for the second wave of attacks and he knows that.

He is in fact prowling around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour!! And when he does, he chews you up and spits you out daring you to try again. This always leaves us in a position to choose our next move very carefully. For some of us, we just quit altogether giving him the victory, others move past it and grow stronger in their stance and always remain prepared for battle. Ephesians tells us that we should never remove our armor and that every circumstance is a battle against the enemy. We do not battle against flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities in the heavenly realms.....do you get that?? Do not be left with a feeling of defeat, get up and try again. Look him in his face and let him know he may have gotten you this time, but he only made you stronger. Always look at his attacks as God drawing your name out of the hat to be refined today.

It is war time all the time so get your swords out and do some damage to the enemy, that is where the victory lies!!

And that's

My 2 Sense!!

Unbridled Truth

2011-01-05T08:12:00.003-06:00

So, Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you had a great Christmas Season. The church that I currently attend here in Birmingham, AL has challenged us as members to take part in a mission to reach the city. We have what we call the Eastlake Project which is currently taking place in the small community of Eastlake, which is in the Birmingham Metro area. Many members are currently doing things in that area to reach the lost for Christ, and there are some who have decided to move into that area and begin building relationships.

I say all of that to say that in the midst of thinking of ways to change the way we live, new exercise programs, dieting, or maybe putting down that smoking habit you have always tried to kick, I have decide to do something a little differently. I have made it a goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ at least 25 times here in Birmingham this year in any type of setting; whether to individuals or groups, this is my goal. So here goes #1!

Despite all that you may be going through, have gone through, or will go through in your life, there is a God who cares about you and desires your attention. I for one have had a rough life in comparison to some, but maybe not so rough in comparison to others. I have seen and experienced things that no child or human should ever have to, but still the same....I did. Here is just a minor list of things I have dealt with in my own personal life while searching for the one true God.

1. Watched my parents go through a pretty rough divorce. (Common these days I know, but it still affects a child emotionally)
2. Had a father who was very rarely seen or heard from for whatever reason, I don't know the reasons, and at 34 years old, does it really matter. (Again, a very common occurrence, but definitely affects a child's growth.)
3.Watched my mother get abused as well as got abused both physically and emotionally. (Not something that happens often, but more than people realize.)
4. Trusted Christ as Lord and Savior of my life.
5. Sexually abused at the age of 13. (No one should ever have to experience the absolute horror of going through this)
6. Watched a man pull a gun on my mother and threaten to kill her.
7. Turned my back on God and ran at age 15.

At age 16 I began to look for avenues to belong in some way to a group of people who loved me for who I was. I looked in gangs, drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity. I found myself lost and alone at the age of 17 living wherever I could lay my head at night. I soon found myself on the inside of a juvenile detention center wondering where I had gone so wrong. I was a young boy who loved the Lord, loved studying scripture, and my prayer time. Man how things can get skewed when we try to take control of our lives. At the age of 17 I was court forced back into my mothers home where my life would be forever transformed. A man by the name of Patrick Wayne Bunn (A.K.A. Pop), would begin to teach me life lessons through his own experiences and begin to mold me into a respectable young man. It took a few years for me to really trust him simply because I had yet to meet anyone in my life who was truly that invested in who I was without wanting something in return.

Over the course of the next 7 years I would watch this man exemplify the character of God and he loved unconditionally. Through his example and his teaching, I would slowly return to the Savior I once held so dear in my heart. At the age of 24, I made a commitment to begin a journey down the path to becoming the man I am supposed to be in Christ. As much as I thought God would never accept me back because of all I had done and gone through, He proved me wrong. I have now been back in the service of the Lord for seven years teaching, preaching and evangelizing. You may thing there is no hope but I am hear to tell you the truth.

The God of this universe knew beforehand what you would go through and the things you would do and yet He still loved you. Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrates His love towards us in this, that even while we were still in our sin Christ died for us. God loves us no matter what and the great things is that when we trust Him, He forgets all we have done never to remember again. This kind of love compels us to change the way we live and the way believe. Won't you trust Christ today and allow Him to be the Lord of your life.

So all of this to say that based on statistics of the things I have gone through, I should be dead, addicted to drugs and alcohol, or in prison. But, my God does not operate on statistics He does not control. He has a record of 100%!! 100% of the people that trust in Him and what He has done for them through Christ now have the privilege of being called a child of the Living God and what a great thing to know that if God is for us no one can be against us, not even statistics!!

Godly Authority belongs to God's Word

2010-12-14T06:13:00.003-06:00

I am not here to debate one side or the other on this subject. I just wanted to take a minute and share my position and why I feel the way I do. I do not believe Calvinism to be a true teaching or foundation worth standing on for a few reasons.

1. You will not find the acronym T.U.L.I.P. any where in the Bible and some of these points do not even stand against scripture. Sure they have scripture attached to each letter, but remember that all scripture is to be read and used within the original context. It cannot be separated and used to fulfill your own agenda. I too can go through scripture and promote the agenda of not drinking or smoking, but the fact is I would be taking scripture completely out of context, and you would be able to find many verses that refute my agenda just as we can do with Calvinism.

2. John Calvin who is credited for authoring the Calvinist belief system was a man just like me and you. He was not used by the Holy Spirit to give us a new revelation from God which would be a contradiction to scripture that tells us Jesus was the last revelation we would receive.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
(Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV)

I believe that people spend entirely too much time trying to put words in peoples mouths and make something out of nothing. We as mankind want so badly to understand everything that many of us will spend years working on points to debate within the faith of Christianity. As the church we have become so competitive with each other that we have lost sight of the world around us and the commands that we were given. We spend our lives debating things like, does one have to be baptized to get into heaven? Is speaking in tongues a requirement to be saved? Is the doctrine of election truthful? Is the believer eternally secure in his salvation? These are the things that split churches and keep us operating as separate denominations mean while the enemy is slowly defeating the church and their mission by keeping us distracted in these meaningless discussions. Who are we to even begin to try and get into the psyche of God? Who are we to pull something from scripture and manipulate it to fit our understanding of who he is? If we could understand everything about God and the salvation we are freely offered, then he would not be God!! I guess that the Calvinist would have been easily swayed to Mormonism as well since this was the teaching of a man. We have to guard our hearts against any man who claims to be the authority, because a man of God only has the authority of the word of God. Outside that authority, he has none!!

I am so tired of the church presenting things they know are controversial from a stand point that argues a specific point. The fact is, we do not know for sure what was on the mind of the men that penned the Bible under influence of the Holy Spirit. We can try to interpret things, but we need to make sure we are not trying to understand things that are beyond our feeble minds for the simple reason that we may write or say things that will cause people to go astray. I am not asking you to believe my way, I am asking you to seek the truth in Gods word and remember that God works on us individually. I do not need a man to tell me what I can and cannot do when I have the word of God as my authority and the Holy Spirit living in me to guide me everyday. I am telling you that it is imperative that we as individuals study the scriptures intently for ourselves to determine what it is saying. The last thing we need to do is just simply listen to someone else tell us how to believe and therefore follow their belief system. God created us as individuals for a reason, we are all unique and he deals with each of us differently.

We would do well to remember that there are specific commands in Scripture that are very easy to understand and that is to spread the gospel to all nations making disciples, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and take care of the widows. Spend your time doing such things and you quickly learn that the other stuff becomes as nothing in comparison of doing the work of the Lord. Do not get side tracked by these things and remember that if it is not located in Scripture and is being taught as an authoritative teaching from God, be very leery and and remember to test all teachings according to the Bible. If it doesn't match, it is a lie.

Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
(Hebrews 13:9 ESV)

And that's...........

My 2 Sense!

Time to put on your big boy britches!!!

2010-11-30T18:42:00.003-06:00

Candid - a : marked by honest sincere expression (a candid discussion) b : indicating or suggesting sincere honesty and absence of deception (her candid face)

When was the last time you met someone that was truly candid? I would venture to say that most of us only know one or two people that we consider blunt. These are the people that we try to avoid because we don’t like their honesty. Sadly these are the kind of Christians we should strive to surround ourselves with. We too should work to become candid with those around us.

The fact is that the more open and honest we can be with one another without fear of offending or being offended, the easier it will be for us to have and maintain relationships. What I mean is, we get too easily offended by what people say to us and use it as an excuse to throw a pity party and make someone feel guilty for their honesty. I would much rather have friends I know will be honest with me to my face rather than worry about the fact that they are going to other people behind my back and expressing their feelings about me. This is what leads to problems in friendships is that we leave no room for honesty. If you have a friendship that has never had problems or has never involved an argument, I can show a relationship that involves backstabbing.

Being candid is Biblical to say the least. The Gospel itself is a Candid invitation from God. He doesn't make any bones about letting you know that without Christ you are doomed to spend eternity in Hell.

We can see in John 2:14-16 when Jesus took the time to make a whip and began to drive money changers out of the Temple that he had no concern for how they may feel about him or that he may offend someone. What we do see is that he was more concerned that the truth about his Father and His principles be exposed.

John 3:10- Jesus had no problem calling Nicodemus out! He asks Nicodemus how it is that he is a teacher in Israel and yet does not understand what Jesus is telling him. Or in other words, Nicodemus what you mean you don’t understand, how do you not understand what I am saying and you are a teacher to the Israelites? Sounds pretty condescending right?

John 4:17-18 – Jesus has just met a woman at the well and had a great conversation with her and then he tells her to go get her husband and bring him back. The woman then tells him that she has no husband…………..Oh yes! There was no way Jesus was going to let this one go!! You right woman you have no husband but have had five and the man you now live with is not your husband. WOW!! What a bold slap in the face to this woman. There is no way a person from our current society could take that and still continue to converse with him.

To be continued………………………………..

Taking steps........

2010-11-15T08:32:00.002-06:00

Over the last 6-8 months of my life I have found myself in a place of real apathy towards life in general. In this feeling of emotional ups and downs, I was affected both physically and mentally. The worst part is how I have been affect spiritually and was so blinded to see how bad it really was.

I began a class at church back in August that I soon would realize to be a spiritual journey into my own heart. I have for many years considered myself to be a man that took steps to make sure I lived out my faith and not just claim my faith as most professing Christians do. It was only after I began the journey that I started realizing that the one thing I did not do was guard my heart the way I should have. Let me clarify......

I have never been a materialistic person and felt I needed the next best thing, the nicer cars, or the bigger houses just to say I had them. I was however raised in a family that did not have much money nor did I ever learn how to manage money and build a budget. During my childhood there were times where we were very limited on not only extras, but also necessities in our home. This being the case, as a young adult, 18 to be exact, I moved out of my parents home and began a life for myself. From the time I left home, I never looked back or considered failure an option. However, in my pursuit of life, I have grown to be very conscious of the dollar simply because I promised myself that I would never or would ever pout my family in a situation where we stood to lose anything. That being said, I have succumb to the fear of failure and not being able to provide for my family which has made me some what of a "tight wad".

My wife can tell you this fear drives almost every decision that I make in life. I promised myself that I would take all of the proper steps to ensure that we were taken care of and always had enough money in the bank to take care of our debts. Responsible right? No, of course not!!!

Why? I am glad you asked. My wife and I have discussed the idea of maybe adopting a child in the future, which of course cost money. This is my first thought when it comes to making decisions.....How much does it cost? I love the idea of feeding the hungry and adopting children, but I immediately begin to think about how this will be possible knowing my current financial position. Well, with my current financial position none of these things are possible, and you have no idea how depressing it is to have the desire to do things that require money, but not having the money to do those things.

So on to my point.....

I was sitting in the class at church last night talking to my good friend Rob Compton when the Holy Spirit revealed to me that it is not my finances that determine whether or not I can do these things. It is not how many steps I can take to prepare to do these things. It is not my ideas and thoughts that actually put wheels on these processes. God is the one who provided me with the job that currently provides for my needs. It is not my ideas that prevail over his. Maybe....just maybe God does not want me to take the steps to prepare because He has already taken the steps to take care of it and I just need to trust that He will provide financially for me to accomplish His will in my life.

Matthew 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of Heaven and all of these things will be added to you.

The truth hurts when you can read it in Jesus' words. I need to let go and look up trusting that God will provide the means to do the things he has called me to do. I hope that if you too are in this situation and find it hard to sit back and trust the CREATOR OF ALL, start this morning just praying that God will give you peace and understanding knowing that he is in control of all things. And that's..........

My 2 Cents

"IN" or "OF"

2009-07-15T07:23:00.002-05:00

I know what a weird title for a blog! But these 2 words play a huge factor in where your life is right now. I will keep this short and simple! As Christians we have heard it taught that we need Christ IN our lives. And to some extent that is correct, but I would make the argument that we need Christ OF our lives more than we need him IN our lives.

There are entirely too many people who have Christ IN their lives but they are not allowing him to be the Lord of their lives. We try to take Christ and fit him into our plans for life rather than letting him direct us into his plan for our lives. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that Christ just wants a small piece of your life, he wants the whole thing. And guess what? The scripture says he is the head and where the head leads, the body follows. We need to stop trying to be the head and learn to be the body.

It is by allowing him to be OF our lives that we live a truly submissive life to him and his plans for us. When he is OF our lives that shows:
1. He is Lord OF
2. He is Master OF
3. He is the Redeemer OF
4. He is in control OF
5. HE is the Author OF
6. He is Creator OF

He cannot be a lord IN, a master IN, a redeemer IN, a control IN! It only makes sense that He would be all of these OF our lives. I challenge you today to allow Him to be the Christ OF your lives and stop trying to fit him IN. And thats..........

My 2 Cents

Be careful how you judge!

2009-07-06T13:23:00.001-05:00

So what gives you the right to cast judgment on someone? Why is it that you think you know someone well enough to determine whether or not they are good or bad?

Fiction: Most people believe they have the right to cast judgment on someone if they do not live up to their expectations.

Truth: God left his throne in heaven to die for you because you did not live up to his expectations, nor do you now live up to his expectations

Fiction: Most Christians believe people who sin should be excluded from the church

Truth: If that is the case then no one would be allowed in the fellowship including you.

Fiction: Sin should be dealt with ever so harshly when confronted

Truth: The person is not the sin so be careful how you deal with them in the process.

The truth of the matter is that most Christians believe they are in a position to cast judgment on the rest of Christians who spend their time trying to work out issues that were created by the judges. The judges of course think God put them here to judge society in general as well. The harsh reality is there is only one time we as Christians have the right to disassociate ourselves from an immoral brother; that is when they refuse to see the error of their ways and refuse the Churches correction. There is a process that must be followed in this circumstance and if not followed as it is laid out, then we are in essence no different than the immoral brother, living in sin. Love is the motivation for everything we do not judgment. We should not be doing things to elevate our status or make us feel powerful, but that is a sad truth about most Christians is they do everything out of a sense power and authority rather than love.
Restoring a Brother

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. 17 If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you.
Matt 18:15-17 (HCSB)

Rebuke or reprove: to scold or correct usually gently or with kindly intent

This is the process outlined in scripture according to Christ, not anyone else. And this does not mean that you go and point your finger in someone’s face while screaming and telling them how horrible they are. It must be done with a gentle spirit! The idea is to let this person know they did slip up, but that does not separate them from the love of Christ. We should be an example of His love when we go to this person or else we are doing it for the wrong reasons. All through scripture we see examples of how we should deal relationally with people. Galatians speaks of the “Fruit of the Spirit”, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self control. Does this sound like the way the church deals with a fallen brother these days? Or we could look over in 1 Corinthians 13;

Love: The Superior Way

1 If I speak the languages of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; 5 does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; 6 finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Cor 13:1-7 (HCSB)

Wow! Do we need to go any further to realize the church itself is living in sin by not living up to God’s expectations? I know it kind of puts things in perspective doesn’t it. Now let us look at one more passage before we close.

7 Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be clear-headed and disciplined for prayer. 8 Above all, keep your love for one another at full strength, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift they have received, everyone should use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, [his speech should be] like the oracles of God; if anyone serves, [his service should be] from the strength God provides, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11 (HCSB)

Now maybe you get the point. Maybe before you open your mouth you should go to the Spiritual mirror to see that you are not Christ or God and therefore have no right. Short of a choice you are no different than me. So keep in mind while you are sitting in a room by yourself and make the choice to sin where no one can see it, the way you judge everyone else is going to be measured back to you. The key is to glorify God in everything we do, even restoring a brother to the faith.

Another Life down the drain!

2009-07-02T08:57:00.005-05:00

Here is an update on the following post! It has come to my attention that there are several stories floating around about how this happened and what all was involved. Far be it from me to post something that is not true and I do not want this in anyway to be disrespectful to the family. Here is what I do know about the situation. A young man's life is now over long before it should have been. A family is grieving the loss of a son and brother and the hurt associated with this loss is unlike any other you could know. My condolences to the family and I pray that God will be with you during this time to comfort you. As for those who may have been there, I pray that this young man's life not be in vain and that God has your attention now.

My point in writing this was not to make light of the circumstance, but to learn from it. Everything can be a tool to learn from and that is my hope here. We should, everyone should take this situation and try to find something to learn from it. I have done ignorant things in my life that have produced undesireable circumstances and consequences, but after seeing the results I learned not to put myself in that situation ever again.

So I have pulled the majority of the post out for respect of the family and because there could be some very incorrect information in this story. The point is not how it happened, but why and what can we do to help prevent anyone else from having to experience this tragedy.

Original Post: (Edited)

I really hate to be the one who has to say this but, I guess I will since everyone else is too self involved. I heard a story today about a young man who lost his life in the area where I live. It hurts my heart when any young person loses their life and I understand some things cannot be controlled, but some things can.

Okay so they won't let us teach Jesus in the schools, but what if we added firearm safety as part of the high school carriculum and it was mandatory you had to score a 90% or higher. I am not talking about a basic safety course, I mean an advanced course that teaches you all parts of a weapon and shows pictures of what guns can do if allowed to be in the wrong hands. I remember to this day when the "Just say no" campaighn came out and they introduced alcohol as a drug and pulled a twisted piece of metal that used to be a car in and placed right in front of the school.They began to explain to us how the person driving the car was highly intoxicated according to the coroners report and they driver had been decapitated in this accident. That scarred me for life! That is the point, we need to make an impact on these young people while they are young and let them see the dangers involved in actions they take.

So here is my 2 cents as if anyone cared! To my government, stop trying to ban and take things away and start teaching Americans to use the things we have. If people were taught the proper way to use things it would cut down on ignorance. We need to begin taking a proactive approach to things rather than a reactive approach.

A Personal God

2009-05-31T10:01:00.006-05:00

Should we expect others to always be on the same level as us despite their discipleship maturity? Is it right for me to tell others who may have just come to know Christ that they should over night, be as I am after 24 years of Christianity? I think not! God is a personal God, and a God who deals with people on an individual basis. He is not going to deal with someone on their spiritual growth issue, the same as he would me. We as Christians have to learn not to accept sin, but accept the fact that it is the Holy Spirit's job to change the hearts of believers. The only thing we are required to do is to teach the truth of the Word and allow that to happen. When we start offering our opinions and our harsh rebuking, we tend to muddy the water for some people and they lose their desire to even be a part of the fellowship.

Although, God has placed people in teaching and pastoral positions to do the majority of the rebuking and exhorting. But he has not called everyone to do it the manner in which it is being done. We are called to go to our brothers and sisters in love to restore them to the fellowship. Not to kick them in the ribs while they are already down. Again, this does not mean that we have to condone the sin, but we can approach them in such a way to show them that we care. Is it possible to approach a fallen brother or sister and restore them without ever mentioning their sin? I say yes! If we approach them in love with a caring attitude it will show them that we are not coming to beat them up, but to care for them. What does Jesus say about caring for the sick. A healthy person has no need of a doctor. A doctor will care for a sick person, and we should carry that same attitude around. These are our friends and we should grieve over their sin and nurture them back to health. To be continued..........

Okay....! So this subject can go deeper than just looking at the surface of someone living in sin. We can then get into the process of church discipline, and that is not even where I am going here. We have not even reached a point where we are considering that in this post. Yes I know the Bible lays out a process for disciplining unrepenant sin in a Christians life, but again not going there yet. My main point is focusing on love, mercy and grace which by the way are the reason you can call yourself a child of God today. If we would spend more time loving and caring for people and less time worrying about finding the wrong with what they do, we would be much better off.

8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (NASB)

I mean what else do I need to say! It was through the LOVE of God that Christ came to purify us from a MULTITUDE of sin, and I mean a MULTITUDE. So if it is possible for the love of God to purify us and do away with our sin, isn't it also possible for us to love each other into restoration from sin, rather than judging, condemning and casting out? Again, I will address church discipline in another post, but for now, think about this!

Return from the dead....

2009-05-30T23:36:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I know I have not updated in several months. I have no excuse except that I have been extremely busy with many different things. I am back and ready to tell you what God has been doing in my life for the past several months. Please check back frequently as you can never tell what might get posted.

Love as Christ,
Sam

NoShame - Mark 8:38

Put the "S" in Parent's

2008-12-19T08:58:00.003-06:00

The word parent has become the way we indentify the father or mother of a child. very rarely do you hear the word spoken with an "S" on the end. The school sends home a memo and you see what? Dear Parent(s)! As if the standard now is only one parent is present. It is sad to me that we have come to that and what is even worse is these single parents have an attitude that they can do it alone and they need noone. How wrong we are to assume that we can do it alone and have a normal child.

For the record, I grew up in this environment and how unfortunate it is that we wonder why so many kids are messed up and do not understand who they are. It does not take Oprah, Dr. Phil, or a licensed doctor to tell us what is wrong with these children. I can tell you! Just a normal guy with no college degree who knows from experience what the problem is. The "S" is missing! It has been for the most part the male "S" that has been missing, but over the past decade, the female "S" has grown more prominent to be missing. We have to understand that both must be present and active in the child's life if there is any chance for them to experience normality. We were all created to play certain roles in our childs life and how the are raised. The mother has been given certain qualities to pass on to the child, and the father has in the same be given qualities. Why is it that single parents think they do not need a spouse to help them, and more importantly we have same gender couples adopting children and think they can raise a child in normality. I for one will tell you that neither the single parent, nor the same gender parents are going to produce a normal child. Stop fooling yourself! Genesis says it like this, He created them in His image, male and femal He created them. For this reason they will leave their mother and father and become one, male and female. And then if you want to go to 1 Corinthians 11:11, 1 Corinthians 11:11 (NASB) However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. We are made to be together, male and female. You cannot expect to pass on important qualities of a man if he is not present in that childs life, and in the same way, you canot pass on the important qualities of a woman if sheis not present in the child's life.

If you are one who is trying to do this, don't be suprised if the child grows up confused, and disconnected from reality. If your child grows to have a hard time engaging in society as their gender should, it is because they are very confused. There is one reason and one reason alone that only a man's and woman's connectivity can cause a child to be concieved. You can not put a man and a man, or woman and a woman together and it result in a child. Scientificly impossible! We can only do this together because we must both be a part of the child raising process in order that child receives the important needed attributes to live life as he/she should. Like or not, this is the only way to raise a child. Let's all make sure we find the "S" our children need.

The Image of God

2008-12-11T08:37:00.003-06:00

He created them male and female, in His image he created them.

We are all fairly familiar with this particular verse in Genesis. Many use it to battle with in certain forums, but I hope to show you something new today. As I am teaching the men at church, God is leading us to a completely new outlook on marriage and what it is supposed to be. If man and woman both were created in the image of The Great I AM, then why different genders?

Look at some differences between men and women:

1. Men - Rough, Tough, Strong, Protective, Competitive
2. Women - Caring, Compassionate, Loving, Embracing

This may not be true in all circumstances, but in 75% - 85%, these are significant differences in the genders. So, what does that mean? Well it means that the man and woman in the marriage need each other in order to bear the complete image of God. We are meant to compliment each other and be cohesive as one. Once you take the vows, the two become one in Gods eyes, and there is no way to bear His image in marriage except that the two work together in all things as equal partners. Without one trying to maintain control over the other. When God said that the man would be considered the Head of the house, we thought he gave the man control. Wrong! God gave him the responsibility over the household. The men are responsible in every way to protect, provide, teach, and sustain the family. The woman has another list of duanting things she needs to be doing rather than taking care of the husbands respnsibility. Men, we need to begin to understand that the only leading we are allowed to do under Gods plan, is Godly leading, not selfish leading. And always remember that your wife was given you by God for a reason, if you feel like she is telling you your choices are not Godly, maybe you should listen.

Another thing we need to learn, is that neither partner in the marriage can be independent of the other, you are not seperate, but together now. As 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 says, However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
1 Cor 11:11-12 (NASB)

I think we would do good to practice these things together and we would probably see a dramatic change with attitudes in the marriage. God's Image is the goal, let us put aside our independence and come together.

Love as Christ

The Poser

2008-10-27T11:00:00.002-05:00

Reading the book "Wild at Heart", by John Eldredge has been great for me. One of the things he talks about in this book is the poser, or the mask we wear around. It is the poser or the mask that keeps us from becoming vulnerable and makes us look as if everything is good for us. Well, I have to tell you about the dream I had Friday night October 24th.

This dream was as vivid as real life and helped me to understand the poser we have in our own lives. In this dream all I did was meet people, and greet people as we do our friends, co-workers, or even people we meet for the first time. The one thing I would notice in this dream is that every greeting was the same canned greeting we all see everyday. This began to irritate me in my dream so I started trying to get to know people better and when I did this, I noticed something. The real them was being murdered by the poser. When I started paying attenting to these people in my dreams, I noticed that right before they would speak to me, someone that looked just like them would come up behind them and stab them in back and kill them. Leaving them to fall and the poser was in place to take it from there. Coincedence, I think not!

This is exactly what happens in real life. When we talk to people, we allow the poser to stand up front be who we want to be instead of allowing the real us to be seen by all. This is spiritual murder. This is a lie straight from hell telling us that we have to be something different than what we are. This is not true! We need to start being real and allowing people to see that we to are human and things go wrong for us just as much as they do right. It is when we are able to be real with one another that we can begin to help one another with our problems. Instead we act as if we have the perfect life and that we are perfect Christians. The only thing you do by allowing this to happen, is teach others that they to have to wear the mask of perfection. It is a contagous trend that needs to stop and we need to be honest with one another.

I hate looking at another man and asking him if he struggles with something and he tells me no. You are a liar to put it bluntly. By struggle I do not mean that you have a sin problem. But, for a man to look me in the face and tell me that the devil does not tempt him, whatever! My Bible tells me that I will experience no temptation which is not common to all men. Yes, thats right, I know the truth, you too have been tempted in the same ways as me so stop posing and unmask yourself for a change. You might find that the freedom Christ gives us is in being who we are, not what everyone expects us to look like, or even what you think you should look like.

Challenge: Try for one week, if someone asks you how you are be honest with them. And don't ask someone if you do not want to know. For once, be real and transparent so that we might encourage one another. If someone ask how the marriage is going, tell them you could use the prayers. You don't have to tell the truth in detail, but tell the truth. I for one as stated inb my last post, am tired of what you look like, I want to know who you are. No more suface relationships, lets dig in to one another and get to know someone and care about them.

Fellowship

2008-10-20T07:21:00.002-05:00

Have you ever been told that you were created to simply spread the gospel, be a musician, be a mom, or just a good Christian? I will step out on a limb here and tell you that is absolutely misleading and you should really study and learn your meaning. I think most Christians do not look beyond their life here on earth and therefore do not consider the fact that God has created them for so much more than this life.

God has created you for one purpose and that purpose is Fellowship. We share the gospel to increase that fellowship, but fellowship is the goal. That is fellowship with Him first and others second. We have also been taught that we will not know people in heaven that we know here, at least not like we know them. Then may I ask why God would have us invest so much time and effort into relationships if we are not even going to know them? The fact is, He isn't asking us to do that at all. Relationships are eternal, just as our relationship with Him in Jesus Christ is eternal, so your relationships with other people in Christ are eternal. This story began long before you were created even before Adam was created as Revelation 12 tell us the story before the beginning as we know it.

What two commandments were renewed by Christ while the others were fullfilled in these two? Love God first and love your neigbor as yourself second. Is it coincedence that these two commands are relational commands or is it God's perfect design that our morality is based on relationships with other people. Exodus 20 clearly points out how we are to cunduct ourselves in terms of these relationships. God gives us the first four to discuss our relationship with him and the last six deal with our relationships with others. It is all about fellowship. Our story has another chapter and it starts when we enter the dispensation of eternity and what exactly will happen at this time. No we will not be part of an eternal church service as most believe. The Bible tells us that we will rule with God, we will eat with God, and yes of course we will worship God. Not because we are forced to, but because we want to. There is so much more than living for now, we need to startt living for eternity and stop focusing so much energy on the things that do not even matter in eternity. Fellowship, what a great gift from God, come and take part I beg you.

Do I have more Grace than you?

2008-10-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

You know I have never been one to think that grace could actually increase. The truth is that in can and it will as you realize exactly what Christ has done for you. As Paul explains it in Romans Chapter 5 vs. 20, The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more.

The law was not put in place for sanctification or for justification. The law was put in place so that you could see your sin. As Paul said, when the law is present, your sin increases, but not only does your sin increase, God's grace increases as well. I know, you are saying that no way, grace is even across the board. If someone is under God's grace, another can not have more of His grace than another person. True dat! But if you look at it from our side, it is different. The best way for me to explain this point is in the following illustration.

You have two children, one is outside playing in the hot sun getting sweaty. The other is inside on the sofa watching television. If you put two glasses of water the same size, both having an equal amount of water. To which person is that water more important. Why? First of all, it is going to be more important to the one who has been outside playing in the hot sun. The reason is because this child at this point has realized just how much he needs that water to sustain life, and without it he is doomed. The same goes for us! If you were raised in the church and that is all you have ever known, you are in danger of taking that grace for granted. For someone who has been at odds with God their entire life "raising hell" for lack of a better term, then when they come under God's grace, they realize just how much they need that grace. So you can see that the increase of grace is not God giving you more of it, it is you realizing how much more you need it due to your sin.

God has already done the much more to provide us a way to be reconciled to Him, but it is only when you see exactly what God did for you in comparison to what you have done against Him, that you see how big grace really is. If you have not seen just how much God has done for you, I pray that you will open your eyes to see. It should break your heart to see how loyal God has been to you, and how disloyal you have been to Him.

Faith or Works

2008-10-09T10:08:00.003-05:00

There is an old debate that tries to determine whether we are saved by faith and works, simply works, or by faith alone. So which is it?

We are saved by Faith, nothing more! We can use the argument Paul made to the Jewish believers in Romans 4.

Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. 8 "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT." 9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 10 How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

The point that Paul is trying to make is two fold. First he is clearly telling them that based on the Old Testament, this justification and righteousness Abraham received was not based on works at all. It was all based on the fact that God made him a promise and Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. We must see what he is saying in these verses. he is clearly pointing out that the faith came long before the works did. The covenant was made between God and Abraham before he was circumcised which means that the circumcision for Abraham was similar to our baptism after salvation. We do not do these things to earn salvation, we do them as evidence of our faith in Christ. So as you can see, we are justufied by faith alone, and the works we do are simply an outward showing of what we believe.

The second point Paul is making to the Jews is that they are not alone in the faith. He is saying that Gentiles too, have an opportunity to enter the fold through faith. Since works are removed from the equation, now the truth is being seen about the promise God made to Abraham about being the father of many nations, not just the Jewish nation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Commitment

2008-10-08T10:44:00.001-05:00

What is commitment?
Commitment is the act of entrusting or giving in to ones control, or the act of promising or pledging ones self to something or someone.

The Bible speaks of commitment in great detail and what exactly you are expected to become completely committed to in your Christian walk.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will succeed.

The best way for us to ensure that we are successful is to make sure that our plans are committed to the Lord. This does not mean you pick what you want to do and ask God to join in your plans. This means you, as the definition stated, give your life into His control and allow Him to choose your path for you. If you are truly following Christ, then the ability to discern where God is at work will be fairly simple. This is not to say that the devil will not throw obstacles in your path, but it will allow you to stand firm if you remain committed. Your success will be based on your ability to join God where He is at work.

What does a committed Christian life look like?
Many would describe a committed life as someone who is proficient at what they do. If I asked you who some committed people in your church were, you might name the pastor, worship pastor, elders or deacons or maybe even a Sunday School teacher. This is not the Biblical description of a committed Christian although these could be mistaken as committed. What I mean by this is simply that you can not assume anyone is committed just because they hold a position in the church. Some of the most committed are those whom you have heard from rarely in the church. Jesus gives us some great examples of this type of commitment.

Matt 16:24 (NASB95)
, 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

So Jesus gave two descriptions, this person would deny themselves and be carrying a cross. So this person would be a very selfless person always putting him/herself last. This person would always put God’s Kingdom as their first priority. The taking up of ones cross would be the complete and total surrender to God’s will in their life.

Mark 8:38 (NASB95)
38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

In this description, Jesus implies that this person would have no shame when it comes to professing Jesus as Lord of their life. On the flip side, one can not be afraid to instigate conversation and speak of their salvation.

John 15:13 (NASB95)
13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

This is sometimes a very difficult description to see in anyone, but all the same it is expected. We should be willing to lay down our own lives in place of our friends. The main focus of the sacrifice is not fame, or a great legacy, but doing it in love.

Matt 7:20 (NASB95)
20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Jesus clearly tells us how to recognize them not only by the descriptions he provided for us to model ourselves after, but also by this verse. He clearly states that you will know them by what they produce for the kingdom. A committed Christian is not known by their wealth or monetary possessions we are known by what we do for Christ’s sake.

Gal 5:22-24 (NASB95)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

I think Paul described a committed Christian very well in these verses. These principles are great ones to model our actions after.

What must I do to become a more committed Christian?
I think the first key to becoming a committed Christian, is understanding who Christ is and what He accomplished through His sacrifice. We must also understand who we are in Christ.

Romans 3:23 (NASB95)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

This verse tells us in simple terms why Jesus was sent to die on the cross. The fact is, we are sinners who are separated from God and because God, not us, wanted to restore the relationship, He sent Jesus to die for us that we might be redeemed. As pointed out in Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

John 19:30 (NASB95)
30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

The key words in this verse are, “it is finished”. What Jesus was saying is, "I have executed the great designs of the Almighty—I have satisfied the demands of his justice—I have accomplished all that was written in the prophets, and suffered the utmost malice of my enemies; and now the way to the holy of holies is made manifest through my blood." An awful, yet a glorious finish. Through this tragical death God is reconciled to man, and the kingdom of heaven opened to every believing soul.

Next we must understand who we are in Christ.

2 Cor 5:17 (NASB95)
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

If we are born into Christ’s blood, then we are not the same person we were. We must come to terms with the fact that we must put off the old things we used to do and say, and start from scratch. We must begin to build ourselves up in the word of truth and learn what is expected of us in our new way of life. We must submit control of our lives over to God, devote ourselves to prayer and study of His word and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in every move we make. This process is not an overnight transformation, it is a life time learning and applying what you learn. As Romans 12:2 Puts it, “Do not be conformed any longer to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is.
Final Notes: Commitment is the willingness to give up ones desires and dreams for the cause of Christ. Many times in life we will be faced with a choice, and although we may think they are God intended opportunities, we must first seek His face. Prayer is the single most important attribute of a Committed Christian, simply because prayer is the means of communicating with our Heavenly Father. We do not use prayer simply to make request, but it is even more important to use prayer time to hear what God is saying.

Do we honestly realize that we are our own worst enemy?

2008-10-08T10:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know we say this constantly, yet I, for one do not believe that we take this as seriously as we should. I want to use American History for the point I am trying to make. If in fact during the Revolutionary War, if those men who held their freedom so dear walked up to the enemy and handed them their guns and continued to try and fight, then I guess it is safe to say they would have lost and they did not care about freedom at all. Lost the battle because they were not equipped to handle the fight and did not care about their freedom because they chose to give up what they had already been given to equip them for this battle.
You say, Sam, what is your point? I will start by bringing out a discussion we had in discipleship training. We were discussing the “Love” that we are supposed to “Abide In” when it comes to following Christ. I raised a question that has been bothering me for quite sometime only to get my answer from the Holy Spirit after much discussion with my brothers and sisters.
Q. Why is it so easy for us to love someone who is not a believer that offends us, than it is for us to love a fellow believer that has offended us?
A. First of all, we must understand the “Love” as it is meant. Christ stated many times that He loved us the way the Father loved Him and that we too should love in that manner. That “Love” is not a superficial emotion that you show at church to make people feel like you care when really you might not even remember their name. This kind of “Love” can only be known when you look at someone like Christ did. You see Christ looked one of the disciples who outwardly by service and emotion, loved Christ deeply, and He told him you will deny me three times before the rooster crows. And yet Christ still loved Him in the midst of his disappointing actions. The reason it is so easy to love a non-believer, and hard to love a believer that offends you, is because of an expectation you have. It is not the other people’s fault it is yours. Christ knew Peter was a man and therefore knew that Peter would disappoint Him therefore it was easier for Him to “Love” Peter through it. We have a habit of expecting the world to disappoint, and believers to be perfect. Well guess what? It is not going to happen. We need to learn to have realistic expectations from our brothers and sisters and knowing that they will disappoint us, it’s not if, it’s when. This will make it much easier to get over it and forgive. By placing these expectations on these people, you are penalizing them for what you have determined as right in your mind; basically self-righteousness in layman’s terms. Not even when you think you are perfect do you have the right to make someone feel like they failed, Jesus didn’t do that! We need to grasp hold of the true love that Christ showed and get rid of superficial emotion.
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
1 John 3:18 (NASB95)

The second thing I would like to point out is our fallacy in making our weaknesses known to satan and then wondering why the temptations grow so strong. If we are fighting and you tell me where you weak spot, guess where I am going to hit you? We are never to show our weaknesses to the enemy because we allow him access to our Spiritual growth when we do. We have a calling to come out and be separate from the world and as we begin to grow spiritually, satan grows weaker in the attacks and that is because he is losing Intel on your weak areas. We can read in James 1 and 3 about the power of the tongue and what it is capable of. We give the enemy our guns when we vocalize our weaknesses out loud.
I would offer to you that we are never to expose our weaknesses to satan, but only to claim the victory we have in Christ Jesus. If we spend all of our time holding to that truth, we will have no time to buy into satan’s lies, which tells us that we can do it, or we are just trash and we are going to fall on our face. My struggles will be between me and God until the Spirit in me has overcome them and I have claimed the victory which was given to me when Christ defeated the grave, hell, and sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us and that is a truth that we need to stand firm on and stop selling ourselves short. We have committed treason against self for far too long and now it is time to stand up, stand tall, and stand proud because of the hope that we have. I hope that Holy Spirit will get you as excited as He did me when I realized these things. May God richly bless you!

Does the Church have the right?

2008-10-08T10:37:00.001-05:00

I am growing more and more concerned about the church and the positions they are seeking to fill with staff. I have been called into the ministry and had the opportunity to speak on several occasions. I have spoken at several different venues which include, churches, public evangelism conferences and so on. I was a youth pastor for two years and taught straight Biblical truth by the power of God over my life. Am I perfect? Of course not! But, the one thing I do know is that God has endowed me with the gift of ministering to people by way of the church as well as evangelism.
Okay, so to the point of the article. Does the church have the right to require that someone have a college degree in order to hold a position in the church? I would like to share my point of view and in turn ask you to search the scriptures for the answer. As I respond I will leave a few references for you to go by, but do not take my word for it.
As I begin, the first verses I would like to point out to you are the ones where Christ was speaking to His disciples about there place in this world. He stated that they were in the world not of the world. We should never assume that we are to practice anything the world finds useful in their tactics of hiring for the church. Secondly, who is the boss anyway? We as members of the church looking to fill a position need to understand that God is the boss and he would never make educational, criminal, credit or any other background in a person’s life, a point of disqualification in the ministry. As a matter of fact, I believe He called a murderer to minister to the Gentiles, Paul. I believe I also recall Him calling a fisherman with no formal education to start the first New Testament church, Peter. It was not because of their worldly qualifications that God called them. It was because He had a purpose for them and He used them.
When we put requirements on things we limit the fact that God may have someone without a formal education prepared for that position, but because you have posted it as required, they pass it by. The only requirement we should have for filling staff positions is that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The sad thing is that we allow men to serve as deacons that do not even qualify under that requirement. Why are we letting the world influence us in a way that we do not believe someone without education can minister. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called! I beg you to think about this article and determine in your heart whether or not we have the right, or is that taking the position of God away from Him. Lest we forget that is what caused this cycle in the first place, Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, all knowing.

The Infamous "List"

2008-10-06T13:52:00.002-05:00

A friend and I were talking after curch last night about the way many people view Christianity. It is at least very suprising how many people look at Christianity as a limiting faith. What I mean by that is some people think that we have a long list of things that we cannot do or are not allowed to do. If you think about Christianity like that, then you have the same outlook when you lived at home with mom and dad. You always heard from them that as long as you are in my house you can't or are not allowed to........! For those of you who are no longer living with your parents, let me ask, in which environment were you most free in? Your parents or living on your own. I have found that I was much more free to do things living with my mother because I was not bound by the responsibilities of living on my own.
Christianity is much the same as this life example. Although we feel like living under Christian principles limits us in what we are allowed to do. This is far from the truth. It is not that I can no longer drink alcohol, smoke, have fun and so on. It is that I no longer HAVE to drink, or HAVE to smoke to HAVE fun. I am free to have fun and much more of it outside the bondage of these things. It is only when you look at Christianity within the proper perspective that you understand we are not unhappy with the things unbelievers see as negative, we are extremely ecstatic about no longer doing those things. Why not try it our way before you knock it!

What is a Christian?

2008-10-03T08:02:00.002-05:00

I am not sure what many of you have been lead to believe about Christianity. I for one lived many years as a Christian believing that I was simply here to live and nothing more. I was just breathing up clean air and living my life for me and doing what it took to maintain life. I guess maybe a better way to put it would be to say that I was just trying to be a good person. Christianity is much more than just trying to be a good person and just having a label on you. We are actually called to live a life that is so different that it crys out without saying a word. People everywhere around us should be able to see that we are different. Sometimes that may require you to boldly stand in the face of adversity. Other times it may simply mean being a different person in the office where you work.
When one becomes a Christian they take an oath to live a new life that would follow the example Christ set for us. Leaving all the old behind us and taking up new habits that would eximplify a difference in our lives. If you look the same after Christ as you did before Christ, then maybe you should check your Christ. I know that when I was introduced to Christ, there came a life changing experience. My point is, if you are simply professing to be a Christian you have missed the mark. Christianity is a lifestyle to be practiced, not a label to brag about. Jesus was very clear when He said that you will know them by their fruit. You can tell me all day long that you are a mechanic, but when my car breaks down and I bring it to you, the truth will come out. Same as Christianity, when the test come, we will see. Where do you stand? Are you Professing or Practicing?