Empty Claim

As I read and study the Bible, I am amazed when reading about all the saints; their struggles, their faith, their obedience, and their love for God and for their fellow man. I am discouraged because there is little to no resemblance of those attributes in who calls themselves saints (Christians) today.

Who is an authentic Christian? Who lives up to the calling of being a Christian?  Are we so worldly that no one can tell us apart? Do we not know what true Christianity is supposed to be? Are our hearts so hardened that we do not recognize a suffering brother and be compelled and burdened to help? Are we not concerned for the spiritual aspect, the soul, of another?

Is James 2:15-17 words without meaning?

Believe, Even If It Is Hard To Understand

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Believe, Even If It Is Hard To Understand

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden {wisdom} which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 {the wisdom} which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND {which} HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." 10 For to us God revealed {them} through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the {thoughts} of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the {thoughts} of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual {thoughts} with spiritual {words.} 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Understanding the Scriptures comes through the help of the Holy Spirit. We are to prayerfully seek the wisdom through the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Scriptures. No one in their own power or understanding will accept and understand the things of God. The apostle Paul explains this wonderfully in the verses we just read.
There are some parts of Scripture that may be hard for anyone to understand. Even though we may not be able to understand every verse of Scripture, we are to believe it, in whole, the entire Bible. Whatever you do, if you are a professing Christian, do not be so bold as to say that you do not believe a particular verse or section of Scripture. The apostle John explains that it is absolutely necessary to believe all of Scripture, the entire Bible. He says in Revelation 22:18-19, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
When you give Scripture a different meaning than God intended, you not only misunderstand the Scripture, but you misunderstand who God is. Matthew addresses this in his gospel in Matthew 22:29, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” It is not up to you to determine the meaning of a section of Scripture. It is up to you to find the meaning God has in the Scripture through Scripture. God gave each verse a meaning. He uses all of Scripture together to explain itself.
The best way to misunderstand any verse of Scripture is to take it out of the context it is in and give it a different meaning, make it mean what you want it to mean. In so doing you are grieving the Holy Spirit, being disobedient to Christ and sinning against God. Reread Revelation 22:18-19.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” The entire Bible is the Word of God; every book, every chapter, every verse, every word. We are to study the Bible, not merely read it, but to study it, meditate on it, apply it, share it. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Paul is telling Timothy to study the Bible so that he will understand the Scriptures and will be able to teach others correctly and to use it wisely.
We are to take from this lesson that the Word of God may be hard to understand, but we are to believe it none-the-less. We are to believe it in its entirety. We are to prayerfully seek the help of the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to understand the Scriptures and the things of God. We are not to mindlessly spat out statements that we don’t believe certain verses or sections of Scripture just because we don’t understand them. Humble yourself and seek the help of the Holy Spirit. If you cannot believe the Bible, then you cannot believe in God. The Bible, in its entirety, came from Him. You are called to believe, even if it is hard to understand.

50 Years of Marriage

50 Years of Marriage
Genesis 2:24, For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
50 Years of marriage. This is a celebration! This is not merely a celebration of the years this couple has been married, but a celebration of love. A continuous, increasing, and deepening love. A love that is unmatched, except by the love that God has for us. The love that Mac and Judy has for each other is shred with and has been consummated by God.
God joined this couple together in holy matrimony 50 years ago. From what I have been told, it is not always easy being married for 50 years and beyond. The beauty of seeing this couple married for 50 years is the love they have for each other. Their love has bound them through the understanding of their commitment and of the vows they made to each other through their covenant with God.
God established marriage at creation when God created Adam and Eve. Marriage has always been seen by God as a love that a husband has for his wife, just as the love that Christ has for His church and the love the wife has for her husband through submission. This is described in Ephesians 5:21-25, “And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church.”
For a couple, marriage begins with a commitment to each other before God and other people to be husband and wife. This is a commitment for life, in which God considers the man and the woman to be of one flesh, as husband and wife. It says in Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” God views the unity of Mac and Judy as “one flesh;” which is essential to be husband and wife. Jesus continues in Matthew 19:6, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
What an awesome testimony Mac and Judy has in their marriage! It is very encouraging to me to know them and to be a witness to their example. It is a blessing to see a couple whose love has abounded and has endured for over fifty years.
I want to thank you God for this marriage union and I pray for your blessings upon them. Thank you, Lord for your love, your faithfulness, and your gift of marriage; which has all been evident and proven through the relationship and marriage of Mac and Judy. We praise your name and give you all the glory. Amen

Psalm 3

Psalm 3
A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom.
3:1 Lord, how numerous are my enemies!
Many attack me.
3:2 Many say about me,
“God will not deliver him.” (Selah)
3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me;
you are my glory and the one who restores me.
3:4 To the Lord I cried out,
and he answered me from his holy hill. (Selah)
3:5 I rested and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord protects me.
3:6 I am not afraid of the multitude of people
who attack me from all directions.
3:7 Rise up, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Yes, you will strike all my enemies on the jaw;
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
3:8 The Lord delivers;
you show favor to your people. (Selah)

Psalm 3 is all about God’s love for his people and David’s trust in the Lord. “Psalm 3 is a psalm of lament and confidence.” David demonstrates his faith through adversity. He even demonstrates his confidence by being able to sleep peacefully. David calls on the LORD (all capital letters) meaning YAHWEH, with crying and in an audible voice. David is asking God for his shield of protection. God demonstrates his love by providing protection and by inflicting punishment to David’s enemies. “God works for his glory and for the good of his people.”
There are many implications in this psalm. First, in verses 1 and 2, David confides in God. David looks to God when his life is in danger. He describes to God what has been troubling him, how things are getting worse for him. David is showing his wisdom by praying before he takes any action. We, too, are to confide in God when people are out to harm us or are spreading lies about us. Prayer is our tool to demonstrate our faith in God. Our prayers are not to be merely words, but petitions from our hearts.
Further implications in this psalm are found in verses 3-4. David continues to show his confidence in God by stating that God is his “shield about me.” We are to show our confidence in God, believing in his power, his protection, and his love for us as his children. Whenever we are going through hard times, we are to look to God, meditate on God like David did. We are to demonstrate our joy in God by lifting our heads in the confidence of his love for us.
More implications are found in verses 5-6 of Psalm 3. Do not worry. Through all the troubles that David was dealing with, he was able to sleep. David gives God the credit for getting a good night sleep. Many times I fall short of having the faith in God to deal with my problems. As a result, I miss out of the blessing of getting a good night sleep and being rejuvenated for the day ahead. I essence, verse 5 has been called “a morning psalm.” Also, David speaks of not being afraid. He knew God never sleeps and would protect him while he did. God is in control. David’s fear of the Lord gave him the confidence not to fear man. We are to trust the Lord in all we do and in his protection for us. We are not to live our lives in fear or in worry. “If you fear God, then you have no man to fear.”
Finally, the rest if the implications for Psalm 3 are found in verses 7-8. Again, David is confiding in God. This time is to punish his enemies. Actually, David makes his request like it has already happened. David just knows God will bring justice. We are to know that God has already planned to punish the ones who do us wrong. The last implication is that God pours his blessing out to his people. Salvation is mentioned because that is the greatest gift God has for his people. All of our blessings come from God. Verses 7-8 indicate that God’s people are blessed, while his enemies are condemned.
The significance of Psalm3 on my life is that God knows our hearts. When we pray, he knows if we are truly sincere or if our intentions or motives are different than the words we say in our prayers. For instance, many times in the past, my prayers were not answered because my heart was different than the words of my prayers. God allowed the circumstances or situations to worsen to bring my heart inline with my prayers.
God demonstrates his love and patience to us to mold us into the instrument he wants to use to bring him the glory and honor that he deserves. God desires us to be dependant on him. That is why he allows trials and tribulations to happen in our lives. He wants to draw us closer to him, to be dependant on him, and for him to demonstrate his love for us. By God, we were created through his love, to love him.

Brotherly Love

Brotherly Love

1 Peter 1:22-23
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

I have some friends back home I miss dearly. These guys I went to church with, served with, witnessed with, traveled with, played music with, shared with, cried with, laughed with, worked with, and prayed with. These guys all had different gifts, but a similar heart. Their hearts are for God.

These guys are the best friends that anyone could ask for. None of us were perfect, and these guys were always willing to help me in the areas where I fell short. Never condemning, but always compassionate. These guys know my past and they have encouraged me. They have seen my mistakes and have forgiven me. They have seen me down and they have lifted me up. They have seen me joyful and have rejoiced with me. They have seen me worried and they have put an arm around me. I have needed to talk with someone and they have listened. They have seen my need and they have prayed with me.

These guys are my brothers in Christ. They know the love of the Father and they are obedient to the truth. They have sacrificed time from their families and their jobs. They have always been willing to help me in any way they can.

It is amazing how God can bring together and use these men who have different pasts, different gifts and different interests and yet, have so much in common through Christ. I am so thankful to God for using these men in my life. Because of these men discipling me, I became a Christian and have a maturing relationship with Christ. I want to thank these men for being the men of God that they are. Because of the obedience to God and the brotherly love that these men have displayed, I was discipled and am now the man I am today.

God is Love

God Is Love
1 John 4:7-21
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19We love, because He first loved us. 20If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Love is the most powerful thing in the world, or in the universe for that matter. Love is much more than how the world knows love. Why? Because, God is Love. A Christian can know the true power of love. Through Jesus Christ, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In essence, we are filled with God’s love. A Christian not only experiences love differently and deeper than the rest of the world, but is to share this love in a way that only God can, through the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8, for us to go throughout the earth witnessing for Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to share the love of God in hopes that they too can accept God’s love through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The love we have shows in our compassion for the lost. We are to realize the blessings we have received and will receive for all eternity and we want others to receive these same blessings. It is not enough for us to accept and receive these blessings of salvation and never share them. The blessings will come abundantly more once we lead others to the same love, Jesus Christ.
I plead with you. Tell others about Jesus and the cross. Tell of the love that Jesus has for the world, for all people, for you. Tell of the love that God has for you, in what He has done for you and how He has worked in your life. Help others to understand that God first loved us and because of His love for us, sent His only Son to earth to take the punishment for our sins, so that we can accept His love, be forgiven and live for eternity in the presence of God, who is Love.

Being a Christian is Costly

Matthew 16:24-27
“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. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.’”

I have had the opportunity to visit several churches in the past 10 years. Sadly, one thing I have noticed in many of the churches that I have visited is, many things that are said in the Bible are not preached with the same emphasis or with the same intended meaning of that of the author. For instance, this particular Scripture (Matt. 16:24-27), is sometimes preached with a less than adequate emphasis or is avoided and disregarded entirely.

Why?

This section of Scripture is hard to accept. Jesus is to the point. He doesn’t give you any options. Jesus says that you must deny yourself if you want to be a Christian. Deny yourself…that goes against our culture. That goes against what we want to do. That goes against the beliefs that we have of what will make us happy.

Our culture and our world, demand that we live selfish, self-centered lives. It has been drilled in our minds that our goal in life is to seek happiness in everything we do. If it doesn’t sound fun, don’t do it. If we aren’t happy, do something else. If we are living this way, we are living for ourselves.

The reason this Scripture is hard for us to read is because it goes against our worldly desires. But Jesus is telling us that if we live our lives like that, we are not living for Him. He goes on to say that if we turn from our worldly ways and desires and do as He says, then we will receive the true blessings. What we see as sacrifice and a burdensome life, Jesus describes as being obedient to Him and we will receive the blessing from it.

One of the main things that Christians are called to do is to make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus is to the point here, also, when He say’s “Go.” We are to make disciple. It takes sacrifice to disciple someone. You will have to deny yourself to share the love of God.
If you give your life to Christ, you will find it

What Can You Do To Impact Eternity?

Is your life lead by death? What do you mean?
Are you concerned about the things you will accomplish before you die?
Is your life driven by a list of things you want to do or accomplish before you die?

Think about the most imortant thing that you want to do or the most important thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime.

How important is it to you?
How important will it be to others?
How significant will this act be?
Who will remember you for this?
Will you be remembered for this?
If so, how long do you think you will be remembered?
About the thing you want to do or accomplish, what will the ramifications be when you do this? Or in the future?
Do you think you will be in the history books?
Will accomplishing this act only be for your own personal satisfaction?
If you were to accomplish this act, would it be pleasing to God?
Of all the things that you could possibly accomplish, will this impact eternity?
What could you possibly do to impact eternity?

Is there anything thing you could do in your lifetime that would give you great satisfaction, be pleasing to God, and impact eternity?

According to Jesus Christ, yes there is. He says in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

As a Christian, you are called to make disciples. It is pleasing to God for you to be obedient to your calling. You will benefit from the joy in sharing Christ with others and helping them in understanding and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. You will impact eternity by leading others to becoming Christians and them being freed from the bondage of slavery and sin and the condemnation of death, to the salvation of their souls to eternal life.