Unity is Our Testament

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Jesus Prays for All Believers

^{John 17 NIV}

²⁰“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ²⁴“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

When we really think about the Christian community as a whole, we are talking about people from all over the world.  It was the unity of the church community that made such an impression upon the Roman Empire during the persecution of the believers.  To watch people stand together for their faith in the face of adversity speaks with such volume.  Nowadays the is such division amongst Christians from the basic issues to the very important doctrinal issues.  We seem divided and not unified so to the world we project the wrong image of God.  It’s largely due to the fact that some groups of Christians have stopped or compromised the teaching of the Gospel.  The cross has been made less offensive in order to please people.  When you do that you divide the Church and you change God into a servant of men’s pride.  Jesus prayed for unity so that “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
We must be honest about the doctrine we defend and be honest about the stances we take that cause such division within the body of Christ.  We must ask ourselves is it worth it, is it of God (rightly divide the Word) and is it “my” personal preference that I take this stance?

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We are Diamonds

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Have you ever thought about the process a diamond go through just to be beautiful and full of value?  We are created in the image of God and for His glory do we reflect His holiness.  He poured out He love on us and gave up He son so that we might be saved.  He has shown us great love, grace and mercy.  I thought about writing more but the commentary speaks volumes and I could not do this topic the justice that it deserves.  But I will add this; we are to reflect the love and holiness of our heavenly Father.  The love of Christ should shine from our souls and it should infect everyone around us.  They should see it in you and be compelled to ask you “what is this joy you have?”  But we hide it as if we are ashamed of the God that died for us.  We have allowed the world to convince us that its a personal thing so keep God to yourself.  But Jesus has charged us to spread the Gospel and to make disciples.  Yes, we all have individual experiences that brings us closer to Him but we have a personal obligation to share with others.  We good does it do if a doctor discovers a cure and does not share it?  So we seek to secure our place in heaven but don’t want to upset anyone so we want to stay diamonds and just color ourselves some so the reflection doesn’t offend the world.  We become nothing more than colored rocks reflected a tainted, filtered, watered down, distorted, sugar cothed Jesus Christ and a shiney cross.  We become like Satan himself, knowing of God and walking like you never heard of him.

Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Commentary

A later Jewish story may illustrate how first-century hearers would have grasped Jesus’ point. An inquirer reportedly asked a late first-century rabbi what to salt tasteless salt with; he responded, “The afterbirth of a mule” (b. Bekarot 8b). In that society everyone knew that mules are sterile; the point is, “You ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer. Salt can’t stop being salt!” But of course if it were to do so, it would no longer be of any value as salt.

Just as tasteless salt lacks value to the person who uses it, so does a professed disciple without genuine commitment prove valueless for the work of the kingdom.

A disciple whose life reveals none of the Father’s works is like invisible light for vision: useless. Jesus reinforces his point with various images. A disciple should be as obvious as a city set on a hill (as most cities were), and a light in a home should be no easier to hide than a torchlit city at night (5:14-15; most homes had only one room). As a popular sage had put it, “What is the value of concealed wisdom, any more than of treasure that is invisible?” (Sirach 41:14).

Jesus depicts his disciples’ mission in stark biblical terms for the mission of Israel. God called his people to be lights to the nations (for example, Is 42:6; 49:6)-that is, the whole world (compare Mt 18:7). Christians are light because-contrary to some psychoanalytic theories-their destiny (13:43) more than their past must define them.

But Christians cannot be content to remain the world’s light in a merely theoretical sense; they must “be what they are,” letting their light shine for their Father’s honor (5:16). Ministers of the Word must equip all other Christians for their ministry as lights in their various neighborhoods and occupations (Eph 4:11-13; Tit 2:1, 5, 8, 10). While Jesus is opposed to our doing good works publicly for our own honor (6:1, “to be seen” by people), he exhorts us to do those good works publicly for God’s honor (5:16; cf. 6:9). This distinction exhorts us to guard the motives of our hearts and consider the effects our public activities and pronouncements have on the spread of the gospel and the honoring of God among all groups of people.

Commentary can be found on Gateway.com

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Why Study the Bible?

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Sometimes it’s hard to endure brokenness when things around you are against you and there seems to be no hope in sight.  People tell us to have faith but that is easier said than done; right?  It can be if you are trying to pull this faith out of thin air.  If your faith has no root or foundation to stand on or to be feed.  We have been told to read our bibles at home, we are told to go to Sunday school and to attend bible study but has anyone every told you why?

2 timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 timothy 2

¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

¹⁶But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

¹⁷And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

¹⁸Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

¹⁹Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Without study or knowledge of the Word of God what is it that our certainty stand on?  To make it simple, why do you believe what you believe? Who said so? Why did they say it? Why can you trust God? How can you know God if you don’t read His Word? Or better yet read His biography? “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God…”  You will never get all you need to know on Sunday, even if you got to Sunday School; nor will you get it all if you go to bible study on Wednesday.  You will really not get it all if the Pastor likes to play it safe and only preach the joy, joy and blessings abundantly sermons.  Without a solid foundation built on the Law of God and His Prophets and Apostles, you are building on sand and your faith is lacking substance.  To have faith is to have conviction in the object of your faith.  Can you truly trust a stranger with your life?  If that cannot be then how do you trust a God that you do not know anything about because you will not read about Him?  It’s like people who read about Abraham Lincoln but don’t read about his opinions on Africian American slaves at the time.  How do you know a man without knowing all and not just the things that are pleasing to you?

When you don’t know, you leave room for Satan to decieve you.  You go into the house and leave the front door unlock and the thief can come in and steal your joy.  You cover yourself in only have the armour then go to battle.  Its like fighting without the shield, using just the sword plus not knowing how to properly use the sword.  You are armed and dangerous to yourself and everyone around you as well as watching you live your life.  By not knowing the Word of God, you reflect a partial image of Him and people get the wrong impression about God.  I think a main reason for this is that the conviction on our lives would be so great as the Holy Spirit would reveal all of the iniquity in our lifestyles.  Then we couldn’t say Lord I didn’t know that I was not suppose to do that.  To have power you must connect to the source and to build yourself up you have to be connected to the source.  To fight the good fight of the faith you have to know the source.  We are warring against a fallen angel that use to dwell with God, so he knows the bible and how to use it against us.  So far he is doing a pretty good job.  But since we fear the bible and the change in our lives that it would cause; we continue to play dumb.

The Passion of Our Christ

As parents, when our children are sick it affects us in a profound way.  I know that personally I hate to see them sick.  It hurts my heart to see this helpless and defenseless child deal with being sick and inflected.  Sometimes, they can’t tell you what’s wrong or what hurts.  They can’t always clearly describe the pain or tell you exactly what’s going on with them.  They just lay there limp and lifeless just wanting to get better.  They just lay on you wanting to be held and desiring comfort. Other times they run around as if they are not sick at all.  But you know better and you try to get them to hold still or to be careful.  You warn them to take it easy and not to try to do everything that comes to mind.  You know that they think they can just do whatever they want but they are just to weak and need your help.  When kids are like this its hard for them to get well cause they are just to stubborn.  It usually takes a major regression to get them to realize that they can’t get better without their parents help.

Can you see the love and concern of God in the mist of this.  This is how our heavenly Father feels as He looks upon His chosen people(Israel) as well as His called out elect (the Church).  We are sin sick and some realize it while others just don’t get it.  Which one are you?  I know I have prayed while holding my kids; “God, let me take on their burden give me their sickness so they can be healed.”  The Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus praying about the cup that was before Him and He desired the will of God be fulfilled.  God desired His son to take on our sin sickness in order for us to be healed.  God held us close and took the cross that we maybe justified, reconciled, redeemed, sanctified, and forgiven plus made whole again.  We are being restored to holiness through the redemption of the blood of Christ.  His passion caused Him to become a servant that we might be saved from ourselves.  Cause we are more like that child who thinks that they are ok because they do act sick like everybody else.  Sometimes pride blinds us to the point of no return as we head for the cliff.

Once For All and Sufficient

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Our Lord and Savior preached as a Prophet, taught as a Priest, died on the cross like a servant, He rose like a King and will return as King. He ascended in a white rob but will return on a white horse and sit on the white throne. Christ is Prophet, Priest and King. He is all, the sufficient God.  We should not add anything to the complete Gospel.  We should not put the new wine into old bottles.  What good does it do to put new garments on filthy flesh? Or to add perfumes to a dead body?  So we must be made new by the power of the Holy Spirit through sanctification and bring glory to God as we follow the true blueprint and not the man made one which was made easy.  But we follow the blueprint that has placed the rugged cross on our backs as we also carry each other.  We have drunk from the Master’s cup, we share in Him, His life and what a life did our Christ live.  Some have denied the Christ to escape persecution and they blend into the crowd of the world.  Denying the Living God before men and how shall Christ represent you before the Father?

Who is the Christ to you?  Is He the everything to you? Have you allowed Him to be your everything?

Hebrews 10

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

¹The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ²If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
⁷Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.’ “^{[a] 8}First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). ⁹Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
¹⁶“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”^{[b] 17}Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”^{[c] 18}And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. ¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

²⁶If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[e] 31}It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. ³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷For in just a very little while,
“He who is coming will come and will not delay.
³⁸But my righteous one^[f] will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him.”^{[g] 39}But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Our Father’s Provisions

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When I was younger and preparing to graduate high school,  my old man made me an offer.  Actually,  it was two offers one would be to work for his construction company and the other was to go to college.  In regards to the first proposal he took me to work with him long before graduating high school.  I started at the bottom just a typical laborer.  No special treatment and I was basically treated like everyone else but sometimes worse.  On the job site I wasn’t his son but just another hard headed worker making 5.00 an hour.  The work was hard and harsh as I worked in all types of weather and conditions.  The work was back breaking and sometimes the verbal abuse (construction talk) didn’t make things easier for me.  It seems as if everyday I came home wanting to quit but how could I, I lived with the boss.  Those four years of high school were hard and my summers disappeared.  While my friends played during the summers I worked.  I got up at 5am, prepared coffee and headed out to the equipment yard.  Saturdays were spent greasing heavy equipment and making repairs or scoping out Mondays new job site and doing all of the logistics of moving dump trucks, trailers, backhoe tractors, lumber and everything else needed for completing a job.  As I grew and showed my dependability, my responsibilities increased and I was seen as an equal.  Now I was being treated as a co-owner and he taught me how to use the heavy equipment as well as how to run the business and build the business.  He would leave me to run the job sites but the work was still hard.  When everyone else went home; we were still on the job site working.  We begin to do jobs just him and I.  It was during these times only with him that I began to see my father beyond the business and the hard exterior.  I saw a father who just wanted to shape his son and build character within him.  He was preparing me for the future.  I then began to long for the jobs that we could do alone.  I loved being with that man more than the tried worn down one that would be at home.  During these father and son jobs, we talked about life and the Gospel.  During these times of earning earthly food, clothing and shelter I was being feed the spiritual food that would later give birth to eternal life.  Yes, this was the original youth ministry and children church that so many kids miss out on.  But as I got ready to enter college or not; he gave me a choice.

I could continue to work for him or go to college.  Working with him would force me into the world, I would have to get my own place and pay my own bills.  But he said if I was to go to college, I could stay at home and not worry about bills or providing for myself and just focus on my education.  His desire was for me to have what he didn’t which was an education and he laid out the truth for me about the business.  I choose college and studied engineering.  Thinking back on it I see it so much clearer now.  That time working for him actually prepared me for college more than high school did.  Working for him at times put our relationship in danger.  Working for him put life in perspective.  In college I learned about myself and who I was, I learned about other beliefs and what made the Gospel message so different.  In college I learned about Christ and my relationship with Christ and my identity in Christ.  But college also taught me pride, something working with my father decreased.  See my father has no respect of person.  After graduating college, I had been taught that pride gets jobs and I quickly learn that no amount of pride will help because God holds all the cards.  During my seeking in college, he provided for me, not always with the things I wanted but with the things I needed.  See in college I had the safety of home.  I had the safety of being in my father’s presence and being able to run to him quickly.  I thank God for the character building because it came in handy.

Then one day working an hourly job, I ran across a few classmates that I actually help graduate.  With a puzzled look on their faces they asked me; “wow you haven’t found a job yet?”  At that moment my pride finally broke and gave out completely.  I finally saw who holds my life and it’s not me or my abilities nor is it my intelligence.  It’s not all the things the world and universities teach you to have confidence in.  I finally looked at the cross and realized that I wasn’t even smart enough to know I needed a savior so how could I hope to run my own life?  My earthly father taught me that the only certain thing is hard work and the rewards belong to the heavenly Father.  If you live by the standards of men, you are doomed to fail but if you live by God’s standards all of His provisions are yours if you would just humble yourself.

Accessing our Father’s provisions doesn’t have a secret formula, it’s actually very simple.  As simple as my choices, God has presented two options to us. Number one, a life in the world filled with hard work and uncertainty.  A life that will ultimately kill you and forget your name as soon as the funeral is over.  A life of long nights and hard days, a life slaved to sin and the world.  A life without benefits or a retirement plan.  A life that will give you nothing when the rainy days come.  But a life of study, a life of seeking righteousness is a little different.  See the life of study was always the Father’s plan and His provisions are set for you accordingly.  He said to seek me and study my commandments and write my statues on your heart and all of the things the world chase after will be added to you.  It was kind of like my earthly father’s offer but this one can protect me from myself.  This offer has humility built-in because it’s based on a humble cross of conviction and salvation.  Seeking after God leads to a point of realizing that you are a sinner and that you as much as the roman soldiers nailed Christ to the cross. Yet the Father forgave you and Christ justified you and reconciled you back to the Father.  Because of that your name is written in the book of life.  That day when I saw the cross and really understood the Gospel, I was changed.  I realized that I didn’t have to do it all alone.  I realize that my Father was just trying to tell me to just focus on learning of Him and He would take care of the rest.  From that day I trusted in Him.  In the world He has His hands on me and I didn’t even know until now that I have passed out of the valley of the shadow of death.  All that time in the world wondering looking for answers, even in a place were everyone thinks they have the answers I found only fools and I was one of them.  I was wasting a life trying to be a man and God had called me out to be more than just a man but a child of God.  His elected servant and all He wants is for me is to be like His oldest.

God’s provisions are there but He has given us a choice.  Listen, prodigal sons and daughters you can have a life out there having fun with a world heading to destruction and hell or you can go to the Word and study.  You can submit to study of the living God and learning of Him and serving Him.  He said that if you would do that then you can stay at home and abide in Him and Him in you.

^{Matthew6 33}But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If we were to break this verse down the greek word for seek means: to seek in order to find [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into, to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after, to seek i.e. require, demand, to crave, demand something from someone.  The object of this seeking is God’s kingdom and righteousness which means:  in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God, the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting, in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due.

Does it make sense now?  Do you know why we are lacking now?  But this seeking should never be in a attempt to gain material things because then you are not seeking God out of the love He has shown you and the love you have for Him.

God’s Extension of Grace

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1 Peter 4:8-11 (New King James Version)

⁸ And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”^{[a] 9} Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Traditional we have been told that to be a steward involved managing ones money or goods.  Here Peter tells us to be as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  The greek work used here for stewards is oikonomos which means:

3623. oikonomos oy-kon-om’-os from 3624 and the base of 3551; a house-distributor (i.e. manager), or overseer, i.e. an employee in that capacity; by extension, a fiscal agent (treasurer); figuratively, a preacher (of the Gospel):–chamberlain, governor, steward.

1) the manager of household or of household affairs

a) esp. a steward, manager, superintendent (whether free-born or as was usually the case, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the head of the house or proprietor has intrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts and expenditures, and the duty of dealing out the proper portion to every servant and even to the children not yet of age

b) the manager of a farm or landed estate, an overseer

c) the superintendent of the city’s finances, the treasurer of a city (or of treasurers or quaestors of kings)

2) metaph. the apostles and other Christian teachers and bishops and overseers

A steward unlike previously taught, does not own the things that they oversee or manage.  Here Peter urges us to be good distributors of the many graces of God.  All that we have belongs to God, all that the “church” owns belongs to Him.  All of the privileges, blessings and gifts belong to Him and need to be distributed to others.  We are the instruments of God and the ones who carry the blessings of God out into the world.  We like to think that we are just required to pray for those in need and leave it at that but that’s not the case.

James 2:13-17

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
We find it easy to say it and not show it and have used this “good steward” thing as a means to condemn people who have found themselves in bad situations.  We are blessed to be a blessing to be good administrators of the Master’s household goods to be distributing out accordingly.

Blessings or Relationships

John 6:26

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

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What is that we are after? Why are we so selective of the Holy Scriptures that we commit to memory? Why do we concern ourselves so much with comfortable living when we are called to die to ourselves? Why do we seeking our own glory and not the glory of God? Why do we run to the altar to pray for blessings and not to be used by God? Why do we pray for health and not to die for the Lord? Why do we pray for the down fall of our enemies and not for the Holy Spirit to move on their hearts? Why do we pray for success and not for God to do the increase?  Why do we wear the cross around our necks but do not take it up on our backs? Why do we preach about heaven and neglect the kingdom of God within us? Why do we build the lifeless church and turn our backs on the living stones of the true church? Why do we say peace, peace and Lord, Lord and hate our brothers and sisters in Christ?  Why do we join non profits to be seen and walk past the christians in need to allow offer prayer and not substance?  Why do we preach stwedwaredship and don’t know what it really means?  Why do we name it and call it, when nothing belongs to us? Why do we demand of God and do not serve him?  Why do we seek glory but refuse the cup of Christ? Why do we sing and shout and live as slave to sin? Why do we groan and moun about our short comings and underestimate the work of Christ on sin? Why do continue to claim to be sinners when we are new creatures and no longer slaves to sin? Why do wish to only think of God as a genie and don’t think we should suffer anything? Why do we think we deserve everything and are nothing without God? Why can’t we trust our lives to the God that saved that life from death and eternal damnation? Why you ask? Because we want the Gospel blessings of heaven and things not the Gospel message of conviction. We we want the God of love and not of Judgment but Peter said the Church will be judge first.

1 Peter 4:17-19

¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”^[a]

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

We seek blessings and not relationships, its easy to buy love than to give love and pride makes it impossible to do anything in true love.

God’s Wrath Against Mankind

Romans 1:18-32(NIV)

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

I made the mistake of reading articles on the internet written by those who demand proof of God.  You read those things and they

usually sound less intelligent than the Christians they bash.

I wonder what is so wrong about believing in God?  They usually say religion is holding the world back? Back from what?  What is this great

achievement mankind is seeking? The only thing I could come up with is this: Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” the lie from Satan to Eve…

I wonder what is so wrong about believing in God?  They usually say religion is holding the world back? Back from what?  What is this great achievement mankind is seeking? The only thing I could come up with is this:

Genesis 3:1-2(NIV)

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “⁴ “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

I wonder what is so wrong about believing in God?  They usually say religion is holding the world back? Back from what?  What is this great achievement mankind is seeking? The only thing I could come up with is this:

Genesis 3:1-2(NIV)

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “⁴ “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Open Our Eyes

Image by Andy-Beal via Flickr

We keep doing things over and over while never getting the results we expect to get.  We try to do a lot of good things, good things that may well help the church, help our nieghbors but we are trying to do them without seeing first.  The Holy Spirit has really been keeping this short  saying from Matthew 6; “seek ye first the kingdom of God“.  But today it became even clearer and the door swung wide open and the Spirit began to illumate the scripture to me.  I had been struggle with a little household task and just couldn’t figure out why something so simple was giving me such a hard time.  I tried three times and just couldn’t fix the door in my daughter’s room.  I finally decided that I needed to get up a little higher to make sure that I can see.  As soon as I was able to really see what I was doing and what had to be done; I fixed the door in less than 30 seconds.  See, when you get ahead of God, move without out God and move not according to His will; it’s not simple not being led by God it’s more like walking blind to everything.  But you will never know unless you first follow after God and walk in His righteousness and how do you do that?

This is how, by being imitators of God which is inline with His will for our lives to look like Christ and what did Christ do seek first the will of the Father and everything else was added unto Christ (John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.).

Ephesians 5

¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ²and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6}Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.