We Forget Easily

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I was reading some twitter feeds this morning and as I read my heart became heavy. I felt my soul sink and then I felt a fire bubble up. My eyes opened wide and then the Holy Spirit spoke to me… In our efforts of spreading the Word of God we can get to a point of being to wise. What I mean is that we forget that we were in the crowd at one point crying out Barabbas! give us Barabbas! At one point a murderous, selfish, self center, self persevering and sinful person is all that we cared about. And as we preach the Gospel and teach the Gospel and try to tell others about Christ we suppress our inner Barabbas in shame. But we don’t realize that we do the Gospel a great disservice in the process. I’m not saying that we should act like our old man but don’t let others think you were born without sin. When Christ appeared before the disciples, Thomas couldn’t believe that the Lord that was crucified and died on the cross. Jesus gladly showed him the nailed scared hands and feet; Thomas even put his hand in Jesus’ side where the spear entered. Our sin nature has not been removed but we have been given power over it and Satan has been crushed. Don’t let the shame of our sinful nature hide the transforming power of Christ’s work on the cross. Don’t hide behind your new self to the point others think you was born that way. When we don’t talk about what the Gospel has done for us; we take away from God’s truth and our witness to that truth which is in the death of our old self and resurrection into our new self by the redemption of Christ’s blood. See its all apart of our witness; Christ died for all sin past present and future. Our witness and the Gospel transformed us; past, present and future. We once cried out to save ourselves and send Christ to the cross instead as we called out for Barabbas. We are so stupid and didn’t realized that God used our selfishness and sinful nature to complete His purpose.

During this time of the year we celebrate a birth and forget He was born to die and they gladly killed Him and we gladly deny that we needed His substitution for sin. We stick out our chest and say full of pride that we don’t need salvation. We forget who we are and how we got to where we are. Like babies that learn to walk. After we can stand on our own we pull back our arm from our Father. Yet it is our Father that picks us up and again our pride removes us from His presence. God had to break Jacob’s hip, take David’s son, make Paul blind; sheeps and goats never learn do they…

God bless you & may the Holy Spirit lead you
Rev. W. R. Martin Jr.
visit me at: http://anointedplace.wordpress.com
follow me at: http://twitter.com/refreshinDsaint

Coronary Circulation

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Coronary circulation is the circulation of blood in the blood vessels of the heart muscle. Although blood fills the chambers of the heart, the muscle tissue of the heart (the myocardium) is so thick that it requires coronary blood vessels to deliver blood deep into it. The vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium are known as coronary arteries. The vessels that remove the deoxygenated blood from the heart muscle are known as coronary veins.

The coronary arteries that run on the surface of the heart are called epicardial coronary arteries. These arteries, when healthy, are capable of autoregulation to maintain coronary blood flow at levels appropriate to the needs of the heart muscle. These relatively narrow vessels are commonly affected by atherosclerosis and can become blocked, causing angina or a heart attack. (See also: circulatory system.) The coronary arteries that run deep within the myocardium are referred to as subendocardial.

I guess you are wondering what’s up with the definition for coronary circulation?  Well, I have some posts here titled “finding God” and “Know who you serve“.   I even posted a commentary by Matthew Henry on John 16:7-15. So what does all this have to do with coronary circulation you might ask… Well, if you think about how all that God does in our lives start within the heart and how true faith starts there and moves outwardly.  The openness and strength of these arteries help maintain the health of the heart.  To be drawn by God the heart needs to be open. For there to be life the blood has to flow freely.  The harder it is for the blood to flow and the more resistance the circulation has, the greater the negative effects on the heart.  If we are resisting God or hardering our hearts against the flow of the Holy Spirit; as God draws us and teaches us in other to give us the Christ?  How does it effects our lives and the fullness of our lives?  The effects can be negative for an eternity of damnation.  We will never experience of the fullness of God’s righteousness or all the God has for His elect; the children of the living God.  As long as our selfish hearts put our selfish desires ahead of God’s will; we will continue to go through whatever it is God is doing to soften our hearts.  As long as we desire to be rebels against God, as long as we revel in sin and desire sin, glorify sin in song and dance, as long as we dance around our idols and worship them we will suffer greatly.  Brokenness is not what I use to think it was.  To me brokenness is the process of God killing the idols, the lust, the pride and the devils in our hearts as we fight to hold onto our sinful flesh’s will.  At time I feel that we are the pagan god mammon; but we can’t serve two masters.  We will love one and hate the other.  Whether you know it or not you are a slave to something; Christ or Satan; Jesus or your flesh; sin or the Holy Spirit.  Some of us are dying cause we have chosen to cute off circulation to Christ; as we picked sin over righteousness.  Right now you say that you are just having fun and you have time to serve God when you are old….   You should really rethink that statement and understand what it is that you are really saying to God and about God’s will…..   I refuse to put words into your head because you need to think about it on your own with your own heart and examine the relationship with God that you have.

Finding God

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Some of us don’t like the idea of going to church. We have issues of coming to Christ, walking to the front of the church before everyone. You stand there thinking about what everyone else is thinking about you. You wonder if they are playing “guess the new person’s transgressions”. So our shame keeps us in the seat or just at home. Others feel that it is ridiculous that they need a Savior; cause they are not that bad. For them the whole notion of “sin” is hard for them. They feel that they do not need God or Christ to tell them to do the right thing. They usually have the problem of over simplifying Christianity. The previous person mention eventually because of their shame try to fix their life on their own.
The last type just don’t like all of the “dogma” and the entire orthodox ways to salvation. I just call them “intellectuals” or a vast majority of America’s educated and wealthy. They believe that there are many paths to God and even God is a state of mind and not a being or Spirit. They even marginalize Christ to just a prophet and don’t really see him as a Savior. If I’m wrong someone correct me on how you see Jesus Christ; second person in the trinity…

One of the main issues with some is:

1. Some Christians don’t seem human enough
2. Some have a major problem with pride
3. Some have a disbelief in God period ( they seek to be convinced)
4. Some just don’t know were to go (which goes back to the first statement)

Mature Christians need to stop being so spiritual in the sense we seem cold or above human struggle. As believers we have experienced some of the same things or currently going through things. There are no new situations and we can all learn from each other. This is a spiritual family a global community with the same Heavenly Father. If you can approach your cousin in the time of need, then you should be able to approach your brothers and sisters in Christ as well. This really hurts our Great Commission and the growth of young Christians. Even with Pastors; they can appear like a high priest that can’t be touched. We need to stop this in our churches. Of course we love the class status but its hurting the body of Christ. Plus it can reflect a bad image of God to the world. It makes people feel like if I can’t go to my pastor or a church member then I know I can’t go to God. This is so far from the truth; Christ came to remove that barrier and we wasted no time putting it back up.

I have debated whether or not to include the verse below because it can confuse some. But I will put it like this, if there is a longing in your heart about God or you have an empty feeling and desire more; this verse is probably talking about you. If you have a sense of being drawn to God, Paul is talking about you. If you want to believe but are unclear this verse is for you. God is speaking to your heart and He is drawing you to him.

Ephesians 1:3-5, 10-14

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

John 6:41-51

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Sermon from John Piper found on DesiringGod.org

Teaching Our Minds, Humbling Our Wills

John7:16-18 16 So Jesus answered them, j“My teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

See, those that are looking for truth you know where to find it but Satan has put a fear in you. Our rebellious will doesn’t want to lose a life in the world. Some will never understand how Christians love Christ and desire to do God’s will. Because we are born with a will to serve self. We continue to fight with this will or flesh or sin nature even as Christians. Our egos stand in the way of us seeing Christ clearly and it can even give us a false sense of God. And when we realize that its not all about us then do we see Christ. It as this moment I feel the following verse truly rings true in the heart of a Christian or in the heart of someone who is “seeking God”:

Mark 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

But some feel that they don’t have to go through Christ and that there are many ways to God. But they have made God a state of mind and not the Spiritual Being and Creator that He is. They feel that they can be “good” on their own. So they say that they don’t need Christ to be “good”.

Luke18:19-25

19″Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[b]” 21″All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

See its not about being “good” to get into heaven and even if we were “good”; in the recesses of the heart lays evil intent or selfish desires. If you knew the reasons behind all of the “good” things people did you wouldn’t call them good anymore. If you could see all of the selfish reasons. Example: if people were so good then they wouldn’t worry about the tax breaks and PR they get from donations, non profits, community work, food drives, and etc. God is more concern about the state of your heart. When God has your heart; loving your neighbor in pure unconditional love becomes second nature. When you truly love God; His law is on your heart and it becomes natural to you.

John 10:1-6

1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

John 16

7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Truth that is harassing you and reproving you is the Holy Spirit. If you read anything that claims to be the “Truth” as it relates to God if it doesnt do this: “13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” Don’t trust it. The entire bible points to one Savior; Christ. Even with its many authors (all Holy Spirit inspired) and years in the making all hold true to this scripture. Some people will claim the Jesus got His ideas from elsewhere or some other group before Him. But ask them who can predate Christ if Jesus Christ is God? Who was before the Creator of the universe? What man can claim supreme knowledge over God? See its not that your are seeking or trying to find God but He has found you. There is only one way and no matter what all those that are drawn by God will go that way. We can try to make our experience special to stand out from others; that’s just your ego talking. But we all are humbled and submit to God’s will. And it is in your best interest to heed the call of the Spirit on your heart. Please find someone that can help you with the scriptures and who will pray for you as well as with you. Be careful of those who seek to take advantage of you. Christ is the Good Shepherd and He has laid His life down for you. He will put the person or people in your life to disciple you. If you can’t find someone to walk with you on this Christian journey just contact me.

God bless you & may the Holy Spirit lead you Rev. W. R. Martin Jr.
follow me at: http://twitter.com/refreshinDsaint

email: revroymartin

What is the Holy Spirit

Q. What is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a Christ-centered and his ministry focuses on Christ. He changes us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He is sent by the Father and the Son, to be a helper, counselor. (John 14:15) He baptizes the believer with Holy Spirit (into the universal body of Christ). He fills the believer with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18-21). It is not a once-for-all experience, it is a continuous process of sanctification. The commandment to be filled with the Spirit is dependent on the believer’s walk in obedience and dependance on God. (Eph 4:30, John 14:23) Holy Spirit enables the believer to overcome the sinful self (Gal 5:16-18) and empowers to act boldly to accomplish God’s purpose. (Acts 4:29-31) He gives evidence of His presence and working by producing good fruit in believer’s life. (Gal 5:22) He has given spiritual gifts to each believer as He wills, to be used in serving the body of Christ, the Church. (Rom 12:3-8, 1 Cor. 12:11, Eph. 4:7-12)

Holy Spirit is a person and not a force.
Characteristics of Holy Spirit:
Omniscient, Intelligence (1 Cor 2:10-11)
Omnipotent, creator (Gen 1:2)
Omnipresence (Ps 139:7)
Wisdom (Isa 40:13)

Holiness (Luke 11:13)
Feelings (Eph 4:30)
Will (1 Cor 12:11)

Works of Holy Spirit:
Teaches (John 14:26)
Guides (Rom 8:14)
Commissions (Acts 13:4)
Commands (Acts 8:29)

Restrains (Gen 6:3)
Intercedes (Rom 8:26)
Speaks (john 15:26, 2 Pet 1:21)
Man’s response to Holy Spirit:
Obeyed (Acts 10:19-21)
Lied to (Acts 5:3)
Resisted (Acts 7:51)
Revered (Ps 51:11)
Blasphemed (Matt 12:31)

Grieved (Eph. 4:30)
Outraged (Heb 10:29)

Holy Spirit is an equal in deity with the Father and the Son and not a subordinate.
Named with other persons of Trinity (Acts 5:3-4, Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13,14)

All knowing, all powerful, eternal (see Characteristics above)
Begetting Christ (Luke 1:35)
Convicting men (John 16:8)
Regenerating men (John 3:5-6)
Comforting / helping (John 14:16)
Interceding (Rom 8:26-27)

Sanctifying (2 Thess 2:13)

What is the Holy Spirit: Bible Doctrine is a post from: Bible Study Lessons | Christian Bible Studies | Inductive Bible Study Guide

Now!

I have decided that for the rest of my life right NOW! I will live for Christ. Right NOW! I will carry my cross, be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I will be unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At this moment I will reflect God’s glory and act like I do indeed belong to Him. I will love my brother as Christ has commanded so that they will know that I’m one of His disciplines. At this point in time I will love the body of Christ because how can I love God whom I have never seen and hate my brother and sisters whom I see everyday. I will do this because I have heard Him knock at my door and I very much so desire to fellowship with Him. So I have yielded to the call of the Holy Spirit to be holy, to be the living stone, the member of the royal priesthood, to bare fruit and to be God’s vessel and extension of grace. I have a desire to please Him because He loved us first without hesitation with all of our faults. Because His love is based on who He is and not what I do. Because I do so many things that I should not do and the things I should do I don’t do. But right NOW! I will present myself as a living sacrifice and declare war on my flesh; because Christ defeated sin and death; so I’m no longer a slave to sin. I have been justified, redeemed, reconciled back to my one true heavenly Father. I have never belonged to myself; yet the world thinks otherwise. From the foundation of the world I was bought with a price. I know that I am a temple and the holy of holies is gone because His Spirit is indwelling and has sealed me. God the Holy Spirit has finalized the blood purchase. By He’s power I will stand victorious over sin cause my Savior died once and for all; for every and all sins now and to come. In this I shall seek ye first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and the desires that the pagans waste their lives for shall be added unto me. My Father has opened up His home to me and invited me in. He sat me down and told me that all I need to do is pick up my cross and follow Him. He is my provider and He knows my needs. So right NOW, I live for Christ and I will never regret yesterday and not be anxious of tomorrow because yesterday I for sure lived in His will and in the future I’m living in His grace. I’m that college kid who lives at his parents house while going to school. I don’t have to work cause I have grace as well as a father who provides. So I focus on studies; seeking Him. In my efforts my father sees me and is filled with joy so he blesses me. Since I know all that he does I’m humbled, I approach as a child and in my meekness he delights and lifts me up because I brought myself low. I reverence my father because he didn’t have to do it. And when I graduate, he will be there full of love because I now I look like him. I have learned and was shaped. I’m a new man free from my short comings as a child because I was corrected, purged, pruned, and persevered to bare even more fruit. This all happened because right NOW for Christ I live and for Christ I’ll die and I did die… to myself; yes I killed my flesh and my pride.

Love, Worship and Idolatry

When we are in love with a person, place or thing; in most cases it becomes our center. We spend a lot of time with it or working for it or in it. Lets take a job for instance. When we really love a certain job, we will spend a lot of our time there and will not mind at all working long hours. We want to be apart of the activities related to that job. We not only desire to be associated with the job; we desire to be identified with the job and we usually call those people “company man”. All these people talk about is their jobs. Then there are those who just replace their jobs with something else like their children. Their lives become centered around their kids. So would say what’s wrong with that right? Well sometimes when we center ourselves around our kids be begin to put pressures on them and we tend to make them carry our failures. We place all of our insecurities, anxieties, hopes, dreams, goals, future and other burdens at their feet. We look to their abilities and their successes as our calling card. We use our kids works and achievements as a way to glorify us. Plus we use them to make us feel better about our sins. Especially parents of student athletes; those kids become the savior of the entire family. We repeat this type of behavior with our spouses, homes, cars, money, social status and anything else that we can hold on to. This has become so normal to the point that we do not recognize them as idolatry. Plus the fact that our community churches don’t see it as idolatry either. As a matter of fact some churches parade the kids, members’ vocations and the like before the church. We have been lead out of Egypt and instead of waiting on the Lord we have created the golden calf.

It wouldn’t be that bad if we did not act the way we do towards church being so long and our lack of commitment to bible study, Sunday school and reading the bible on our own time. Anything that requires more than Sunday worship; we don’t have time for. We truly lack a thirst for God and a yearning to know Him. We constantly ask what is God’s will for our lives or why certain things happen in our lives; yet we never attempt to seek Him in His Word (the bible). Only what you do for Christ will survive.

Matthew 6
19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22″The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24″No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What is Idolatry?
We value and rely on idols in ways that keep us from properly loving and trusting our Creator. In this regard, idols are all deadly. Often, however, we hold onto an idol in virtue of its seemingly positive or pleasant effects in our lives. We may call this a bright idol, as it appears to be good. Money, for instance, appears to be good, but it becomes an idol when we rely on it in ways that detract from God’s preeminent role in providing our security, power, and contentment. We attribute powers to money that detract from God, including the power to bring us lasting contentment. While financial resources are often good and even necessary for material well-being, they are not themselves the ultimate source of our well-being and security. They are a gift, even when earned through employment, because the ultimate circumstances of and capacities for our employment come to us by divine gift. You did not earn, for instance, your capacity to think. Indeed, all good things come to us by divine gift and are fitting for our thanks to God (see 1 Cor. 4:7; James 1:17; John 3:27).

I know we have read this scripture many times, yet its the least carried out one. But we would say that we do serve God but how do you serve Him when your focus is not Him? Jesus tells us to not be like the pagans and they are for sure idol worshipers. Remember when I mention how we act out our true love and if it doesn’t include seeking to know God, can God truly be in our heart? If we don’t act like we love God are we really in love with Him? Do you delight to hear the name Jesus? When you hear the Word being preached does it have an effect on you? When you hear about the goodness of God or when you think about the cross does it do anything to you? If not then what is in your heart? What is your center? Who is your foundation? Jesus says that the eye is the lamp of the body… What do you give off? When people see you do they first think of how God has worked in your life or do they first think of your job, your kids, your house and etc? Do they know you as a child of God first?

John 10
1″I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11″I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

1 John 4

4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

But we will listen to those that are not Christians and they tell us that its ok and we can have it all. We listen to those in the pulpit that twist God’s words. We don’t respond to the word of God and we act as if we don’t feel the Spirit of truth. We reject God’s discipline and say God is love and would not want us to neglect those things. God works from the heart, all things work from the inside out. How we treat each other, how we behave on the job and how we speak to each other is a reflection on the relationship with God. Everything we do reflect our true relationship in Christ. If your heart is centered on Christ, Jesus said that we would have love for one another and that is how they would know that we are His disciples. Don’t let the world, no matter who they are tell you that you can find God another way; Christ called them a thief!

Whatcha say, love and respect?

I know that there is a lot of scripture here and it’s a lot to read through but I listed these to make a really strong point.  I have witnessed Christians do some horrible things to each other.  I have seen Christians speak to each other in the most detestable of ways.  I have seen Christians spared no expense to take advantage of people.  I have seen Christians use guilt to manipulate others.  I have seen them do things that have caused me to hang my head.  I have seen and even heard of pastors do even worse.  Then these very same Christians, once they are around the church building or pastors they become holy.  They ban anything unholy around the church because its God’s house.  But in their ignorance they have not realized that the temple of God is us.  God the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in us and not the brick building.  The curtain has been torn the moment Christ died for our sins.  The old temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed.  We are now the new royal priesthood.  When you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ that way, you do it in the presence of God.  When you miss use your fellow Christians, you grieve the Holy Spirit which is present in you and them.  Its like fighting each other, abusing each other, hating each other, lying on each other, cheating on each other, backstabbing each other, spreading lies on each other, demeaning each other, cursing each other, and  not displaying love to each other at the foot of the cross as Jesus looks down while being crucified and seeing us all do this to each other.  We have not been saved to just continue in sin…
1 Corinthians 13

Love

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¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4

⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

God’s Love and Ours

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^[b] into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^[c] our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ¹⁷In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Ephesians 2
One in Christ
¹¹Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— ¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6

¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1 Peter 2

Royal Priesthood/Living Stone

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]“[c] 8and,
“A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Matthew 25
The Sheep and the Goats
³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Colossians 3
Rules for Holy Living

1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Slaves to Righteousness
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gray Areas

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Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we feel are tricky. Usually the problem requires us to make a choice. But the choices are the problem plus we would rather select something that benefits us as well. so we compromise in order to please all that are involved. And actually they may come away happy but not with what they really wanted. So they just learn to deal with it. Or we are faced with a situations were one option is clearly wrong but going with the right will leave you out in away.
So we compromise again to satisfy our needs. What I”m talking about is the infamous gray areas in our lives. Our laws though the foundation is black & white and yes & no; the law’s substance is filled with gray area; bills, by-laws,amendments, and court rulings. People have made a living out of this and they are called lawyers.

So what does this have to do with God you may ask? Well, have you every read the ten commandments? If not I will list them:

Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before [a] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

This is nothing that is as black and white as to what God wants us to do. Yet statues and ordinance were added and even some were later changed; not the ten commandments but the statues added by Moses.

example:
Mark 10
Divorce
1Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

3″What did Moses command you?” he replied.

4They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5″It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6″But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7′For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Jesus Christ even made the issue more black and white:

Mark 12
The Greatest Commandment
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29″The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g]There is no commandment greater than these.”

So why is it hard to deal with black and white; good and bad; left or right? The gray areas show up because we wish not to do what is right or we have placed our own comfort above all. Sometimes compromise is not a good thing, sometimes trying to please everyone is not good as well. When we start to do things like this almost 100% of the time, we are about to sin against God. Some people are partially forced into the gray area because we as Christians have not obeyed God commandments. You don’t think so? If you “Love your neighbor as yourself” just think of all the people who wouldn’t have drug addictions or other deadly addictions because they can’t handle life’s stress cause they have no one to turn to. Think of all the people who feel that they have no choice but to rob. If we ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ we would not have homeless people or jobless people. But since we put ourselves above all we create gray areas were people feel helpless. Then they sin trying to make it because a Christian cut jobs so his company makes more money so this “Christian” can buy a bigger house. Or a Christian, cheats his company by stealing or you try to get even with someone. Our actions as Christians have a ripple affect on the world. If we followed the simple command of ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’, just think of how things would be…. The Law and the Prophets and the Apostles are our foundations.

Matthew 7
Ask, Seek, Knock
7″Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9″Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Read the commandments above and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. See God in His law. See that the will of God is plain and don’t pollute it with your loop holes. Don’t add to God’s Law in order for you to sin freely. If you obeyed God in the first place then you wouldn’t be praying now to get you out of the mess you created. Yes, we are all guilty of doing it; even me. But at some point we should start to do better, at some point our regenerated nature should say; enough is enough. We should say to ourselves, obeying God is more important than fitting in with the world and keeping our friends that live contrary to God. We will risk our salvation for the company of friends? Are we that welling to give up our Savior for the world and temporary satisfaction? When we come into God’s glory it will be like all this trouble on earth never happened.

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Fellowship

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When we think of hanging out with friends or family the word fellowship is never used.  We usually reserve that word for church only.  Nor do we associate having a good time or having fun with fellowship or church.  When I say fun or good time, I mean it in the sense of what we think weekends are for or how we enjoy life.  When we hang out with friends to “have fun” we usually have to bring in outside help and change the environmental situation.  The next day we may or may not even remember what we did that was so fun.  We may even have less money in our pockets.  If you have never been around a group of genuine Christians and just enjoyed their company then you are truly missing out.  To be around people with no pressure.  To be around people who are struggling with the task of living out the faith. To be around people with a common goal which is spreading the gospel.  Some would say that you can get that in the world but you can’t because its more than what you see.  There is a deeper connection between everyone that goes to the soul.  It is like complete strangers can feel like family.  Your heart is lifted up and the Holy Spirit stirs within you.  You leave feeling full and complete.  You leave looking forward to the next fellowship.  To some what I’m may make no sense but to others you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Its like a band of brothers brought together by war against the world.  Its like the bond that grows between a group of run away slaves or the two new kids in a strange school.  Its more than friends with a lot in common. Its a spiritual family bond by Christ our savior who died for our sins.  Its a group of former sinners who are made whole and now are on this journey together.

Acts 2:42-47 (New International Version)

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Also with Christian fellowship, unity separates it for just hanging out or having things in common.  It is a complete unity of mind, soul, spirit and the love of God.

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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