REAL Christianity

Lately

2010-11-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted here. I've just been extremely busy lately.

I've been really struggling though lately with people coming against me and having to deal with troublesome people. Especially in regard to family. Family has always been a problem for me. If ever I had an argument with my family, or any kind of family trouble, it's always affected me a lot. God has really helped me with that, but I still have a bit of that stuck in my heart.

And again, family has been really coming against me a lot lately. Namely 2, possibly three, people in my family. I have one who spreads rumors about me . . . well actually all three do that. My problem is that they each are buddy-buddy with the wrong kind of spirit, and they either spread rumors about me, spread absolute lies, spread assumptions and misconceptions . . . or work hard at getting other people to disrespect me or see me in a bad way.

I'm writing about it here because I'm going to have to bring correction to these family members. I'm not going to enjoy it one bit, but I can't keep letting these things happen. Especially when it's really starting to affect others in Church who are supposed to respect me and everything, and they're being taught to be disrespectful, and believe lies about me. I've had a vicious rumor spread about me since I was a teen, and now it's once again being believed by others. I was teaching a class when I experienced some trouble that was both caused by it, and was the cause of others being taught to be disrespectful to me. These evil seeds are being planted by these family members, into the hearts of those whom God has told me to teach and minister to, and they're playing right into the hand of the devil when they do such things. The worse part of it all, is that those whose hearts they're planting such seeds, will end up suffering the most because when God gives me a word or has me to help them or minister to them, they won't be able to receive it from me. So they'll end up suffering the most.

But, correction is coming. Part of me hopes that the family members read this and realize things are about to change and everything. Another part of me hopes they don't, so that they don't end up coming even more against me. But only 2/3 of the family members giving me trouble, would possibly see this post. The other one goes to other sites and pretty much ignores sites like this.

But anyways, that's off my chest now. Now I just have to carry through with the correction, and hope that the family repents and changes the direction they're headed.

Remnant

2010-07-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

My last post might have caused many to think I was bashing all Christians in America, or something similar to how many other Nations might stereotype Americans as lazy or something like that (as many do, sadly).

However, the way I really see America (or perhaps only American Christians at times), is like Israel and the things they did and went through in their history. They were freed from oppression, set aside as special, given so much . . . and as time went on they basically constantly forsook God and turned to other gods.

However, just as there is in America, some Christians who are indeed true and on fire for God and very knowledgeable in the Word and truly seeking God's face, God said of Israel that even though the nation in general turned from Him so often, there was a "Remnant" that remained sure and set their eyes continually to God.

The same way, I don't want to make anyone believe that I think ALL American Christians are as I mentioned in my last post. No. There are some who are not, and who ARE strong and ARE growing and ARE on fire for God. However, generally speaking, overall Christians in America are Spiritually Unhealthy and on their deathbed, or are carnal babes unknowledgeable in the Word.

American Christianity

2010-07-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Lately I've really been hurting for the Body of Christ here in America. I've been both angry at the willful ignorance of American Christians, as well as the amount of deception and apathy and lukewarmness that is present in America's Christian churches.

There's a ton of things I really need to say about it, and I will. However, not here, nor now. I need to pray for the right words to say and the organization to say it. I need to be led by the Spirit and not my own thoughts, in what words to say.

But I will say some things though . . . It honestly seems like Christians in America could be seen as weak children in comparison with how Christians should be. I'm speaking spiritually.

I see it too often that people praise the men and pastors and teachers who teach the Word of God, instead of praising the God who IS the Word! I hear it said way too often, people claiming to follow the teachings of "Pastor so and so" and "Brother so and so" and all that stuff. I hear things like "I love the way this pastor/brother teaches" and so forth. The focus has gotten SO MUCH on the people, instead of on the Truth of the Word of God!!

Now, I respect the pastor and I love him dearly. I'm loyal to stick by him and defend him as he teaches the Word of God. However, he is not my god. He is my brother. If he messes up, I'll let him know. He is not infallible or anything of the sort, nor does he claim to be! I remember actually, the first time I actually stepped out and talked to him on my own accord against the wishes of my family, it was because something he said was incorrect. However, I would die for him and will stick by his side. But you will not see me glorify him and deify him as you see others around america do to their favorite pastors and teachers. He is a teacher of the Word of God, and to lift him up higher than the Word of God that he teaches, would actually be doing him a disservice and doing him harm. It's the Word that is important!

That being said, I also see an incredible lack of spiritual strength and integrity and growth among Christians in America. The reason for this is because they are spiritually malnourished! They don't read and study the Word of God!! I see people claim they are good Christians and excellent Bible-believing Christians who are on fire for God . . . simply because they sometimes write down the scriptures that their favorite teacher gave during Sunday Morning service!

Now I'm not basing a Christian's walk on works of how much time they spend in the Word of God or how much they pray or anything like that. No. I'm basing it on the desires of their heart, and I'm basing their spiritual maturity on how much time they spend in the Word of God, and in Prayer, and in seeking the face of the Lord God Jehovah!

American Christians don't DESIRE with their hearts, the Word of God or Praying! They see reading a Chapter per week or month or year, and writing down scripture references given to them once or twice a week, as being not only sufficient for their spiritual life, but they see it as making them strong Christians! That's like saying "Yeah, I ate me a steak with a tall glass of milk this week. Yeah, I'm bodybuilder. You should see these cannons I got for my arms! I've never been in greater shape in my life!" My dear child, if you think eating merely a single steak dinner with a tall glass of milk as your only meal for the entire week makes you strong and healthy, then you've got a lot of learning to do! And no, I'm not judging your salvation or anything of the sort! I'm warning you of spiritual malnutrition!

American Christians just don't DESIRE God like they should! They wish to merely get by with the little bit of knowledge of Jesus and His saving grace, to get to heaven and that's it! But let me say this . . . if you make it into heaven going through your life satisfied with knowledge that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and nothing else . . . consider yourself blessed! Because even the devil himself has that knowledge! Being saved has nothing to do with the simple knowledge that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, and everything to do with a conscious decision to CONFESS JESUS and FOLLOW JESUS! That little phrase "Gave my heart and life to Jesus" means just that! It doesn't mean "I know Jesus died," and I think it's because of that confusion that will cause a lot of people to believe they are saved when they are not! How horrible it will be to see their terror-stricken faces in the day of judgment!

Not only that, but if you truly do get saved, and you are satisfied with just being saved and not learning the word, you run the very high risk of being lead astray during your life and eventually walking completely away from God and losing that salvation altogether!

But seriously! American Christians have become so spiritually weak that they ARE easily lead astray! They believe a single steak meal once a week is going to make them spiritually healthy! Yeah that's fine and dandy for a BABY CHRISTIAN! It's fine and dandy for someone who is just starting their life with Christ Jesus, someone who just got saved. Afterall, they have to grow. They don't get saved and immediately memorize the entire Bible in one night's sitting!

However, when are you going to grow up? How long does it take a Christian to grow? No time at all, in a way. A christian is supposed to grow constantly, continually! However, you have 20-year old, 40-year old, 50+ year old Christians who are still sucking on a bottle of spiritual milk . . . and they don't even feed themselves, they want someone else to feed them! I honestly have to ask myself if these people really are saved. It is my understanding that when you get saved, you WANT to grow closer to God, you WANT to learn the Word of God, you WANT to change . . . because God changes you and takes you out of the world. You may not want it in your flesh, but you want it in your spirit, you KNOW you must do these things and you at the very least TRY to do these things. And as God sees you TRYING to do these things, HE is the one who makes it to happen. But Christians who seem to never grow because they honestly don't care much about seeking the things that will make them grow . . . you'd better check your salvation. When did you grow lukewarm or stagnant?

I always say, and believe, and see a Christian walk as this: It's an uphill walk up a somewhat slippery mountain. If ever you feel content to stop going upward and forward . . . you will indeed find yourself sliding downward and backward. Don't believe me? Well I'd say try it and see for yourself, but I'd rather not. Not to mention, many don't even realize their backsliding. So, instead, if you don't believe me . . . I'm sorry to hear that. Prove me wrong, though.

New Song: Jesus Saves by Jeremy Camp

2010-06-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a music-lover. I think I'm even an audiophile Lol. But music can portray so much, and can get things IN us much better than words alone. Put plain words to sound and music, and you've got yourself a sure-fire way to get what needs to be said, said and hopefully stuck in the hearts of others. So I felt the need to share this new song by Jeremy Camp, called "Jesus Saves"

Must Lead

2010-06-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

This post comes in a much different tone than the last one. God has truly struck my heart once again to the calling He has set for me. That is, to lead.

Now note that to be a leader is not the same thing that so many people think it means. When some people think of leading or being a leader, they think "commander" or someone who tells people what to do or is an overseer or something like that. Many people, especially those who have not lead, tend to think leading means never having to do things yourself but rather getting others to do things while you sit back and "manage" them.

But that's far from true. True leaders learn to follow, and are humble, and meekly have authority. That is: TRUE leaders. Leaders . . . can be properly explained in Matthew 20:25-28

Matthew 20:25-28
"But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

So, with that out of the way . . . I'm truly having to re-learn what God has had to pound into my hard head over and over and over again and again throughout my life. I'm seeing it more and more, and this time around I really need to hold onto this truth and start walking in the calling God has given me!

When I was a child, a kid, even before I got saved, I seemed to lead. I was the type of kid who befriended the friendless, was always seen as some sort of leader by other kids around me--even the older kids around me! I ended up really abusing that though. I learned how to manipulate people like none other, and caused so many kids to go down a path with me that I wouldn't wish on my enemies: sinful addictions that have been named to be the worst and hardest to abandon . . . I messed up so many :( But a side-thought, I never thought of myself as some sort of leader or anything of the sort.

Then fast forward to when I was eight, right about to turn nine years old. God opened my eyes to what I was doing, and what was going on around me. He opened my eyes to the wickedness around me . . . and in me. I had said the sinner's prayer when I was four years old. However, I did absolutely nothing to actually live for God or give my life to Jesus. But this time around, I truly realized everything and gave my life to Jesus. I begged for forgiveness for what I had done all the years of my life, and told Him that I wanted Him to completely control me. I wanted to give HIM complete control. "Jesus, move my hands, feet, talk for me, I give up everything. You do everything for me, because I mess things up so much when I try it on my own." He quickly forgave, washed me clean, and gave me a new start. I knew I had to stop what I was doing. However, that was probably the first time I truly understood what it means by "easier said than done." I tried so much to leave behind the things I had done. But it seemed to get harder to do as time went on, and it seemed to only grow more and more in my life. I ended up living a double life: Serving God, and giving in to my old ways, and hiding it so well that people wouldn't guess I'd ever be such a way. But that's not the focus right now.

When I actually gave my life and decided to follow Christ Jesus, I also learned the definition of rejection. My old friends rejected me (which, admittedly was on me because I was deciding to leave the things I was doing, in order to serve Christ Jesus). Friends, even family, and even strangers seemed to reject me. This is where things got complicated and . . . odd. The "leadership" I had seemed to get cast aside as people rejected me. Yet at the same exact time . . . it didn't stop at all! I always had a hard time explaining, that I was rejected, and yet at the same time people saw me as a leader and all like before . . . but then just now I realized it's not all that hard at all to imagine. I'm reminded of Jesus. He was both loved like crazy and hated beyond comprehension. So yup, not hard to figure out in light of Him!

In all my life though, I never sought any sort of leadership position or anything. I never saw myself as a leader or anything. However, in school, outside of school, everywhere it seemed I was always PUT in leadership roles without asking for it. I excelled in school regarding grades and yet I didn't study (I learned to pray). In groups, I was always put as the leader. Even when not technically the leader, when one was picked, the group always looked to me to give them direction and everything to help them out. Yet again, I was ALWAYS someone who preferred to stay back in the shadows and whisper the answers to others before hiding again. I never wanted to be seen . . . I was far from "clean" so to speak. I had enough problems and troubles and faults and sins to last several lifetimes (even as a kid. I'd say it's hard to imagine the trash I was into and how often I indulged, but I don't want anyone to imagine such trash!), so who in the world was I to try to lead, and probably end up ruining everything or causing more harm than help! I felt that I messed things up enough on my own, I didn't need to lead others and affect others. But . . . I was always cast into some sort of leadership role.

I remember taking one of those silly quizzes when I was in my later teen years, seeing what character you were in a film or something (I'm sure you know the ones, popularized by social networks like Myspace and Facebook). It was a movie I had never seen before, and I took it for no particular reason, just to pass time and for fun and all. I laughed and showed my results to my mom and she made the comment "Why are you always placed as someone who is the leader but doesn't necessarily want to be the leader?" That actually surprised me and made me stop and think. That was actually true! I was thinking about my life and everything and it certainly seemed like that! I never much thought about it till that time. Of course, it was only in passing and I quickly forgot all about it and continued as usual.

Fast forward again to my first job (actually . . . my ONLY paying job, since I've only worked there). Within 12 days (of which I actually only worked about 4 or 6 days), my boss came to me and asked me to take a manager position! It was a new store, just opening to the public, and with 20 other employees he decided to ask me into a manager position (the other manager was facing health issues and she had to resign). Again, a leadership position! I had to resign a couple years afterward, but then once again was put in in. I think that happened Three or Four times even. And today I'm working at that place again because last November he called me and asked me to help him out, at least just temporarily. I agreed to, temporarily. It's not the same position I was when I left, technically, but then once again it's still a leadership position and the the pay is more and the other employees look to me as though I were the manager.

Leadership positions have always been in my life (from big to small, from work to even online forums where I've become admins or some other type of leader in the community). I've never asked for them either, but God somehow put me in those positions throughout my entire life. He was teaching me how to handle it, and teaching me so many things I can't ever imagine BEGINNING to list them all.

But I've got a major problem. I'm hard headed. Extremely hard headed. And I never seem to feel worthy or able to be any sort of leader at all! I tend to back down it seems from such times when I really shouldn't back down from opportunities where someone needs a leader. I tend to second guess myself. I tend to believe "No one wants to listen to me, I'm a loser, nobody, nothing!" (I really am not worthy of any leadership position. However, that's what God has called me to, and so I'll do what HE wants, and where I fail and lack, HE picks up and continues.)

A couple months back God had to snap me out of it and tell me basically "You don't have time for this! Quit messing around, beating yourself up, and playing games with what I've given you! People are needing you and time isn't waiting!" I was gung-ho when He told me that. I snapped out of it, and started looking toward what He had for me. Then, I messed up, and lost that steam. And yesterday I once again read something that struck me in the heart so strongly I could barely sleep! I couldn't figure it out though, but the longing, the necessity, everything, was not just tugging at my heart, but yanking and pulling me to cry out to God for answers on what in the world to do!! Today I was still seeking those answers, and God brought me to two songs that truly did answer what I needed, and spurred this post too.

God has called me to a leadership position. What exactly? That's not entirely known. He's shown me things I'll do and everything, but details, not so much. And I really don't need to know details, so long as I simply seek God and to do what He wants on a daily basis. He'll do the rest.

But God's calling on me is so much different from others. I've often wondered about that and asked God why and how and why can't I just find someone who could walk with me in the same calling or SOMEthing--some sort of guide or something to help hold me up . . . But, so far nothing. At least nothing in the form of a person. Only God. And that's what I grew up with: Only God.

Some, actually a lot of people, have always felt as though I was lifting myself up as something special when I mention that the calling God has for me is different. But let me say this: Different, does not mean better or worse. Equality does not mean equal worth, nor does different or special mean greater worth or lesser worth! Rather, it simply means: different. It's like man and woman. They are not "equal" in the sense that they are not different. They are VERY different! And in a world where people are trying to erase the line of difference between man and woman and make them interchangeable . . . it's a farce attempt! But just because man and woman are different with different ways of thinking and body builds and everything . . . does not mean they are not equally worthy! One is not better than the other at all. But back to what I stated about my calling.

When I finally gave my life to Christ, I told Him I wanted HIM to control me completely. I wanted HIM to overwhelm me and I wanted to disappear into Him. I don't have any hobbies or concerns of myself that I want to obtain in life. All I want, is what God wants. And God explained that it was that very prayer, that is why I am called to such a different calling than I see in others. And that isn't a bad thing.

Now, I just have to walk in it. I have to stop listening to the lies of the enemy . . . and sometimes that enemy isn't the devil, but my own self!

So this post is set as a reminder to myself. I need to walk in the calling God has set for me, and stop playing games or hesitating. So here I go. I'm jumping in with both feet . . .wondering how big of a splash this is going to create!

~In Christ,
Michael

Christian: By Name Only

2010-04-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've really been having a TON on my mind lately in regard to the state of Christians today. I have to say things are not looking good AT ALL. In the past week or so I have been told by 4 other individuals that they were ordained ministers. That came as a surprise to me . . . Their life portrayed absolutely no Biblical standards beside the very general idea of being nice to people and all that stuff.

But it's starting to really both irk me and get me more and more upset. I can't write it all up right now due to time limitations, but . . . where in the world are the Christians? You know, it's almost reminiscent of a while back when I noticed all sorts of actors and actresses were coming forth and saying they were Christians and all that stuff. About three fourths of them however, you'd never be able to tell! I determined that it was becoming a "fad" in hollywood to say you were a Christian. Yet only a handful really were true Christians.

The same is today . . . where are the true Christians? The Christians who strive to have that relationship with Jesus? That holiness? That separation from the sinful nature and lifestyle? So many people call themselves Christians because they either go to church (which doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a barn makes you a cow, or going to McDonalds makes you a BigMak), or they know Jesus is the Son of God. But you know what? Lean a little closer while I let you in on a secret . . . The devil goes to church too! And guess what's even more shocking . . . the devil actually believes in Jesus as well!! In fact, he was there when Jesus was crucified and he witnessed Jesus' resurrection!

What makes you a Christian? The conscious decision to FOLLOW the Lord Jesus and His Teachings as brought forth in the Bible . . . it is a Personal Relationship with Jesus . . . and that relationship is not to be taken lightly and one of those "Eh, yeah I know the guy" but rather the Bible even likens it to a marriage relationship! It's THAT close of a relationship.

So . . . quit fooling yourself, quit trying to call yourself a Christian or taint the name of Christ by saying you're a Christian, if you don't even serve Christ Jesus!

A good brother and minister once put it like this:

If you were arrested for being a Christian . . . Would they find enough evidence to convict you?

Free Codes, Money, and other stuff!

2010-02-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

You heard me right!

Though now that I have your attention, I'll admit I'm not giving away free stuff. However, I think this title attracted more attention than the ones I was thinking of putting, such as:

Warning: Conviction Ahead!

Followed by a bunch of scripture. But being as this post is concerning those who are Christians only by name and not by life, in other words: HYPOCRITES, I want as many people reading this as possible. I especially want those who fall into that category to read this! Hopefully those who would stop reading right here will be mad enough at me to continue reading this because I called you a hypocrite. But just like Jesus called certain ones (especially those who were religious), pigs, snakes, wolves, white-washed graves, etc, I'm simply being blunt here.

Let's get on with it, shall we? This morning I read this article from Christianpost.com: Falling on Deaf Ears? and I honestly got upset. Furious actually. Not many things get me angry, but "Christians" who teach unbiblical teachings, mislead others, and other things that are hypocritical....that does get me upset. Of course this followed a few days of reading some other articles around the web that talked about churches and Christians going completely against the Bible and teaching others to do likewise. So it's been building up, I suppose.

The article talks about how many congregations and Christians don't want to hear the Bible being taught. It speaks of how for the most part people have become so narcissistic. Here's a quote from the article quoting another article:

It has been said to the point of boredom that we live in a narcissistic age, where we are wont to fixate on our needs, our wants, our wishes, and our hopes-at the expense of others and certainly at the expense of God. . . .

It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out. Don't spend a lot of time in the Bible, we tell our preachers, but be sure to get to personal illustrations, examples from daily life, and most importantly, an application that we can use.

I fully agree that this seems to be the state of the world---and the church apparently---that we live in. And it's reprehensible!

First off . . . since when do Christians believe the Bible is NOT relevant to today?! I'm not talking to people who are NOT Christians here. I'm talking to those who claim to be Christians! Since when does God's Word, not apply to us today? Have you taken up the belief that the Bible is merely a book of stories? Book or rules and laws? And outdated book that was written thousands of years ago and cannot possibly apply to us today? To that I say, SHAME ON YOU!

How in the world can someone claim to be a follower of the teachings of Christ, if that person doesn't even KNOW what the teachings of Christ are, because they don't believe or read the Bible as being relevant to today? If it's not relevant to today then we've no need to listen to the Bible, right?! You claim to love God and yet have no desire to listen to what He says! Prove to me that the Bible is not relevant to today! Prove to me that you can be a Christian and not care about the Word of God! Prove it! And I don't mean your opinions, I mean proof, Christian. If you throw out parts of the Bible as irrelevant, then you might as well throw out all of it. How can you tell which parts are good and which parts are bad? Your own personal thoughts? The collective thoughts of others as well as yourself? "...yea, let God be true, but every man a liar..." (Romans 3:4)

How does one become Saved? Become a Christian? Through faith in Jesus, correct? (Ephesians 2:8-9)
How does one GET faith to begin with? From hearing the WORD OF GOD (Romans 10:17)
So take away the Word of God, you take away your faith which takes away your salvation!

And yet not only so, but faith in Jesus isn't exactly what gets you saved, but instead you have to choose to FOLLOW Jesus. So saying "I believe Jesus is the Son of God and He died on the cross for my sins" isn't exactly going to get you into heaven. You may get in---if you die right then and there before you have the chance to live your faith out in your life. But if not, well . . . . even the Devil Himself Believes in Jesus (James 2:19), but is he getting into heaven? NO because he doesn't actively choose to follow Jesus of course! Faith is not just believing. Faith is acting upon that belief as well.

So how can you actively follow Jesus if you cast out the very words He has spoken that were written down?!

You who don't care about hearing the Bible but prefer something that is more like entertaining stories about life and your own personal situations (which begs me to question, why is it you cannot relate the Bible to your life? There's a problem there if you cannot), you are become like those warned about in the books of Timothy, that were going to show up during the last days "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4) Christians who pick and choose the teachers based upon what they like to hear, having ITCHING EARS, in other words hearing what they want to hear, wanting to be entertained . . . turning away from the TRUTH and turning to fables instead. What is the Truth?
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: THY WORD IS TRUTH."
John 8:31-32 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in MY WORD, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the TRUTH, and the truth shall make you free."

God's Word is not subject to Time, just like God Himself is not subject to time. There is no turning that goes on with Him (James 1:17). His Word is settled FOREVER in Heaven (Psalm 119:89)

The end of the matter is this: If you call yourself a Christian, and then don't care about learning the Word of God or you believe it's not even relevant to today, and you'd rather hear stories and fables and be entertained with some fun stuff, then you are a hypocrite. Simply put. To call yourself a Christian, means you are telling other people you are a follower of Christ. First off that's lying because you don't even care to learn what Christ taught and therefore cannot follow Him (John 14:23-24, 1 John 2:4), and second off you are telling someone else through your title of Christian, that they should follow Christ, and yet you yourself do NOT! It's just like the Jews who told the non-jews to live like the Jews under the jewish laws, and yet they themselves didn't even do so (Galatians 2:14).

The Bible is like food for our Spiritual lives (Luke 4:4), so if you don't eat that Spiritual food, then just like your physical body will die without physical food, your spiritual life will wither away and die just the same.
The Bible is like a mirror as well, that shows us exactly who we are, and what we are like (James 1:22-24). If you don't actually DO the Word of God, but only hear it (Or worse, don't even want to hear it), then it'd be the same as you looking in the mirror in the morning and seeing you need to fix your hair, or shave, or put on some make-up, or you have something green in your teeth, and you walk away not even caring about taking care of those things.

Take away the Bible and you take away:
The Truth
The way to get faith
The faith for salvation itself
Jesus
His Teachings
Obedience to His Word which goes with salvation
God
Heaven
EVERYTHING that comes with Christianity itself!

And the Bible is like a shirt made up of a single thread. If you pull on one piece of the thread and try yanking it out because you "don't think it's reliable" or "relevant" or "necessary" then you end up pulling the entire shirt apart and you are left naked (almost like the guy in the parable in Matthew 22:11-14, who when called to Salvation/the Wedding, didn't clothe himself right or even try---didn't cloth himself with The Word, Faith, Salvation itself).

So now it's your choice: Continue in the state you're in right now, of denying and rejecting the Word of God, being a reprobate Christian hypocrite . . . or start seeking to hear and learn the Word of God. Notice I said nothing about being perfect or perfectly following the Word. I said start SEEKING the Word. Which means Repent, which means turn around and start walking in the right direction. If you start walking in the right direction, trusting in God, then God will help you to change and help you to follow His Word.

It's your choice. But now, you can never say that you were never told, or you never knew any better when you meet up with God. This stuff is common sense, but . . . like it was also warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, there's going to be a "falling away" of Christians before the end. But hopefully YOU won't be included in that falling away, now.

~In Christ,
Michael

Earthquake in Haiti and Pat Robertson

2010-01-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

This morning as I signed in to check my e-mails, I saw a news article talking about what Pat Robertson said and the responses people had to it. I didn't read or hear what he said, when he said it; however, I'll have to trust the article that what it printed is in fact exactly what he said in it's entirety. When I read it, I felt the need to go ahead and say something about it and the new's article myself! This is the link to the news article: Haiti and the Pat Robertson Paradox
This is what the article said Pat Robertson said:

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.'

"And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other. Desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It's cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti; on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, et cetera. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have -- and we need to pray for them -- a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I'm optimistic something good may come. But right now, we're helping the suffering people, and the suffering is unimaginable."

Okay, now I'm not going to say I agree and believe what he said. I never looked into the history of Haiti and checked with the people to see what went on back then. When people say things like this, and it's not founded in the Bible and solidly true, I take it with a grain of salt. However, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and simply focus on the other parts of what he said, in relation to what people replied. Starting with this quote from the article:

Let's leave aside questions about the veracity of the story -- and there are many. (For instance: Did anything like what Robertson describes actually happen? If it did, was the ceremony dedicated to the deities of the traditional Haitian religion, not Christianity's devil?)

More importantly let's focus on the part I underlined. I feel like this is simply a jab at Christianity, as if to say "Which devil, YOUR devil, since people believe things differently from you, don't assume everyone believes like you do, Pat!" Maybe it's because I grew up in a hostile environment where I was daily beat and rejected and attacked because of my faith. Mostly I'll give it to the fact of discerning people and their words (not saying they consciously meant that, but hey, perhaps subconsciously without realizing it, like so many people do)!
Anyway, let me answer that question: It doesn't matter whether the ceremony was dedicated to the deities of the traditional Haitian religion, or Christianity's devil. Even bowing down to false gods which are supposedly good (or if they did it to their own version of devil), it is still one and the same: the devil. The devil uses idolatry galore to get hold of people. One of the BEST sayings I've heard in my life, is this, "The best trick the devil pulls on people, is to make them believe he doesn't exist." Heck, if the devil doesn't exist in someone's eyes, then he can hide behind anything and mess with that person to his heart's content. And the person won't even fight back because hey, the enemy doesn't even exist! Or it's like a bar fight where Guy A pushes Guy B into Guy C, and Guy C believes that Guy B is the responsible one and fights Guy B! So Guy A gets off the hook so he can do as he pleases.
Moving on . . .

Before getting into the responses let me first make my stance known. I honestly see nothing wrong with what Pat Robertson said. Now I hardly ever believe anything he says. Even growing up, I sensed something with Pat Robertson and I'll be honest: I kinda don't like the guy! I don't hate him or anything, and I love him as a brother, but I don't side with him on his words or generally agree with him on many things . . . . I really don't pay much attention to what he says. However, I see nothing wrong with what he said! Whether I agree or not isn't important, but I feel what he said had no ill-will toward the Haitians or anything of the sort. Where people are reading into his words to say he was saying something like "The Haitians deserve this! They made a pact with the devil and God is punishing them!" is beyond me. He merely said (highly summarized) they made a pact with the devil, and since then they've been having trouble, and that we need to pray they turn to God, and that they were helping the poor people.

Now unless the quote from the article is missing some major pieces, I don't see where he's saying God was judging them through these earthquakes. I see it nowhere . . . Maybe I'm just not reading INTO his words to suit my dislike of Pat Robertson like others may be doing, but hey I try my hardest to remain fair and unbiased, despite how I feel about the guy.

Anyways, let's get onto the quotes again. This is a quote from the article, one of the responses to Pat's words:

"God is ultimately responsible for the earthquake in Haiti and has a reason that is beyond our ability, trapped in time, to understand or comprehend. But it would be theological ignorance coupled with absolute arrogance to try and interpret God's actions as a judgment against a particular person or nation." -- Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, for Newsweek.

Tsk tsk tsk, Dr. To you I say Tsk! You being in a leadership role in the Baptist church, do not know enough to reply with wisdom? Okay, let me say this: God is NOT "responsible" for the earthquake in Haiti. Again, does everyone forget that **GASP!** There is a devil out there that actually does things?! Apparently this one is being tricked into forgetting about the devil (that is, if the quote actually represents what this person said without editing--which would be a surprise considering this is the news media)

The devil does a lot of things in this world. However, even so, not everything is a result of "the devil did it." Does everyone also forget that we live in a sin-cursed world? A world with laws that God set into effect, such as the very laws of Cause and Effect? Sicknesses, Diseases, Natural Disasters . . . these are the products of what happens when SIN and DEATH are introduced into the world, through Adam's (Adam and Eve, Genesis 1-4) rebellion . . . all creation groans and travails as a result (Romans 8:22)! Some things are a cause of the devil, yet not everything is. However still, God does not set His Hand to harm creation (at least not until the time of necessary judgment, which will be upon the whole world, not individual nations and such).

There are wages for our actions, as well. Effects to our causes. You can push a ball and God does not have to see it and say "Okay, Ball, roll." The ball will roll because of what God has set as a Physical Law! That would be like me writing a computer program and each time someone uses that program I go and manually generate the results. NO! I made the program to generate the results without having to manually do it!

So, there are things that happen as a result of our actions. And we cannot blame God, nor even the devil, for our own action-related consequences. So if the story of making a pact with the devil is true, is God punishing them? No. God doesn't have to punish them, they brought punishment upon themselves in the same way that if I were to jump off a 20-story building, I brought death upon myself and cannot blame God for killing me or letting me die.Nor can I say "The devil killed me!" At most the devil influenced me to do it, but I was the one who made the choice. (This is not talking about those in bondage to the devil and possessed and such.)

Let's go to the next one:

"Nevertheless, one thing I do know: The Christianity of Robertson and those who are quick to blame tragedy on some angry, vengeful God is a Christianity which I, following Hatuey's lead, reject and want no part of whatsoever." -- Miguel A. De La Torre, director of the Justice & Peace Institute and associate professor of social ethics at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, for the website EthicsDaily.com.

Then I think you need to read Revelation and what will happen. You also need to read Romans 12:19 where it says that Vengeance is GOD'S and that GOD WILL REPAY.

God is definitely a loving God. However, God is also a righteous God, and a JUST God . . . Which means that He is a fair God and must judge fairly. Therefore, vengeance will happen. Otherwise God would not be just at all! Imagine a judge in the legal system who sees a serial murderer and says, "You're sentenced to the death penalty for 12 counts of 1st degree murder." Then he sees a serial rapist and says, "Ehhh . . . you can go. All charges are expunged." What would you call a judge like that? Unjust, right? You'd want that judge out of office and probably even in jail himself! What if the judge expunged all of those he saw? Would he be just? Not at all!

God is the same. He is a just and fair judge. He set certain laws in place (such as Romans 6:23), and if He didn't judge righteously according to them, then He would be unfair, wouldn't you say? God IS fair. And because He's also loving, He make a way OUT of the judgment, through Jesus Christ who basically took the place for us and paid the price for us. However, God being a loving God, doesn't force His gift of being pardoned through Jesus' sacrifice on anyone. He offers it, and people must take it if they want.

Think on that for a while before moving on. . .

Next one:

"The alleged 1791 Haitian pact with the devil would put our Father on the side of slavery and Satan on the side of those seeking freedom. The reverse is actually the case. Satan is a "murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44), a thief who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10) and seeks to make us "slaves to sin" (Rom. 6:17). Satan enslaves. God liberates." -- Jim Denison, president of the Center for Informed Faith and theologian-in-residence for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, from the first of three special opinion pieces about this topic he's writing for the Associated Baptist Press.

Why would it put God on the side of Slavery? Because they didn't turn to God to free them, but to the devil, while God stood by and let them remain slaves? **Sigh** Seriously, is the church really this ignorant of Biblical Truths?! It pains me when I think about the ignorance, and it's no wonder why Real Christianity is slipping away and becoming so painfully compromised that it's becoming a brittle lava rock full of holes that it can't stand up to the pressures and questions brought by the rest of the world!
There's not much more I can say on that quote, because if you read up to this part of this blog, you'll have already run into the answer. We live in a sin-cursed world with cause and effect laws in place. God will not force His helping Hand on the world either. He will hold it out and in essence say "Come with Me if you want to live." But it's up to the people to actually take God's hand.

And one last observation:

"Out of all the things you could draw on from your religion to bring comfort to a devastated people and region? Look how big your book is! 'The Lord is close to the broken hearted. He rescues those who are crushed in spirit. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. From the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you.'

"That almost sounds like it's about a ... earthquake!" [Stewart on The Daily Show]

It's a shame that it takes someone who (I believe) isn't even a Christian, to bring things to light about what the Bible says. Indeed, God reaches out His hand to pull people out of those things . . . . if only they will take His hand!

In the end, I find the replies to Pat Robertson's alleged quote (since I'm, again, trusting the article to have quoted him correctly), to be disheartening. Whether the story Pat Robertson gave is true or not is beside the point. The point is . . . through some reason or another, people automatically assume he said God was causing the earthquakes as some sort of judgment, while ignoring the fact that we live in a sin-cursed world that doesn't need God to cause the trouble---the world get's in enough trouble all by itself!

See you all later,
In Christ,
Michael

Fully God's?

2009-12-04T05:34:00.000-08:00

I was reminded yet again Wednesday at church, to give all of me to God. I remember when I was a kid, growing up. When God opened my eyes and I saw everything going on around me, and He called me to Him . . . I was on fire for Him! I read the Bible every day every moment of the day that I got a chance. Especially when I reached High School!

When I'd finish my work in school, or finish a test, I'd open up my Bible (which I always had on my desk), and I'd read. I had a notebook too that I'd write down scriptures in as I came across them, that God would place on my heart to write down. (Years later I'd find that the importance of that was much more than I imagined.)

But as I exited school, and got a job, life seemed to take happen of course. Not necessary the hardtimes and all that, I was used to having hardtimes. But being busy and having my mind on a dozen or more things at one time, that sure happened. It became worse when I entered into a certain outreach, which was like casting a lit lightbulb into not just darkness, but tar that not only is darkness, but envelops and quenches that light. I knew I'd have to be strong in the Lord, but . . . well the devil is probably the most subtle enemy we know. Slowly things end up getting your attention off the Lord and soon enough you find it difficult to even keep fellowship through Prayer with God the Father!

I kept struggling though each time I was reminded of that truth, that I had indeed backslidden and no longer gave God all of me. I kept struggling to regain what I had willingly given up! I knew how to do it, and what I needed to do. Yet to even do that small first step was apparently hard to do! That's when you know something is seriously wrong, and that your flesh (old man, sinful nature) is in more control than your spirit! When you find it excruciatingly hard to do something as simply as praying at least once a day for even 5 minutes . . . or reading even just one chapter of the Bible . . . you know that you're in trouble there. The devil certainly did a number on you so subtly and somehow you're now walking in obedience to your flesh instead of the Spirit!

But I'm not about to give up. Never. A few times I did give up because I thought God must've abandoned me or I'd gone so far and turned my back on God for good. So I would indeed give up! About 30 seconds after though I knew I couldn't actually give up. So instead I took my doubts and took the lies of the devil that said God couldn't help me or that I had turned away from God for good, and told God, "God . . . even if You gave up on me--which I know isn't true--I'm not going to give up on You. Even if I'm bound for hell because I lost my salvation, and I turned my back on you for good, I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to forever try to glorify you and tell others about you and seek to do what YOU want me to do. I'll do it all the way to Hell if I have to, but I won't stop." I was reminded of what Job said in Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..."

So I won't give up. Never!

But I've pushed through, making a point to read a book of the Bible every day. Or I'll try to read a full book, might have some trouble with some books like Psalms of course! But I've read 1 John yesterday, and 2 John today, and 3 John tomorrow, and then one of the Gospels and so forth. I WILL give my time back to God. I will not keep robbing Him of what is His! And I will also spend time in prayer, and just fellowshiping with God. Afterall . .. Christianity is not just a title, or a religion or anything like that. It's a lifelong relationship with God Almighty. And a relationship cannot succeed without communication!

Now the question is: Do you give God all of you? Really think about it, don't just blab an answer you think you know. Do you spend time with Him in prayer and learning what He said by reading His Word? Even more grave of a question: Is there anything in your life, that if God asked you to give up that thing . . . would you refuse?

God: Life

2009-11-14T12:11:00.000-08:00

Anyone remember that song "Move Your Dead Bones?"

Well a good long time ago, I first heard that song. The song caught my attention immediately and set up shop in my mind to be honest. I will never be able to forget the song, nor what I was immediately reminded of because of that song.

The song is actually a bad one though, I mean it's talking about being given new life to where you can do whatever you want without rules or anyone telling you what to do. But that's not what I heard or saw when I first heard that song. Nor is it what will forever go through my mind each time I hear it.

When I first heard it, God struck at my heart and made me remember quite a few things. Indeed without Jesus we're dead (spiritually speaking). Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly! (John 10:10) Jesus, God . . . IS life! (John 14:6) When He enters our heart and our lives, He gives life to us. We are ALIVE now!! We were dead, but now are alive!

What is more, is that we are given total freedom! Before we do get saved, we are in bondage . . . we are chained up . . . and honestly forced to sin. We don't have a choice really (That doesn't excuse us though, because we're given the opportunity to accept the freedom through Jesus), we WILL sin because we kinda HAVE to sin because we are a slave to it! We can't help ourselves basically!

But when Christ comes along, we're set free from that! We no longer HAVE to sin. We are given complete and total freedom to do whatever we want: to sin, or to live righteously.

Check the Bible, it tells us that: We have the freedom . . . to sin if we want. God isn't going to stand in the way if we want to go and do whatever. However, there's a catch to that. When we sin, two things happen: We're basically going right back to where we were. We're going back to the chains and putting them on us and saying "Hey, it was fun, let me go back to doing this" AND we are killing ourselves spiritually once again. We were given life and freedom, but if we use that freedom to willfully go back to sinning, we put ourselves back in bondage, and death (Galatians 5:1,13; John 8:34-36; Romans 6:23)

That song was used as a huge reminder for me: God is my "reanimator." He gives me freedom. However . . . am I giving back to Him? Am I letting Him move my feet and hands and legs? Or am I simply ignoring Him and going back to doing whatever . . . getting myself back in the same muck I was in before?

Am I really letting God BE my "reanimator?" Am I letting His Life flow through me so that I can live and do what's right? We're given freedom to choose sin or righteousness, but it's only by letting Him flow through me, to move my arms, hands, legs, and feet, that I can actually DO what is right. So am I?

Are You?

Saved by works?

2009-11-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

My last blog might've made some think I was saying we get to heaven on our good works or we get saved by our good works.

Not at all. I forgot to include the following link in my last article which mentions just such a thing:
Salvation: By Works?

Take care and hope to chat again soon! God Bless you mightily and abundantly!

~In Christ,
Michael

Are You a Sheep? or a Goat?

2009-11-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

You know, one of the main things I find wrong with the Christian church today, is that they don't hear the voice of God. I cannot count how many times I've been asked how I know God told me certain things, or something along the lines of how do I know what God has said. It would frustrate me to no end, if it didn't also make me feel sad for the state of the church here in America.

How can those who are supposed to be children of God . . . not know the simplest and yet most important thing in their walk with God as is the very voice of God?!

The world has a saying:
"If you talk to God that makes you religious. If God talks back to you that makes you insane."
Sadly I've been mocked the same way by "Christians" who mock when I say that God told me something or that I hear what God says. Some scriptures sure come to mind at this thought: Job 12:4; Jude 18

I'm sorry. I was under the impression that God actually loved us. I was under the impression that God said He was the Father of those in Christ. I was under the impression that we were called the FRIENDS of GOD! . . . None of those things would be true if God never spoke to us. None of it would be true if God only gave us His Written Word as a means of communication and that once we had it, we no longer needed His Voice or His Spirit!

I used to wonder about this and how such a heartbreaking thing was so common here in America! How . . . just how could this be?

Then it hit me last night as a fellow brother in Christ reminded me of John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

Then the Holy Spirit reminded me: God's SHEEP hear His voice. So the question is: are you God's Sheep? Or . . . . Are you a GOAT?

You know, I've been seeing a lot of attacks against the word "sheep," especially as of late. People see "Sheep" as a bad thing. They see it as someone who can't think for themselves, that blindly follow without thought, that do nothing for themselves, that can't defend themselves or are scared ("sheepish"). I bet you that if you walked up to the typical Christian in America and said something like "You're such a sheep" they would be offended and deny it! That's because even in their own mind, many Christians see the term "sheep" as a negative thing.

Christians have become so worldly-minded that they refuse to even SEEK out the things of the Word of God such as that we BE the Sheep of His Pasture, and let Him be the Good Shepherd!

But the SHEEP know and hear His Voice and He knows them and they follow Him. But are you His Sheep? You who don't hear or know the voice of God, or believe God doesn't speak to us except ONLY through Scripture, or mock those who hear the voice of God: Are you His Sheep? . . . or are you a GOAT!?

Matthew 25:31-46
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them,Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into ever lasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

This sounds awfully familiar with the following also:
Matthew 7:21-23
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. "
Note that Jesus says that He didn't know them! Who is it Jesus knows? His Sheep! Take note also that these are people who KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God, yet they didn't actually choose to FOLLOW Him. Even the Devil knows that Jesus is the Son of God (James 2:19), doesn't mean the devil is saved, does it?

These GOATS are those who are Christians by word . . . not by life. They go to church, they say they love God, but they are as the Pharisees: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:8) This is why we are told to "work out" our salvation (Philippians 2:12), and that to be saved we must believe in our heart as well as confess with our mouths (Romans 10:9-10), and that while we are saved by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), faith without works is dead (James 2:20)! That may sound contradictory or confusing but Jesus sums it up VERY well in John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." If you have trouble understanding that, then you need to learn or realize what love is. If you love someone, I mean truly love them, you'll do what they ask of you. You'll seek to please them and make them happy. It no longer becomes "what about me" and instead it becomes "what about them?" If you say you love someone, and yet don't put much care or attention to what they say or want or you figure YOU deserve to be pleased more than pleasing them . . . then you know what? You only love by your words alone (1 John 3:18 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.") and not in deed or truth!

So the question remains: Are you a sheep? or a goat? What do sheep do?
They rest in the shepherd. They trust in the shepherd to take care of them. They don't worry about trying to make it on their own because they realize that ultimately . . . it's the shepherd who is MUCH more capable of doing a better job. It's not that they can't think on their own, they simply realize that there's someone (the shepherd) who is MUCH more capable, and therefore will trust the one who is more capable. It's just like if you asked a professional electrician to do some work in your house. You do what he/she says, right? No problem, and you trust that person, right? Of course! Why? Because they know what they're doing!! It's the same with God! The sheep of God trust in God and do what He says because they have realized that the Creator of all things, actually knows what He's talking about. I use this example a lot: We are like someone on the street level, running away from something trying to kill us, while trying to navigate alleyways and streets. God, would be like someone in a helicopter who is looking down and sees the whole picture. We only see what's in front of us, the one in the helicopter can see what is around the corner we're about to take, how far away we are from something, and which way we should go to be safe and get out of the maze we're in. In much the same way, we trust and do what God says and follow God's directions because we can only see and know so much; however, God sees and knows the whole picture.

Let me be honest and blunt about this with you: If you seriously do not know the voice of God; if you believe God doesn't speak to us; if you have never heard from God to know His Will . . . then something is wrong and you'd better be a little worried for your own sake. Now I'm not talking about listening to the lies of the devil, making you always doubt whether something is God or not. I'm talking about if you go about your life and never hear from God. I'm talking especially to you who feel the pull to mock those who say they DO hear from God. You'd better start thinking and asking God and searching your life to see if you are even in the faith (saved)! 2 Corinthians 13:5; Titus 1:16 No I'm not trying to put fear in you. I'm trying to get you to realize that Christianity is NOT just about saying you are a Christian, and I'm trying to get you to realize that hearing from God is a part of Christianity that is being denied simply because so many are indeed becoming reprobates, hypocrites, Sunday Morning Christians, not even knowing what the Bible Says much less knowing the teachings of Christ---which is what a Christian is supposed to be: a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ! How can you follow someone if you don't even know what He says! I'm not trying to scare you or make you doubt your salvation. I'm trying to move you out of complacency and into actually following Jesus, so that you can get into heaven isntead of dying and being as those who asked the Lord "Lord, didn't we claim Your name? Aren't we going to heaven," and are horrified when you don't make it in! There is no "try again" or "reset" button when it comes to death. There is no "I'm sorry! I thought I was doing good!" Instead do what 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;" And if after examining yourself, you know that the BIBLE says you are saved (examine yourself in light of the Word of God: 2 Timothy 3:16-17). I love you too much to NOT say this. I'd rather make you a bit uncomfortable and live, than be comfortable and die.

Now we've seen a bit of what a sheep does and how you see if you are a sheep. Now what about goats? Goats . . . do what they want and barely care about what others want. As the Bible explains those who think they will make it but then don't (Goats think they are part of the flock of sheep, but aren't): they live by their own lusts (and lust is not just sexual; to lust after something merely means to covet, to strongly desire, something . . . and mostly something that is not yours). They seek God's Will very rarely in life. They go about their lives, living life normally instead of asking every day "God, what is it that YOU want me to do?" They don't care about using their time here on earth wisely to try to help others and do the will of the Father, they simply are as said in 2 Timothy 3:4 "... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;" They don't seek the things of God first, they seek their own things. The scriptures used throughout this article say just that, so I don't need to give another list of scripture to prove that.

So, are you a sheep? or a Goat?

In closing I'd also like to point out that being the sheep in the way the Bible says we should be, far from means anything weak. Look at Biblical examples of those who were "sheep" such as Moses the one who stood up to Pharoah and was used to bring judgment to Egypt, then put up with hundreds of thousands (or was it millions) of Hebrews for 40 years in the wilderness. Look at David the Giant-killer. Look at Elijah who had all the prophets of Baal beheaded. . . . Those who called down fire from heaven, who stood strong in the face of persecution. Hebrews 11 lists a handful of them alone! We are not called to be door mats. True love also corrects and stands strong, and isn't all "rainbows and fairies." If you ask me, standing strong in the Faith when the world says to do otherwise, when your own rebellious flesh (sinful nature, not actual skin) wants to do otherwise, when people attack you for it . . . and yet you stand and say "Not my will, but God's Will be done." That takes a LOT more strength than going with the flow.

Take care, God Bless you mightily, and I'll see you later! I love you with Godly, brotherly love,

~In Christ,
Michael

Here I am

2009-11-10T07:50:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

If you're reading this, first of all thank you for taking the time! Second, this is kinda my first post (except for the one below it which leads to my website's Bible Studies page).

I want this blog to be something that breaks down the walls of Christianity that are built by stereotypes, or built by people's flesh (sinful nature) or anything that is not biblical. Christianity is supposed to reach out to those who are not Christians, and do so without compromise, yet still in love. As it says in Ephesians 4:15, That we should be "...speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"

We should be doing just that, so that we CAN grow up into Him (Jesus).

So, this is my blog! Be sure to check back, and leave me some comments so that I know there are some readers out there in the world! Even a simple: "Hi!" will do :)

I will see you all soon!

My Blog

2005-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I pray that you are blessed deeply today.

If you have come across this page, however, I wanted to direct you to the blog that I have, which I post on every day. There you will find Bible Studies that I send out each day via Email, and of course post on the website for those without e-mail to read.

http://workmenforChrist.org/DailyBibleStudies/

You have a very blessed day today, and may God Bless you abundantly always!

In Christ,
Michael