Our Forgiveness

   Imagine that you were to go up to a king who has only been absolutely great to you and everyone in the kingdom, and spit in his face? Imagine that this king always gave his people what was of necessity to them and even sometimes, things that they just wanted that were not fully necessity.
   Everyone in his kingdom was treated fairly and with pure, common justice. However, instead of obeying this king, you disobeyed him in pursuit of selfish desire, turning your back to him? Well, we all have sinned and come short of the Glory of the Father!  We have disobeyed the King. HOWEVER, He sent His one and only Son to die for us on a cross and forgive us of the disobedience if we accept it.
   When we therefore share the Gospel, we share forgiveness. I want to mention the shooting in Colorado. Here is the thing: it was a terrible thing that was done! That is obvious. God is just and He shall punish according to what is fit in His eyes! Therefore, we must make sure that we realize that even he, after those evil deeds done, can be forgiven through the Almighty power of the Blood of Jesus Christ! God is just, and He forgives!

Big with No Power

   Have you ever seen the guy that goes to the weight room seemingly every day and lifts for about six hours and comes out looking like Goliath, but he lacks one thing: strength? He takes creatine and l- argenine and every supplementation one may think of as an attempted shortcut to doing all of the work required for full true strength and his body shows results, but he cant lift a piece of dirt?
   So maybe you answered yes to that, so let us take another situation. Have you ever seen the Christian who spends all day reading of opinions from theologians, Greek translations, and backgrounds of everything that they have read in the Bible but lack one thing, the Power of the Holy Spirit that has the ability to change lives?
   Yes, both are important. Reading your Bible and knowing the Word is an absolute necessity! However, it is the Power of the Holy Spirit from truly having a relationship that changes lives and peaks the interest of something different shown to others! I urge you, dont be big in your theology but have no power of the Holy Spirit!

One Must Exhale

   Often, when discussing with others the essence of life itself, there are two things that are mentioned quite often. They are water and oxygen. Water is a very complex one as there is life in water itself, however, another thing comprises actual water is oxygen.
   You, and fish, breath it in every day. You give off carbon dioxide to trees and plants and in turn, they give you oxygen. It is quite a fascinating relationship.
   However, there are two parts to every breathe. After inhaling, one must exhale before taking the next breathe. If one just inhaled, even with all of the wonderful life that the oxygen supports, they would not live. Holding your breathe only last for so long until you pass out.
   It is the same with the Gospel. We can not just inhale this life, we must exhale it to others. After all, it is pure life! and we MUST share it (exhale) with all that we come in contact with, for it is only fair to share the full Life that we have been given through the Gospel!

Constant Communication

   I have recently decided to re- explore the fascinating (in my opinion) world of two way radios. I have studied public service radios, consumer radios, business radios, etc. This may seem to bore you but there is one thing in common of all of these radios that I learned for sure, they ALL have a range.
   From the few miles of the consumer radios to the vast mileage of the police and public service radios, they all have a point where they no longer can communicate with one another, because they are simply too far away.
   But guess what, there is a way of communication that never fails. There is no range that this signal will not travel, no mileage that cannot be covered. And before you ask, no!, it is not your cell phone signal.
   This is the power of prayer. It does not matter where you are, physically or in life, God Himself hears your prayers. Whenever, wherever! That is great news for the believer! The one stipulation: you must pray! He will hear it, but you must do it! Try it out, it is the best signal reception in existence!

Keeping It Simple

   I have set in many a math class in my day, and I realized one thing, the longer that I advanced, the more difficult it truly became. For example, it went from x to x squared, to x cubed, to y= 3x - 7 to the derivative of 4x.
   However, that leads to my next point. Another thing that I learned is that, no matter how complex the mathematics became, it was all based on something that I had learned before. In the example above, if I had never learned what "x" meant in mathematics, there is no way that I could have solved anything that came after it.
   The first day of kindergarten, no student will get asked to find the derivative of "x". The first day of being a new creation in Christ, what Christian should be expected to know and debate all of the secrets of God, or His laws? Time after time, babies are bombarded with all of this law from the OT and rules and regulations for church, etc., and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simply treated as a small stepping stone in the Faith! Christ dying for our sins is the foundation of our Faith, the CLIMAX of our lives, so that they only increase in Christ, BASED on the foundation of the Gospel!
   Keep the Gospel, the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him, the foundation of your faith!

Where in the World?

   The guys in the ministry are currently attending the event posted in the H.O.P.E. Ministries newsletter entitled ComeCloser. In case you do not know, ComeCloser is an event that now includes a good number of organizations that go into the innercity of Spartanburg and serve and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
   Hopefully, we are all especially familiar with that last part, the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As this is the Great Commission, to go and spread the Gospel to All Nations! So, the question is Where in the world are you spreading it?
   Not as in the phrase "where in the world" but the literal meaning, where are you spreading it? With ComeCloser, it is the innercity of Spartanburg that is the primary target. However, what about those in remote countries that have never had access to a Bible, or the translation of it to our language?
   The point is not to prioritize one place over the other, however it is important to spread the Gospel somewhere, for if everyone spread it, the surely the Great Commission will be fulfilled!

Lead a Horse to Water

   Many of you have heard the phrase that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink! This is so true literally, and spiritually. 

   And from that, I have come up with yet another phrase, you can tell someone the Truth, but you cant make them believe it! For example, you can tell a child that the stove is hot, but he may not believe you, until he touches it, then that all changes! 

   You can tell those new or ignorant to the Faith Truths about this Faith and Christ, but that, unfortunately, does not guarantee belief. The key, or deciding factor comes to this, one MUST believe that the Bible is completely, 100% true before all of the Truth can be believed. For the Bible goes against the world's definition of "common sense" in order to give the truth about God! 

   My challenge is to read and believe EVERY WORD of your Bible! Know and learn the Truths about God from the only deciding factor, His Word!

Only Hope

   There are some, actually a lot, that do not like to believe Christianity or its beliefs because the things that it teaches, or the events that it declares have happened in the past, cannot always be put in a test tube and proven or understood by a scientist.
   For example, the creation of the world. The Bible says NEITHER of these two things : The big bang created the world : God created the big bang, which created the world. If you open Genesis Chapter One, the first words read, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...". Therefore, if you so avidly believe that this cannot be true, you believe that, for example, after we are finished on this Earth, that is it, and there is nothing else.
   But answer this, if that is the case, then where is the hope? Where is the future? It ends when we leave this Earth for those who do not believe. However, there is a Hope, far beyond science, that we know, and that is that through Jesus Christ, eternal life is ours forever! Christ died for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may be with the Father forevermore! The is REAL Hope!
 

Baby Watches Everything

   Those with children understand the concept of babies always watching what is done by the parents. Especially when they are starting to walk and such. They see the parents walking around the house seamlessly and all they want to do is walk around the house once without falling. Why? Not because they know the importance of walking and how it relates to modern and historical science, but partially because they see parents do it, therefore they think that it is the norm.
   Guess what, as Christians, we are to guide those who are just joining the Faith or are weak in it. Im sure you already knew that, but consider this: just like in human growth, there are babies and there are those that have matured.
   Those that have matured are to guide those that are not by being an example of the Christian life as defined in the Bible! Realizing that the babies are always watching and trying to imitate, so that they may be capable as well! You are always being watched, so always be an example!

Dead man Walking

   How would you define the word alive? Better yet, how would you define the word "life" in general? Some would say that if you are breathing, you are living. And the Bible says that everything that has breath, praise the Lord.
   How do those relate? Everything is alive for a purpose, AND a purpose therefore makes something truly alive! How alive would you consider someone who only sat on the couch and watched television all day? I doubt that you would consider them very alive.
   If our purpose is to worship and obey, then when that purpose is being fulfilled, we have life. Lets go a little deeper. That purpose is only fulfilled through Christ Jesus! He is the only way in which we may fully experience and please the Father! He is the ONLY way to truly and fully fulfill our purpose, THEREFORE He is the only way to truly have life! Without Him, we are all dead men walking!

Unfair

   Let us take the hypothetical situation that we are in a humongous city full of excitement and danger. In this particular situation, we see our friend about to turn a corner into an alley in which stands a criminal with a gun ready to shoot whoever goes into that alley. IS IT FAIR for you NOT to tell your "friend" about the criminal around the corner that he is about to turn?

   Or how about this one, you see a friend that has just been brutally injured. There is blood running down their entire body, and by themselves, they are helpless. However, you have a cellular device with a full battery and a full signal and could call the ambulance and SAVE THEIR LIFE. Is is fair for you to call?

   The Gospel of Jesus Christ saves from the danger of eternal damnation in hell and gives eternal life in absolute beauty! We are helpless and hopeless without it, but those that know it and accept it have hope and an eternal life. Now tell me, IS IT NOT FAIR to share it? Share it!

Romans 12.2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
 
   Tonight is the night to talk about the final part of this verse, the will of God. Over the past three nights, we have discussed not conforming to the ways of the world, and the transformation by the renewal of the mind. Now is time to cover the will of God.
   We are to prove what is good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. We do not always know what is necessarily good. What we think may be for our harm or the harm of the others can be a part of God's plan for the good of those that love Him.
   He has a will for us to worship and obey Him. He also has a will for us to prosper in all of the works that we do for Him! Therefore, not conforming to this world, and transformation by renewal of the mind causes one to do what is good, acceptable, and perfect, in the will of the Father!

Transformers

Romans 12.2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
   Last night, the first part of this verse was discussed, not conforming to the deceitful ways of this world. Now we will discuss the second part of this verse, the transformation by renewal of the mind.
   I will use the illustration of the dog with the invisible electric fence. When the collar is first put on the dog, and they past the boundary of the invisible fence, they get a shock. Rest assured that enough of those shocks will cause the dog not to want to cross the boundary of the fence anymore. However, when you take the collar off of the dog, the MIND of the dog still thinks of that boundary, and the dog still will not cross it.
   This verse talks about transformation, or as some may say, sanctification, or the becoming like Christ. This is a process. And it happens by renewing our minds, which are so powerful. This happens through the immersion of the Word of God and a TRUE relationship with Him! There are so many treasures in this process but it only happens to those with a TRUE desire and relationship with Him!

Not Conformed

Romans 12.2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

   Over the next three days, we will be dissecting this three part, deeply rich verse so that we may understand it even better than we do now. This was written by the apostle Paul to the, guess who, Romans, or the church in Rome.                                                                                                                    Tonight, we will take the first part of the verse, which states, "and be not conformed to this world." Have you ever had a pack of bread that you left out a tad too long and looked the next day to find that there is mold on four pieces of bread? However, if you studied it, you would realize that the mold started with one piece of bread, but spread, and the other pieces were contaminated and conformed to the mold of that one piece.                                                                                                                                     Paul is warning us to both watch our surroundings, what we let in, and what we let out because, without guarding our hearts and saturating them in Christ, one will conform to the surroundings of the world! Watch what you let in, and what you let out, for we are NOT to conform to the ways of the world!

Everything in the House

   Have you ever went to the house that seemingly had everything? The newest televisions on the market in every room to any food that you could imagine? They had not only most privileges, but also all of the needs as well?
   Therefore, when it is time for them to eat, they have full confidence that they will get a meal when it comes that time. When it is time to take a shower, they know that they know that there will be warm water and clean clothes. Therefore, they do not live their lives in a worrying mindset, but in confidence.
   We have a God that created absolutely everything and lacks absolutely nothing! It is true, God chooses to give us things according to what we can handle, and we may not have all of the latest televisions in every room. However, we should have confidence that God will provide ALL that we need, for his resources are unlimited. We walk in confidence knowing that the Lord will sustain and provide us every day of our lives. For He has EVERYTHING in His House!

True Independance

   I truly hope that everyone had a fascinating 4th of July, or Independence Day. Since freedom and more specifically, independence, is the topic of the national holiday, I thought that would be the subject of today's post.
   First, we must understand who we are and our fleshly nature. To understand this, you must understand the fall of man. Adam, the first person on Earth, did not originally live in sin. However, in the garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit was eaten by Eve, being deceived by the serpent, and thus sin was brought into the world.
   Therefore, in our flesh, there is what is called a sin nature, a natural inclination to sin. Therefore, we were slaves to our sin. But then steps Jesus, who, by all means, in every since possible, frees us from this sin, and makes us free in Him and His Freedom! We were doers of sin, and now we are liberated in Christ! That is true Independence. Freed from sin, and alive in Christ!

Every Eye Will See

   Let us take a little adventure. Let us imagine that there is a little boy, well call him Samson. Samson did not live in the most prestigious neighborhood around by any means. In fact, he lived in the poorest part of his town.
   He lived with his parents in a small two bedroom one bath apartment. He did not wear the nicest clothes by any means either. Being 17, you would think that he drove his own car to the local High School, but instead, for lack of funds, he was forced to ride the bus all of his life.
   However, one day, he went to the SuperBowl and was blessed enough to go in the locker room with one of the teams. He gladly told his friends, but none believed him. Until, one day he brought them the ticket and the backstage pass along with pictures that he'd taken that night. See, even though his friends did not believe him, it did not change the truth!
   Even though some may not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it still does not change the Truth. However, rest assured that one day, EVERY knee shall bow and tongue confess that He is Lord! The important part is that YOU profess and believe what you know to be the Truth, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The Stand

   Have you ever heard of the story that describes the person that just attained a new girlfriend or boyfriend, but they are ashamed to go in public with them for appearance sake? They may be a great person, but, for whatever reason, they are afraid of what others would think if they were seen together?
   Therefore, by family or in private, they are very supportive and fully claim the other, however as soon as they are questioned in some way or another about the relationship, they crumble. Or even worse, it is the case where they claim the other person, but live a life in complete dishonor to them, but that is another story.
   Now, have you heard of the story in which the one who attends church gladly claims the name of Christ in church, but when out in public, or in the quarters of their privacy, Christ is no where to be found? You see them treat others in a way that Christ Himself plainly opposed, and they act like everything but a child of God? Here is the thing: to truly STAND for something, neither nor place are credible conditions that affect your stand. STAND for Christ, in private and public! Not a stand for show or appearance, but a living stand, for the one who died for you!

Bought and Fixed

   I recently purchased a phone from a friend of mine. However, this was more of a trade than a full out purchase with money in exchange for a good. Instead, I traded an item that I previously owned for the good.
   However, the principal is still the same. A price was paid in some form or another for the good in exchange. The only thing was, I actually had to fix this phone. I had a crack in the screen that needed to be fixed. And what was easier than to fix it myself. So that is what I did.
   Did you know that God Himself paid a huge price, the death of His One and Only being nailed on a cross, so that he could have you and me, as broken and dirty as we truly are, and fix us back to how we are supposed to be, and that is the image of Christ, His Son?
   It is true. ALL that you have to do is accept the price that He paid through His Son Jesus, and accept Jesus as the Lord and Rightful Savior of your life, and serve Him and Him only! You were bought with a price!