John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I hear this verse quoted often. The usual context is in regard to the intellectual assent that Jesus is the Gate, by which we enter into heaven and there is no other way to enter. I acknowledge this as true, BUT I find myself going one step further and asking:
What is more important, the intellectual agreement that Jesus indeed is the Way to salvation OR to actually walk in the Way?
Let me put it this way. If I acknowledge that Meridian Street runs directly to my house which is the third on the left, I can agree this is true. If I acknowldge that I indeed want to go to my house, I have to drive along "the Way," which in this case is Meridian Street. All too often it seems evangelical Christians want to stand and build intellectual agreement that indeed Meridian Street runs to my house, BUT we spend all our time here.
Instead of walking together or driving together down Meridian street and talking about the landmarks and how we can know we are actually heading the right way on Meridian Street, we spend all our time acknowledging Meridian Street runs to my house.
Yes, Jesus is the Way. Let us move on past this elementary teaching and get on to maturity. Lets talk about living in the Way together. Let's talk about spiritual struggle and dicernment of the spiritual warfare going on around us. Let's talk about working out our salvation with fear and trembling before an Almighty God! Let's talk about a Holy Nation. Let's talk about a people under Christ that are all supposed to be part of a Royal Priesthood. . . . Yes, every believer a Priest! The old order of having a priest do all the God work is done, it was crucified. All have access to God through Christ, the mediator and Perfect Sacrifice. This sacrifice paid in FULL all of our sins and grants us access to the Holy of Holies, heaven itself.
When do we move on to walking the Way together and get past a mere intellectual agreement?
Sometimes I wonder, if some who may not even have this intellectual agreement may be closer to Christ than those who profess His name.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Spiritual Warfare
There are three divisions of evil which strike at the Christian. 1) Our own perverse and hard heart 2) The world: Which consists of the mass of unregenerated people and their systems of power, greed, glamour, and perverted sexuality 3) The evil one who commands the world systems and has sway over the unregenerated world without their knowledge
Can sin be overcome in the Christian life? Can a Christian walk in victory?
-Or
Are we destined to failure and constant sin? Are we destined to remain stuck in the same sin Christ found us on our first day of accepting Him?
You know it is strange that I have had many men tell me it is ok to have lustful thoughts in your mind. It is natural. I have been told masturbation is normal, it is part of nature and one must do it. Men you would think should hold a much a higher position than what they do hold these positions. It would probably shock you to hear who speaks things like this.
In what Biblical passage can you refer me that we are to remain in sin that grace may abound? Isn't it just the opposite, as Paul said in Romans 6:2
"By no means!!!! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Are we believing God for that?
I am beginning to. Many sins fell off when I first came to know Christ. Now the Holy Spirit is pointing out additional selfish sins of my heart. I thank God for this discipline. May we never accept anything less than Christ formed in us. In the daily walking in the Spirit during prayer, Bible meditation, service, praise, etc, etc. God is trying to transform us into the image of Christ. Will we submit to the Holy Spirits promptings? Or will we excuse them away and dismiss them as natural and silly to think one could walk in victory with our Savoir!!
1 Cor. 10:13 : And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
First in spritual warfare, we have to look in the mirror. We are our worst enemy. The lust for self-gratification in our heart is the enemy that must embrace the cross. This is where we pick up our cross and march in the footsteps of the One who showed us the Way. "To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. . . . He leads the way, keep close to him. . . . and take up his cross." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)
Have faith, God always provides a way out to remain in His path....Look for it, be aware of the Scripture, memorize make it part of who you are, so that it is second nature to believe the Holy Spirit to show you the way out of temptation.
Can sin be overcome in the Christian life? Can a Christian walk in victory?
-Or
Are we destined to failure and constant sin? Are we destined to remain stuck in the same sin Christ found us on our first day of accepting Him?
You know it is strange that I have had many men tell me it is ok to have lustful thoughts in your mind. It is natural. I have been told masturbation is normal, it is part of nature and one must do it. Men you would think should hold a much a higher position than what they do hold these positions. It would probably shock you to hear who speaks things like this.
In what Biblical passage can you refer me that we are to remain in sin that grace may abound? Isn't it just the opposite, as Paul said in Romans 6:2
"By no means!!!! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Are we believing God for that?
I am beginning to. Many sins fell off when I first came to know Christ. Now the Holy Spirit is pointing out additional selfish sins of my heart. I thank God for this discipline. May we never accept anything less than Christ formed in us. In the daily walking in the Spirit during prayer, Bible meditation, service, praise, etc, etc. God is trying to transform us into the image of Christ. Will we submit to the Holy Spirits promptings? Or will we excuse them away and dismiss them as natural and silly to think one could walk in victory with our Savoir!!
1 Cor. 10:13 : And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
First in spritual warfare, we have to look in the mirror. We are our worst enemy. The lust for self-gratification in our heart is the enemy that must embrace the cross. This is where we pick up our cross and march in the footsteps of the One who showed us the Way. "To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. . . . He leads the way, keep close to him. . . . and take up his cross." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)
Have faith, God always provides a way out to remain in His path....Look for it, be aware of the Scripture, memorize make it part of who you are, so that it is second nature to believe the Holy Spirit to show you the way out of temptation.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
How did Jesus do it?
There are many examples of Jesus asking the diciples to follow Him. In Matthew 8:22, Jesus says to follow Him, and let the dead bury the dead. In order to follow, it may be a good idea to look at what Jesus was doing on a day to day basis as recorded in the Scriptures.
Taking this perspective, I find it intriguing to see Jesus sneaking away "early" in the morning before light to be alone and pray. Just after the hustle and bustle of healing and having swarms of people all over Him, He finds it necessary to hide away alone in prayer with God.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus took a few friends and went to pray alone in the garden.
Jesus had a habit of solitude. He had a habit of being alone with God. One on one.
What does this mean for us? Television, radio, demands of work, family, and all the rest can so overwhem us that we never have a quite dedicated moment to feel the presence of God, to seek His Will, or just say thanks. Maybe it would be good to just sit and enjoy God and show some appreciation for the life you did nothing to earn. For all those talents you were born with, maybe a little appreciation might be appropriate?
Something else on my mind is this: how much Christian radio can a person fill their space with and never enter into the presence of God. Two-way communication requires silence on our part to listen for that small voice. Many people have so many messages for us to hear, but what is God saying? Yes He can speak through others, but isn't He so much clearer on His own?
Solitude. Prayer. Hmmm. Like Jesus. Follow Him into a spritual life.
Taking this perspective, I find it intriguing to see Jesus sneaking away "early" in the morning before light to be alone and pray. Just after the hustle and bustle of healing and having swarms of people all over Him, He finds it necessary to hide away alone in prayer with God.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus took a few friends and went to pray alone in the garden.
Jesus had a habit of solitude. He had a habit of being alone with God. One on one.
What does this mean for us? Television, radio, demands of work, family, and all the rest can so overwhem us that we never have a quite dedicated moment to feel the presence of God, to seek His Will, or just say thanks. Maybe it would be good to just sit and enjoy God and show some appreciation for the life you did nothing to earn. For all those talents you were born with, maybe a little appreciation might be appropriate?
Something else on my mind is this: how much Christian radio can a person fill their space with and never enter into the presence of God. Two-way communication requires silence on our part to listen for that small voice. Many people have so many messages for us to hear, but what is God saying? Yes He can speak through others, but isn't He so much clearer on His own?
Solitude. Prayer. Hmmm. Like Jesus. Follow Him into a spritual life.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
I'm not competent to run my life
I met this guy at work, a customer of mine. He chews tobacco, is a little rough around the edges, has a big ford diesel truck, and I may have heard him cuss a little here or there. But you know what I found out one day? This guy knows the Lord. Sometimes you can not be too quick to judge others. You never know what they experienced in life (abuse, neglect, disabilities, bad parents, poverty, disease, bad environment, etc...). To be honest, I had no idea this guy knew the Lord.
One day a conversation came up over lunch. I told him I was looking at going into full-time ministry. As we wrapped up our meal and went outside, he threw a lipful of tobacco in and we walked out to his Harley Davidson motorcycle and he proceeds to give me a lecture on Christianity and on God. He confessed he didn't attend church everday, but I swear when he talked about the Lord something lit up inside him. I am telling you, he knows God. He probably knows God better than some imitation Christian that just goes thru the motions.
He gave me an intense sermon on how all denominations were all just Christians and only wearing a different label. He talked about living the life everyday and not just on Sunday. He talked about how he saw his business as an opportunity to serve his community and to help out those in need when he can. He confessed he falls short in certain areas, but he also confessed his searching for God's heart on certain matters. He has saught the Lord. The Word states that he who seeks, will find. And also, God is a rewarder of those that seek Him.
What hit me more than anything else he told me was this, "I am incompetent to run my life." "I need God to help me." Those words have been ringing in my ears for the last week. This guy threw all the outside appearance places his life in God's hands. He trusts God and believes in Him to guide him.
Now I know you all will look at me and say, you think he's a Christian? He dips tobacco, gambles, and cusses AND you think he knows the Lord? Yes I am telling you. He knows the Lord. He admitted he could be better, yes. But can't we all? Who can throw the first stone at this guy, who out there has no sin, no imperfections?
I think this guy, this guy should be a pastor. Not me. This guy. I'm not competent to run my own life. Thats humility. Thats a guy who has seen the Almighty and the awesome power and glory of God.
I tell you Jesus has His church. Not all of them are attending the buildings. Not all of them look like saints.
One day a conversation came up over lunch. I told him I was looking at going into full-time ministry. As we wrapped up our meal and went outside, he threw a lipful of tobacco in and we walked out to his Harley Davidson motorcycle and he proceeds to give me a lecture on Christianity and on God. He confessed he didn't attend church everday, but I swear when he talked about the Lord something lit up inside him. I am telling you, he knows God. He probably knows God better than some imitation Christian that just goes thru the motions.
He gave me an intense sermon on how all denominations were all just Christians and only wearing a different label. He talked about living the life everyday and not just on Sunday. He talked about how he saw his business as an opportunity to serve his community and to help out those in need when he can. He confessed he falls short in certain areas, but he also confessed his searching for God's heart on certain matters. He has saught the Lord. The Word states that he who seeks, will find. And also, God is a rewarder of those that seek Him.
What hit me more than anything else he told me was this, "I am incompetent to run my life." "I need God to help me." Those words have been ringing in my ears for the last week. This guy threw all the outside appearance places his life in God's hands. He trusts God and believes in Him to guide him.
Now I know you all will look at me and say, you think he's a Christian? He dips tobacco, gambles, and cusses AND you think he knows the Lord? Yes I am telling you. He knows the Lord. He admitted he could be better, yes. But can't we all? Who can throw the first stone at this guy, who out there has no sin, no imperfections?
I think this guy, this guy should be a pastor. Not me. This guy. I'm not competent to run my own life. Thats humility. Thats a guy who has seen the Almighty and the awesome power and glory of God.
I tell you Jesus has His church. Not all of them are attending the buildings. Not all of them look like saints.
Being a Christian
You are a Christian every day of the week, Not just Sunday.
It isn't about just being saved, like you just jump thru a hoop and you are done.
Being a Christian is a walk, not a destination.
Being a Christian doesn't mean you are perfect, but it does mean that you are dissatisfied with sin in your life and are committed to fight against it.
Being a Christian is not very popular and it seems most of television, movies, and music are dead set against it. It seems our society doesn't know what to think of a person with morality, a hope for purity, and loyalty to a cause. Why does someone with a foul mouth find it so easy to speak crudely as if no one else in the world might have decency about them? And yet as a Christian we can find it so hard to speak truth?
Being a Christian the world may find it difficult to make money off of us. Maybe that is why it doesn't like us. We know money can not buy peace and true joy. We know that true love is not selfish and we will fight against the selling of sex. We know that God is all powerful and we are mere men who depend on him for our next breath. We don't need all the status symbols and signs of success the world chases after. Our value comes from the one God placed on us when He created us and planned a life for us. God cares not for how much money we have, or how beautiful we are or what status symbols we have acquired.
Being a Christian is caring about what God cares about. Real life. Real love. Real relationships. True life. Life in the full. Not the empty pursuits up for sale.
In a culture of whatever feels good do it and in a culture of selfish pursuits of pleasure, I find being a Christian quite a satisfying alternative to the lies being sold in the marketplace. How long should it take our society to realize the damage that occurs to the family by divorce and selfish pursuits of pleasure? How many broken families do we have to see and how much pain for young kids before it wakes up?
Being a Christian, sometimes I can't bare to watch people heading for disaster and they seem obliviious to their situation. Being a Christian sometimes I just want to yell. I want to scream at the world and say Hey, Don't believe all that junk your music is telling you. Don't believe that a man gets his man badge by his sexual escapades. Don't believe dealing drugs is cool or women should be exploited. Don't believe money will make you happy. I want to say look at what it means to be dedicated and loyal and have a healthy trusting relationship. Look at what happens if both people are dedicated to following Christ and leave behind all the trappings the world sells you. We can have family life restored. It can happen.
Being a Christian is pursuing holiness before you are married so that when you are married you won't be tempted to cheat or to pervert your sexuality that makes it hard to have a healthy relationship with your wife.
Being a Chrisitan is being committed. Committed to God and to following God's ways. Following because His ways are better than what we can come up with and better because He is real.
Too many people out there are wearing the label Christian but they aren't being Christian. Too many people are giving others the wrong idea of what being Christian is. That makes me want to yell as well. Church is not something we just do on Sunday and leave there not to look at it or think about it during the week. God is always there. Every day. Every moment. He is there. You can't leave Him anywhere and you can't go anywhere He is not present. Instead of going thru some motions to fake or meet some part of your conscience you feel you need to suffice, take the first step of being a Christian and stop lying to yourself and come clean. You don't know Him. If you knew Him, you would love Him. When you love someone you are with them most of your time. You would talk to them, spend time with them, seek them, talk to others about them, sing about them, dedicate your life to them.......
These are some thoughts I had on being a Chrisitan. I am curious. What does being a Christian look like to you?
It isn't about just being saved, like you just jump thru a hoop and you are done.
Being a Christian is a walk, not a destination.
Being a Christian doesn't mean you are perfect, but it does mean that you are dissatisfied with sin in your life and are committed to fight against it.
Being a Christian is not very popular and it seems most of television, movies, and music are dead set against it. It seems our society doesn't know what to think of a person with morality, a hope for purity, and loyalty to a cause. Why does someone with a foul mouth find it so easy to speak crudely as if no one else in the world might have decency about them? And yet as a Christian we can find it so hard to speak truth?
Being a Christian the world may find it difficult to make money off of us. Maybe that is why it doesn't like us. We know money can not buy peace and true joy. We know that true love is not selfish and we will fight against the selling of sex. We know that God is all powerful and we are mere men who depend on him for our next breath. We don't need all the status symbols and signs of success the world chases after. Our value comes from the one God placed on us when He created us and planned a life for us. God cares not for how much money we have, or how beautiful we are or what status symbols we have acquired.
Being a Christian is caring about what God cares about. Real life. Real love. Real relationships. True life. Life in the full. Not the empty pursuits up for sale.
In a culture of whatever feels good do it and in a culture of selfish pursuits of pleasure, I find being a Christian quite a satisfying alternative to the lies being sold in the marketplace. How long should it take our society to realize the damage that occurs to the family by divorce and selfish pursuits of pleasure? How many broken families do we have to see and how much pain for young kids before it wakes up?
Being a Christian, sometimes I can't bare to watch people heading for disaster and they seem obliviious to their situation. Being a Christian sometimes I just want to yell. I want to scream at the world and say Hey, Don't believe all that junk your music is telling you. Don't believe that a man gets his man badge by his sexual escapades. Don't believe dealing drugs is cool or women should be exploited. Don't believe money will make you happy. I want to say look at what it means to be dedicated and loyal and have a healthy trusting relationship. Look at what happens if both people are dedicated to following Christ and leave behind all the trappings the world sells you. We can have family life restored. It can happen.
Being a Christian is pursuing holiness before you are married so that when you are married you won't be tempted to cheat or to pervert your sexuality that makes it hard to have a healthy relationship with your wife.
Being a Chrisitan is being committed. Committed to God and to following God's ways. Following because His ways are better than what we can come up with and better because He is real.
Too many people out there are wearing the label Christian but they aren't being Christian. Too many people are giving others the wrong idea of what being Christian is. That makes me want to yell as well. Church is not something we just do on Sunday and leave there not to look at it or think about it during the week. God is always there. Every day. Every moment. He is there. You can't leave Him anywhere and you can't go anywhere He is not present. Instead of going thru some motions to fake or meet some part of your conscience you feel you need to suffice, take the first step of being a Christian and stop lying to yourself and come clean. You don't know Him. If you knew Him, you would love Him. When you love someone you are with them most of your time. You would talk to them, spend time with them, seek them, talk to others about them, sing about them, dedicate your life to them.......
These are some thoughts I had on being a Chrisitan. I am curious. What does being a Christian look like to you?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Two Ladies
The other day at work I ran into two ladies. I got to asking questions about their personal lives, which I enjoy getting to know people better. The answers to the question I asked perplexed my mind. One of the questions was, what are you passionate about?
Now to help you feel the shock I did you need a little more info. These two ladies are in their 40's. They have lived a good amount of life. No offense if you are 40 or older.
So back to the question. I asked what are you passionate about? With a blank look on their faces they stared back at me. "I don't know." "I don't think I am really passionate about anything." "What am I passionate about?"
Wow.
How can you be middle aged and not have purpose in life, not have passion? Have they ever asked themselves that question before? I don't know.
I love passion. Am I allowed to say that grammatically? I guess the noun form of passion would be the electricity that you feel in your soul about something. Passion. To borrow from Gatorade, "is it in you?"
When you find that electricity deep in your soul, you have to pursue it. You have to stay there. Explore it. Enjoy it. Don't let the worries of the world steal it from you. Be what God made you to be. Fight for it.
Whats your passion?
Now to help you feel the shock I did you need a little more info. These two ladies are in their 40's. They have lived a good amount of life. No offense if you are 40 or older.
So back to the question. I asked what are you passionate about? With a blank look on their faces they stared back at me. "I don't know." "I don't think I am really passionate about anything." "What am I passionate about?"
Wow.
How can you be middle aged and not have purpose in life, not have passion? Have they ever asked themselves that question before? I don't know.
I love passion. Am I allowed to say that grammatically? I guess the noun form of passion would be the electricity that you feel in your soul about something. Passion. To borrow from Gatorade, "is it in you?"
When you find that electricity deep in your soul, you have to pursue it. You have to stay there. Explore it. Enjoy it. Don't let the worries of the world steal it from you. Be what God made you to be. Fight for it.
Whats your passion?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
What is reality?
What is reality? Is reality what you think it is in your own mind or is reality something real out there? If I want to believe that the moon is made of cheddar cheese and trees taste like Dorito's, would I find anyone that would agree? Would that make it reality?
What if reality is not what we see...What if there is more than what appears...How would you tell someone about something they could not see? What if some people suddenly started seeing the reality of this world but others could not...what should they say to those that could not see and were bumping around in the dark hurting themselves because they didn't understand reality?
Is there more than meets they eye, to borrow a transformers slogan. Is this like Plato said, only shadows on the wall we are looking at and yet there is a whole other reality, a sun, casting shadows on the wall and we are so entertained with the shadows we don't realize there is a whole other world, full of light and awesome thigns, out there? Instead we sit in the shadows denying the existence of anything else out there.
Too philosophic, I know....Can't help it:)
But seriously. Is there more than meets the eye? Do you believe it? Do you look for it?
God told me a secret the other day. Little human person insignificant as I am, and Almighty God chose to whisper a secret of the supernatural in my ear. Wow. I was humbled. I heard, "love is the secret to true passion and purpose in life!" Love is the universal secret, the reality of life of this world. When you lay down your life and unselfishly love on others and on God, you will find passion that burns in your soul. That is reality.
Reality is if everyone started loving their Creator and loving all the people around them, this would be a much better place to live in...that is concrete...that is reality...that is how this place works...that is true.
Love isn't just a nice thing to do or a nice word. Love is the secret to the universe. Without love there can be no purpose or passion. Is your soul burning on fire with passion? If not, do you love anything other than yourself? Love, thats the ticket.....
What if reality is not what we see...What if there is more than what appears...How would you tell someone about something they could not see? What if some people suddenly started seeing the reality of this world but others could not...what should they say to those that could not see and were bumping around in the dark hurting themselves because they didn't understand reality?
Is there more than meets they eye, to borrow a transformers slogan. Is this like Plato said, only shadows on the wall we are looking at and yet there is a whole other reality, a sun, casting shadows on the wall and we are so entertained with the shadows we don't realize there is a whole other world, full of light and awesome thigns, out there? Instead we sit in the shadows denying the existence of anything else out there.
Too philosophic, I know....Can't help it:)
But seriously. Is there more than meets the eye? Do you believe it? Do you look for it?
God told me a secret the other day. Little human person insignificant as I am, and Almighty God chose to whisper a secret of the supernatural in my ear. Wow. I was humbled. I heard, "love is the secret to true passion and purpose in life!" Love is the universal secret, the reality of life of this world. When you lay down your life and unselfishly love on others and on God, you will find passion that burns in your soul. That is reality.
Reality is if everyone started loving their Creator and loving all the people around them, this would be a much better place to live in...that is concrete...that is reality...that is how this place works...that is true.
Love isn't just a nice thing to do or a nice word. Love is the secret to the universe. Without love there can be no purpose or passion. Is your soul burning on fire with passion? If not, do you love anything other than yourself? Love, thats the ticket.....
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