Thursday, September 26, 2013

Capstone or Savior?

"But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,' and, 'A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall'" (1 Peter 2:7-8). "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate'" (1 Corinthians 1:18-19).

Christ Jesus is illogical to hard hearts.  Deafened ears cannot hear the Lord calling out.  How can they?  God is Spirit, our Comforter is the Holy Spirit.  Only a receptive soul will recognize the Lord's persistent knocking at the heart's door. 

Today's society is bound by flesh and worldly reason.  God has truly destroyed the wisdom of the wise and the intelligence of the intelligent.  God appearing as a man goes right over the heads of many stubborn people.  They cannot begin to grasp the reality of our lives being a simple creation by the hands of a Creator.  They believe they are self-made or evolved from lower species.  How ridiculous.  The arrogance of mankind in refusing to admit we are jars of clay--mere specks of dust in comparison to eternity and God's infinity--has produced a cold and abusive generation. 

Populations throughout the world resemble Simon the Sorcerer from Acts 8:9-25.  They are "full of bitterness and captive to sin" (8:23).  They gather false teachers to soothe their itching ears and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4).  Jesus is flippantly used as a means to financial gain by prosperity preachers.  They proclaim God's Word as a means to worldly riches, prestige, and position.  They have no part in God's ministry, because their hearts are not right before God (Acts 8:21). 

False religions, or should I say cults, are growing.  They have a form of godliness, but deny it's power (2 Timothy 3:5).  They deny the power of the cross--Jesus' self-sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.  Cults display many qualities of light, yet are actually deceived by deceitful spirits and things taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1).  Countless persons have abandoned the faith and are lulled into a false sense of security, because they have failed to submit to Christ Jesus.  "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.  For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John 19).  They may say Christ is the Son of God, but their merging of worldly logic with Scriptural Truth is of Satan.  I mean, even demons who possessed people which Christ cast out cried, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High? I beg you, don't torture me!" (Luke 8:28).  It's one thing to say and know Jesus is the Son of God, it's another to acknowledge Jesus as God and Lord of your life. 

Many persons claim they are Christian, but are lost.  They are blatantly deceived or too arrogant to admit their error.  Love for the world--society's acceptance, power, money, ranking, pleasure--is scheduled for destruction.  "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed (Jesus) remains in him; he cannot go on  sinning, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9).  This means if Jesus is truly in our hearts, our character will be influenced by the Holy Spirit's presence.  We will grow and mature in His qualities and be heavily convicted of our sins.  We will have godly sorrow rather than worldly sorrow.  Our sin will exact an eager yearning for change, for a life lived for God's glory rather than the world's acceptance.  "The man who says, 'I know Him,' but doesn't do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him" (1 John 2:4-5).

Cults, false religions, philosophical lives are prevalent.  They cause many to fall without them even knowing why they stumble.  Christ has become their capstone.  Chasing mankind's arrogant ideas of existence and worship leads only to eternal separation from God the Father.  "There is a way which seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).

These are obvious truths for those who love and live for Jesus--and even for many who reject truth.  Yet, countless still fall prey to lies and apostasy.  These are the times prophesied in Scripture, the age prophets longed to witness.  We are living in a world where Scriptural truth and prophecy are being revealed before our eyes.  It is an exciting time for sincere followers of Christ, because we recognize the day of His return draws near.  It is also a sorrowful time for true Christians, because of the souls destined for destruction due to their denial.  I prefer to concentrate on the horizon, keeping a watchful eye and attentive ear for the trumpet's sounding and the return of our Savior. 

Christians--wake up!  The last times are here.  Can you not feel it in your soul?  Can you not feel the Holy Spirit weighing your conscience when you view the world around you?  Or am I just overly hopeful?  Either way, whether I'm correct or not, it's certainly time to get ourselves ready.  The church must unite as one man, as one body with Christ Jesus as our Head, so we can stand strong in the gap representing God's grace to the world.   

Saturday, September 21, 2013

What's Happened?

America claims Christianity on the whole,
But all I see are shrines upon every knoll.
About Jesus many have no clue,
He is the capstone to their routes in lieu.
Worship goes to technology, sex, money, and drugs,
While giving God numerous shoulder shrugs.
We approach Him in prayer and requests,
And harbor adultery within the chest.
Upon His Rock we claim His glory,
Yet, countless have exchanged Jesus for a fictional story.
We have replaced our obedience and devotion,
For lives full of wayward emotion.
One group says this, another sect says that—
All declare this is where the truth is at.
Some claim Jesus was just a prophet,
And others use Him for a dollars profit.
Many add to or contort His words,
Grouping together in large herds.
Numerous taunt God by bragging,
“His Word and Son are lagging.”
“Generations come and go,
Where’s He at?—thought He promised to show!”
Like Lucifer, this land is arrogant,
Our own rules, regulations, and religion we plant.
Just like repeated days of old,
humility before God refuses to unfold.
Simple minds seek simple ways,
Wisdom is calling out—count the days.
America was planted like a choice vine,
Love and hate for God has become a red line.
Failure happened when varied degrees of Christianity,
Became aped into false forms a plenty.
Each generation has grown worse,
The present has one foot in the hearse.
God is not pleased, He has not overlooked,
He does not forget, the oven is set to cook.
Acknowledge sin and He will forgive,
Or suffer the lives you chose to live.
The fourth quarter has started,
Minutes tick for the vain and hard-hearted.
Jesus is the only truth and only way,
Don’t wait until the final play.
Time sneaks up quick and the game ends,
The loss will be severe—no clock left for amends.
Jesus is man’s Savior and He is the Living Stone,
Why aren’t more believers mature and grown?
So many beliefs about Him mutilated,
Speak the truth and you are hated!
Stop worshipping true to the false,
And stand for Christ on the cross!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Corruption





Deviance, distortion, and perversion permeate many churches in these last times.  Perversion does not always entail corrupt, sexual natures.  Perversion is anything distorted, corrupted, impaired, or wicked.  Many claim to know Jesus nowadays, but do they really know Him?  Countless disciples are disdainful, and of darkness rather than light.  Christianity steeps with compassionless, apathetic persons.  Jesus' name is thrown around as a marketed tool or as an avenue of judgment.  Perverted spirits malign the gospel of Christ with words lacking supporting lifestyles.

This is not something new.  The Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter one speaks of a similar sickness within the body of Christ.  "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ" (1:7).  In Paul's day, Jews were trying to convince Christian Gentiles their salvation was worthless unless accompanied by circumcision.  In effect, their faith was only counted as righteous before God if they completed a certain task.  Salvation based upon works in other words.  Sound familiar?

However, today, not only is salvation through works promoted, other false aspects contaminate Christianity.  Such as love God, but don't mention Jesus--too controversial; such as worldly passions--homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, adultery are either condoned or overlooked;  such as retaliatory mindsets--fight back rather than turn the other cheek.  Many "Christians" are jaded.  Hard hearts herald a new religion, a man-made spirituality.  They negate the work of Christ on the cross, implementing human regulations which do nothing to restrain sensual passions and restrict regeneration by the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:23).

Human regulations of "do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that" are take backs to the day of the Apostle Paul (Colossians 2:22).  They create a 'Pharisee on the street corner' religion.  And such a religion is stiff-necked and compassionless.  "Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites!  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men'" (Matthew 15:6b-9). This is proportionate to numerous 21st century churches.  Christianity is being used much like baseball's double play.  The truth comes at you fast and hard, but more often than not, it is scooped up and thrown hurriedly to first base to get the other team out.  It's an 'us against them' mindset instead of 'they are lost and need saving' mindset.

Salvation is being used as a defense rather than an offense.  We hangout in the outfield of life waiting for something spectacular to come our way, completely bobbling the small plays.  The small plays happen all the time--it's the attention to details which affect the outcome, not one miraculous make on life's stage.  If we allow perverted, misguiding's of Scripture--taught by "hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2)--to harden our hearts, then we have fallen from grace (Galatian 5:4) and there is nothing but a fearful expectation of judgment waiting for us (Hebrews 10:27).

Defensive postures are for those on guard--holding close themselves to themselves.  Love is seeking out the best interests of others regardless of one's actions.  Self-centered, prideful, dispirited carnal Christians are incapable of empathy and compassion.  Walking with Jesus is humility and submission to God, not surrender to man's teachings of logic, ethics, and tradition.  Walking with Jesus is placing Him as Head of the Church, as Head of our individual lives.  More often than not, He is an afterthought of religion--or even more reprehensibly, a means to an end other than glory to God our Father.

Those who claim God's love, while refusing to adhere to Jesus' example, corrupt the grace of God in the eyes of those who are weak in the faith, or who just outright deny.  They are lukewarm and will be spewed out.  Let us not continue today's perverted gospel!


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Hardened by Sin's Deceitfulness


America is gospel hardened. Ease of life has created an atmosphere of complacency. The early church had persecution--Christians around the world are still suffering persecution for proclamations of Jesus Christ, and the gospel spreads.  Yet, here in America there may be churches on every corner, however, hearts are separate from God.  

There is an air of pomposity.  We have wrought the freedoms by the work of our own hands--wrong.  Sure, we worked, and that we have done hard and consistently, but nothing happens outside the will of God.  It is He who grants the freedoms and it is He who takes them away.  Not we humans.  Yet, take a look around.  Open your ears and what do you hear?  Mouths gaping wide spewing revulsions of me, me, me.  It is the nature of the prideful beast within us all outside of Christ.

American society has heard the great news of creation's Lord and Savior for generations now.  So much so, we have lost faith.  Hebrews 11:1 states "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  The majority of today's America is evidentiary in faith.  We are a nation of doubting Thomas's.  We have become believers of the here and now, the "what-can-you-do-for-me" generation.  But, Christianity is following Christ Jesus--the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  Followers are no better than their masters (Matthew 10:24), yet we incorporate a corporate attitude of going with the flow, of living the life of pleasure, of avoiding strife at all costs.  We no longer are sure of what we hope for and we are certainly leery of placing trust in what we cannot see.  It is evident all around. 

Jesus is God.  He is the Alpha and Omega tabernacled in human form.  He is the Rock upon which Christianity is founded.  Unfortunately, modern and cultural Christianity has twisted views of Christ.  Some dispute the era of grace by enforcing and subjugating regulations, procedures, and intolerances of the freedom Christ provides.  

Others doubt the goodness of God because they are no longer to live as they once lived--thinking, "How can God be good if I can't be me?"  We are not to be the persons we once were--"living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry" (1 Peter 4:3).  And this is exactly the lifestyle preferred among this "Christian" nation.  And when the truth of Scripture is set forth, whether by word or lifestyle, genuine Christians are thought odd, abnormal, and strange while such sincere believers are made fun of, rejected, and reviled (1 Peter 4:4).

America is in a rut of retaliation against Jesus.  We are a nation of carnal Christians.  The lascivious Christian serves the flesh (Romans 8:5), feeds upon milk and therefore is immature (1 Corinthians 3:1).  Such walks are unreliable (Romans 7:19), unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), the joy in Christ is lost (Psalm 51:12), and all rewards will be stubble in the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15).  We as a nation have become flesh-bound rather than whole-souled into Christ Jesus.  We do not live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).  We have become preoccupied with the here and now.  Life is but a vapor.  We exist only for a short time on this earth, and what do we do?  We lust after prestige, power, possessions, flesh, and money.  We purse the name of Jesus on our lips, yet we avoid walking in His light.  We either forget His commandments of love or we modify His teachings to suit our fancy.  We are too afraid to stand for Jesus in the face of opposition, because we are terrorized by reactions of the surrounding environment. 

Please, don't get me wrong.  Just because I sit here blogging out the nation's condition, I do not think myself any better than society.  I am guilty of everything I rail against.  How can I not be?  I am a sinner saved by grace.  I live in the moment far too often, forgetting and/or brushing aside the Holy Spirit's weight upon my conscience.  I grieve Him daily.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ for pouring Himself out to issue God the Father's grace to mankind!  But His grace is not freely given--it came at a cost.  Jesus sacrificed Himself.  He allowed His own creation to turn on Him, to beat Him unmercifully, to spit on Him over and over, to humiliate Him, laugh at Him, torture Him, kill Him.  This is grace at it's best.  It is not the "what-can-you-do-for-me" mindset.  It is God's favor given to those who do not deserve it.  It is only received by claiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  It cannot and will never be received any other way!  

If it were not for Jesus and the life I claim in Him, I deserve the worsts of death for offending the Almighty with my past denial and lifestyle of unbelief.  This is why I rail against a nation claiming Christianity.  This is why I am disgusted by a country pursing God upon it's lips, yet refusing God in flesh.  We are going to be punished harshly if we do not turn from our sins and acknowledge Jesus as Lord of all.  If we do not change our sinful, arrogant lifestyles and pull a complete 180, then there is a certain doom which looms on the horizon of time.

We, as a nation, cannot allow ourselves to "be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13b).  We must soften our hearts, unclench our teeth, loosen our stiff necks and hear the call of Jesus.   But, it is not enough to just hear, we must submit to Jesus as King.  We must surrender our egos to God.  We are not who we think we are--we are not the end all that meets all.  Only in Christ will we receive mercy, grace, and boundless life eternal. 


Monday, September 9, 2013

Aftermath of Disobedience

Read Isaiah chapter five.  Although it refers to the nation of Israel, many similarities can be drawn to the state of the universal church.  Keep in mind, the nation of Israel is God’s chosen people.  If He deals with their neglect of His favor, He will definitely deal with a world who utterly denies Him. 

Today’s Christians have received the gift of grace and mercy in a world ripe with sin.  Jesus has planted the Word of Truth only to see it trampled underfoot with suspicion and denial.  God is love; He “did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17).  There will be a time of judgment, but now is the time of salvation.  Christians should reach out in self-denial not Christ-denial.

There is coming a time where the world and its Christless Christians, who bear no fruit, will be judged harshly.  These are the ones who received the message of Christ on face value.  They turn from the faith and claim Christ’s truths are up for debate.  God will destroy their hedge of self-spiritualization.  He will break down their walls of man-made religion.  He will trample them under His foot.  He will make them a wasteland—neither pruned nor cultivated.  Briers and thorns of bitterness will fill the soul.  Hate will fester in place of peace, contentment, and clarity.  All God sees and hears are cries of judgment against Him—He has and will turn a deaf ear to false Christians saying, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:15-23). 
Denial and Consequence
If eighty percent of America is Christian, and thirty-three percent1 of the world follows suit, then why do so many taunt God with their deeds and demand action from Him?  They live like “hell” and expect Him to answer their prayers.  God does not answer to us.  So, what happens?  Many go their own way saying the God of Scripture does not exist.  He is unkind, too demanding, and uncaring.  His way of salvation is a farce—Jesus is not the only way.  This makes God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) out to be a liar.  They mutate Scripture to satisfy their own twisted hearts.  Jesus is aped into a self-serving, hypocritical religion. 
They claim to follow Jesus and deny His deity asserting, “God’s Word has been mistranslated,” or “How can man write an inerrant book,” or “God’s Word is outdated,” or “There are many interpretations—it just depends on how you look at it.”  All outrageous!  First of all, if you believe in a God, which many of these so-called Christians do, then how is it you can’t perceive Him to be capable of inspiring man (His creation) to write infallible words?  How is it you can’t admit that same God can provide avenues for His Word to be passed down through translation without error?  How can you claim God, who does not change (James 1:17), to have given us a Word that would become outdated?
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 4:16).  “For the word of God is living and sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). 
This irritates the sinews of those rebellious to God.  They want what they want and God precludes them of such.  His word cuts deep and to avoid their desires from being carved out, the Bible is contested as errant, outdated, or just outright manipulated.  Then, they turn on true Christians, who speak the truth, calling them narrow-minded, prejudiced, and bigoted.  They repose in the shelter of free will calling their actions good and those who confront them as bad.  They cast the Son of God and His flock aside, persecuting them while heralding their wicked ways as the new way to God.  Their arrogance as to their way superior to Gods will pave their road straight to hell.
Such patterns of thought and subsequent actions will set you ablaze in the end.  As dry grass curls and withers in the fire, souls will decay in this life and the next.  No wonder depression, constant searches for happiness, and complete feelings of emptiness course rampant through today’s world.  All understanding has blown away like dust replaced with refuse.   All the while, people will cling to false ideals of Christ hoping lies will answer their cries for help.
God has turned an unresponsive ear to false devotions.  “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law (Jesus), even his prayers are detestable” (Proverbs 28:9).  He has turned His back to charlatan Christians, because they deny who He really is—they no longer pray to the one and only God, they utter to empty air.  Because of belief in babblings, the world has caused its own demise.  The soul’s grave has “enlarged its appetite” and “opened its mouth without limit” (Isaiah 5:14).  Many will go down to the pits of hell thinking their way is better than Gods.  One day, eyes and ears will be opened.  The unsaved and conceited “man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled” (Isaiah 5:15).
God is merciful or the world would not have received Jesus as the light of salvation.  But limits have been set.  Before long, a day of judgment will be called for.  God’s holiness requires satisfaction.  The end times are here.  I’m not saying it will be tomorrow or next year or even in my lifetime—but it could be.  No man knows the day, but we are given signs to filter the times through. 
Mature, faithful followers of Christ are able to read the signs like meteorologists read weather patterns; or how doctors are able to read the signs of any particular sickness.  The world has a sickness and it is called self-importance.  Without Christ Jesus as your cure, your soul is terminable.  The spiritual weather patterns forecast Christ’s return and the coming storm on the horizon for those left behind after the rapture of believers.  We have warnings all about us, yet so many choose to ignore and turn from their sin.  We are blinded by desire, science, technology, machinery, false teachers, apostasy, aped truths of Jesus Christ.  So things get worse, the world’s disease goes unchecked and the cancer of denial spreads. 
God exists, Jesus is who He says He is.  Refusal of Him causes the Holy Spirit to crush souls and the Father to punish His creation.  He turns nation against nation swiftly and speedily—not one of them grows tired of killing or dying for their cause.  The roar of hate is in unison around the world.  Rage growls, seething with many a devised plan for horror.  Terrorists are everywhere like a roaring sea and they are quick to implement death.  There are clouds of bombs, terrorist’s attacks, missiles, gun fire in unsuspecting public squares.  There is absolutely no light of hope except through Jesus.  But the world deems Him as an unfit route of salvation.  All will continue to worsen—wait and see.
If you are on the fence, why choose Satan over Christ?  Ultimately, that’s what it boils down to—the devils arrogance or Jesus’ humility.  There is time now to make the wise choice, repent and turn to the Lord.  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
 

 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Our Living Hope


1 Peter 1:3-5

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade—kept in heaven for (us), who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”   

We, as true brethren of Christ, are given a living hope.  What exactly is a living hope?  Through Jesus’ bodily resurrection, we have the guarantee we are to be raised as He was—that is, if we are not among the one’s counted during His return.  Even so, if we are living at that time, our bodies are to be resurrected anew into one identical to Christ.  Either way, the resurrection of our bodies into a glorious transformation, or glorification, is definite.  We are promised this in Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-58).  God did it for His Son and He has promised to do it for us, His adopted children.  Remember, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17). 
Now, living hope is an enthusiastic belief that is alert, sustaining, conscious, growing, ready, alive and kicking.  It resides within the boundaries of our resurrection and our inheritance as the family of God.  Our endowment firmly resides in heaven.  We are to set expectations of favor within the parameters of Paradise.  There our rewards, our home, our lives will never “perish, fade, or spoil.”  Here, we are nothing but temporary tents housing the gift of life, our spirits.   All spirits are eternal, it’s just a matter of where we will spend eternity.  To place scope of vision on the here and now, brushing aside the hereafter, is foolish and juvenile.  Children do not consider tomorrow, they are only concerned with the immediate.  We as adults know better, yet when it comes to life after death, we emulate the shortsightedness of the immature.
Our earthly gains amount to nothing, no matter the amount accumulated, when death comes knocking.  Not one single item can be taken into eternity.  So, why is so much emphasis placed on material possessions rather than spiritual ones?  Why is the short span of eighty to one hundred years, at best, so dog-gone blind to hope?  The windows to our souls have blinds of apathy blocking the view of God’s ageless tomorrow.   If we are Christians, true Christians, our citizenship resides upward not outward.  Our hope is meant for eternity’s inheritance with Jesus, not the devil’s doghouse of denial. 
We know that hope’s gains are “kept in heaven,” but how?  Through faith in Jesus Christ.  Faith is complete trust or dependence on the absolute of Jesus being who He says He is (Hebrews 11:1).  We are assured of our inheritance’s reality and its safety.  It is “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).  Notice verse five states, “the salvation that is ready to be revealed.”  Once Jesus died on the cross and defeated Satan and sin, He was resurrected in victory over death.  The three “evils”—Satan, sin, and death—were defeated by the One.  Satan stands opposite his Creator.  God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—defeated all three on Calvary.  Christ was the Suffering Servant, but do not miscount the role of the Father and Spirit in salvation.  The Father sacrificed His only begotten for the sake of His creation, the Son gave Himself up for the Father’s righteous love, and the Spirit raised Jesus from death and now works as our Counselor.  The one, true God won.
Since that glorious triumph, the Father has been preparing a family unto Himself through His Son, by placing His Spirit as a seal on the souls who accept His only means of salvation.  This salvation is ready to be revealed here in the last times.  Jesus spoke of the end times when He walked the earth, this verse refers to the last times.  There is a difference.  Think of the Olympics.  The end of the games is designated by a closing ceremony on the final day.  The days preceding the closing ceremony are generally referred to as "the end of the games."  Not until the last game is played is the closing ceremony set to start.  The same is of life as we know it.  The past has been the end of times, but now is the last time.  I cannot say how long the final game will last, only that we are in the final play of history.  Once the game clock ticks down to zero, the closing ceremony will begin.  The signs are all about.  Open your eyes, Christians, and read the times.  The end has become the last.  Jesus could literally come back at any moment.
All prophecy in Scripture leads to Jesus.  Old Testament prophecies tell of the coming Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.  New Testament prophecies foretell His return, one: to catch up His family, and two: to establish His kingdom by ending the present age.  His return is eminent—through His own words.  The times He spoke of exist in overwhelming abundance today.  To continue eyes set downward is to live as an ostrich with its head in the sand.  The end is coming whether or not we keep an eye out for it.  Our living hope should be on His powerful appearing.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Age of Denouncement


(excerpt from my unpublished book, Convoluted Christianity)

Are you an apostate?  Huh?  Meaning, have you fallen away from your faith?  Have you denounced your relationship with Jesus?  Have you been led to His waters to quench your thirst and decided to gorge your stomach with Satan’s canteen of lies?  Do you live in accordance to God’s Word or are you a lover of the world?  Are you misled by false doctrine, false faith—lies?  Do you even know if you are on the path to hell or have you been blinded by the devil’s deceit?  Remember, if you claim to be a Christian, you had better examine your beliefs in the light of Jesus. 

Look at the world around you.  No, let’s be more specific for now.  Look at America.  Our motto is “In God We Trust."  Nothing could be further from the truth.  America trusts in itself.  It is a nation bent on me, me, me.  Technology is progressing at such a rate interpersonal connection is practically obsolete.  Rarely do you find a person without a cell phone to their ear or their head buried downward typing out texts.  Computers are the new god of choice.  Everything is instantaneous, we are junkies for immediacy.  We claim freedom is our right, yet we freely relinquish our lives to the cyber world.  We are chained to our phones, computers, twitter accounts, Facebook pages, emails, texts—we have shackled ourselves and Satan could not be happier.  He has distracted our thoughts of Jesus with ease.  Technology at heart is not evil, but what we are doing with it is. 

At this nation’s start, we fundamentally had God at the core.  In turn, God blessed this nation with growth incomparable to any other country, just look at our history.  Yet, as the years have progressed our faith has regressed.  We claim “In God We Trust” and spit in His face every day by rejecting His Son as the Christ.  We live out our lives our way, demanding God change His—man, this nation is arrogant.  With the same mouths we profess Christianity and spew out profanity.  With the same knees we bow to God in prayer yet worship technology. 

We have no regard, no appreciation of God’s earth—we pollute it for the almighty dollar, we destroy it for profit.  We carouse in drunken, drug-induced stupors, partaking of sex-filled lifestyles blaming God for the consequences of STD’s and unplanned pregnancies.  We wag our fingers at Him in disgust for allowing rapists, murderers, kidnappers, and the like to go free due to a corrupt justice system.  Not to mention how politicians love to play the Christian card while running for office, yet when elected their true colors shine.  Our government is one of injustice, one catered to the wealthy, one catered to the lobbyists who represent large corporations and our elected officials are steeped in what’s right in their eyes, rather than the eyes of those who elected them.  And all this under the motto, “In God We Trust”—please. 

We are an egocentric society.  We want what feels good and we want it now.  Tell us we are wrong and suffer the backlash of fury, hate, and exile.  America does not trust in God.  It serves the gods of this age—technology and pleasure. Take a gander at the youth of today.  Rebellious, self-seeking, violent, obsessed with the here and now, and make no provision for tomorrow.  They love to fight and revel in violence.  Their favorite forms of entertainment are games that feature murder and war, movies that glorify care and consequence free lives, and clubs where alcohol, drugs, and sex run rampant.  We take up for them by claiming such lifestyles and entertainment are not the cause for our nation’s woes.  Let me tell you, if you consistently fill your mind with such, your spirit is stained.    Our hearts are the well-spring of our lives, we must guard them fiercely (Proverbs 4:23).  If they are tainted, then the waters that flow forth are corrupted with the vile we mixed in with them. 

Many claim to be followers of Jesus, yet vehemently cry out in rage when the one and only truth is put in front of them.  How can those who partake of the world, crave its pleasures, and fall for Satan’s lies be Christian?  How can Christian fight against Christian over doctrine clearly stated in Scripture?  How can a society so bent on itself, so warped by desire, and mutilated truth of Jesus Christ be Christian?  It simply cannot be.  This nation is one of partying, depravity, sexual immorality, homosexuality, swindlers, murderers, liars, cheats, drunkards, deniers of solid Biblical doctrine.   

Countless so-called Christians are lost.  They never accepted Christ as their Savior—that He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life—they are Christless Christians, apostles of apathy.  Absolutely no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it.  Get mad all you want, reject my words all you want.  At the core, it’s not me you are mad at, but God (1 Thessalonians 4). 

The world today treads the path of the wicked (Proverbs 4:14-15).  We as Christians are to avoid the wide path that leads down to destruction of souls, but what does the majority do— travel on it, live on it, make their beds on it.  So-called Christians eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence (Proverbs 4:17).  They raise their children to serve God but their life-style examples teach the way of the devil.  Grown children end up falling away from the faith, because they have not been taught the ways of the Lord.  The path of the saved should be one that shines Christ’s presence from within like the first gleam of dawn, but instead they have chosen the way of the unsaved falling into deep darkness—they have no idea what is making them empty inside, so joyless, so unclear of why they keep tripping (Proverbs 4:18-19). 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Secularized Christianity


Why is the church institutionalized?  Why are we standardized, regularized, and incorporated into a system? Perhaps the church has gotten too comfortable in her own skin?  “Freedom of religion” has allowed Christianity to grow and spread the great news of Jesus.  But freedom along with free will is a two sided coin.  On one side, liberty is enjoyed.  On the other side, emancipation leads to familiarity yielding carelessness and apathy.  Humans enjoy independence to the point of disregard to others who surround.
Freedom gives the right to express perspectives, but that right becomes a red line for certain persons.  Some people have lines drawn in the sand and they sit around waiting for someone to cross it.  Once done, one’s freedom becomes a slight to someone else’s freedom.  We have become a nation of angry, agitated, brawling Christians.  We have split into numerous denominations causing a fracture in our unity in Christ.  Perhaps the good times are harder to navigate than imagined. 
Christ Jesus needs to be reinstated as Head of individual lives, then logically He becomes reinstated as the Head of the Church.  Then, and only then, will the love of Christ course through the body as blood through veins.  It will be sustaining to all Christians.  We need to unify rather than sect off into groups.  We need fellowship together.  We need acceptance for the marginalized and misunderstood.  We need the church to be home for all members to become part of the whole. 
But, secular society has permeated our inner selves.  Since childhood, all of us have been indoctrinated with education, marriage, children, and career.  Our careers have to be successful and become the center of many lives.  Marriage is encouraged to the point one is abnormal by remaining single.  Education and college are viewed as the end all that meets all of youth.  Where in all of this are we taught God as the center of our lives?  Where in all of this are we encouraged to chase wisdom and understanding in Christ?  Why are we not taught Jesus is the end all that meets all?
Understandably none of this is to be expected from a secularized civilization.   However, the church, the body of Christ, individual Christians, children to the Almighty, brethren to the Living God are expected to set forth Light into the darkness.  This entails living as Christ lived.  He called out to the misunderstood, disenfranchised, abnormal persons.  We are to do the same.  Secular society has no place in our Christian lives.  The church has failed to follow Jesus' commandment of "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-40). 

If we have succeeded in accepting these as commandments, then why are we fighting amongst ourselves in front of a watching world?  Why do so many feel pushed off to the edges of brotherly kindness?  Meaning, you can be part of the family, but you're not particularly welcome to the reunions.  Why do so many souls feel slighted when seeking acceptance into the family of God?  Because many Christians have secularized thoughts and hearts.  They still filter others through their past or their appearance, rather than seeing and hearing their desire to know Jesus.

Society is a machine engineered to create duplicates.  We are all expected to follow the same pattern.  Well, in my view of life--the God of all creation rather enjoys variety.  We are not all expected to be the same in the Almighty's family.  That's why the church is referred to as the body of Christ with Him being the Head.  The body has a number of different parts, and all with different purposes.  The arm can't walk and the foot can't write.  The foot can't walk without the leg and the arm can't write without the hand.  And neither the arm, foot, leg, nor hand can do anything without a head atop the body.  

So it is with the church and Jesus.  If we continue to marginalize others because we can't identify with them, or because we are ashamed of them, then we inflict harm upon our own body.  Much like junk food for a steady diet, disunity among the body of Christ will create lingering instability in our health.  The church needs to shed the world, reject false teachers, cast out the doctrine of demons and mature in the Lord growing past the elementary teachings of John 3:16.  We need to wake up and know there is more to God, there is more to Jesus than "God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son."  There is power, there is knowledge, there is peace, joy and life to be known by graduating from Salvation Elementary and entering the University of Faith. 

Christ Jesus is King!  He is the Living One (Revelation 1:17-18).  He is our Educator in this the school of life.  Through His Spirit we are able to pass the courses set before us.  Let us grow setting forth lives giving glory to God.  Let us set our eyes upon our heavenly citizenship and it's society, rather than the failing one we experience here in the flesh.  One day our journey will lead us to the promised land!  Will we want to enter by the skin of our teeth or do we want to enter as victors in Jesus?  Let's grow and love without judgment. 

 Who will seek admission into God's University? Who seeks to grow in the Lord?  Who desires more than just elementary teachings of Christ?  Who wants to give God the Father glory by surrendering to the Holy Spirit's presence within all believers?  I sure do.