For the Bible Tells Me So

Learning from men is often valuable and helpful. However, it is not without risk. There must be a Holy Spirit driven need to fact-check what the heart is absorbing from external stimuli. The only source without error is God's Holy Word.

Submitting one's heart to Christ Jesus, prayerful communion in the Holy Spirit, and Scriptural-led lives are the hallmarks of true Christians. Sadly, there is a deep divide between persons whose hearts are sincerely Christ-filled and Christless Christians who proclaim the rhetoric of man-made, religious traditions.

How does one safeguard against free falling into fallacy taught by others--intentional or otherwise?

By following and living out the words within God's Word, rather than by the words of corrupt, sinful men. Put your hope, your learning, your key to growth in the Author and Perfector of our faith--Christ Jesus, our Lord. The Spirit of the Living God testifies about Him within the pages of Scripture. Read, follow, trust, and believe the Bible over man's teaching(s).

 Time devoted to Scriptures' applications prevents sin from remaining one's master; it will also aid one from being deluded by deceitful doctrines. It negates stagnant faith by securing and promoting the Christian's ongoing maturity in the Eternal, Risen Lord.

So, the blunt question remains. In whom does your faith reside? Scientific institutions infused with man's philosophies, religions ripe with false teachings, faith riddled with humanistic dogma, pastors pandering for profit, society-soaked Christianity, stewards of Jesus Christ instructing listeners to verify what they say to be doctrinally sound, or in Scripture proclaiming Jesus Christ? 

One's faith cannot be in men, no matter how sincere and Biblically sound they are. Faith is placing absolute trust in Jesus. Trusting the words of Scripture. Living in accordance to the Bible.

Do I believe what I write? Yes!!!

Do I believe in a personal relationship with God the Father, one as an adopted child, as His heir? Yes, I Do. Do I believe the only Way to receive this gift of grace is to accept Jesus? Not only that, but that He is God the Son, God in the flesh, and that I am a co-heir alongside Him (Romans 8)? Yes, yes, I do.

I accept Jesus' acceptance to be the Suffering Servant. That he was willingly poured out into the likeness of a man, living a sinless life, taking on the sins of the world as a substitutionary offering, submitting to crucifixion and death on a cross, and bodily (not figuratively) rising from the grave on third day.

I accept these acts of love, I accept these truths of God the Son. Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life leading to salvation.

Why do I believe? Because the Bible tells me so.

I choose it over the world's chaos, over sin's temporary power, over the grave's temporary sting, over society's persecution, over Satan's temporary reign as the ruler of the kingdom of air. The prince of this world already stands condemned, defeated by Jesus' victory on the cross.

God's grace is offered in these Scriptural absolutes and I humbly accept them in Christ's Name.

I pray Christians who have sincerely accepted Christ Jesus as their Savior, will kneel in their hearts before Him as the Lord God Almighty. He was, He is, He shall be--the Beginning and the End, the King of Kings for now and evermore.

 May God the Father be glorified in His Son, through the lives of those Jesus laid His life down for, believers called to earnestly contend for the faith, who love Him, because He first loved us.

To those who follow Jesus, remember:

 Prayerfully season ‘spiritual meals' with the salt of Scripture, rather than allowing others to pepper misguided error and/or deceit into your doctrinal beliefs. Failing to do so will harden the heart and deafen the soul's ear toward the Spirit of Truth.

 The days are cold, abusive, angry, and dark. Guard the well spring of your heart by refusing the pollution of the world to taint it's waters. Allow only He who is Living Water to be the depth of your soul. Filter all others out with Scripture.

Distraction, Retaliation, and Carnality

Many churches are being distracted, falling for lies, giving into desires—committing spiritual adultery. We sit and watch others walk tall in their religion saying, “Their beliefs are wrong, but you gotta admire their effort and determination.”

The unbelieving of Christ, and/or mutated conspirators of Scripture, do have strong walks of deception, why can’t we have strong walks of truth?

It's difficult to understand this “Christian" nation—we call on God when we see fit. We cry out with prayers when things are rough, but when everything is good, we take the credit.

“There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:1a-2) 

America is in a rut of retaliation against God.

Christians are too underdeveloped to stand their ground for Jesus . We are like frightened children and dogs in a thunderstorm. One loud noise of opposition we seek shelter, run, and hide shivering in hopes the trouble will go away. 

Where are the mature Christians? Why are only handfuls standing up for our Brother, our Savior, our King and Lord? Christ stood in defiant opposition to political, religious, social, and spiritual attackers; why are so many professions of Jesus followed up by a refusal to stand for Him? 

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). Their walks are unreliable (Romans 7:19), they are unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), they have lost their joy in Christ (Psalm 51:12), and all their rewards will be stubble in the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). All this does not mean salvation has been lost; however, it does entail a weak, fearful walk.

We as a nation have become flesh bound. We do not live in the Spirit. We have been 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 because we recognize His saving power, yet we do not walk 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 the reactions of the world. 

Christ Jesus suffered for us and we should accept His call to be like-minded with Him.

What does this mean? To stand with conviction of truth against those who vehemently oppose or desire to kill us. We should count it joy, and an honor, we can return Christ’s favor by bearing up under their rage and venom.

Each of us is guilty of falling by the wayside and not participating in Christ’s kingdom. We idly stand by and watch false ramblers of faith march on, while we do nothing to refute their lies.

Why are we so afraid? I cannot speak for you, but I will tell you of myself. I speak loudly, but at times I leave the big stick at home. This happens when I get sidetracked by desires.

For instance, I rationalize my occasional smoking, by saying it’s just a cigarette, God will forgive me when I ask. Yes, He will, but my devotion to Him wanes each time I decide to fire up another cancer stick. I defile His temple and grieve His Spirit living inside me. I choose to disobey and I suffer the consequences of mounting decisions contrary to God’s will. 

Cigarettes are an overflow from my old self and I have yet decided to hand them over to God. I clinch them tightly, in turn placing them in a higher status than God.

True, each time I ask for forgiveness, but I show no sign of change, no effort toward actual repentance. This eventually creates a barrier between me and the Holy Spirit, who is my source of power, my source of strength, comfort, and counsel. Without Him by my side, I am nothing. I tremble at the thought of standing against those who can tear me down.

When I fail to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, I’m all alone in each battle. No wonder I lack the backbone. Each decision to disobey lays another brick on the wall between Jesus and myself. Before long, I can’t even see Him. This doesn’t happen overnight, it is a process of time. It’s a day in, day out walk of disobedience.

Of course, this is me. But, I do know this is how the mind and soul work. I’ve spent many a year in darkness, and I know the particulars of sinful decision-making. So my vice may not be yours, but the same principle applies. Whatever your brick and mortar are on the wall of disobedience, these are the causes behind a carnal life. 

We must, and I stress we, pursue a godly life through the ever-present Holy Spirit. We must stand for Jesus. We must spend time in prayer. We must study Scripture. To know Christ is to spend time with Him. This is only accomplished by offering ourselves up as living sacrifices (Romans 12). This is done by relinquishing the grip we have on ourselves, and devoting our hearts and time to Him.

Law, Grace, and Jesus

Proverbs 29:18

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint ; but blessed is he that keeps the law.”

My perspective:

“Where there is no revelation…” means where eyes have not been opened to God’s truth—Jesus is the only way to God the Father.

“…people cast off restraint..” means exactly that, no self-control. Where people lack in reading God’s Word they have no mirror to reflect the depravity of their spirit. They “cast off restraint” and go for the gold in pleasure—what feels good, drunkenness, hate, fits of rage, pride, arrogance, sexual immorality, and on and on and on. Such things are not of God, they are of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air—the devil (Ephesians 2).

“…but blessed is he who keeps the law" We are no longer under law,  but under grace through Jesus, so blessed is the one who maintains a personal relationship with Christ. This entails searching intently for wisdom (ability to discern between what is right and true) through God’s Word, bringing about peace of mind, body, and soul. Doesn’t mean suffering and sorrow will dissipate nor riches will be poured over one’s head, but that through the storms of life our sails will be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). He will carry us along as a ship in turbulent water if we only learn to rely upon His presence.

“Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passion and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-26).

In Ephesians chapter two, Christians are taught we are made alive through Christ like a newborn to its mother. Before Jesus, the law had to be followed to the letter for cleansing and forgiveness of sins. This legalism never established permanence because continual rituals of sacrifice had to be performed to receive righteousness. With every wrong/sin, works had to be performed before God to receive a pardon.

The Messiah put an end to the legalistic era—Jesus has fulfilled the law. Through Him we are cleansed once for all—through Him we, true believers, are alive.

Personally, though I was dead in spirit (hate, rage, depression, etc) through escapism (liquor, drugs, etc), I surrendered to Jesus and now am alive (contented peace). It is by grace I have been saved—the definition of grace being unmerited favor from God that provides salvation. I did nothing to deserve God the Father’s favor—God the Son did it for me. By accepting Jesus’ death on the cross as my eternal sacrifice and believing in His bodily resurrection, I am now more alive than ever before.

No person can go to the Father except through His Son’s life sacrifice.

All I had to do was accept in faith, which is not of ourselves, but a gift from God as well. A gift is freely given not earned. If salvation were based on earnings, it would be based on works and “merited favor." We must soften our hearts and open the ears of our spirit to hear the call of salvation from Jesus. Let go of the pride that deceives one into thinking good deeds/works are sufficient to enter into heaven—they won’t. Good deeds and love are a sign/result of having received Jesus’ Holy Spirit, but in no way do works/deeds in and of themselves provide salvation (James 2:14-26). Let us not be mere listeners of the Word, but doers of the Word (James 1:19-27) and we will be blessed .

Aiming at the Mark

Better.  That seems to be the mantra today.  Why, as Christians, do we have our eyes fixed on the mark of being better?  We are distracted and deluded by this simple, yet malignant word.

To be better is a mark we fall short of daily.  We promise to lead lives devoted to Christ and end each day as failures. Jesus is the mark to which we should live.  He is our role model.  He came as the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53).  Have any of us ever lingered in thought about that title, Suffering Servant?  It's worth a deep thought or two.

Jesus is the exact representation of God in human form.  He is the stamp of God in the flesh.  He came to sacrifice Himself in order to appease His righteousness.  He did not place Himself in what one would naturally assume God would chose.  No, His choice of substitution was to bear the burdens of life and the rejection of others.  He did not desire to be lavished with wealth and position.

Jesus understands rejection--His own received Him not.  He understands the harshness of life and man.  He knows firsthand absence of fairness--socially, economically, and sadly, spiritually.

In His Sovereignty, God showed us how to be better.  By not concentrating on the 'better me' but by living righteously.  In and of ourselves, impossible--in Christ Jesus, more than possible.   Scripture promises us a participation in the divine nature of God Himself with the indwelling Holy Spirit.  This is an amazing reality to the sincerely saved.

I have heard our lives are to prepare us for eternity,  but I tend to disagree.  True,  we prove our loyalty to Jesus by living this life in faith. However, our lives are more than a preparation.  We exist to glorify God,  to live in such a way that brings our heavenly Father honor. This is not realized by a desire to be better than what we were or even better than what we are--it is only done by imitating Jesus Christ.

Christianity is more than a belief in Jesus or His completed work in Calvary.  Satan himself, along with his minions, believe these truths.  No, Christianity is more than belief--it is surrender. The surrender of one's life by kneeling before the King of Kings, by making Jesus the Head of our lives. This is salvation. This is how we become better, by representing Christ in the power of His Spirit.

Stench of Error

The unsaved have no right to stake claim or recite God’s laws or loosely take Jesus on their lips.

Changing Jesus words, changing Scripture to meet one’s desired way of life, following false teachers, listening to twisted truths, does not predicate salvation. Misled malcontents of God’s instruction are the reason many spurn Him.

How do they do that, you ask? By creating knock-off religions such as The Church of the Latter Day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarian Universalist, Gnosticism, Worldwide Church of God, Presbyterian USA, The Way International, Chrislam and more. All have different standpoints, but all wreak of error by teaching Christ is but a prophet, or claiming Christ reappeared appointing new apostles, or denying the existence of hell, or accepting homosexuality, or giving creed to interfaithism, or denying Scripture's inerrancy and so on.

I do not plan to get into the logistics of each “religion” and their belief system; I only mention them to show how many false avenues there are incongruent with Scripture. This incomprehensive list doesn’t even include atheism. They flat out deny the existence God, a pattern of thought even demons reject.

God is long-suffering and gives people time to see the error of their ways. The unrighteous and unsaved live out their lives free of punishment thinking God is on their side—wrong! Go to His word, their schemes and practices are of the devil.

Many people accept homosexuality as the norm and sexual immoral behavior as a legitimate lifestyle. Others claim Christianity as a means to financial gain—business contacts through the church or Christ as a career; others are just swindlers, liars, cheats, drunkards, adulterers, and the like. And all this is done under the presumption of Christianity.

They are misled, they are wrong. They will be spurned, chastised, and rebuked in the end—Jesus will accuse them straight to their faces. One cannot love the world and its ways claiming to have Christ as their Savior—simply cannot be done (1 John 1:15-17). Those who ape His truth, those who forget Him, those who deny Him will be torn to shreds with their deeds leveled against them. But those who honor Christ and accept Him will be vindicated of their faith.

Forget worship on face value. God desires and requires heart worship. If our hearts and minds are set upon Jesus, our actions will follow suit. Do not allow the world to dictate God’s stone-set way of salvation. Following the world’s deluded way of being supreme to Jesus will cost you dearly in the end. Don’t be blinded by technology and bad persons living in ease while the saved are persecuted.  Study, know, and live by God’s Word--be imitators of Jesus Christ.

The Bible is truth—the very nature of God is at stake when people twist and contort His absolutes. One must believe the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more to which only believers of Jesus will be tuned in to hear and understand. But many have cast doubt on Scriptures, questioning God’s ability to provide His creations with an infallible text. If you are one of these who promote or permit such actions, know this:

“The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none…” and “There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:6a, 12).

Your way may create avenues for a guilt-free lifestyle, but you will find no life through Jesus, only death through the devil. To cast suspicion on Scripture, is to call God an incompetent trickster who can create the universe, yet is incapable of inspiring His creations to pen the Bible.      If this is your mindset, you had better enjoy life because the other side of time will be hell.

Drifting Away

Society is bent upon the reduction of Jesus Christ within Christianity. The church has become infiltrated by the doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). Homosexuality is promoted and endorsed, Scripture is contorted, anger towards righteousness and truth in Jesus is rampant while cold, abusive, self absorbed lives permeate the pews.

The world considers a believer of Jesus, who does not yield to their overwhelming influence, an outcast worthy of ridicule and shun. And they herald a new way to God by coming together unified under one faith, by manipulating God's Word to correlate with darkness and evil. Such are the teachings of deceiving spirits set forth in efforts to lead the elect away. And, in many cases, they have succeeded.

The church has been brought into disrepute by liars, cheats, swindlers, and carnal leaders (2 Peter 2:2). They step forth into the limelight rather than the Light of Jesus Christ. They purse the name of the One and Only upon their lips while their hearts are corrupt with selfish ambition, greed, pride, and just flat out darkness. Many discerning, faithful Christians know all this to be true.

What is to be done then? Is not the great apostasy and drifting away prophesied within the pages of Scripture? Yes it is, and given this, we are not to be discouraged or overrun with worry. The Ancient of Days knew this would be the case, told us about it beforehand, and has everything in hand-- working towards the completion of His sovereign will.

However, this does not give us license to sit idly by, waiting and watching, without standing in the gap on behalf of those led astray by false teachers. The Lord is the storm on the horizon. Do you not see it? Can you not feel it in your bones? If so, how can we allow apathy rule the day? Shouldn't we, as faithful brethren in Christ Jesus, reach out in courage and boldness to those being misled by malcontent miscreants? The Lord is coming, and that right soon! The forecast is the fulfillment of His Word.

Scoffers are here ridiculing and persecuting us. They say, "Where is the coming He promised?" (2 Peter 3:4)

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

With this being the desire of our Savior, shouldn't we proclaim Him to those being dragged away by Satan's cohorts with false religion, carnality, feel good spirituality, and spiritual adultery?

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought (we) to be?" (2 Peter 3:10-11)

We should not become apostles of apathy toward mankind. We should be on guard against fallacies, preaching Christ in truth, instead of allowing the apostasy to steam roll others into a fearful judgement. The time is here. The time is now. We as heirs of God the Father, and coheirs with Jesus, are soon to be caught up out of this world, escaping judgement. In the power of God the Holy Spirit, we need to proclaim boldly, and proudly, the message of Christ. That it is by Him and through Him we are to be saved. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Merging Into One Religion Is The Tickling Of Ears

I've been absent from my blog for a while...I'm trying not to become tethered to the net.   But every now and then,  I have something on my mind that needs penning out.

My blog is entitled Convoluted Christianity because of the apostate age in which we all live.  Many false teachers have reared their heads watering down the gospel of Christ preaching peace between faiths.  God is spoken of as love without mention of His holiness and righteousness. Such teachings are lies by omission.

Yes, God loves but not at the sacrifice of His nature.  The faiths of the world cannot, and must not, be seen as serving the same God.  The Triune God is not a mixture of human beliefs, interpretations, or paths leading unto Himself.  Scripture is His Word, not His manifesto up for debate.  There is only one Jesus and He is not the sugared down version the world portrays.  He is the King of the universe, of all creation.  He is powerful and not to be taken lightly.

It is heretical to bring religions together as one when all are different.  Islam cannot mix with Chritianity, nor Buddihism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses,  and so on and so forth.  There is only one way to Father God and that is Christ Jesus.  Sugar coating Scripture to appease the masses is outrageous.  We are living in the age of the great apostasy.  Many are drifting away, because of preachers and leaders like Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, the Pope,  Rod Parsley etc..  Some preach motivational sermons with holy sacraments for sale to bless lives,  others promote world unity through the bridging of faiths melting into one.  Sure, on face value some men teach Christ,  yet with closer examinations they prove to be agents of Satan masquerading as agents of righteousness.

Listen closely, examine actions,  and know Scripture.  The times are coming to fruition with Christ Jesus' return imminent.  Christless Christians are everywhere quoting Scripture decieving many.  I mean Satan knows the Bible frontwards and backwards...twisting, manipulating,  and convoluting verses through false teachers and prophets,  just as he did face to face with Jesus in the wilderness. Filter men's words through their obedience to Christ Jesus.  You will know them by their fruit.

Links to support found at my Facebook page "Convoluted Christianity "  https://www.facebook.com/pages/TruthBeTold