Connections

Somewhere I read where an estimated 5 billion people own smartphones in the world today out of a possible 7.7 billion world population. It would seem that the vast majority of the world is "Connected to the Web". This within itself is not good nor is it evil particularly, however, it would lead One to the conclusion that this connection is bound to have a profound effect on the User of these phones. In the years BC ( Before Cellphones), people interacted face to face, more than likely learning subtle nuances of the persons personality and inflections. In 2018, 330 million people took to Twitter to voice an opinion and others to either agree or disagree with that opinion, in fact many acting upon "gossiped news" as it were a truth. Polarizing many in one corner or the other, leaving some hurt emotionally or mistrusting, others were empowered. In 2019 9 million left Twitter, why? Could it be that some people became disillusioned with this constant connection and were negatively affected? Maybe they realized their life was becoming too consumed with a polarization or even this constant communication, we may never know the reason, and the purpose of this discussion is not to pick on Twitter or other social media for that matter, but it does reflect the power of this distant instant communication. You feel as though you know the people you are connected with, but the truth is, you really do not. You know the personality presented, also what were they meaning with the comment, was it a facetious or serious, was it an offhand remark, or one designed to illicit a desired response? 

Why on a blog such as this would I devote so much time to this social information, what is my point? The reason I write this is the make the point that even though we have this change in society, one thing has never changed, the World needs a human connection, people have an inward desire for connections or as we sometimes say, relationships. As a Christian we have this understanding from the word of God. 

[Eph 4:25-29 NKJV] 25 Therefore, putting away lying, "[Let] each one [of you] speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with [his] hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

The True Gospel Of Jesus / Living for Christ

Paul writes in the 1st Chapter of Galatians in verse 8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed. Paul certifies that the gospel that he received was not from man , but from Jesus the Christ himself on the road to Damascus.
 What of this gospel? Is this good news brought to mankind to help us live a more comfortable life, one without trouble and strife? Not at all, this good news is for your everlasting Soul. These years upon this earth are only a blimp in the timeline of eternity. It is this eternity that the battle for the Soul wages in this period of time in which We (All of us living today) reside. Jesus allowed Himself to be born the Son of Man so that He might fulfill the desire for God to complete the Blood Covenant Yahweh God made with Abraham.(Genesis 22:1-19) Because Abraham did not hesitate to offer his son of promise, Issac upon the altar as a sacrifice that God requested, only to be stopped by an Angel, because of this,(Genesis 15:9-21)
God made this covenant thousands of years before the birth of Christ Jesus so that Jesus might take away the sinful hold upon the Spirit of Man. Satan deceived Man into committing an act of Sin that doomed all that were yet to be born into a dormant Spirit of Death, that is to say we were born Spiritually dead, with only a seed of life placed within each Human birth, the only way to bring this Spirit to life was living in Mosaic sacrifice and looking forward in faith to the coming Savior in the heart of those born before Christ.
 Today, we have the benefit of living in a time of Grace, the sacrifice has been made, we only are required to believe in our heart and accept the sacrifice of death that Jesus made on our behalf to receive a rebirth of our Spirit within and given an opportunity to serve our God in this life to make ready our place in our Eternal life. Living for Christ could and may mean pain and sacrifice within, denying ourselves pleasures, speaking truth where led to do so by the Holy Spirit. Giving of ourselves, loving the unlovely, giving our money and our time for the cause of the Kingdom of Heaven. Some will be called unto ridicule, some imprisonment, some torture, and even today some death at the hands of the servants of Evil, great is their reward. Live for Jesus and the peace of God that passes all understanding will be yours, His time and not ours. 

How Well Have I Served Jesus?

1 Samuel 15:23 New King James Version (NKJV)

23 For rebellion is as the sin of [a]witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”

In consideration of this Maundy Thursday, I am forced to ask myself , "How well have I served Jesus?". Oh, there may be the actions of humility via the washing of feet or giving to the poor, but what motivation is my heart? I look back on my life and find so many times when I made decisions based upon what I wanted and just assumed it was His will because it was my desire to do something , not a bad act, maybe even something otherwise good and fine, just maybe not for me. Following the will of Jesus is many times a battle within myself, and I dare say within you also.
 The Author of deceit and evil does not usually pull us away from the will of God by large obvious acts of wrongful sinful endeavors but by the small decisions that seem meaningless otherwise, or even acts of good that are not within God's will for us, it may be a drawing away, tying up time and resources that need to be allocated in another way. "Hath God said?", is the timeless question that led to the spiritual death of Eve and Adam, the seeds of doubt that once pondered will ultimately lead to an act of defiance and rebellion.

My younger man was subject to being led out of God's will into a wider path of my own desires. As the scripture above addresses the desires of Saul to keep some wonderful livestock and booty from the Amalekites, as told in Deuteronomy. Having disobeyed, it cost Saul his kingdom. Evil will always be knocking at our doors, all to often in the guise of a Disneyland of our own desires. Be careful to always take careful consideration of the small and large decisions in your life.

Ephesians 6:18 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

Wars and Rumors of War

Ananias praying for the restoration of sight for Paul

"And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all^[a] these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,^[b] and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.
⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many."- Matthew 24: 4-11(NKJV)

 Many of us are familiar with the above passages, Jesus describing end times situations in the world to the Disciples , one in particular is the passage about "wars and rumors of wars", but have we ever given such a straightforward statement any thought as to it's clear meaning? Daniel Webster described rumors as a "well authored" story of deceit, in his 1828 dictionary. In other words, War Propaganda designed to create a hatred and justification for vengeance, something in which the Christian should not participate. Now, I do not want this teaching to be misconstrued as I am saying that a Christian should not participate in defending their homeland, but merely that we really should not be operating in hatred or a lust for vengeance. In the end , we must realize that Al-Qaeda is not the enemy we should hate , but rather the father of lies is the one we should despise, the author of deception. Please remember to pray for our enemies and to love those that would despise us and cut our heads off with a rusty knife, this is our commandment from our Father. This sounds idiotic to the world, the words of either a lunatic or a fool, but it should not be this way with us. Remember Jesus words in Matthew chapter 5:
  44 But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?

47 And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?

48 You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.- (Amp)

Pray for your enemies that they would receive Christ, let love be in your heart for we never know which one of those zealots may be another "Paul" for this generation.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Let me have the heart of an "Ananias" towards my enemy of whom I have heard many terrible things, may I bless my enemies and be obedient to You in hard times, let the love of Jesus come forth in my life and be filled with Your courage in times of necessity. Amen. 

The Return of Our Deadly Sins or Our Return to Christ

It is within the fallen nature of man to sin and joyfully so with all our might before we come to the Revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives and subsequent acceptance of His death sacrifice for us and our confession of faith to follow Him leading to our newness of a rebirth in Spirit joining his Glorious Spirit with ours through the grafting of the Holy Spirit, the third component of the Godhead. Afterwards, the Christian sees the world through different eyes, the eyes of truth and love instead of deception and hatred. As it says in Romans 6 starting with verse 4 (Amplified Bible Version):
 4 We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life.

5 For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God].

6 We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.

7 For when a man dies, he is freed (loosed, delivered) from [the power of] sin [among men].

However, immersed in the modern society of "SELF"(self-love and self-gratification) we have been taught that we are number one and everything must be done for our benefit(even charity work can be a form of seeking gratification from others for our works.) Somewhere between the laptop, x-box and I-phone , we may forget who we are and why we need Christ. We may soon fall into a sinful compromise or tell a half-truth or outright lie to please someone at work or avoid a conflict. We may secretly watch a porn video or pictures, we may lust for another person, or envy their belongings and spread a gossipy lie or tell something for truth we have no idea whether it is factual or not(even though this is beside the point). We may have a drug habit, an alcohol problem or an ungodly fear of something that paralyses our lives. We may hold a deep seated grudge and vow to get even, have a hatred or bitterness toward others that has changed our lives. Whatever we have fallen back into after our death and resurrection with Christ, He has not given up on us or forgotten our covenant with Him. We have a choice as modern Christians, we can allow these sins that may have started small and occasional to push us the rest of our days on this earth leading to our eventual death, or we can turn from these and return to the One that loves us and gave Himself for us. Keeping these behaviors in the dark will most certainly render us ineffective and afraid, and can lead to death if not rectified. 

No truer words have ever been written that matches the problems of churches in America today than these written in 2 Peter chapter 2:  2 But also [in those days] there arose false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves, who will subtly and stealthily introduce heretical doctrines (destructive heresies), even denying and disowning the Master Who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings; because of them the true Way will be maligned and defamed. And of the same chapter starting in verse20 it says: 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through [the full, personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition is worse [for them] than the first.

21 For never to have obtained a [full, personal] knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than, having obtained [such knowledge], to turn back from the holy commandment which was [verbally] delivered to them.

22 There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and, The sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire.

Let us as his Children take heed to the words of 1 John 1 6-8 and confess our little sins quickly before they totally consume us:

8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts].

9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

Let today be the day you and I start afresh walking in the Gospel of Christ, in a renewed sense of purpose for the Good News that so many need to see lived in this world today. 

Prayer-Father I purpose in my heart to return to you today and allow you to lead my ways, wherever that may be for your glory and not my own, for your pleasure and not my own. Teach my mind and feed my spirit once again from your holy scriptures, Amen.

Who Do You Say That I Am ?

I have experienced probably one of the most devastating periods of my life in the past couple of years mentally, physically and spiritually. This "Job" experience has taught me many lessons, none the least of which has been the knowledge that through it all, I have learned to trust in Jesus. In former years, I though I was trusting Him fully with my whole heart and life, but as I have learned, not fully and not with the whole. There was too much ego and pride attached to my very small accomplishments and too much reliance on my own strength. Nothing is ever as clean as a vehicle that has been properly stripped and cleaned prior to painting, and so goes it when a man loses it all, even his pride. But at no other time is there an opportunity for Father to build up a man in the image of Christ properly and in the correct frame of mind. I think of the story of Jesus

The Dangerous Times of the Modern Christian

Dangerous is a modern word that is used quite a bit more than the older used word,"perilous" in our language today, but conveys most probably the same meaning for modern readers. While in thought and prayer this morning the following scriptures came to mind when reflecting upon our current state of affairs, and chillingly befitting today's societal state.

2 Timothy 3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

3 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

² For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

³ [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate andloose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

⁴ [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.

⁵ For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

With a loss of the fear of God, there is a loss of knowledge of truth. A myopic view of inflated egos an overestimation of our own greatness and ability to control the world rules the day. We now are faced with a situation of grave concern for the Christian Church. Comfort has replaced a dissatisfaction with the level of purity and righteousness in our own lives. A strong desire to be liked and accepted has replaced a deep concern for holiness and a deep concern for living with a clean conscious and pure heart before the Almighty.

 We are indeed living in a dangerous and hazardous time, having no knowledge that we are not living up to the true standards of Christ, we are of all people most pitiful, bastardizing the old standards and pure gospel preached by our founding church fathers. We rejoice and feel satisfied with our faith, we justify our personal standards, all the while we have lost our way. We may pick and choose individual sinful acts or situations and think we are pleasing God, even though our heart is far from the love of being right that truly pleases him.

 We would do well to remember the old words of Samuel in 1 Samuel, chapter 15 verse 22:  Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

While our days wind down, we must reevaluate our position and standards in the society within which we live or continue to go with the flow as it continues to circle faster and faster down the drain.