Tag Archives: Bible

On Him They Laid The Cross

18 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by in Devotional, GENERAL, Luke, New Testament, THE WORD

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“Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.” (Luke 23:26 NKJV)

Can we choose our own martyrdom?

I remember that question being posed to me as a young believer, and it has been rolling around in my heart and mind ever since. Do we have the freedom to choose where we die to ourselves as Christians? Do we have the freedom to choose how we serve? How we lay our lives down for Christ? What does the answer mean for my life? My future? The way I make decisions?

The simple answer is no, we do not have the freedom to choose our martyrdom. Maybe a radical jihadi feels the freedom to give his life for a cause in the way he or she chooses, but in God’s kingdom that is not the case. Believers are called to share the truth of the gospel in love, and trust God when obedience to that call leads them to diverse circumstances, no matter what result of the obedience means for that said believer.

The answer touches on the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the life of a believer. The word Lord is probably understood best in the sense of a 5 star general, but it involves even more that. When a general commands a lesser ranking soldier to do something, there is no debate or discussion. There is obedience or consequences. What makes Jesus different from a general is the motivation He gives to submit to that Lordship. People join the military for a variety of reasons and then are forced to submit. I handed my life to Jesus because he loved me and gave His life for me first. He never forced me, He just showed me the way of life.

We do not like to think along those lines as Christians. Obey or consequences? We deeply value our freedom in Christ, and we should. The price was very great, and we are now free from sin and death.  We just often misunderstand Christian freedom in today’s Christianity. True freedom in Christ is expressed in our newfound ability to no longer live a life of sin, and freely follow Jesus and His commands. Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). Our freedom allows us to obey Him, to love Him, and to love others in the way love was meant to be expressed.

Getting back to Simon. It says he was a Cyrenian, which means he came from Africa, and being in Jerusalem he was surely a Jew. 3 times a year Jewish people were required to come to the temple in Jerusalem: For the Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Feast of Tabernacles. Many Jews did not have the resource to obey this command, especially those who lived as far as Africa. Cyrene is modern-day Libya on the north coast of Africa, and Simon had made a long journey to come to the feast of the passover in Jerusalem. Maybe this was the first time he had ever been to Jerusalem. Either way, he had made a long journey for a very distinct purpose: celebrate the Passover in the Holy City. It is also safe to say that carrying the cross of a man named Jesus was not in the plans.

This is where the application for the believer is found. How often we say; God I want to worship you, I want to live for you. I want to serve you… but, not like this or like that. We have misconstrued freedom to justify disobedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as show our lack of faith in the sovereignty of almighty God, and the spheres of sacrifice and service He desires to place us in.

With that, here is the question: Have you allowed Jesus to lay His cross upon your life? The cross means sacrifice, and the loss of life so that you might find it. Have you allowed Jesus to be the Lord of your life and surrendered fully to Him? Or have you complained and kicked against the situations He has placed you in? Have you decided that you will only serve Jesus as it fits into your convenience, your comfort zone, your pre-determined notions for what is acceptable and what is just too much?

A true disciple lays their life down and picks up their cross freely. Their surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ has allowed them the freedom to follow and serve Him. There is no thought of where I want to serve, or how I want to serve. I am a slave to Jesus Christ, and I trust that as I follow and serve Him I will find the best life this side of heaven.

Meditate and Apply:

  1. Who is the Lord of my life?
  2. What areas of my life have I not surrendered to Jesus?
  3. Have I been unwilling to serve unless on my terms?
  4. Have I been comparing myself to others? Is that what God wants from my life?

Free Will and Sovereignty

03 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Apologetics, Job, John, New Testament, Old Testament, Romans, THE WORD

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“Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than heaven— what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.”
-Job 11:7-9

The western mind is one of analysis and trying to figure things out. Sir Isaac Newton had an apple fall on his head, and his thoughts were why and how. He then went on to discover the laws of gravity. The curious western mind has done much good in the world, but has also caused us to err at times.
One of the places it has caused us to err frequently is in our understanding of God. God says something to us, and we say why and how? I don’t believe God is angry at those questions, and in fact, invites them, but those questions should always come in light of the verses above. Yes, search out the things of God, but remember we are finite creature made of dust. The problem often arises when we elevate ourselves in the sight of God, and say if I cannot make sense of it, than it cannot be true. When we proudly and presumptuously, and often without knowing what we are doing, assume our intellect is capable of grasping all the facets of God we are prone to great err… and to our own hurt.
As we see here in the book of Job, very possibly the oldest book in the Bible, the eastern Hebrew mind had accepted one very important reality. God’s thoughts are higher above our own than the heavens are above the earth (Isaiah 55:9). We cannot even come close to completely understanding God. We are finite and can only understand a very little, while God is eternal and without limits in His understanding. To try and figure out the unrevealed ways of God is futile, and even blasphemous. As soon as we start figuring out God apart from His revelation we are guaranteed to err.
Why do I write all this? I think this is very important in the realm of predestination and the sovereignty of God. God says both a)that anyone can come, and b)that all were predestined and chosen. In fact, He often says them in close proximity to one another (John 3:16, 6:44, 15:16; Romans 8:29-30, 9:16, 10:13).
What does this mean for us? It means that both things are wonderful truths of God to be accepted and enjoyed for eternity. It also means to try and understand how God harmonizes the two seemingly incompatible concepts that are beyond our understanding is impossible, and that we do much better to humbly accept them. God distinctly says that man both has universal opportunity to come to Him and receive salvation, and that only those who are drawn and chosen will come.
Why?? How?? The western mind wonders, and that is good… but only if we have the correct view of God and man. Paul, a genius and former Hebrew rabbi who had excelled above all, ended his Romans discourse with this: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Rom 11:33)”
Our problem comes from a prideful heart that says I can systematize the unsearchable riches of God’s ways. Man says, if this statement is true, than this, this, and this must be true as well because that is what makes sense to my rational mind.
Have you noticed the general countenance of those who proclaim to have systemized God’s unrevealed ways?? There is undoubtedly an aloofness and pride that goes along with their theology. They have figured out what many cannot, or so they think. This is how God thinks when he makes this or that statement, and I have figured it out.
Beware, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
May we instead, rejoice in the goodness of God when He says WHOEVER calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Praise the Lord! God is long-suffering, not desiring anyone to perish. Praise the Lord! He loves all and deeply desires to save all, I serve a wonderful God!
Then, let us whole-heartedly thank God for His wisdom and strength. He chose me and predestined me before the foundation of the earth…?? WOW… Praise Him!! He will never leave me nor forsake me, I am completely secure in the strongest hands the universe could ever know! Wow… praise Him, my God is amazing!
In our infinite and limited minds we cannot reconcile every part of God, and we are not called to do so. We are called to know Him, His character, and His heart as He has revealed Himself to us. Then in humility follow the One who loved us and gave us life for us, loving others the way He loves us.
That is the commandment He gave us as He left this earth (John 13:34, 15:17), so let us not get distracted trying to figure out things we were never meant to fully understand, let us not get puffed up with pride in our minds as we elevate our understanding far above where it should rightly be, and may we not bite and devour one another as knowledge becomes more important than love. That would be very unfortunate, disobedient to the commands of Christ, destructive to the body of Christ, and definitely not glorifying to God.

Reliability of the Bible

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Apologetics

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Reliability of the Scriptures

By: Cory Kilgus

            Can the Bible be trusted? Think of the implications to the answer.  If the Bible is to be trusted then we have God speaking to man and declaring truths regarding life’s most important issues, and man will be held accountable for his response to His claims. If we can discard the Bible then truth is relative to each individual. This is the reason why the Bible has been attacked and torn down for thousands of years, yet I find it interesting the Bible is still the number one sold book in the world. John Lennon said he would see the end of Christianity before in his life time, he was assassinated shortly after. The French philosopher, Voltaire, said he would destroy Christianity, yet he has been dead for years and his house is now used to print Bibles.

The trustworthiness of the Bible is also a battleground inside the church. When the church discards the authority of the Bible they become susceptible to every kind of false doctrine. The door is flung open, and Satan can now come inside, have his way in the church, and lead it down any path he desires (Smith)[1].

The Bible is also under attack by all of the world’s false religions. Whether it be Islam, Mormonism, The New Age, or anyone else, they all declared the Bible to be corrupted and untrustworthy. We can see that the Bible is under attack from every angle imaginable. The unbeliever rejects the Bible as mythical and manmade. The cults declare it to be corrupted and in need of help from their books. The church is being pressured to back off their claims about the Bible being the Word of God and infallible, and many churches are giving in to that pressure. So, again, is the Bible trustworthy?

When I was in high-school I was as arrogant as could be. I was full-blown party animal, but I also took the advanced courses in English and History, and was a year ahead of my peers in math and foreign language. I was self-sufficient and independent to the very core. Eventually, I couldn’t keep up with my lifestyle, but I was sure of one thing: religion was for fools. I was assured that the Bible was just another religious book used to enslave the weak, and I held it in lower esteem than Harry Potter. I will never forget when years later I began to open my heart to Jesus. I remember watching a video on creation and the teacher would ask a question that seemed to disprove Christianity and I would think, “I knew I was right all along!” Then he would answer the unanswerable, and I was stunned. My world was beginning to crumble and change as I realized that not only was God real, but He was speaking to my heart and He was logical. I knew the Bible was true then because of the work God did in my heart, but I have been digging into the inner workings of God and the Bible ever since.

One thing I am passionate about is elevating the Bible from the place of fairy tales and myths to the place of a historically accurate and trustworthy document. The evidence for the Bible is absolutely amazing and sets the Bible apart from any other book in the world. God has given us so much as believers in Jesus, but some of my favorite things I have been given are a logical faith and a trustworthy revelation to man. So with that, we are going to dig into the evidences for the trustworthiness of the Bible, and I do hope you will have an open mind and heart because the facts are amazing!

There are a number of ways to examine the Bible, so we will start with the internal evidences for the trustworthiness of the Bible. What is an internal evidence? An internal evidence is something found inside the document itself that shows the document to be unique and trustworthy. I understand how someone could be skeptical that the Bible can verify itself, but just follow me on this for a minute. How many singular books are there in the world that were written over a span of thousands of years, on several different continents, in several different languages, yet have perfect unity and are perfectly in agreement? The answer is one,(:) the Bible. We are not talking about the menial and unimportant things in life either, but we are talking about life’s biggest and most controversial topics. Is there a God? What is the purpose of life? What happens when I die? Imagine grabbing someone from ancient Babylon, someone from the Mayan Empire, and someone from modern day Amsterdam and asking them these questions. The answers would be so wildly different they would be amusing. Yet, the Bible has people from completely different historical ages on three different continents writing about life’s most complex topics, and within the Bible there is perfect unity. How can that be? When the Bible states that, “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” the Bible is telling the truth.

On the other hand, you have other religious documents that were written by one author in one time period, yet have glaring contradictory statements on major issues. Take the Islamic holy book, the Quran, for instance. In one spot the Quran declares, “Let there be no compulsion in religion” yet in another section states, “Fight and slay the idolaters (non-Muslims) wherever you find them, and seize them, and besiege them, and lie in wait for them.[2]” Which one is it Mohammed? No compulsion in religion, or fight and slay those who don’t believe? You see the Quran was written by one man in one lifetime, yet has major contradictions in the most important areas.

Another internal evidence is one of the most powerful, fulfilled prophecy. The idea of future events being predicted and fulfilled might seem a bit mystical and outdated for the modern mind, but the facts are staggering, and if we stop and consider the facts we will be amazed. Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that were written hundreds of years before He came to earth. The prophecy of the Jewish Messiah written in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 53, 600 years before Jesus came to earth is so strikingly speaking of Jesus that most Jews believe this chapter to be from the New Testament before they are shown Isaiah 53. Ezekiel 37 speaks of Israel being brought back as nation with the illustration of dry, dead bones becoming living people again. Old dry bones could only become living people again in science fiction movies or due to a miracle of God, and on May 14, 1948 when David Ben-Gurion stood up in the Tel-Aviv Museum and declared that Israel was again a sovereign state in their ancient homeland after almost 2,000 years of dispersion and persecution we witnessed exactly that: a miracle of God (Smith, The Final Act)[3]. The whole world was witness to the faithfulness of God, and the trustworthiness of the Bible. Then if we look to the book of Daniel we find a series of absolutely amazing prophecies. Daniel actually foretells the successive kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome with alarming accuracy hundreds of years before they ever existed. Alexander the Great, in all his power and greatness, bowed to the Jewish priests in Jerusalem when they showed how their scriptures had foretold of the very time when he would come conquering. One of his shocked counselors asked Alexander the Great why He was bowing to these priests. Alexander replied that he was not bowing down to those men, but to the great God they served. We could go and on about how Jeremiah named the Persian king Cyrus by name before he was ever born, how Zechariah speaks of the Jews mourning for the one who was pierced, and how the prophet Nathan told King David a man from His lineage would rule forever, but we lack the space in this paper. I do hope that this taste of prophecy will do two things: 1) Give you a deeper hunger to study prophecy for yourself, and 2) Show you the amazing trustworthiness and faithfulness of God and His Word.

Next, we come to the archaeological evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible. If the Bible is the inspired Word of God then the people and places mentioned in the Bible must exist. Today we have verified over 60 people in the Old Testament and 30 in the New Testament to be actual people. Two of the most significant, and also most controversial, people of the Bible were Pontius Pilate and David. If these men were so important in their ages, then we should have some kind of archaeological evidence of their existence. This has been a common battle cry of Biblical critics. Fifty years ago they could point to these men, and the lack of archaeological evidence for their existence, and mock the Bible as an inventor of people that never existed. Then an ancient recording of Egyptian history was found engraved on a tablet that specifically mentioned David, King of Israel. Years later a stone was uncovered in the area that was formerly Caesarea Philippi, the seat of the government in Israel 2,000 years ago, that stated, “Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judah” (Holden, Christian Apologetics)[4] Today those so-called Bible critics have been quieted, and God has shown Himself to be all-knowing and His word to be extremely historically accurate. Hundreds of other Biblical sites have been found in recent times as archaeologists have studied the Bible and then grabbed their shovel.  In fact, secular and believing archaeologists use the Bible as their roadmap for ancient discoveries in the Middle East, and as of today not one historical place or person in the Bible has been disproven. Archaeological evidence may not cause a person to give their life over to Jesus (it could), but it immediately elevates the Bible from fairy tale or myth into the realm of a historically accurate document.

The Bible also stands alone in the area of bibliographical or manuscript evidence. Out of all the ancient documents no other manuscript has even close to the sheer number of copies made of the original document like the Bible has. Why is this important? If you only have 2 or 3 documents from an individual work, and one is different, how will you know which one is true? Historians use the amount of documents they have found and the proximity of the date of the copy to the original writing in order to decide trustworthiness. The best secular document we have in this regard is Homer’s Iliad, which we have found 643 copies of the original with the gap between original and copy being about 500 years (Tackett)[5]. This document is considered to have more than ample manuscript to evidence to make it ahistorical trustworthy document. Other works that we accept as true with no objection have less evidence like Herodotus’ historical writings and Julius Caesar’s Gallic war writings. What about the Bible? We have over 25,000 copies of the Bible in several different language with the first manuscript dating within 30-50 years of when the actual events took place. There is absolutely no other ancient document with the credentials of the Bible. If universities are going to dismiss the Bible as myth and fairy tale, then they should also discard their entire ancient library because the Bible has far and away the most manuscript evidence for its reliability.

Not only do we have a sea of overwhelming original manuscript evidence, but we have both Christians and Non-Christians in history writing of the events that took place in the Bible.The early church fathers, or the leaders of the church in the first and second century, were one generation removed from the actual events, and continually wrote of the Bible to one another. Obviously they believed the Bible to be literal, factual, and the Word of God. Even more so if we did not possess all the copies of the Bible we could use their letters to reconstruct nearly the entire Bible. In fact, if we pooled the letters of the early church fathers there are over 36,000 quotes of the New Testament and we could reconstruct all but 11 verses from the New Testament[6] (Holden, Christian Apologetics). With 25,000 copies of the Bible in circulation and 36,000 quotations of the Bible from the church fathers we have a document that was easily comparable and extremely safeguarded from errors, making it more than trustworthy.

Many people today deny the very existence of Jesus, or deny many of the events recorded in the Bible. Even with all the evidence for the Bible, anything that comes from a Christian source is deemed as tainted. Did anyone who was not a believer in Christ record the events of Jesus? The answer is yes. Most notably we have the Jewish historian Josephus who was hired by Rome to make a vast chronicle of the age he lived in. He wrote that Jesus was a good and virtuous man, a miracle worker, and that He was crucified. We also have reports from historians such Tacitus and Suetonius that plainly declare Jesus to be a real person, not to mention the fact that the reigns of Tiberius Caesar and Pontius Pilate have been verified as accurate in relationship to the time the Bible writes about Jesus’ life and ministry.

In our last topic we come to my favorite proof for the reliability of the Bible, the Christian Faith, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The question I want to propose is: do people die for something they know to be a lie? Think about this for a minute. Why do people lie? People lie to get out of trouble and to avoid pain and punishment. The only reason I can think of to lie, knowing it will bring trouble, is to protect a loved one. I cannot think of an instance in my personal life or in history where a person was given the choice of life or death, pain or freedom, and that person choose to stick to a lie and suffer horrible consequences because of that lie. It simply does not happen. It goes against the grain of simple logic and self-preservation. This brings me to my next question, why then did every single one of Jesus’ closest followers, the 12 apostles, choose to endure gruesome suffering for the sake of Jesus? Eleven of the twelve (including the apostle Paul) were brutally martyred for their faith, and many of them had traveled to far off countries to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The question is: why?

Some of you may be thinking that many people today are willing to die for what they believe in, and that is very true. We have examples of kamikaze pilots of Japan torpedoing their planes into enemy bases for the sake of their country, and more recently we hear of Islamic extremists strapping explosives to their bodies and detonating the bombs while on busses and other public areas. What is the difference between modern Muslims and the 12 apostles? It is not uncommon for someone to die for what they believe to be true as Muslims do, but what is completely unheard of is a person dying for what they know to be a lie. Muslims today die because they believe certain things to have taken place in 7th century, yet the apostles had walked with Jesus for 3 years, and they were in a unique position to know for certain if the claims of Jesus were true or a lie.

These 11 men were originally terrified for their lives, hiding in a dark room from the Jewish leaders fearing they would be crucified next. Then a report came that the tomb that held Jesus was empty. Peter and John rushed to the tomb and found the giant stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and the burial garments neatly folded inside without the body. The Bible then goes on to tell of how Jesus appeared resurrected to these men. The apostle Thomas was not present during the first appearance and staunchly stated he would not believe unless he could see Jesus and put his fingers in the wounds. Jesus then came to Thomas, and said go ahead Thomas put your hands in here in my wounds, do not be unbelieving, but believe. Thomas responded, “My Lord, and My God.” Was all of this made up by clever men, and just a big farce? What happened to these men who knew Jesus best, and knew for certain whether Jesus was a liar or truly the Son of God?

These men went on to be the leaders of the Christian Church, and some traveled far and wide spreading the gospel message of God’s love and Jesus’ death and resurrection. They then sealed and confirmed the truth with their own blood as they were tortured and killed, and every single one of these men refused to deny Jesus Christ. The apostle James was beheaded by order of King Herod the Great, and so courageously went to his death that one of his executioners fell on his knees, asked for forgiveness, and said James should not die alone. Matthew traveled to Ethiopia to spread the gospel message where he was  pinned to the ground and beheaded with a halberd. Peter’s brother, Andrew, traveled to Asian countries preaching the gospel and was crucified on an X-Shaped Cross. Mark was drug through streets of Alexandria until he was dead because he spoke against idols. Peter was persecuted by Roman Emperor Nero, and crucified upside down. Paul was imprisoned in Rome for years before he was beheaded at the command of Nero. Thomas, called doubting Thomas because of his initial unbelief, was inspired to go to India and other eastern countries sharing the gospel and making disciples until he was tortured by angry pagans, thrust through with spears, and thrown into a fiery oven. An interesting side note is the story of noted missionary worker K.P. Yohannon (President of Gospel for Asia). K.P. came to the Lord in India, and his home church clearly and distinctly traces its beginning to the work of Thomas the apostle as he started a church just 10 miles from K.P.’s home. Time does not permit of many similar stories like those of the deacon Stephen, the doctor Luke, the last apostle John, and those of the early church fathers. I gathered much of my information from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and I strongly recommend it for anyone, believer and non-believer alike (Foxe)[7].

These men did what they knew to be right, refused to deny what they knew to be true, and gave one of the most powerful testimonies for the truth of the Bible imaginable. If we just stop and think about what these men did I hope it will deeply impact both the believer and unbeliever. As A Christian when I read this I find my heart leaping for joy as the certainty of what is written in the Bible is again proved to be beyond true, and something I can base my entire life on. I hope we all begin to feel the weight of what these men did, and that we would be inspired to take the same approach of utter devotion to the cause of Jesus Christ and reaching the world with the Gospel message. Also, I hope that those who have rejected the Bible as myth and the work of fraudulent men will take a fresh, open-minded look at the Bible and see the amazing evidence that stands behind it. Then realize that Jesus is truly the Son of God, that He truly does love you so much that he went to the Cross to pay for your sins, and that He truly did rise from the grave and put the stamp of truth on everything He said and did.

What more can be said about the truth of the Bible? The evidence is overwhelming for its trustworthiness from every different angle. We have a book that is God’s revelation to mankind, and answers all the deepest questions of life. So what now? The same apostle James that so courageously went to his death for the truth of Jesus Christ wrote this, “be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves…he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does.”[8] For the unbeliever the Word simply says turn from your sins and believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do this you will be beyond blessed. For the believer the Bible says to abide in Christ, keep His commandments, love God, and love people. If we do this we also will surely be blessed.

Works Cited

Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Gainesville, FL, USA: Bridge-Logos, 2001. Book.

Holden, Joseph. “Christian Apologetics.” CC Bible College, Murrieta, CA: Portable Seminary, 2010. DVD.

How We Got Our English Bible. Dir. Joseph Holden. Perf. Joseph Holden. 2010. DVD.

Smith, Chuck. “2012 Northern California Pastor’s Conference.” Mt. Hermon, CA: Calvary Chapel, 2012. mp3.

—. The Final Act. Costa Mesa, CA, USA: The Word For Today, 2007. Book.

SourceFlix. “The Bible vs Joseph SM(m)ith.” Brigham City, Utah: Living Hope Ministries, 2008.

The Case For A Creator. Dir. Lee Strobel. Perf. Lee Strobel. 2006. DVD.

The Truth Project. Dir. Focus on the Family. Perf. Dr. Dell Tackett. 2010. DVD.

 

[1] Smith, Chuck. Untitled. Northern California Pastor’s Conference 2012

[2] Quran, Surah 2:256, Surah 9:5

[3] Smith, Chuck. The Final Act (2007, Costa Mesa, CA, USA. The Word For Today) Pg. 15

[4] Holden, Joseph. “Class on Apologetics” (2010, Murrieta, CA, USA. Portable Seminary) DVD

[5] Dr. Dell Tackett, “The Truth Project”  © 2004-2009 Focus on the Family. Lesson 10 http://www.thetruthproject.com

[6] Holden, Joseph. “Class on Apologetics” (2010, Murrieta, CA, USA. Portable Seminary) DVD

[7] Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. (2001, Gainesville, FL. USA. Bridge-Logos) Pg. 5-9

[8] James 1:22,25 NKJV

His Salvation

17 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Devotional, New Testament, Romans, THE WORD

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“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
-Romans 4:7-8

This is the center of Christianity. Not that I am good or moral, but that I am forgiven and righteous because of what Jesus did at the cross. I love God’s salvation, and I am so thankful for it. It’s perfect.

My relationship with God is based on love. His love. He loved me so much He came and did what I could never do: pay the price for my sins and make me righteous before God. I know people don’t like the word sin, but it simply means to miss God’s standard. The standard our conscious speaks of when we lie, or do something we inherently know to be wrong. We have all sinned and fall short of the standard of God, and King David knew that no man could be blessed by his own efforts. Those efforts are always stained by gross sin. No, David knew the only way to blessing was receiving God’s mercy and grace, which God is so ready and willing to give to any who come to Him in humility and faith. We are to humble ourselves before God, admit the obvious, and receive His grace, kindness, mercy, and love. God wants to give, but we accept reality, and trust in God.

I also love God’s salvation because it is sure and secure. Because my relationship with God is not based on my works, but on God’s love and work. My salvation never moves. I don’t have to wonder day-by-day if I have done enough, or if I am good enough. I just accept that I have sinned, and receive God’s gift of forgiveness and life through faith. I can trust His salvation, lean my entire self on it, and build my entire life on it. There is nothing else like it in this crazy, ever-changing world we live in. I can know the truly safe place to invest my entire being, and not have to worry what will come of me. That is peace and joy. I used to look around this world and think what option will work out for me best? What is the meaning of life? I don’t have to worry about that anymore because I have found the meaning of life, the only truth, and I can trust in it.

Christianity is also so different than other religions in that respect. Whether it be Islam, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. all of those religions are based on what man can do, how good can he be. Then after life is over, people are left wondering if they have done enough. The confidence of these religions is then subject to change day-by-day. One day you were relatively moral and kind, and feel confident that you will make it to heaven, or whatever goal that has been set in that religion. Then next day you yell at you wife, tear down a friend, get road rage, or simply get depressed because of your inadequacies and are now sure you won’t make it. There is no peace there.

That is where Christianity is different. God says, I know who you are, and I now you can’t attain to a truly “good” standing, but I love you and I have come to redeem you. God says I will do the work you cannot, and if you will only accept me and trust my salvation, then I will forgive you and you will become my son or daughter.

There is nothing better than the Father/Child love relationship with God through Jesus. There is nothing this world can offer that even compares to Jesus Christ, and His salvation. For that, I am truly thankful.

Getting Honest

12 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in 1 Kings, Devotional, Old Testament

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“And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.” -1 Chronicles 3:3

Thought: I have often read through the records of the kings and thought, “what’s a matter with these guys?”

But, today I had a different thought. I recognized myself when I read, He loved the Lord, but burned incense at the high places. I have a deep love for the Lord, but I find myself worshipping entertainment and pleasure far too often, and that was the sin of Solomon and many others like him.

Instead of thinking I’m better than Solomon, I realized I am a Solomon. I want to get honest in my self-assessment, confess my failures, and allow the Lord to do a work in my heart; and help me put away all the high places that I have hidden there, and know Him more intimately than ever.

Morning Communion

10 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Devotional, Mark, New Testament, THE WORD

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“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” -Mark 1:35

Thought: Something said at the CC workers conference I went to recently was, our fellowship with God will determine the quality of our life/work. There are a lot of things I want to do for God… I want to spread the Gospel in South America, I want to reach the world for Christ, and I want to obey the command of Jesus when He said, “Go”.

 

Yet, I am finding what I really need to do is know God better. We get to know Him the same way we get to know anyone else: Spending time with Him, and investing in our relationship with God. Even Jesus, (God in the form of a man) with the most important work in the history of the world, spent His mornings quietly communing with the Father.  He would get alone and pray, and receive direction for the day ahead before the busyness of that day started.

 

This is the Christian life: a living, breathing, day-to-day relationship with God that allows us to be transformed into His image, and allows His life to be manifested in us. I want to be less self-willed and self-directed, and more in tune and in touch with my Lord Jesus. That starts with investing in my relationship with the Him each morning, and continuing that communication and communion throughout each day.

The Cure For Bitterness

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Devotional, Ephesians, New Testament, THE WORD

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“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” -Ephesians 4:32

 
Thought: Have you ever struggled with anger, bitterness, or a critical spirit? Maybe I’m being too open, but those are things I must guard against, and things I struggle with in my Christian walk. Today, the Lord used a KP Yohannon Bible study to shine a light on a root of bitterness growing in my heart. As I realized the reality and the seriousness of the problem, I was desperate for a solution, a cure to the disease.

The answer: forgive… everyone and everything. Forgiveness is freeing, and allows us to be at peace with those around us, and become more like God who has forgiven us so much. With forgiveness comes grace, love, and joy… the abundant life in Christ. It frees us from the self-imposed prison of bitterness and unforgiveness. I’m so glad the Holy Spirit is alive and working in the hearts of His people, and that God is so patient and gracious in His teaching us to walk. PRAISE THE LORD.

Be A Man

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in 1 Kings, Devotional, Old Testament

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(King David to his son, Solomon, when he was anointed king) “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord you God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord  may fulfill His Word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your son takes heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Isreal.'” (1 Kings 2:2-4)

Thought: David charged Solomon to be strong and prove He was a man. How would he prove it? By walking with God according to God’s Word with a pure heart. That’s the best way to prove I am a man because it is the best thing I can do for myself, my wife, my family, and everyone around me. If I make this choice to take God at His word, and walk with Him faithfully, sincerely, and will all that I have; God will keep HIs promises to me regarding the type of fruit my life will produce.

Real Answers to Real Questions about the Bible and Being Gay

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by in GUEST WRITERS, Homosexuality, Matt Moore

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I received this article via email, and decided to read it mostly because of our President’s recent statements about gay marriage. I found the article to be so well done that I contacted the author, Matt Moore, to ask for permission to repost. He happily granted me full permission. I especially like that this article is filled with compassion from someone who has struggled with homosexuality throughout his life, yet is founded on the truth of God’s Word.

Side Note: I also recommend reading Matt’s testimony on the website listed below. Although, the details are very graphic, Matt’s story illustrates what it means to be born again of the Holy Spirit in a very powerful way. While I did not struggle with homosexuality, I too was radically saved by Jesus a few years ago, and many of the characteristics of Matt’s testimony are eerily similar to mine. His testimony has inspired me to finish my detailed testimony that has sat on the back burner for far too long. Hopefully, prayerfully, that will be on the site soon. Now, on to the article.

Real Answers to Real Questions about the Bible and Being Gay

By: Matt Moore

http://moorematt.com/

People in the Church, outside the Church, and opposing the Church are asking questions. Questions are good, regardless of the inquirer’s motive. Questions give followers of Jesus, holders of the truth, oppurtunities to provide real answers. In this blog I’m going to cover the four questions that I’m asked the most frequently and try my best to provide Biblical answers that make sense.

1) Why should I believe what Christianity has to say?

2) If I being gay am not hurting anybody, then why does God condemn it?

3) Okay, if being gay is a sin, then why can’t I control it?

4) If God really didn’t want me to be gay, then why doesn’t He eliminate my feelings?

1)Why should I believe what Christianity has to say?

Defending God is like defending a lion; He doesn’t need it. He is who He is regardless of whoever does or does not believe in Him. But if you are skeptical, I would like to get your thought-wheels spinning. We all can agree that in and of ourselves, we do not know where we came from. We can also all agree that we do not have the power, in any degree, to spontaneously create ourselves or everything that we see around us. We had to have come from somewhere, more specifically from someone.

This is where we get the idea of there being a “god”; an ultimate higher power that is responsible for our existence and the existence of the known universe. Most people would agree that the only logical explanation for all that we see and know is that there is a god, but the question is, is that god knowable? And if that god is knowable, how so? Does He care about what is going on the world or about us personally?

Christianity believes that there is one God who created humanity and the entire universe. We believe that this God has communicated Himself throughout the generations in many different ways. Firstly, through our visualization of everything around us; His creation draws us to the conclusion that He exists. Secondly, God communicates Himself through our own consciousness and moral compass. We all know right from wrong, good from evil, and that wasn’t something that we learned; our knowledge of good and evil is intrinsic.

Thirdly, God communicates Himself personally. We believe He communicated Himself through Moses, the Prophets and at these last times through His Son. Christianity believes beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Spirit of God inspired these men to record His communication with them in written words in order that they would be available forevermore to future generations. Now, there is much speculation over how truthful the recorded words of the Bible are and this is where a good study of apologetics would be advantageous.

But I beg to ask this question, if the Bible is not true, then why are we still “speculating” over it thousands of years later in this technologically and intellectually advanced age? If it could be disproven and thrown out as trash, why hasn’t it been? Jesus Himself confirmed the authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures. Now, if Jesus were dead I may doubt His claims. But due to the fact that no one has ever been able to find the crucified body of the most famous person to ever exist, I’m going to believe whatever He has to say.

The eyes of the enlightened, born-again Christian are for the first time able to really read and understand the Scriptures. I think that many people have a negative preconceived attitude toward the Scriptures because they have seen so many people worship the bible and use the knowledge contained in it to cut down and destroy those around them. On behalf of those people, I want to apologize. The Word of God is a weapon, but it is not a weapon to be used against fellow man. It is a weapon meant to destroy strongholds and to crush our own personal sins. But please, do not let these people’s misuse of God’s Word keep you from coming to it to find the truth. The Bible is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

The ultimate purpose of God inspiring the recording of His Words, and ensuring their preservation, is that we would come to know Jesus Christ through our encounter with the Scriptures. The Lord has revealed His Word to us in order that we would know Him. And in knowing Him, we would realize the error of our fallen thoughts and feelings and see our need for divine rescuing.

2) If I being gay am not hurting anybody, then why does God condemn it?

God, the true God, does not do or command anything without a purpose. God designed sex, therefore He knows exactly how it’s supposed to be carried out and enjoyed. When we operate within God’s standards for sexual behavior, it is a very good and pleasurable thing to experience. But when we go outside of the specific guidelines that God has communicated to us, we belittle Him by assuming that our own sinful, broken sexual desires are superior to what He says. Just from experience and common knowledge we can all admit that sex is best when had between one married man and woman.

Many guys and girls who have sex with each other before marriage (which is the norm now) personally know the consequences of their promiscuity. The consequences vary in degree, they can be something as minute as a curable STD or they can be something as drastic as an unplanned pregnancy resulting in abortion. And it’s all too clear that sexual behavior between two men has very, very dangerous repercussions.

Along with the massively higher chance of getting AIDS through homosexual intercourse, there are many other things that can be harmful that I will not go into right now because of their explicit nature. Homosexual behavior, along with adultery, incest, fornication and bestiality are all outside of the God’s design for sex and we can see the obvious repercussions of sinning against God and from sinning against our own bodies.

3) Okay, if being gay is a sin, then why can’t I control it?

This is a very legitimate and yet often ignored question, although the answer is very simple. The world, along with some of modern “Christianity”, tells us that God does not want us to choose between our heart and our faith. Somehow we have come upon this reasoning that every feeling we have is good and godly, therefore we can’t possibly be sinning if we are acting out on our feelings. Countless times I have been told that it is God who has given me these homosexual feelings and that He in no way desires for me to try and deny or turn away from them.

This kind of thinking sounds so nice. It makes us feel good about ourselves to think that we have a pure heart and that all of our feelings flow directly from the heart of God, but this simply is not true. God is infinitely good, and so are his desires and purposes and thoughts. Man is inherently evil, and so are his desires and purposes and thoughts; every person in the world has desires inside of them that the Bible says are sinful. This universal grouping just adds even more validity to the inerrancy of Scripture for me, because no one can escape the condemnation of sin. There are things that all of us feel that are in violation of God’s holiness and standard of righteousness, which makes all of us in need of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Every human to ever exist since Adam and Eve has been born not only into a sinful world, but with a sinful nature. The broken nature that none of us can escape without Jesus Christ perverts the way that we view God, the world and yes, even sex. Many people want to argue that they were born gay, and I don’t waste too much energy arguing that assumption because the Bible says we were all born into sin and need to be born-again in order to have eternal life. People have sinful feelings, because sin is who we are outside of a relationship with Christ.

You may say to yourself, “Well, that’s not fair that I couldn’t help having a sinful nature and all the things that come with it.” Take a look at the Cross of Jesus Christ, was that fair? Jesus did every good, righteous thing you couldn’t and wouldn’t do and then went on to suffer for every evil thing that you did do. That is in no way fair, but God’s plan goes beyond fairness. God’s own Son was crushed under His Father’s wrath for your sin, and in turn He offers you the reward of His finished work; the free gift of righteousness and eternal life. Rather than condemning all of us to Hell, God has decided to use the inescapable darkness of our sin as backdrop to demonstrate his magnificent and inexpressible grace showed in the Cross of Christ, all in order to glorify His Name in capturing your heart with His great love.

The natural heart which we all are born with is a heart of stone. God’s desire is not that you would listen to that hardened heart, but that you would receive a new heart, a heart of flesh! Genuine faith in the Son of God is always accompanied by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Actually, genuine faith in the Son of God is the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God enters into a child of God and replaces the God-hating, stony heart they have been living their life according to with a new heart of flesh. Unlike the old heart, this heart of flesh loves God, desires His will, and submits to His truth. This is why a born-again Christian is changed completely, from the inside out. We now see sin for what it is and what it does to us. We are for the first time aware of our own sinfulness and the havoc it has wrecked upon our lives. And we finally see that God has provided our escape through the substituting sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

4) If God really didn’t want me to be gay, then why doesn’t He eliminate my feelings?

God could eliminate homosexual feelings if He wanted to. He most certainly holds the power and He would have to exert nearly no effort to do so. Yet, in many cases such as mine, He has chosen not to completely deliver me from my homosexual thoughts and temptations. Why? I can’t answer that specifically for me; that knowledge belongs to God and God alone. But I do know that if we look at the broader picture, every person who has trusted in Christ still struggles with some kind of temptation.

Could God eliminate their desires? Sure, but He doesn’t always. God does deliver certain people in certain areas, for example, I had a very strong addiction to alcohol before I became a Christian and God pretty much instantaneously delivered me from that. But there are people out there who still struggle with that same temptation, so why did he choose to deliver me from it and not them? Because it was His will. God’s will for everyone is to repent from their sin and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, but we must remember that God’s will for each individual differs. Of course even His differing plans for each of us personally will always be within the confines of Scriptural teaching. Many try to say that God’s will is for them to be gay… no, it’s not. God does have different plans for people’s lives, but He does not go against Himself or what He has spoken. His will for you is not to remain in the sin that He hates.

The Bible says that as Christ suffered, we will also share in His sufferings. One of God’s primary goals is to shape us into the likeness of His Son, and He even uses our evil temptations to do so. God often even allows Satan and demons to torment us for a season. Take it from the Apostle Paul: “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”- 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Some people are taken aback and offended by the truth that God allows and even ordains us to be tempted and have to fight nail and tooth with sinful thoughts, but I find so much hope in this truth! The fact that God has to permit or allow every thought, every sinful thought, to enter and manifest in my mind shows me that when I am battling with temptation, it is for a purpose. My struggles are not in vain! When I am at my wit’s end with wrestling these desires I know I shouldn’t act out on, I can always remember that God has allowed me to wage this war for a purpose.

Through enduring temptation and abstaining from lustful desires, I have learned to be so much more patient and steadfast with others. Rather than brushing them off and considering myself better than they, as many of us “Christians” tend make a practice of, I can deeply empathize with the struggles they have in their hearts, extend love toward them and offer them advice from my own personal experiences. Because of my own battle with sin, which God has allowed (not just for me, but us all), I have been able to exercise and experience compassion and patience with others, which in turn gives me a greater understanding of God’s compassion and patience toward me.

And please remember, salvation is in three different tenses.

We were saved when we believed in Christ, we are being saved currently, and we will be saved at the day of Jesus Christ. In this current state of being saved, we live in a temporary world that will be full or hardships, temptations and trials; but also remember that it is only a season. This life we live now is but a vapor, and in the eternal world to come all of God’s children will be free from sin and temptation completely and for good.

Grace

07 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Definitions, GENERAL

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I was talking with my Pastor about the definition of grace because I had always defined grace as an unmerited gift or unmerited favor, as in God gave His only Son although I did not deserve that gift, and I was not owed that sacrifice. Yet, he used a term I have heard before in Bible Study: Grace is the Divine influence on the heart of a believer. To me, those are two very different definitions. As we talked about grace I found that the greek word we translate into grace has much more meaning than I had always thought the word grace to mean, and includes the Divine influence upon the heart of a believer. So, I decided to look it up in the 1828 Webster Dictionary out of curiosity (I like this early edition because in 1828 they had not edited out God from the Webster dictionary) and the definition was very in-depth, and I thought I would share. Here are just the top ten definitions:

 

GRACE, n. [L. gratia, which is formed on the Celtic; Eng. agree, congruous, and ready. The primary sense of gratus, is free, ready, quick, willing, prompt, from advancing.]

1. Favor; good will; kindness; disposition to oblige another; as a grant made as an act of grace. 

Or each, or all, may win a lady’s grace. 

2. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him. 

And if by grace,then it is no more of works. Rom.11. 

3. Favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin. 

My grace is sufficient for thee. 2 Cor.12. 

4. The application of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner. 

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Rom.5. 

5. A state of reconciliation to God. Rom.5.2. 

6. Virtuous or religious affection or disposition, as a liberal disposition, faith, meekness, humility, patience, &c. proceeding from divine influence. 

7. Spiritual instruction, improvement and edification. Eph.4.29. 

8. Apostleship, or the qualifications of an apostle. Eph. 3.8. 

9. Eternal life; final salvation. 1 Pet.1.13.10. Favor; mercy; pardon.

Bow and sue for grace

With suppliant knee.

Find the rest of the defintion at: http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,grace

Wow… that is quite a description for one word, and just re-emphasizes how amazing, and how wonderful the grace of God is. We can’t truly understand the grace of God in it’s entirety, but we definitely can be thankful.

God bless you!

-Cory