Revive Us O'Lord

When most people hear the word revival they think of a move of God across the land and people getting saved. There are, most of the time, revival meetings planned months in advance, tents are rented or a brush arbor may even be erected. A designated time when a weeks worth of sermons will be delivered, often from a traveling evangelist. Church members will come and they will also bring friends, neighbors and relatives. There may even be potluck dinners each night to sweeten the call to come. Sadly to say, these meetings are getting fewer and farther between. Attendance has waned as the preaching of the True Gospel of Christ has been diminished across the globe. Man has tried to substitute so many man-centered things into God’s message, that the Power of God is not present at theses meetings, no matter what you call them.

But are these actually “revival” meetings? Do these fit what being revived actually means? Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines revive as : 1 : to restore to consciousness or life 2 : to restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state : bring back 3 : to renew in the mind or memory. So the way the word revival is used in “revival meeting” is not accurate. It is being used to mean, instead, an awakening. This is typical of what present day “revival meetings” are meant to be. A call to sinners to repent (hopefully and not the heretical Americanized “gospel” ever present from most pulpits) is not revival.

Biblical revival is a return to a normal state of Christianity. Where believers should be, they have to be revived, renewed or brought back to a former state of being, in essence – a return to where one should be anyway. Then what most people call “revival” happens, an awakening begins as Christians cry out in repentance, others notice. The power of God is seen in believers lives as they become much closer to God, they become more aware of their sins against a Holy God and they become more embolden to speak about the things of God to others. The Lord uses this to draw whom He wills to Himself and thereby an awakening begins. Upon true revival society is changed, God’s wrath is averted and people come to know Him. All things my country desperately need right now.

Lamentations 5:21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old,

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Peter speaks of “days of refreshing or revival - Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord

Psalm 85:4-7 Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation.

Habakkuk prays for revival - Habakkuk 3:2 O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

The sad thing is, as humans we soon forget the power of God working in us. We return to our comfortable lives, our 9-5 grind and to our daily household chores. We then need revival again. What I pray for is a revival, a return to where I was when God first saved me. I want to be as close to Him as I was that day and I don’t want to move back away from Him again. I want to move closer and closer to Him daily. I need personal revival first, then I need sustained fellowship and God in turn will use that to His glory. I pray for this in each of my local church body family and the corporate body of Christ.

Oak Grove Baptist Church, my church family, is in prayer for just such a revival. I ask you take this to your congregation as well. Pray for revival first in yourself, then your family, then your church body and then a move of God. There is no formula for revival, but most have begun with the honest and repentant turning to God from our sinfulness. A true broken and contrite spirit of how we have sinned against our Father. Upon a broken nature before our Lord, we ask Him to pour out on us His grace and mercy to be in fellowship with Him. We plead for souls to be added to His Kingdom. If God is gracious and hears our cries, He will move across the land and He will be glorified. We simply want and need to be His vessels; in whatever way He sees fit to use us. “Nominal” Christianity is not acceptable to our Lord and we must seek Him to correct that. At least any true believer should desire that. If not, then you have a much larger problem before you, your souls danger of eternal damnation. True children of God should desire this and need this closeness with our Father.

Cry out to Him to expose the darkest recesses of your heart so you may cry out in repentance to Him. Get on your knees, dear Christian, and plea for revival in your own heart. Get on your face, brother and sister, and shed tears for your lost family members. Just cry out to God and know that He will hear His children.

Only What’s Done For Christ Will Last

After reading John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" I couldn't get the little plaque he talked about out of my mind. The one that he talks about having the path going over a hill with "Only one life, ’Twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last" . I was on a mission to find one of these, because I thought it was a great reminder of how most things that fill our lives are meaningless to the cause of God's glory.

Well, I couldn't find a wall hanging, but I did find the whole poem that phrase is taken from. It is a poem by CT Studd and I wanted to share it with those that come to my blog.




“Two little lines I heard one day,Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

C.T Studd

Here's Your (Church) Sign

We’ve all seen them and dare I say, we have all cringed our teeth at some, if not all of them. Those snazzy little marquees that bid a person “Sinners wanted: Pro or Amateur: Apply inside” or “CH RCH the only thing missing is U”. These are just 2 of the countless catchphrases that, I assume, try to make a lost person want to come to that particular church building.

Do they work? Do they make people want to walk through a church door on Sunday morning? I have no idea, but judging by the frequency and interchangeable messages I would say a definite maybe. But that’s not the question about these signs. The question, regardless of my dislike for their oozing of seeker sensitivity, is: “Are these signs glorifying God?” And to 99% of these signs I would say the answer is no. Not because I don’t already know that “7 days without prayer makes 1 weak” or that I might, time and time again, need to be reminded that “God answers knee mail”, but these signs make a mockery of biblical truths, lend way to catchy sayings in hope of having a driver of a vehicle slam on his breaks after being so convicted by “This church is prayer conditioned” and just flat out try to be cute.

Enough of that. Are these types of signs biblical? Do they help or hurt the cause of Christianity? Do they convict sinners? Most importantly, as I asked earlier, do these signs glorify the Lord? Of course, we live in a day that the writers of scripture knew nothing about. They would not have foreseen this type of marketing for the Church of God. They expected the body of Christ to live their lives as a sign. They expected the children of God to faithfully proclaim the Good News and not rely on cutesy things to catch someone’s interest and create a chuckle (and yes, I do chuckle at some of these signs, but most of the time I am very offended).

This reminds me of a past blog I wrote on heretical t-shirts, a while ago. These types of things do more harm than good. And I dare say that I have never heard of one persons testimony in which they saw a sign that said “Don’t give up, Moses was once a basket case” and realized that they were a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Granted, these 3-4 line signs do not have very much room to say very much, but then again should these signs be used for anything other than telling when the next fellowship is or when service times start?

Maybe the problem is that most people do not know what a church is for anyway. They think that “Wal-Mart is not the only saving place” instead of actually knowing that a church is for those that are Christians to learn more about their Savior, to edify one another, to grow together as a body of believers in pursuit to be more Christ like in every way. So many of people that fill the pews these days want people to think “Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints”.

I may be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but I do not recall anywhere in scripture where we are told to be cute to glorify God. I also don’t know where it says that Jesus had catchy little phrases that made people chuckle and desire to get to know Him better. Jesus did have one little phrase that I would like to see on those marquees. It is found in Luke 13:3, 5. So important that He said it twice in 3 verses “Repent or perish”. Now that is profound. Not very seeker sensitive or cute, but like Christ was, to the point. That’s not a very popular place to be these days and will often times get the reply “Stop being judgmental you Pharisee”, the Pharisee card I like to call it. I just can’t see John the Baptist walking into town, munching down on a nice crispy locust with a sandwich board hanging from his neck that said “Oh Satan, the fat lady is about to sing”. Better yet, the Apostle Paul sending a letter to the Corinthians telling them to get the chisel out and make a sign for his next visit to read “The best vitamin for a Christian is B1” in hopes of something so sly and catchy would convict a sinner in their steps.

I guess my point is to just stop it already. Stop trying to be cute, stop trying to make somebody laugh, stop trying to make people think you’re sly and cunning and a wordsmith full of witty sentiments. It’s not working, it never worked and it never will work. Just preach the gospel – in season and out of season. Sow the seeds if His Word and leave the rest up to Him. Treat the Church like the Church and not as a “Hospital for sinners”. Also keep in mind Galatians 6:6-7 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Here are a few ideas if you must put up a marquee or sign to try and draw sinners in to hear the Word of God, to feel the presence of a mighty and Holy God and to cry out under the intense pressure of His Spirit:

“God is Holy, You’re not”
“Luke 13:3,5 Repent or Perish – the original Turn or Burn”
“The wages of sin is death, repent before payday”

Obedience Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Admittedly, I am no great writer. I can’t spell very well (thank you spell check), I do not form complete sentences sometimes and often the structure of my sentences and choice of words may be off by a little or even off greatly. I know I can’t write well (good?) and I will never claim that distinction. I know many people that are a lot more articulate than I am, that can punctuate with the best of them, but that is not my calling. I hope that no one that reads my blog posts take them in the same vein they would a writing of John Piper, John Macarthur or Michael Durham.

My desire in writing is to just let my thoughts flow. I try to convey where the Lord has me at any particular time, what He is showing me and relay how that impacts me. I pray that it adds a little more understanding to its readers, but that too is not my purpose in writing.

When I sit down to the keyboard, it is to bring glory to my Savior. He has given all that I may live and in that I want to glorify Him in whatever fashion I can. I was not gifted to be a speaker, not that I am terrified to be in front of a crowd, but I just do not hold that quality. I am fine with that, I actually think of it as a blessing rather than a curse, it keeps me from inserting my foot into my big mouth sometimes. I also do not have the gift of a singing voice or ability to play an instrument. Oh, how I tried to learn to play the guitar, but my patience was very lacking, that or lack of coordination.

What I believe God has given me is the gift to interact with others on a personal level and not in a superficial way. Being like that makes me want to explain things, probably more than anyone wants to hear about, but I tend to meander and change course a lot. If you have read my other posts you will be quite aware of that. But what it really boils down to is obedience. Since I am not a speaker, I do not have a large audience around me and I do not have the typical giftings that people notice, I do feel like I am supposed to just write. Good or bad, correct punctuation or not, just write about what God has done, is doing and might do in my life. I try to obey.

In that I may write a blog about “Where is Todd Bentley” or even Glenn Beck’s false religion of Mormonism. Who knows what will strike up the urge to clank on the keyboard? Actually it is peck on the keyboard, since I have taught myself to type with a 4/1 method, 4 fingers on my left hand and 1 on my right. It would probably be quite humorous to watch if I weren’t the one doing it, but it gets the job done. What I want to do is glorify my God. If He chooses to use my meager words to help a brother or sister out I will be just as content if someone reads the first sentence of a post and clicks the little red X at the top right of their browser, because I have been obedient.

Obedience is the key to everything. Whether it’s to write a little blog in the corner of cyberspace or preach in front of 20,000 people at a time, it comes down to obeying what God has told you to do and to do it without bellyaching and doing it with the sole purpose of glorifying God. I think of writing like I do sowing seeds, like God speaks of spreading His Word in scripture. My writing is my testimony and my view of what God is doing around me, small or large, it is all in God’s plan. In me posting a blog God may have its words for one person 10 years down the road that may “accidentally” come across that post. With those words that have been there in the dirt for years, He may choose to then water and bring that seed to fruition in that single person. Who knows what will happen to anything they do? Should we even think about “what might be”? Shouldn’t we just live our lives for the one purpose of being obedient and leaving the rest to God? Sow the seed of His Word wide and broad, throw it on the beaten path, throw it on the thorn bushes, throw it on the rocks and throw it on the cultivated and prepared soil, but just throw the seed consistently and leave the germination to God. Be obedient.

In my posts I usually do have a purpose and that is to share the biblical gospel of Christ. To tell how someone can be born again. I may get worked up sometimes and go on for a while, but it is really a simple thing to do. Simple that is when God is in it; otherwise someone will become deceived in what “I did” or put faith in his or her prayer or even faith in his or her faith. The ONLY way a person can be saved, born again, is to accept that they are in dire need of a savior. See that their lives have been nothing but pure rebellion against a Holy God, which all they want to do and are capable of is sin and defilement of the Creator of the universe. Sin is anything that does not glorify God, not just lying, stealing or fornication, but even eating a cheeseburger without being thankful to the One that allowed them to wake up that morning, that gave them the job to have that couple of dollars to be able to eat that cheeseburger. Sin is our nature, we are born in it and we are born with it. You never have to teach a child to lie, it comes natural to them, as does all the other desires to sin. Sin is a heart condition and however that manifests itself is irrelevant, be it stealing a candy bar from Wal Mart or cheating on your spouse, it all comes from leadership of your heart. This was addressed by Jesus to the rich young ruler and also in Matthew 5:28 by saying “Whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in their heart”. Now that is radical in today’s society, huh? So sin is a heart condition, but also is transgression of God’s Laws. Anytime there is transgression of law there has to be a payment rendered in turn. Most often times we see this in courtrooms. A law has been broken, someone is found guilty and the judge demands payment for that transgression. This, in American society, usually takes the form of a jail sentence and/ or a fine or restitution, a repayment for what has been unlawfully happened. No matter how much you tell that judge the “good” things you have done, it will not influence his decision on what you have committed. If you kill someone while drunk driving you will not get off with a warning for having volunteered every day for the past 20 years cooking and handing out food to the homeless across your city, it is not a weighted scale, it will be justice carried out.

This is just an earthly example of God’s courtroom on judgment day. You will stand before Him alone, you will have His books opened and you will have to answer for every sin you committed against His laws. You may think, “Yeah, I’m a good person. I’ve never killed anyone or anything that harsh, I’ve done a lot more good than I have bad” and that may be true, in a man centered sense. But then Jesus Christ will stand up and the Father will ask how you compare to Him. The sinless and spotless Lamb that lived a perfect life on this Earth, tempted in all ways we are, but remained sin free. He then was slain on a cross for your sins, you may have said a prayer when you were a kid, but no prayer will have saved you, no walk down an aisle, not being baptized, not living a good life. The question will be did you repent of your sins and trust in Him, the Lamb of God. Did you see your life as vile and rebellious to Him? Did you see that you had no hope at all in and of yourself? Did you cry out to God to forgive you of all that you had done to defile His Holy Name? Did you turn from that filthiness and turn to the God you hated in your words and lifestyle, casting all your sin upon the Lamb, giving your life to the One that came to willingly take your sins upon Himself? Because that is the only way Jesus will step up in the Father’s courtroom, stand beside you and say “I paid his debt Father” and show His pierced palms that still hold the marks that you put there. He will be your Advocate in God’s courtroom and that will be the only way you can be forgiven. To place all your hope in Christ, which also entails placing all your sins upon Him and all of His righteousness will be counted as yours. WOW! That is good news.

So, that is my purpose. Not to entertain, not to write a good read, not to drive the hi counter up on the bottom of the page, but to glorify my Savior, tell of what He has done for me (and you) and to sow bountifully and let the Lord reap bountifully. I’m just being obedient. However small I see this page, however small you see this page, God sees it the same as John Piper standing before the congregation at Bethlehem Church on a Sunday morning, He sees them both as obedience. How about you? Are you being obedient? Do you sow sparingly or bountifully? Do you just do what the Lord says and go and make disciples of men or do you sit back and expect everyone else with their gifts of speaking and music do what He commanded you to do as well? You are either the missionary or you are the mission field.

I'm a Pharisee? That's Being Awfully Judgmental of You.

Are you a Pharisee? Well, then have you ever been called a Pharisee? I have and it is becoming a more common occurrence. So much that I am in the process of doing a study to see if I actually do have what it takes to be called a Pharisee, in a biblical sense.

I start with Merriam Webster’s definition:
1 capitalized : a member of a Jewish sect of the intertestamental period noted for strict observance of rites and ceremonies of the written law and for insistence on the validity of their own oral traditions concerning the law
2 : a pharisaical person

I can pretty much cross out #2 since I am not #1 either. I am not Jewish, a member of a Jewish sect, do not observe rites of ceremonies of the written law (the Law of Moses and Levitical Laws presumably) and I have no oral tradition concerning the law.

In contrast to this definition, I believe the law is/ was a schoolmaster, or a guide, to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24). My biblical understanding is that the law is used to show our need for a Savior, that we are born sinners; wretched at birth and in no way can we keep the standards that the Father set forth.

A further study of the Pharisees that Jesus alluded to will show that they were long winded in their prayers, to show everyone within earshot just how holy they were (or thought they were). So, that disqualifies me as well. I think of myself as nothing close to holy, nothing close to long winded, even quite timid in my prayers and to the point. My reliance is on God’s searching and guiding of my heart and my prayer and not on my vain words.

Next would be the Pharisee’s insistence on a strict tithe. I will admit I do not tithe 10%. I actually do not tithe at all. The tithe was yet another system that the Pharisee used to show everyone else how Godly they thought they were. I give back to God what He has entrusted to me, an offering. I would ask that you check out the sermon series on stewardship at Real Truth Matters. This is a very enlightening series on all aspects of giving, notably the false thoughts on tithing. They are not within the New Covenant, check out the rest for yourself. The Pharisee’s tithes went right along with the long prayers, an outward sign that they thought showed they were righteous. Matt 23:5, 13-33, Luke 18:9-14, Matt 9:11. They even weighed out their herb gardens to give 10% of the herbs.

One of the major things the Pharisee’s were known for was their hatred for Jesus. They called for His murder even. Jesus characterized this in Matthew 15:7-9. This is a biggie for me, because I am not capable of hating Jesus. He is my Savior, He is my Everything. He gave all for me, His sinless life to hang on a cross to atone for my sins. So, I could never hate the one that died for me, that I may live. So that was in a big N-O.

So those are the biggest things that Pharisees were known for, the most notable. I will not make a long list for space constraints. Then why am I called a Pharisee? I would have to assume that it is because I hold dear the truths of scripture. I believe that the Lord demands holiness, that His Word is the authority and not personal experience or revelation. There are many truths in scripture that have been deviated from over the past 100 – 150 years. This can be characterized as the “America Gospel”, “Easy Believism” or just a blatant disregard for biblical and historical Christianity. Most notably of late, the denying of he Holy Trinity.

On my facebook wall I recently posted that Philips, Craig and Dean were Modalists and that anyone that were fans of their song “Revelation Song” might want to listen to Kari Jobe’s version instead. I did this after reading an article about PCD’s recent nominations for Dove Awards and mainstream acceptance. To me this is very dangerous, as it should be any Christian. Their false religion denies the Triune nature of God, effectively creating a different god. I was then called judgmental and later I believe a post was put up quoting Matthew 23:13-15 directed at me.

So why are people being called Pharisee’s today? Myself included. This is because the modern definition of Pharisee seems to be simply a hypocrite. The definition of hypocrite is a person that puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion. My life is an open book, I do not parade around saying or believing that I am a “Holier than thou” person. I love my Lord and out of that love He so graciously allows me to have I serve Him and strive to me more like Him daily. This is called sanctification, a term that is not used very much by the modern churches.


So, if this is what they mean by Pharisee (which would negate their quoting of Jesus’ Words in scripture, since they are using it out of context) then I am still not guilty. But, in effect, these people are doing exactly what they are accusing me of. Being judgmental. They expect that anyone that profess’ the Name of Jesus to be of His flock. They say “judge not, lest ye be judged” which too is ripped out of context. We are commanded to judge and hold true to God’s Word. We are told to not be gullible and have itching ears, to not cast pearl before swine or give what is Holy to dogs. How are we to do that if we are not judging and discerning how people’s “professions” of faith in God truly line up with what a true follower of Christ is biblically?

Most people these days that question anyone’s profession, an errant religion, even a blatantly unbiblical religion such as Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses or Modalists, are automatically labeled as Pharisaical. This also happened to me when Todd Bentley was at his peak. I went to the chat room of his website during the Lakeland debacle. I simply asked “How can I be saved” once. Then again, and again, and again. For several minutes I did this, hoping that someone would acknowledge me and give me some scripture reference. I received nothing. Not a hello, not anything. I guess it could have been my requests were being hidden by the flurry of praises to Bentley. But then I posted something else:
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
I posted the Word of God and was immediately rebuked as a Pharisee, told to get off the board and was even blocked by the webmaster who was keeping tabs on the chat board. Many were deceived, many were lied to, many still believe Bentley is a man of God, even after his adulterous relationship, alcohol abuse, knee’s to the stomachs and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Bam. It’s as if people want to be deceived, like they have itching ears. Any call to discern is met with a cry of “judge not” and being called a Pharisee.

So, if me being called a Pharisee means: One that discerns, calls for discernment, calls for biblical doctrines to be followed and believed, then yes I guess I am a Pharisee in those terms. But I am definitely not what Jesus faced and I am definitely not what Saul of Tarsus was. I could never even remember all those laws, much less follow them and consider myself blameless like the rich young ruler. I am wretched and vile and the only good in me is what my Lord affords. He saved me; He became my master and I His slave. I was born in sin, lived in sin and only have life through Him and His blood that was shed for me on Calvary. A wrong view of Him, His character, His holiness, His attributes, His omnipotence and His awesomeness is idolatry. If someone has made a god to fit their lifestyle, that overlooks sin, turns a blind eye to fornication, drunkenness, lying, stealing or hate is on the road to hell. These are the one’s that Jesus references in Matthew 7 that will be saying “Lord, Lord” that He never knew. These poor souls are deceived and need the Truth and do not need to be lulled into a falseness that is damning them. They need to know who the God of scripture is and what the bible says true salvation is. They must repent of their vileness; they must turn from their sin and to a Holy God and trust in Him only. Not trust in their profession or their prayer to save them. Only God saves. Only God can give life, physical and spiritual.

So if you call people Pharisee’s do your own study of what a real Pharisee is. Do the same if you pull the hypocrite card out as well. Do not use it as a last resort when God’s Word has proved you wrong. Do not be lumped in with the charlatans on TV that blaspheme God’s Name in the real name of greed. These false prophets are dragging millions to a fiery hell with them. Cry out to God for discernment and to open your eyes. If you are sincere He will answer, He will not turn away those that truly seek Him. Drop to your knees right now and cry out to Him.

Losing Your Faith?

Facebook has quickly become a social hub for all types of people, from all walks of life, from all countries of the world and for all age groups. What was once a hub for college students only has branched out and now allows anyone over the age of 13 to be a member. People can add friends, send messages, post pictures and play a multitude of games through this social outlet. Actually, if you’re not on facebook, you are probably not on the internet either, which would mean that you would not be reading this and ….. oh, never mind.

The most used feature of facebook allows users to post items to their “wall” which in turn allows their friends to see, comment and even add a “thumbs up” like to their post. Since I examine users profiles before adding them as friends I am not really sure as to the kinds of things that get posted on others walls. I can only speculate using a web sense of what normally goes on throughout the world wide web. I have gotten requests that I have turned down and have deleted a few “friends” after seeing some of their posts, but overall I have had a very pleasant experience on facebook. I normally post a scripture verse, quote from a notable Christian or something interesting I have came across. But also post a silly thing here and there too.

Pleasant experiences can really go south quickly though. I have had a few friends that stop posting for a while, seemingly because facebook has taken over a large chunk of their free time. That is an issue that is very real, but like any other activity that gets out of hand and consumes one it needs to be constantly examined as to not become an idol. If that starts to happen, then a sabbatical from the website could prove profitable.

Like any other activity one must always be on the lookout for the warning signs of idolatry. These include increased time doing that activity, overwhelming desires to be taking part in that activity, slacking off from needed activities to partake in something more often, neglecting household duties, neglecting your family and most importantly neglecting God’s Word and prayer time. These things aren’t just signs that you are spending too much time on facebook, there are countless other things that are just as dangerous and just as idolatrous (watching TV, playing video games, exercising, working, sleeping, etc.). Any time something takes precedence over godly things and then they are very dangerous. But the things mentioned can also be used in a godly fashion as well.

Each individual is different. While I do not lose my faith while using facebook, someone else might. My focus is on things that will glorify my Lord. While someone else may spend an equal amount of time doing other activities on facebook that have no spiritual implications whatsoever. But also my activities could also become an idol if I focus on the activity, posts and comments themselves rather on the One these posts and comments are about. The dangers are ever present and very real, so I caution everyone to always be aware of the time you spend on facebook and other networking sites. Like any other activity always ask yourself how it glorifies God to be doing that activity.

Be careful and everything will be okay. Don’t let it become an idol to you and you won’t lose your faith. Facebook can, be used for some very edifying things. I have new friends from all over the world that post things to their wall that have been real blessings. I am able to see how different cultures and different viewpoints see certain topics and issues. I have been given the great privilege to pray for brothers and sisters needs that otherwise I would not have been able to do. I have learned of ministries across the world that I am now able to pray for and interact with. I gain more knowledge that can then be used to further the kingdom of God. So many ways I have been blessed since using facebook. But I am just as susceptible as anyone and may one day have to limit, if not cut out totally, my facebook time. If my desire becomes anything but my Lord, then I am in need of the pruning shears.

Letters To A Mormon

For the past 18 months or so I have had an ongoing email conversation with a local Mormon. This all started when I was advertising the 2008 Real Truth Matters Conference on a local classified webpage. I started to get email responses from Steven, stating that the truth could only be found in the LDS religion, the fullness of the gospel I believe is what he calls it.

So I have never wavered from what True Biblical Christianity is. His email replies are short darts that show the tenacity of this false religion. He has recently told me that he once was a member of my former church. This is the one that was not preaching the gospel message, but like many churches today, was preaching a very man centered message with the typical "say this prayer", "make your decision now", "make sure that you know that you know that you know...". So, I can see why he would be dejected about this church in the first place. It seems like our paths kind of started at the same place, he even knew some of my family and mentioned them by name. But that is where the similarities ended.

For whatever reason (he has not told me yet) he was enticed by the Mormon cult. I have asked him before, without response, how he first started the road into Mormonism. Honestly, I am interested to see how someone get's drawn into this religion. I, however, was already in God's process of renewal. He was opening my eyes to my (then) church, the falsity of the American gospel, how I had been deceived for so many years into thinking I was o.k. because at 8 years old I had said the prayer. So, God took me in the total opposite direction. Praise God for that. He could have just as easily had me go the path to the LDS and Steven the path I am on.

But the emails have recently taken a turn. I have been sending the single verse to him in replies -
Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Along with that I have been telling him that the LDS "gospel" is not the same as what the Apostles and Jesus Himself preached. He shocked me with "What is your gospel". Now that floored me. Never have I had someone ask me point blank for the Gospel of Christ. Sure, I have had the questions about different topics within Christianity, but never a point blank "Where does your hope lie".

Before I could reply to him, he sent me the Mormon version of the "gospel". Eye opening to say the least. I will include it in this post for reference, just to see how the LDS have mangled who God is. Below is what I sent him as "my gospel". Pray that it did not land on deaf ears. Pray that God uses this to open this man's ears to what True Biblical Christianity is, so that his eyes may be opened like God graciously opened mine and saved my soul from a false gospel.

The email:
This is probably going to be quite lengthy, but I hope that you do not skip around and pick what to read. I am going to put a lot of time into writing this, just for you. The following is the gospel according to the bible, the apostles, the historic church and Christ Himself. I will probably add some personal experience in, but it will not take away from the bible but will confirm it.

First let me say that the LDS use a lot of the same terms that Christianity uses, that I use. But please, make no mistake thinking the terms are the same. They simply use the same word, but the meanings are totally different. I want what I write to stand on it’s own merits with the bible as its foundation, I do not want to say, “the LDS say this, but here is what the bible says”. That is not my reasoning here, I am not a Christian Apologists, I am simply a Christian that wants to share the Good News of Christ with someone. That being said, I do have to make some distinctions up front about my use of words.

Here is a list of words and/or phrases that the LDS may use followed by the biblical meaning/ definition. Please, when I use these words or phrases I am using them in this context and not the LDS context.
ADAM - the first created man by whom all of humanity descends. He was not Michael the archangel.
ATONE – To make amends for, to cover, to reconcile.
ATONEMENT - The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. He died for our sins (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2).
BAPTISM - An ordinance of the Christian church that is not necessary for salvation (Rom. 5:1).
BIBLE - the Bible is the inspired inerrant word of God (2 Tim. 3:16).
CHURCH - The body of believers in the true and living God through Jesus. It is comprised of those who are redeemed and is not limited to an earthly structure.
DAMNATION - The state of condemnation, judged by God in eternal hell (Matt. 25:46).
ELOHIM - The Hebrew word for "God." The name of God is "YHWH," which means "I AM," (Exodus 3:14).
ETERNAL LIFE - Forgiveness of sins and life eternal with God (John 17:3; Rom. 6:23).
FALL OF MANKIND - The open rebellion of Adam and Eve against God resulting in their condemnation and the fall of mankind.
GOD - The one and only God in all the universe, (Isaiah 44:6,8).
GODHEAD - God Himself, not an office. Three persons in one God. A Trinity: The Father; the Son; and the Holy Spirit.
GOSPEL - The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of the sins of all who would trust in Him (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
HEAVEN - The dwelling place of God (1 Kings 8:30). Christians go to heaven.
HELL - the eternal dwelling place of those who rejected the atoning work of Christ.
HOLY GHOST - Third person of the Trinity. Same as Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).
HOLY SPIRIT - An equivalent term to Holy Ghost, third person in the Trinity.
JEHOVAH -The name of God is "YHWH," which means "I AM," (Exodus 3:14).
JESUS - Jesus is God, second person of the Trinity (John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9).
MARRIAGE - the holy covenant between a man and a woman that is broken at death.
SALVATION - Forgiveness of sins with the result of a present new life and in the future eternal life with God (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10).
SATAN - A fallen angel who rebelled against God.
SCRIPTURE - Only the Bible is scripture.
TEMPLE - The Old Testament building where God dwelt, sacrifices were offered, and holy priestly rites were administered. There is no longer a need for temples.
TRINITY - The one and only God in all existence who is comprised of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See Trinity.

Steven, I want to say that I am not out to prove you wrong, but to simply do as any Christian should – share Jesus and what He did for you. While I am not planning on bashing the LDS or any other religion, sometimes I get carried away when I write because I am passionate about my God and His Truths. I ask for forgiveness before I begin if I offend, but I do not ask to be forgiven for what I say. What I say is said in love for my Lord and Savior and my love for your soul. I have nothing to gain by this, except to know that I have done as a Christian should and sow the seed of His Word in Truth and in Love.

I feel that I should start at the beginning, because that is where the bible does. Any deviation from the bible and its truths is the beginning of error. That is where so many religions have gotten off course, their pursuit of non-or extra biblical teachings.

In Genesis 1:1 we are told that God created the heavens and the Earth. Then again in John 1:1 we are told that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. These are 2 harmonious verses. John 1:1 uses one name for Jesus (the Word, which is why it is capitalized). If you continue reading in John 1 through verse 3 you will see that all things were made through Jesus and nothing was made without Him (Colossians 1:16-17 also confirm this truth) So these harmonizing verses state that Jesus was the creator of all things, not just some things, but all things. This means through Christ’s Words were the “let there be” verses. This was before Jesus became a man to atone for our sins on the cross, but still the second person of the Trinity, but I do not want to get in over your head right now, so back on track.

Then through Genesis you can see the Spirit moving across the Earth throughout His creation, as He glorified Himself and exalted His own Name through His creation. Part of His creation was man, made in the image of God Himself, Genesis 1:26 and following. Scripture records that God said “let Us make man in Our own Image”, proving again the Triune Nature of the True God. The word used for “in our image” would actually be better translated “as Our representative”, so man was created to represent God on the Earth, That is why God gave man (Adam) dominion over all creation, let him choose the animals names, etc.

It was not long before Satan came to entice God’s creation. To clear up who Satan is, let’s look at Ezekiel 28:15 – 19. Those verses tell us that Satan/ Lucifer was a cherub, a very beautiful angel created by God, who was created perfect. His beauty caused him to hold himself higher than God and initiated a rebellion - some verse of note are Isaiah 14:12 - 14 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Satan wanted to be God, to take away His power. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan has become the "god of this world". And Revelation 20:10 tells us that he will be eternally punished for it. Isaiah 14:15 continues to tell us the final place for Satan - Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Adam was created as an eternal man, perfect, un-aging, knowing nothing of sin. The world was created perfect, no death at all, not even the grass, leaves on the trees or a fly in the air, all was created perfect. Not even a thorn on a rosebush. This was so until Satan deceived Eve in the Garden, he tempted her that she too could have the knowledge that God had if she would just eat from the one tree that God has expressly said not to eat from, she ate then she convinced Adam to do so as well. This is what is called the fall of man or original sin. That was the beginning of all sin and brought forth death and destruction to everything since, men, animals, plants, etc. But most of all it brought forth the second death – separation from God.

God is Holy, He is indescribable. All we can do is futilely attempt to describe some of the characteristics of God – He is unchangeable, immutable, Holy, Love, righteous, eternal, sovereign, powerful, perfect, awesome, wonderful, above all, all knowing, infinite, faithful and true. But all of these words can get nowhere near the magnitude that is God. I would come close to saying that even giving God these characteristics of men’s words borders on blasphemy. God demands perfection and the sin of Adam has separated us all from Him. We are born in sin; we have the DNA of sin.

Think about it, do you have to teach a child to lie? That is just one proof that we are born sinners. A child’s self preservation is inherent of their makeup. It only gets worse as the years tick away.

Have you ever told a lie? How about stolen anything? Doesn’t matter if it was a car or a paperclip from work, value is pointless. How about adultery? Have you ever cheated on your wife? Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 that if you even look at a woman with lust you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. Do you have any gods before the True God? That is the situation of the rich young ruler that went away sad, he had kept the letter of the Law (Moses Law, 10 Commandments and Levitical additions), but still coveted his money and went away sad. Which was his heart condition, he idolized his fortune instead of setting those affections on God. His money was his lord and ruler. So Jesus is quite blunt that sin is a heart condition. I like to say that the actual outward sins that people commit are just the outward manifestations of what their heart says they are. The same as the works of a righteous man are outward manifestations of their heart condition and love of God, instead of their hate for God in their sins.

So, there was a conflict started here. It was man’s sin that had to be reconciled to God. In the O.T. this was done by animal sacrifices. The best of the flocks was needed to temporarily cover the sins for the year. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Constantly through the O.T. we are shown that animal sacrifice was used to atone for the sins of God’s people. This was a sign pointing to Jesus Christ. There are many prophesies throughout the Old Testament that point to Christ and His coming and His Work for us.

Sin separates us from God. God in His Holiness cannot look upon sin, so there had to be a reconciliation to happen. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is longsuffering and doesn’t want any to perish. This shows that He made a way of reconciliation for us. That is one thing we must know, that God does it all. It is nothing that we do, we cannot reconcile ourselves to Him, all we can do is what is natural to us…. sin. So, over the millennia peoples sins were covered by the shedding of animal’s blood, this was not true forgiveness but pointed to the true forgiveness to come. Since God loves us, He wants us to be reconciled to Him, so there needed to be a Perfect Sacrifice. This did not have to happen, God would still have been just as loving, just as good and just as Holy had He not made a Way for us. This reconciliation we did not and do not deserve, we can do nothing to deserve forgiveness and our self-worship, but God had different plans.

This is what is referenced in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – We purchase our own way with our sins, to destruction and separation from God. But God gives us, grants us eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived miraculously per the Gospels, Luke 1 tells us a good account that an angel spoke to Mary and said she would be with child. She did not understand because she had not known a man verse 34. This was the 2nd of the Trinity, the Son, that became flesh, that He may live a sinless life, take upon Himself our sins and die and with the shedding of His blood atone for our sins, pay The Price, a legal contract was fulfilled an exchange – Jesus’ blood for our sins. He paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain – He washed it white as snow.

To understand this, you must understand that Jesus was God. He was not an offspring created as Lucifer or you or me as “spirit children”. If that were so, He would have the same sinful nature as we do, which would make His work on the cross void. God required a sinless sacrifice to atone for our sins, and Jesus is and was the only candidate. He voluntarily laid His “Godness” aside and became flesh, to live with the same temptations as we all have, but to not be tempted to partake, to live sinless, to never get angry without cause, to never lust after a woman, to never desire to have a lot of stuff in his house. He came so we could be reconciled to Him. WOW! That is the good news of the Gospel, Christ Himself, not just knowing about Him, not knowing what He did and not even what He did, but Him alone as the Gospel. Here is a quote from Real Truth Matters that explains it better than I can:

The gospel is not just about the death and resurrection of Christ. It is Jesus. It is Jesus, His person as the Son of God and the Son of Man. It is all about what He is and has done in the redemption of sinners.

This constitutes a major portion of the problem of modernized Christianity. It fails to recognize Christ, Himself. Even though Jesus is the subject of its gospel, He is not the gospel to most professing Christians. Their gospel is what Jesus has done for them. But the New Testament does not tell men to believe in only what He has done. It tells them to believe upon Him and in Him.

So Jesus is the Gospel, The Spotless Lamb, The Son of God, The Son of Man, slain for you, slain for me. Because of our sinfulness and rejection to be reconciled to God by Christ’s atoning work on the cross for us, we then choose eternal separation from God. This is called hell by a few different names in scripture, also the lake of fire. This is where a person will spend eternal separation and punishment for their sins. There will be no second chance, no hope of making amends there. I actually think that those that go to hell will be cursing God, blaming Him for putting them there. They will not be crying out for Him, especially the one’s that thought they knew Him, those referenced in Matthew 7 :22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? : 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. These are the heretical preachers of this day and those of past that have taken God’s Word to mean what benefits them the most. They have added to scriptures, they have taken scripture away, they make gods to suit their own needs or that “god is love, wants me rich or has to give me something because I speak it into existence”.

Now, since you have been told the gospel of Jesus, who Jesus is, what Jesus did and your plight as a sinner in need of payment for your sins, you are without excuse if you reject what you have heard. I have tried to clearly convey, biblically what sin is and how as humans we are naturally sinful. We are actually dead in our sins. As a physically dead person can’t resuscitate himself or herself, neither can we as spiritually dead people. We love our sins, we can’t stand a Holy God and by our actions we actually prove that we hate Him. We want to purchase our way to hell with our sins and with our rejection to God’s love for us.

So what can you do? Get ready for this…… nothing. There is nothing that you can do to save yourself. Just as the physically dead man can’t save his own life, you can’t do anything to save your spiritual being either. If we put conditions that God must do something because of something we did, it would be a works based salvation. That is why there are so many different religions out there, they all try to do something to gain favor in God’s eye and they all fail miserably. Only True Biblical Christianity says that God initiates salvation and gives the way to salvation, through Him. There is nothing we can do in and of ourselves. All we can do is see ourselves as the sinful wretches that we are. We live and breath sin daily and must be cleansed. God is Holy and we cannot be in His presence as sinners, we need a mediator, the God Man Jesus Christ, 100% God, 100% man, neither intermingling with the other. Jesus’ “God-ness” doesn’t interact with His “man-ness” and vice versa. Can I explain that? No. And I am glad that I can’t. Just as I can’t explain the parting of the sea or how 3 boys can stand in the midst of a fiery furnace, I am glad that I can not explain my God.

All we can do is see our need for salvation, not just from hell but also from our sinful lives that cause grief to God. You must see Him as Holy and yourself as nothing and cry out to Him to save you. He promised that all that seek Him will find Him, that all that cry out to Him will be saved, so there is your promise. Then when He does save you, you will continue in holiness, striving to gain a more complete knowledge of Him. Your outlook on everything will change, you will no longer desire the sinful things you once did, you will begin to shed the layers of sin that mired you down. You have been bought with a Price, you are His property and you serve Him out of love and not out of need. The works that you perform are a sign to the world that you love God and you are His, not to try to gain favor to Him. He will give you discernment and grace to see what in your life is in need of change. He can even miraculously take things away from your life that are sin, as He did in an instant with my smoking habit of 24 years. When He saves you…. He saves you from it all. To try and add something to Christ’s work is heresy at the highest, it is disbelief that God has paid it all… for you.

So, Steven you have some things to think over. To weigh the costs. Read through Luke 14 and see what Jesus said about counting the costs. You must weigh out your life and your eternity. Do you want to live as you are now, on the road to an eternal damnation, paving that road with your sins? Or do you want to give it all to God and let Him carry you on the road to glory? It is a no brainer to me, but to most it is a foreign concept.

I am praying for you Steven. Just as I have done for the past 18 months or so. I have nothing to gain from this; I have no hidden agenda, not trying to get you to join a church, give money to a group or to make myself feel better. I am pleading for you Steven. Pleading for your soul, that you may be granted the re-birth as scripture says. That you will be given new eyes and a clear understanding of God’s Word. I don’t know you other than through the short emails we send from time to time, but I love you Steven. I do not want you to end up in hell. If I saw a child standing in a busy street with a semi truck blazing toward them, oblivious to their surrounding – you can believe I would do all I could to get that child out of that street and to safety. That is what I am doing now Steven. I am pleading with you because you stand in danger of death and destruction. So, what are you going to do about it? Continue on that path or give it all to God and allow Him to place you on His path?

In His Holy Name,
Jeff

And here is Steven's LDS/ Mormon "gospel"
All of us that ever lived, and will live upon this earth were created as
spirit beings by our HEAVENLY FATHER. We lived with HIM before we are born
into this life. When all of HIS spirit children were all still together with
HIM, the war in heaven took place. Lucifer said that he would be the savior
and redeemer and that he would bring us all back home. He would use force to
make us do right. We could not choose between good and evil. And he would
take all of the glory of HEAVENLY FATHER. JESUS, being the firstborn of
HEAVENLY FATHERS spirit children, offered to be the SAVIOR and REDEEMER. HE
said that HE would come to earth and take upon HIM all of the sins of us
all, which HE did in the garden of Gethsemane, [this act is called the
atonement], and that HE would willingly give up HIS life on the cross so
that we would all be resurrected. HE would give all of the glory to HEAVENLY
FATHER. One third of HEAVENLY FATHERS spirit children accepted lucifers plan
and with him were cast out onto this earth, and thusly will not be
resurrected or have eternal life. They are here to tempt and torment us, but
our HEAVENLY FATHER will not allow no more to be put upon us than we can
handle. The two thirds of us [you and me included] accepted JESUS to be the
SAVIOR and REDEEMER, thus we come to earth to be tried and tested, and to
receive a body,to be resurrected and also have the potential for eternal
life.

God's Final Word?

A couple of days before Christmas I read an article over at the Team Pyro/ Pyromaniacs blog. This particular article was written by Dan Phillips, which I know only by that blog. The more notable contributor is Phil Johnson, who is pretty tight with John Macarthur, whom I have never seen a controversial post from (yet). I have been hesitant to post this blog, not out of fear of the mighty pyro, but out of respect. I do respect the guys over there and I do agree with 99% of what they have to say. That being said, I can not get this post off of my mind and the only way will is to post it. Not that it will get the thousands of hits and traffic that the teamPyro blog does, but just to know it is out there in cyberville so the Lord can use it as He see's fit.

Phillips blog is titled “God’s Final Word” It did catch my eye, because admittedly, I very rarely read his posts. This one did elicit a response though. I invite anyone here over to read the blog post for yourself, along with all of the comments given, of which I have posted a couple. A dear brother in Christ has also asked some questions with few answers from Phillips and actually instead has been pretty much ridiculed for his questions. I have been silent since J.T. has been questioning over there, not so much out of fear of the same for me, but out of awe as the poster and those commenting seem to really have a disdain towards anyone that has a different view than they.

So what’s this little “difference”? Actually it is not really that little after all. As Dan Phillips blog title states “God’s Final Word” it is a post that says that God no longer interacts with His followers, other than through the reading of the Bible. I tend to disagree which finds me in hot water with Phillips and others at teampyro. Phillips asserts that at the closing of the cannon that God then became silent, except for through His scriptures. I questioned that by stating that how could someone be saved if God did not personally speak to that person, not with a thunderous voice, a whisper in the ear or a burning bush, but by a personal revelation if you will. The Spirit made contact with the man’s spirit and the man could do nothing but submit. So began a “discussion” that now includes J.T. and me in one corner and the rest of the posters throughout the rest of the ring.

I have been sitting on a comment that I typed up to post over there, but it has grown so long that I am sure it would go either unread or deleted by Phillips. Out of respect I chose not to post it over there because of its length, oh and J.T. almost said word for word what I was going to say on a few things. I will be posting a link there to my posting here on my meek blog over on the pyro comment section. But then again that is opening a can of worms for Phillips to tear apart any past posts I have written. I am definitely not the caliber writer that Phillips is, have not had anywhere near the formal training and have never pastored a church. But I do stand qualified in my relationship with Christ as a spokesperson for what He has done to me, through me and for me. Some of which has been by Him speaking directly to me.

Let me make a few things clear before I go any further: I am not what some would call a charismatic. I do not speak in tongues, never have been slain in the spirit, never seen an angel (that I know of), never had Christ standing in my room and never had a vision. I have however been led by God to do certain things not possible in and of myself, most notably repenting and trusting in Him as my Savior. Other than that I have had Him give me comfort in times of despair, have felt His leadership in decisions in my life, have been led by Him through prayer and other things that I can’t go into now. I have most recently seen His healing hands at work in my wife through a major surgery that had some head scratching healings unexplainable by the medical staffs. So, yes I know God is active in my life and no I am not ashamed to say He is. I would actually say that if you cannot see God active in your life then you have the issue, not me. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Maybe those that are not hearing Christ are either not listening, are too intellectual and self-reliant or not of His flock. I see no other options. Actually the first two of the options would suggest that you were ignoring Gods Word, which would be a tough task for a child of God.

Those commenting at the pyro blog have said that when God “illuminates” His Word that people get saved. Could the word “illuminate” also be God speaking to someone? How about calling it revealing Himself to someone? Or another term could be giving ears to hear, which Phillips himself asks for at the end of his post, but denies in his meta of the blog. J.T. asked Phillips if John Macarthur was blasphemous when he stated at the beginning of one of his sermons that “God impressed on me to change my message to….” This was shot down with a “Leave Macarthur out of this” type of comment. Macarthur has been a voice of caution to Christians against the “charismatic” sects, I never saw myself in one of these until Phillips lumped me in with the outlandish I mentioned earlier. I have also read and found great edification from Macarthur’s books “Charismatic Chaos” and “The Charismatics”.

Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. He did not say they read what is recorded. The paths of a good man are ordered by the Lord, lead us not into temptation, he that is of God hears His Words, everyone that has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me, the Spirit bears witness with our spirit, the Holy Ghost is a witness TO us, the Spirit teaches us, we have the mind of Christ, the Comforter dwells with me and in me, the Holy Spirit shows me things.(Psalm 37:23, Matt 6:13, John 8:47, John 6:45, Rom 8:16, Heb 10:15, 1 Cor. 2:13, 1 Cor. 2:16, John 14:16-17, John 16:13-15).

Many people know many things about God, but knowledge is not knowing, that is why Christ will tell many on judgment day to depart from Him, He never knew them. Head knowledge is great as long as it is preceded by spiritual knowledge. I could read every biography ever written on someone, know the finest details of their life, but never actually know that person. The same is with God. I could memorize the scriptures beginning to end and still not know God; until He illuminates/ opens my eyes/ calls my name and initiates a personal relationship. So many are deceived because they know a lot about God and the Bible, but are as lost as anyone could be. They think because they know a lot they must be a Christian.

I am sure I will make a part 2 to this blog; it is getting somewhat lengthy now. But will conclude now by saying that on one hand I agree with Phillips, Gods Word is closed. There will never be anything added to the bible. I will object though that God does not use things outlined in scripture to talk to His people and commune with our spirit by His Spirit. Call it illuminating, speaking to our hearts, revealing something, guidance or feeling His presence, it is all the same and semantics are getting in the way. I refuse to put limits on God and have yet to find anywhere in scripture that says God is silent, became silent or will be silent to His people. Steering the cart away from the ditch of overboard theatrics to the opposite ditch of God’s silence is just as bad and just as damaging.

Rats, I must make another paragraph. A question for the God is silent camp, if God is silent then why do you pray? Why do you ask for Him to guide you, to use you, to reveal to you? If all one has to do is read the bible to know God, why isn’t everyone that reads scripture converted? Wouldn’t saying that scripture will guide you totally without additional interaction from God in effect saying that a persons understanding as he reads the determining factor in their salvation? Why would we need preachers? Why do we need blogs like pyromaniacs or ministries like Grace To You, Desiring God or Real Truth Matters? If we are the body and Christ is the Head, then if He is not leading us aren’t we just stumbling around without leadership from Him? The last time I checked a body without a head was dead. Oh, it might flail around a bit and make a bunch of noise as it runs aimlessly into walls, but it will die eventually. I see the answers now “Christ is the head still, through the Bible”. But I will counter now as well by saying that I follow Christ through His Word, not the bible in and of itself, but Christ as revealed in scripture. If it doesn’t mesh with what the bible has already said, then it can’t be from God. It is true that scripture is the guide, all guidance can be found through scripture as revealed by God. Simply reading its words is reliance on me to comprehend, not reliance on God to guide me as I read.

Disclaimer:
Since writing this post, I was at odds with myself on rather I would post it or not. I have since seen several posts on Facebook and GTY from John Macarthur about this same topic and decided I would go ahead and post. My meager blog has nowhere near the readership that teampyro or Grace To You has, but I am confident that the Lord will lead those here that He wishes to read this. If you have read it, it is no mistake even if you disagree with me. I wish no ill will towards anyone that has a different opinion than mine. I will not say that you are an enemy and will not try to berate or belittle you in any way.

Hume-or Me For The Last Time

So, my third post on the Brit Hume “conversations” going around. I watched Wretched with Todd Friel and they showed a clip I had not seen yet. This clip was from The O’Reilley Factor and Hume does go into more detail and further explains his motives. I’ll be the first to admit that the comments to O’Reilly are a lot more straightforward than the other 2 clips I saw (last 2 posts). Here is the video:


In the first part of the video, he rehashes some of his earlier comments. But adds at around the 1:32 mark “Jesus Christ offers something that Tiger Woods badly needs”. YES! This is what the first 2 videos were lacking. Then goes on to really speak some truth, “If Tiger Woods were to make a true conversion – we would know it. It would show through in his being. And he would know it above all and he would feel the extraordinary blessing that that would be…” Once again, YES! Truth comes out from Hume. Just wish it would have came earlier and during all the interviews.

I will still stand by my first two posts though, seeing how they were the first two instances that Hume had to speak the truth. If I would not have been watching Wretched (which thankfully now airs on DirecTV) I would not have known about the O’Reilly interview. This being the case is why the truth of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed in its entirety instead of jumping to the chase. I am not sure that Tiger sees himself as a sinner against a righteous God at this time. I am sure that he knows he has done wrong to his wife, children and now the many people that looked up to this man. But does he know that he has broken several of Gods commandments and will stand trial for these, without support from any lawyer or character witnesses? Does Tiger know that there is only One Advocate that we have to the Father?

Prayerfully God will use this situation to reach Tiger Woods. Someone can’t be saved if they don’t first know they are in danger. My prayer is that the Lord will put someone in Woods’ path that will be able to explain clearly God’s Holy Gospel. Not just a “turn or burn” message, but that God loves even adulterers and liars and those are exactly whom His Son, Jesus Christ died for.

This Is No Longer Hume-orous

So, I have watched the video of Brit Hume a few more times (see below), hopefully anticipating that I did miss something that would shed light to me. No such luck. I still think he was pushing a personal agenda for Tiger Woods, telling him that if he chose Christianity he could get back some respect and be forgiven too. WOW! Sounds like a good thing, except it’s not biblical. It is actually what I call situational decisionism, where based on a persons current situation a "decision" is made "for Christ" and they believe themselves to be a Christian. These people more often than not end up back in the same sins the were before their "decision". This happens a lot with people that are in jail, have a major crisis come up and make a lot of vows (God, if you do this, then I will do this for you), during health issues or many other situations where they make a momentary decision to change. It is just not a heartfelt change, it lasts only as long as the situation does, then it's done and they get back to their life.

Now there is a new clip from Hume in which he says “I don’t regret my statement at all” and then goes on to tell of his “conversion”…… kind of. He speaks of his son’s suicide 11 years ago and how devastating that was, understandably so. I will not make light of that situation in the least and just say that God uses many different means to reach the lost and also in true Christians lives. Make no mistake, there is nothing that happens that does not ultimately bring Glory to God. He said, “Throughout that whole, horrible time I had this sense that God was there for me, that He would rescue me, that He would save me. And He did. In ways that I couldn’t have imagined or expected; His imagination is always greater than ours.”

Hume then goes on to tell of the many cards, emails and words of encouragement he and his family received and the impact that made on him. He also states that in those correspondences he saw the Face of God. He then says something that I have been pondering since I heard it, sounds like something I had said countless times in my life before being truly and radically changed by God: “It was time for me now to face up to the Christian faith which I purported to belong to and try to face up to the implications of what I purported to believe and I have been trying ever since.” Those are some very “Brit-Centric” words there, a lot of self-effort, instead of reliance on Christ.

He then goes on to speak about Tiger and his losses. Not the endorsements or golf tour, but his reputation, wife and family. He says that Tiger is paying a “frightful price” for what he did. Then he makes a very tell, tell comment: “If you think about what Christianity is about, it’s about sinners. And, uh, Christianity is a religion for sinners and that Tiger Woods has an opportunity here and my prayer here would be that he take it.” That single statement turns Christianity away from being God focused and instead man focused. Christianity is not “about” sinners; it is “about” God’s love for us, His redemption, His sacrifice, His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace.

Hume actually does say something I do agree with. “If you’re trying to find the two most explosive words in the English language, they would be Jesus Christ.” He then speaks of a Baptist minister that said he had a “utilitarian” message and that it was wrong. To which he replied, “I don’t understand what he’s talking about”, which may be the first building block of my disagreement with Hume. Jesus Christ is divisive, because He alone is Truth, everything else is false and non-Christians pick up on that. That is why you can say God all day long (because everyone has their own view of who or what God is to them), but the moment you say Jesus, things change. Jesus said that no one comes to the Father except through Him. That leaves out every other religion in the world.

The Baptist minister that Hume mentioned was Welton Gaddy, Pastor for preaching and worship at Northminster Church in Monroe, LA (and also has “Leader of the Interfaith Alliance” next to his photo on the Washington Post website Hume reference). Reading over Gaddy’s comment I do agree partially with what he says, that Hume was using a utilitarian manner. By this, I assume, that he was saying that Hume was enticing Woods with the hope of forgiveness by the Christian religion, instead of Buddhism. Gaddy is correct in his statement “it (Christianity) is a holistic faith to be embraced and lived. Seeking the easiest form of forgiveness--though such a description of forgiveness in Christianity is woefully inadequate and misleading--is not a reason to become a Christian. The life of a Christian involves far more than a response to wrongdoing.”

Hume is really misrepresenting Christianity. He seems to be emphasizing the religion, rather than the Reason for the religion. I see this played out all the time, be it what Hume has been saying or others that worship the Bible instead of the God that wrote the Bible. I am sure that if you would ask Hume or any of these other people if God were their focus, they would say undoubtedly YES, God is our focus. But actions speak louder than words. Why not say it and live it to begin with? Hume has stated that Christianity can do all of these things for Tiger Woods, but no mention of what Jesus’ redemptive work has done. Lots of “come to Christianity for forgiveness and redemption”, but nothing of Christ’s forgiveness and redemptive work on the cross for us.

As I stated in my first post on this subject, I am sure Hume means well. This does show the state of Christianity in these days. It’s not about Christ anymore, it’s not about the Object of our faith, it is faith in a system, a method, a formula or a certain belief structure. If a persons motive for anything is something other than God, it is sin. Hume is as misguided as most people that sit in pews on Sunday mornings, the teachings of scripture is not there any longer. God’s judgment is taking place and He is removing His Spirit from the world, giving way to these false beliefs, that have a form of godliness, but are vastly different. They have just enough truth to deceive. What better way for Satan to deceive than by using professing Christians?

I make a plea to the few that God leads this way to my meager blog – stop the deception. Cry out to God to empower you to take a stand for Him and the return to what true Biblical Christianity is. Stop turning your head to false teachings that corrupt the Word of God, do not allow people to blaspheme our Father’s Holy Name by saying they are Christians in one breath and in the next spew lies, curses or dirty jokes. Pray that God will rise up His people like never before to stand in the footsteps of saints past like Luther, Calvin, Stephen, Spurgeon, Paul, Whitfield, Edwards and Lloyd-Jones. God doesn’t use extraordinary people He uses people extraordinarily.

Brit Hume Tells Tiger "Turn Or Burn"

I know Brit Hume meant well, but c’mon already. Jesus is not a cure all for your problems. Do not tell someone to come to Jesus to save your marriage, get you out of trouble, for recovery, to break your addictions or anything less than seeing yourself as a miserable sinner that can not save themselves.

Hume made a few remarks during a Fox News broadcast, Not nearly the “Turn or Burn” message sinners need and actually Hume missed the mark by a mile saying, "He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world." I cringe my teeth hearing stuff like that. While on the surface it appears like a good motive, but it is nothing more than showing how the American gospel/ easy believism is so prevalent.

Actually quotes like this are expected from the likes of Joel Osteen or Rick Warren. From a news guy though? All the research I have done on Hume states nothing of his Christian faith and contrary to popular belief – being on Fox News does not mean that you are a Christian (Glenn Beck=Mormon, Bill O’Reilly=Roman Catholic, Sean Hannity=Roman Catholic, Greta Van Susteren=Scientologist).

I’m sure I’ll get some flack for talking about Hume, but this comment may have actually damaged Christianity more than helping. I am all for talking about Jesus be it on the Radio, a ball game, NASCAR race, school and even a news program on national TV, but PLEASE do not misrepresent God, do not offer people a better life if they “choose Christ” or make it seem like God is an addition to ones life to make them prosper in health, wealth or to heal your problems. Christians are never promised any of that and that kind of draw was only added when preachers stopped proclaiming the Word of God in Truth and Righteousness. They had to come up with devises to get decisions and fill the church rolls, if not they would be out of a job. So what to do? “Yeah, let’s target the peoples emotions and offer them things that will make them feel better about themselves and tell them God will cure everything and fix everything.” Heresy! God is not an accessory that you put on and take off as needs arise.

Just stop already with this type of message to the world. Proclaim God’s Truths and allow the Spirit to work. Don’t fish for emotional decisions and promises of health and wealth. Speak to a person’s soul using the Word of God, show them that they deserve nothing but the fires of hell but that God did make a Way. He sent His Son to take their sins upon Himself. The spotless Lamb, sinless and blameless that bore our sins on that tree to save us from that fiery pit. It is really simple after someone knows they are lost, they then must do only two things – repent and trust in Christ. In those two things one dies to themselves and gives God rein of their life, submits to Christ as Lord and then rests in Him. Give the complete Gospel and don’t butcher to not offend, I promise you when their life is over they will be screaming and cursing you for not offending them.

What You Talkin' 'Bout Heathen?

“Whew! Taylor Swift is HOT! Man, she’s only 15 though.”
This was said by a man in his 50’s during break at my work today. Pervert? Uh, yeah. Depraved? Definitely. Saved? Not. But what is odd is that this man is an ordained “minister”, albeit from a mail-order/ internet church that divvies these “pastorates” out for 30 bucks. He actually got this bogus ordination a few years ago so he could perform a wedding ceremony at a local bar here in Paducah. He claims to be a Christian, even though he spews curse words more than anyone I have ever heard, and that is a lot…. believe me. I cringe when I hear him talk about the things of God, because he obviously knows nothing of the Holy God of the bible.

I have had a few conversations with him about true biblical Christianity. Needless to say, my words fall on deaf ears. His mind and heart are presently closed to the things of God and he is mired in a sinful life. Today I broke from my normally mild mannered speech, to a point blank “calling the kettle black” mode. Normally I do not do this at work because I am in a position that could get a lot of backlash from speaking out too loudly about Godly things. I am so glad I did, it is actually an answer to my recent prayers. I have asked the Lord to embolden me at work….. and He has answered in the last several months.

This is the latest encounter in my work place. Of recent I have had several God focused conversation with my plant manager, of all people. He claims to be a Christian as well, but his lifestyle also does not match up. Matter of fact, several people at my job profess Christ, but are as lost as anyone ever was. I have to continually be reminded that these people are doing what is natural to them, sin. They lie about being a Christian, they party with the best of them, cuss up a storm, cheat, steal from our employer by not giving a fair days work for their wages, live with their girlfriends/ boyfriends and so on. They are a prime example of the product of American Christianity.

Back to the “ordained minister”. I was emboldened to speak out against what he said about Taylor Swift. Not that a 50 year old man lusting after a 15 year old girl is any different than a 50 year old man lusting after a 50 year old woman. It is all sin. I told him that it wasn’t right to look at a girl that young to which he replied, “Yeah, but she’s showing it off, I’m looking”. There may have been some other words in there, but I’ll refrain from typing those out.

I then said “You know Jesus said that if you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart”. That elicited a few stammers and he replied, “Well, every man on the planet has cheated then”. (Once again, words omitted to protect your eyes and mind). My reply to him was “That may be so, but when you stand before God on judgment day, you will not have those other men there to justify your sins, you’ll be standing there alone and you will not be able to say that everyone else did it, so it made it alright for you. You’ll have to stand there and fell the wrath of God on you”.

After I said that, using God’s Word, he clammed up and was really quiet. Romans 3:19 comes to my mind. God’s Word can and does quieten skeptics and sinners. I was shown again that I can’t rely on Jeff to change someone, but to lean on God’s Word and proclaim the Truth in and out of season. I praise God for opening my mouth in this instance and pray that He continues to use me. I am ready to go deeper and need to relinquish myself to Him. I have a hard time doing so because my self confidence is weak, but the more I pray, the more I study the Bible and the more He shows me, the more I see that it’s not up to me to do anything. I must relinquish it all to the Lord and He will have His way. I’ll just be there as a willing vessel, whatever that entails.



For those of you that would also like your “ordination”, here is a link

Merry Christmas - Proclaim His Goodness

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.


As Christmas morning approaches each year and I see more and more of the secularizing of this great Holiday I am drawn more to what Christmas is all about. We are all aware that December 25th is not the actual birthday of Jesus. Science actually tells us it was probably mid-summer, but does the date really matter? Are we to be celebrating the "day" or are we to be celebrating the Love of God that would send us His Son, that would 33 years later take His wrath upon Him for our sins? Your sins, my sins. The significance of December 25th should be it is a common day that we, as Christians, set aside to do just that, Celebrate our Lord and Saviour.

But don't forget the reason for Christ's birth in your celebrations. What better day to share the message of Christ, His Gospel, to an unsaved family member or friend? As Christians we are ambassadors for Christ in every situation and especially at Christmas time, when most of the world uses it as an excuse to throw a party and tip back a few (probably more than a few) drinks and eat a whole bunch, we have the duty to proclaim the real Reason for the season. The reason is not to party, not to eat, not to give or receive Christmas gifts, but to celebrate The Gift, Christ.

You already have an opening to the evangelical conversation. "Merry Christmas!" is the ultimate "ice breaker" as Way of the Master puts it. It is an entry, a reason to spark a conversation about things Spiritual. Share your testimony of what Christs birth, His death and His resurrection means to you. Explain Christs propitiation for us. Explain repentance and the TRUTH of the Gospel Message. Do not let this Christmas pass without sharing the greatest Gift with someone you love.

Also keep in mind that not all that profess Christ are really His. Don't let Uncle Bubby tell you that he "took care of it a long time ago" or that he's "got his ticket" or "he said that prayer" or "walked the aisle" when he was a kid. If his fruits aren't in alignment with the Word of God, he is as lost as your Christmas turkey. Share with him the TRUTH of the Word, not what man has distorted to accommodate their sins. The Word is clear that if you are fiends of the World you are and enemy of God James 4:4. Treat the professing Christian the same as any other lost person, because they are lost too, much more deceived, but just as lost. Pray that the Spirit will give you the words to say and He will. Let His will be done this day. Share Him with those you love and if by the off chance everyone in your family is a truly born again Christian, stop by a gas station and share Christ with those poor people that have to spend their Christmas Day working.

May the Lord Bless you all this day and every day!
Merry Christmas!