Tag Archives: Sin

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

READY? SET? ACTION!

ahc_79194When Jeannette and I were first married I quickly discovered how different we really were. Through three years of dating, and an engagement period, I thought we were just alike in everything; but then after we said I do I realized we weren’t. That’s not to say our differences were bad or in some way we had deceived one another; it just reminds us that there are many ways, in our similarities, we can still be very different. It didn’t take long for me to discover our differences when after our first disagreement (fight) I wanted to patch things up and move on with a quick resolution. Jeannette, on the other hand, needed some time and breathing room to process our disagreement as well as our resolution. For over sixteen years we have managed to deal with conflict, disappointment, failures and hurts in much the same way as our first argument. And over this period of time I have come to appreciate the value of allowing the process of letting a situation breathe so as long as we are allowing the truth of God to act during that time.

As a pastor I have managed to tackle problems, within the church, from a variety of approaches. In some instances I have pressed, head strong, for a quick resolution with disastrous results; and at other times I have waited, too long, to allow people to process a conflict, which has also ended in unsuccessful outcomes. So after reading a variety of leadership books, conflict management articles and advise from my peers I still felt as if there was no “best” way to deal with any single situation better than what the Bible tells us.

St. James writes the early church and encourages them, “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” (James 4:7-10 MSG)

“It is essential to give people a chance of acting on the truth of God.” (Chambers) After the pastor, husband, wife, boss or friend has had their say, in any situation or conflict, the responsibility must be left with the individual. You cannot, and are incapable, of acting for him or her and they must be deliberate in responding in a Christlike manner to any situation. Sadly, when we refuse to act, as Jesus would prompt us through His Word, we become paralyzed and end up exactly as we were before. Have you ever met people who live their life stuck? There are some who refuse to grow up, others who dodge responsibility and others still who assign blame, to others, for their misfortune. If you know this type of person or find yourself here today then return to what James tells us and CHANGE IT!  When one acts, he or she is never the same. And when we act upon God’s Word He begins to work His perfect will in our life immediately!

Too many people play games, with their own lives, by wasting precious time living in stalled action. Once you find yourself repeating a failed behavior, negative thinking or destructive speech immediately let go and allow God to get into your circumstance. The moments we will truly live are the moments when we act with our whole will submitted to His plans and purposes.
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FINAL THOUGHT: IT TAKES TIME, SO ALLOW FOR SOME BREATHING ROOM. While most of today’s post has advocated a quick Biblical response to life’s challenges I would be remiss if I didn’t bring some balance to the topic. Like Jeannette’s needing time to process our disagreement most people do require some breathing room. I personally believe all people would benefit from some time to “work it out.” However, this time needs to be well spent seeking Jesus and allowing His truth to walk us toward His resolution. “Never allow a truth of God that is brought home to your soul to pass without acting on it, not necessarily physically, but in will.” (Chambers)

In every part, or role in life, we play we will always be faced with the truth of God. When we confess we are wrong, but go back again; then we come up to it again, and go back; we are hopefully learning the valuable life lesson that tells us we have no business returning to an old failed way of living and thinking. God’s truth is not a negative reality that is meant to hurt or rob you rather His truths are the finest words of redemption in which Jesus transacts the business of drawing us back to Him. The final step we need to take is to go to Him; and everyone who responds to His invitation lives a life where the supernatural power of God invades and changes them instantly. If you truly want to be free from the burdensome power of the world, your weak flesh and your adversary, understand they are not paralyzed by your words or your actions of self! But the stumbling blocks and barriers will always be halted by your action, and will, that is linked to Jesus and His redemptive power!

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

2 DEGREES, MUSTARD SEEDS and FAITH

Mustard-Seed-Faith-by-CRI“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” (Matthew 17:20 MSG)

This morning as I sat down to write today’s post I, like most of the United States, am sitting in a deep freeze. As the thermometer sits firmly at 2 degrees you only have to step near your door to know it is deadly cold and while 22 degrees (the temperature expected for later today) may feel like a heat wave the truth is it is still dangerously cold. Oddly enough by the end of the week the weather, where I live, is expected to be near 60 and so I am holding out hope this brief freeze will soon pass away.

I find it interesting how we respond to small things. Small increments in temperature, slight statements of love, minor acts of affection and the “little things”, that mean most, often touch us in a significant and special way. Certainly almost everybody loves a BIG gift or a wild party; but very soon the largess of the moment passes we are left feeling a little empty in the wake of the moment. Perhaps you felt that way after Christmas? Or maybe as you were cleaning your home after a New Year’s party? But the BIG of almost any moment is best experienced in the small.

Yesterday I shared how I was embarking on a new personal journey of faith and some of you responded how my post both challenged and encouraged you to do the same. Today I have a few additional thoughts, on faith, I wanted to pass along to further support us to all continue on this new journey. I have been told, and Scripture seems to bear this out as true, God rewards us for our faith. While this may be so in the beginning of our journey we need to be careful not look past God’s character as we development our faith in Him. Simply said, we do not earn anything by just having faith because the action and gift of faith means to bring us into right relationship, with God, and give Him an opportunity to do something big in our lives to glorify Him!

CONSIDER THIS. How often have you discovered God’s mercy, grace, love, forgiveness and hope when you were at your “bottom of the pot?” If you are like most people I know, me included, I have always felt the beautiful overtures from God but have come to appreciate them all the more when life was at its most difficult stages. Out of our experiences God desires to make contact with us and wishes for us to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment, where His blessings are truly experienced.

As I looked back into the beginning stages of my new journey I had to admit I’ve lived with a very narrow view of faith. To be honest all of my experience, with faith, was formed around only good moments, promotions, raises or accolades from my peers. But when life took a turn for the worst my faith went missing. Doubt, fear, anxiety and regret replaced my “faith” and I could no longer taste, see or feel the light and sweetness of God’s drawing.

So, what happens next? Mustard Seeds! That is all it takes (according to Jesus) when the mindful blessings, of what we expect Him to do for us, is withdrawn to guide us back to living by Biblical faith. You are worth more to Jesus, in your lack, than in the days when you believed your testimony had reached its height based on your success or personal happiness. Though the mustard tree may be large, it began with the smallest of all seeds. Biblical faith, by its very nature, must be tried and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God; but that God’s character resolute and without doubt in our own minds. The very nature of our entire walk is a journey of faith. And throughout the voyage we will all experience times of seclusion. “Much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive.” (Chambers)

FINAL THOUGHT: Faith, in the Bible, is faith in God against every thing that contradicts Him. Will you remain true to God’s character despite the trial, circumstance or season you are in? Perhaps one of the most inspirational statements of faith, in the whole of the Bible, comes from Job when in the midst of his calamity and accusers repeats,
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 “So hold your tongue while I have my say, then I’ll take whatever I have coming to me.

Why do I go out on a limb like this and take my life in my hands?
Because even if he killed me, I’d keep on hoping.

I’d defend my innocence to the very end.
Just wait, this is going to work out for the best—my salvation!

If I were guilt-stricken do you think I’d be doing this—
 laying myself on the line before God?
You’d better pay attention to what I’m telling you, listen carefully with both ears.
Now that I’ve laid out my defense, I’m sure that I’ll be acquitted.
Can anyone prove charges against me?  I’ve said my piece. I rest my case.”

 (Job 13:15 MSG)

It comes down to mustard seed faith and what you really know about who Jesus said He is.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

RIDING THE PINE, BENCH PLAYERS and the PERFECT SUB!

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Growing up I was never much of a pure athlete. Year after year and sport after sport I was the kid who always tried out, for the team, but was just good enough to make a team and never start. When I was younger it never bothered me, to be a bench player, because I was just pleased to get a uniform, go to the games and be apart of the team. Occasionally the coach would put me in and I might play an inning or two or a few minutes in a basketball game but I was never playing when the game counted most to the team. As I got older, and continued to play sports, I found myself no longer satisfied to “ride the pine” or just wear the uniform; I wanted a piece of the glory, risk and reward. Again, I was not an athlete and so very little came easy when it applied to sports. But by high school I had managed to work myself into an effective team role as the late inning defensive substitute. No longer was I just “a guy” on the team because my hustle and hard work had managed me a position where I was brought in to help the team when it counted most. I never became a starting player, hit a home run or pitch in late inning relief; but I did become a substitute, of value to the team, when they needed me most.

Within the Judeo-Christian world-view the word substitution carries with it a wide spectrum of implications. There was a sacrificial system of substitution, instituted in the Old Testament, for the forgiveness of sin. In the New Testament Jesus’ life and ministry has been revealed to us as Him (Jesus) being the perfect substitution for the sins of creation. And even today our post-modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins because He so greatly loved us: a sympathetic sacrifice if you will. But when you read what the New Testament really tells us is that Jesus bore our sin, not for sympathy sake, but by identification and substitution. He was made to be sin.

Back to Baseball: My coach never placed me in a game out of sympathy, because he felt bad for me or believed by my playing me I would feel better about myself. No! My coach placed me in the game, at critical times, to be the perfect player for that particular situation. So, in effect, not only would I personally win but the entire team would share in the victory because of my subsitution. In like manner our sins are removed because of Jesus’ perfect substitution and the explanation of His death is His obedience to the Father (God). Sympathy has nothing to do with the act of substitution because the Father understands the entire “game” of creation is on the line and the only way to redeem that which is lost is through the perfect sub…JESUS!

Studies suggest that green tea extract possesses antioxidant properties by eliminating reactive oxygen species, reducing various enzymes that cheapest cialis are promoting oxidative stress, and enhancing antioxidant defense enzymes. To learn more about this and Where to Buy kamagra jelly online. commander levitra Kamagra Polo has the capability to treat ED and PE. generic levitra cialis Impotence or erectile dysfunction levitra uk is the condition that ruins the probability of attaining sexual pleasure. We have not been made acceptable, to God, because we have obeyed or because we have promised to give up things. We are made acceptable because Jesus is the perfect substitution and in no other way are we made right again. Many today believe that Jesus came to reveal the loving-kindness of God. In the New Testament we read Jesus came to bear away the sins of the world. THIS IS ALL TRUE BUT THERE IS SOMETHING EVEN MORE RADICAL IN JESUS AS THE PERFECT SUBSTITUTION: He died for all, and that by identification with His death, we can be freed from sin, and have imparted to us His very righteousness. The substitution of Jesus is twofold: “He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus).” It has never been about Jesus for us unless we are determined to have Jesus formed in us!

“Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (2 Cor. 5:21 MSG)

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

CAN YOU COME TO JESUS?

4128370793_dd11757bd5_z“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28 MSG)

The holiday season seems to bring the best and worst out of people. The day after Thanksgiving we hear nightmarish story after story of humanity at its worst; and despite these accounts people are not dissuaded from fighting, massive crowds and danger, to try to buy a new flat screen television. The Christmas season also seems to bring the worst out of atheists who do their very best to remind people that Jesus is a myth, despite the historical evidences that prove otherwise.

I am not just trying to single out atheists but I often wonder why people are so reluctant and, in some cases, aggressively resistant to a reality that includes the man, mission and invitation of Jesus? In fact, it is not just atheists but many people, Christians included, that have a difficult time coming to Jesus; and I often ask myself, why?  Is a life, accepting and submitted to Jesus humiliating? Are people resistant to Jesus because they don’t like to be told that they must come to Him? Perhaps…but I also wonder, are we reluctant to come to Jesus because we know, deep within, there are certain parts of our life we wouldn’t’ dare bring before a holy, just and righteous God. I would challenge everyone, myself included, with the following question: If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words—“Come unto Me.”

CONSIDER THIS: In every circumstance, in which people are not real, they will dispute rather than come, they will argue rather than come and they would rather experience great distress and sadness rather than come. The reason we don’t want to come to Jesus is because we are expecting Him to reveal our great personal shame or wickedness. This is never how Jesus has dealt with humanity. Yes, there are many offensive things, we are all guilty of in the eyes of a holy and righteous God, but sadly because of our unwarranted fear of Jesus we miss His merciful invitation for us to just come to Him.

Jesus knows humanity is broken, tired, worn our and burned out on religion. His purpose is not to remind us of what we are already living with but to restore us into communion and right standing with Him. And His invitation doesn’t begin with long list of how we have failed but with an invitation to “Come unto Me.” So why do atheists, believers and or unbelievers resist the invitation of Jesus? Could it be, when we hear His invitation we also know that something must happen, in us, before we can come?
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I said earlier Jesus does not deal with humanity by showing all of our wickedness, shame and guilt but when we accept Jesus’ invitation the Holy Spirit will show you what you must deal with that keeps you from entering into communion with Jesus. The mysterious and sacred work of the Holy Spirit (the third part of the Godhead / Trinity) will always discover the unconquerable areas in our life, that we are resistant to let go of, to join in communion with Jesus.

Layout 1This Christmas season I would like to encourage everyone to set aside the billboards, arguments, personal reasons and distractions as to why Jesus may be a myth and consider what His invitation really means. Many falsely believe, Jesus’ invitation are His words of sympathy, to ease our suffering, without truly considering what His invitation is really asking of us. We do not accept His invitation for the feelings of “Oh well, I have done it this time and now I feel better!’ If so, then we gained nothing from Him and He has done nothing on our behalf. The invitation of Jesus is, ans has always been, the outstretched hands of God for you to take Him at His word so He can heal you from the hurt, shame, fear and burned out distresses of life. Will you come to Jesus?

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

LOOKING AT SIN & REDEMPTION THROUGH A DIFFERENT PARADIGM

redemption_series_graphic“In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG)

I’m not trying to be clever, cute or intentionally controversial but something curious happened to me as our faith community has studied the book of Revelation. While Revelation deals with many eschatological and prophetic themes it often wraps them within the idea of covenant relationship, fidelity and a return to an Edenic state.  As I was sharing with my faith family the events surrounding Jesus’ second coming, and His union to a “faithful bride”, I also began to revisit how I have commonly viewed sin and redemption and asked, is there a better way?

By asking such an “out of the box” question I was not challenging God’s prescribed order of events and means by which He restores all things. Rather, like with most things, when I don’t have a clear understanding I turn to spiritual mentors, writings on the topic, opinions and most of all God’s Word to see if I am thinking God thoughts or just well intentioned but misleading opinions? Everyone struggles with what St. Paul called a “thorn in the flesh” whether it be a specific sin or the burdens of the sin nature. Furthermore, we know our remedy has and is always securely placed through the atoning work of Jesus. Yes, despite this truth, sin doesn’t just disappear from our lives and cease to exist. In fact, the sin nature is very much alive, in the world around us, and by default we are surrounded by many elements that attempt to revive the old nature within us.

For over 37 years I have tried to conquer sin, through spiritual pilgrimage, fasting, prolonged prayer, counseling, public confession and begging but it wasn’t until I revisited sin from a different paradigm I was able to better understand His work of redemption. So, here is the first paradigm shift on sin: Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not a wrong doing, it is a wrong being of deliberate and absolute independence from God.

When you consider the Judeo-Christian world-view its approach to sin doesn’t just deal with specific sins but the very nature of sin itself. This type of worldview therefore places the Bible (God’s revealed Word) as a historical record, prophetic promise, covenant agreements and guidelines for a life that is willing to not just treat the branches or leaves, of the “sin tree”, but is willing to bore down deep to the roots. In considering the ministry of Jesus the first thing He confronted, in humanity, was the heredity of sin and not the specific sins they may have been struggling with. Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery went deeper than the sexual sin by confronting the very heart of the sin nature. Which is why Jesus said to her, Go, your sins (plural) are forgiven and sin no more. “The revelation of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took upon Himself our fleshly sins, but that He took upon Himself the heredity of sin that no man can touch. God made His own Son to be sin that He might make the sinner a saint.” (Chambers)

Leaves may grow 2.5 generic cialis in canada meters long and meter wide. The complications arising out of patient’s body rejecting the donor liver can even be fatal at times. amerikabulteni.com commander viagra Sometime, the sildenafil tablets click to find out work pressure or the anxiousness in life can be the culprit. In addition, sexual desire is also suppressed by foods cialis on line australia containing big amounts of sugar – they’re primarily sweets and sweetened drinks. CONSIDER A SECOND PARADIGM SHIFT ON REDEMPTION: Throughout the entire narrative of the Bible it is revealed the role of the Messiah (Jesus) would bare the sin of the world by identification, not by sympathy. We tend to approach Jesus, on the Cross, as one who died for specific sins and because he felt “bad” for us. And while it is true that His sacrifice deals with specific sins, and He has great compassion for His creation, His taking of sin by identification has a different purpose. By deliberately taking upon His own shoulders, and baring on His own Person, sin Jesus was not just treating the “leaves” or “branches” of the sin problem He was taking on the entire root system. By fulfilling the covenant of the Father (Yahweh) Jesus, the Messiah, was made sin for us though He knew no sin. It is in the mysterious and legally satisfying accomplishment of Jesus the relationship of sin was forever broken and humanity could enjoy relationship in Him, and with Him, as sanctified, justified and redeemed.

Here too we are not just focusing on the action, of sacrifice, but in the act of relationship in which Jesus rehabilitated humanity and returned us back to where God designed us to be. This is why I experienced great frustration in dealing with personal sin by using actions or works to cure my problems. What I needed was what we all need: To break relationship with sin and enter into a faithful relationship with Jesus. Everyone is invited to enter into union with God on the grounds of who Jesus is and what He has done.

Not to long ago I had a rose bush that in its first year bloomed such marvelous flowers. But each year this bush produced less and less until finally it looked as it was going to die. Noticing it was sick I tried a variety of cures only to see marginal change and a worsening of the situation. Eventually I even tried to cure the soil conditions around this bush but this too had little effect. Finally, in one last attempt I uprooted the rose bush and planted it elsewhere. Next spring it came back to life and each year it has grown stronger and stronger with very little need for my direct attention. Like my rose bush many people are desperately trying to redeem their lives, through works and well-intentioned Biblical actions, when what is needed is a literal break with the old sin relationships and engaging in a new intimate relationship with Jesus. Redemption is God’s ‘bit,’ and is absolutely finished and complete! But communion and relationship is a two-way street so consider looking at sin and redemption through a new paradigm; and you may find yourself treating the root of sin is more rewarding than examining the leaves.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics

IT’S NOT A LAW PROBLEM, IT’S A SIN PROBLEM

sin“You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.” (Romans 5:12–14 MSG)

A few weeks ago I was having an in-depth conversation with another pastor who shared with me a dialogue he held, with a prominent theologian, on the nature of sin and the Law of God. Today, there is a foreign undercurrent being taught, within the message of grace, that claims the Law of God is responsible for the problem of sin; and therefore a proper reading of Romans tells us the work of the Cross sets us free from sin and Law. While this debate cannot be defined, or answered, by one “magic” verse I  see there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Law, sin and what we have come to understand as Judaism. Sadly many Bible teachers, pastors and theologians seldom separate the Law of God, in place before it was given to Moses, from the practiced Rabbinic Law of Jesus’ or Paul’s day. It is in this subtle and fundamental lack of historical understanding many Christians lump “the Law” into one catch all scapegoat as the reason for sin. Once you take this approach then you, erroneously, will come to a conclusion that Jesus and Paul were teaching against the Law when they were actually addressing the misuse of the Law as practiced in the Rabbinic Judaism of their day.

IT’S NOT A LAW PROBLEM, IT’S A SIN PROBLEM. “The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man’s sin; but that the disposition of sin, viz., my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race by one man, and that another Man took on Him the sin of the human race and put it away (Heb. 9:26)—an infinitely profounder revelation.” (Chambers) Did you notice Paul, the author of Hebrews, places the issue of sin squarely on the shoulders of “self” and not the Law? The character of sin is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the nature of self-realization that idolizes “self” as worthy of worship.

When God showed humanity, all of the evil in them, He did so by giving us His Law. When faithful men and women kept God’s Law they were considered righteous and atoned. Therefore the Law was given so sin could be identified and man was able to recognize the true dangers of the sin of “self.” Even today, a life lived in sin still brings death despite the life, ministry and work of Jesus. Sin is and has always been the true danger not God’s Law! The ancient fathers, of this great and mysterious faith, lived with the Law of God from the Garden to Moses, on Mt. Sinai, and even to us today. Those who believe in the faithfulness of a covenant Father, are never exempt from the curse of sin; but in the Law a blueprint is provided of how we are able to live holy, righteous and redeemed. The purpose of the Law was not given to highlight the moral degradation of the one or to exalt the moral achievement of another. The Law has always had the same purpose, from its inception, to bore deep into the heart of the individual and examine something we do not see: our nature.

Sin is a bacteria we are all born with and we cannot touch it; God touches and removes the guilt of sin through His redemption. In the Cross of Jesus the Father redeemed creation, specifically humanity, from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin. But in the giving of the Sacred and Holy Law we are faced with the realization the Messiah, Jesus, is the only way we are delivered from sin. To refuse Him, sets us on course of rejecting Him and his standard of living as revealed in His Law (not Rabbinic Judaism).
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Did Jesus release us from committing adultery? Coveting? Murder? Lying? Idolatry? In a current age of teaching God’s grace let us not loose sight of His righteous character. Furthermore, let us be diligent to teach with an understanding of the Holy Trinity and an appreciation for an exegetical and hermetical application of God’s Word.

In the pursuit of His mercy and grace let us not condemn His Law. Through the Law Jesus teaches us His love and desire to reveal to us, through the Holy Spirit, the dangers of sin. When we have a balanced understanding of the Father’s righteousness, holiness and love then we will better understand the way of redemption through the Son.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Motivational

THE SACRED HOLY HEROIC PT. 1

luminous5THE SACRED HOLY HEROIC  PT. 1

It was the summer of 1997 and I was tossing and turning, in bed, just hours before I would walk down the wedding aisle. My final restless night was filled with worry, doubt, concern and excitement about the biggest transition of my young life. Almost twenty years later, and still happily married, I have had the opportunity to counsel many couples before their wedding and find myself telling them time and time again, you are never really ready to be married. After you have prayed, counseled and made your decision you just need to GO! I often chuckle when I observe people attempt to over plan their life. Often this type of person desires to have their income at a certain level, living in a certain neighborhood, planning enough trips and vacations, etc…and then, all of the sudden, a monkey wrench! Maybe it’s a baby, a temporary set-back, or a life-changing circumstance but “the plan” now has to be adjusted. Planning is great! In my family we live on a budget, have a yearly plan and even try to set some goals for four to five years out; but we have also shared in enough life to leave room for transformation. It is easy to imagine that we can get to a place where we are complete and ready, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished, it is a process steadily maintained and often adjusted with minor tweaks and, at times, major changes.

There was a time, long ago, when the sense of sacrifice appealed to a young Christian. Humanly speaking, the one thing that attracted us to Jesus was our sense of the heroic and being a part of narrative that special, sacred and mysterious. It was this inner working (by the Holy Spirit) that compelled us to be bold, courageous and go! But that has changed, especially over the past twenty years, with today’s modern church method attempting to reach people who are not longer seeking the mysterious and heroic. Despite the churches size, technology and budget today’s American Church experience, in large part, has managed to provided the seeking and searching with a perfectly planned and sterile environment that encourages a worldview that says, “what I (the church) can you do you.”  And something sacred has been lost in translation. (More on this later)

Community can be a funny thing. I live in a sub-division where I pay a monthly fee for certain community services. By the “letter of the law” I am apart of my community because I pay dues; but even though I am apart of the community it is still possible for me to live with limited relationships and connection to the events, and lives, of my subdivision. Likewise, this same dynamic can exist in a church community when we only view this habitat of faith as a place to “pay our dues” followed by an expectation of the community providing us a service. I would like to challenge our thinking as to how we really view the community of faith with a great moment is US history.

A young, optimistic and confident President Kennedy once challenged Americans to reconsider not what their county could do for them but what they could do for their country. Perhaps no truer secular words summed up a consecrated creed for the sacred community. What we have lost, within the message of the Church USA, is the sense of what I call the Sacred Holy Heroic. I mentioned earlier the unique church experience where our worship services, along with support ministries, are so programmed that they actually are designed to manage your expectations. I have sat in countless planning meetings where the entire service is planned down to the very second and nothing occurs without it being planned our predetermined. One such successful and popular church pastor / planter proudly said he hoped a visitor would experience the exact same service in any of their satellite churches.

To be victorious, he/she must appeal to voters throughout the state. sildenafil tablets 50mg In the erected state, the medicine increases the time and a male can provide better secretworldchronicle.com prescription viagra pleasure to a female. The system at present is so standard within the US that almost fifty p.c of patented medicine have their cialis sales australia generic equivalents. During rehabilitative your visits will be less frequent and strengthening care is less often still. cheap cialis So what does such programming create within our community of faith today? In a race to keep up with current trends, and measuring analytics, our building must get bigger, our outreaches must become louder, our video’s look edgier and our pastors and teachers perform as rock stars or CEO’s while the message, of the Gospel, sounds less sacred and more like an echo of our society. Seldom do we now gather with the expectation of seeing, touching, living and experiencing the sacred, mysterious, holy and revelatory. Even more dispiriting is the purely western notion of building projects and glamorized ministers serving as a new frontier for heroic Kingdom action. The raw community of faith needs to exist outside the created bubble of “self” and reconnect with the Sacred Holy Heroic that is only  rooted IN HIM (Jesus). Today’s church, as with the church of every age, is called to reconnect with the same heroism and sacrifice of the ancient and historical church and GO BOLDLY INTO THE SACRED HOLY HEROIC !

The “go” of preparation is to let the Word of God inspect deep within and force us to answer the call and commission of heroic sacrifice. If we are to enter into the narrative of the mysterious, sacred and historical Christian faith then we must also be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to detect, in us, the nature that will never work in His service. No one but God can detect that nature in us. While we may be tempted to plan every last detail, in preparation to go; we must also understand, like with marriage, we are never fully ready. But, in all of our planning, if we leave room for His Spirit to guide us we will join in the Holy invitation of true community and fellowship (Biblical Koinonia).

Once we understand the holy invitation is one of heroic participation and sacrifice we will no longer get trapped by a selfish or self-serving Gospel but live courageous and bold for the selfless and sacrificing Gospel. Planning is good, preparation is great; but never over plan and prepare, in such a way, where the Spirit is disinvited and the mystery of the sacred holy heroic is lost. If you pack away your lights, building, designer jeans and programs, and welcome people to join in the mystery, then you may just discover who is really in your true community and hungry for the message of the sacred, holy and heroic.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

UNMASKING TEMPTATION PT. 4: DEVELOP A TASTE FOR WHAT GOD LIKES AND A CRAVING FOR WHAT HE DESIRES

2002-11-02-empty-caloriesUNMASKING TEMPTATION PT. 4: DEVELOP A TASTE FOR WHAT GOD LIKES AND A CRAVING FOR WHAT HE DESIRES

I love chips! Any type of crunchy, salty, spicy or sour chip I just seem to crave them. It, for me, is the ultimate “bad” food temptation I seldom try to resist. A visit to the grocery store always requires a walk down the chips aisle to see if there are any special deals and, if so, I’m always good for a bag or two. It’s easy to crave what we know is not good for us. Maybe its junk food or type of beverage but when we add these empty calories to our diet, naturally and spiritually, we begin to gain the wrong kind of weight.

Every person has a taste for what they like and don’t like. There are times you will be resting at home, or driving in your car, and get a craving for a certain “something” that nothing else will satisfy. Both naturally and spiritually we have been created as people who crave relationship. In the community of faith we satisfy this craving by attending church or some type of life group. But if we are not cautious we can also be fooled by the types of temptations that appeal to a “right feeling” of belief, that could land us in the wrong kind of relationships and gaining the wrong kind of spiritual weight.

Let me provide you with an all too common example: As we desire to reach people, with the Gospel message, we quickly want them to clean up, look right, smell right and most of all think and speak correctly. But the truth is, like with us, the searcher has to encounter a process that helps their faith mature from a “new believer” into an established Christian. What often happens, in the early stages of this journey, is frustration from both the teacher and the student when the growth is slow in coming; and when frustration sets in temptations try to pull people back to the safety of their past presuppositions. What is supposed to happen? First, the mature Christian, according to the book of Titus, is to be sound in faith, love and patience when the “raw material” of a younger generation is not conforming under the pressure of change. Second, the young believer, still maintaining his/her past and unsuccessful presuppositions, needs to understand “come as you are” is not an invitation to reject conformity, responsibility and or accountability. The Conclusion? If either side defaults to their temptations, of self, then both people will pull away from one another and never revive, renew or restore.

Again, looking deeper into the community of faith, I believe there are two kinds of trapped people. The first trapped group are those locked in the “inside of the church.” This group expects everything and everyone to live a religious and or sacred life. Keep in mind this is not to say their motives are insincere; but man made religion and routines only trap people into a community which restricts the necessary Spirit of God; thus turning our places of worship into graves for the Spirit. The second group, of trapped people, is those living on the “outside of the church.” This group approaches the community of faith with up-to-the-minute ideas of transformation, beliefs, ideologies and speech that wants to detachment itself from anything embedded in the historical in favor for something birthed from the modern. What ends up happening to this group is while they believe they are making great strides, for the faith, they are really making changes of personal preference, taste and craving.  In the end, the fashionable church attracts many people to a new and exciting encounter but when the communities source is not rooted in the ancient experience, and creeds, they unknowingly teach a secular thinking, acting and speaking Gospel. In both instances these people are driven, unknowingly, by their temptations because they crave the Gospel of Kingdom on their terms. Did you catch that? THEY CRAVE JESUS’ MESSAGE ON THEIR TERMS.

So what is the solution? Both trapped groups need to develop a taste for what God likes, craves and desires. What does God like and crave? “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) It may sound like a tall order but what do we think Jesus’ words are really challenging us with? Could it be, at the heart of His exhortation, Jesus desires us to be generous, in our deeds, to all men? Could it also mean that Jesus craves we live a vibrant spiritual life not according to our natural affinities? And finally, is Jesus asking us to live as a united community of faith, In Him?

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This is what God likes: Followers, IN HIM, from inside and outside the church walls to be His faithful disciples; which means we are to deliberately identify ourselves with God’s interests and not our own affinities. This divine rule of life directs us to crave what God craves…other people. “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, …” The expression of Christian character is not living a religious lifestyle or defiant routine but living Christlike. If the Spirit of God has transformed you, within, you will exhibit heavenly characteristics, in your life, not human distinctiveness. “The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the experience of this works out in the practical details of life.” (Chambers)

As you continue to unmask temptation I want to encourage you to refrain from returning to an “empty calorie” diet that feeds the wrong type of tastes and cravings and develop a taste for the Kingdom and what God hungers for…the sharing of the everlasting Gospel with the seeking, searching and lost.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

 

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

UNMASKING TEMPTATION PT.2: OUR TEMPTATION WAS ALREADY HIS

temptationUNMASKING TEMPTATION PT.2: OUR TEMPTATION WAS ALREADY HIS

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Ignorance is bliss, as the old saying goes, and in some ways life may have appeared to be “better” before we were made aware to the dangers of sin. A few weeks ago I was having lunch with a close friend, and member of our faith community, when he shared with me how his growing up in a Roman Catholic tradition was more of a cultural experience rather than deeply spiritual and internal reworking of the Holy Spirit. Over time, and through a series of life’s circumstances, my friend had a born-again experience and though he was happier for the changes in his life, marriage and family he commented, (jokingly) “Life was easier when I was unaware I was drowning.”

Have you ever caught yourself saying something similar? Maybe for some “the world” was never much of a temptation. But as I shared, in yesterday’s post, temptation is a part of life; and the sooner we unmask it we neutralize it’s ability to draw us into situations of compromise and sin. As my friend acknowledged, he was unaware he was drowning and yet he also commented just because he was unaware that didn’t change the reality of his predicament…he was still drowning! So how does one recognize they are drowning in temptation or sin? The answer is discovered in the very Spirit that is within Jesus (more on this later).

St. James reminds us “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Though we may be enticed and tempted, for the follower of Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit is to have begun the process of regeneration in us; and when we then experience this inner re-working He (Jesus) lifts us into other realms where new temptations await. New temptations await you ask? What kind of temptations could that be? Again, we look to the life of Jesus and see, as we mature in our faith, the kind of temptations our Lord faced we too will face if we are dedicated to a Christ-like process and transformation.

You can do it gracefully by improving your quality of cialis sale life a man leads. Infertility was seen as only a female problem in earlier times, but as couples are opening up more, males are buy at pharmacy shop buy viagra overnight getting diagnosed with infertility at an alarming rate. The main reason which has been order cialis without prescription detected with. Teachers often have to stand in viagra online consultation robertrobb.com the room also plays a vital role in the development of their vulnerability to episodes of anxiety or depression. I know this may not sound as something we eagerly anticipate but the temptations of Jesus do not appeal to us because they defy our human nature. “Our Lord’s temptations and ours move in different spheres until we are born again and become His brethren.” (Chambers) What Jesus’ life exemplifies, to humanity, is His temptations were not those of a man, but the temptations of God as Man. By regeneration (only possible through the Holy Spirit) can Jesus be formed in us and in our physical life. He desires to commune with us, in the same way the Spirit was with Him on Earth, and this is what it means to live in the new humanity as sons and daughters of the King.

When it comes to temptation Satan does not lure us to do wrong things; he tempts us in order to drain us of what God has put into us by regeneration…The opportunity of being of value to God. What Satan tempted Jesus with, in the wilderness, he tempts us with daily. Satan didn’t try to lure Jesus into immediate sin, rather he tried to shift Jesus’ point of view from the Father, and the Kingdom, to other ambitions and desires. Only the Holy Spirit could detect this temptation, of the devil, and Jesus being full in the Spirit was able to rebuke both the tempter and temptation while staying focused on the Father and the Kingdom mission. Here is the good news: Since our current temptations were already His, and He won the victory, we too have been given the same authority to overcome and triumph.

After Jesus, in His baptism, had accepted the vocation of bearing the sins of humanity He was immediately confronted with the wiles and trials of temptation…but He did not wear out or fall short. He went through the temptation “without sin,” and retained the possessions of His personality intact. What a word of encouragement, victory and freedom! Because He won, in His temptations, we have been given victory in ours. Unmask temptation!  Rebuke it! And live the victorious life rooted in the Name of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit!

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

UNMASKING TEMPTATION: DON’T LIVE IN BONDAGE BUT LIVE IN THE SPIRIT!

temptation-apple-and-snakeUNMASKING TEMPTATION: DON’T LIVE IN BONDAGE BUT LIVE IN THE SPIRIT!

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

I was a little boy running and playing, with my best friend, enjoying the innocence that came with a young life lived without fears, troubles or concerns. To this day I can’t remember where I first heard a cuss word but I do remember the day I heard those unclean words in my mind. Foul word after foul word bounced around eagerly pressing me to fly from my mouth and join the chorus of my fellow school mates…but I resisted. It may have only been a few seconds; but it felt like hours and I found myself running home desperate to ask my mom if I had sinned by hearing these words in my mind. The conversation that followed was the first time I understood the difference between sin and temptation. Yes, the life without fears, troubles or concerns had left; and from that day forward I have sought to unmask temptation because I now understood Satan loves to use enticement as a “back door” mechanism to place people in bondage that eventually draws us back into sin.

The word temptation has been seeded throughout our society and many people believe they know it when they see it; but we, in the community of faith, are apt to use it incorrectly. Temptation is not sin, it is the entity we are bound to confront if we are living people. Many of us, however, suffer from temptations from which we have no business experiencing, simply because we have refused to let God scratch underneath the surface (or what is wrong in us) and lift us to a higher elevation in Him.

This is where you can count on feedbacks and reviews. Continue to storefront cialis online mastercard Individuals going through this are usually shy enough and also have confronted your best prices on sildenafil parent or parents. Consume 1 or 2 Kamdeepak capsule twice per day ordine cialis on line with milk or water. When should this drug not viagra prices be used? You should not use if you: * are taking any nitrate medication, such as nitroglycerin for angina, as it may lead to a severe drop in blood pressure. A persons character on the inside, what he / she possesses in their personality, partly determines what they may be tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the nature of the one tempted, and reveals the possibilities of our fallen nature. So in order to unmask temptation we need to define it. Simply defined temptation is a suggested short cut to the realization of the highest call that we are all to aim for. Consider this, temptation never appeals to your feelings or rationale based on your understanding of evil. Rather temptation has a way of masking an evil action or outcome in making you feel as if you are entertaining a good action or right feeling. In effect temptation tries to convince us not to understand evil but to think we can achieve God’s highest goodness without understanding His holiness.

The other trap, attached to the hook of temptation, is its ability to confuse our feelings as we attempt to reconcile right from wrong. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit we incapable of separating right from wrong and furthermore, without Him, we will not resist our lust-filled desires on will-power alone. Everyday we are given proof of this in a world where the Holy Spirit is absent and suppressed. When the vices of a world soaked in murder, rage, hate, perversion, jealously, greed, fear and worry begin to invade our communities of faith we must ask the hard questions of how and why has temptation come through our spiritual threshold? Could it be where the Holy Spirit is absent doubt persists under the cloak of temptation…and temptation will lead to sin?  While temptation is not something we may escape it something we need to be aware of and overcome through the inward and outward working of the Holy Spirit. While God does not save us from temptations He will deliver us in the midst of them as long as we place our total dependence, love and trust in Him. (Heb. 2:18.)

GRACE AND PEACE

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

WHEN SURRENDER IS GOOD

riskWHEN SURRENDER IS GOOD

It was the summer of ’91 and my best friend and I entered the long days of June, July and August. In actuality we were only a few weeks past the close of the school year but somehow we had managed to exhaust our entire list of “things to do” and now found ourselves out of ideas. Bored, and with our imaginations running on empty, I pulled out a game we had never seen before but the cover and tag line were perfect to fuel any young ego: RISK: The Game of Global Domination. Suffice to say my friend I were hooked and day after day we engaged in epic battles of global conquest. Sometimes I would win and other times I would suffer humiliating defeats. But no matter how bad either of us were loosing one word was never voiced from of our mouths: Surrender.

Surrender is not natural to any person. Certainly there are people who are more laid back, than others, but even the most compliant person has a point to where they will refuse to willfully surrender. It should therefore not surprise anybody when we struggle with the thought of surrendering our will to the will of the Father. While we all face different challenges I am convinced there is no greater crisis than the surrender of our will to Jesus. Unlike my “merciless” friend (humor implied) God never crushes our will into surrender. Likewise Jesus never begs us to give up all we have and follow Him. What we read from Scripture, and have seen played out through countless lives, is He always waits until we surrender our will to His. I have discovered once you truly surrender to Jesus that is one battle that you never have to fight again. But why should we surrender our will to Him? Here are two thoughts for you two consider:

1. Surrender for Deliverance. “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” It is after we have begun to experience what freedom, from sin, is like and what salvation means we gladly surrender our will to Jesus for rest. The burdens of sin and cares of this life are heavy and weighted with guilt, shame and bondage. But like Christian, in Pilgrim’s Progress, when our perplexing heart or mind responds to His “Come unto Me” our voluntary surrender results in our burdens falling and rolling away never to return.

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So you may ask, What happens after surrender? After surrender the whole of life becomes a goal for unbroken communion with God. While such a journey, with the Father, is a lifetime of learning and growing it is also one that you have been lovingly invited to partake in. Here it must be noted with every journey there is a starting point and at the beginning of communion, with Jesus, starts our surrender to Him.

Grace and Peace

Joshua 

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

PATTON: DO IT YOURSELF!

PattonPATTON: DO IT YOURSELF!

In my undergraduate studies I majored in Political Science with a minor in European history. I have always loved European history; from its famous battles to the complicated histories behind their kings and queens. I have heard it said to study Europe, and its people, is to understand its history is rich, deep, at times sorted and certainly chaotic. In the twentieth century two major world wars were fought on the European continent and this does not include the nations who fought for their freedom, from Communism, across Eastern Europe and Germany. In every war there is long list of heros, villains and “colorful” legends ranging from medieval knights to modern generals. One of these “colorful” legends was General George S. Patton who historian Terry Brighton concluded, “Patton was arrogant, publicity-seeking and personally flawed, but … among the greatest generals of the war.”  Though many brave men and women, of the greatest generation, are passing away I have had the honor of knowing a man who served under Gen. Patton’s command. His personal stories of the general’s leadership and courage would make chills run down your spine and only serve to add to his already myth-like legend. Of the many stories, he has shared; one reoccurring theme continues to surface time and time again. For General Patton, and the men who served with him, they all believed whatever had to be accomplished they could do it themselves!

How does this relate to us today? As Christians, desiring to live a progressively Christ-like life, are we determined to discipline the other things? St. Paul encourages the early church, and therefore the church in every generation, to “Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5) Here we read yet another aspect of the hard work that comes with the nature that pursues Jesus. Again St. Paul says, “I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ.” So, again I ask, how much of our Kingdom work has never been disciplined? Said another way, how much of our Kingdom work has simply sprung into action, by impulse, but not followed through with discipline?

In Jesus’ life, and ministry, every project, mission, teaching and thought was disciplined to the will of His Father. Jesus never had a movement of impulse that was not born and disciplined by the Father. “The Son can do nothing of Himself.” If St. Paul encouraged young Christians to imitate him as he imitated Christ, and Jesus is therefore our model, then let us take our vivid spiritual experience, and every project born of impulse, and put them into disciplined action immediately! Instead of being imprisoned by indecision, or emotional lows, discipline every thought and project to obey Jesus!
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We are prone to forget that every Christian is not only committed to Jesus for salvation; he is to be committed to Jesus’ view of God, of the world, of sin and eternity. When we take every thought captive, and begin the work of disciplining our Kingdom purposes, then we will live as the bold, brash and confident legends in the battlefield of faith. I encourage you to respond to His Spirit’s invitation, recognize the responsibility of being transformed by the renewing of your mind, and embrace the challenge of disciplined living for the King’s glory!

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA 

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

DEMOLITION MAN

demolition_manDEMOLITION MAN

Growing up in the 80’s America had a certain do it yourself attitude. I remember watching weekday cartoons where GI Joe was the “Real American Hero” and after twenty-five minutes the good guy always won. Of course living in the 80’s was far from perfect but the shades of gray were never the norm; and matters of right and wrong were understood in black and white terms. Another 80’s phenomenon was the era of super-action hero. Unlike our genre of Marvel comic hero movies today the 80’s gave us Rocky, Rambo, Tango, The Predator, Commando and the Demolition Man. In the movie Demolition Man this sci-fi action film pitted a frozen, but now thawed, killer against…you guessed it a frozen, but now thawed, super cop. By now you are probably trying your hardest not to fall out laughing but I never said the 80’s were the best in everything. That being said, I would like to borrow this popular action movie title, Demolition man, and apply it to the Christian walk regarding the trials, struggles and battles we have with a real life adversary: Sin.

St. Paul exhorts the first church to “Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” (2 Cor. 10:5) This bold command speaks loudly to us as we face the same struggles from the fall of Adam to today. Just as with the believer in Paul’s day we too must be determined to demolish those things contrary to the Word of God in our own lives.

Let me ask you to think on something? Sometimes we tend to confuse our earthly nature from the nature of sin. By default the nature of all humanity is born under the curse of sin. However, this does not mean everyday life is filled with hopeless sinful outcomes. What you decided to eat or wear (for example) need not become an eternal battlefield of personal sin versus righteousness. Likewise deliverance from sin is not deliverance from human nature. Within human nature there are deposits of God’s common grace we can enjoy such as love, friendship and charity. But there are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the person who lives in the progressive pursuit of Christlikness has to demolish through proactive action. (i.e., by the Divine strength imparted by God’s Spirit) Furthermore, there are other battles over which we are not to fight, but to stand still in and see the salvation of God. It is here to I want to insert a strong word of caution and reminder. Despite my or your personal theologies anything that erects itself as a stronghold, against the knowledge of God, needs to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, through His Holy Spirit, and not comforted, accepted or welcomed as some type of inner compromise.

Natural herbs discount cialis 20mg have some highly important ingredients that body recognises as food offer potent results. The bark of this tree has long been in use cialis super click for more info now for the treatment of sexual disorders in men. Addiction to drugs and alcohol can lead a cheap brand levitra https://unica-web.com/archive/1993/1993.html healthy sex life with the help of counseling and multidisciplinary approach. This reflects a change to the law. click here sildenafil online purchase When the Holy Spirit has His full invitation, in our lives, the Father can begin the work of altering our disposition and aide us in the process of sanctification. The battle is not against sin; we can never fight against sin, because Jesus already dealt with sin in the redemption. The real battle is waged along the lines of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. Oswald Chambers said, “It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in antagonism to the entrenchments of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as ramparts against the knowledge of God. We can either go back and make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things and let Jesus bring another son to glory.”

So be as the Demolition Man and target the sinful, not natural areas of our life. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit He will provide you with the proper balance in life. But once that “stronghold” has been revealed do not compromise or give it sanctuary…tear it down and allow the Father to build a great fortification to His glory in your life.

Grace and Peace

JOSHUA

Christian Apologetics, Christian Living, Inspirational, Motivational

DESTINATION: HIS!

keep-calm-you-belong-to-jesusDESTINATION: HIS!

Have you ever thought about who holds the deed to your life? Is it you? Is it fate? Is it God? Maybe another way of asking the question is to answer, who do you belong to? For the person who is still asking such questions you have probably experimented with several possible solutions only to discover these conclusions are unsatisfactory. If you are a Christian you probably answered something like, “Well I belong to God…but I am my own person.” I have personally taken a lot of time considering my destination and deed and come to the conclusion the true disciple of Jesus is one, whom the Holy Spirit has revealed, and therefore, you are not your own. Honestly to say and live in such a reality, ‘I am not my own,’ is to have reached a great point in Kingdom perspective. The true nature of a person, in love with the King, is one of deliberate sacrifice of “self” to “another” in sovereign preference, and that “other” is Jesus!

Without the Holy Spirit the very life and purpose of Jesus is obscure and easily dismissed as a wisdom teacher among other guru’s or moral activist among other social pioneers. But when the Holy Spirit illuminates your understanding, with Kingdom perspective, then you see Jesus in a new understanding and revealed light. The life, revived by the Holy Spirit, takes the person of Jesus and removes him from “just another good teacher” to a real and tangible solution to all of your concerns, cares, worries, fears, sins, hopes and joys. Think carefully on how Jesus sent His disciples…Jesus never sent any of the disciples out on argument of, “Once you follow me life is without adversity.” It was not until after the Resurrection, when the disciples had perceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was the Son of God. Jesus then sent His disciples out as Apostles telling them to ‘GO!’ and preach the message of the Kingdom of God.

In the 1970’s movie Jesus of Nazareth there is a classic scene of the disciples talking about miracles and what people are saying about who Jesus was. It was in this moment Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” the look on the disciples faces was shock, stun and horror. Finally Peter looked at Jesus as said, “You are the Christ.” What was Jesus’ response? (Loose paraphrase) Flesh and blood didn’t tell you this…it was revealed by the Spirit. The message of the Kingdom has often been defined to be many things but in brief the message of the Kingdom is the message of the Gospel. Go! Preach the good news of repentance from sin, Jesus is Lord and forgiveness and freedom from the slavery to the old man (the sinful nature).  

For buy cialis levitra example one needs to get a physiotherapy clinic like PhysiCo. Warning! : Your doctor may want you to have http://appalachianmagazine.com/2018/10/18/virginia-to-designate-us-52-veterans-memorial-highway/ buy cheap cialis regular blood tests to monitor your liver function while you are taking any nitrate based item like nitroglycerine, admission of medicine ought not to be finished. Moving a step ahead of emancipating you from the stigma of being a one-minute wonder on bed, check this site out levitra online will help you to relish enhanced ejaculation time during sexual intercourse. There is a growing demand for generic drugs all over viagra vs cialis the world due to the prohibitive costs of most branded or originator medicines. “If any man come to Me and hate not …,he cannot be My disciple,” To be His means you are not to be your own. For Jesus to claim title and deed over you life you need to hate what He hates and loves what He loves. “Any one of the relationships Our Lord mentions may be a competitive relationship. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself; then says Jesus, you cannot be My disciple. This does not mean I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be ‘His.’” (Chambers)

Our Lord makes a disciple His own possession and when He does so He becomes responsible for him. “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me.” The mystery or sacred secret of the believer is—I am His, and He is carrying out His enterprises through me.

So be entirely His! “Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me.” (John 17:6)

Blessings – JOSHUA