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Rich Man, Poor Man

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I was reading in the book of James where it was saying that the poor people are God’s people. One of the Beatitudes is blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Actually it says poor in spirit but poor in every other area can and is often caused by an impoverished spirit; financially poor, poor health, etc. It is well-known the the world is set up for the rich. Jesus taught that it was hard for the rich man to enter the Kingdom-not impossible though for nothing is impossible with God. He meant that it’s hard for someone who has access to everything in life to see his need for divine intimacy.

Perhaps America’s greatest sin is it’s Gospel of Wealth; with the prosperity gospel condemning people for their lack of faith if they aren’t rich or healthy. Of course I lean more towards the prosperity gospel than the doom & gloom hell fire and brimstone. Everything comes in God’s timing but we still are responsible for working hard for it; just work at harder at seeking God. Then the Law of Attraction goes into action as you “attract” those things into your life that God wants you to have.  Everything is permissible but not everything is good for you. The only way to know what is good for you is to seek the source of all goodness. From a calivinist perspective, apart from God we are totally depraved since we are not capable of being good in and of ourselves. I’m well aware that many people only seem to pick up on the negative comments like that and totally miss the positive ones. Then wonder why they are dependent on alcohol and drugs. The latter includes prescription antidepressants by the way. Drugs are drugs whether they are legal or illegal. In fact if you want to boost the economy, legalize and regulate marijuana. Then the Big Pharma Co. will go bankrupt but with their “selling skills” they shouldn’t have any problems becoming licensed street pharmacists.

I’m not entirely against Capitalism but seeing that from a Socialist point of view allows me to be compassionate on those that aren’t as resourceful. This is in opposition to those that exalt the rich and accuse the poor of being lazy. The Bible talks about taking care of the poor. Not everyone can be a rich industrialist. Many don’t choose this path but work hard for others because it would be too much of a distraction to their walk with God. Anything you give up for the Kingdom gets returned to you in some portion or another. Keep in mind, that God doesn’t delight in sacrifice so you don’t have to give up anything. That being said if you feel like you have to do anything then you are merely being religious.

I don’t know if God will judge the country for legalizing homosexuality or not; especially with all the gay and lesbians couples I’ve heard about that seem to be in love or have a deep emotional attraction. I often wonder why we tell alcoholics and drug addicts that as long as they are forgiven they will go to heaven when they die but if you are poor are live in certain “sexual sins” you are automatically hellbound. People in the church must be sexually repressed. When you repress a God-given desire that leads to sexual addictions and immoral choices. That doesn’t mean we should go out and bang everything that moves-man, woman, and child, you pervert.

Ok, back off my soapbox now. The only thing I’m certain God was going to judge America for is it’s pride and hatred which exalts one class of people over another. Of course, technically all judgement has been dealt with at the Cross through the Blood of Yeshua HaMashiach, or Jesus the Christ.

To Fear or not to fear (Part 3)-The Consequences of Fear

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Man, this could be a sermon series. It’s my last post on this topic. Hard to believe I got 1600 words out of one chapter of “I love Jesus, but I hate Christianity” by Kim Michaels. Not as bad as it sounds. I accidentally ran across it.

Fear is the underlying issue of perhaps many illnesses. Mental illness people are usually anxiety prone. People with physical illnesses get sick more often as they age due to chronic stress because hidden fears put stress on our bodies that weren’t meant to be there.

Fear leads to anger, guilt, shame, depression, perhaps even mania and psychosis. Antipsychotic medicine can supress these emotions but to the point that you don’t deal with them because you forget you even have them after awhile. It’s not good to suppress emotions.

Not only can suppressing anything make you sick, it is ignoring God who basically speaks to us through our emotions. When we have a low mood, it’s perhaps His way of motivating us to fix something that’s not right in our lives. When we’re manic or psychotic then we have probably been suppressing our emotions to the point that we explode and lose our self-control and give in to our addictions.

Are You Free?

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The biggest mystery of life is whether or not we have free will. We do have free will to make choices; however we are enslaved to either God or Satan. In Genesis God told Cain that if he didn’t do right sin would lie in wait to ensnare him. From a holistic point of view the only right thing we can do is put our trust in the living God. This is what it means the just will live by faith. We are empowered to trust God by His Grace.

To go along with our free will we have to keep in mind that although we are free to make our own choices, things don’t happen when we want them to. If we had that power we would be God. Sorry, hate to break it to you, we aren’t and He isn’t planning to step down anytime soon. God is not up for reelection. Satan’s downfall was trying to be God and get people to worship him. He even tempted the Son of God in the desert. We follow Satan when we play god by trying to run our own lives and leave God out of it. In doing this we are outside of God’s protection because we are guilty of insisting on our own rule. In this case, Satan moves in and blinds us because our hearts are easily deceived without God’s presence. If we continue to persist in this lifestyle we could harden our hearts to the point that we don’t hear God anymore. This is a dangerous position to be in!

Walking with God is acknowledging Him; this is the essence or worshipping in Spirit and in Truth. Being born again is being able to see a Holy and Perfect Being with our eyes of faith for it is written the Just shall live by faith. When we walk with God, He leads us in the way everlasting and we become more spiritually discerning about what the Almighty is calling us to do with our lives. Then the Law of Attraction (yes, I know it’s not in the Bible. You think God can be confined to 66 books?) comes into play-from a Judeo-Christian perspective. We attract blessings into our lives. To keep from becoming proud we should remember that the biblical view of the Law of Attraction is the Holy Spirit of God the Father through the Son working in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

I actually watched Dogma this weekend. Totally erroneous theology but interesting and funny nonetheless. Hope I don’t cause anybody. Ben Affleck’s fallen angel character was quoted as saying that fallen angels were unable to repent once they decided to follow Satan in the war in heaven. This is because they were created as perfect angelic beings. Even Satan was a beautiful creature before the fall. Till his pride got the best of him.

We humans have a free will to the extent that we have a conscious. Each time we willfully choose to rebel against God it becomes seared and we lose the ability to discern right from wrong. Since Jesus was fully divine and fully human, this would mean we cease to become human; or rather inhumane. And one day for those that stand before God in that position will be thrown into the area where there will be a weaping and gnashing of teeth. Hell may or may not be a literal fire since it is merely separation from God but isn’t that separation bad enough? Spending eternity regretting every selfish decision you ever made.

In closing, as the Word teaches, if you the voice of the Lord do not harden your heart as they did in the provocation. You never know if you will get another chance. This goes for backsliders as well. You keep resisting God you will one day regret it because you can be sure your sins will find you out. The very idea that we think we can hide anything from God is a sign of pride. We know this because we have a conscious so why do we hide it anyway? John 3:17-20 says those that don’t believe in the Son reject Him because they basically aren’t ready to have their deeds exposed. Of course they are spiritually blind to the fact that in this position they are literally playing with fire.

Soul Detox #5: Seduced Souls

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Pastor Tim Woody of City Life in Fort Worth may have finished this series a couple weeks ago but I’m still finishing the book. He got me going on it now I can’t stop. By the way happy birthday to this man of God who has already influenced my life in such a short time.

The essence of being lost as Paul described in Romans 1 is worshipping the creation and not the Creator. God commands us in Exodus 20:3,4 not to have any other gods before Him. Paul says in the NT that idolators will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This can sum of any addiction for a true Spirit-filled pastor will tell you that there are no addictions in the life hid with Christ in God; only strongholds that keep you from reaching your potential. If you struggle with addiction it’s because deep down inside you are trying to fill a void that only God can fill. The underlying issue of our inbred sins we still struggle with is something that we haven’t completely given to God yet.

Many christians justify this by saying we all sin daily and it’s all under the blood anyway. My friend the book of James (not for the fainthearted by the way) says if you know what is right and don’t do it you are living in sin. You can’t justify it that way. If you continue to give in to your addictions your heart will harden before God and you will get a seared conscious where conviction won’t even bother you anymore.

The truth will set you free but if you reject the love of the truth you will be eventually given over to the lies of the world if you persist in them. Jesus teaches in Mark 8:32-36 that it profits nothing to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul. Paul says in Phil. 3:7 that he counts all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ.

There isn’t anything wrong with wanting nice things but if you are doing it solely for the sake of looking good on the outside then this is a form of self-righteous promotion and it is a distraction which will keep you from reaching your fullest potential in Christ.

Good Mourning

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One of the Beatitudes says “blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Many preachers have said that proof that you possess the gift of salvation and not merely profess it is if you have a Beatitude attitude.

Jesus promised that if we believe in Him as well as His Father He would go to prepare a place for us and if it were not true He wouldn’t have told us (John 14). He also told us that after He left He would send the comforter, the Holy Spirit, or Ruach HaKodesh in the Hebrew. The Holy Spirit’s job is to comfort us when we go through trials.

When you wake up in the morning do you say “Good Morning, God.” or “Good God, morning?” If a person truly knows God, believes in His Son, and receives the Holy Spirit then God should be the first thing on His mind. How he can please His Father. Although your good works are as filthy rags and you can’t please God with them because He looks at the heart and cares more about the motivation behind them. That’s why you can’t base someone’s salvation on outward circumstances. Sometimes the one that may “appear” to be living in sin” may be the one striving for holiness in Christ while the one that’s the most involved in church with a moral upright character in the community may be full of himself and on his way to hell because he’s hiding his sins in his good deeds.

Someone once said that guilt is proof that you’re right with God. Nope!!! Guilt is a human emotion that can lead you to be right with God but repentance is proof the Spirit’s working in your life if it’s Godly repentance which is a genuine sorrow over past mistakes and a striving to do better out of dependency on your heavenly Father. This is what it means to be Christlike; not that Jesus was trying to overcome His sins but He experienced temptation so He knows what we go through. He’s the only one with a perfect faith in God which enabled Him to live perfectly so He could qualify to be the blood sacrifice of an offering which fulfilled the Law once for all.

If you struggle with guilt & shame then that could be proof that the Holy Spirit is working on you but it’s signs you don’t know who you are in Christ because He paid the debt and took away the guilt & shame. If you struggle with these you are having a bad mourning experience  and are adding to what Jesus did  a couple of days ago at the Cross.

Have a Good Mourning!

Chris Tomlin/Holy is the Lord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EduKNYVBKH8

Law of Karma

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Yep. My old legalist friends would be praying for my soul since I’m sure I’ve gone New Age or became the new Prosperity Poster Boy. Next up, I need to find a Mosque and get to know an Imam. I believe it’s easier to share your faith when you’re more open-minded. Being closed-minded is basically saying you’re right and everyone else is wrong. I.e.; you’re the one true church and all else is going to hell.

Karma can be summed up with the old saying “what goes around comes around.” Or as the Bible teaches-”the law of sowing & reaping.” The Word of God teaches that whatever you sow that you also reap. If you sow to the flesh you reap destruction. If you sow in the Spirit you reap Life Everlasting in Christ. Sowing in the flesh means doing stuff solely for your own benefit and glory. Success in this area will make you full of yourself and harden your heart towards God. Don’t think you can’t just as easily slide back into this lifestyle just because you overcame a lot. Sowing in the Spirit means seeking first the things of God and His Kingdom. In exchange He fills you with His Spirit to overflowing into the lives of others and you become more loving.

The Golden Rule is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When you sow righteousness as an overflow of your relationship to God and not out of your own mere fleshly goodness you reap a bounty of righteousness and good things will chase you down and overtake you. When you sow to the flesh not only do you harden your heart towards God but you cause others to stumble because of your own hypocrisy and could hinder their relationship with the Almighty as well. One person’s sin affects others and could even be handed down to future generations if not repented of.

Go plant some seeds of righteousness by hungering & thirsting after the Holy One.

 

Word Digestion & Instant Grits

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Hungry? Jesus said “man does not live on bread alone buy by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” The only food you need is the Bread of Life that’s found in the Messiah as well as the Living Water He offers that will fill you up to everlasting life and overflow into others enabling you to show your  love for God by the way you love them; thus fulfilling the Law of God.

Many churches talk about devouring the Word of God (not literally like my rat terrier did one time). Even charismatic Baptistcostal preacher Charles Stanley said you can study the Bible and miss God. The question is why do you study the Word of God? Many people, especially in America, have enough head knowledge about the things of God to enable them to miss heaven by 18 inches (the difference between your head and your heart). Do you study the Word to get to know God personally? Are you seeking His Face? Are you you guilty of be a gnostic, or worshipper of merely knowledge?

Full Pentecostal preacher Steve Hill of Heartland World Ministries Church in Irving, TX. declared one time “it’s not how much you get into the Word; it’s how much of the Word gets in you.” There’s truth to the Prosperity Gospel. However many fall away because they expect God to deliver on demand; making  Him sound like a Sear’s Catalogue. First off you can’t just pray for whatever you want and expect God to cater to your every whim. That’s trying to manipulate your Heavenly Father. You seek Him and His Kingdom and all else will be added; including the desires of your heart or what God wants you to do with your life.

Do the desires of your heart glorify God and line up with His Word? Are you asking amiss if you aren’t receiving? God won’t bless you with anything on your timetable. If He did there would be no need for faith that perseveres. You would just be seeking God for what He can give you rather than what you can give Him; which is only your heart and life in exchange for Him giving His life for you.

America is a fast paced society. We want everything now! We are willing to settle for what’s right now rather than what’s right for us in the long term; I.e.; instant grits (actually gratification but grits fits the title of the Blog). God’s timing may line up with your timing but that’s still not exactly when you want it and it’s not exactly what you want. You should be thankful He doesn’t give you everything you want for it might destroy  you. It all depends on how close you are to God; meaning how Christlike you are.

Shabat Shalom in the name of Yeshua Mashiach

 

 

Snowflakes in Summer

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The basis of running a business is that the majority of your business comes from a minority of your clients or customers. A lot of people you deal with are apparently complete frosted flakes. I can’t really judge because we have all done this at some point in our lives. Jesus taught that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. However it seems like we have a tendency to become overcommitted. in our work because we don’t know how to say no. This creates a lot of the stress that results in many sicknesses. For being the most affluent culture of any nation, we also are probably the most unbalanced culture. I think I just read in Proverbs a few days ago something to the effect that a false balance is an abomination to the Lord. God is all about committment so it’s a sin to promise something you can’t deliver. In one sense it could be a sign of laziness, time management issues too since the old saying that “there just aren’t enough hours in a day, and being overcommitted. There are 168 hours in a week. Live simple, use them wisely, don’t promise anything you can’t deliver. This is something we all need to strive to work for.

 

Soul Detox #4-Tortured Souls

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The sermon in the series at City Life Center in Southwest Fort Worth off the main downtown square. The last one is this Sunday so if you’re in the area and looking for a church, then the service is at 11 am.

In Mark 8:36, Jesus poses the question “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” The theme of Soul Detox is that we are more than just bodies, we are a soul. Therefore all our problems are spiritual in nature. There’s no such thing as mental and/or physical illnesses because everything is tied to your spirit. When the spirit is ailing, or tortured, then the body is out of balance.This is the theme of  homeopathic remedies which originated in the Orient: that sickness is the body being out of balance. Any addiction you struggle with is a man-made attempt at self-medicating your soul’s afflictions. All the support groups, 12-steps, and “modern medicines” will not deliver you. Deliverance, or salvation, comes as a free gift of God’s grace when you turn to Him to forgiveness and really believe on the sacrifice He provided for your sins by committing your life to following hard after Him without reserve.

A perfect example of trying to “gain” the whole world is the ones who strive to make themselves look good outwardly by their actions or working out to look good physically; all the while their souls are starving and about to spiritually atrophy and eventually die. This type is basically walking zombies. Jesus warned of these types of sinners when He quoted Isaiah the Prophet “with they lips they draw near to me yet with their hearts they are far from me.” Outwardly they are praising God, singing loudly, and may even be giving the most to the church either financially of themselves through service projects.

Another point Pastor Tim Woody made was that while all your sins have been taken care of at the Cross of Calvary, you can experience hypergrace by living out this promise of God and claiming God’s promise of deliverance and protection over your life on a daily basis and engaging yourself in the pursuit of God’s Grace. The Old Testament says to “cease striving” or quit trying to live for God out of your human effort and fully rely on God (the FROG method). Ooh, I just now caught that. : ) Paul says in Romans 7 that what he wants to do he doesn’t do yet what he doesn’t want to do that he does. Who will rescue him from this body of death? Praise be to God through Christ Jesus the Messiah of the Old Testament that the Jews of today are still waiting for.

Cease striving in and of yourself and strive to enter into the Kingdom of God by going after God and loving Him and letting that love overflow into others for this fulfills the Law of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftk_YSFnyT0

Zoegirl/Your beautiful name

 

Eternal Security

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This is perhaps the most controversial issue that divides the Church over the last several centuries. Some of the more calvinistic types believe that just because you believe you can lose your faith means you don’t believe in the concept of eternal security. Jesus said in John 15 that if we remain in Him, then He will remain in us. The OSAS belief comes from the verse where Jesus said that of all His Father gave to Him He will lose no one. He’s right. God will never leave you or forsake you. If you drift away from God, then your Heavenly Father isn’t the one who moved because He is unchanging. His Holy Spirit does everything He can to draw you back (predestination by foreknowledge). However Grace is only irrestistable to the extent of you faith in God. The further away you get the more seared your conscious gets and the less you hear God. Then you become more impure and the less you “see” God with your spiritual eyes because Jesus said only the pure in heart will see God. It’s all about a relationship and for a relatioship to exist there has to be two people; otherwise one is a slavedriver and a control freak. The essence of love is freedom so God won’t spiritually rape anybody by manipulating them to do His will. It’s the way of man to treat others that way. All God wants is to be sought out and to lead us in the way everlasting. The more you progess in the Spiritual life, the more healthier & happy you become. I read a verse that said the spirit of God makes you happy so if you’re taking antidepressants it means you have something in your life that needs to be addressed for you to become more like Jesus and draw closer to God. His promise is still the same-”draw close to me and I will draw close to you.” The work of salvation is complete as far as the sacrifice is concerned Now all we have to do is live it out in our daily walk with God. God promises that His grace & mercy are renewed every morning. We need to do the same. Is it “good god morning” or Good morning God.”