Category Archives: religion

Sibling Rivalry

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Millions of people, all over the world, know the nature of Truth.  They know the God who made us all.

You know them.  They walk among you.  And they are not ashamed to testify about what they have come to know.

How do I know this?  Because I am one of them.  I know that the Living God, the Holy Father, would not leave this world without testimony about what is more important than anything in this world.  He gave His Holy Son into the hands of man to die.  And this for the sake of saving us all.  Why would He now abandon man by having no witnesses among us?

They are all at various stages of understanding.  But God works in them to testify, with reliability, according to the Gospel.  By the power of God, their testimony is reliable.  It is the ears of man which muddy up the “Word of God”.  And it is their “past man” which conflicts within them to deliver what they have come to “know” by faith.

Perhaps you have one in your family.  You know that person, so you discount what they say.  You remember the person they were before they came to understand the Gospel.  So you assume they are only spouting what they believe, as if what they now believe were only another opinion (of which there are, apparently, billions).

By rejecting what they say, because you have known them, you reject the One who has transformed their thinking.  Did you know that?

I know it’s hard, but if you would only listen to what they are saying, you too can become a child of the Living God.  I am, after all, speaking of Christianity.

Now if you find it too hard to rid yourself of the image of the man or woman you used to know, as you strive to listen to them, then go find a stranger that speaks the same things.

It’s curious, about people, that they get stuck in a rut when it comes to the Gospel preached by family or acquaintance.  But let us recognize that such difficulties exist.  Fine.  But don’t let that stop you from looking into the things of Christ.

Don’t let the natural mistrust divide you from eternal life.  Don’t let sibling rivalry, (that hideous tendency of man to discount the words of another man, simply because that person is another man just like you) rip eternal life from your fragile fingers.

Right now you have no idea how precious the Gospel is.  You don’t know what is at stake.  You don’t know the glories you are throwing away by not being willing to listen.  You are judging the content by the wrapper.  Strive to get past what you think you know.  Strive to understand what you’ve never comprehended.

And have mercy on that person.  He or she is trying, with all they have, to interpret the things of heaven to human ears.  It might take some time to get the message out clearly.  Encourage them to try again, if what they say to you makes no sense at all.  If you want mercy from God, be willing to give it to your sincere brother.

You’ll have to put on patience, something we humans seem to have extremely little of.   But if you comprehend what they’re trying to tell you, you’ll find every difficulty more valuable than all the riches in the world.

Can You Explain?

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We say with some semblance of a surety, “God cannot lie”.  If that is true, then how can you explain your lack?  How is it that so many have a form of religion but deny the power of it?  You have agreed that God cannot lie!  How then are you weak, O’ Church of the Living God?

You are like those who entered near to the land of Canaan.  You testify that God will fight for you.  But you make not one step toward the war!  With proclamation of great and glorious words, you live a lie

You agree with the Holy words of Christ, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.  But you are bound up in fear.  Are you able to explain this?

If a man buys a new car, he is filled with pride and tells all his friends about his beautiful possession.  He washes it and waxes it, parks it in a safe place, and takes great care of his great possession.  (Isn’t this true among so many of you?)  With confidence he drives it, for he trusts it with all his heart.  His heart is full of pride and joy as people see what he has.

Great big church buildings!  High-tech fills them.  The seats are plush.  The ornaments of religion are carefully and artistically drawn.  You have agreed with this construction and spent good money to accomplish your desire. Yet every Sunday, without fail, they are filled with people who do not believe!  Can you explain this?

You leave evangelism to those who are professionally trained to do.  Why?  They urge you and urge you to do the same, yet you fear to speak His Holy Name.  Can you explain this?

The power of God’s Holy Spirit and His people has become forced to hide.  There is no difference between those who say they are politically correct and those who proclaim they are Christians.  Those who worship the creation and deny the Holy God his Holy place, are the same as those who proclaim they are eternal beings!  Can you explain this?

I will tell you why these things are so.  But what is done about it is up to you.  You have exchanged the Glory of God for the glory of man.  It is as our truth-filled God has spoken.   “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter”.

It is true, God cannot lie.  Will you take the time to believe his promise toward those who do not love him?  Are you willing to fear God and stop fearing man?  Are you willing to sprout legs and stop being a worm?  Are you willing to soar on eagles wings, abandoning your hole in the ground?  Isn’t the choice entirely yours?

By His Grace

Miming Christians

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Not one man can “do” Christianity.  If they could, we would call it religion (man’s ways of pleasing his version of God).

Christianity is not a religion.  It is the outcropping that appears from the will of God sent to a man.  It is, for the most part, an involuntary attribute.

Ask any vital Christian why he refuses to shut up about Jesus.  He will tell you that he simply can’t.

We don’t mimic Christian ways.  We become them, regardless our worthless desires to remain among men.

Rampant Poverty

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It is true that in this world there are the poor.  It is also true that the world makes much commotion about this.  They fire one another up to eradicate poverty.  But no headway is ever accomplished.  As soon as they release one into productivity, five more take his place.

Unfortunately what is true in the world is also true in the church.  There is a poverty  that cannot be solved with the resources of this world.  And it does not dress itself in visible rags.

Those who are rich in the forgiveness of Christ often seal up their wealth as if it can be stolen.  And I find myself unable to speak of the power of God absent from display in my brothers.

While the world walks about destitute and ragged, many Christians live happy peaceful lives.  While the resources of the world are gobbled up by greed, the resources of Christ are often hidden from the masses by fear.

Does this make sense to anyone?

The world carries on great campaigns to solve a problem that will never go away.  But doesn’t the “Modern” church find itself doing the same thing?

It has become a virtually impossible task to tell the difference between the “good people” of this world and the “Modern” Christian Church.  No wonder the poverty of soul is so widely spread.

A simple question, addressed to every Christian:  “Are those who know you even aware that you are a Christian?”

I guess there is one place of solace.  Both horrific forms of poverty will find their conclusion at the Holy throne of God.

1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3)

By His Grace

True Pleasure

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If sadness does not accompany us on our waking.  If what is first in our desire, is to be full of joy and laugh.  If we find we can look back at our past with great pride.  If there is no fear within us for the things we love to do.  I submit to every man (Christian or not) , that such a life may not have the Living God within it at all. 

(By using the phrase “may not have”, I mean the odds are 99:1.  For those of you who know nothing about gambling or other games of chance, such odds are not even worth playing.  What sane person loves to play a game he knows he can never win?)

What is pleasurable in the flesh, stands at odds with the desire of the Living God.  There is a joy in the Holy Spirit.  But it is not like the joy of man.  Man is full of joy at what he has.  The Christian is full of joy in The Promise.

There is a history in every Christian that is worthy of peaceful contemplation.  But the world would not recognize it as peaceful.  The world would perceive such a life as a desperate insanity.  For the Christian finds that not one single thought of his own was worthy of thinking.  The Christian’s only moments of sanity, are those places where he obeyed. (And this in direct conflict with the desires of his body)

The Christian may carry a great pride, but it is not for the things he is, nor the things he does or has done.  The Christian’s pride is exclusively in the Lord who has purchased him.  Thus the vibrant testimony, which the world hates, thrives within the man of God.  The man of God will find it impossible to keep his mouth shut.

There is a trembling in fear the man of God owns.  But it is not a fear that restrains.  It is rather a fear that provokes.  It is the very engine of godliness.

The man of God will find that he loves to do the things the world hates.  He will also find that he is full of hatred for the things the world loves.  The people of the world are like a high maintenance woman; they must be entertained 24/7.  But the man of God is full of joy to do the simple things.

To those who stand outside Christianity, I testify that Christianity is not just another religion.  Christianity is always a becoming.  And to those who consider themselves Christians, yet find entertainment their highest priority, I suggest strongly that you reexamine your faith.

While the man of God lives on this earth, he is never at rest.  And the closer we get to the Living God in Christ Jesus, the more dynamic the separation appears.  The closer we get to Him, the less we are in turmoil.  But the journey is easily compared to a bloody and protracted war.  What man can endure such a life on his own?

You can have your life of joy, and peace, and pride.  I would much rather live the life of humiliation before the Living God.  I would rather own no righteousness, than to be full of self praise.

For when I find my own ways abhorrent, then I know I agree with eternal ways of the Holy and Loving God.  And this, my friends, is peace eternal.  This, my friends, is Christianity.

My brothers and sisters in Christ: Check the boxes.  Where has your faith agreed with these things?  Do you find yourself afraid to testify?  Are you fully absorbed in the things the world loves? 

How could you possibly be at peace in godly testimony?  Such a fear testifies that you agree with the world; “Jesus is an embarrassment to you”.

You may think this is a very harsh statement.  But remember that Jesus was not ashamed of his Heavenly Father.  Even to the extreme humiliation of beating and death, he knew he was at war with the things of this world.

Every hero in the Christian faith has lived his life in a desperate war.  If you find yourself living a life of peaceful joy, as you pursue and mingle with those things of the world, how could you possibly be a disciple of Christ?

Any man can call himself anything he pleases.  But there is a line of demarcation.  God himself has drawn the line, in the bloody body of His Holy Son.  And there are far more who straddle that line than those who cross it.

I wrote this to describe the radical difference between Christianity and any other way of life.  But as I came to completion, I began to realize that Christianity has been so watered down that it is almost unrecognizable.

If you consider my last few words to be an attack, you are reading with the glasses of pride, proudly poised on your upturned nose.  The man of God takes instruction where he finds it.  He may not yet be humble, but he knows that is the desired place to live.

I am finished writing this post.  I realize it is not only an instruction, it is also a declaration of war.  So be it.

By His Grace

The Law of the Land

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Silly people; law is for the rebellious.  ( disclaimer: my apologies to the Trix rabbit.  I have no intention of dragging you into a debate regarding legalism.  You are quite free to desire what you cannot have.)

Across the entire globe, civil law is being instituted:

“You are commanded, by virtue of natural law, to act in accordance with peace among all men.  There shall be no allowance made for recognition of differences between peoples or individuals.  Except as required for the sake of authority.

Equality among all persons shall be the law of the land.  Where one is less, provision shall be made to make him more.  Proverty, of any kind, shall be considered illegal. Reparation to equalize shall be the burden of those who have wealth exceeding equality.

The mention of inequality shall be forbidden, except where it pertains to forced reparations.  Praise for any human condition, value or belief, is hereby commanded by law.

Penalties for disobedience shall be the responsibility of local court.  The foundation of any local court’s authority shall be based on world law. 

The forced removal of property, and even the penalty of death, is available as reasonable punitive action.  Common social-geographical opinion is to be taken into consideration for the more severe of penalties.”

If you think this simulation of law is too fanciful to be real, you might want to take a second look at the current legal, political and social trends.  And while you look, do not forget that a “one world order” has been prophesied.

But I did not write this for the sake of prophecy.  I wrote this to expose the folly of man’s rebellion against the Holy One.

Christianity has not gone unnoticed.  Since it cannot be quenched with murder,  the rebellious have determined to annihilate its effectiveness and lure, by institution of similar law. 

The new ploy of the enemy of God, is to provide a legalized version of righteousness which mimics the properties of the Holy Spirit within God’s chosen people.

But law can never replace love.  Many will say that such laws are based on love.  By reason of logic alone, I differ greatly. 

The laws of man are instituted because he perceives rebelion.  Therefore those who allow themselves to be ruled by such laws are counted as rebels.  And do not allow yourself to be fooled.  Where the law was begun there is no end, only escalation.

Those who try to justify themselves by law stand directly opposed to the grace of God in Christ Jesus.  God the Father has placed the entirety of His grace in His Holy Son.  By this grace salvation is given freely.  Those who attempt to earn salvation by works under law, spit in the face of the mercy of God.

But let the future unfold as it will.  Such laws will surely come to pass.  The salvation of man is at stake (The greatest of possible provocations).  And we are assured that more will elevate themselves by law then will humble themselves in grace.

The pride of man demands it,
While the grace of God is commanded.

Institution vs freedom, pride vs humility, law vs love, godlessness vs godliness.
Which will YOU choose?

By His Grace