Tag Archives: Christianity

All things Christ

The Pastorate is not Gained by Man

by

0


Church of Body of Christ in Kaunas. Lietuvių: ...

Church of Body of Christ in Kaunas. Lietuvių: Dievo kūno bažnyčia, Kaunas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How shall a man determine that he should stand in the body of Christ in a certain place?  Is he to render himself to the Lord and speak like this:  “Lord, Most High God, I will stand here and do these things for I am worthy.”  Is it not the Lord who places each of His people among the body?  We have heard of gifts given to man by the Lord, and that for the building up of the body of Christ.  Yet some suppose, in their vain imagination, that they possess certain gifts.  And so they provoke, prod, push, and tender their way to a position.  Some have even had the gall to become teachers in the Church with this pompous attitude.  These are those who consider that the Word of God is all that is necessary to achieve position.  Yet they miss the mark.  And the Church today suffers under the oppression of their folly.

It is the Lord Jesus who gives position to man.  If there were but one teacher appointed by the Lord he would do great things beyond ten thousand presumptuous men.  There is nothing accomplished, which will last eternally, if it is not accomplished by the power of the Lord Himself.  A man should become promoted to position because he has shown the power of God within him to accomplish that post.  The ability to read and speak are no sign of the power of God among us.

May the Lord Himself give insight into these things.  May all His people search for His Holy will with all their might.  May wisdom from God be first, and the will of man be last.  Unless the Lord builds the house the builder builds in vain!

There are those who will take your money to give you a position in the Church.  And there are people who will take you in to lead them and call you pastor, priest, even “father”.  But I urge you to consider this:  You are a man.  They are but men.  Shall the blind lead the blind down, what the Lord Himself has called, “the narrow way”?  Decide for yourself what is right.  Who shall know the mind of God but the Spirit of God within us.

In ALL things it is first and last Jesus, the Lord and King of all righteousness.  Seek Him aside from man.  Search out His will.  Why would you pay money for what you cannot eat?

Lord I ask that you give insight into these things for all who seek to serve You.

By His Grace.

An Inconvient Truth

by

0


An Inconvient Truth

An Inconvient Truth (Photo credit: yuan2003)

Allow me to speak as one who has been accepted by Jesus.  I am a Christian who has been a horrible sinner.  Drinking, drugs, profanity, blasphemy, immorality, and every other kind of sin were the banner of my life.  I don’t say this to brag at the amount of change in my life.  What I mean is that I don’t say that as a badge of some sort.  It is not to my honor that I lived like that for over 30 years.  And it is of no credit to me that it took nearly 50 years of living to come to terms with the Lord Jesus.  I speak of these things to show you that I know what it is to live in wickedness.  Now I am going to  speak as the man who God has caused to inhabit this bag of blood.  And it is to the wicked I will render these words.  You who have also came from that kind of life and now find yourselves blessed by the presence of God will know what I am about to say is true.

What will you do, sinner and foolish men, you who now walk as if there is no accounting?  What will you do when you are older and find that those you have trashed along the way begin to die?  What will you say?  There is an accounting here in the flesh.  It will fall on you with great noise in your soul as you watch opportunity to make things right evaporate before your very eyes.  You who divorced the mother of your children, what will you do when she dies before you do?  What will you feel as you realize that your hope of making things right between you is absolutely and forever gone?

You who have abandoned the children you have fathered, what will you do when one of them dies before you do?  What will you cry that will make it right between you?  There is an accounting to be had even before the judgment of God.  I can testify to you that you will weep like a little child.  Ache in your heart will overwhelm you.  And you will be left with nothing to say, no where to go, nothing to do that will be useful.

This post is a warning that sin has consequences.  If you are wise you will listen to what I have said.  I do not speak as one who supposes these things.  I have tasted them and warn you as one of you who has become full of hope in Jesus.  Yet that plague of regret enters my life uninvited.  I do not weep as you will weep if you continue on your path of wickedness and rebellion before God.  But weep I do, none-the-less.

I urge you to do all you can to make things right now.  I tell you a truth.  A moment is coming toward you with earnest speed in which you will loathe who you are.  Now is the time to rise up and find courage.  Or you can simply wait long enough.  And you will surely see that what I say here is true.

 

By His Grace.

Woe! What a Shame!

by

0


Television set for Wikipedia userbox icons, or...

Television set for Wikipedia userbox icons, or other things. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is a shame, the wickedness of man.  When the veil is torn apart and man stands before the Most High God every shame of man will be exposed.  Oh how they will wish they had spent their lives searching after the things of God.

But there is an even greater shame today.  There are a people who have been bought by the evil one.  They put themselves on the block to be bought, taught, and sold into slavery.  Who are these?  They are the ones who will tell a man of God that they have no time to better themselves in the things of God.  Yet these are the same ones who will spend 5 hours a day watching television.

It is to their great and utter ruin that they allow their precious days to pass like this in this place of testing.  They allow themselves to learn the items of wickedness to a fine honed edge.  But they spend no time learning about the things of God.

They have become pawns of wickedness.  They are traded and laughed at all day long by those who hold them in a trance of blindness.  “Buy this.  Act like this.  Desire this.  Endure this.  Teach your children this.  Embrace this life of useless wickedness, for I command you who waste your time here to learn from me.”  And they will indeed buy, act, desire, endure, teach and embrace every wicked and utter abomination set before them.

Woe to those who crave the things of this world and make no preparation for the coming visit from the Holy One of Israel!  Woe to them.  For they have set themselves apart for evil and made no attempt to please the One who made them.  Do they really think they will receive a rich welcome into His presence?

Entering In

by

0


Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is an entering into Christianity much as there are “entering ins” in the world around us.  We enter into kindergarten and experience a whole new world of knowledge and honing of abilities.  In Christianity, I guess, we could liken this to the favored verbal acceptance of Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

There is an entering in that happens when we move into the school system between grades 1 and 12.  Every year we are expected to grow in knowledge and ability.  And in Christianity, again I guess, this would equate with the body of knowledge taught in what is called the Church today.  These are basic truths that can be found in writing.  In school we call them text books.  In the Church we refer to the Bible, hymns, and other literature that surround the Christian with appropriate knowledge.   Each of these have their supported values in season.  But I propose that there are two more enter ins that should happen to every Christian.

After grade 12 some go on to college.  Others move directly into the work force.  But regardless their choice, they are not faced with a rather loud slap in the face.  “No more learning the basics.  Now you learn how to apply what you learned before.”

One of the entering ins that are obvious is that of entering into the peace of God after the judgment.  We know that will be an eternal entering.  And those whose names were found in the Lamb’s book of life will never again exit His presence.  The other “entering in” is rarely considered in the Church today.  It has to do with a certain undeniable confidence we gain before the Lord.  It is the place where faith and hope turn into a kind of knowing.  We are no longer tossed about like styrofoam on a wildly tossed sea.  We become settled in the matters of forgiveness, holiness, obedience, and love.

I urge you to look into this for yourself.  I know it is real.  And there are times when I experience this for myself.  But it comes and goes according to our understanding of His love toward us.  We are no longer called servants then, but we are refered to as brothers.  For a servant does not know his master’s business.  But a brother is part of the family and is heir to what is yet to be unveiled by the Father.

There is another reason to seek out the truth in this matter:  “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”  (1 John 2:28)  Have you given much thought of what you will do when you see Him face to face?  Remember what the prophet Isaiah said?  Such a sturdy servant of the Lord, and yet he could not stand.  “”Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”  (Isaiah 6:5)

Let’s get sober here!  Don’t listen to those who paint the Lord Jesus as a big cuddly teddy bear.

Just a Thought

by

3


If you stopped going to church for a couple weeks, would you notice a serious difference in your life and habits?  Other than missing some of your friends, and their subsequent phone calls.  Would there be a measurable difference?

I ask this because most people confuse “going to church” with a relationship with the Living God.  I can say the following with great confidence:  “If you would miss only your friends and the traditions of the church, then you have nothing.  If, on the other hand, you would experience a silence from God and miss it you likely have something worth holding tight to.”

The nearness of God is such a natural state of affairs for the soul that people often don’t know what they have until it is disrupted.  Just something to ponder folks.

Førde Church, a typical Protestant church in N...

Førde Church, a typical Protestant church in Norway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Too Much to Expect?

by

0


Where are the teachers of the Lord?  In this whirl wind of lies, deception, redefinition of words, abominations, immorality, idolatry, and chaos, where is the word of those who have lived within the will of God all their adult lives?  I’m looking for the wise among man who can lead others away from the brink of destruction.

Are we, as a nation, sealed now in the corruption of sin?  Is there no voice from the righteous people of God against these things?  Where is the concerted attack against media from the Christian community?  Where is the righteous word against lies?  Why does the Christian community, as a whole whisper like this?  While sin is consuming our nation, is there no one who will stand up like a pillar of fire and spout the truth?  Or have we become so comfortable in our little lives that we won’t step forward?

I know, and so do you, that anyone who raises his voice against the folly of this nation will be set on like a baby among hungry wolves.  What a precious opportunity to shine for the Lord.  I am a fool redeemed.  Where is the righteous man of Christ?