Tag Archives: Christianity

Too Weak to Speak.

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Christian symbol: This symbol was used primari...

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I’ve talked to many Christians who think they don’t know enough about their faith to encourage others or convert the unsaved to a faith in Christ.  I was there too.  For many years I didn’t know what to say.  How did I get to the place where I’m creating a blog for the Lord?  I got here by watching others struggle with the truth themselves.  I saw how they stumbled around for the words.  And I was encouraged by their faith.  It’s not that they were able to make a mountain move off into the sea.  They didn’t have the faith to raise the dead or even heal the common cold.  They had the faith that in their trying they would gain from the Lord the understanding and strength to continue.

Look at how you’ve been encouraged by the faith of others who spoke out against wickedness or spoke of what is Righteous before the Lord.  When you begin to speak with what knowledge you do have, you will accomplish at least two things.  You will gain a confidence you didn’t have.  And each time you exercise that confidence it will grow.  And you will encourage others to speak out also.

Many are silent because others have been silent.  I encourage you to do your part to spread the Gospel.  Risk embarrassment.  It’s worth it.  And you’ll never become proficient as long as you never try.

 

By His Grace.

Nail it Down Now. Don’t Add to Regrets.

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Screw the deck boards in

Image by mathowie via Flickr

The deck out back wasn’t built very well.  The uprights aren’t spaced evenly.  And there aren’t enough of them to steady the weight from wiggling laterally.  It’s old.  And the nails they used are beginning to loosen.  I’ve hammered them back in a few times.   But they come loose again each year.   The frost, rain, and heat do their work to loosen what was done.  So I’m putting deck screws into the joints to help the deck last a few years longer.

While I’m doing this, I’m looking for similarities between my Christian walk and the deck I’m working on.  (No. It never stops with me.)  Then it dawned on me.  I consider the shoddy work done at the beginning of building.  And I’m here doing work to make that bad work last longer.  It will either come down on its own some day, or it will need to be torn down and rebuilt.  Either way, it won’t last as long as it might have done if the work in the beginning had been done well.

Consider your Christian life.  If you have had a rather shaky start, or allowed the world to mingle with your Christianity while you were forming the foundations of your faith, you’ll be fixing it till your last day on earth.  If you’ve begun a strong foundation to your Christianity, you’re likely going to be able to support more weighty problems.  And you’re less likely to be swayed by the winds of wickedness that the world will throw at you.

If you’ve had a shaky start, get in there and strengthen what remains.  Isn’t that what the Lord told us to do?  Keep what you have.  There’s no sense in tearing down what remains.  Refine your faith in the Lord.  Nail down those weak questionable choices you keep making.  Solidify your understanding in the Lord and learn what the Lord’s will is for you.  

Why am I out there sweating like a water faucet today?  I’m out there working on the deck because it needs to be done if I expect it to endure another winter or two.  What about you?   How long do you expect to have to endure this world’s assaults?  1 year?  30 years?  You’d do well to start strengthening yourself now.  The Christian walk either gets harder or easier come the end of your life.  Either you’ve planned and learned well to obey the Lord, or you’ve begun to forget the foundational teachings because you’re letting the world influence your choices.

By His Grace.

Special?

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

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“If you drink this beer you’ll be special.” 

“If you shop here you’ll be special.” 

“If you act like this you’ll be special.” 

“If you have lots of friends you’ll be special.” 

“If you know the intricate details of the latest fad you’ll be special.” 

“If you gain that certain position of importance you’ll be special.”

Over the decades and into the centuries, who is remembered?  What great accomplishment can be made that will last for thousands of years?  Martin Luther King is remembered now.  But even as the days tick by there are people trying to rid historical books of his contribution to society.  In 200 years he will be forgotten except by a few.  Hitler is still remembered.  But there will come a time, if there’s enough time, when his contribution (or lack thereof) will be forgotten. 

Men come and go.  Deeds are done and then forgotten.  The only mark left is a memory or a little slab of rock.  Yet every one of us wants to be special and important.  We live out our days trying to leave our mark on this ball of dirt.  But what will last?   And what will happen to our “mark” when eternity rolls into view?

Only that which is built by the Father in Heaven through Jesus will last.  Don’t fool yourself by striving to become something in the eyes of other people.  Serve Him and you have the potential of becoming an eternal mark.

by His Grace.

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“I have said, ‘You are gods.'”

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Sculpture - head of Jesus Christ

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Who are we?  Why did the Glorious God of all create us?  We are a jewel in His Majestic Glory.  We are the work of His hand.  Yet the wicked abound.  Even the wicked are created to become sons of the Most High God.  They spurn His rule over them.  They are men of His creation.  But they desire their own desires.  He would have us all desire to serve Him.  And in His service there is no shame nor burden.   With His Word, he proclaims “I have said you are gods.  Yet you will die like mere men.” 

He has set us to live that we might learn from Him.  We are led by the Mighty Hand of God’s desire and Glory.  We are placed in a tent of flesh that we might learn humility and obedience.  Yet men by millions hate His guidance.  They build for themselves every pleasure they imagine.  And the Lord has allowed that they should have their day.   I have heard a man say “Read the books of those who hate the Most High God and His people.  It’s only fair that you read the books of my longing, if you expect me to read and understand the Book of yours.”  And what was the reply of the Lord within me to this man?  “I do not seek to be fair.  I seek the truth of God in Christ Jesus.” 

We are set apart to glorify the Lord of our Calling!  We do not strive under the same dementia as do those who throw away the very One who gave them minds to consider the world around them.  They are lost in a place of testing and can give no answer for their lives.

The Lord will have His day and He will not be put off.   Every man will answer to His Majestic Righteousness.  He has been patient with those who are now His enemies.  He has given every opportunity for them to consider His ways and to humble themselves under His Beautiful Will.  Refuse, you hated of the Lord’s Glory.  For you turn from His pleasure to seek your own.  Refuse and die.  Or choose to accept His gift in Jesus, His Christ, and live.  He offers, with open hand, a peace between you and His Glory. 

May the Lord of Life forever be glorified for the work of His powerful hand in the works of His people.  May His people know who they are and become pleasing to the Lord.  Rise up and dress yourselves with the Glory of God!  You are His sheep.  He has set you to wander in this Place of Testing, that you might learn of His ways.  Jesus has gone before us that we might perceive both the punishment of the wicked, and the reward of the Most High God for those who desire His ways.

By His Grace.

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A Testimony Given.

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In this 1768 parchment, Jekuthiel Sofer emulat...

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The following is from a conversation with someone else.   The Lord allows His people to speak according to His wisdom.  And His wisdom should not be bottled up.  So I post this here that more people might have a chance to encounter the Gospel.

I am not a wise man.  But God is Fully Wise.  It is God who will be glorified.  And it is simply man’s duty before Him to serve in whatever arena God allows. 

The person had made the statement that the first command Jesus gave was that we love our brothers as we love ourselves.

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Actually, the first commandment Jesus gave us all was to Love the Lord with all . . .

Now let me go a bit afield, then I’ll try to narrow it down a bit. I hope this isn’t one of those stupid moments.

I have to go to the dentist soon. OH MAN I HATE GOING THERE! I’ll sit in that chair and she’ll do a number on me. The smell of burning bone is hideous. But I gotta go if I want avoid looking like Mater in the movie cars.

How do I know I have to go to the dentist? It’s because I have a mirror. I notice that I chew kind of awkward. Sometimes there’s a whistle attached to my “S”. And my Lady has kind of let me know a few times that wedding pictures would look better if I went.

Ok… that was as far afield as I planned to go. Let me try to bring it back home.

If the first commandment is to love the Lord, then everything after that is going to have God in it, solid and foundational.

I know the things that suck within me because I have looked long and hard into the words of the Bible and saw as much of my real self as I could stomach. I listened to the preaching and teaching of hundreds of men who knew the intimate details of that Word. I noticed how much of a fool I was compared to the Glorious nature of the God of the Bible. And as for a comparison to my Lady’s comments: We who have accepted the gift of forgiveness of God in Jesus, and allow ourselves to be taught by the Holy Spirit He gave as a seal are refered to as the Bride of Christ. There is a wedding to attend. And it won’t be good to attend full of evil, foolishness, unholiness, and rebellion. So as much as it can be a hard task, pride must go by the wayside, and humility must take it’s place.

The second commandment, which you mentioned is to “love your neighbor as yourself. So if I love my neighbor as myself, what’s that mean? I hate who I am. So am I allowed to hate my neighbor also. Not likely. I find I don’t hate everything about me. What I hate is the stuff that doesn’t align with God’s Holy ways. I don’t hate being alive or free to choose. I hate being a rebellious fool. So when I see others acting like the things I hate about me, I’m allowed to speak up, given that I’ve begun a rapport with the person. And allowing that I’ve at least begun to address the same behavioral problems with in myself.

I know it’s a long answer. But I thought the clarification might be useful.

“Not to mention the Christian God simply cannot exist because it defies every understanding of every fundamental law of physics.”
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The Bible teaches that God is completely “other”. He is absolutely not like us. Nor does He live in a world restricted by the same physics we endure. So I’m not sure judging the validity of Christianity based on the known science of the day is a really sound refute to the claims of the Bible.
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On top of that, something that is supposed to be perfect cannot create imperfection. If God is perfect and created humans, because humans are imperfect that makes God imperfect which would make God LESS than God.”
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What God made is a creature who is able to function with free will. (I have a personal theory why the creation happened in the first place. But maybe that will come up at a later date.) He didn’t create sin. He created a place removed from His Holy Throne where free will could play out among a people who had never seen the face of the Most High God. In the end, God reserves the right to harvest from this place of testing. But there is absolutely no indication that God created anything imperfect. He did warn Adam and Eve that if they chose wrong there would be a deadly horrible price to pay.

And please don’t forget that the Bible mentions another character who has no regard for anything pure or Holy. He plays a rather central role in what I’ve come to refer to as “This Place of Testing”.

By His Grace.

He Will Do it All.

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In the King James Version there is Refrence to...

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Glorious Father of Life.  It is Your way which is Right.  No man can know Your Way on his own.  And obedience, pure obedience, to You cannot be contrived.  You have set the boundaries of understanding for man.  And You said, “This far you shall come and no more”.   In Your eternal wisdom You have caused a place where man must seek Your Holy Face if he is to do the will of God.  And You did this to reduce the pride of man to nothing.  It is Your hand which redeems.  And no man can manufacture Your salvation on his own.

You will be Glorified forever by Your Great Name and hand.  Your people will praise Your wisdom in salvation forever.  May You receive the fruit of Your hand.  May Your people provide bountiful fruit.  You have raised up a people for Yourself.  And no man was consulted regarding what is Pure.

 

By His Grace.

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