Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

The Resilient Church

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The persecution of the Christian Church does not work.  It’s been proven through the generations, that the more you beat Christians, the more Christians there are.  There’s a very logical reason for this.

It’s like a man who was brought before the judge for social disobedience.  When he refused to mend his ways, he was sentenced to 30 lashes.  When the lashing was completed he was sent with his bloody back to sit in a jail cell until he healed.

Two months went by.  He was called again before the magistrate.  “Did you love the lashes?”   The prisoner was asked.  The reply was matter of fact, there was no defiance in the man’s tone.  “No sir, I did not love the lashes.”

“That’s a good reply.”  Said the magistrate.  “Are you willing then to return to society and never repeat your wicked behavior?” 

“Sir, with all due respect, I did nothing wrong.  I was speaking the words of the Living God in public.  Many took offense at the words and the disturbance came up.  I was arrested as a social dissident.  But I did nothing wrong.”

“Then you will receive 30 more lashes and spend time in jail to heal.  Perhaps then you will change your mind.”   The judge’s sentence was firm.

“Your honor, I must confess.  I did not love the first lashing.  I will not love the second.  And I will refuse to capitulate with a society that is so corrupt, and hold so highly such unjust laws.”

My friends you cannot stamp out Christianity by violence.  But you have obviously learned your lesson.  You could not make us join your corrupt society.  So you have sent your corrupt society in among the family of God.

These have feigned allegiance to the Christ, long enough for the family of God to love them.  Then with heartbreaking stories they appealed for inclusion.  Willingly denying the call for holiness.

Now the family of God in Christ is bewildered.  They have loved you are corrupt people.  They do not desire to send them back outside.

You are succeeding in corrupting the church where beatings offered no profit.  But I will tell you this.  Christ Jesus is busily planting his crop outside your corrupted churches.

You thought you had finally succeeded in what beatings could not accomplish.  The church had become located in a prominent and conspicuous place.  But the Lord has anticipated and responded to your wicked behavior.

Christianity is on the rise!  You failed once by violence.  You will certainly fail by corruption.  No matter what you do, you will never stamp out the Church of Christ Jesus!

By His Grace

Proper Conversation

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I am forced to

Think again

The value of

Earth’s discourse.

Which is greater,

The three dimension,

Or heaven which spreads,

In all direction?

Although it’s fun to

Play the game,

Where logic’s

Lite and breezy.

Better to bear the

Hard light torch,

That sets men’s

Bellies queasy.

So back again to

The work at hand.

No time to

Waste round here.

To speak of

Jesus Christ the King,

Bringing heaven so

Very near.

By His Grace

The Gospel Lay in Plain Sight

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Please allow me to speak for you, you who have known the man I was.  I perceive what you have seen in me.  I understand your confusion.  And, to some point, I am forced by righteousness to agree with your assessment of me.

I have been an ungodly, unholy, unrighteous, wicked, mean, and vicious man.  You are not wrong.  But do you know what the Gospel has to say?

I agree with you to the place I was.  But at the advent of His Holy Mercy upon me, you ceased to know me.  You retain the perception you had.  But you did not relent with wisdom to perceive the changes He has come to make in me.  How can I hold this against you?  You perceive in ignorance.  Your eyes are covered with “what was”.

The Gospel proclaims that God will transform any soul that calls out to Him in the power of His Holy Son.  I know there have been liars who have not displayed this power.  They have proclaimed that they are changed, yet no change was ever visible in their behavior.  And by these liars, you count my testimony as false.

But I know what I know regarding what the Holy Lord has done in me.  I know my testimony to you is worthless.  For your heart rightly perceives that the testimony of a man, regarding himself, is not possibly true.  On the testimony of two or three others, on this alone is a man’s behavior justified in the presence of any assembly.

God testifies for me, for my conscience is clear before His Holy Throne.  The Holy Son testifies for me, for it is He who has brought these holy things to appearance.  And the power of the Holy Spirit teaches me to inhabit the Holy things of the Living God.  And there are many witnesses to holy behavior that you will never meet.

All three of these reliable witnesses testify to what they have made come to pass in this man.  And the group of men who have witnessed a different man than you have ever known, testify to what they have seen.

But you cannot believe, for the sake of the lies, and the man I was.  Two things must be spoken here.

I will not hold your opinions against you, for your opinions are built on a faulty excuse for a man.  You are blinded to “what is”, by the power of “what was”.  God will not judge between us, nor on my behalf (as if to defend me).  Let your accusations be stricken from the accounting on the Holy Day of Judgment.

The Gospel lays in plain sight.  You, like me, are invited to believe.  I release you from any accusations.  But you are not released to remain in ignorance.  For I have testified these things before you:  The transformation of a man is True!  And that God, who cannot lie, has offered the sacrifice of His Holy Son, that all who will, might taste the power of God to heal their wicked heart.

These have been accomplished among you.  I have not arrived at this day (this “place”) unscathed by unholy behavior.  But, my dear friends, neither have you.  You will be held accountable, on that Holy Day, just as I will.  But I will be clothed by the Holy Blood of Christ Jesus, the Holy and Righteous Son of the Living God.  What will be your case, is determined, not by my prior behavior, but on what you do with the Living Testimony that speaks far more powerfully than any man can testify.

The Gospel speaks directly to the soul of every man!  No excuse will suffice.  I have released you.  Will you continue to use me as a shield between you and your own responsibility, or will you mount up on “Belief” to receive the power of God to become transformed?  Now the choice lay squarely in your own hands.

Regardless the Acceptance

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There is no one like God, in Christ Jesus His Holy Son.

There is nothing like His embrace of Holy Forgiveness.

There is nothing on earth worth our time, if we don’t have His Love;

His Holy Love that transcends every barrier.

 

I know you balk at this, all you of this world.

I know the flesh hates such words of proper praise and placement.

I know the eternal nature of the Living God has no place within the things of man.

I know you cannot accept these words, or the ones who speak them.

 

And what a shame, that you should remain outside His Holy Love.

And what horrible future there is for such a heart.

And what potential there is if you would just lay down your pride.

And how long is eternity, that you should remain estranged from the Living God’s Son.

Worth It All

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Those who know me, know that in my past I have been an agent for destruction.  Everywhere I went, I destroyed lives.  Selfishness was all I knew.  I had no respect for anyone else’s life, or prosperity.  Only God knows how much of that man is dead.

But a new man has risen from the carcass.  This one is thoroughly ashamed of such behavior.  He strives to let people be more than himself.  But again, only God knows how much.

I did the things I did out of habit.  One might say out of compulsion.  And I don’t know how many of those habits or how much selfish compulsion to be destructive still lives in my mind.  All I know is that I strive everyday, all day, to be a different man.

Prayer has become often and earnest.  With a great abandon, I have thought the truth of God through and through.  To the point that what you see written in this blog is likely less than 1/8 the volume.  And with all my might I strive to do the things I learn.

I’m not trying to praise myself.  And it would be ridiculous to look for pity.  For justice remembers that I had no pity on others.

I write this for the sake of those who are like I was.  I write this that you may know there is a way out.  And the exit door has a name, Jesus the Christ of God.  But I also wrote this as a testimony to what you can expect.

You can expect to remember what you’ve done.  You can expect the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins.  You can expect God to teach you how to put selfishness away.  You can expect him to teach you the real meaning of love.  You can even expect to become quite trustworthy.

But you cannot expect those who knew the man you were, to trust you.  Just as you will not forget the man you were, they remember all the more. 

But doesn’t that painful experience give you a magnificent opportunity to be humble, forgiving, patient and understanding?  And aren’t those four attributes foundations for love?

You can expect that becoming the new man will be a horribly painful experience.  But I have determined, it is about time I tasted my own medicine.  And the Lord Jesus reassures me that the pain will be worth it all.

By His Grace

Two Lions

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The forgiveness of Christ is the ultimate power for life.  If a man’s sins are forgiven, his conscience is cleaned.  Where then is regret?
Where then is fear? 
Where then is strength to live? 
What kind of joy should this one own? 
What kind of man should he be able to become?

Are you willing to dissect this truth with me?  Are you willing to be free of regret?
Are you willing to become fearless?
Are you willing to become endlessly strong?
Are you willing to be full of joy?
Are you willing to become a child of the Living God?

It may be that you have said yes to all these.  But if these are not a part of your life, have you asked why?  And if you asked, were you able to endure the answer?

These things are true for the one who is forgiven.  Why then are they not true for you?

I don’t mean to attack you or to judge.  I simply asked the question that everyone in Christ is asking.  “If the forgiveness of Christ is real, then why do I struggle so?”

You believe the things of the gospel.  But the problem is application to you.  At your best moment, and full of generosity, you perceive that forgiveness is available to every man.  But in your personal practice, that application comes and goes.  It gives you strength and leaves.  Why does it leave?  If it leaves, have you pondered why it even comes at all?

If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, why not you?  Why can’t you have that familiar strength all the time?

The answer, whether we like it or not, is diligence.  When we are strong in Christ, by His forgiveness, it is because we have taken time to assess our situation.  It is because we fail to sit quietly and make assessment, that we falter and lose our strength.  Isn’t this so?

Then it takes a strong man to receive the things of Christ.  It takes one who is dedicated purely to living the truth.  As a man is lazy in the things of Christ, so his faith will lack.  We could call such a soul, a sluggard.  Couldn’t we?

Proverbs 26 addresses this very clearly.
13. A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

Yes there’s a lion roaming the streets.  And for this the sluggard keeps his door shut.

But hear this truth!  There is also a lion in your own house.

The Lion of Judah roams the streets seeking earnest hearts.  While the lion who devours, lives among your things.  The One is fearsome and free.  The other is domesticated and emaciated.

As you can understand, let me say this:  Get off your couch, open the door, and walk in the streets.  If you have faith, prove it to yourself.  Become diligent.

The domesticated one will not go with you, he will remain emaciated and sleeping on the couch. 

But you!  Go out into the street and call for Him.  The Lion of Judah is free and full of fire.  Yet you know you do not fear him.  You fear your own weakness.

You know he can take away your weakness and give you strength.  You know he can decimate your regret.  You know he can make you fearless.  You know he can give you the fullness of life.

Then the choice is yours.  Remain with your pet domesticated and emaciated lion,  or go out in the street and live.

If I say to you, “I live in the street”, I would be a liar.  For I wake in my house just like you.  But he teaches me to walk past the couch and go outside.  As honestly as I can, I tell you, this takes great strength.

But my brothers and sisters, it is so sincerely worth it!  In my past, laziness has destroyed me.  But as I listen to him, I retain diligence.  This truth he teaches me, is the same for all men.

By His Grace