Idol Worship

Idol worship. Sounds so ancient doesn't it? Really its the principal that counts. Right now this country worships at the idols of sex and money. Of course, there are others, but for now the idol of sex has caught my attention.

Actually I have personal experience with this one and I can tell you that nothing in this world will leave you more empty and desolate than making 'sex' your god.

HOW LONG O PEOPLE WILL YOU SACRIFICE TO THIS IDOL? Will you sacrifice until you have nothing left to give but your own life? Will you sacrifice your families? Your children? This generation is so confused, so mislead by our worship of sex that they don't even know its true purpose or value. They don't understand true love. Instead, the pursue sex as an object. Something to be acquired at all costs and the bigger the sex trophy the better. What is the result?

Death. Disease. Rotting. Depression. Anger. Desperation. Self loathing. Hurt. Pain. ...and a continuing cycle of said symptoms of this.

There is only ONE GOD that can heal you, fill you, and give you the TRUE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE that you need... and that is JESUS CHRIST.

Johnny

Johnny was a good kid. He usually did his chores, homework, and took good care of his mom and sister. His dad left when he was little and then his mom got remarried to this complete $-hole who beat her. Johnny watched and vowed that he would never be like this. But because Johnny is human he still longed for a father's approval. Unaware that this is what he was really seeking, his interaction with guys at school began to change. As his desire for male approval grew, he began to go through puberty and his brain, while attracted to girls was set on his desperate need for a father's loving touch. He began to feel differently towards boys than seemed normal and one day realized that he wanted to give affection to and to receive affection from one boy in particular that he felt drawn to... he didn't understand why he felt this way, but he definitely did.

Unfortunately though, Johnny has a major conflict. He was taught by his mom and his pastor that these feelings are sinful and that should he pursue them he may even go to hell... could God even love him? How could Jesus love someone who was so backward? But the world called out to Johnny and warmly drew him into its embrace. He was taught in school that this is natural for some people and that some people are simply born "different". Now it was ok, though he could never tell his mom or his church friends about it.

Johnny has now decided that he is homosexual. He is responsible for his own choices and actions based upon those choices. Johnny is also the victim of a very unfortunate set of circumstances. Not every homosexual person is like him, but many are. Is Johnny to blame for his chosen lifestyle? Will God dole out black and white judgment on Johnny for being "gay"? The world tells Johnny that he is accepted and normal... and yet at the same time tells him he is weird and backwards. The church tells Johnny that he is a sinner and has to change who he is before he can be one of them.

This is not a story of any one person in particular. It represents people that I know... some who I am related to and some who I love dearly as friends.

God is love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I do not present an answer... merely a problem. I weep for Johnny. I have cried and prayed for Johnny for years. I weep because what Johnny does will only hurt him and take him further from his true Father... the Father God. If Johnny could truly experience the Father's loving, healing touch he would be made whole once again. I weep because those who claim to know the Father's love have shut Johnny out. Instead of loving him and praying for him, crying out for the Father to show Johnny His love and His approval, they give Johnny an ultimatum and make him unwelcome.

The world has changed. It is no longer the time of Christendom or even post-christendom. It is a place where what is right is often scoffed at and what is wrong is revered. Where that which was once unacceptable is now proclaimed as good and all are virtually commanded through social moray to accept it.

It is time for a new kind of follower of Christ to step forward. The kind of person dedicated not to themselves or even to others like them, but the kind of person dedicated to loving ALL around them. The kind of person who sees past the outside and into the heart.

When o Church will you open your eyes and see the world through your Father's eyes?

meditate = memorize

I have been memorizing scripture passages every day this last week. WOW. I mean WOW. I can't believe that I shunned and hated this practice as a child and even in college.

The passage I just memorized is John 14:12-14 "I can guarantee this truth: those who believe in Me will do the things I am doing. And they will do even greater things because I am going to my Father. Whatever you ask the Father in my name I will do so that the Father will receive glory because of the Son. If you ask me to do something, I will do it."

This is an amazing passage, but can I just say that only through memorization will we really ever meditate on something? King David said that he "meditated" on the Word BOTH MORNING AND NIGHT. That doesn't mean that he read it and then read it again, it means that he was memorizing it. He was storing it in his heart.

One of the disciplines of Israel's Kings (if they were righteous), in my understanding, is that they had to memorize the books of the law on a regular basis. The spent a significant amount of time studying and applying to memory the law of God. This is most likely where Psalms 1 comes from

1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.(A)

3And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. (Amplified Bible, biblegateway.com)

Did you see that?? "his DELIGHT and DESIRE are in the law of the Lord" "and on His law he habitually meditates by day and by night."

Holy stinkin' awesome! David KNEW! He knew the results of applying God's word to our lives because he lived it. He experienced it. Furthermore, he understood that God's word changes us.

When we store the word inside of us it begins to change us. And the more we put in the more we are transformed. John Decker, in his and his wife's book "Doing What Jesus Did" talks about hearing God. This is always something that I have struggled with. Always-- it used to make me angry because I KNEW that God was real, I had seen, literally, seen the evidence of His hand; so why did He not speak to me?

In the book, John tells a story, and as it turns out, he had a hard time hearing God too. But he found, when he began to memorize the word that he could hear God clearer and clearer. SO, I think that part of the changes that occur in us when we study the word, when we store it inside us, as it changes us, is that we begin to hear. It opens up our ears to the supernatural.

If you are reading this, I just want to encourage you, when you next get on your knees before God, and begin to study His word, find a passage and memorize it. Even if its just one verse, or 3. If you do this regularly you will NEVER BE THE SAME.

Mark 16:15-18

Mark 16:15-18 So Jesus said to them, "Wherever you go in the world tell everyone the good news (about me). Whoever believes in me and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will accompany believers: They will use the power and authority of my name to force demons out of people. They will speak new languages. They will pick up snakes and if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick and cure them."

Pretty powerful stuff. Pret-ty. POWERFUL. Stuff.

So where does that leave us church? Let me start out by saying that with the Bible THERE IS NO GREY AREA. Either the whole Bible is truth or the whole Bible is just an interesting old book full of lies.

If we, as the church, as "believers" as Jesus put it, will do all these things BUT WE'RE NOT... Where exactly does that leave us? Of course, we are saved (at least I am pretty sure most of us are)...

Are we selfish shut-ins then?
Are we of the "don't-make-waves" crowd?
Because in my experience, REAL CHRISTIANS MAKE WAVES. Why? They just can't help it. They study and believe the Word of God which is a book that to say it "makes waves" is the understatement of the AGES, and the conviction of their spirit causes something inside them to bubble up until they can't help but let it out!

What is it? IT IS TRUTH. You've heard truth before... Truth can make one very uncomfortable. It can also bolster one up like a STONE FOUNDATION. Truth can HURT. Truth is like a bright, bright light that burns through the darkness! Truth makes people angry and offends because it forces them to see that what they are doing, which is whatever they want to do, is NOT RIGHT.

So what then?

LET US MAKE WAVES! Jesus said "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me" and then He said "...They will use the power and authority of my name to force demons out of people. They will speak new languages. They will pick up snakes, and if they drink any poison it will no harm them. They will place their hands on the sick and cure them."

Jesus has given us HIS AUTHORITY to do these things! Why? So that we can make waves! So that we can SHINE THE LIGHT OF TRUTH in this present darkness! So that we can heal the sick and raise the dead, find the lost, and redeem the fallen! Jesus loves! That is why. Because He loves this lost people and WE ARE HIS HANDS AND FEET.

Jesus gave His authority to His hands and feet (us) to GO and DO these things.

Otherwise where are we? No one knows, because you can't see something unless it makes waves.

Salvation VS. Relationship VS. Christianity

Preface:
Almost everyone in the world has been affected by Christianity in some way. Sometimes good, more often than not (it would seem) bad. Anyone who has picked up a history book has probably heard about the Crusades and about all of the atrocities that humans commit even now "in the name of God". In the following, I will attempt to shed some light on what Christianity is and what it isn't... what Salvation is and how being a Christian is not the same as being christian. Hopefully some who read this will be effected in their own lives to be more of a "little c"(christian) instead of a "big c"(Christian).

As we all know (hopefully) Christianity begins with something known in church as "Salvation".

sal·va·tion (sl-vshn)

n.

1.

a. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.

b. A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance.

2. Christianity

a. Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.

b. The agent or means that brings about such deliverance.

More to the point, this means that one has been saved from "hell" or rather eternal suffering and separation from God and everything that He is which is everything that is good. (Tangent: There is a place called the "Lake of Fire", but that has been reserved for Satan and all of his God-hating minions... Humans can go there, but that is a different talk for a different place and time.)
But my intention here is not to discuss theology or to define something that most people are at least somewhat aware of. My intention is to point out that being "saved" does not a Christian make. In some churches I suppose it passes... but again, that is a different discussion.

You see, it goes like this: 200o+ years ago, God Himself came down in the flesh to this wretched backwards planet that we call earth. He had already created it and due to some big errors on the part of selfish and prideful humanity He wanted to save it. See, when He made the Universe He set an unchangeable law in to play: Namely, the Law of Sin and Death. If you Sin, you will die. But because He loves us so much, he wants us to be with Him for Eternity (He put eternity into the heart of man) and so He had to make a way around that law. So He came down in the form of Jesus Christ (known as His Son, AKA God in the Flesh).

But simply coming down here was not enough. The law requires a payment for sin, and that payment is a pure and spotless sacrifice. But who in the history of the Universe had ever been perfect? No one. So He had to do it Himself, and He DID because He LOVES US. He lived entirely as a human, from birth through puberty to maturity and death. He lived perfectly and then He willingly allowed Himself to be sacrificed; paying in FULL the entire debt for the sin of the world once and for all. But because He is God, simply dieing was not enough... HE DEFEATED DEATH AND ROSE AGAIN!

THIS is the basis for Salvation... 1) Accepting that you (human) are prideful, selfish, and that you sin and have sinned and that you are going to pay for your sin. 2) Humbly accepting God's amazing gift of Salvation-- His payment for YOUR sin so you don't have to pay for it. 3) Not throwing it away by going back to your old ways, but living a new life accepting His grace and working to change.

Salvation alone does not a Christian make.

Christianity is NOT about going to church, being a good person, doing good works, worshipping Jesus, talking to a priest, praying to the holy mother, or any other such ritual. Christianity, or rather being christian, is about RELATIONSHIP. See, there is ONE THING that separates the ONE TRUE GOD from any other god or religion on this planet. That thing is that this God loves you (human). He loves you and wants to talk to you, to walk with you, to comfort you when you are down and to rejoice with you when you are up. He wants a human and a friend... not a robot. This is why we have free will. Realize then the downside of free will: Not everyone will choose God. Many will choose themselves and in doing so will hurt and destroy others, ruin and even destroy others lives and their own. God does not force us to love Him or to be "good", He can but He won't because we aren't robots and He doesn't want robot servants... He wants human friends. People that love Him because He loves them. People that reflect that amazing love in their lives. These people are christian. They feed the hungry, assist the needy, visit the lonely, and generally show God's love to the entire world because of their love for God and their relationship with Him.

Thus, Christianity is only a religion as good as it helps those who suffer. Being christian is not religion, it is recognizing who we are and who God is and responding to Him in a positive way.

Jesus died for you... Are you willing to die to yourself? To let go of yourself and what you want and to dive into a real relationship with the ONE TRUE GOD of the Universe? He is ready...

Exhortation

In the book of Elijah in the Old testament, it says that the watchman who remains silent; who sees what is coming yet fails to raise alarm; the blood of the fallen will be upon his hands.

Many of you know me, some of you don't. If you do, you know that though I hold firm to and believe deeply in my faith and my convictions, I am not "religious". Please hear what I have to say.

Lately I have been feeling very strongly that something big and horrible is coming to and upon the US. I don't know what and disaster could show itself in many ways. That is not important. What IS important is you and your soul and your relationship with the Creator and His Son. Walk uprightly. Walk in righteousness. Repent. Go and sin no more.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not perfect, I sin all the time, but I DO NOT HAVE TO. Many people have been convinced of the LIE that says "we are all sinners" and so they think that they are doomed to failure and just have to remember to say "I'm sorry" right before death.... IT IS NOT TRUE!! You do NOT have to sin! You are NOT doomed to failure!

Now is your opportunity, now is your chance. There may not be another, for no man knows what tomorrow holds. I challenge those of you who are feeling the HS tug at your heart to fast from the TV and movies and secular radio for 3-7 days. I challenge all of you to take yourself to Christ and in all earnestness repent of your sin and turn from it.

All you have to do is accept the FREEDOM and FORGIVENESS that Jesus has already offered you.


.... I don't expect a good response to this... at best I expect to be ignored, at worst mocked and cut off. Fine. But remember that I was not silent. I offer my confidence and my true friendship and love to anyone who wants it. I am not perfect, but in the way of Christ which is LOVE, I will not mock you or betray you or shame you or hurt you (intentionally of course). I offer whatever I have to any in need.
If you hate THE CHURCH... if you hate CHRISTIANS... does that mean that you hate Jesus? Jesus is God and God is love. Simple as that... who wants to live without love?

life gets better

God's grace is an amazing thing...
He can heal hearts and restore vision
He can bring what was dead back to life again
He can do amazing things if you let him

I wrote a song; here are the words:

Love so sweet poured out your side as broken lips begged for my life
This grace abounds with forgiveness profound like a desert rain and undeserved love
and all my life I never understood your grace until now
and oh my love your faithfulness confounds me still

I don't understand this grace
I don't understand this love
You're calling me home and
You're treating me like your son

Thank you for your grace
Theres an unending love in this place


God can rescue us from the very depths of the darkness that wants to consume us if we let Him. If you don't know a God like this or don't think that there could be a good god in a world such as ours I challenge you to challenge Him. Don't hide or you're just failing yourself.