Christian Living / heaven / Judgement / obedience

Spiritual Development

2 Peter 1.10 exhorts us to make every effort to confirm our calling and election.images

Most evangelical Christians define a person’s salvation by whether or not they believe they are going to heaven if they were to die today.

The answer they are looking for is the confession that the person invited Jesus into their lives to forgive their sins and believe His promise to receive them into His heaven forgiven because of His gracious pardon obtained through His shed blood. Satisfied they believe a person is saved because they made the proper confession they move on never to think again about this salvation we or they supposedly obtain. (more…)

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May 19, 2015
Christian Living / obedience

Alert and Sober

1 Peter 5.8 warns be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion imagelooking for someone to devour.

The Bible tells the story of God and His work in the world. In that story is an enemy, one who wishes to be like God but cannot since he too is created and not the Creator. His frustration results in his attack upon creation, particularly humanity, that part of creation the Creator made in His own image and which He most loves.

This enemy of God is a liar and deceiver, inviting people into beliefs and actions that promise them benefit but always bring remorse. The enemy of God is an integral part of the story for his role allows humanity to reveal their free will to love God on their own. (more…)

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May 18, 2015
heaven / Judgement / obedience

Motives Matter

Numbers 22.32 observes I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one beforeimage Me.

When God’s not happy ain’t nobody happy!

The problem with the One True God is that He cares as much about how and why we do something as He does with what we do. This makes sense actually if there really is a God.

All the other religions, including Islam, place all of their emphasis upon outward behavior without regard for the motive of that behavior. In reality, we all have this propensity. (more…)

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May 13, 2015
Christian Living / obedience

The Fallacy of Religion

Isaiah 1.13 commands, Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me….I imagecannot bear your worthless assemblies.

The problem with the One True God is that He is not fooled by religion.

Religion is to be a means by which we express our love and worship toward God. Religion is not God, neither does it’s rituals please God, unless the life of the one performing the ritual is consistent in living a life pleasing to God.

We just finished the season of Lent where many Christians perform the duty of sacrifice in an effort to identify with Him Who sacrificed His life for humanity. I am always amazed how we equate giving up chocolate or beer with Jesus’ death on the Cross for sin. The disconnect seems pretty extreme to me. Is this even something God wants or expects from us? (more…)

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May 4, 2015
obedience

How to Please God

Psalm 40.8 declares, I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.images

Most of us who claim to be seekers of God want to please Him, the breakdown occurs in determining what it takes to please God. It seems only fair that if there is indeed a God that He would make clear what He requires from us.

Fortunately, that is exactly why God had His thoughts, words and deeds recorded and preserved in a book. In this way, all peoples for all time in all languages could know what the One True God requires of us. (more…)

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May 1, 2015
heaven / Judgement / obedience

Preparing for Judgement

Hebrews 4.13 warns nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered andimages laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.

If there really is a God it only makes sense that He would know everything I have ever thought, said and done.

The importance of this characteristic of God is for judging all of humanity after we have finished our test; the life we lived in this world before entering the world to come that is eternal and the reward or else consequence for the life we lived in this world.

It is this judgment where final justice will take place and where the evil doer finally gets the full measure of his consequence. (more…)

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April 29, 2015
obedience / Suffering

Perfect through Suffering

Hebrews 2.10 claims Jesus, God as man, was made perfect through what he suffered.image

When we think of God suffering we think of the cross upon which He was crucified as the sacrifice for our sins, the payment God the Father required in order to pardon all who love God from their disobedience toward Him.

No doubt the greatest suffering occurred at the separation of God the Father from God the Son when the sins of humanity were all transferred to the perfect One. A mystery difficult for us to understand. (more…)

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April 27, 2015
Christian Living / obedience / Prayer

Beating Temptation

Mark 14.38 commands watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, imagebut the flesh is weak.

Watch means read the Book, understand what it says so that when you see things happening you can interpret them properly. Pray, so that the Spirit within is able to overpower the flesh without that is unwilling to obey the prescription found in the Book.

While Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for humanity’s disobedience, this was not done to give license to the children of God to disobey the commands of God. (more…)

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April 14, 2015
Christian Living / obedience / work

Being Salty Christians

Mark 9.50 encourages have salt among yourselves.image

The modern translation of God’s admonition to have salt in ourselves might be, ‘suck it up buttercup,’ or ‘cowboy up,’ or ‘man up,’ or any of a number of sayings that mean stop being a sissy and own the solution to whatever problem we are facing. The wussification of the current culture is over the top.

Everyone has a malady, no one is responsible for their problems, blaming others is common and looking to big brother for meeting our needs is the new norm. Our grandparents shake their heads at us as they endured the great depression, rationing of basic necessities and the effects of two world wars. (more…)

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April 9, 2015
Christian Living / obedience

Why be Holy?

Leviticus 10.3 warns those who approach Me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I willimages be honored.

Our holiness not our happiness is what concerns God most. This is true because God is holy, that is His nature.

Is God happy? Happy is an emotion we feel based upon our circumstances. I doubt God is ever happy.

The Bible commands that we always be joyful. God promises us joy, probably because He Himself is joyful and exudes joy. Joy is a state of contentment, hopefulness and love all bundled together. It is why Paul in prison could say he was joyful and command we be joyful always. It is why God promised us joy though He promised us hard times because joy is possible in difficult circumstances unlike happiness.

Joy focuses on what we have and the relationship we have with God Who is always near regardless of where we are or what we are going through. (more…)

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April 8, 2015