If you deny Me....

If you Deny Me


Matthew 10:33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

There is an app that is popular on Face Book that picks out the most used words in your posts.  I have seen many people use this and words such as "Love", Spirituality", "God", and "Family" come up a lot in these searches.  I just have one question to ask you: Where is "Jesus"?

Think about it.  The question must be answered by YOU...no one else. Where is JESUS...in your life?

Ponder this everyday and decide where you are going to put HIM.  Not only today, but everyday...every year.

Blessings all!

Making Things New

Making Things New

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

When God makes new, he does nt take old stuff and reburbish it.  He makes it new from nothin'!  That what he did when he created the universe and all that we see.  He Spoke...and it was.  All from nothing.  The power of His words still echo today in where we live and move.

When a New Year dawns, it a a time for remembering the past, but also a time of anticipation of what the Lord will bring into our lives during the coming months.  Good and Bad, He will always be there.  One thing is certain.  This year He has created out of nothing!  It did not exist before we experience it.  God makes our lives happen moment by moment.  He creates  from nothing our very existence.

So this year, remember the power of God in your lives. He is creating it each second we live and if we live it for HIM, then that would be right and good.  It is truly a wonderful gift. Do not take it for granted.

Blessings all for a wonderous New Year!

Your Word is TRUTH

In Jesus' prayer for the Disciples, he makes some astonishing declarations!

John 17:16-18 (NASB)
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.


Jesus was born of flesh and the Spirit and yet He was not of the world.  The Spirit is more powerful than flesh.  We can buy that knowing that Jesus was the Son of God...but what he says about His followers is even more astonishing!

Astonishment #1:  We are not of the world!
Once we have the Spirit of God living in us we have made a transition from flesh to Spirit.  Paul brings this out in several places in his New Testament writings too.  We belong to HIM.  We are of the Spirit and we belong with God.  Is it any wonder that many of us do not feel at "home" here?  Our true home is in the heavenly places!

Astonishment #2: We are sanctified by the Truth of God's Word.
Being sanctified means we are set apart by God and for God.  All true believers are in this state and they remain in this state for eternity. How does one receive this state of sanctification?  It is a work of GOD...not man.  And it's his WORD so that we cannot take credit.  His word is Truth in the purest and most absolute sense there is.  It's God's Word and it does not just CONTAIN TRUTH...it IS Truth!

Astonishment #3: We all have a mission!
Once we have been called, we are no longer our own.  The Heidelberg Catechism puts it eloquently, "That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ."  Because we are now HIS we accept His mission to go and spread the Good News of God's forgiveness of man's sin through Jesus' death of the cross and his resurrection! Just as Jesus was obedient unto death doing the Father's will...we are given the same task of being obedient to Jesus mission.  Such an honor!

Go out and seize the day in Jesus' Name!

Blessings All!

Be Intentional

This summer I recorded a show on my DVR and was getting around to watch it the other day.  The show was Last Comic Standing.  If you are not familiar with the show, it is a contest where these stand-up comedians compete during the course of a few weeks in different situations.  Each week one comic is eliminated until they get to the last comic standing.  Very funny...and cleaner than most shows since it is on regular TV...that is always a plus for me.

One thing that struck me is the amount of preparation each person competing put into his or her set of joke that they did each week. They wrote down jokes...they practiced telling the jokes...they got feedback and advice on the jokes before they actually went out a performed. There was a tremendous amount of preparation involved.  Those where were more prepared, obviously did better in the competition than those who sort of "winged it".

It also started me thinking about being a Christian.  How many times do we find ourselves flying by the seat of our pants instead of being intentional about being a Christian? How many times are we really preparing ourselves by praying and studying God's word and seeking Godly advice instead of just 'Winging it"?

This year, make a commitment to being intentional in your Christian walk.  Pray without ceasing. Go to Sunday School and study God's Word without ceasing as well. Meditate on it day and night! I think if you do these things you will find that you just may be...the Last Christian Standing and wouldn't that be worth it?  Yes, it would totally be worth it!

Blessings All!

God's Word

God's Word, the Bible, does some very important things for us and to us.

1) God's Word connects us to God.  Make no doubt about it.  God's Word helps us understand Him and is a revelation of Himself in the world.  Make sure you read it to connect yourself to Him.

2) God's Word answers the questions of Life. Why are we here?  Who am I?  What is my purpose? There is no science that can answer these questions for you.  Only the Word of God can.  So again, read the Bible and find out the answers for yourself.

3) God's Word is comforting.  This world is not the place for comfort.  We are all going through a  hard fight.  But God's Word shines into our heart and gives us HOPE!  As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it very well:

Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

How comforting is THAT!!?

There are many other things the Word of God does as well...but these should keep you busy.  How busy?  Probably until we meet the Lord face-to-face.

Blessings All!

What is the Answer?

A friend of mine one time was wearing a button just like the one you see above.  I pointed to it and asked, "What's that?". He reached into his coat pocket and gave me a Tract which started out, "Since you asked..." and then he proceeded to tell me about Jesus and what he did for us on the cross.  I have always admired that approach to the Gospel. It seems to me to be effective because we are not intruding and not pushing our faith on anyone...we allow them to ask the questions and allow God to make the answers they need to hear.

More importantly, it brings up the need that people have to have answers...correct answers to life's questions. Every Christian needs to know why they believe and  how to tell people what they believe. People need answers and they deserve that answer that is loving and from the heart.

That is all Jesus wants us to do, isn't it?  To love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others just like He loves them.  That's not so hard to do when you look at it that way.

In, Disciples Are Made Not Born: Helping Others Grow to Maturity in Christ  – July 23, 2002 by Walter A. Henrichsen, there is a wonderful story of one college student that wanted to tell his roommate about Jesus (I am paraphrasing the story). Henrichsen discipled him and taught him all the right Scripture to say and how he should approach the topic.  When Henrichsen thought the lad was ready, he accompanied him to his dorm room, where to Henrichsen's horror., the student used all the wrong Scripture and he basically bungled everything that Henrichsen had taught him. At the end of the ordeal, the student asked his dorm mate, "Would like to accept Christ?" Surprisingly (to Henrichsen) the student said, "You bet I would!".  This event taught Henrichsen and important lesson.  It's not about YOU;  It's all about Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many of us are afraid to share the Gospel, but seriously, it's just telling people an answer to their own question. How hard is that?  You already KNOW the answer!  "What's THAT?"  It's the power of Jesus working through you...that's what it is!

Have a Blessed and Safe Christmas!

Blessings All!

Shine!

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

This should be the position, posture and product of all Christian life. Not that we shine with our own light, but that we reflect the glory of the one who brings true life!. If people cannot see the change of energy and attitude as you go through your day, examine yourself to see if you are truly living the renewed life that only Jesus can bring to you!

There will always be times when we don't feel like we can represent Christ because of what we have done or what we have done to us, but suck it up person of God and move on! Jesus has showed us the way....let us follow Him one step at a time! With our master we will stand or fall...and stand we will!

Blessings on your day!

Thanking God

Romans 1:8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Many of us pray to God and are thankful for His blessings in our life. Paul takes it up a notch with this simple statement of how he prays for the Roman church.

He says, "First, I thank my God... "

First and foremost Paul thanks God...and not just any god...but "my God" Paul has a personal relationship with the All Mighty.  This is not just some generic prayer he is praying. It is a personal and very moving prayer to his God whom he knows and makes known in Spirit and in Truth. many times we hear prayers that are general and they seem as if they are intended for believers and non-believers alike.  When Paul prays to his God...it is a prayer that is intended for the believers ears alone.

He says, "...through Jesus Christ for you all"

Paul does not approach God the Father alone, but "through Jesus Christ". We have  a tendency to approach the throne of the All Mighty much tot flippantly. We need to have more respect. Jesus said, Luke 12:5 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" He was talking about the Father here. No other being has that authority but Him. And yes...fear Him and respect Him.

He says, "...for you all" 

Paul also does not single out people when he is praying about the Romans. "..for you all" There is an interesting story in 1 Samuel 30:21-25 where David confronts some men in his army who do not want to divide the spoils of war with some of the support people who stayed behind the lines to care for the camp. These were called wicked and evil men. When David hears of their plans, he tells them this. ” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.”   You see, David understood that winning the battle takes everyone doing different tasks.  Some seem to be more important that others, but in reality, it takes everyone exercising what gifts God has given them and what He has called them to do to be successful.  In any church this is true as well.  The Romans were made up of many different types of people, but it was everyone who shared in the battle and they share in Paul's praise for what they have done.  May it also be so with us today.  It takes everyone of us working with Jesus as the head to make a church work

Finally Paul states, ..."because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world."

This is what it's all about, isn't it?  It's not about fame or power or money. It's because of Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us that we can proclaim faith. Oh that our FAITH would be proclaimed throughout the whole world! Not out Denomination or Church or pastor...or even what we do...only that our Faith be proclaimed as being true and honest and uplifting.  If that be true, then surely at the end of our journey we will hear God himself say, Matthew 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Amen.

Blessings All!

The Value of Bible Study

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

I have always thought, even before I was a Christian, that the Bible was a special piece of literature.  Once I became a Christian and was personally in a relationship with Jesus, this idea did not go away, but rather, was enhanced by the knowledge that the Holy Spirit gave me. In fact, when I first became a Christian, the Bible took on a whole new place in my life and I began to read it over and over and over again and I still am amazed at the wisdom I find.  It's called the Living Word of God for a reason.  You can read the same verse one day and get something from it, then you can read the same verse again at some point in the future and apply it differently to your life.  The MEANING of the text never changes...but HOW you APPLY it to your life does.  It's quite amazing actually.

I like to call the Bible a Love Letter from God...to ME. It's more than History, although it is that, it's more like someone who loves you from afar has sent you a chronicling of how He has set the world around you in motion and has intervened in your life both before your were born and now, without you knowing it and has even provided for you a future you can look forward to and rejoice in because as you read it, you can get the sense that all of history was deliberate. Joyful stuff.

I study the Bible every chance I get. I study it in the morning, during the day and at night.  When I am not studying it, I am pondering what I have read in it. It consumes me and at the same time completes me.  I tweet Scripture. I post Scripture verses. There is nothing I would rather do. "But why?", you may ask.  Simply because I do not think there is anything than more important for believers and non-believers alike to know. We believers ought to love and live the Word of God every day, 24x7x365...and non-believers need to know that length and breadth and deepness of God's love for THEM.  Reading and knowing the Bible will indeed show them that.

May you have a blessed time reading and studying God's Love letter to YOU!

Blessings All!

It's not about YOU.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires

There is no easy way to put this, and so, I've decided to put it as simply as I could.

We have been spoiled in our churches. We have become soft, uncalloused and unchallenged.  We demand worship bands and worship leaders with upbeat tunes that make us tap our toes and clap our hands.

The center of our worship is not God, it is ourselves.  We want to feel good. We want to experience oneness with God. We want to hear a snappy sermon with lots of Powerpoint slides or video that illustrate vividly and humorously with about 3, maybe 4 points...no more.  If  we had anymore points then the worship service would run over an hour and that...well...that would make us unhappy.  We do NOT want to be unhappy in church!

That may seem harsh and maybe it is, but it is true more often these days. Examine your own attitudes about how your church operates a worship service...honestly. I think you will find that you demand to be entertained. The result is really what Scripture had warned us would happen.  Paul states in 2 Timothy, and rightly, that there would come a time when people's demands would be to hear what they want to hear and the result would be unsound doctrine and a soft, unScriptural faith.  That time has come and it is getting worse.

We can combat this in our own lives, strangely enough, by becoming more demanding...more discerning about what we want in our churches for worship.  It's not about us...it is all about HIM. I for one, WANT doctrinally sound sermons...and not those who necessarily make me feel GOOD about myself.  There are plenty of things that I KNOW I can improve upon...people are just not giving me honest feedback.  I need a sermon that challenges me!  Whether it is to study the Bible more or to be more Christ-like in my live or responses to other people.  I don't need my ears "tickled"...even though that is what I want...it is not what I NEED.  I should be made to feel uncomfortable...and even sad at times...those feelings are healthy for my soul.

I need other Christians to be honest as well. We so often are like the Penguins of Madagascar and we just , "Smile and wave boys, smile and wave." when we see others in error.  Instead we are to build up the body of Christ in Love until is attains the fullest maturity in Christ Jesus.  We are failing our fellow believers when we are silent on doctrinal error.

Of course, all this comes at a price.  You may not feel good all the time and there will be times that tears are shed.  People may even not like you anymore...even those 'Christians' who were once your friends. However, it will be during those times when your faith will reach a level of maturity that you had not before. It will be during those times when you will feel closer to God and His Kingdom. It will be during those times when you will be acting most Christ-like and telling people what they NEED to hear and not actually doing any tickling. It will be during those times when the Body of Christ will grow into the kind of faith which will actually do some good in this world by lifting Jesus while they themselves are saying..."I must decrease and He must increase!".

Blessings all!

Come to the Light

John 3:20-21
For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

Have you ever did anything in the dark?  What I mean by that is try to obfuscate your actions?  You were operating without the light of Christ when you did that.  You probably felt sad or had a pit in your stomach.  Not a good feeling!  That was the Holy Spirit telling you that what you were doing was wrong and not in accordance with God's Word.

Christians ought to do everything out in the open.  They should abhor darkness and everything associated with darkness. We cannot operate as the world operates.  We represent the light and indeed, without it, we would not be Christians. We cannot reflect light while we ourselves are in darkness...

Listen to the Holy Spirit. He will guide you into all truth and righteousness!

Blessings All!

But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

The Lesson of the Trees

The Lesson of the Trees

My Dad was a logger.  He worked in the woods longer than I could remember and he insisted that his boys work in  the woods with him.  That means that when I was in 3rd grade my dad took me into the woods so that I could learn the trade.  This never sat well with me because, well, it was hard work and I could not do what I wanted to do, which basically was lazing around, playing and  being me.  How dare he try to teach me to work!  As I look back on it, it wasn't something that I enjoyed doing much.

One day when we were cutting some trees down, I noticed that the taller and larger trees were always next to older, large trees and I asked my Dad why that would be so.  He told me that in order for for a tree to reach it's full potential, they needed a strong and tall tree nearby.  He said that he believed that the older tree would shade the younger tree and in order for the younger tree to get enough sunlight, it would HAVE to grow taller so that it's leaves could rise above the other trees and capture the sun.  If it did not grow, it would eventually die.  That is how, he explained, that  the older trees forced the younger trees to grow tall and strong and when they had served their purpose, we loggers would come along and cut down the older trees and then the job of growing new trees fell to the younger strong trees which were left and so, the process was repeated.

As I grew older and a little bit wiser, I began to understand and appreciate the reason my Dad took me into the woods in the first place.  It was to challenge me to grow.  He had learned the lesson of the trees and he was trying to teach me. He knew he had to challenge me in order that I might grow into a man and in forcing me to work in the woods with him, he was making that a reality. It wasn't something I appreciated or even wanted, but it was something I needed.  I am now happy that he loved me enough to ignore my whining about the work.

I am working with Christians instead of trees and it is surprisingly like when I was a kid working in the woods, except now I am playing the role of my dad. I find that people are exactly like me and they too do not like to be challenged. Like the trees, if they are not challenged, they eventually will end up taking the path of least resistance and will not grow; they will be spiritually weak.  If they do not grow they will die or be so weak that they are not effective and that is not acceptable.

This is a particular problem in the Church today. People want to be comforted.  They want to feel good and like me, they certainly do not appreciate being challenged.  However it is a truth that the trees have long ago learned....and that is while it is not the most pleasant thing to go through, we all grow stronger and more useful when we are challenged to grow.

So remember that the next time you feel uncomfortable during a sermon and your ego is not stroked and you come away saying, "You know, that really wasn't a feel-good sermon."  Take a lesson from the trees and grow.  In that way you might be able to say, "You know, that really wasn't a feel-good sermon...but I really needed to hear that!"

Blessings All!

Can a Christian be persecuted by other Christians?

Can a Christian be persecuted by other Christians?

Matthew 5:11-12
"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

I  have sometimes felt persecuted by what happens to me beyond my control. I think may of us have had this feeling.  Sometimes we throw a pity-party and invite everyone we know to attend...I've done that before and have been less than satisfied with the result. :-)  But if you think about it, there are differences in being persecuted and in being criticized by jealous or insecure people.  Here are my reasons.


1) Persecution needs to come from outside of  the Church.  Hurtful and petty people, often with the best intentions, however misguided and wrong, are within the Church. Jesus has said so...we know this is true.  Paul often had critics from within the body of believers and I don't think he viewed it as being persecuted.  He viewed the people as being disobedient.  Disobedience needs to be dealt with...sometimes from within the congregation and sometimes directly from the Lord.  However, this is not my place, nor my task.  My task is to lift up Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross for everyone to see and to build up the Body of Christ in Love,

2) Persecution cannot come from Christians.  As I mentioned before, it is the nature of human beings to want to be comforted and assured.  It is no different with Christians as it is with non-believers.  In this respect we are just being human. So when we think we are being persecuted, what we really find is that we are just the subject of human beings being human and not letting the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit free reign in their lives.  We need to be grace-full to these people, not judgmental toward them.

3) Persecution is aimed at destruction.  Criticism from within sometimes can seem like it is destructive, especially if you take it personally, but seriously, Criticism actually says more about the people criticizing than it does about the object of their criticism. So instead of being destructive, criticism often is a catalyst for building up rather than tearing down.  Give it over to the Lord and you will see what He can do with it.  In fact, you will rejoice in what He does with it!

So rejoice if you have had critics!  It is by these that the Lord works and strengths us.  Amen and Amen!

Blessings All!

This wicked generation

Folks, don't get side-tracked here. This verse is NOT about demons. Satan and his minions are what they are. This verse is about "THIS WICKED GENERATION" and how if they do NOT put God back into their nice, clean lives, that their lives will be worse than before!  Hey! Listen!

Matthew 12:43-45

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Romans Outline

We are studying the book of Romans in Sunday School.  I will be blogging some points about the book here.  Check back occasionally as the posts will probably not be regular,but rather when I have time.   Blessings!  --El

Romans Outline

From: http://www.biblestudytools.com/romans/

Outline

• Introduction (1:1-15)
• Theme: Righteousness from God (1:16-17)
• The Unrighteousness of All People (1:18;3:20)
• Gentiles (1:18-32)
• Jews (2:1;3:8)
• Summary: All People (3:9-20)
• Righteousness Imputed: Justification (3:21;5:21)
• Through Christ (3:21-26)
• Received by Faith (3:27;4:25)
• The principle established (3:27-31)
• The principle illustrated (ch. 4)
• The Fruits of Righteousness (5:1-11)
• Summary: Humanity's Unrighteousness Contrasted with God's Gift of Righteousness (5:12-21)
• Righteousness Imparted: Sanctification (chs. 6-8)
• Freedom from Sin's Tyranny (ch. 6)
• Freedom from the Law's Condemnation (ch. 7)
• Life in the Power of the Holy Spirit (ch. 8)
• God's Righteousness Vindicated: The Justice of His Way with Israel (chs. 9-11)
• The Justice of God's Rejection of Israel (9:1-29)
• The Cause of That Rejection (9:30;10:21)
• The Rejection Is Neither Complete nor Final (ch. 11)
• There is even now a remnant (11:1-10)
• The rejection is only temporary (11:11-24)
• God's ultimate purpose is mercy (11:25-36)
• Righteousness Practiced (12:1;15:13)
• In the Body -- the Church (ch. 12)
• In the World (ch. 13)
• Among Weak and Strong Christians (14:1;15:13)
• Conclusion (15:14-33)
• Commendation, Greetings and Doxology (ch. 16)

The Joy of Learning

Matthew 11:29

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul

Learn from me!

1) God made us to love learning

     a) Curious

     b) Intelligent

2) God made us to share learning

These are how many times these words are used in Scripture...

Teach 123

teacher 68

teachers 73

taught 59

teaches 14

teaching 89

teachings 9

3) God made us to love sharing

Matthew 28:19 [Full Chapter]

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

God is Light

1 John 1:5

[ God Is Light ] This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

John is very precise to tell us that God is light.  In fact he also tells us that in HIM there is no darkness at all. And why should there be? Darkness has no substance; it occupies no space; it has not energy. Darkness is simply the absence of light.

But God is LIGHT! He has substance. He occupies space and time He has energy...and He is also beyond those limitations as well. God is the exact opposite of darkness God is LIGHT.  He aggressively banishes darkness.   Darkness cannot aggressively banish light, can it? Darkness relies on the LIGHT to even survive.

I am sure you have heard it said that a single candle cannot be extinguished by all the darkness in the Universe. This is true. Darkness only exists because light has not arrived.  Once it arrives, darkness is destroyed.

That is the analogy that John wants us to grasp. Because there is no power beyond that which God is able to wield. God is light.

God also lives in YOU. Once you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God sent his Holy Spirit to live in you as John has also stated: 1 John 4:4

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

So be encouraged! You have a light within yourself, given to you by God which is able to stand.  You cannot do this on your own or in your own strength, but with God's help, you can banish the darkness that threatens to overtake us every day.  Go and Shine. You have God. God is light.

Blessings All!