Well I really didn't know what I wanted to post this on so I'll write until I find something.
It's often weird to me, I write and more often than not I wind up writing some lesson about God that I had no intention of writing in the first place but I guess you can't really help but write what's inside you.
In blogs or writing period people's inner self naturally comes through the words on the page and despite meaning this blog to be about my life I somehow always come back around to God.
I realized something not long ago which is something I wished I would have learned a long time ago.
I was told before years ago and through my life that I had a critical spirit and of course with me being as stubborn as I am took offence to it because I didn't like anyone telling me who to be.
The one thing I didn't see was that they weren't telling me who to be, they were trying to help me change the negative things that were doing harm in my life.
It took my own search of Who I am/was to see what I needed to change in myself, I've always had a heart after God, this isn't to say I didn't look at other religions but my search led me straight back to the true God again.
God showed me many things in my life, amazing things that were beyond the physical world.
My journey and search for God's goal for my life has been interesting to say the least but now I have a very good idea of what God has planned for me and I am very excited about it.
Recently I had a debate or argument over point of view with an old and dear friend of mine and it really wasn't until recently that I really realized how useless the flesh side of me was until then.
Despite My knowing and being confirmed by others I realized that no matter what I do or say or how much proof I have I cannot change anyone.
This is beyond my friend, this goes to other places also, online forums and real life as well.
It seems people will always want to believe what they want to believe and there is nothing I can do about it, it has to be God who does it because if it were me there are plenty of people I want to smack and shake them.
I can't live in that old self anymore, there is no room for my flesh and God at the same time.
It is a very hard thing indeed to die to your flesh, in fact I don't think people realize that they're living in the flesh or realize that they can't have both sitting there.
It's like having a small closet packed with clothes and then trying to have a winter jacket in there too, it's not going to work very well.
in the past I have had a critical spirit and I see now that it does me no good, it just brings too much negativity over something I can't control.
I guess I saw that maybe I didn't trust God as much as I thought I did because if I did trust Him I wouldn't have to force anything or get upset if someone doesn't understand what I'm saying, even saying I'm wrong when I know I'm not.
These are things I cannot control, I can't control people and I think once I came to that realization that I should trust God enough to show my words as truth.
In the end there are far too many people to waste my time trying to argue with them when it's out of my control and nothing I do will change them, it has to be God, He can do the work.
That doesn't mean I'll stop talking to people what's right and wrong or what the Bible says, it just means I'll stop trying so hard it frustrates and makes me want to scream.
I will try to stay true to that and try to work hard on getting rid of that critical spirit and if anyone can help me it's God.
Keeping it in check that it won't creep up on me will be hard but I know it's something I need to do in the end because I want a soft pliable heart and moldable to what God wants to use me for.
When that happens I believe I'll be able to talk to people better and God will be able to use me in the way He intended to use me.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
The reality of God's forgiveness and Grace
Forgiveness, Everyone likes to be forgiven whether it be from a hurt friend for something that happened or God's forgiveness for our sins.
God has set a standard for everyone to live by which is to not sin and since that is impossible, God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins as a payment so we could be forgiven for our crimes against God.
We all have sins we deal with but culture seems to have a liberal understanding of this with all sorts of Ideas outside of the Bible what God says is right in wrong.
They make excuses like "I'm a good person" in an attempt to justify their behavior in continuing their life in sin.
Then there's the other type of person who dismiss' God altogether saying that there is no such thing as sin, no right or wrong and that sin is subjective.
These notions are false, much like the Idea that there is more than one way to get to heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
People think that by forming their ideas of God in their image that He'll be ok with how they live their lives even if it clearly goes against what God has said.
I've heard some people say "Well My god wouldn't send anyone to hell." but that's just it, their god wouldn't but clearly God said He would.
Matthew 13:42: "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matt 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This passage relates to Jesus' judgment of all the world.
Mark 9:43-48: And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." The reference to fire is repeated three more times in the passage for emphasis.
Luke 16:24: "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." This is a plea described as coming from an inhabitant of Hell.
As a sign in Georgia puts it "Just because you don't believe in Hell don't mean you ain't goin' there."
In making God ok with whatever they want they become idolaters no different than Pagans who worship the earth or other things God created.
People have a tendency to like the title of Christian but they are so in name only, the sad fact is most don't see a reason to go to church so they don't go except observing for holiday services.
Their reasoning behind it is that there are too many Hypocrites or they don't like anyone telling them how to live their lives.
That is very spiritually immature and shows they have no interest in God and His ways or even getting close to God because if they won't listen to those God has put up to help us understand His word better.
This is not to say that all pastors are right in their theology or that there aren't Hypocrites in the church but people fail to realize a few things.
1. Pastors with wrong Theology.
This is why we need to read the Bible making sure that we know when something doesn't line up with scripture and know if someone is correct or not.
Those who are correct show us a point of view that we couldn't see and those who aren't will be exposed by those who know what the Bible states.
2. Hypocrites.
These people are the ones who are Christian in title but do not study God's word so they go out and act like the rest of the world and then go to church asking for forgiveness but never trying to change.
What people SHOULD be asking themselves why they can't be the person to be an example for others.
You might be interested to know that Matthew 7:22-23 states "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Also Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"
These two Verses show that you will be able to tell who are real christians by plastic ones and that these people who claim to know God, He will tell them that He does not know them and that they are evil.
So as you can see the hypocrites will not go unpunished by God and their deeds will be seen because they're hearts will be open before Him.
There are reasons for Church, the first church started as home groups, breaking bread with each other and what some fail to see is that we are there to help strengthen each other in faith.
The people are the church not some building but the Idea of church no matter how big or small is based on the people being with each other.
It's easy to get lost in a big church but this is where you must pray for what church God wants you at and a church that lines up with the Bible says.
In Proverbs 27:17 it says "As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Matthew 18:20 states "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
These two verses alone go to show that you cannot be by yourself and expect to keep on track, you have no one to be accountable to and your actions to stay on the straight and narrow.
This is not to say you can't read alone but it's always good to have others to confirm correct teaching.
Now having set that right let me Get back to God's forgiveness...
The whole Idea of God's forgiveness relies on the fact that we need to have real repentance which means doing a 180 from our sins.
Everyone has trouble with falling into traps of their own, we're only human after all but at least making an effort to try and turn from it is what counts.
There are some who think they can continue sinning and just ask for forgiveness, God knows your heart and knows if you're honest with wanting forgiveness or if you're trying to fool God but they're only fooling themselves into thinking that their hearts aren't revealed before God.
God's forgiveness works on Repentance, if someone is not honestly repentant then God cannot forgive them.
There are those as I stated that don't believe anything is a sin and with that they cannot be forgiven.
This is not to say people cannot be forgiven on their deathbed, the point is that your ask for forgiveness is about being honestly being sorry for what you did.
Some think they can use this as an excuse to wait until the last minute but this is faulty thinking and here's why.
1.You don't know when you'll die, anything could happen and you could die at any moment without warning.
2. You loose time...
When you're a witness to others you gain your reward in heaven through both bringing others to Christ and also through what you did in your life.
Now this is NOT to say that works alone will do it by any means, James 2:20 says that faith without works is dead and Vise Versa but you also have to look at and consider Ephesians 2:8 which says salvation is by grace through faith.
We were meant to do good works but not rely on them totally for our salvation because it has already been worked out but is only part of who we are supposed to be in Christ.
3. God knows our hearts.
Waiting for the last second is a major problem due to the fact that God knows you've been putting it off, they try to postpone living for God so they can live their own way and then when life is over they think they can fool God into thinking that they were sorry for living in sin.
The problem is that they're hearts are exposed before God, He knows when they're trying to fool Him or if they are really being honest.
I hope this has shown you a great deal and helps you understand the truth behind the grace of God.
We must be honest, Repent accept Jesus is the only way, we cannot earn our way to heaven and should not wait for the last minute because we don't know when that will be.
After reading this please do yourself a favor, if you're trying to play games and trying to fool God into forgiveness while wanting to live your own way because you're only fooling yourself and it's both a shame and a waste.
Please read or reread as many times as needed, meditate on it and pray if you still don't understand.
God has set a standard for everyone to live by which is to not sin and since that is impossible, God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins as a payment so we could be forgiven for our crimes against God.
We all have sins we deal with but culture seems to have a liberal understanding of this with all sorts of Ideas outside of the Bible what God says is right in wrong.
They make excuses like "I'm a good person" in an attempt to justify their behavior in continuing their life in sin.
Then there's the other type of person who dismiss' God altogether saying that there is no such thing as sin, no right or wrong and that sin is subjective.
These notions are false, much like the Idea that there is more than one way to get to heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
People think that by forming their ideas of God in their image that He'll be ok with how they live their lives even if it clearly goes against what God has said.
I've heard some people say "Well My god wouldn't send anyone to hell." but that's just it, their god wouldn't but clearly God said He would.
Matthew 13:42: "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matt 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This passage relates to Jesus' judgment of all the world.
Mark 9:43-48: And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." The reference to fire is repeated three more times in the passage for emphasis.
Luke 16:24: "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." This is a plea described as coming from an inhabitant of Hell.
As a sign in Georgia puts it "Just because you don't believe in Hell don't mean you ain't goin' there."
In making God ok with whatever they want they become idolaters no different than Pagans who worship the earth or other things God created.
People have a tendency to like the title of Christian but they are so in name only, the sad fact is most don't see a reason to go to church so they don't go except observing for holiday services.
Their reasoning behind it is that there are too many Hypocrites or they don't like anyone telling them how to live their lives.
That is very spiritually immature and shows they have no interest in God and His ways or even getting close to God because if they won't listen to those God has put up to help us understand His word better.
This is not to say that all pastors are right in their theology or that there aren't Hypocrites in the church but people fail to realize a few things.
1. Pastors with wrong Theology.
This is why we need to read the Bible making sure that we know when something doesn't line up with scripture and know if someone is correct or not.
Those who are correct show us a point of view that we couldn't see and those who aren't will be exposed by those who know what the Bible states.
2. Hypocrites.
These people are the ones who are Christian in title but do not study God's word so they go out and act like the rest of the world and then go to church asking for forgiveness but never trying to change.
What people SHOULD be asking themselves why they can't be the person to be an example for others.
You might be interested to know that Matthew 7:22-23 states "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Also Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"
These two Verses show that you will be able to tell who are real christians by plastic ones and that these people who claim to know God, He will tell them that He does not know them and that they are evil.
So as you can see the hypocrites will not go unpunished by God and their deeds will be seen because they're hearts will be open before Him.
There are reasons for Church, the first church started as home groups, breaking bread with each other and what some fail to see is that we are there to help strengthen each other in faith.
The people are the church not some building but the Idea of church no matter how big or small is based on the people being with each other.
It's easy to get lost in a big church but this is where you must pray for what church God wants you at and a church that lines up with the Bible says.
In Proverbs 27:17 it says "As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Matthew 18:20 states "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
These two verses alone go to show that you cannot be by yourself and expect to keep on track, you have no one to be accountable to and your actions to stay on the straight and narrow.
This is not to say you can't read alone but it's always good to have others to confirm correct teaching.
Now having set that right let me Get back to God's forgiveness...
The whole Idea of God's forgiveness relies on the fact that we need to have real repentance which means doing a 180 from our sins.
Everyone has trouble with falling into traps of their own, we're only human after all but at least making an effort to try and turn from it is what counts.
There are some who think they can continue sinning and just ask for forgiveness, God knows your heart and knows if you're honest with wanting forgiveness or if you're trying to fool God but they're only fooling themselves into thinking that their hearts aren't revealed before God.
God's forgiveness works on Repentance, if someone is not honestly repentant then God cannot forgive them.
There are those as I stated that don't believe anything is a sin and with that they cannot be forgiven.
This is not to say people cannot be forgiven on their deathbed, the point is that your ask for forgiveness is about being honestly being sorry for what you did.
Some think they can use this as an excuse to wait until the last minute but this is faulty thinking and here's why.
1.You don't know when you'll die, anything could happen and you could die at any moment without warning.
2. You loose time...
When you're a witness to others you gain your reward in heaven through both bringing others to Christ and also through what you did in your life.
Now this is NOT to say that works alone will do it by any means, James 2:20 says that faith without works is dead and Vise Versa but you also have to look at and consider Ephesians 2:8 which says salvation is by grace through faith.
We were meant to do good works but not rely on them totally for our salvation because it has already been worked out but is only part of who we are supposed to be in Christ.
3. God knows our hearts.
Waiting for the last second is a major problem due to the fact that God knows you've been putting it off, they try to postpone living for God so they can live their own way and then when life is over they think they can fool God into thinking that they were sorry for living in sin.
The problem is that they're hearts are exposed before God, He knows when they're trying to fool Him or if they are really being honest.
I hope this has shown you a great deal and helps you understand the truth behind the grace of God.
We must be honest, Repent accept Jesus is the only way, we cannot earn our way to heaven and should not wait for the last minute because we don't know when that will be.
After reading this please do yourself a favor, if you're trying to play games and trying to fool God into forgiveness while wanting to live your own way because you're only fooling yourself and it's both a shame and a waste.
Please read or reread as many times as needed, meditate on it and pray if you still don't understand.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Ignorance is not bliss and anyone who says different is a liar.
They say ignorance is bliss but frankly I say that's a lie.
Just because your blissfully unaware of what's coming doesn't mean it won't get you, sure you'll be happy not knowing until you die from not knowing it was coming.
Ok, I'm going to sound like a total Nerd here and I really don't care because I am a bit of one and that's fine.
I know superman is a fictional character but I'm still going to use this analogy because it's the first thing that came to mind and it works for what I need it to.
Had Jor-El been "blissfully" unaware the the planet was collapsing He never would have sent His son to earth thereby altering the course of fictional human events.
Lex Luther would remain high and mighty and maybe even take over the world and so on.
Another point I offer is the fact that if you don't know a Nuclear bomb were to go off or a comet were to hit the earth anything you could have or would have done is thereby altered.
If you become aware think of all the good things you could wind up doing?
Being unaware just simply means you'll be happy enough until you die but other than that it remains useless to you.
The saying "Ignorance is bliss" conflicts with "Knowledge is power." and I think it's that way with everyone.
I think {This is only my opinion} that you are either a person that doesn't want to know staying totally oblivious to your surroundings or the type of person that is the other way and stay aware of what is going on.
Now there is a trade off in both cases, on one hand you have someone who is blissfully unaware their death is coming, live normally and die.
on the other hand there are different fingers... :)
Take the same person but lets make them aware that they'll die, they'll be a few types of people.
One, they will be stressed all day and look over their shoulder and so on making sure everything is safe taking every precaution as to ensure their survival.
Two, if they know that it's a person they might go to the police to make sure that the person doesn't do them harm.
Or three, they might put their affairs in order eat a fine meal and make sure everything is taken care of including their family.
You might say well they might know but now their stressed what good is your last day if you spend it stressed?
The point is that knowing they're going to die gives them the power to live differently than they might have had they not known and not to make them less stressed.
Are you the type of person who wants power or do you want to be helpless to the shifts of life?
There are the types of person that know things and still plead ignorance in not wanting to believe what someone tells them which despite popular belief is not ignorance at all.
Once you have the knowledge of something it's on your head whether or not you put it into use or believed it.
Let's say someone told you that Murder was wrong, Now it's not much of a mystery to know that it is but let's say that you had never heard this before.
So let's take this a step farther for a second, Now let's say you went and decided that you didn't believe the person, as a matter of fact it sounds down right silly to you.
A person comes across your path and does something to upset you enough for you to murder them, maybe it was just a whim and it seemed fun.
In any case they gather witness' and evidence, you are now arrested and thrown in jail, a little time goes by and you appear before a Judge.
He tells you they have all the evidence and witness' and you have broken the law, what do you have to say for yourself?
You proudly stand before the Judge and say "I didn't think it was wrong your Honor."
The Judge says "Didn't anyone teach you it was wrong, did no one tell you it was wrong?"
To which you reply "A man once told me it was wrong but I didn't believe Him, Why should I believe what one man says?"
"It's in the law, didn't you read it?"
"Yes but it seemed like a bunch of silly rules, Besides why should I believe a book, It might work for some people but it's not right for me."
He looks at you in shock as He says "Because it's the law."
The Judge shakes His head and sentences you to life in prison and as they start taking you away you plead and beg that you didn't know and for Him to please reconsider because you didn't know.
Just because you chose not to believe does not make you any less guilty of the crime you have committed.
It is the same way with the spiritual world, Many tell others what is right and wrong and give them the law book that can save them from a life time of Misery but some don't accept it or think they can fain ignorance when it's done.
Just because you choose to not believe it doesn't make you ignorant and doesn't make you any less guilty of the crime committed.
It says that anyone who has hated in their heart is a murder, anyone who has lusted is a adulterer and so on.
We're all guilty but the differences between some and others are our lawyers, for some Jesus is our Lawyer and there are others who think they can represent their case before God.
What most don't know is that they will never be able to pay their fine for the crimes they've committed and that Jesus already paid the fine for all His clients ahead of time.
The fine was costly but He did it out of love for His friend, which is why He has given it as a gift to us.
You may dig your head in the sand now and think you can explain later but we all must be accountable for our actions in the end.
I'll leave you with a Quote from the Movie Kingdom of Heaven which I have found inspiring.
Remember your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say "but I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice.
Just because your blissfully unaware of what's coming doesn't mean it won't get you, sure you'll be happy not knowing until you die from not knowing it was coming.
Ok, I'm going to sound like a total Nerd here and I really don't care because I am a bit of one and that's fine.
I know superman is a fictional character but I'm still going to use this analogy because it's the first thing that came to mind and it works for what I need it to.
Had Jor-El been "blissfully" unaware the the planet was collapsing He never would have sent His son to earth thereby altering the course of fictional human events.
Lex Luther would remain high and mighty and maybe even take over the world and so on.
Another point I offer is the fact that if you don't know a Nuclear bomb were to go off or a comet were to hit the earth anything you could have or would have done is thereby altered.
If you become aware think of all the good things you could wind up doing?
Being unaware just simply means you'll be happy enough until you die but other than that it remains useless to you.
The saying "Ignorance is bliss" conflicts with "Knowledge is power." and I think it's that way with everyone.
I think {This is only my opinion} that you are either a person that doesn't want to know staying totally oblivious to your surroundings or the type of person that is the other way and stay aware of what is going on.
Now there is a trade off in both cases, on one hand you have someone who is blissfully unaware their death is coming, live normally and die.
on the other hand there are different fingers... :)
Take the same person but lets make them aware that they'll die, they'll be a few types of people.
One, they will be stressed all day and look over their shoulder and so on making sure everything is safe taking every precaution as to ensure their survival.
Two, if they know that it's a person they might go to the police to make sure that the person doesn't do them harm.
Or three, they might put their affairs in order eat a fine meal and make sure everything is taken care of including their family.
You might say well they might know but now their stressed what good is your last day if you spend it stressed?
The point is that knowing they're going to die gives them the power to live differently than they might have had they not known and not to make them less stressed.
Are you the type of person who wants power or do you want to be helpless to the shifts of life?
There are the types of person that know things and still plead ignorance in not wanting to believe what someone tells them which despite popular belief is not ignorance at all.
Once you have the knowledge of something it's on your head whether or not you put it into use or believed it.
Let's say someone told you that Murder was wrong, Now it's not much of a mystery to know that it is but let's say that you had never heard this before.
So let's take this a step farther for a second, Now let's say you went and decided that you didn't believe the person, as a matter of fact it sounds down right silly to you.
A person comes across your path and does something to upset you enough for you to murder them, maybe it was just a whim and it seemed fun.
In any case they gather witness' and evidence, you are now arrested and thrown in jail, a little time goes by and you appear before a Judge.
He tells you they have all the evidence and witness' and you have broken the law, what do you have to say for yourself?
You proudly stand before the Judge and say "I didn't think it was wrong your Honor."
The Judge says "Didn't anyone teach you it was wrong, did no one tell you it was wrong?"
To which you reply "A man once told me it was wrong but I didn't believe Him, Why should I believe what one man says?"
"It's in the law, didn't you read it?"
"Yes but it seemed like a bunch of silly rules, Besides why should I believe a book, It might work for some people but it's not right for me."
He looks at you in shock as He says "Because it's the law."
The Judge shakes His head and sentences you to life in prison and as they start taking you away you plead and beg that you didn't know and for Him to please reconsider because you didn't know.
Just because you chose not to believe does not make you any less guilty of the crime you have committed.
It is the same way with the spiritual world, Many tell others what is right and wrong and give them the law book that can save them from a life time of Misery but some don't accept it or think they can fain ignorance when it's done.
Just because you choose to not believe it doesn't make you ignorant and doesn't make you any less guilty of the crime committed.
It says that anyone who has hated in their heart is a murder, anyone who has lusted is a adulterer and so on.
We're all guilty but the differences between some and others are our lawyers, for some Jesus is our Lawyer and there are others who think they can represent their case before God.
What most don't know is that they will never be able to pay their fine for the crimes they've committed and that Jesus already paid the fine for all His clients ahead of time.
The fine was costly but He did it out of love for His friend, which is why He has given it as a gift to us.
You may dig your head in the sand now and think you can explain later but we all must be accountable for our actions in the end.
I'll leave you with a Quote from the Movie Kingdom of Heaven which I have found inspiring.
Remember your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say "but I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice.
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