As a Christian…
The poser is this: You are walking down a street and come across a person that has not eaten in days and seems to be in dire need of food, water and shelter. What would you do?
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”
This isn’t a hard question to answer. Anyone with a heart would help that person get food and water right away and find a place for them to rest and get well. Surprisingly, some would not.
As a Christian, what would you do? The answers I’ve heard would surprise you.
There is nothing wrong with being a conservative Christian – I am one. But I am aware of the same said Christians that would step over that person on their way to church. Or, even worse, that they would tell a starving person they need the LORD while holding their own lunch in their other hand.
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these MY BRETHREN, you did it to Me.’”
One preacher said that if he had a sandwich in one hand and a bible in the other, he’d put the bible (a specific one that I won’t mention) in the hands of the starving person. Now, I agree that all need to know the LORD, but can’t that sandwich be given to the starving person with the love of GOD and let him/her know that the LORD loves them?
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’”
This scenario did not go unnoticed in Scripture; Jesus spoke of the ‘least of these’ being those that the rest of us have forgotten that need the basics of survival and that we should help them in His name:
“Then they also will answer Him,[ saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
As a Christian, after that person has gotten what they need to survive, you would share the love of Christ and witness to that person that they may know LORD in Eternity. As a Christian, you want all to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that when that day comes, we will see each other in Heaven.
And as a Christian, you would do it in LOVE.
An immediate need, an impending end.
This world goes so fast we tend to forget what our true immediate need is – nourishment from the Word of God and His reassurance that with Him, not only are all things possible but that our impending end will be with Him.
Our sense of worldly sensibilities overshadow what our basics needs are, and thus they stay overshadowed. No one is exempt, we are all at fault. Incredibly, as our world became more ‘user friendly’ and has freed up our time, we put other worldly things in the place where the LORD should be. Think of it – 100 years ago people made more time for prayer and church than they do now and they didn’t have permanent press clothes or a Kroger to buy their food.
How did we get so far from GOD?
Psalm 30:12 says, ‘There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness.’ Our current church society has raised itself up so high to be equal enough to GOD to not need him anymore. Didn’t the lesson from the Tower of Babel make enough of an impression to quell these things?
Man said: “Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:3-4, NKJV
And GOD said: “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” Genesis 11:5-7, NKJV
Even so, while we continue as people of this current society, the web of deceit continues to enrapture us to hold us from GOD, not point us toward Him. Even after the days of Noah when the Tower of Babel was built, we see quite clear that society has always tried to be equal with GOD, just as it is today.
The impending end, when Jesus comes for His Church, is coming quicker than anyone gives GOD credit for. He has His plan written plainly for us to read, study and prepare for. The LORD knocks and knocks, but everyone is waiting for someone else to get up off the couch to answer.
Our immediate need is the knowledge of Him, our impending end is knowing Him for an Eternity, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
The Revelation of Christian Death & Life
Every one of us are victims of Original Sin. EVERY ONE. 
I just read a story of how a brother’s faith rocked because his sister is dying from cancer. Why her??? he says…we’ve all questioned the fairness of it. It’s one thing knowing we are going to die one day, but when it comes much too soon we question God. When is too soon? Since we are going to die one day, why do we bemoan and wail just because it’s too soon for our sensibilities?
“And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died…..David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12:15-23, NKJV
Have you forgotten we are on God’s time schedule, not our own? God listens to prayer and supplication but we are still ultimately under His subjection and His decisions. He is perfect, we are not. Our decisions are based on emotions; His are based on Perfection and fact.
That’s the human nature that we carry with us – being a victim of Original Sin.
But getting back to the root of it all – back in the Garden – and really getting the revelation that we are all victims of Original Sin, we will finally come to the conclusion that it is our responsibility to KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR so that when death comes, it’s with barely a whimper and great joy:
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:7-8, KJV
Our hope is with Jesus Christ and what He did for us at the Cross so that we would only taste death for a fleeting miniscule moment and have an Eternity with Him, “It is finished.” John 19:30
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
The Bruised Christian.
As we journey through this Life, we encounter many people, places and things. However, as Christians we will meet and befriend other Christians and other Churches besides having to deal with the secular world. Sadly, people of the Church are much like the unsaved – rude, indignant, haughty, vain and arrogant; precious few Christians, it seems, are loving and giving like the Scriptures purport what we are to be…‘Christ-like’.
When you read the Gospels, look at how Jesus walked with everyone. He never wavered on His belief or faith; He became our example of how Believers are supposed to walk, talk and work on this earth until He comes back. While Jesus was here, there were no ‘churches’ – Believers instead met and congregated to pray, serve and worship. It didn’t take long for fakes to arise to pull Christians from Jesus and focus on another gospel, another Spirit, another ‘Jesus’:
“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Matthew 24:4-5
And the Apostle Paul said:
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9
How many churches and/or ministries does the average Christian belong to and give to in their lifetime? How many churches does a person ‘visit’ before selecting one that satisfies what they want in a church? The true Church is harder to find than you think. Real born-again Christ-centered Christians want to go to a church that loves and shows love, is bible-believing and charitable. You would think that should be easy.
Look at this survey by ChurchAbuse.com:
- Does your church tightly control the flow of information within its ranks?
- Does your [church/staff] spiritual leader use public shaming as a method to gain the compliance of followers?
- Is your [church/staff] spiritual leader intolerant of questions or critical inquiry?
- Is your [church/staff] spiritual leader the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or receiving validation?
- Does your [church/staff] spiritual leader have unreasonable fears about the outside world such as evil conspiracies or persecutions?
- Are you discouraged to associate with former members, being warned that they are “evil” or “defiling”?
- Is leaving your group to join another church equal to leaving God?
- Does the surrounding community view your church as a cult?
- Does your [church/staff] spiritual leader consider it evil persecution when criticized or questioned?
- Do the goals of your [church/staff] spiritual leader seem to supersede any personal goals or individual interests?
- Do you fear being rebuked, shunned, or ignored for expressing a different opinion?
- Do former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances?
Worse yet is a congregation that mimics what it sees and calls it normal. Church members get ostracized and spoken of in tight-knit groups as if we’re still in middle school. Making another Christian to stumble is outlined in the Book of Mark:
“…But whoever causes one of these little ones [new Christians] who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.”Mark 9:42
Any church or ministry that has spiritually abused a member of their congregation or organization is preaching another gospel, another Spirit, another Jesus. Spiritual abuse causes those that suffer from it to be paranoid, immobile, untrusting, angry, physically sick, indifferent and worst of all, without a church and perhaps eventual apostasy.
What about LIFE?
I am a deep thinker or maybe even a ponderer of things not usually thought of. I don’t require much, just the palette that the Lord gave me – His Holy Word.
How big is God?
God made everything…EVERYTHING. Scientists, philosophers and figure-heads have tried since the beginning of time to build a case against God being the Creator of Life and the universe. What a daunting task trying to unseat God!
Can a person assume to understand God’s completeness? Would a mere human understand that the Greatest Story ever told needed a beginning and end, not just the juicy middle that everyone only conveniently remembers? If you cannot grasp the beginning and end, then you cannot assume to understand the vastness of God and LIFE.
In the ‘known’ universe, there are thus far 70 sextillion stars…that’s 21 zeros after 70. The most current estimates guess that there are 100 to 200 billion galaxies in the Universe; it’s been estimated that about 10% of stars have planets which would mean about 20 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone.
This is where men like Stephen Hawking comes along; trying to unseat God by giving us the ‘Big Bang’ THEORY….everything is here by some kind of extraordinary accident. What God has created with His immeasurable love has been deemed an accident.
We are by no means AN ACCIDENT. God cannot make accidents otherwise He would not be perfect. While we ponder Life and its beginning, middle and end, there is Jesus who God gave us to show us our imperfections, that were are teachable, and that we are eternal with Him if we choose to be.
Truly, Life is quite simple. We have the vastness of the universe to show us how important we are to God to have something so incredible. And, we have Jesus, who God gave us to prove His compassion, not His dispassion:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Today, the Word of God says I Am:
My husband writes:
I woke up this morning not feeling so “Holy & Righteous” and realizing I need to rediscover what God says about meand who I am as his child even though often my actions don’t always match up to the description below. I thank you lord this morning for fresh and New Mercy and an opportunity to make this day an awesome day!
Today the word of God says I Am:
- I am faithful (Ephesians 1:1)
- I am God’s child (John 1:12)
- I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
- I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
- I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20)
- I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
- I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)
- God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
- me (Philippians 1:6)
- I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
- I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
- and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)
- me (1 John 5:18)
- blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
- I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11)
- I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)
- I am adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5)
- restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8)
- I am in Him (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30)
- I have redemption (Ephesians 1:8)
- I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14)
- I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11)
- I have hope (Ephesians 1:12)
- I am included (Ephesians 1:13)
- I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
- I am a saint (Ephesians 1:18)
- I am salt and light of the earth (Matfthew 5:13-14)
- fruit (John 15:1,5)
- I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)
- I am God’s coworker (2Corinthians 6:1)
- I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
- I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
- I am raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)
- realms (Ephesians 2:6)
- grace (Ephesians 2:7)
- God has expressed His kindness to me (Ephesians 2:7)
- I am God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
- blood (Ephesians 2:13)
- I have peace (Ephesians 2:14)
- I have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)
- I am a member of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19)
- I am secure (Ephesians 2:20)
- I am a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19)
- I am a dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)
- I share in the promise of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6)
- God’s power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)
- confidence (Ephesians 3:12)
- I know there is a purpose for my sufferings (Ephesians 3:13)
- is (Ephesians 3:18)
- I am completed by God (Ephesians 3:19)
- I can bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:21)
- I have been called (Ephesians 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:9)
- others (Ephesians 4:2)
- I can mature spiritually (Ephesians 4:15)
- has called me to (Ephesians 4:17)
- I can have a new attitude and a new lifestyle (Ephesians 4:21-32)
- I can be kind and compassionate to others (Ephesians 4:32)
- I can forgive others (Ephesians 4:32)
- righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9)
- I can understand what God’s will is (Ephesians 5:17)
- I can give thanks for everything (Ephesians 5:20)
- I don’t have to always have my own agenda (Ephesians 5:21)
- I can honor God through marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33)
- I can parent my children with composure (Ephesians 6:4)
- I can be strong (Ephesians 6:10)
- I have God’s power (Ephesians 6:10)
- I can stand firm in the day of evil (Ephesians 6:13)
- I am dead to sin (Romans 1:12)
- I am not alone (Hebrews 13:5)
- I am growing (Colossians 2:7)
- I am His disciple (John 13:15)
- I am prayed for by Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23)
- I am united with other believers (John 17:20-23)
- I am not in want (Philippians 4:19)
- I possess the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)
- I am promised eternal life (John 6:47)
- I am promised a full life (John 10:10)
- I am victorious (I John 5:4)
- peace (Philippians 4:7)
- I am chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)
- I am blameless (I Corinthians 1:8)
- I am set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32)
- I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)
- I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14)
- I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
- I am the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- I am safe (I John 5:18)
- I am part of God’s kingdom (Revelation 1:6)
- I am healed from sin (I Peter 2:24)
- I am no longer condemned (Romans 8:1, 2)
- I am not helpless (Philippians 4:13)
- I am overcoming (I John 4:4)
- I am persevering (Philippians 3:14)
- I am protected (John 10:28)
- I am born again (I Peter 1:23)
- I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- I am delivered (Colossians 1:13)
- I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)
- I am qualified to share in His inheritance (Colossians 1:12)
- I am victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57)
What’s in YOUR house?
Joshua 7:1, ‘But the children of Israel committed a
trespass regarding the accursed things,
for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of
Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the
children of Israel.’
I got saved December of 2001 and backslid soon after. The reasons
why are obvious: My house was NOT clean. Not only did I continue an alcoholic
relationship but I never physically cleaned my house.
After nearly 3 years of perverse drinking and the lifestyle
that accompanies it, I felt the Lord around me again. God was trying to draw me
out and I finally decided to clean house. I was winding down a backslidden
season of my life and I was getting ready to take responsibility of a Christian
life.
God knows me…He knew I needed a helpmate to get me where I needed
to be in Him, a man I later married. But one day I took a good look around my
home and I remembered something that my sister told me – the day she got rid of
the ‘evil’ in her house. At that time I didn’t realize how spiritual that was. But
that day in my home I saw evil everywhere and it was time to clean house.
It’s amazing how much garbage a person accumulates. I looked
in closets, in drawers, in cabinets, in my storage locker, my space at work…I had
no idea how much of the world I had around me. I threw it all away, I sold none
of it. It was my opinion that giving or selling my sin was SIN. I even threw
away glasses that reminded me of being in a bar! EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!
It was freeing to see it all in a dumpster. I hated how the
world sucked me in but I loved how the Lord made me see with my spiritual eyes
what was like a noose around my neck if I didn’t let it all go. Now, I do not
own any secular music, swim suits, shorts, or even sandals. Do I believe that
everyone has to ‘work out their own salvation with fear and trembling’? Yes,
BUT justifying sin around you because you think its harmless is very DANGEROUS.
Like Joshua, I heard the Lord tell me that there was sin in
my house and that it had to be gotten rid of to keep my way with the Lord pure
and not sullied by the world and its demons. There are many Christians that don’t
believe it’s necessary to do purge their house because they’re such strong
Christians…nothing can be further from the truth.
The Travesty of the Seeking Convert
I find that in the ProLife world that I advocate, there is a lot of conversions to Catholicism from people that have ‘converted’ – from abortion advocate to prolife. More often than not, these converts were either atheist or agnostic, not a denominational convert. Ironic is what I think of the whole thing because I WAS Catholic. I also think it’s a travesty.
Catholicism is a man-made religion to strike fear in a person of a Hell they may not get prayed out of, not Grace as the Bible teaches. What’s obvious is that those who convert are seeing something that they are not getting in their life or church. What the seeker sees is structure – structure in that there are rules and regulations to follow and heed, a hierarchy. People that seek this super-structure, an organization of billions, are looking for something to lean on, not glean from. People want something beautiful to idolize like cathedrals with pomp and circumstance, not our risen Savior because:
“There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
Again, the irony of it is that the New Testament teaches that religion killed our Savior, not save Him – which you will not see in teachings of the Catechism. When I was Catholic, I often wondered where they got their ‘information’ because it didn’t jive with the Bible because if it had, then more Catholics would have brought their bibles to church?…I thought in my young mind. No one ever referred to a Bible.
Remember, I pick on Catholics because of my own personal experience with it. Another denomination that courts the seeker in the same way is the Mormons. They show a loving, joyful, ever-placid lifestyle that quite frankly, everyone wants! But does Mormonism jive with the Bible? NO. Catholicism and Mormonism leans on teachings from sources other than the Bible. That I cannot condone.
I cannot stop the seeker from being weak in their search. It grieves me because time is so short and coming to a close real soon – Jesus Christ is coming back: not a dead pope or Joseph Smith or Mary…Jesus Christ as THE risen King.
In my own opinion (just mine!), a person needs to stay away from denominations and just read their Bible and see what the Holy Spirit will reveal to them. Let the Lord lead you to where He wants you to be.
God’s greatest blessings even on a bad day.
I stood in front of about 100 people at my local 40 Days for Life closing rally speaking on behalf of post-abortive women. I felt that I did a mediocre job although friends and family said otherwise. Would they have said that I did not?
On a very bright sunny day I stood there and saw darkness as if a great storm is about to deluge us. I could hardly see and the wind was fierce, so much so it was hard to talk. It was as if I saw only death around me, not Life.
I have a burden for Catholics which is who typically comes to prolife functions, and they seem to like me. I wonder if they think they can proselyte me…hardly; I came out of that bondage a long time ago. But the good thing is that I get the gist of their ‘faith’ when a priest says the rosary and such, while they look at me in wonderment and believe I’m the one going to Hell. Most of my family still calls Catholicism their ‘faith’ and NEVER go to church…they love the arrogance of saying they are Catholic. Even though Catholicism is saturated in false doctrine, at least these Prolifers walk the walk.
But I’m getting off subject here…let me reiterate that I literally saw death that day, so much so that I couldn’t raise my eyes to meet the gazes of those that came to hear me! God was letting me know that even though I love to see their fervor, they are still in darkness doomed to a fiery Hell and that I need to watch my back or that darkness can consume me, too. Christ is the way, not the way of Catholicism.
No wonder most of the world hates God – the world looks to religion to get to know God and that simply cannot happen. Religion killed Jesus Christ and religion will bring Him back in the not so distant future.
This day, 3-15-2011, a Word from the Lord.
It is not often that God speaks so loudly that you have to pull your car off the road. That is what happened to my husband this morning.
In the light of a changing world around us, a world that humans only tend to see with idolatrous eyes, we are in grave trouble! What has happened to Japan is not the beginning of sorrows; that has already begun. Have we already forgotten the tsunami that wiped out a lot of Thailand? Or the earthquake that held Chilean miners ransom?
The Bible says to look for signs and wonders of the coming day. This is a call to be ready, not be a tourist.
WE ARE IN THE LAST OF THE LAST DAYS.
Pray up, and grab as many as you can…the Lord is coming soon and He wants many more for His harvest.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Thus Says the Lord God Jehovah
The earth has begun to Groan, mourn and long for its healer and redeemer. It is sick from the seed planted by a Liberal Idol worshiping world and a steady diet fed to it from a CHURCH wrapped in a Laodicean Spirit and has begun to regurgitate from its sickness and disease.
This is just the beginning of My wrath for the lack of fear of Man that I have created and given breath and life and opportunity to serve me and reap of my grace and mercy.
I say to the World, turn from the worship of idols, self and things before it is too late. Come to the Jesus and to His Cross. To the Church which has gone a-whoring, I SAY come back to Calvary and to the perfection of My SON and His CROSS of complete perfection and provision and completely forsake all others and be a Faithful Bride.
He who has ears to hear let him hear, I am coming quickly. Turn to Me or be cut off and that without REMEDY.
