Month: July 2017

God First part 3

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re-post
We are told to seek out the kingdom of heaven and to seek out righteousness. In multiple commentaries it places emphasis that we are to seek out God first. That we should strive to be righteous in all that we do. Will we stumble and fall? Yes, but as long as we pick ourselves up and return to seeking to place God over all we do then we are heading down the right path.
It is a path that will be rough, you will find that not all wish to follow it for they will say that it is too hard and many times you will find that you are shunned, hated and even rejected by those that you once thought were your friends and allies.
They may even ostracize you and call you unworthy, a fanatic and even crazy. These are all things we are warned will happen to us once we go down the narrow road, for most would rather take the wide and easy path, not realizing they are, but they do anyway. It will be painful at times and even lonely, but if you know you are grounded correctly and properly within the teachings of the Bible you have nothing to fear.
One of the hugest misconceptions plaguing the world and even the church is the belief that all there is, is this world we now live within in. This is the furthest thing from the truth. For Christ has promised us an eternal life, yet many still mourn the passing of a loved one more than they should. In all actuality it should be a time for rejoicing for they have been called home unto God if they have tried to live a good and righteous life and avoided sin as best they could through the glory of Christ.
Now I can understand there being sorrow and weeping if they did not, for they may not make it passed the Great White Throne Judgment.
This is why it is so important to strive to place God first in all we do. So when we are called up into heaven we know it will be because we have finished our commission for Christ and we have been a good and righteous servant unto God, His Son and the world and we will have left it at least slightly better than when we first entered into it.
It is then that we will know without a doubt that the life we just left was nothing more than a proving ground. A short test to see if we would stay loyal to the Creator of all and everything by turning from sin.

God First part two

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Jesus said to think of and love God first. What this means is in everything thing you do you must say to yourself is this the way God would want it. If you do not know the answer it can be found within the Bible. If you say to yourself “Is this a sin?” then go to the book of Leviticus as well as Deuteronomy and you will find all the sins listed. A majority of our church and family interactions will be found within the New Testament. In fact this is one thing I have noticed all the letters and books in the New Testament were aimed at those that called themselves “Christian.” Now think upon that for a moment.
It states of sin and misbehavior in many of these. The writers of the letters give direction on how to fix these issues. How to become better Christians and advice on how not to sin. They also show how to form a church and how leaders are supposed to act. In this particular fact it tells leaders to be servants to those they lead, which again takes us back to placing God first, all others second and ourselves last an ongoing and continuous theme throughout the New Testament.

God First

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In Matthew 6:33 we are told to seek out the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Mathew 22:37 says to love God with all our heart soul and mind. This tells me one thing. To place God first is everything that I do and this is how it should be for all Christians.
Why I mention this is the other day I was told that we must keep religion and politics separate. I say if you place God first above all else how can you keep God out? You can’t.
This is a tool that has been thrown out by those that wish us to not place God first. To deny God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. But as Christ said if you deny Him he will deny you to His Father, which leaves only one true recourse. We must place God in every aspect of our life and that includes politics. So any group or person that denies God is a person or group that Christians should not associate with. Why? Because we are not placing God first in all we do if we do give them support.

Confessions of a screwed up middle aged man: And the “love” fest continues

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Once again someone comes to me stating: “but we must love one another.”
Their version of “love one another” being the continuation of the hippie love fest of the late 1960s and early 1970, from a culture that believed in orgies and drugs and that “love will conquer all.” This “love” everyone beliefs coming from open sin and the rejection of morals and common decency. Otherwise known as coming from Satan himself the author of all lies.
When the Pharisees accused Jesus of healing in the name of Satan he stated clearly that evil cannot cast out evil. So how something which has its origins in sin, and thus evil, be something that can honor God? Would that not mean that Satan was honoring God? Since the answer is he would not, then this belief to “love all and love freely” is of the world. And any that love the world are the enemies of God (James 4:4).
I also like how they use the Bible out of context. For example in a recent encounter they offered up 1 John 4:7-12. Now I will concede it does talk of loving one another, but here is where the issue comes into place. The entire New Testament was the Gospels and letters written to people that had already asked Jesus Christ to be their Savior, in other words, they were written for devoted Christians. The pretext of these verses was to love our brothers and sisters who were in Christ, our fellow Christians.
Now are we not to love our enemies? Yes we are, but when you love them you must be willing to be honest with them. Since they are of the world, out of love, we must state that if they stay in the world by living in sin they are destine to a fate that I would not wish on anyone. (Proverbs 13:24 – Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.)
Too many times people throw the “love card” as an escape to avoid confrontation. Did not Jesus turn over the money changing tables in the Temple? Was this not “confrontation?” Did Jesus hate these people or the Pharisees, who were reaping in the profits from these money changers? No, Jesus loved them, as He loves all humanity. However, God does punish those that rebel against Him and especially those that openly sin directly before Him. If you allow someone to think they are saved yet they continue to live in sin, they are in actuality of the devil (1 John 3:6-10).
It is our duty has Christians, in love, to help those of the world turn to God through our Lord Jesus Christ and to repent, to turn from their sins and to leave them behind, which can only happen when they fully accept Christ as their Savior and place God first in ALL that they do every day.
Another verse they gave out of context. Song of Solomon 8:6-7, yet Song of Solomon 8 is about how young women are to live in virtue and honor and maintain their morals. The verse in question is more about the lusts caused by love and to avoid letting love lead you into sin.
They also mentioned of Jesus crying for Jerusalem. Here is the actual verse:
Luke 19:41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
He was weeping for Jerusalem, the heart of Israel, for the chosen children of God had rejected their King, that being Jesus Christ. Here he predicts the fate of the city just under forty years for that day He entered into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday.
Again showing His full love, but out of that love His sorrow. For not only was it due to their rejection of Him, which would result in the people of Israel being cast out of their nation and spread throughout the entire globe for nearly two thousand year. He was also crying for what was to follow for all of humanity and the many that could have been saved by His very presence on earth as it King.
Now though millions, if not billions, may never know Him as their Savior due to those that would be false teachers unto those that honestly seek after Him to be their Savior, but instead meet man-made doctrines and lies like those that teach to love all no matter how they live, which is the same fate the Pharisees had doomed thousands to damnation before Christ walked amongst us two thousand years ago.
Matthew 23:13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”
So we must all remember that true and complete love requires us to be honest and true. If that honesty requires us to say to someone they are living in sin and need to fix this issue with Christ, then that is what we MUST do. For we are to reprove, rebuke and exhort.
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

If you are rich you should be humble

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These are the words of James. He says that if we are poor we should be boosting for God has honored us. There are many ways to take this but I am reminded of Matthew chapter 6 myself. In which Jesus makes it clear that we are not to store up riches here on earth for our reward is in heaven. Jesus also states that those that seek their reward here on earth are receiving the reward here and not in the eternal live to come. This is why those that are rich should be humble.
Then why are so many that are rich not humble? Could it be they do not know or accept Jesus Christ as their Savior? This is a possibility, but it is not my place to say yes or no to that question. Do I have the right to ask the question? By all means yes I do. For when we see those that say they are “Godly” yet their manner and actions bring this into question, then the question needs to be asked.
Jesus stated that we are to be a light unto the world and we are to reflect His life. Jesus was the walking embodiment of the Bible itself. He never sinned. Humans do not have that, so we must ever seek to chip the sin out of our minds, and bodies. Does the fact that someone not being humble when they are rich mean they are not following Christ? The answer is in what else do they do? Do they lie? Do they curse? Do they know the Bible?
These are only three questions, but they are many more that we can get from the Bible and apply to them. Even in the Bible there are many questions asked of us to see if people are working toward the glory of God. Many of these questions are directed straight at us the reader.
As we look at those that do things that are not within the Bible and are in actuality opposite the Bible we can form an opinion. We are even told to use this opinion, to either help this person back to God or even to the point of avoiding them.
Jesus even states that there are those that will be like swine. You cast the love of Christ at their feet like pearls and all they will do is trample them then turn and tear you to pieces.
If people do not follow God, those that do follow God should not follow them. We cannot change them no matter how much we hope we can. They are lost and it is their own doing. The road to hell is wide, but the road to heaven is narrow and difficult. There is no easy way and any that offer an easy way are most likely offering damnation.
So remember when you see a boastful rich person to eye them carefully and do not allow them to lead you away from God.

A special message about the 4th of July

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Today I will turn from my usual topic of God and the Bible for the most part to talk about this nation I live in, the United States of America. Why? To approach a topic that needs to be understood. The teachings of the Bible is to be the light and the truth. This is why I am pursuing this topic of nationalism and state governance.
The Civil War was both a great victory, but at the same time a great defeat. The victory was due to this nation beginning to acknowledge that all humanity be it their skin color or their sexual orientation to be treated as equals. For it is not humanities province to place judgment upon others in humanity due to these factors named above. This however does not mean that those in the latter category have the right to impose their values upon those that chose to follow the true teachings of the Bible.
The defeat is something that those upon the left are just now awakening too. The tenth amendment of the constitution. That those rights not directly given to the federal government are the domain of the not just the state, but the county and the city. You see the Civil War started federalism, which is counter to what the founding fathers of this nation wanted. In fact it is the total opposite. It is this type of federalism which caused the Revolutionary War in the firsts place. No central government should dictate what those within their nation should do or not do.
This federalism is the foundation of those upon the left’s beliefs that is until President Trump. Now suddenly they are pushing for state’s and cites’ rights to govern themselves.
Their main reason for this at this time is immigration. However, Due to congress, immigration is the jurisdiction of the federal government. So per the tenth amendment those cities and states that are calling themselves “sanctuaries,” are in fact in violation of the law.
One thing that those that call themselves “conservatives” have been pushing for decades is a return of powers that have been appropriated by the federal government and returned to the states. Like education as a prime example. This is one thing that most do not understand. Each state within this union, even though you can freely travel from one state to the next, with the sole exception of California, is that they are their own nation. Again I turn to the Civil War to make this image.
A prime example is Robert E. Lee. General Lee did not resign as the general in charge of West Point, and then enter in to the war to oppose the United States. He resigned and returned to his state, or nation, which is Virginia. He joined to defend Virginia. He joined to defend his state from invasion from other states. States I may add that were predominantly Republican. You see the Democratic Party was for slavery, the Republican Party was against slavery.
However, the Civil War was not stated due to slavery, but due to the federal government trying to impose its rule over the states. In other words The North, which were also called “Federalist,” were ignoring the tenth amendment and those in the South wished to maintain the tenth amendment, as well as slavery. This was the great defeat of the Civil War, the loss of the power of this amendment, and its repercussions are still being felt today.
Now the federal government is behaving in just the manner that caused the Revolutionary War. Those within the government are wishing to impose their will upon the states. It is taxation without representation all over again. For those in Washington D.C. do not listen to, nor care to listen to those within the states, be they Republican or Democrat. All they seek after is to be the new royalty, thus heading us toward what is now happening to Venezuela, which is a Socialist Nation now in its own Civil War.
The Constitution was written by Godly men that followed the teachings of the Bible. Were they perfect? No. Did they have slavery? Yes, but their goal was in time to remove slavery. Unfortunately it took a Civil War to achieve this goal. Could we be headed to a new Civil War? I don’t know, but all the signs point to a change that is coming. A change that may come in the form of something that very few now realize. The return of Jesus Christ.