Month: October 2017

Confessions of a screwed up middle aged man: the “real gods”

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re-post
I always find it difficult to re-enter the work place especially after a long weekend.
Why?
Well I can tell you it is not due to the fact of laziness or the desire to not to drive in traffic.
The real factor in it is that I see how separate I am from the world and those that choose to live within it.
The first thing I encountered was the heavy and detailed discussions of the sporting universe.
At this time of year it is football, but no matter the time of year it is one sport or the other that is the main focus of those about me.
They quote stats, know salaries, and even playing styles.
These are the real gods of most of today’s society. I will almost guarantee that if I was in Europe the topic would be soccer a.k.a. the real football to those in Britain and the E.U.
In reality per the Bible who is to be the focal point of our everyday life and thoughts?

[Jeopardy theme song playing in this blank area]

Ok so what did come up with?
Your church?
Your children?
Yourself?
The answer is God.
God is to be the center of our lives. With all our hearts, minds and souls, we are to focus all our thoughts throughout the day.
When God is first you may like some sports, but they are not to be the central focal point of your everyday existence within this temporal plain.
You may enjoy some entertainment.
We are to live in moderation. We can enjoy some elements some of the time, but once these enjoyments take up more and more of your live then you are living an imbalanced life and destine to fall. As is typical when out of balance.
This is especially true when God, if even thought upon at all, is a sideshow within your life.
This mean you are not following the teachings of Christ and have strayed from the message of salvation.
Think upon that for a while.

Confessions of a screwed up middle aged man: learned something new

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re-post
As I stated previously I have begun studying more deeply into the history of the Bible itself. Something I would encourage all to pursue.
Many things I was already aware of, but in the last few days as I was looking into the history of the gospel of Luke I found something new.
The Doctor Luke, a friend and companion of Paul, and a gentile, wrote both the gospel and the book of Acts as two books that are separate, but are in essence meant to be read together. Some Bible even go so far as to right the title of the books as “Luke-Acts.”
They act in concert one to the other and were meant to be an aid to someone that was seeking more insight into Jesus and ministry of the apostles that followed.
Extremely fascinating.

Sanctification Trail 2

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A study of “Gospel mystery of the Sanctification” by Walter Marshall part 2

Even then. Someone saw the true message within the Bible. That our relationship with God was one that needs constant attention on our side of the relationship.
God, and Jesus made it clear. On their part of the relationship they would never abandon us or, for a point of fact, anyone. It is the human. It is you. It is me. It is those that deny Him. It is those that turn from Him. It is those that hate Him.
As for those that call themselves “Christian.” A majority need an awakening. Those that are “Sunday Christians,” which means they go to church, sing a song, say a pray. Then the rest the week they live their life as they see fit.

Direction 2: Several endowments and qualifications are necessary to enable us for the immediate practice of the law. Particularly we must have an inclination and propensity of our hearts thereunto; and therefore we must be well persuaded of our reconciliation with God, and of our future enjoyment of the everlasting heavenly happenings, and of sufficient strength both to will and perform all duties acceptably, until we come to the enjoyment of that happiness.

In this Direction, and the following explanation given by Marshall, is his insight into how the love relationship truly is. This is spelled out in the book of Hosea. God’s love is eternal, everlasting and given to all equally. And yes I mean ALL of humanity.
It is human beings that are fickle and cruel. It is humanity that flirts with God and then the moment something arises that stimulates their lust and desires they run to it no matter the cost. Marshall explains that it has always been this way since the time of Adam and Eve. I must say that I totally agree with this conclusion.
We must also come to an understanding that even though we seek after and ask for salvation from Jesus Christ. We are still within a corrupt and sinful body that will strive to be fickle whenever it gets the chance. This is why he emphasis the need to follow the laws within the Bible. For by striving to know and understand these laws when the temptation to be fickle arises once again within our corruption we can strive with the help of Jesus Christ to overcome this desire, this lust. Because we will see it for what it is and turn to pray for assistance and guidance.
He also makes it clear that we must be inclined to do this. We must seek to follow the teachings of the Bible out of a true love for God, His Son and the Word of God.
He also makes it clear that our true happiness is not in this temporal world we now occupy, but in the everlasting and eternal that is yet to be. He understood from his point of view that it would be heavenly.
As we come into the end of the age of the Gentiles. We must take the next step and come to realize that it is not a heavenly happiness but an eternal life. A life that will feel and be seen as we now do. With the expectation of it being in an incorruptible body that will last for all eternity in the service of God.

Without repentance

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The other day I watched a video of a 15 your old Jewish boy who experienced a near-death experience. He encountered events that can be said to be prophetic, but at this same time there is room for doubt since some things do not fit with the books Daniel or Revelation. However it must be stated that his insight was of a Jewish nature and not a Christian one.
One thing that stuck out was a point that the Orthodox Rabbi interviewing the boy keyed in on was repentance.
Repentance is to turn away from sin and toward God.
Without true repentance there is no salvation. Now I want this to sink in, so I will repeat it.
Without true repentance there is no salvation.
This means we must act with our minds, our hearts and our souls to reject sin. (Matthew 22:37, Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5)
Will we be able to stop it all? No, but we must strive daily to end sin.
What is of more import is that the Bible lists sins that will guarantee that those committing these sin will not be allowed into the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9 – Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Revelation 21:8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
If you say that you accept God yet live daily living these sins you have not repented.
Acts 3:19 – Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.
Acts 17:30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”
People may have taught you that once you are saved you are always saved. This is a lie.
People may have taught you that God loves all. This is true, but God Himself places a condition upon those seeking to be embraced by Him. That stipulation is repentance, true and complete no matter the emotional pain you must endure at this time. For the physical pain you are assured that will last billions upon billions of years is far greater than what you will experience now.

The new master and slaves association

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When we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask for out daily bread. Due to the increase in population hunting and farming became impossible for all to accomplish, so now we have jobs.
The employer is the “master,” who promises to pay you your money needed to go to the store and acquire food to place before you daily. This allows God to provide you your daily bread as you the employee and thus the “slaves” as shown in the Bible.
Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. 9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
When you come into work late, when you extend you work break, if you have them, and if you do not perform your job to the best of your ability. You are disrespecting and insulting God. This is why I have stated in the past, it is both faith and works.
So get to your place of employment early. Work with honor and quality, and with respect. For the salary you receive is your daily bread that is given to you by God. All that you do with this money must be God centered, not self-centered.

The Sanctification Trail

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A study of the book “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” By Walter Marshall – part one

As I grow in my faith and dare I say “sanctification.” I have been led by the spirit to take a more in-depth look into this part of being a Christian. My research led me to the book written by Marshall and published in 1692. He was a Puritan and suffered persecution by the Church of England when they demanded that only certain teachings be done. He and several other ministers refused to sign the “Book of Common Prayer” and as a result he lost his parishes on Black Bartholomew’s Day in 1662.
After his own struggles with faith and belief as well as fought the hard fight against those teachings that are called Antinomianism. That being the belief that faith alone is all you need to be saved. As well as Neonomianism, which is the legalistic following of the Bible. He reached the point to write the book entitled above.
Direction # 1 – That we may acceptably perform the duties of Holiness and Righteousness required in the Law, our first works is, to learn the powerful and effectual Means whereby we may attain to so great an End.
What struck me the most was his approach to the greatest commandment, which is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul. He states that if you love God you will be willing to sacrifice all, to the point of even abandoning your own desires and wishes. You would follow to the best of your ability all the commandments within the Bible. For as he puts it, are a guideline to the second greatest commandment of love thy neighbor. For by practicing and obeying all the commandments that deal with social interaction and behavior you show your love towards God.
Even I fall short in this department. Why?
Because in today’s society and culture we no longer follow the majority of, as Marshall puts it, the Laws of the Bible. This is not totally our own faults, but those of our parents and their parents. This is something that does not happen overnight, over a few years, but over decades and through generations.
To correct this is to first acknowledge there is a problem with not just how the Bible is taught, but read. Most in today’s society have an Antinomianism understanding of the Bible. This as a result is a key factor in the disintegration of social and cultural behavior in Europe and the United States.
Can it be corrected on whole?
From the way the Bible is written, I would say no. However, for those willing to listen. For those willing to understand that by accepting this path towards sanctification they are in essence signing their own death warrant upon this temporal life we now live.
Is this a drastic statement?
Most definitely, but we must come to that understanding.
Look to what happened to Walter Marshall when He refused to sign the conformity requirements that the Church of England forced upon their clergy in 1652. His life for a short time was shattered. However, he did find a new parish and continued in the good works towards his own sanctification.
As we come into this age that is actually described within the Bible as the signs of the soon return of Jesus Christ. We must accept that by adopting to truly seek after sanctification. By following the commandments, which are in reality laws given to those willing to listen, by God and through His Son Jesus Christ. We face the fact that society on whole will reject us to the point of martyrdom, as is written within the Bible.
John MacArthur said, and I paraphrase, that to live the commandments and not accept Jesus, will not lead to salvation. However, once we are saved we cannot ignore the commandments if we seek after sanctification.
Yet, as mentioned above, most do not even attempt to follow just the Ten Commandments let alone all we truly are required which are in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which have not been made void by Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. There are many laws that deal with everyday life and interaction with others. Most have in actuality been turned into human laws in most Christian based nations. However, the majority now takes them for granted or are totally ignored.
Few attempt to gain sanctification. Mostly due to not being aware that it is something that is required of all when accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. I myself was under this same misunderstanding for decades. As a result I drifted further and further away from God and my Savior, Jesus.
It took God literally destroying my life in 2013. Since that “year of Job,” as I call it, returning to God through Jesus Christ as been a goal that has taken me down a road I never thought I would ever see in my lifetime. A life with true happiness, due to God’s blessing as I endeavor to travel down the narrow and least traveled path towards Him.
I have been on a journey within my faith that has led me ever closer to our Creator. The scales have fallen from my eyes and I now see what is causing all the strife and turmoil in the world at large. I know it is due to the abandonment of God by most within this world, and especially those that live within the United States of America.
Most do not even know what “sanctification” is or truly means. I know, because I was one of them.
When I read the words of a man that has been dead for nearly four hundred years and seeing that his thoughts echoed my own. I came to the realization that God’s promise is never ending, never changing. Only humanity forgets this and must learn it all over again. Time and time again. As the Israelites learned to their dismay, over and over.
Comprehending that in the 1600’s people were struggling with the same issues we are today. That his teachings helped become the core of the Puritan’s religious beliefs. A group that led to factions like the Quakers, which led one of these Quakers to be given a land grant by the British king. Which allowed this Quaker to form the colony that came to be known as the state of Pennsylvania. His faith that from his beliefs became that colonies constitution, which led to the lion share of what is now the Constitution of the United States.
This trail should make people reawaken to the need to seek out sanctification by returning to the laws within the Bible and obeying them. Not in a legalistic way like the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Church, but truly following and living all the commandments in the Bible. In faith and love of God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ. To once again treat them, not as suggestions, but what they are: laws, we are to adhere to and follow to the best of our abilities.

A study of the verses covering judging one another (the mote and the beam)

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These verses that are shown within the Bible that millions go about saying to one another when someone confronts another with their misdeeds.
Why pursue studying them?
Because those that throw out this one verse in reply have not studied all the verses related to it. They take them out of context. Plus do not understand the full teachings within the entire Bible. At this time all I can say is those that throw out this one verse in reply are not going to be happy with the results of this study.
Matthew 7:1 – Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Now let’s take a more contemporary look at this teaching, then we will actually take a deeper look at the actual verses.
So in this hypothetical world we have a team of men setting down at a workplace. Someone approaches and says “Why are you setting when those men are working?” Referring to some of the co-workers that were still doing their assigned tasks.
One of the men turns to the person, and replies.
“We have finished all of our given duties, and as it is, we have new duties we plan on starting shortly. Why do you ask this?”
“Well this man from another team saw you sitting and doing nothing.” Was the persons reply.
The team of men look to where the person that had made the comment was working. The person was nowhere to be found and most of his work was not done. They looked for the person, that had made the comment and who was in need to complete his own jobs. They found him talking to others pointing again to those that were setting.
They approach the man and ask him.
“Why do you accuse us of not doing our work, when our work is complete? We looked to where you should be to talk to you and found you missing and your work nowhere near to being done.
The man grew angry and accused them once again of being lazy and failing to help those in need of help. The team of men turned and walked away.
This is the heart of this teaching that Jesus was speaking of when it comes to judging. It shows that those that judge are in fact hypocrites, and have no need to be accusing others of doing a wrong when they themselves commit the sin they are accusing the other of doing.
So let us look in this teaching in its entire context. Now the biggest issue people have to come to understand is the comparison Jesus uses to the issue of judging. The mote and the beam.
Mote – karphos – a small particle (a splinter of straw or wood); “a dry stalk; a chip of wood;” something dry and light; a “chip or splinter, of the same material with the beam”
Beam – dokos – a large beam (joist) of wood; “a beam of timber;” – “a log on which planks in the house rest (as in the papyri); joist, rafter, plank; a pole sticking out grotesquely;” (figuratively) a huge log (like a plank used in a house) that completely obstructs someone’s vision.
Jesus making this comparison is not by chance. It is specific and pointed out for a reason.
Do not try and take the splinter out of someone else’s eye when you have a beam of wood within your own eye. This means the sin are the same exact sin, as was demonstrated in the situation above. The man accusing those sitting down and resting after completely their work, of having a splinter. Had not done his own work and so had a beam within his eye.
Thus the statement by Jesus: “You hypocrite!”
Judging deals only with hypocrisy, and is shown as such as the sentence continues:
“First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
So here Jesus is telling us to first cast out our own sin. Now it is here that people will start to say that Jesus is referring to all sin. Then why the mote and the beam? Why have a particular comparison?
All sin. We are all individuals and so sin in different ways. Yet many that choose not sin through accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. With His help cast off sins. Not all sins, for we live within corrupted bodies. However we can cast enough sin from us to live a righteous life. Allowing us to be light into the darkness, which is sin. That is why we have these verses to follow within the Bible:
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 long suffering 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. (KJV)
Reprove – elegcho – to convince with solid, compelling evidence, especially to expose (prove wrong, connect).
Rebuke – epitimao – assign value as is fitting the situation, building on the situation to correct (re-direct).
Exhort – parakaleo – (a) I send for, summon, invite, (b) I beseech, entreat, beg, (c) I exhort, admonish, (d) I comfort, encourage, console; (“personally make a call”) refers to believers offering up evidence that stands up in God’s court.
As you can see, when you accept Jesus Christ and then cast out the beam that is within your own eye. We are then taught to help others by showing them with the Bible that it is something that should not be done. To show them that the beam can be taken out. Then to encourage them to remove their own splinter. Why? Because the person talking to them had removed the beam from their own eye with the help of Jesus Christ.
So the team of workers are free to say for instance to the man in our example above: “You must finish your own work, before you can accuse us of not work.”
Now remove the word work and replace it with a particular sin. As long as you are not doing this sin yourself and show evidence it is a sin within the Bible. You are not guilty of judging, but trying to help someone not to sin.
However, we must realize that not all are willing to accept to the truth and so in turn will throw out that they are being judged. In a way they are, but not by those saying they are sinning. But by the word of God, so as the verse makes clear in 2 Timothy:
“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.”
Those that reprove, rebuke and exhort are not judges, but advocates for the one sinning. They are being their legal defense. Trying to help them not have this particular sin between themselves and Jesus Christ as He sets upon the Throne of Judgment. Because they themselves, with the aid of Jesus Christ have put this particular sin behind them.

Some hard truth: Folks just refuse to see the problem

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In yesterday’s post I spelled out the need to follow the commandments in the Bible and showed with the Bible the foundation for this belief.
Part of my response, due to the how my post was received yesterday is to quote from John MacArthur:
“I cannot be saved by keeping the law, and I will not be sanctified by ignoring the law.”
Just following the commandments alone cannot save you. I completely agree.
He goes on to say this important statement: “I will not be sanctified by ignoring the law.”
What does this mean?
It is very simply. Everything I discussed in yesterday’s post fits perfectly with this.
Only through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior can we be saved. However once saved and to grow in our sanctification we must follow the commandments, as Jesus Christ Himself said we must do.
As was witnessed by yesterday’s response most do not wish to grow in their sanctification. They would rather live their lives as they deem to be enough. This again is counter to the teachings of the Bible, as I have been trying to point out for the last couple of posts.
There is only one destination with this type of mentality and it is a place that most think they will never encounter, yet as I have made clear this is the furthest thing from the truth. Thus why these articles have been entitled “the hard truth.”
Ponder and think readers, ponder and think.

Some more hard truth

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Today’s society is a culture that in reality no longer qualifies as the word “society.”
Society as defined in the Cambridge dictionary is: people considered as a group, or a group of people who live together in a particular social system.
Today in the United States as well as in Europe, in addition to other countries throughout the world, people may live in the same geographical regions but they no longer follow the same social system.
A social system or social structure is described as: the internal institutionalized relationships built up by persons living within a group (such as a family or community) especially with regard to the hierarchical organization of status and to the rules and principles regulating behavior per the Marion- Webster dictionary.
What is lacking in today’s society is the “principles regulating behavior.”
What were these principles?
They are what is referred to as ethics.
The defining ethical code that originally controlled and governed these nations was Christianity. Christianity worker from the Bible. Within the Bible are a list of rules and regulations that are called commandments. Yet most have decided these commandments are antiquated and useless so as a result nations around the world are falling to chaos and disorder, which results in the beginning sentence of this article.
Jesus Christ said this about the commandments and laws:
Matthew 5: 17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”
So the commandments for the most part are still in effect. This does not mean we are to stone people for their sins. That was taken out of our hands by Jesus Himself hanging upon the cross. However we are to follow those commandments or laws as they were defined by Jesus and His apostles within the New Testament, and if they were not listed in the New Testament we were to refer to how they were originally addressed for the most part in the Old Testament. Especially those that deal with personal interaction with others within a society.
Most in today’s world diminish the commandments and their meanings especially within the “societies” we live within. This is witnessed daily as people speed down the roads and highways going faster than the posted speed limit. This is just one minor example of how the commandments of the Bible have become irrelevant. But what did Jesus say was the result of doing this?
“So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
You are making of yourself to be the “least in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Yet millions if not billions do this very thing and think nothing of it. In fact they go about saying that those that say you should follow the commandments are teaching “legalism.”
Yet the true meaning of legalism is to go about performing rituals without knowing or even caring why these rituals are done. A very visual example of these are found within the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.
However, why do these two churches now have these rituals? Both of these churches date back to the beginnings of Christianity. So in some way they recognize the need to follow the commandments, even though they have lost their way.
Following the commandments does not require nor is legalism. It required love of God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Jesus knows that we cannot do this fully on our own, which is why being filled with the Holy Spirit is something we should seek after. For it will help us to fulfil and follow the commandments. For Jesus makes it clear that we must accept the commandments and obey them.
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” (KJV)
He that hath – echo – I have, hold, possess
Possess – to have or own something, or to have a particular quality.
We are to not just accept but to take as our own the commandments that are within the Bible. To live them and reflect them. Yet most reject this. Most per Jesus Himself are saying that they do not love Him, but in fact love themselves more. They refuse ownership of the commandments and choose to live their lives as they see fit to live it.
They embrace chaos over order and as a result we have the world we now live within. For all evil comes from humanity, while all love and peace comes from God.

Some hard truth

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Most that attempt to read this won’t like it. However, it is not my mission to make you comfortable, but it is to challenge all willing to listen to improve their standing with God.
Right here someone will scoff, saying that we are not required to increase this standing. That God loves us as we are. Then you have just made the Bible moot, and the crucifixion a waste of time.
Matthew 16:24 – Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
So what does it mean to “give up your own way?”
In the KJV the verse goes like this:
“let him deny himself….”
Let him deny – aparneomai – to deny, looking back to what was originally refused; “strongly reject” (especially the source). That is, utterly refusing to recognize the original source involved. Can imply “ignore, disown, or repudiate”
Now as we live our lives all of us make plans and have desires. Many of these desires are focused upon one thing. Us.
The desires for wealth, for luxuries, for leisure. These are all things that become something to not continue to seek after, but to, if not totally reject, lower their import in our lives. Why? Because you are hanging on to your life, and Jesus Christ made it clear, doing so will lead to you losing your soul, not saving it. This is fortified by 2 Peter 2:
“20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit. “And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
Humanity will always seek after the here, the now. Yet Christ made it clear that we are not to do this.
Matthew 6:19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
To store up treasures is seeking to have more money than you need to live, not a comfortable life, but a life that will sustain your existence till you are called unto the next life. To seek after clothing, and fancy vehicles are things that are able to be eaten by moths and rust away. Fancy possession that others would seek to steal are of the world and not needed by those that truly seek to follow Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:16 – We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. 23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?”
The answer is: It is not. So if God’s love is not in this person are they still of the vine of Jesus Christ?
John 15:1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
Many think they are a part of the vine. Yet due to not following the commandments of the Bible are not bearing fruit upon the vine. God Himself cuts them from the vine and they are burnt within the fire. They are no longer apart of Jesus Christ, they are no longer saved, but are of the world. They are cast into the fire of damnation by their own actions and desires for worldly wealth and possessions. The very things they are required to give unto their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, they keep and horde for themselves.
This is how most that call themselves “Christian” are today and they are blind unto the truth, and it is truly something to weep about. For they are the lukewarm, and spit out of the Body of Christ.
Revelation 3:15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
Follow the commandments of the Bible. Live modestly, do not break the laws of man that do not go against the Bible and change those that do. Stop seeking after the here, the now, the contemporary. Seek after the eternal life that we are promised by Jesus Christ and not after the riches of the world. For as long as you do, you seek to lose your salvation, by your own hand.

2 Timothy 4:1-5