Another Unique Mundane Moment

I wrote a post not long ago (Oct or Nov 2005) about the "Incredible Uniqeness of the Mundane".. Well, I had another one the other night. My sons and I were wrestling on the bed.. Finally after, we settled down, I was laying down with my elder twin (2 minutes) and it was quite.. The night lite was the only lite on.. The fish tank was humming and we were about to doze off.. Parker looked over to me square in the eyes and said, "I love you daddy"..

It is great when the boys obey because I'm the authority and I deserve the respect of the position of the father.. But how much more joyous is it to obey out of love..

I want to love my heavenly Father, not only because of the position, but because my heart is filled with love toward Him..

Balanced or Biblical?

There is alot of emphasis on being "Balanced" in our approach to doctrine.. I have even been guilty of catching myself using the term balanced. I think the balanced has become the polically correct way of saying "common ground".. The writer of Hebrews was writing against this very thing. The Christians can came out of Jewish religion were being persecuted. They were being encouraged to still be religious just don't be so "Christian"..

I don't want to be balanced, I want to be Biblical.. Sometimes balanced ain't Biblical. I was put in a situation once where I had to agree to stop promoting a teaching in the church having to do with spiritual gifts and thier operation today or be kicked out of an association.. They were asking me to be "balanced" to keep from causing problems..

It was turning point in my walk. God had put me in leadership. I didn't ask for it, but everywhere I go, I find myself in that position. I had to make a decision, was I going to please man or God? Was I going to walk by His Word or walk the path man has made? I had to tell them that I appreciate their concern, and I hope the best for them, but, I could not sacrifice truth for unity.. I could not sacrifice what I knew at that time as the Biblical position for one that was more "acceptable"..

It's time the church feared God more than man.. It is time we stop worrying about being balanced and be Biblical in our teaching and in our actions.

Cool Question.. What Is Sin?

I was scanning some of the blogs I read, and came across a very relavant question: What is sin? Answers were given relating the the dictionary, the SBC publications, and then scripture was alluded to pertaining to the law.. The answer was starting to get on the right track..

Just to shed more light:
Matt 12:31 the greek word for sin means an "offense".. strongs (266)
Matt 18:21 it means to "miss the mark".. especially morally (264)

As I was looking at this, I notices that in the NT, stong's 266 was used, I would dare to say 99% of the time.. The other was primarily strongs (264)..

If the Biblical meaning of sin is to offend, then someone has to be the offender and the other has to be the object of the offense. Since there are only two possibilities, God or us, we have to decide, who offended who, did God offend us, or did we offend God? I think the answer is clear.. The Bible says that God is righteous pure and holy and is 100% right all the time.. That only leaves one option.. We are the offender and God is the offended..

How is God offended? DISOBEDIENCE.. Plain and simple.. Disobedience to the Law of God, Disobedience to God's Word as a whole..If God says something is wrong in the Word, then anything to the contrary is sin. The Bibles says that ALL scripture was give for doctrine, reproof, edification etc..When anyone reads the Word (The Bible) and disobeys, they are in essence saying, they know what God said, but they think they are going to do what they want anyway (rebellion).. They don't believe what God says.. They are calling God a liar..

Not heeding the conviction of Holy Spirit is another way we call God a liar.. It's call the blasphemy of Holy Spirit.. The Spirit of God calls to the sinner and testifies of the truth of the Gospel.. Rejection of that testimony is rejection of Jesus.. Jesus is called a liar..

What is sin? Disobedience of God revealed to us by Holy Spirit and given to us by the Word of God. Take it or leave it, the rule book is there.. Be broken by it, repent (turn from that which the Lord says turn from)or be crushed by it.. Your choice.. Always has been, always will be..

How To Love The Sinner

I recently engaged in an online exchange where the topic of homosexuality, hypocrites, liberals, women Sr. pastors and the such were the topic. There are some things that I tried to get across but I think I was unsuccessful. I pray not.. There are a few things to keep in mind..

1) There sinful state is not different that our before we came to know Christ.
2) There sinful state is just as much a candidate for forgiveness as ours..
3) If they repent, they are as free in the Lord as anyone..
4) Without repentance and Jesus as their Lord, they are condemned already.

Just as any one who does not know the Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are condemned ALREADY !! The Bible says so. It should be the cry of our heart to love them, lift them up in prayer so that Holy Spirit can work on them and convict them of sin to repentance and faith in Christ.

There is one step that is difficult to take.. But it is one that, if not taken, all the acceptance, inclusion, and social equality will NEVER cure.. There comes a time when they have to come face to face with the fact that a life without Christ is a life that is destine for eteral hell.

I believe that the Christian that leads a homosexual to believe that God accepts their lifestyle as normal and is in no need of change will be judged for that someday. It is a discrace and a dis-service to those in a life of sin to lead them to believe that all is well.. all for the sake of acceptance.. To show we accept anyone.. Jesus accepts us as we are but refuses to leave us that way.. Some accept people as they are..period..

Satan plan with Eve is still the decieving plan he uses today. The first words out of satans mouth was a question that boiled down to, "God really didn't mean what He said, He did?".. The second was an statment that blatenly called God a liar..

When we start casting doubt on the Word of God by saying, well God really don't think homosexuality is sin, God really didn't mean that women shouldn't have authority over a man especially in the leadership of a body of believers, well, God really didn't mean that Jesus is the only way to God and salvation.. Come on!! Get really.. This is the 20th century.. The Bibilical Teaching needs to evolve!!! Just as we did... BUNK !!!!!!!!

YES HE DID MEAN WHAT HE SAYS AND SAYS WHAT HE MEANS... Any representation of the Word in any other manner is WRONG.. If I'm in error, SHOW ME !!!!!!!!.. God really didn't mean He made the heavens and earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th did He? God really didn't mean that wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life, did He?.. God forgive us for even asking>>>

Is it love to know someone is in rebellion against the God of the universe and NOT helping them come face to face with thier sin? Are we so afraid of being called hatemongers or religios right, or that we might offend someone and they not come to our church anymore that we put off sharing with them the gospel as a satisfaction of the requirements of perfection set out by the Law?.. The Word of God is sharper that any two edged sword.. There is NO middle ground with God.. You are saved or your not..

Call me a hate-monger, call me a religious right, call me what ever you want to.. You will thank me the day you can call me "your brother in the Lord".. I love you so much I am willing to tell you the truth.. AND willing to walk with you in the hard times and support you in the tough times.. To hold one another accountable not to what we think is right, but what God's Word says in right...

The wounds of a friend are sweet, but the kisses of the enemy are profuse..

The Hats We Wear- Or The Scars We Bear

Is Christianity a hat we can wear - Or scars we bear? Can we put our faith on or off when we want to wear another hat.. another one that more fits the moment? Or is Christianity like the scars in Jesus hands and feet? The same scars that we should bear when we take up our cross daily?.. I am a Christian 24/7. Those that see Christianity more like a hat instead of scars should reconsider their relationship. Has the tickling praise of men produced pompus arrogance that need repentance? Does the right hand give to the left only by way of news media coverage and photo shoots?..

I heard a pastor say that grace is for falling, not jumping.. This is debatable, but I see the point. In the life of a Christian, the grace of God should be a safety net when we loose our footing and accidently FALL.. Realizing our sin by Holy Spirit conviction and repenting should follow.. However, when a Christian knowingly, willingly, purposefully, diverges from what they know is not pleasing to God or would give a "wrong opinion" of His mercy, grace, or nature, we have not FALLEN, but we JUMP HEAD FIRST into sin..

When we jump into sin with eyes wide open, grace and mercy are trampled making us realize that at that moment, we have assigned a value to the pleasure of sin ABOVE that of the grace and mercy of God.

I know that I fall virtualy everyday..But I do not Fall-Away... I loose my footing when I get blindsided by an attack, or something is said and I loose my cool.. However, I never, ever, want to be in a situation that I see sin coming a mile away and choose the world over God..

Christianity is not a hat we can take off or change out.. It is who we are.. It is who I am. The struggle between flesh and spirit rages, but NEVER - EVER will I, or God, allow the battle to ever permiate the boundaries of God's mercy and grace in my life..

Do you wear hats or bear scars?

I Saw The Heavens Open Up

Recently, we were driving on a sunny day and Parker looked up in the sky and said, "I see Heaven Opening Up !!!!" (Yes, It was to the East- which I thought was interesting.) What do you see? I asked.. He said he saw Jesus working on the outside of our house... Greyson asked,"Is he painting it just the right color?" Parker said, "Yes"..

I got to thinking about this.. Only the Father can tell the Son when the dwelling place is prepared.. Also, the painting of the house is one of the last things that need to be done before the job is complete... I don't think Parker had ever heard the phrase, "I see Heaven Opening up!!" before..

As days go by, it is a good thing to wait with anticipation and with a keen eye on the Lords return.. There is a story about some men who were coming in from an extended stay at sea.. Each man was eager to see his bride waiting at the shore.. As the ship approached, one man said, "Their is Sam's wife !!", another noticed, "There is Joe's wife waving".. As the men noticed thier brides one after another.. There was one man who did not see his wife waiting at the shore.. As he made his way home, he noticed a light on. As he went in, his wife was in the kitchen cooking.. When she heard him come in, she turned and said,"I have been waiting for you".. He quickly rebuked her and said, "The other wives were so filled with anticipation at the return of their husbands, no task was more important to them than keeping a keen eye on the horizon for thier groom.. The work had been done.. The preparation had been made.. And they were truly waiting.. you were not"..

Are we truly anticipating the coming of the Lord? I may not know the hour or the day, but I know that the time is soon, and the rapture is close.. I want to be ready for Him when He come to get me..

Fantasy VS Faith

I have a headache that is splitting my skull open and I keep saying I don't have a headache in Jesus name I dont have a head ache in Jesus name.. I get done and I still have the head ache.. What's wrong with this picture.. Did I not have enough faith?.. Did God not hear my plea?..

Wouldn't it have been better to pray, "Father, I come to you in Jesus name.. You can do anything You want.. Your word says that I should come to you with all my worship, praise, and tell You the desires of my heart. Right now Lord I have a headache that would kill a mule and I need your touch.. Please Lord I pray that you ease the pain so I can think straight.. Thank you for knowing what is best for me and giving me all that I could ever need.. In Jesus Name I Pray..."...

The first senario was me living in a fantasy denying the reality of it all -- I DID have a headache and it WAS about to make me throw up.. The second was coming to Jesus in my frailty and weakness asking for strength and a touch from God in my time of need.

Get real with God and He will get real with you.. Praise in everything. He know best.. I can trust and have real FAITH in His ability and His will in my life.. I can rejoice in pain, in sorrow, in gladness, and in strife.. I can know that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me...