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1.
I've been saying true Christianity is being born again through Jesus and then learning to hear and be led by the Holy Spirit. Someone recently challenged how I can speak that for all as to what Christianity is. It's not that hard. Jesus told everyone in John chapter 3 that they must be born again. And in Acts 1 Jesus commanded only His disciples “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus spoke these last words shortly before ascending into heaven. He didn't use His last moments on earth to say to help the poor and downtrodden, though He had said to do that earlier in His ministry. Jesus knew that we needed the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit more than anything.
The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. John 6;63
If we try to help others in our own strength, it will profit nothing. I rarely feel I am to say anything that would be termed prophetic but I do feel I am to say:
God's army against the spiritual forces of darkness will be those who walk in the power and truth (light) of the Spirit as Gideon’s men went into battle carrying only a ram’s horn and an earthen jar containing a torch.
2.
Addendum to previous post:
I believe the account of Gideon (Judges 6-8) in the Bible is of profound relevance to Christians in America today. Gideon started off with an army of thousands. God had Gideon send home all who were scared. Then God had Gideon test the remainder to find those who were watching and alert to what was going on around them. Those 300 men were all that were left of Gideon’s army. But with those 300 God defeated a vastly larger enemy.
I feel the lesson is plain. The ram’s horn is boldness and the torch inside the jar is the Holy Spirit within us, giving us discernment and the ability to defeat the forces of darkness. We're not talking being saved or not. We're talking being used of God to set the captive free. Or not.
3.
The Jesus I never want to meet:
The social-justice Jesus:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
The never-offend Jesus:
As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 9:33
The all-paths-lead-to-God Jesus:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
4.
A smart person will keep seeking. A wise person will arrive at Jesus.
5.
Western Europe has become so Godless. I knew this long before this Olympics. And from what I am seeing and reading already, it hasn't changed. America is drifting that way.
6.
Feeling like you have to wring all the life you can out of each day has to get disheartening at times. There are too many disappointments. But that's all you have to live for if you think this life is all there is.
7.
If you focus on your abilities, you'll have doubts. If you focus on God's abilities, you'll have faith.
8.
How to know if you are born again:
I think there are multiple answers to this question. All of them true in their own right. There is one I would like to point out that I feel should become more apparent the older one gets. And perhaps one might want to examine oneself if one is older and it is missing. It's one I touched upon years ago but felt I was to bring up again.
The Bible says we are pilgrims in this life, just passing through. This world controlled by Satan is not our home. There's an interesting scene in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The main character had an encounter with beings from another world. It changed him. In one scene he is looking out his kitchen window at neighbors mowing the grass, taking out the garbage, etc. But he no longer feels a part of that life. It used to be his life but now it isn't.
When you are born again the Bible says you are a new creation. You may or may not feel or sense anything different inside of you. But as you continue your Christian walk and you don't turn back, you should begin seeing this world differently.
9.
If you are studying the Bible diligently then good for you. If you are aware of what God has done in your life then that's great. But if you are not coming into God's presence and sensing Him in your spirit then you're missing the heart of the Father. This is God's heart: He just wants to be with you.
10.
The Olympics must come down. Glorifying a few elites at the expense of the less fortunate. Think how many homeless could be helped by what the media gets for broadcast rights.
The NFL must come down. Glorifying a few elites at the expense of the less fortunate. Think how many homeless could be helped by what the NFL gets for broadcast rights.
Coffee and sodas and alcoholic beverages must go. They're not even real food. Think how many homeless could be helped blah blah blah…
11.
Been wondering how it was that God could bless even a pretty messed up life, which I feel describes my life all too well. I believe the life of King David offers some answers. The Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. Why? 1. He was quick to acknowledge his sin and ask God for forgiveness. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” But then you have to ask forgiveness from those you wronged. That's hard to do. Those can be bitter pills but it sets you free. 2. David was willing to appear foolish before men. He danced before the Lord with all his might scantily clad for a king. I still struggle with not wanting to look foolish but I've done well enough to be blessed. But not as much as I could have done for God. You will have to step out of your comfort zone. It's a given.3. Most important, David was a seeker after God. “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” Many years ago I told God to do whatever it took to get me where He wanted me. I have always wanted more of God. Do you want to be a seeker after God? Tell Him.
I think it takes all three. God can't honor your desire for more of Him if you're not quick to ask forgiveness or fear looking foolish for God.
12.
Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel,c for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
fast forward to Revelation:
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. 12In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To Him who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power
forever and ever!”
14And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped
YouTube link to The Blessing. World Edition:
https://youtu.be/d48-qbcovVY?si=zlgfIPDtkZ6C_boA
13.
Part 1.
Always interesting to get non-Christian perspectives on Christianity. One post saw Christianity as God killing Himself on the cross. The Bible is clear that Jesus emptied himself of His divinity and was fully man on earth. His miracles were done by faith and knowing how to be led by the Holy Spirit, both of which any Christian is capable of doing. But, unlike Jesus, we start out with a sin nature. It's amazing we do as well as we do. God's grace. Marvelous grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.
14.
Part 2.
(Credit: the last few lines of my last post were from a hymn I grew up singing.)
Musings on the theme of my last post which was Jesus the son of man vs. Jesus the Son of God. Jesus was fully man when He was on the earth. The Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of the world. This means He took all of God's wrath as a man with no divine power or attributes. The Bible says Jesus could at any time have chosen to step out of His humanity and avoided the cross. But He didn't because there was no other way back to a Holy God for any man or woman. So Jesus didn't just take God's wrath for those who accepted Him. He took it for all. However the Bible says God's wrath is still reserved for those who refuse Jesus. Jesus purchased your reservation to escape God's wrath against unrighteousness. Everyone ever born has a seat reserved. But not all will claim their seat.
15.
My granddaughter was seeing how large a number she could write. She kept upping the number until she hit 40 trillion. It got me wondering how much the national debt is. 35 trillion. Am I the only one who thinks this might be a bigger threat than who's elected president or climate change? Talk about the elephant in the room.
16.
I haven't done a lot of research but from the articles I'm seeing there is a rising number of youth mental issues and suicide. Even without the articles I would have predicted this outcome as our country drifts farther from God. Christianity provides a moral foundation and Biblical truths to combat mental issues and suicide. To those who say Christianity causes these problems then why are they getting worse? We're in a spiritual war. You have to use spiritual weapons. Christians have those weapons. They are listed below. A wise person will learn what they are and how to use them.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
17.
I keep reading testimonials about how trials and sufferings made them a stronger better person. What did it accomplish? So you could help others?. But then you would be depriving them of those trials and sufferings. You're actually hurting them by helping them.
(note: this post is meant to be satire to show the illogic that trials make you stronger)
18.
I'm going to double down on my recent assertion that trials and sufferings don't make us stronger. Not from God's perspective. Long ago I posted something that I'd forgotten about. In the Bible's book of Song of Solomon there is a verse that talks about the maiden coming from the wilderness leaning on her beloved. Christians are the maiden, the wilderness is trials and sufferings and the beloved is Jesus. Learning to depend on Jesus and His strength is the purpose of trials and sufferings. Learning to depend on your strength isn't. God's ways are not our ways.
19.
Saw a segment on Christian nationalism and trying to define it. Had a few thoughts. It's ok to vote according to your Christian beliefs. It's ok to work to get those elected who most closely align with your Christian beliefs. It's ok to believe America would be worse off if your candidates lose. Everyone does these with their own belief system. But, as I've said previously, it's not ok to not trust God with the outcomes. And it's not ok to ever let something as trivial as politics cause to look on anyone as other than someone for whom Jesus died, even as He died for you.
20.
Pantheism, the belief that God is in everything, is found in many pagan religions and even in social issues related to the environment (cue tree huggers). But pantheism makes no sense. No self-respecting god would imprison himself within his creation and enslave himself to its natural laws and that be the only way you can relate to him. God must be separate from His creation and above the natural laws of His creation. Laws He Himself set up.
An interesting side note here is that that in effect is exactly what God did in Jesus. Jesus voluntarily imprisoned Himself in His own creation and enslaved Himself to the natural laws of His creation.
21.
Reiki, universal energy, vibration, and on and on all fall under the umbrella of pantheism. (See my last post.) It feeds a person's desire for the supernatural while allowing them to still be in control.
22.
Buddhism is pantheism. Actually any belief system that doesn't claim an omnipotent creative being as its source is pantheist. Even atheists tend to drift into pantheistic beliefs if I had to guess.
23.
Man is the only animal who tries to convince himself that he isn't afraid of death.
24.
When God's laws are disobeyed people get hurt. Does that make God the bad guy? Do we suspend God's laws? Bible warns against being heedful of the company we keep. I see crime shows where the victim was innocent. Except they went to a bar. Yes we need to show compassion for the victims. But they broke one or more of God's laws. We all do. And we suffer for it. But the answer is not to compromise God's laws. Jesus told the woman that neither did He condemn her but He also said go and sin no more. We have to call sin sin at some point in our dealings with the world. I think that's behind a lot of the persecution against Christians. Yes there is validity to Christians aren't being Christ-like. But the real reason is people don't like being confronted with their need for Jesus because they are sinners. That has to be our message. We shouldn't force it but we have to proclaim it.
25.
4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
These words of Jesus in Revelation 4 to the church in Ephesus are well known to Christians. Any serious Christian wants to take them seriously and not fall into this category.
I've always thought my first love was Jesus and I think that is part of what this verse is saying. But I realized there is more to this. The Greek word for love here is agape, the type of love that has a cost. It's the word that describes Jesus paying the price for our sin on the cross. So Jesus was saying to the Ephesians that they were no longer expressing their Christianity in ways that cost them anything.
In America it's easy to fall into a Christian lifestyle that doesn't cost us anything. We need to examine ourselves and ask God to reveal if we have left our first love
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