NoahLot of Grace & Mercy

Not posting much here..

2009-03-01T19:40:00.003-05:00

I have not been posting much here on NoahLot but if you have any interest in viewing more recent posts of mine I would like to invite you to Haven of Grace.

Thank you,
Denny

Thanksgiving everyday and pray...Keeping alert in it!

2008-11-28T01:22:00.014-05:00

Every day is a day for thanksgiving and every day is a day to pray.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; … (Col 4:2 -NAS)

I am looking at this verse on this day those of us in America call “Thanksgiving Day”. This country may or may not be considered much of great country in the days to come but we know that the founding fathers intended on those born or legal immigrants in this nation -including those in the generations to come- to offer thanksgiving to the Sovereign God for His providence and protection. This will not likely continue with those seeking to “change” this nation into far left liberal cesspool of legalized and enforced sin but I will stand with those true Christians who love God and oppose evil. For those of you who do not think “evil” is a choice word to use these days because it is an extreme word, I promise you that when the enemies of America gain a foothold and come in to torture, murder, or rape because we let them through an administration working to weaken our defenses, and this happens directly to you, you will then understand that evil is not so far from your vocabulary.

Going back to the Scripture from Colossians, I like the NAS rendering through the words “attitude of thanksgiving” because attitude is something from the heart and not just the lips. God sees our hearts and knows if there is real genuine faith in His True Person there and not just lip service for the sake of PR as we so clearly found from the tongue of the President-elect Barack Obama. Let us face it, the next president of the USA has given clear evidence of having no real faith in the Holy Words of God but rather clear evidence of very much opposing the mandates of our Lords Words. Consequences for this will follow as we continue to see a decline of moral strength in this country greatly influenced by such a man as this next president and those who endorse or back him. Yes, we must respect his position of authority by acknowledging him for the good he does (if he does any good) but never are we to give in to demands for Christians to accept evil policies or laws clearly contradicting Gods Word. As the apostle Peter said to those in authority at his time “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5). And John the Baptist lost his life under the rule of Herod for publicly denouncing Herod’s sinful immorality (Mt 14).

We cannot yield to those with a double tongue who are gently hissing the words “has God really said?” On one side they present to the world that they are such a loving and sweet family –as Stalin and Hitler in their day attempted to do through propaganda- beguiling so many who swallow this foolishly and even harshly defend their appearance. And yet on the other side we know –and I mean KNOW- that it is clearly expressed from Barack Obama’s own words that he is willing to enforce through laws the killing of babies to the extreme and the rights for immorality as that found in the homosexual choice of living. Any human with a brain KNOWS that these behaviors and actions (abortion and homosexual rights) all stem from selfish desires caring less for others lives all in the name of "HAPPINESS". And this coming President is willing to spend through taxation the hard earned money of others for this as he takes away from the much needed security for the USA where this country needs to spend. And of course we know that we do not have the money in the first place so to say that paying for the willful sins of some is more important than using that particular money for our security is bound to be deadly to this country's well being and the lives here including those who would rather have their selfish and irresponsible pleasures paid for by Americans. Will Barack Obama stop at the murder of those who are yet alive from a botched abortion which is -by any honest definition- infanticide? They sure know how to say they love their own children and some others but they clearly are heartless toward the very existanse of these most innocent and voiceless people. Obviously because they will never be given the right to vote! Why would he need to stop there if he believes that the life of an innocent human being –who otherwise would be rocked in his mother’s arms within minutes- is not important at that time!? Will those demanding that they have the right to sin in homosexuality by undermining the family unit -as God ordained it- stop there? The activity of homosexuality is a choice not something you are born with like the color of your skin or the sexual organs you have. For these people to say that they have equal rights under our constitution for their choice of activities is a blatant sham! If you think all this evil will stop there you may be dead wrong!!! The limit is on the evil imaginations of man and how far God will have patience before correcting His willfully sinful human race.

I have heard the utter perversion and insanity of some in the media defending the rights of homosexuals because they say it is right that these people should have some pursuit of "HAPPINESS". Saying out of absolute dumbness of the true meaning that this is granted to them in the constitution. If the majority says pedophilia, bigamy, and bestiality must be made legal because this is what "gives people happiness" do you really think it will stop there? THESE CERTAIN BIG MOUTHS IN THE MEDIA -HARPING FOR ATTENTION FROM THOSE WHO HAVE THE ITCHING EARS FOR IT- ARE DUMB, BLIND, STUPID, AND MAYBE WILLFULLY SO AT THAT! If the life of the most innocent and voiceless of humans is not to be acknowledged because of "my right to happiness" and the will for pleasure without responsibility or care for another life, do you really suppose that your life can not be seen as disposable by a people trained to think of life this way? If you think this evil will be limited you may be dead wrong as those in the days of Hitler or Stalin!!! And if you have any conscience at all you know I am right even as you fight against it. God will permit this evil to go so far and then He will act in His own justice and no defense on earth will stop Him then. All the laughter, sick jokes, and mocking will come to a SUDDEN AND TERRIFYING STOP as you will see that you have promoted terrorism to come to you personally and to those of us who have been warning you all along while you enjoy your fame in being a foolish mocker!

So why all of this after starting a Thanksgiving Day post with a verse from the Scriptures? Well, I intended to keep with the idea of showing our need for continued thanksgiving and prayer everyday but as I look back on my words here I realize I may have responded to the mandate in this verse which seems to be overlooked too much. Not only do many of us tend to forget the daily need for prayer and thanksgiving to God but what of the words “keeping alert in it”. If we don’t know what is going on in this world at this time how will we know what to pray? And the foundation of understanding what is going on is based on knowing God’s Words and their balance and application.

I am very thankful today –and I should be every day- for the grace and mercy God has shown to me in my life in every way as I have sinned and failed like the rest of us. God tells me I must acknowledge and turn from my sin to Him and this is what I choose to do. If it was not for His grace and mercy I would be completely lost and a spiritually blinded man or I would be in Hell by now. And I do pray today –and I should pray every day- that God’s will is done on earth as in Heaven. That evil is exposed and innocent lives are spared and protected. That immorality will not continue to undermine the strength of this country. These are some of the prayers I will pray along with other true Christians of our day. God will grant us justice in His way and time; meanwhile He may permit some evil to increase to test our faith and also He may prepare to judge those promoting the evil unless they too come to know the grace and mercy of God through repentance.

On a more personal note I am thankful to God for my wife who has been faithful and loving to me all these years even when I have not been the best husband to her at times. And I am thankful that God has been faithful to meet all the needs of my family and He has given us the direction and strength to work a small family owned business for going on 13 years now. Only He knows what the days ahead have for us and yet I want to have a heart that will trust Him in the good and the difficult. May I always pray, be aware of what is happening, and have an attitude of thanksgiving every day.
AMEN

Are there signs of Sodom and Gomorrah in the USA?

2008-11-12T00:30:00.016-05:00

Are God’s Words warning us of what will come to this country if it continues to be defiant to Him? I want to look at this.

Consider these two recent news items. One found on a blog and another on a news website.

If you have just a bit of knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures then you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah found in the book of Genesis. I expect that any readers here can go to the Bible and find the complete story but I will bring out certain words from this event in History.

Gen 13:10… And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Gen 13:13… Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

So why were these men seen by God Himself as wicked?

After some very theologically meaningful events and promises from God in the life of Abram (Abraham) we find in Genesis chapter 18…

And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

After God told Abraham that the cities were excessively evil and needed to be destroyed for their gross sin in His sight, Abraham prayed that God might spare the cities if He could find just so many who were not involved in or accepting the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah but were right in His sight. Unfortunately God did not see even ten people living there who had their hearts right with Him so we find this in chapter 19…

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

And shortly after that…

Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Jesus said to His true followers, “You are the light of the world.” and He also said this…

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.“ (Mt 5:13)

How many true Christians live with an honest heart towards God’s Son Jesus Christ in this country? Many who cannot stand the truth from God’s Word vehemently jump out and say “How can you judge another when they say they are Christians?” This is not much different than what the men of Sodom said to Lot, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” For many do “say” with their lips they know Jesus Christ but their hearts and actions are far from Him (Mt 15:8). We do look at this according to God’s Word for as Isaiah has said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa 8:20). And Jesus also said "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”(Mt 7:16). And if this popular vote in the USA is for a man whose first act as the President will be to make the death of babies legal to the extreme for heartless people who wish to have their pleasures without responsibility, and push for the rights of those who wish to live like those of Sodom and Gomorrah then we are heading for more inevitable judgment from God. If you say you are a Christian and have voted for this man then according to God Himself you are a liar or you have been very fooled by some motivation which is far from God. Was it color of skin, selfish lust of the flesh, heartless pride of this life? Did you ever think to honestly and fully consider "the content of one's character" and not just the color of his skin or ones ability to move people with false words? I believe Martin Luther King Jr would have seriously been offended by what has happened in this country today as they have ignored what he meant!

True followers of the only True Living God in Jesus Christ, shine His Light and don’t lose the saltiness He is using to keep this country from destruction. Speak up for what is right and live a life by God’s grace as He has commanded.

May we hear and heed the words of the Apostle Paul saying…

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. (Phil 2)

And to those who are living a sinful life with unnatural sexual affection, or who are willing to kill their offspring for the sake of continuing free pleasure without responsibility, I say this... God's only Son died for forgiveness of the sins you are committing. Just as He died for the sins I have committed in my life. A Christian acknowledges sin for what it is... an offense against a Holy and Just God. He calls us to repent of this sin and be willing to find forgiveness and escape from it through the death and Life of His Son and the blood he shed for forgiveness of our sin. Don't ignore the only hope of escape you have in this life. He is waiting for you to respond to His call for your freedom from self, sin, and the tempter known as Satan. If you want someone to talk with about this please email me. I am willing to share with you the best that I know how.

A follow-up of my last post regarding Barack Obama...

2008-11-01T03:20:00.002-04:00

As a follow up to my last post I wish to share about the matter of racism in this country as well as a wider view of all that may be happening in this country. As I was looking into some information on the man Alan Keyes I came across some interesting things. The following is a quote regarding Alan Keyes and the Illinois Senate campaign in 2004 which is found on Wikipedia:

During the campaign, Keyes outlined an alternative to reparations for slavery. His specific suggestion was that, for a period of one or two generations, African-Americans who were descended from slaves would be exempt from the federal income tax (though not from the FICA tax that supports Social Security). Keyes said the experiment "would become a demonstration project for what I believe needs to be done for the whole country, which is to get rid of the income tax.

Then when you look into the term reparations for slavery we find this on Wikipedia:

Reparations for slavery is a proposal by some in the United States that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people, in consideration of the labor provided for free over several centuries, which has been a powerful and influential factor in the development of the country.

Can we as Americans deny this fact of slavery which happened in our country? Is it not truth that these slaves worked very hard under difficult, harsh, and even brutal conditions and that, at least in part, because they did this this county grew to the place it is in today? I am not a black man nor am I aware of any slavery in my ancestry but the idea of reparations for the slavery of certain ancestries sounds fair to me if it is not taken to some perverted end of taking too much from those who have worked very hard and giving it to those who are not working when they can to earn a living well on their own if they could just get motivated. As far as details to how this "reparations" is fair that is another matter. Too many capable adults of all colors -including white people- are spoon fed by a foolish socialist government mentality which keep some unnecessarily dependent and unmotivated to do well for themselves. This country under it's conservative side offers the right USA views on how to encourage and motivate people to do what they really can and yet will have to give to those who are truly in need like the genuinely disabled, weak, or elderly of our land.

This brings me to the follow up of my last post regarding Barack Obama. It has been proven that this man Barack Obama is affiliated with some who wish to provoke and promote racism in another form all over again in this country of ours. For instance, his so-called pastor Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. -whom I see as none other than a minister of Satan and is no way is to be considered reverend- has been clearly doing this for some time. There is too much clear evidence that Barack Obama has racism motivating his plans for America. This is just another of the many dangers involved with permitting a racist and murderer of innocent offspring of the human race into the office of the highest Governing position of this country. Keep this man out of this high office as he is unfit for the position and will work to undermine any good morals left standing in the USA.

The following found in Lev. 26:14-17 is of the Old Covenant but I want to bring out a point from it:

‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. ‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

“Those who hate you will rule over you” is the key point I bring out here. If the people who call themselves God’s children do not hold fast to and stay sensitive to the true ways of God set forth in all of His Words as found in the New Covenant, and if the unbelievers –including those who have stolen the name of “Christian” in falsehood- continue to promote ungodly and wicked ways then I believe we need to be aware of God’s response of judgment.

I am looking at these words from Isaiah 3:4-5:

And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder and the inferior against the honorable.

And I will leave the rest for John Calvin to bring insight to what may be happening in America now and in the near future…

And I will appoint children to be their princes. {1} That the vengeance of God may be more manifest, he now describes how sad and wretched will be the change, when competent and faithful rulers shall be taken from among them and God shall put cowardly and worthless persons in their room. By children are meant not only those who are so by age, but also by mind and conduct, such as delicate and effeminate persons, who are destitute of courage and cannot wield the sword entrusted to them. He does not here carry out the contrast, clause by clause; for he thought it enough to point out one way in which a commonwealth is speedily ruined; that is, when its rulers are weak and foolish men like children, who have no gravity or wisdom. But it must be laid down as a principle, that no man is qualified for governing a commonwealth unless he have been appointed to it by God, and be endued with uncommon excellence. Plato, too, understood this matter well: for though, being a heathen, he had no true knowledge of this kind, yet his quick sagacity enabled him to perceive that no man is fit and qualified for public government which has not been prepared for it by God in an extraordinary measure; for public government proceeds from God alone, and in like manner every part of it must be upheld by him. Besides, they whom the Lord does not govern have nothing left for them but to be children, or rather to be twice children, that is, destitute of all skill and of all wisdom.
Now the Lord executes this vengeance in two ways; because it frequently happens, that when we appear to have those who are grave and skillful in business, no sooner do they come to action than they stumble like blind men, and have no more wisdom than children; for the Lord deprives them of that remarkable ability which they had formerly received from him, and stuns them, as if he had struck them with a thunderbolt. But sometimes the Lord proceeds more gently, and gradually removes men of extraordinary ability, who were fit for ruling, and commits the reins of government to those who were unable to govern a family, or even a single child liken these things happen, it is very certain that destruction is not far off.
Besides, it deserves our notice, as I lately mentioned, that a well-regulated commonwealth is a singular gift of God, when the various orders of judges and senators, soldiers, captains, artificers, and teachers, aid each other by mutual intercourse, and join in promoting the general safety of the whole people. For when the Prophet threatens, and pronounces it to be a very severe punishment, that these things shall be taken away, he plainly shows that those eminent and uncommon gifts of God are necessary for the safety of nations. Accordingly, he here commends the office of magistrates, and captains, and soldiers, and likewise the office of teachers. This deserves our notice in opposition to fanatics, who endeavor to banish from the world the power of using the sword, together with all civil government and order. But the Prophet declares that these things are not taken away or removed unless when God is angry. It follows, therefore, that they who oppose, and, as far as lies in their power, set aside or destroy such benefits, are wicked men and enemies of the public safety.
He likewise commends instruction, without which a commonwealth cannot stand; for, as Solomon says,

where prophecy is not, the nation must be ruined. (#Pr 29:18).

At the same time, he commends the mechanical arts, agriculture, manual occupations of every description, architecture, and such like, which we cannot dispense with; for all artisans of every kind, who contribute what is useful to men, are the servants of God, and have the same end in view with those who were formerly mentioned, namely, the preservation of mankind
The same thing must be said about war; for, although lawful, war ought to be nothing else than an attempt to obtain peace; yet sometimes an engagement is unavoidable, that they who have the power of the sword may use it, and defend themselves and their followers by arms. War, therefore, is not in itself to be condemned; for it is the means of preserving the commonwealth. But neither must eloquence be despised; for it is often needed, both in public and in private life, that something may be clearly and fully explained and demonstrated to be true. This is also reckoned among the gifts and important blessings of God, when a state abounds in wise and eloquent men,
who can contend with the adversaries in the gate. (#Ps 127:5).

This passage may be thus summed up, "When God takes away those gifts, and alters the condition of a people, in whatever way this takes place, either by changing the form of government, or by taking away the rulers, the anger of God ought to be acknowledged;" for, as Hosea says,

He Taketh Away Kings In His Wrath, And Appointeth Them In His Indignation. (#Ho 13:11).

Let us not, therefore, ascribe these changes to chance or other causes.

Obama will lead astray if possible, even the elect...

2008-10-31T00:46:00.003-04:00

Mt 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Obviously I haven’t been posting here for a very long time now. I am planning to spend some time blogging as I can in the near future but for now I wanted to place a link to share for whomever may happen to visit this blog.

With the upcoming elections next week in the USA I, as many other believers in Christ Jesus, have certain concerns about the man Barack Obama becoming president of our country. I know God is Sovereign and He will cause everything to work out in His will no matter who He sets in the White House. Yet I believe that through this government which God has ordained, as is clear in Romans 13, He has given all of us citizens a voice through a vote. This vote may be a drop in the bucket but a bucket does fill if drops are many. So, in essence, I see God has given the responsibility of this country's government into the citizen’s hands.

For the sake of those who might think that everyone who opposes Barack Obama is racist I will preface my vote against him with this. If Alan Keyes ran for President against Obama I would have ran to the booths and voted for him and likely more enthusiastically than I will vote for McCain. This is a fact that many would agree with as well proving that this play on saying so many are prejudiced is just propaganda to work to place in the office of President a man who is willing to see the death of the most voiceless and innocent people in the country… children who are still needing their mothers umbilical cord to survive. This is only one of the many evils this man will push upon Americans. If we really are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we will know and be sensitive to these facts and do what we can to prevent Obama from becoming the next President. If, however, too many Christians have become too numb to the voice of God and His Word in their lives God may permit such an evil leader over us to be used as Pharaoh was to move us into His will with Him. We are to be salt and light whatever comes of this election and believers should be serious and sober and intercede that God’s will is done on earth as in Heaven.

I leave it there and also leave this serious word from someone who deserves an ear from us.

Today is the Day!

2007-07-22T18:46:00.000-04:00

That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You. Ps 67:2-3

The Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ is of One God with One Plan and One Single Mind. There is only One Way and that is through the true Person of Jesus Christ who is One with the Father God and His Holy Spirit. Many take the words of Holy Scriptures and then produce and promote their own ideas and understanding of them so as to have a following of their own. This taking of God’s Words out of context and true historical meaning and then forming other gods and saviors with other doctrines is a strong work of deception throughout this earth today. Jesus said the time will come that many will say to Him:

‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Mt 7:22-23

Knowing God in His Spirit and Truth is not the same as knowing many of the words in the Bible and finding an attractive way to appeal to others through deceptions or perversions by falsely using those words. Knowing God means having an intimate relationship with Him via His Holy Spirit as revealed through the true balance of His Holy Words. Zeal does not always fall in line with Truth and knowledge is not always based on the Love of God.

Jesus said this as well:

“And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:37-40

Are you willing and desiring to go directly to Jesus Christ the only mediator between God and man? If you are relying on the words of mere men for the Truth you will not find it there. For Jesus says this also:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

You need no man to see who Christ really is and the Salvation He calls you to for Hebrews speaks of Jesus this way:

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. Heb 8:6

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Heb 9:13-15

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 1Tim 2:5-6

God is certainly Sovereign over all the affairs of men as it says here:

It is God who directs the lives of his creatures;
everyone’s life is in his power. Job 12:10 -TEV

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps. Prov 16:9

“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Acts 17:28

And if you are knowing a work inside your soul which is making you want to know the Truth and your Savior then here is a promise of God's supernatural help which applies to you right now:

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
Heb 1:14

Respond to Him Today! For this is the Day of Salvation. Don't let your heart get more numb to the calling of God on your eternal soul. As the Apostle Paul said:

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” 2Cor 6:1

If the Grace and Mercy of God is speaking to you Today, turn to Him, cry out in prayer, know His Words, and be saved!

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2Cor 6:2

In His Time Only...

2007-07-08T16:32:00.000-04:00

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. “But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” John 11:1-16

I want to look especially at this passage:

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. “But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

These words of Christ reveal to us once again the Sovereignty of God in all things. I believe we can take from this the knowledge and assurance that the timing of events --including our death-- are completely in the hands of the only Sovereign God. Jesus knew that although the hearts of those who hated Him would kill Him at any time that they saw an opportunity, they could not do so until the appointed time and way which God the Father had ordained. So it is with our lives. All events are planned and mapped out by our loving Father so as to work all things to His final good for His own Creation.

The disciples were wary at the prospect of Christ returning into the lion's den of the mad and falsely religious leaders of their day. They knew that the manifest intent of these jealous leaders was bent on killing Christ. And the disciples seemed to believe that they too were at risk of being killed. But just as Christ was aware that those with evil intent could not harm Him apart from God's plan, so Christ knew they could not harm His disciples whom He said should go with Him to Judea --the lion's den. God is in control and we must draw close to Him to be sure we can hear His still small voice in the Light of His countenance as He directs us in the way we should go, even if the way seems a bit risky from a natural point of view. He will direct us with His Eyes and lead us with His voice. And we must be careful not to wander into the darkness of missing His will, for stumbling in the night could happen to us before we know it.

Psalms 86:11
Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Isaiah 30:21
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.

Psalms 56:13
For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?

Psalms 89:15
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.

1John 5:5-10
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

And the one we've heard too much but believed so little:

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

The "Whole" Biography

2007-05-20T18:31:00.000-04:00

There was a man who knew of and understood many things and was very talented and able to do many things as well. He was a very good man who had a multitude of good qualities. In fact, there could not be found one bad quality in him which could be proven -though he was falsely accused of much- and he was considered by many to be a perfect man. Now this man was not yet personally known by many others but most had at least heard of him. There was a book produced by this man which gave a full and complete biography disclosing everything there is to know about his thoughts and ideas.

Over time, some reports would come out about this man, saying various things about his person and his mind. These reports often carried a twisted view of the man for there was attention given to only certain things said of him in his disclosure of himself, and also an ignorance of other vital truths about him which were needed to bring his true nature into proper perspective. But it was stated by him in his disclosure report in various places and various ways that the only way to truly know him was to meet him in person and commune with him as you read through his biography. It was clearly not possible to know him by another mans words stating only parts of this biography. It was through communing with him that he would make it clear to you what he meant and how all of his words connected rightly with everything else he had said.

But some would not be honest nor did they take the time to get close to the author of this biography. And because the author was very popular, some would take advantage of his fame to get attention and produce a following for themselves, leading many away from being able to really know the author because they exploited, twisted, became partial, or added to the words of this great man. In most cases, they would discourage others from drawing close to the author and looking well into his words. They would strongly imply that they had the right view and they were the ones to help others to see what this great man was saying. As a result, this brought them their own following which resulted in gaining wealth or a provision for an easy life for themselves through others serving them. But it was also stated in the words of this great man that those who misrepresented the author’s words would have to pay a terrible price at the end of their lives because it was vital to the wellbeing of others that these words were portrayed properly and without falsehood.

The words above are a parable speaking against those who pervert God’s Word for their own profit. Whether it is for material gain or the gain of an easy life brought through many people serving you thinking they are following God, either way is a lie and deception on others lives. Yet, I must also say that even those who are misled by these spiritual perverts are likely not always innocent. Some are unknowing but others willingly ignore the call in God’s Word to personally draw near to Him, study His Words, and pay complete attention to the Full Counsel of God by rightly dividing His Words and not ignoring any of them or adding to them. As God has given us a complete revelation of His Son and the work He has accomplished then we must diligently look at all of His Words together as One for He is One revealed as a "Whole" in the Holy Scriptures. There is only One True God and many, many perversions of what He is like and what He has done. It is your own fault if you ignore His call to draw near to hear Him in a quiet place alone -void of the noise of mere men or the Devil telling you what God has said- and study His Word thoroughly as you commune with His Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

For those who may be called to lead others to the knowledge of Christ, this is a reminder from the Apostle Paul who worked to meet his needs when he could as he ministered the Truth and did not wish to leech off of other‘s lives:

“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:26-37)

For those who are ignoring God’s Word’s in their “Whole” form -in spite of all you let your mind think to keep you in the grip of lies- this is the terror which surely awaits you unless you repent:

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2Peter 2:1-3)

God and God Alone

2007-04-29T17:17:00.000-04:00

He is the great I AM. He reigns over all of His creation and does whatever He pleases. Nothing escapes His notice and all is under His Sovereign control. Our enemies have no say or do against us without God’s plan and permission to make it work for good in Him.

2 Cor 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

As children of God we must keep our eyes on the eternal reality just a vapor ahead of this mortal existence in this physical earth. Diseases, disasters, difficulties, and even fiery trials coming from humans --who accept lies and work attacks on us in their deceptions-- are under the Sovereign and wise Hand of our God in Christ Jesus. For He makes even the wrath of man to praise Him. Ponder this poem I found…

The wrath of men shall praise Thee,
The rest shalt Thou restrain,
And out of earth’s disasters
Will bring eternal gain.
The purpose of man’s evil heart
Works out Thy sovereign will.
Our God is still upon the throne,
Therefore, believe, be still.
Be still and know that I am God,
This banishes our fears,
While passing through this scene of strife,
Of sorrow and of tears.
The One who rules the heavenly hosts
Holds all within His hand,
And none can say, “What doest Thou?”
Can His arm withstand.
—Author unknown

I couldn’t help but recall the recent news story of some believers who were brutally and mercilessly tortured by very young Muslim extremists for their faith in Christ Jesus. It sounded like a very hellish thing to endure and suffer through. Yet we all have to face the facts that this life can bring many difficulties in many ways. At the very least, most of us will likely have to endure the deterioration of our mortal flesh through our bodies failing and disease taking it’s toll as we age. And some of this may occur to younger members of the human race. Some of all ages will suffer the reality of our frail bodies as we suffer accidents. Some of us may suffer and/or die at the hands of sinful men as their evil hearts are revealed through violence. God has all of these things designed to ultimately bring great glory to Him as the only Sovereign and to prepare His children to know an eternal bliss and reward for the faith we have been given by grace to see us through these varying and various trials of this life. We must keep this faith in our hearts at all times and be ready always to give an answer for this great hope our Lord has given to us as believers in His Sovereign grace and power.

Please let this Word of Christ dwell richly in your hearts as believers in His Grace and never forget this under any circumstances…

Hebrews 12:1-11
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

And the Apostle Peters reveals this Word from our God…

1 Peter 3:13-22
And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

Only our Sovereign God knows our future, so continue to know Him through grace and He will prepare your heart for whatever is to come. Good days, bad days, or evil days, our Good Shepherd will see us through to the other side of this life. Praise Him forever for is unfailing love towards His people and for His Eternal Glory. AMEN!

Pure Calvinism vs. Carnal Calvinism

2007-04-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

Pure Calvinism has the evidence of the true grace which is central to its own doctrine. If it is God’s grace alone which changes us --and this gives all of the glory entirely to God-- then this very grace will be evidenced in the life of one who professes to believe and live in Reformed Theology. I say “believe and live” because it is clear that some who teach and profess Calvinism or Reformed Theology as their basis in viewing God’s Word do not show the grace through their life and teaching as God’s Word declares it should be. In other words “you will know them by their fruit” NOT their fleshly mental assent or carnal parroting of the life giving doctrine of Calvinism or Reformed Theology as it is in its truest and purest form.

Some professing Calvinists and Reformers will say “God is Love” but give little evidence in their lives or teaching to this fact. If our eyes have been opened by God’s grace and mercy, how then can we look down upon or coldly judge those who are in dire need of this same grace and mercy or pardon coming from God through Christ? I believe it is reported that something like this (but said in my own words) has been said by John Newton (the author of Amazing Grace):

Some harshly and rashly expect that others should see --as they believe that they do-- the light of the truth of God’s Sovereign Word without considering how this occurred to them, if it really did. That would be as if Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52), after receiving his sight by the grace and mercy of God, then decided to go out and beat other blind men with a stick because they didn't see as he did. How foolish and heartless! Who caused him to see? Was it of his own works or the act of the Sovereign God alone? We should rather give all the glory to God for His grace and mercy and sincerely and fervently pray that God will open the minds of others to see this wondrous grace as we proclaim the Gospel of God in word and deed.

It is my view that some who say they have “seen the light of the Sovereign hand of God” may not have truly seen this yet but instead have something worded similarly and have seen only by their puffed up fleshly imagination, or, they are very immature in their understanding of the true meaning of the wonderful sovereign grace of God. I also believe that many of those who say others are blinded are yet blinded themselves through taking a mental assent only to the doctrine of grace without truly knowing this in their hearts yet for themselves. My wife and I have witnessed this first hand with a former local pastor and one of his former Sunday school teachers. They seemed to have a somewhat parroted belief in the doctrine of Sovereign Grace, delighting in the idea of the word Sovereign but not truly grasping the complete meaning of the word Grace. Giving evidence of hard hearts as they seemed to think they had it all figured out and yet had little to no real compassion for the people for whom Christ died and now lives again. That is what I call Carnal Calvinism which may also be considered what others call Hyper-Calvinism. We witnessed many people get hurt in this particular situation we were in and therefore I can affirm that this has been happening and is likely happening in many other places as I hear it is so.

I’ll now offer some of God’s Word in this matter to ponder as we consider our lives with our words:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1Cor 13:1-2) -nkjv

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (2Tim 2:24-26) -nkjv

I must confess that I have often failed and fallen short on this for myself. And I have regrets about not loving others as Christ would have me. I pray I have and will amend this with God's help as much as possible. It is my desire to let God change me by grace and continue to transform me into His Son’s likeness. I wish for God’s glory to be seen in my life and words as I submit to Him and the power that raised Christ from the dead. As I decrease --by grace through faith-- putting to death on His cross my carnal nature, the glory of Christ must increase as His light breaks though for others to see His resurrection power in my mortal being. This will prove to be so when others see and exalt Him alone and see me as simply a vessel being made fit for the Masters use. The vessel should never have the glory but rather the Master who has prepared the vessel and happens to have chosen to use it for any particular purpose of His own. God can use me as He wishes for He is my Potter and I am His clay.

May we who have accepted and received the doctrine of the Sovereign Grace of God pay more attention to the meaning of the word Grace as we come to see the awesome Hand of God over all His Creation. May we pray that others may see and know this Grace and Mercy from God. And may we obey the words of God and do our part in yielding to this work of Grace considering whether or not we have the gentleness, patience, humility, and preparation to teach this grace to others. We must balance this with tough truth from the Word of God as we correct, rebuke, and instruct others and speak this truth in love. Never forgetting that this God has mercifully brought us out of darkness into His marvelous Light and will do the same for others as He shines His Light through us according to the Gospel.

Not knowing the goodness of God...

2007-04-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

There are promises in Scripture which we may feel good about and there are those which we must realize and take very seriously in these last days. Here is one which we need to be aware of today…

“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2Tim 3:13

After coming to know the real truth regarding some people who have a presence online and are seen by some others as being either involved in some “discernment” ministry or that they are of the “true Body” of Christ, it has occurred to me that some seem to like the idea of defying God to His face by knowing they can resist conviction with their hardened hearts. It would seem that their pride is puffed up each time they can pull the wool over another’s eyes as they masquerade as being righteous. Not knowing the goodness of God, they are storing up for themselves wrath for the Day of wrath. Deceivers, liars, hypocrites, and fools! All of these seem to get some thrill or sense of power by being able to deny the conviction of Truth which God has so clearly set against them in His Word.

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Rom 2:1-11

The worst of them are those who say they are so serious with God for the Church and Christ’s word of discernment but are themselves deceivers, liars, hypocrites, and fools. Of these 4 words which describe them, there is one which they realize the least in themselves as they go on enjoying the fact that they can fool other humans by their deceptions and lies with the masks they wear. And that is that they themselves are the FOOLS! For God is not mocked and they will reap exactly as they sow. They are storing up for themselves --through their impenitence of heart-- much wrath for their souls if they go on without repentance. Shame will fall on them with the same measure at which they have used God’s Words to mislead, control, and harm others. And this is a very serious measure for some. On that Day the Light will shine on their works of darkness --without them being able to lie and connive their way out before the eyes of man-- according to the Word of God. For when Christ appears their knees will bow and their tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and their self-glory will cease. They will have to confess that they have grieved and offended God, His Son, and His Church severely by their white washed ways made pretty for the eyes of men so as to gain a following. God's mercy may not strive with them much longer if they turn not from this grave error.

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. 1Cor 4:5

There shall be no more trickery, deception, or hiding on that Day! Your days of harming Christ’s Church will be over then unless perhaps our Lord will put an end to your ways sooner.

I will love Christ and His Church with each individual member, and by God's grace I wish to be used of God to help uphold and defend the Truth. And as God wills, I will uncover the lies and the liars hidden within the Church as I become aware of them.

May God's Grace and Truth always prevail as this is seen through the Person and work of Christ Jesus!

There is no other One

2007-03-26T02:35:00.000-04:00

I wish to offer this song for those who may need an encouraging word in the midst of a spiritual battle. Thinking about some friends and desiring to express what we have been going through, this song was written today as I was outside hearing the birds praising God for the Springtime. If anyone happens to be interested in hearing the mp3 it is available through email if you request it. I hope that it may bless you...

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." 1John 1:6-10

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom 8:1-2

“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.” Gal 1:6-7

There is no other One

I have seen condemnations and lies come to wound my soul

From those who claim to know Your Grace.

I have felt the fiery darts of the enemy upon my soul

And my spirit cries Father, Father save me… As I seek Your Face

Chorus:

There is a place to go when I’m weary of the fight

There is a Light that shines through the tempest and the plight

I have a Savior Who will come to rescue me

His Grace and Truth are here… and I shall be Free!

He is Messiah, God’s Holy Son. His name is Jesus, There is no other One (end)

I know my failures and my sins before Your sight

I will not deny… I am a sinner

And I am broken in Your Holy and Perfect Light

Yet through Your Blood there is now no sin there

For You have cleansed me, You have changed my will, I have been redeemed (to chorus)

Interlude:

Free from sin, Satan, self, and all the lies

Free from him who tells half truths and then denies…That there is (to chorus)

There is a post on my other blog which brings out more detail of what I have meant to share through this new song.

May God Bless!

Good motives for Christian Bloggers...

2007-03-18T18:29:00.000-04:00

With all that I have been involved with over this past year, I have had to ask myself as a believer in Christ Jesus, why blog? Motives are undeniably important here as God looks at my heart. I can’t speak for other’s motives but I can speak for myself as God’s Light from His Words search my heart in this matter. Yet --from some things of which I have been a witness to-- I believe there is also something to be said about others who call themselves Christian and blog. I wish to share some of what I am aware of regarding both myself and other Christian bloggers today.

First of all, I wish to establish something about motives. I’ve been blessed in hearing some mp3 messages from David Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the topic of “Spiritual Warfare”. He said something in this which many have heard before but it relates to what I am sharing here. It goes something like this…

Just because we have temptations in our thoughts this does not mean they are our own willing thoughts. Of course, the enemy of our soul would have us believe they are all ours so as to discourage us. The test is in asking ourselves if we desire the thoughts or if we hate them and find them disturbing and wrong. For the Devil does have his “fiery darts” which may come in the from of tempting or deceptive thoughts in our minds. We must distinguish our born-again spiritual thoughts coming from abiding in Christ and His Word as opposed to those thoughts coming from the enemy of our soul which are meant to deceive, mislead, or tempt us. And something to note here right away is just how the Word of God makes it clear to us that Satan will even use Scripture to attempt to mislead and tempt us as in the case of the Son of God (Mt 4:1-11).

My Lord, Jesus Christ, is my friend who sticks closer than a brother. I am never alone when no other human is around. He is faithful all the time every time to be with me, “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Keeping this in mind and being willing to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” is really how God works in our hearts to reform us into His true image. This is also how God reveals to us which motives are from Him and which are from the Devil or our old nature. I consider more of God’s Words here:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb 4:12

I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings. Jer 17:10

Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:27

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal 5:24-26

I have at times wrestled with some distracting thoughts in blogging. For instance, I may think that this is worthless or of no value. And yet I really believe God would have me use this blogging experience as a means of sharing my faith and love in Him as well as a means of growing in His grace and knowledge by using blogs to share some personal study of God's Word. No matter which of the various forms of communication we are using, we are always called by God to do some of the following things in it depending on who we are communicating with:

For our like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ:

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Rom 14:19

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1Thes 5:11

For those who are not yet realizing there dire need for Christ Jesus' free Salvation from sin and Hell:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:
“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.” Rom 10:14-18

For those who stray from the Truth into lies, yet claim to be of Christ:

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2Tim 4:1-5

For those who attack us for being His children and exposing darkness:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 1Pet 3:15-16

And most importantly for God’s glory:

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1Cor 10:31

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col 3:17

And this is what each of us who profess to know Christ Jesus should yield to in Him:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Phil 2:1-4

These passages from Scripture --along with the rest of God's Words-- shall be my guide in all I do as a Christian Blogger. And my prayer is that God will have His way completely in all I say and do. And that whatever God wishes to do with the blogs --of which I am responsible for-- He may have complete control without my grieving or quenching His Holy Spirit by my own flesh or selfish desires. He may take this wherever He wishes without my pushing it in the flesh or holding back the active use of godly wisdom for the advancement of His purposes for my blogs as He compels me. I say "my blogs" but really they are His and for His glory and purposes. I am simply the person responsible for their content. I am a steward of God, an ambassador of Christ Jesus. If only one or two are touched by God through these blogs or if many are touched by God in them this must be up to His own working and will. I am free to grow in the grace and knowledge of God here as He does what He wants with that. I am accountable to all Christians who follow our Lord in sincerity and have the whole Gospel as their reference for any corrections to be made to the things I say on any blog.

May I maintain pure motives in His sight for these blogs...

NoahLot... A place exposing darkness with Christ's Light of Truth to defend God's glory and protect the innocent and unwary.

Haven of Grace... A haven of edification, exhortation, and comfort for Believers in Christ Jesus.

The Truth of the Gospel... A place for sharing Truth with those searching and unsaved that they may be freed from Satan's lies.

Amen

“Deception” Devour or be devoured…

2007-03-14T02:57:00.000-04:00

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Cor 10:12

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 1 Cor 16:13

Satan is out to kill, steal, and destroy (Jn 10:10). He is a liar and the father of all liars (Jn 8:44). The Apostle Peter makes it clear that our adversary can potentially devour those who are not resisting him “steadfast in the faith” . What is our defense against the subtle attacks of Satan? First, it may be good to establish what exactly is “the faith” which Peter was speaking of. For faith is the means in which we resist the enemy of our soul. Also, we must acknowledge that the attacks we endure as believers are not so different from those our brotherhood are enduring throughout the world. In the history of the Church and throughout the world today many Christians are being maligned, slandered, abused, and in some locations on earth they are physically assaulted as well.

So what is "the faith"?

"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." Jude 3

The faith has already been delivered to the saints. We have this faith --belief and trust-- in the Word of God which we also call Holy Scripture. Within these words and work of the Holy Spirit known as the Helper, we can find “the faith” needed not only for our initial and necessary Salvation but also all that is needed for this life and the godliness our Lord calls us to.

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2Pet 1:2-4

It is through the knowledge of Him that we have “the faith” which overcomes the world, the flesh, and the Devil. If we fail to be as the Berian’s and ignore prayerful thorough study of God’s Word we are making ourselves vulnerable for attacks from those spoken of in this very important passage of Scripture recording the very words of the Son of God:

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. (Mt 24:4-5)

This Scripture needs to be understood in its broader context to realize its extent. This is not just speaking of individuals who claim they are “the Christ”. It is also referring to those who are of "another Jesus" or "another gospel". Look here as Paul reveal this:

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!" 2 Cor 11:3-4

"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." Gal 1:6-7

This is what was spoken of in the first Scripture reference of this post. Satan is using false teachings and false practices to deceive the minds of the naïve. The naïve are those who would come to trust a man’s words as they pervert the use of God’s words. Yes, these false teachers/apostles do speak the Scriptures. No less than Satan did when he attempted to tempt our Lord but failed to suduce Him. Of course, as Satan does, they will appeal to your mind for attention by use of Scripture to bring you into their bondage. And if you don’t know God’s Word very well for yourself you may fall for their trap which contains the bait of one who comes in the appearance of a minister of righteousness.

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." 2Cor 11:13-15

They will sound like they are making an appeal to Christians to know righteousness by works --or your behavior in their eyes-- rather than through faith which is by Grace alone. Denying the power of God’s ability through Christ Jesus to cleanse and keep a soul from sin, they will set up a structure legalistic bondage using scripture and claiming to have the righteousness of God but possessing only filthy rags worth disposal in God‘s sight. Most of the time these false teachers/apostles will work to draw away Christians rather than the lost by subtle lies in hypocrisy because with Christians Satan can attack God --whom he is jealous of and hates-- directly. These agents of the Devil will point the finger at other believers for they follow the nature of Satan who is “the accuser of the brethren” . Yet they live lives of pride, arrogance, and a very unholy self-righteousness. You will know them by their fruit. But if you do know God’s Word enough and if you do not continue in these words of our faith then you may fall from your own steadfastness for their lies which they offer for your idleness in knowing Scripture. You must know God's Words which reveals His Power of Grace enough to protect you from their error.

"Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." 1Tim 4:16

"And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2Pet 1:19-21

If you find that you are one who needs to be spoon fed, be careful, for your adversary the Devil has many agents out there willing to feed you “right sounding” poison which has no rightness or soundness to it at all. Don’t be lazy, for your soul is at stake and so are those who may be influenced by your example of following another gospel or another Jesus without your realizing it.

Devour God’s Word for yourself before Satan finds a way to devour you!

What is "Deception"?

2007-03-10T15:09:00.002-05:00

The definition of “Deception” (n)

trick, ruse, sham, fraud, con, pretext
dishonesty, trickery, duplicity, deceptiveness, deceit, cheating
antonym: truthfulness

1. practice of misleading somebody: the practice of deliberately making somebody believe things that are not true
2. something intended to mislead somebody: an act, trick, or device intended to deceive or mislead somebody -Encarta ®

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said,”

Notice how Satan will speak the words of God. He will repeat them and turn with the questioning of God‘s integrity through what God did say. We know questioning is good when it comes to mere fallible men. And we know every man from Adam is imperfect except for the last Adam, Christ Jesus, Who "became a life-giving Spirit" (1 Cor 15:45). But to question God Himself is of the highest of errors for God is Solely the Highest of Perfection and Infallibility and He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. It comes to this…If we fail to trust all of God’s Holy Words then we are potentially deceived in some way without a doubt. For deception first came to the human race when mankind chose to listen to the voice of Satan and accept the questioning of God’s character and integrity as an option.

I’ll share more on this understanding of “deception” as soon as possible on this post…

The Helpless Victim of Slander

2007-03-05T03:29:00.000-05:00

This will likely disturb those who are guilty of slander but comfort those who have truly been victims of slander.

Psalm 120
A Song of Ascents.

In my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!
Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war. -nkjv

Encouraging insight from the Believers Bible Commentary:

The Helpless Victim of Slander

One of the bitter experiences of a believer’s life is to be the victim of lies and slander. It is then he helplessly realizes the truth of Spurgeon’s observation that “a lie can go around the world while truth is putting its boots on.” He can easily become a twisted mass of humiliation and frustration.
120:1, 2 That was the kind of distress that sent the psalmist racing to the Lord in this first “Song of Ascents.” His request was short, simple and specific. He wanted to be delivered from the lying lips of his enemies, from the deceitful tongue of the pagans.

120:3, 4 Then just as quickly, he turns aside to one particular culprit and predicts severe punishment for him. What sentence shall be handed down to him? Sharp arrows shot from the bow of the Master Archer. And what will be done to that deceitful tongue? Will it be washed with soap? No, it will be cauterized with glowing coals of the broom tree! The root of this desert shrub is used to produce burning charcoal, noted for its intense heat.

120:5 In a moment of self-pity, the peace-loving psalmist laments his enforced stay among the tribes of Meshech and Kedar. Meshech was a son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), and his descendants became noted as savage, uncivilized people. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13), and his posterity were also cruel and merciless. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “it is through Kedar that Muslim genealogists trace the descent of Mohammed from Ishmael.”

120:6, 7 The psalmist’s enforced exile among barbarians who hated peace had been too long to suit him. His efforts to bring about peaceful co-existence had been repulsed by new acts of war.
Had he lived in NT times, he would have been more prepared to expect slander and strife, and would have been better able to cope with it. He would have the example of the Lord Jesus:
Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2:23).
He would have the teaching of Peter:
But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God (1 Pet. 2:20b).
Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing (1 Pet. 3:9).
And finally he would have the word of the Lord Jesus:
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:11, 12).

Never forget how blessed the honest in heart are.

Thank God!

Answering accusations 1 and 2...

2007-03-04T20:45:00.000-05:00

Answering accusations about me and my wife…

For those who seek to know what I would reply to certain accusations brought against me or my wife, I have decided to post the answers here for consideration of those who have an honest approach and do not wish to develop a false opinion of others through the words of those who willingly defame to hide their own sin. Thank you for not letting your heart accept a wrong view of any by slanderous or libelous words. It is right that we first give the accused a chance to reply to charges placed against them. May you come to have an opinion based only on facts as they are established by credible witnesses that have been thoroughly tested and researched on the things they say. I am completely open to this examination by any with the love of God in their heart to do what is right before developing an opinion. Ask our accusers if they would equally permit an honest and thorough examination into the things which many witnesses have already testified to regarding their wrongdoing, and see what you get. To some, these particular charges against us are already seen to be lies, for they themselves bear witness to the lying nature of our specific accusers. To others, because they have no idea what to think about any of this and may find themselves thinking that some of these charges placed in public view may actually be true, I offer this post for your careful consideration. By being willing to read this objectively, you are saying that you will not think evil of others from words spoken by those who have a clear public record --established by many witnesses available to you this day-- of having the nature of a controlling, elusive, evasive, and lying cult in the guise of a so-called “new testament church” evidently void of the Holy Spirit and the Grace of God.

The following charges and my answers to them are not in any specific order. They are listed as they come to me. And there are likely some accusations not referred to here yet but --as they are recalled and I have the time-- they will be posted later on this blog.

Accusation #1:

I am wanting a following and I am trying to draw men to myself via the internet.

Answer:

This accusation reflects the extreme and brainwashed hyper-sensitivity in the minds of the followers of Mike Peters as they must find sin in any who question their leader who is evidently seen by them as inerrant and God’s only word for today. As with many people, coming to realize for the first time this thing called blogging, I too found it to be another avenue of expression of my faith in Christ and the specific outworking of this faith for me. And because I did get a bit excited about the idea of blogging at a point, I decided --over some months-- to start 3 different blogs hoping I could share different perspectives on each. I don't know if I overdid it in my excitement as I'm not sure how much time I will have to tend to what I've thought to do on these but, Lord willing, I will go forward with some posting. NoahLot of Grace and Mercy, Haven of Grace, and The Truth of the Gospel are their names. Here on NoahLot, because it was my first blog, I have used it on just a few posts to deal with specific things which were happening in my life as I started this blog. This included exposing the harmful works of Mike Peters of Indianapolis after he had just recently placed defamatory statements of my life on a public forum called FACTNet. So, I chose to use this blog, on occasion, to share with others what I am aware of and believe to be the truth regarding this man and his following so that others may be warned and avoid the defaming and abuse which I --and so many others I know-- have suffered from him.

Because the name NoahLot can sound to others like know-a-lot and possibly be seen as arrogant, I had to make a specific post to make sure others would see that I don’t really think I know a lot. If you wish to know my reason for using the name NoahLot it is clearly explained on these 2 posts:

http://noahlot.blogspot.com/2006/06/about-noahlot.html
http://noahlot.blogspot.com/2006/06/may-god-give-you-greater-growth.html

If anything, I will admit that I did realize after finding the name “NoahLot” that this name could have brought out the quick judgmental and assuming nature of those brainwashed to be hyper-sensitive to assuming and figuring out motives of people who question or reveal a problem with Mike Peters. This makes their cultic characteristics much more clear to observers with any discernment. And I must admit that the thought that this might provoke their cultic nature did occur to me after I had already decided this name for a blog. And clearly it did produce this reaction from them.

I am not out to draw anyone to myself --as I have been accused of from members or adherents of the cult located in Indianapolis who believe they are the ONLY true church-- but rather on my blogs I would like to offer some thoughts which I hope could be helpful to my brothers or sisters in Christ or to those spiritually lost. This is the same reason why others use blogs to share with the Body of Christ or those lost and in need of Christ. I also interact with others on their blogs or websites to learn from them and be edified, exhorted, maybe even warned of falsehoods in the name of Christ. I am not wishing to lead but rather be an obediently active part of the functioning of the Body of Christ as He has ordained for all of his children to do somehow, even if part of this functioning is in the use of modern technology. I believe the same reasoning can be said for my wife who was also judged to have wrong motives for beginning her blog. It is plain weird to hear such accusations as we have from the Mike Peters' following.

Accusation # 2

I am using these blogs mainly to speak out against Mike Peters because I have an ax to grind regarding him.

Answer:

No ax to grind. But I have used the Sword of the Spirit --which is the Word of God-- and wish to keep this sharp as it works to expose darkness anywhere including the works of Mike Peters. The truth is, of the 50+ posts I have placed on NoahLot --since I began last year-- there are only about 16 at this time which mention Mike Peters by name. And of course, because there has been continual defamation of my name, my wife's name (and many other's names) by him and his followers without repentance, I have chosen to expose their deeds of darkness to others via NoahLot so that other may be aware and avoid their abuses. I do intend on reserving NoahLot for speaking out against any who lie about others, especially those lying about the true nature of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To say that I have set up my blogs just for speaking out about Mike Peters is seriously stretching it and would seem to give indication that *someone* has a BIG EGO. As for Haven of Grace I have never mentioned Mike’s name there and I don’t plan to defile it with such. For the purpose of Haven of Grace for me is to share on the Grace of God which has not been found with Mike Peters or his followers. As far as The Truth of the Gospel, I haven’t even had time to begin what I was hoping to share in that but desire to from soon. And I have no intention of ever mentioning Mike‘s name there either. Generally --but not completely-- I have reserved NoahLot to be confrontational to those who are liars and deceivers and yet informational to those wishing to know about these false prophets/teachers in the Church. But I have posted on other things here too.

As I can, I do plan to post more on this matter regarding answering accusations .

The undefeatable power of a clear conscience!

2007-03-04T03:54:00.000-05:00

What does one do as a believer in Christ Jesus when others choose to defame you and your name and say all manner of evil against you falsely for His name (the Truth’s) sake? Are you supposed to publicly answer those who publicly defame you? I believe the Word of God has given us clear answers on this.

For one thing, according to the Scriptures, being defamed and lied about is a real blessing. For Jesus Christ said this:

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Mt 5:11-12

My wife and I have been very blessed this past year as have some others we know. I have an unexplainable peace and inner joy with a clear conscience even though I am aware that others have been fed many lies about us and may actually have developed a false picture of us (or others) from these lies. But it is true that the power of a clear conscience can not be defeated. In spite of the incessantly creative yet severely perverted and untrue stories told, I am stronger in Christ than I ever was before the experience of being severely lied about this past year. Here is the thing I answer to my accusers as it is obvious to my conscience before God regarding their choice to lie about me without repenting yet -I am clean! You are not! I know this! And so do you! And you must live with this fact daily unless you repent! I do feel sorry for your struggling conscience.

This blessing of a clean conscience while suffering false accusations seems to be continuous and I am thankful for what Christ has promised. As He has said, we are blessed and joyful with His inner peace. Christ gave the perfect example of enduring those who lied about Him. This was the method God permitted Satan to use to publicly humiliate and place our Lord on the Cross. Yet for the joy that was set before Him He endured this humiliation, despising the shame. Yes, at the end of Christ's time here on earth it was the ordained season for Jesus to be quiet as was prophesied:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
in His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.” Acts 8:32, Is 53:7

But Christ Jesus entire life was marked in the Holy Scriptures with continuously speaking out loudly against the false leaders of His day. And this is what drove those mad --who loved their darkness-- as they forced Christ to the Cross through much false witness about Him. Satan will always try to extinguish the bright burning fire of Truth when his servants are threatened with being exposed. It is foolish and clearly false to say Christ's example was always to be quiet in front of His accusers. I have spoken more to this matter on another post called "Contending for the faith" . And it is wonderful to remember the words of Paul here as we know our Lord will always succeed:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." 2Cor 2:14

And He is the author and finisher of our faith as we keep our eyes on Him and His example.

Also, false accusations helped developed the character of Christ in Paul the Apostle. And our God uses this to do the same for us. If you have been falsely accused in Christ you may have been forceful and successful in your witness against the dark, for this was the norm for Christ and His most serious and outspoken followers. Never forget that there is a reward for those who have honestly endured the lying attacks of others that choose to cut you down when you are speaking the truth --of your own personal witnessing not of hearsay-- about them to call them to repentance and protect others from their error.

It is interesting how there is an accusation out there which says that me and my wife are "ringleaders" working against Mike Peters and his group. For Paul was similarly accused of being a "ringleader":

"For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. "He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law. Acts 24:5-6

Paul was publicly spoken evil of here... "a plague"? "a creator of dissension"? "tried to profane"? So also, some would attempt to judge us according to their own man-made own laws! I count it a blessing to experience --in a very small way by comparison-- what the Apostle Paul had to go through. Praise God!!!

And Christ’s Apostle Paul said this happened to him and declares what he has done about it here:

“being defamed, we entreat.” 1Cor 4:13

As those who are defamed know in their consciences that they are being lied about, so those doing the lying know they are not telling the truth by the definition of truth. Therefore, we entreat (or appeal to) them to repent and turn honestly to Christ and be honest about others. Don’t forget, God has made it clear to our consciences that they are lying as we know for a fact that they have lied about us. Therefore, we can say without a doubt in our heart that they are in sin and must be called to repent. It is our responsibility to reveal or expose this sin of theirs, just as much as when any other sin we witness of others --who claim to belong to Christ-- needs to be dealt with in love by truth when it has not yet been acknowledged or repented of. And public sin means public repentance. So the answer to the question…Are you supposed to publicly answer those who publicly defame you? is clearly, yes! Unless God has placed it on your heart to be still for a season and for His reason.

Paul, for the sake of his testimony to the Truth of the Gospel, defended many of the specific false accusations which were put against him to discredit him as can be seen in his epistles. With love and truth, we are to do the same. This is why I have not let lies about me or my wife persist or go unchecked and I will not. I am not an apostle of Christ but I am an epistle of Christ as Paul said of believers in this way:

“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” 2 Cor 3:2-3

And when someone is out to deface the message God would have us convey to others --through the true and specific testimony of Christ’s work in our lives-- this violent and sinful act should be confronted and exposed completely. Always balancing this with the knowledge that God --through His Sovereignty-- will deal with them otherwise as we leave them in His Hands through prayer.

The Apostle Peter offers this encouragement to those willing to expose the darkness of ungodly liars and deceivers who have an appearance of righteousness but inwardly prove to be ravenous wolves as we come to know them by their deeds:

“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” 1Pet 3:13-17

I would never say that I have not sinned or that I am without dealing with repentance of sin to some degree daily until my death or Christ's return. But whatever sins I have committed in my life --of which I am aware of through through the Holy Spirits conviction-- I have repented of this under conviction from God. Of all the judgments and extremely false accusations spoken against me personally, only a small fragment of it has some traces of truth to it. Most of it is completely false and fictional, and absolutely none is true of the evil spoken against my wife, Jen. It has been a severe shame of our accusers and I trust God will continue to expose and judge them for the protection of others. I think these men who have chosen to lie about my wife and I could have succeeded better at selling ideas for ungodly fictional novels with their ability to imagine and create such carnal stories. Yet even any traces of truth --to their far fetched accusations-- are buried in the sea of God’s merciful forgetfulness accomplished through Christ Jesus my Redeemer from the foundation of the world and at the moment of repentance.

Paul himself had to admit that he severely sinned against Christ by persecuting His people. Peter had to admit that he sinned through denying he knew Jesus, and again --even after his conversion and being filled with the Holy Spirit-- he then gave way to fear in legalism for a season. I have sinned in my past in ways I regret to this day. Yet the sin --which is magnified and multiplied publicly by those wishing to hide their own deceptions through attacking those who expose them-- was not known to others in any other way but through my own foolish and willing confession to the masked cult leader in Indianapolis named Mike Peters. My "confession" was extremely exaggerated by him long after personal conviction and repentance before God and after I was already washed from the real sin. With God as my witness, if I had not repented the day of my sin and confessed to some friends (none of Mike Peters people) in Tampa, no one would likely have known of this sin in any other way. For none of my accusers witnessed this in any way except that some of them may have met the girl involved long after she had also repented and returned to Christ as well. I thank God she did not fall for the deception of Mike Peters but rather returned to Tampa to a church fellowship there, not of Peters. It is because I hate sin in my life that I chose to repent of what I had done before the eyes of God alone. It is because I didn't continue to trust in God's grace that I foolishly confessed to a legalistic and controlling liar. King David had a true prophet come to tell him of his hidden sin to then repent of it after one year. But by God’s convicting grace --coming from His invisible Holy Spirit-- I had repented immediately without the influence of ANY mere man. And I had witnesses to this same day repentance in Tampa, FL. Again, these were not of Peters group. I have shared more on this in a post called "Redemption from sin OR Regurgitation of sin" .

There is a balance in this however. God may permit others to attack us falsely through lies because He wishes to keep us humble and growing in grace and truth, always remembering His mercy. What is the antidote for treating those blinded with hypocritical puffed-up pride as they speak lies attacking us? It is in the humility of knowing our weaknesses, the grace in knowing Christ’s forgiveness, and the love in sharing the full truth for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider King David again. As recorded in 2 Samuel 16, when Shimei falsely accused David of a sin he did not commit, David forbad his men from harming him and permitted the reviling. David perceived that this might have been a way of God correcting him for the real sin he did commit and also thought that God may bring a blessing for his enduring this false charge. How does this apply here? We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Yet, though God will never hold a repented-of sin against us, He may permit Satan to attack us in such a way so as to invoke the memory of how merciful and forgiving our God has been to us even when we have failed Him so severely. It is not the guilt --that Christ has already cleansed away-- which we remember, but rather His great mercy on our sinfulness. In all of this, God is good! I have made another post before speaking to this matter and called it "Anger and Bitterness".

As repentance has occurred, and we have renounced things of the past, we do not lose heart. But with our consciences cleansed by Christ‘s Blood and empowered by the Holy Spirit of Truth and Grace, we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. Even those used of Satan are tools in the Sovereign Hand of God to form us into His Son, Jesus Christ’s image. Yet we know Satan is on a leash and will soon be crushed under our feet after we have suffered a while.

“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Rom 16:17

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1Pet 5:6-11

I know there are others who can share this prayer with me and my wife…

Thank You, my Lord Jesus, for the strength You have been producing in me as I receive the insults of those who accept lies as a way of living while claiming to be Yours. Please continue to strengthen the consciences of the innocent and confound the thinking of the proud. We love You and trust You to do what none of us --Your children-- can do. Amen.

Oh God, when will You...?

2007-02-15T03:23:00.000-05:00

My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes. (Ps 119:82-83)

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water. (Ps 63:1)

Oh God, when will You move like the power of the wind? When will you make yourself known to my insides? My heart is in need of Your touch and my soul is in need of your Breath.

Am I of Your people? Do You know me by name? I wait on Your Living Word to offer Life and Hope.

Where is the end of my days? Will I see that You were please with me when I enter Eternity? Only Your Life in me has any value towards that Day.

What are Your plans for me in the Days that You have ordained before my flesh dies or You return? Am I yielding to all that You desire of me? Soften my heart and make me walk in Your Holy Spirit and Truth.

I am so unlike You. You are so Holy and Perfect. What would I do if Your Son hadn’t taken my place of the death I deserve?

You are a Merciful God. Sanctify my heart and mind by Your Words for they are my Life. Keep my body free from sin. Don’t hold back Your Grace in my time of need, for I will fail and my life will faint.

Keep me in the shadow of Your Wings and cover me with Your feathers. For I am weak and my strength is nothing without Your protection.

You are Worthy of all my praise and worship for You are my God and my Creator. You are Good for you are my Savior and my Redeemer. Watch over my life and lead me in the way that pleases You for You are my Shepherd. Put it in me to follow and obey You for only in You do I have the Hope of Salvation.

Reveal Your Love to me as I wait patiently under Your Hand, for You are my Potter and I am Your clay. Form me into the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ, for I know this is Your desire. He alone has pleased You well, and He alone has offered me His Life.

Let me share in the bountiful goodness which You have prepared for those who Love Your Name in Truth. Let us walk together in Your Spirit and love as You Love. May those lost and without You come to know You through Your Love and Your Good News of Salvation from a dark world. Break my heart and make me know the Love you have for them.

I love You, Lord. May I have it in me to live this Love in my life and not just in my words. Wake me up to Your reality and cause me to perceive what these eyes of flesh can not see.

Talk to my heart and encourage me for I am nothing without You.

Oh God, when will You?

To my wife, Jen...Happy 10th Anniversary!!!

2007-01-31T20:28:00.000-05:00

Prov 31:10 “Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.”

I found one 10 years ago!

Prov 12:4 “A good wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.”

I am wearing my crown and she has never brought shame.

Prov 19:14 “Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.”

My inheritance from the Lord has been good. For I have a very prudent wife.

Prov 31:30
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

I have been taken by her charm and beauty but I am captured by her love and fear of God.

Happy 10th Anniversary!!!

Let's shoot for the 50th! May we continue to grow in God’s grace and knowledge together for another 40 years if the Lord tarries.

Only One is Perfect…

2007-01-23T02:50:00.001-05:00

I been considering some things lately. As I look over some words and beliefs of some renown Christian leaders of sorts, I have been realizing just how flawed everyone of us really is, including ALL of those leaders. Or have I realized correctly? I do not know how to judge as well as I believe I should. I don’t know it all as some seem to think they do. As I see more and more people, whom I’ve respected, fall short of perfection in Christ, I’m coming to see better that Christ is the Only One who will pass this test of perfect theology, perfect Love, perfect Truth, and perfect Holiness. In saying this, I am certainly not saying that I know enough to discern all wrong in these people. But rather I believe God that no one but He, His Holy Spirit, and His Only True Son are Perfect. They make up the Only Perfect God.

Everyone whom you look at right now in your mind that you respect as being so close to God and the Truth, has and will fail somewhere some way in this at sometime. We do not place our hope and confidence in fallible men who can change over night. Christ Jesus is the Only One Who is "the same yesterday, today, and forever". It's becoming a more severious (a word I’ve produced combining severe+serious) concern of mine that I see some offer the impression to others that they have arrived so much so that they can easily judge others to the point of indicating they know how to judge as God does. They seem to have accepted a perverted understanding of the words “the spiritual man judges all things”. I can’t go into much detail about individuals here for I don’t think it's right, but I will say it is a shame on their characters. In this I thank God for I wish to never look so highly at anyone that they seem to be near the level of God. This is idolatry and God hates it. Because God does hate idolatry so much so that it is clearly expressed in His initial commandments, I personally believe God has designed mankind --through His Sovereignty-- that no human can come near His perfection this side of Heaven where we will then see Him as He is and want to worship and adore Him ALONE. And unless we desire to be infatuated and blinded by an idolatrous heart, we will always see failure and shortcomings in any Christian leader anywhere in some way or another sooner or later. And maybe we already have but are presently in denial from a wicked and idolatrous heart which would dare to place another man near the level of Christ.

Heb 7:24- 28
But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

I thank You Lord that You are the Only Perfect One Whom any of us can place our full trust and confidence in.

Ps 118:8
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.

Job 4:17-19
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
If He puts no trust in His servants,
If He charges His angels with error,
How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before a moth?

Job 15:15-16
If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
Who drinks iniquity like water!

And we all need to consider this one. For there are those who are proud in their so-called knowledge of God and His doctrine, and there are those who lie about the truth of His doctrine. We should place no confidence in either, but trust in the LORD ALONE…

Ps 40:4
Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

And so the Truth is summed up here…

Ps 18:30
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

-Scripture from nkjv-

Nothing new here but...

2007-01-21T23:17:00.000-05:00

You may visit my newest post on Haven of Grace...

Working with my hands...

2007-01-11T04:17:00.000-05:00

Its been a while since I've posted to this blog. I've been quite busy catching up on some work of which I am responsible for in our business. Much of this is hands on labor in the shop but we have also completed our new redesigned website at www.aplusredemption.com . We had some trouble being able to edit our old business site because our server is filtered but we have now overcome this problem. Feel free to visit our revised website for A+ Redemption.

The Lord has been working in my heart as I've had time to work with my hands. I look forward to getting back into blogging again here and sharing some thoughts from what I learn in God's Word. It is true that we are preparing for our busy season which is from March to July but I am hoping to continue some sort of work here as well.

God Bless!

"This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs." (1Thes 4) NLT

The Matrix, The Greatest Love of all, and Christmas…

2006-12-26T03:36:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking through some things further and wish to offer this for those who would reason through what God has said about Christmas or any other matter of this sort.

If you aren’t aware yet, Mike Peters --a cult leader in Indianapolis-- and his crew have taken a number of worldly songs and applied new words and meaning to them. Though it is becoming increasing clear that what they mean within these songs is not what it seems upfront. For many who have been there before now believe that when Mike's followers speak of God or Jesus, they have Mike Peters in that place of authority in their minds. And when they speak of the Church or the only true Christians they are actually meaning only those under Mike’s legalistic thumb.

History is good and as much as we can we should be open to understanding origins of things of which we partake. Of course history is often perverted or skewed by man's views and twists, especially when they ignore all or even just some of God’s Words as they apply. So we can never base our faith on man's history but rather the complete and unchanging Word of the Living God. For man’s history will pass away but His-Story will abide forever. I personally believe that God’s Word makes it clear that He looks at our hearts and the thoughts --rather than any external appearance-- which we have in regard to all external things. And this is all judged by Him according to every Word which proceeds from the mouth of God, as this is balanced in believers by the undeniable and sound reasoning through the Holy Spirit.

What about the origin --history-- of some worldly songs with music as they are taken by Christians and transformed and converted into a whole new meanings of their own?

Please consider if this contains some contradictive beliefs which are impossible to reconcile…

Look at some of the songs that Mike Peters group use and consider their worldly carnal origins with their ungodly authors. Not just this cultic group but some free and guenuine Christians as well will accept conversion of worldly songs. Some people choose to say Christmas can not be something God gives us freedom to observe or even simply accept due to its origins, even if all the meaning a saved person has in it is nothing but pure balanced Biblical thinking in their mind. They say God says not to learn the ways of the Pagans not realizing that the way they apply this would have to apply as well in many other ways as they accept their external interpretation of this command of God. Some of these same people who reject Christmas by labeling it Pagan will use or accept a secular worldly song with carnal, evil, ungodly origins produced by unsaved people who are --as the Bible declares-- inspired and ruled by the god of this world in all of their origins. These believers will change some or many of the original words to re-decorate songs with a new meaning but then say you can’t do this to Christmas or a Christmas tree because of a manmade rule which says “off-limits here because God told me so and this makes it so” without having any valid balanced application of the Scriptures to prove this except a contorted misinterpretation from Jeremiah 10. If I wanted to be like them, I could extract some prophetic scriptures which seem to say we can not use these songs as true believers but I don't like perverting God's Word. Though these songs have the same original sound, tone, and structure in their appearance, they seem to be excusable under some different standard for our thinking. Yet, just like Christmas items, if someone never heard the songs in their original worldly or false religious origin they may have thought they were purely Christian songs --much like many think of Christmas-- from their explained meanings until someone lets them know they are “in a sense invoking the evil origins” by playing the same tune in its original appearance, even if it is re-decorated with a pure meaning by the song converters. Granted, as I have stated before, my wife and I do not like some converted songs because they can produce old feelings from when we knew them in the world before salvation. This simply means we would need a process of renewing the mind to see the good meaning in the conversion of these songs, not that we maintain the origins as inescapable. For as we are free to avoid listening to these songs --just like others are free to avoid the Christmas stuff-- we acknowledge that some Christians can find a real blessing through some converted songs which had evil origins. Jeremiah Films has a video called The Unwrapping of Christmas. Though I would agree with much of what is said there, I believe they have gone too far by seemingly indicating that Christians are doing wrong and accepting Pagan idols if they have a decorated Christmas tree set up in their house. When they imply that it is possible for a Christian to personally invoke evil --due to origins even though the Christian has no faith in such evil things, they are assuming that evil --regarding idols-- is present in things rather than where it is only possible for evil--in the hearts of people. This is so contrary to what our Apostle Paul told us when he assumed of mature Christians “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one”. And if we dismiss what Paul said here and claim it only refers to food, and then say “but idols can exist in other ways to mature knowledgeable believers” then we are ignoring that Paul did in fact make an undeniable blanket statement within his words here regarding a mature Christian's understanding of idols. Yet these people who claim to have insight ignore this fact by implying that Christians can invoke evil without even being aware of it in such cases as the Christian Christmas traditions or who knows what other origin of something we are unaware of until it is made known. This is nothing but superstition -- not Biblical faith in the Power of God's Word which sets us free from evil faith completely and altogether.

As Jesus said to some regarding another matter of misunderstanding “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Though not everyone may choose to take this liberty in changing the meaning of an originally ungodly song and find that it becomes something to convey new Biblical meaning, according to God’s Word, every informed believer should acknowledge it is a freedom granted by God to those who have pure Scripturally clean thoughts in it before God’s eyes and reflect only such a meaning to others rather than some original meaning to fear from unsaved Pagans or from the perverted Catholic faith. Do you have a fear of idols OR a holy fear of the only One True God? My question has been and is: should we as Christians let a few Pagan’s ideas rule our faith OR rather God’s Word of freedom through His Power of Grace to rule our faith in matters of the mind that do not transgress the New Covenant’s moral or spiritual law? “His law is love and His Gospel is peace”, as Paul made clear in his writings, and the holy angels declared at Christ’s incarnation for those who have accepted Christ and are freed from the bondage of this world’s fears or some false form of religion. The balance is true “there is no peace for the wicked” and Jesus also said “Do not think I came to bring peace” to those who would reject His message of Salvation by HIS WORK ALONE. Kept by grace through faith, we still have God’s moral laws for keeping our minds sexually pure, faithfulness to our spouses, not lying to/about or stealing from our neighbors, and keeping our hearts free of unforgiveness, bitter hatred, or anger. And of course, spiritually speaking, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ Jesus and our minds on things above according to the New Covenant of living by faith. And we praise God forever for the unmerited mercy through Christ for sins forgiven if we fail in our part of the New Covenant as mere mortals dwelling in sinful flesh and waiting for the promised immortality at Christ’s return.

What about movies? Let us take an example of the movie The Matrix.

Mike Peters and his company, and even some well meaning Christians will look at this movie and see what they believe to be some spiritual parallels or symbolisms in our faith. Though the movies origins (screen writers/producers) are likely unsaved, ungodly, and even demonically inspired. And some ideas in the movie are from New Age, Zen, or Buddhist thinking in its origin. Consider this question and the answer given by a maker of the film we found as we researched the web:

Question to The Matrix film maker: “Did ideas from Buddhism influence you in making the film?”

WachowskiBros: “Yes. There's something uniquely interesting about Buddhism and mathematics, particularly about quantum physics, and where they meet. That has fascinated us for a long time.”

Yet, Christian believers draw from it meanings that they believe are in line with truth in our Christian faith. Personally my wife and I didn’t even like the “cleaned-up” version of the movie though I believe I can understand some of the thought processes in Christians as they look at it. We didn’t like the loose morals --which is something the NT actually does say we as believers are to avoid-- in the manners and dress of the actors. Regarding the appearance of a decorated pine tree or any other so-called idols, God did say “we know that an idol is nothing in the world”, yet He did not say there is no such thing as sexual or other moral temptations like lying or stealing or ignoring truth because “it's not really real” for Christians. I do see how a perverted mind --as Mike Peters teaches others to have-- could look at this movie and its ideas and believe they could do anything immoral they wish if they just believe right. For many of us are certain that they practice lying with no evidence of conscience, and God knows what else they practice with this? This movie is a danger for those who don’t pay attention to every Word of God to avoid the snares hidden therein. I do not care to see the follow-up movies nor do I wish to watch the first one again. But I will follow that by saying I believe it may be possible for some to see this movie and discern right from wrong as a Christian. For we are at liberty to do this --as with songs-- if it isn’t an occasion for selfish flesh or an occasion to twist the Truth of God’s Word by ignorance to fit your own agenda.

One more thought on origins. Where did you originate? What spirit were you of before God changed the inside meaning of you and presented you in the same physical form to the world as an "ambassador for Christ"? You still have the same body --just as does the Christmas tree or songs or movies-- as seen by others from when you were once dominated by the god of this world and seen in the minds of others as an evildoer. If God can change the meaning of your origin and offer to the world something different in the same physical form with a new spirit, meaning, and purpose --though others knew you at one time as a willing and practicing sinner-- why then is it so hard to believe our God can grant this freedom to His children to change the meanings of the Christmas items, songs, or movies that had evil origins but now are thought of as something different “unto the Lord”? If, in fact, man's history is accurate in that Christmas really did have an evil origin, God's History says that King David and Bathsheba's relationship was of an evil and adulterous origin, yet King Solomon was produced through them, should we discard Solomon and the words God spoke through him? For God is the God who takes what the Devil --who is under God's complete control-- originally meant for evil and uses it for good. Right? When has God stopped doing this? I believe the Truth may be --according to God’s Word-- that if you choose to keep the original evil faith in Christmas then you are near-sighted before God, for the only people who have any real faith in these idols are those who believe they exist. And Paul makes it clear that we are not to believe in them yet know that some unsaved in the world do have this false, empty, weak, powerless, and perverted faith. Or shall we say that because God judges the thoughts of the heart rather than external appearances, that we are not to follow the customs of the Pagans in their choice of thoughts for faith in the heart? Yet as it is that “this is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith” so it is that our faith has the Power of God to convert and give new life and meaning to re-decorated trees, songs, movies, and most importantly souls which had an evil origin.

I believe some Christians are like those in Jerusalem when Saul came to them as it is recorded in Acts 9:26:

“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.”
Saul had the same body of the man who wished Christians were all dead and he did possess some authority to have them killed. Naturally these unlearned Christians in Jerusalem feared Saul’s origin. They did not believe he had a new meaning to his person, a new spirit born in the same physical form as he appeared before. Yet the knowledge confirmed by one who knew Saul is a different man was enough to convince the skeptical disciples. God’s Words should be enough of a witness to Christians that it is a matter of your heart before the eyes of God in the matter of conscience regarding origins. And as Saul changed his name to Paul, so Christmas day can have a different meaning than its original Pagan or Roman Catholic name. And as it is so very true that we are not commanded to observe Christ’s birth like we are commanded to observe His atoning Death and Resurrection in communion, yet it is also very true that God never told us we are not to observe Christ’s birth at any time. Rather because it is an event that caused a great stirring in Heaven according to the Scriptures, some Christians choose to remember this around Christmas day or otherwise. And every Christian must, by virtue of Holy Scripture, acknowledge this is a fact of God’s Word regarding His Son’s human Incarnation through prophecy, its fulfillment, and the clearly outstanding event of His-Story that it was.

I do hope this reasoning together will help some to know they do not always have to remain in the mindset of thinking of origins except maybe as we think of our salvation and conversion. We know where we came from but do you want others to know you that way now? We know some people who would see us in this view of our origins as they look only at what they would say is our sin as they ignore the Power of God unto Salvation to cleanse and convert a soul. Who we were was of an evil origin but we now know who we are re-defined by God in the same body of flesh until His return. We were once of an evil origin but now we are a people known for the meaning God has transformed into us by the Power of the Truth of God‘s Living and Abiding Word. This is the True Hope and Faith we should be expressing to the world in every way possible that they too may see and know HIS POWER to SAVE and CONVERT a SOUL which is of infinately greater worth than a simple song, movie, or holiday.

May you have a new year filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus.

Phil 1:9-11
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Scripture from NKJV

Nothing in Secret…

2006-12-13T03:13:00.000-05:00

Because of hypocrisy, Jesus warned us to avoid motives of self-glory which opposes God’s rightful glory for all good. In matters of charitable deeds, prayer, and fasting we are called to have some honest secrecy from others as we are in the sight of God ALONE (Mt 6:3-6, 17-18). And of course, there are definite elements of privacy and secrecy in marriage which are pure and undefiled as God has said in Heb 13:4. This goes against the grain of teaching for some as they would not rather have these things in secret. But what would some of these same people have in secret?

This is the key word today on this post:

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God." (2Cor 4:1-2)

When receiving and believing the Truth, God commands us to be bold in sharing this with others. Unless we have something to hide through whatever we believe, it is to be revealed to all, for nothing is to be hidden in matters of doctrine and practice. For our consciences are to be naked as we wisely but openly offer the Truth as we know it. If we don’t see the Truth, we must pray for God’s Grace to see it. If we do see this Truth, there is nothing to fear as you manifest it in the Light before all to see.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.” (Ep 5:8-14)

Are you willing for your conscience to be manifested before all? Or do you carry something that you would be ashamed of if Light manifested your belief before others and you became conscious of God’s awareness of your thoughts and other's awareness of your beliefs. Do you have a clear conscience before God? Is there any belief that you feel you must hide for fear of other's thoughts about it? If so, maybe it would do you good to ask yourself, why?

"For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." (Ec 12:14)

As God’s Word so clearly speaks in the Light, none can hide from His all-seeing Eyes. Christ is the Light of the world and has made His children the same for Himself. He has not spoken in secret but all the fullness of the Gospel --the New Covenant in His blood-- has been made manifest by His Holy Apostles and Prophets. It is settled and no one can add anything to it or take anything away without the eventual dread of falling into the Hands of the Living God.

"I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right." (Is 45:19)

“...which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,” (Ep 3:5-6)

If your doctrine is said to be one thing but is actually hidden by practices that are contrary to God’s Divine Nature, then evil is lurking with you. For those who “appear to say one thing but then do another” will give an account of their will to cover up deceit with fraudulent words said to be of the Holy One. In other words... Blasphemy in the Eyes of the Holy God.

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!" (Is 5:20-21)

“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings. “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord." (Jer 23:21-24)

You are hiding from the eyes of men but God sees your heart. And it grieves Him that you are resisting the Truth by hiding and not being willing to reveal your conscience before God and men. You must ask yourself, why are you hiding? What are you afraid of?

Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. “For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:21-25)

It is not in sharing words only but your very public presence will reveal to other that you have nothing to fear. It is those who desire to hide something that will go and hide themselves when the Light shines on them in public places. Do you not realize we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. And every knee will bow --yes, yours, mine and all will be there-- before the Holy name of Jesus Christ, the only Living Deity who is a man and yet all things were created through Him and for Him. Do you make yourself well known to the consciences of others or do you have something in your teaching and practice to hide from others?

"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." (2Cor 5:9-11)

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. “Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. “If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” (Luke 11:33-36)

Is there a dark part in you which you would not want the world --or more importantly-- Christ’s discerning Christians to see? Speaking to you who know you are a hypocrite in your dealings as a leader in a church: Other than those you have duped, would you meet with Christians in public who have concerns of you and your ways?

Speaking to discerning Christians: If you have been maintaining a clear conscience before God and man, and then encounter someone who you know --by their practices or fruit-- are full of lies and hypocrisy or false accusations toward the brethren, God will give you a boldness to look them in the eyes physically and spiritually and know God’s grieving over this with an anger for their sin. I have experienced this at a few times in my walk with Christ, and I believe God would grant me the boldness again as needed if I am to encounter another of these known hypocritical liars as God unmasks them before me. For their mouths MUST be stopped! If this sounds “arrogant” for me to say, I didn’t say it, Paul did. I just agree with him and wish to have the same mind of Christ in obedience to God.

I am far from sinless, and Christ has been faithfully working His Spirit in me to sin less as I learn to yield to His Grace for change. But there are those who would resist God’s Grace altogether --as Stephen spoke of-- and in this, resist His Hand of Change. I know I have fallen short of God’s best in my approach toward obvious hypocritical people at different times. I have gotten a bit upset and sternly verbal at these times. The Bible says “be angry and sin not” . So I am praying for the right attitude to take when approaching these wolves in sheep’s clothing who are found to be walking in clever craftiness and handling the word of God deceitfully as they abuse many. I have been accused of being arrogant due to the way I respond to such individuals face to face, even in public. But because I don’t wish to have the sin of arrogance in my heart, or have my true brothers and sisters in Christ think it's so, I’ve been praying and asking God how to respond to these people with the Love of Christ. But because I have no other better examples to follow but those of the New Testament Saints, I have found myself wanting to imitate them even as they imitated Christ. I’ll share some of the examples of men who looked those in the eyes who were full of hypocrisy or deceit…

Jesus -- way too many to list here but I‘ll give some:

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Mt 12:34)

“Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. (Mt 23:24-25)

John the Baptist:

“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Mt 3:7)

Stephen:

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." (Acts 7:50)

Peter:

"But Peter answered him, “May you and your money go to hell, for thinking that you can buy God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in our work, because your heart is not right in God’s sight. Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this. For I see that you are full of bitter envy and are a prisoner of sin.” (Acts 8:20-23)

Paul:

“Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9-10)

“Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2Tim 3:8-9)

And then Paul said to us:

"Therefore I urge you, imitate me." (1Cor 4:16)

"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1Cor 11:1)

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." (Phil 4:9)

So if I am accused of arrogance in my speech, please understand what has motivated me.

Every single one of the men rebuked in the examples above were in a place of leading others astray and also had hidden secrets in their hearts which God made manifest to others. And some were out to discredit valid testimonies of others against them so as to detract from the fact that they were serious frauds. No worries… God will expose them further as He has promised us! The men who rebuked these frauds knew of God’s grief and anger for they were known of God and had compassion for those being misled.

One final Word:

Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing” (John 18:20) …If you are of Christ, can you say the same Truth before all people of the world in any public seen today? I trust God may give you this opportunity to prove it, and hopefully sooner than later for the sake of those you have been misleading.

Fear is not of God. If your doctrine is of God you will have great boldness for all men to know it, not just the few naïve or innocent people that you have led into the darkness which you claim as light. What a dreadful shame and disgrace for the name of Christ --of which you claim to be-- as you offer secret lies to deceive, if it were possible, the elect of God. For Love will open the heart for all to see, hiding no good thing of the Truth of the Gospel. For as Jesus said, there are those restricting the Key of Knowledge from others and will not enter in themselves for their grave blindness and pride.

By God’s Grace and Work, we shall know the Truth… and this Truth will set us FREE!

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (1Jn 4:17-19)

If you are following one who will not come out into the Light before God and the consciences men in public with what they believe, think through these words for your own soul’s sake and go FREE BY THE POWER OF GOD'S GRACE!

-Scripture in NKJV-

A review of “Meetings in his kingdom” (the Intro pt 2)

2006-11-26T05:27:00.000-05:00

The reading of Mike Peters and his subject's materials are a bit of a drudgery for me, but having the Grace of God to keep my head above the dirty waters here is very comforting and refreshing. It would be tricky for any man to read such things without knowing the Grace of God in Truth to raise you above the alluring power of this legalistic influence. For this persuasion works to bring you down under the law rather than in the True Grace of God according to His Word.

A quote from the intro:
“To put it yet another way, this writing is about Life, Together, as a Family, under our Father.”

I suppose this is what most of those in Mike’s following really believe or they wouldn’t be there. Although most likely some are there under mental and emotional duress, not knowing where else to turn without being attacked by Mike's practice of trapping through false condemnations. They have been swayed by the misleading teachings and work of Mike, and only God knows if Mike even conceives it as possible that he is in grave error before God. It may well be that Mike thought he was doing God’s will in what has come about through the years. But as Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” (John 16:1-3)

This is the extreme mentioned by Christ, but it begins somewhere. After many years since this book of Mike’s has been written, we have come to see the real fruit of where Mike has been going. It is far different than the “make believe” world presented in this book --and their other materials-- as time and testimony of others will tell even more than it already has. We know that in the Peters group they have been putting people “out of the synagogues” for not following Mike’s set of rules and regulations to perfection. And then these people who are "put out" of Mike's little kingdom are called “of Satan” for simply escaping their snares. As Jesus said:

“It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. (Mt 10:25-26)

And he really seems to show that he does “think that he offers God service”. It is a very sad picture that I believe more and more people will see if the Lord tarries. Our greatest defense to the lies and slander propagated by those gripped by Mike’s doctrine and practice is time. For time is under and in the Hands of God, so we rest in Him knowing His promises are sure:

"Though his hatred is covered by deceit,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly." (Prov 26:26)

Many have already testified to this fact about Mike Peters:

“The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.” (Ps 55:21)

He has --to this day-- spiritually, mentally, and emotionally --in an ungodly way-- wounded many individuals and families… and this is an unfortunate fact that many are living with at this very hour. Even after striking them down with verbal assaults, he would trample on them with public slander and libel if they speak out against his wickedness. Being personally aware of some of these people who have been attacked by Mike and his adherents, I am motivated in doing what you see here in this blog at this time. It’s not right to let it go unhindered, which is what we do if we say little to help others avoid the snares.

In a note at the intro of Mihk we find:
“To point anyone towards us, rather than towards our Brother and King and the Truth of His Word, would be a tragedy. As soon as anyone promotes themselves, or offers themselves as a model of God’s Truth (though such models are a valid possibility if GOD does the promotion by His Grace—1Thes.1:7, 1:6, 2:10, 14), a fall is near. When they offer themselves as a “fishbowl” for others to look at, they become driven by their need to protect their reputation and to promote their paradigm.”

They did recognize an important truth here at their “small beginning” and it has proven to hit them hard now. The words “tragedy”and “a fall is near” tend to ring loudly for those of us who are certain of Mike’s errors of doctrine and practice and the outcome they have produced through the recent years.

One final comment on the introduction of “Meetings in his kingdom”. His words are smooth and seem to be softer than oil but remember the words of our Good Savior when He warned us of certain types of people who claimed God‘s leadership comes through them:

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (Mt 23:1-4)

Many of us have known the consequences of not realizing many of Jesus’ warnings in time. Please don’t become one of the victoms of legalism hidden behind a smooth tongue. We are praying for all who read this blog. Though my motives are judged otherwise, I want you to know that I am doing this for the sake of you or others avoiding THE SNARE.

“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler…” (Ps 91:3a)

“Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." ( Ps 124:7-8)

It is so good to be FREE!!!

God bless you.

Take out the garbage and eat right...

2006-11-20T03:34:00.000-05:00

Already, I have desired to quit this endeavor of a review on the “Meetings in his kingdom” book by Mike Peters. But then thought of how some may be helped to see through Mike’s cunningness at some point if I continue by God‘s grace uncovering the deceitfulness and conceit of this man who claims to be an apostle to the Church. Also, this work is becoming for me an exercise in discernment as I pray and study more in God’s Word regarding the matter of Truth verses the deceptions of Satan. The reason I have wished to quit is because it is a bit sickening to my soul to go through Mike Peters’ writings. Real YUK! This was not a good enough reason to quit and neither is the thoughts that hit me that this may only reach a few people. For if it helps just one soul to realize the error and danger of being involved with this deceptive man, it is worth just that. Yet, to help offset the feelings of disgust --which I have to endure in order to offer a review on Mike’s materials-- I have been blessed with the idea of beginning a new blog for my own (and hopefully other’s) sense of joy and strength in the Lord. For if we don’t find these things through abiding in the Vine for ourselves then we will have no good thing to offer others which may be of eternal value. It hit me after my last post on NoahLot that the post name “Haven of Grace” would make a good name for another separate blog. It may sort of be like the difference between taking the trash out of the house for disposal before it really gets bad, as opposed to sitting down to a nutritious meal. They are both something that we need to do. I will take out the garbage a bit more directly on NoahLot. But I intend on eating nutritious, delicious spiritual meals, feasting on the Grace of God in His Word of Truth on HAVEN OF GRACE. You are welcome to join me for those meals if you like. For Isaiah spoke of the Grace of God when he said:

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David." (Is 55:1-3)

As I discard the garbage found in the teachings of Mike Peters or other false teachers and false leaders, it will be found in a contained place by this room called NoahLot. It will be well isolated and labeled so as not to harm others. And it may be here until it is cast out for good by the Grace of God, which may not be until Christ‘s return, for all I know. But HAVEN OF GRACE will be just that, a haven where God’s Grace will edify the spirit and soul of those who are of God or may become the called of God through His Grace and Truth. Though the topic will always be about the Grace of God, I will contrast this to other things contrary to Grace and I will speak of other characteristics of God in their relationship to His Grace. What will be found on that blog is protection from the onslaughts and deception of legalism, licentiousness, or other lies which attempt to keep people from “The Truth of the Gospel”. A place to glorify and exalt the One Who has supplied all the Grace we’ll ever need… our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you need encouraged in God’s Grace at this time, you may wish to visit HAVEN OF GRACE each time there is a new post on it. Otherwise, if you wish to learn more about Mike Peters’ tricks or that of other similar deceivers who masquerade as leaders in the Church, we will be looking to do some of this here on NoahLot.

Soon, I will resume here on NoahLot with my review of the Mihk introduction…

AWESOME LIFE PRESERVING GRACE!

2006-11-20T01:25:00.000-05:00

I have thought about the fact that someone --who is into the mindset of believing that Mike Peters has good ideas for the Church of today-- may view my writings of him as offensive. They may actually term it worse than that. I do understand that I use strong statements clearly indicating that I see Mike as being far from the “Truth of the Gospel” and dangerous to the spiritual, mental, and emotional health of believers in Christ Jesus. This is what I have intended to show others regarding this man. It is serious. It is an example of how some Christians can be misguided into illusions produced by “men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all,” (2 Tim:3:8b-9). Mike had laid this very same charge at those who have been exposing his real works. But --in reality rather-- this is proving more and more through time to be the revealed truth of him and his adherents. If fact, many of the accusations they have falsely put on others are helping very much to expose them incredibly well over time, as more and more people come out to tell the truth of what is really happening under Mike’s rule.

I am not a lone voice crying in the wilderness for all to see this truth of the deceitful and conceited work of Mike Peters. There are many others to be found on the web and some of those can be confirmed in real life via phone or in some cases face to face. As time goes, God is having those who have been adversely affected --by the teachings and practices originating from Mike Peters-- come to know of his exposure to the public eye and share their story of involvement and the sickening impact Mike has put on them and/or their families. We have been praying for this and God has been answering. If the man known as “maleman” on FACTNet had not spoken up in his Christian love for his brother, others may not have had the healing process that has been produced by the justice publicly dealt out to a man who claims to be a teacher and leader in God’s Word.

If we are to follow in our obedience to God as members of His Blood bought Church, then the following command must stand until (and only until) Mike steps down from his self-proclaimed position of being a so-called leader in Jesus Christ’s Church.

1 Tim 5:19-21
“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.”

1) Are we of the Body of Christ as believers and disciples of Jesus Christ and His real “Truth of the Gospel”?

2) How many witnesses have we had here for many months now? I’ve lost count!

3) Is Mike sinning? If that is even a question now, someone has not been paying much attention, or they are blind themselves.

4) Are we in the presence of all here? The internet reaches across the world as Mike has claimed this as his reach.

5) (and the most vital factor here) So what is Paul’s charge to those of us who say they are obedient disciples of the FULL counsel of God?

I’ll say this first to those yet in need of some further healing after the wolves have torn at you or your family for some time. YOU AND PERTINENT FAMILY MEMBERS MUST COME TO KNOW AND SEE GOD’S GRACE IN FULL MEASURE BEFORE YOU WILL BE READY TO FIGHT IN THIS SPIRITUAL BATTLE OUT IN THE OPEN HERE. I believe it is wisdom that until this process has been completed for you by God’s grace, that you remain anonymous and yet freely speak remembering Jesus words “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves”. For you must be prepared for their devices of personal attack against you or yours when you reveal your name.

TO the other “witnesses” I believe I should say this. If you have been blessed to find a local church nearby ministering the COMPLETE UNBIASED AND UNPERVERTED GOSPEL, or if you are praying and watching for this, then you are responsible --as a member of the Church on this earth and a witness to the abuses of Mike Peters-- to pray, seek God’s grace for wisdom, and tell your side of the story and your Biblical discernment over his teaching and practice. We all have seen the proof of Mike’s retaliating with lies at each and every one who testifies of Mike’s ways. As he also twisted God’s own words as seen through his practices. Hurt and fear are elements which God can heal in you through coming to know and understand “The Truth of the Gospel” and being SET FREE from the guilt and condemnation of 100% of your past failures. We all have clearly come to know that Mike only needs a tiny trace of truth, if that, to mix a massive measure of lies and make monstrous false accusations about those who testify of his abuses. Everyone who reads FACTNet knows this. And to the falsely accused, your own conscience before God knows you have long repented and have been cleansed and forgiven by the One and ONLY High Priest of Heaven, Jesus Christ Himself. SO, just who can bring a charge against you and then think they could stand in the court of God’s judgment without fearful consequences? ONLY A BLIND AND FOOLISH MAN!!!

We as the Living Church (though living at distances physically) are of One Spirit indwelt by HIS TRUE GRACE which keeps and saves us. We, therefore, are to bring BIBLICAL JUSTICE on Mike’s practices as it is clearly written in God’s Word thru a REAL APOSTLE of our faith, Paul.

Someone has said months ago: “Hey Dennis: You made your point a long time ago... you and your wife's words are here for all to see for as long as Factnet exists. I would never presume to tell you what to do, but what else can you accomplish on this site?”

While I understand the spirit in which this advise was given, I must mention someone’s advice… no, command of far greater authority in the Church. For the Apostle Paul told us of a case like this:

“For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”

1) Have Mike and his adherents submitted to “The TRUTH of the Gospel of Grace in Christ Jesus”?

2) Are Mike and his adherents “both idle talkers and deceivers”?

3) Do they enforce a from of legalism as “those of the circumcision” did?

4) Do they “subvert whole households” as in the case of Tim Sz, those First_Truth mentioned, some others we have heard of, and God only knows how many others out there who have yet to testify if they haven’t already.

5) How many here can testify that Mike and his adherents are “teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” as you see the lives and homes he has come to dominate and the luxuries Mike enjoys.

6) (and the most vital factor here) The one in the middle of this passage: Have their mouths been “STOPPED” yet?

We are commanded to deal with heretics and hypocritical liars who infiltrate the Church with their leaven to the extent that their tentacles reach. And to that extent we have been granted the ability to expose them. The World Wide Web is just that, WORLD-WIDE, and this is how far Mike intends to reach in his deception. They are of those “WHOSE MOUTHS MUST BE STOPPED!”. And we have been given the grace and ability by God to do so here and now, before we see another larger cult develop and so many are led astray because the True Church chose to be quiet in fear of a mere man full of Satanic deception! I do not want to be a part of that history when I stand before my Lord to give an account of my stewardship. It is time to stay alert and be in seriously fervent prayer. It is time for the Church to stop letting these things get out of control and grow like the Mormons, JWs or other because “it takes too much of our lives to deal with it” or “what good is my little help?”. WE MUST WAKE UP! When Paul said “so do these also resist the truth: but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all” (2 Tim:3:8b-9), should we believe that this is done without God using His Church for the process of discipline as in 1 Tim 5:19-20? In other words, Mike WILL progress further if his folly is not completely manifest TO ALL of those who are potentially under his sphere of influence and the cognizant Church will be responsible for this for He has already told us what to do. The same goes with any others who are infecting the Church with heresies.

Have I presented a good Biblical exhortation here for all the witnesses of Mike Peters practices? Does the number of posts one makes or the way something is typed for emphasis have anything to do with obeying God in His NT commands to deal with the likes of Mike Peters? YES! For if we stay silent, do you really think the Devil will be quiet as well, as he secretly whispers lies to the elect to deceive them if that were possible?

“And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” (Mk 13:21-23)

Or in the case of the unsaved do you not know that the key is kept from them? For it is written:

“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” (Luke 11:52)?

In spite of our imperfections and that we are all learning how to be more Christ-like as we go here, has not our continuing in this effort proven to be used of God and from that, a blessing to others. Those who have been seriously abused (some for years) by Mike Peters and his practices have since come along here to see that the fight wasn‘t abandoned and they took courage in the Lord? “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.” (1 Cor 16:13-14) This includes stopping the mouths of those who are luring God’s sheep to themselves and tearing them to pieces if they “try the door” or say what has really gone on in there. Do you think so many would have come forward here if we had quit? I believe they have testified that this has been a blessing and encouragement to them in knowing they were not ALONE (Mike‘s “bad word”). May we “encourage them daily” to look to Jesus as their source of Grace and Truth by sharing a pure understanding through God’s Word about this AWESOME LIFE PRESERVING GRACE! By doing this we encourage their own faith to see Him when they are ALONE. Do you think there are many others God could lead here yet over time? It is always time to be still to listen for God’s wisdom in prayer for this matter. But it is my belief that for most of us, now is not a time to be still or be quiet with your voice on this matter. We are each a member of the Church who’s life has “been hid with Christ in God” where the invisible Church --which is only made visible through His living Body of today-- is directed by the Mind of Christ through the complete counsel of His Word. For God only knows those who are watching for the understanding and compassion from those of us who know what they have also experienced.

We have been granted by God’s design the power to STOP their mouths! For Jesus Christ said to us regarding His revelation to the Church:

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:19-20)

The key is “The Truth of the Gospel” which sets men free. This “key” is kept from those following a legalistic doctrine and yet can be proclaimed through our participation in Grace.

Christ’s Bride, are you making yourself ready for Him (Rev 19:7)? Are you binding on earth those things already bound in Heaven? Those things that cause others to be “estranged from Him”(Gal 5:4)? Are you letting Him use you to loose or set the captives free with Truth (Jn 8:32, )? He gave YOU the keys which have been kept from the enslaved. Go to the locked door, turn the key and show them THE TRUTH so they may see THE LIFE and know THE WAY out of their captivity (Jn 14:6). It IS up to you and me! Don’t be a part of letting God’s “people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6).

Does anyone, beyond those who have been speaking-out already, have ears to hear amidst the loud smoke-filled explosions, machine guns of false accusation, and flamethrowers of Satan’s attacks?

We need your voice as a member of the Church…SO that their MOUTHS WILL BE STOPPED!!!

Haven of Grace…NO LEAVEN ALLOWED!

2006-11-17T04:24:00.000-05:00

Before we get serious again, hope you get a kick out of this...

If you want to find out what this cat says go to: joythruChrist

(sometimes he posts there)

On a more serious note:
Later, I plan to post more comments regarding the rest of the introduction of “Meetings in his kingdom”. For now, I want to say something else.

I certainly do not claim expertise in my review of the Mihk book of Mike Peters. I hope some of what I share proves to be helpful to others for understanding or discerning what is behind the curtains in Mike’s little kingdom wrought with legalistic control measures (he is quite a smith in this regard). It is my desire and my request to have those of you with other insight feel free to express your thoughts here for others in the public to see without the onslaught of Mike‘s wolves sent out to make false statements about and bring distracting attacks on those who make comments on this blog. You are safe here as far as that goes, for I will not permit their assaults to post. If they speak reasonably and honestly --as appraised by the discernment God grants to me or my multitude of counselors in Christ-- then we may permit this only. Legalistic liars have ample opportunity, as they have proven in places where it is “documented”, to express their character to the world in other venues, so they don’t need my blog for us to be “fair” to them. For to me “my blog” is not my own, for Christ owns me, my blog, and all that He has put in my stewardship for His glory and purposes. I will not permit the yeast or leaven of Mike Peters' cult or any other graceless cult on this blog, except to expose them for what they really are. This blog is set apart for God’s Liberty, Truth, Grace, and Glory. Therefore, one reason (certainly not the only) for this blog is to give others --from many locations here and around the world-- another public place to share the truth of what they know or have experienced regarding Mike Peters and the trouble he has inflicted on individuals and families. And also for those people to have a bit of fellowship where we are “by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”.

This is not done in secrecy but this is done here in an atmosphere of grace and understanding for what individuals or their families have been through. For that matter, anyone may post anonymously if they think this is wise. It will still minister to some others and I personally believe that God may have some of you do this for a season. Yet, when the time is right and God has strengthened you--it is true that real names will promote (through grace) a greater sense of believability in the hearts and minds of those who are on the edge of going one way or the other in their temptations to legalistic “ideology” as opposed to seeing the freeing “Truth of the Gospel of Grace in Christ Jesus” for His Church.

This Scripture will apply here:
2 Cor. 1:3-7
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”

The “any trouble” in that passage could be from that which Mike Peters has produced and this is spoken of in this passage of Scripture also:

Gal 5:7-10
“You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.”

God has been judging --in various ways-- Mike Peters and those who willingly feed on and enforce this man's leaven. This is justice for those who have endured much trouble in this life from his influence. As Hosea has said of another matter: “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind”. Mike has sown his “wind of doctrine” which has tossed many innocent people around, but it has come back on Him with a force founded on the Power of our God’s Grace in Jesus Christ! Legalism crumbles at the Cross of Christ as His resurrected Life can not be imitated through strict conformance to codes and rules brought on through cunning but graceless interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Mike is smart with the Scriptures, carnally speaking, so many unknowing believers fall for his craftiness with the word of God. The same can be said for ANY other man centered religion that neglects the WONDER WORKING POWER of Grace and Truth that sets men free, cleanses them, keeps them from falling, and conforms them to Christ's image by the work of the Holy Spirit of God.

In the case of Mike’s group, he is their “Un-holy spirit” which brings condemnation to enforce control rather than Grace and freeing Truth which is found only in the Holy Spirit. As many of you know, people with Mike have yet to experience the genuine and beautiful work of the Holy Spirit to give grace in our times of need. It is a pitiful existence in there as they rely on a mere mentally twisted man as their "un-comforter". Talk about YUK!

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 4:1-6)

As said earlier, here is an opportunity for us to be “by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”.

Speak the truth here according to the love you have in your hearts for those who are misled or those who are hurting because of the trouble produced by Mike Peters or other false leaders in a place of dictatorship where their “persuasion does not come from Him who calls you”.

Enough for one post. I look forward to sharing more on the intro to Mihk soon. Please comment below as you are at liberty here. Your comments can be removed by you if you choose to later, as long as you don’t use an anonymous name. At your request, I will personally remove any anonymous comments if you choose to do so later.

If you wish to intrude with “another spirit” here you will not be welcome. Otherwise, let us follow this Scripture properly for “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there IS LIBERTY”.

God Bless you with Grace from Jesus our Savior!

quotes from: NKJV

Meetings in Mike's little kingdom (Intro)

2006-11-15T04:35:00.000-05:00

I have been praying about this and believe I should review Mike Peters book. For what it may be worth I offer this to any for consideration. I will be very frank in expressing what I see as I am praying and asking God for discernment regarding this book by Mike Peters. I will say it just like I see it and not hold back as I trust God to help me be sensitive to and discern the full counsel of His Word in contrast to Mike‘s ideas. We will not exclude the testimonies of many who have “been there and done that” regarding Mike’s actual practices when looking at what he “says” in his writings. It is my conviction before God that Mike Peters has cunningly twisted the Scriptures to fit his own end. I will explain this as I offer as much detail as possible while remaining concise and condensing for readability. I do believe I should note that many false-teachers and false-teachings have similar characteristics and therefore these posts regarding Mike Peters teachings will shed light on other false-teachers/teachings as well. By taking one chapter at a time through the entire book, I will bring out things to consider in contrast to God’s Word in His full context. To follow Mike’s demand in his book that no one may quote a part of the book without quoting all of the book, I have made a text-only copy in a post available on this blog. I purposefully changed the date of that post to June because I don’t wish to advertise for him although I have placed a serious warning on it there. He did say in the book that we can make complete copies.

It is a good thing to continue to tear at the brown paper bag over Mike Peter’s head and work to show people that the chainsaw he holds can be removed from his hands so that he does not harm more people and families, as he uses it to cut up peoples lives recklessly and heartlessly for his own little kingdom. Here we go…

Meetings in his kingdom

Comments on the Introduction:

As Mike has said in here, it is about a Jesus and a kingdom. The question is, has Mike been describing the real Truth of the Gospel of Christ Jesus for the Church or has he craftily designed another Jesus of his own engineering abilities to offer for worship (of Mike) and obedience (subjection to Mike) for those who don‘t know better? I want the readers to consider whether it is revealed to you here that MP has indeed cunningly produce “another Jesus” for his own kingdom. I see Mike has worked hard to lure people in who won’t take the time and care with prayer going through God’s Word to see if these things are so. NOT if the Scriptures he speaks of are there (for Satan quotes the Bible), BUT rather has Mike Peters been faithful to our God OR has he indeed twisted the Scriptures deceptively. The seduction in Mike’s teachings goes out to those who are weak in their knowledge of the “Word of His Grace” and/or have been discouraged by the contradictions and failings which they have been hurt by or witnessed in other places bearing the title “Christian church”. Mike has made a defense for himself by playing into the churches shortcomings and offering something that seduces the naïve, which is in reality much worse than the easily escaped teachings of others in Christendom. Mike’s solution will prove more damaging than most other problems the church is dealing with today. He is (on a MUCH smaller scale) very much like other legalistic factious cults of today.

How interesting it is that Mike has the gall in the intro to reference 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

As Paul said to the church of his day so it is for us today: “but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment,” (gal 5:10). This “trouble” is referring to legalistic influences promising others liberty when they are themselves slave of corruption or slaves of man-made and control-designed laws in the guise which gives the false impression of being highly spiritual.

Look at this excerpt from Mike’s intro:
“For that reason, if you are living in a more typical modern-day church environment, you may be a step or two out of an ability to visualize, or live in, some of what follows. At least for now. If this turns out to be the case, try to understand as much as you can, and pray that God will give increase to these Seeds in your future. But don’t ever be complacent and accept less than what Jesus deserves in His People! Be a catalyst for Godly change!”

“At least for now”, “these Seeds in your future”? Here is an immediate attempt to proselytize before the first chapter. And they claim that they do this in no way. This claim is clearly recorded on FACTNet in their own words. Meanwhile, they give this book and so many other materials out to others. As well as leaving their website address on eBay and in many other places.

You can see Mike’s cunningness immediately through his painting up a picture using Scripture to appeal to those spiritually desiring to know God’s workings in the Church. After being discouraged through trying so many other claims of those who say they know how to have and be the Church, some are lured into this nasty trap of legalism. Like a prostitute would wrongly use God given physical means to attract and seduce others who are weak in their flesh for her own gain, so Mike is prostituting the words of God to attract and seduce the naïve and weaker brothers and sisters because “he is speaking so many truths” and “it seems so good”. As we know, Eve really and truly “thought” it was good and would make her wiser, so the allurement to being “more spiritual” plays into the minds of the naive.

In the intro, at the same that time Mike is attempting to subtly woo Christians into this “ideal living in Christ” he is preparing their minds for the idea of being fully subject to his authority in his little kingdom as he mentions the idea of “submission". Watch out! Mike’s trap is set in the intro…

Lord willing, I will soon be back with more on the intro in Mihk. This exercise of discernment is good for growing in grace and knowledge of the Truth if you stay alert, have God's full armor on, keep both sides of the Sword sharpened in God’s Word properly, and always pray in the Spirit. May God bless you with greater discernment.

Are you popular with God?

2006-11-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

I have never really been very popular in my life. Because of the attention most of us desire to have as sociable humans, sometimes I’ve wondered what it may be like to be more popular. But usually after pondering it a bit I feel like I wouldn’t want popularity without sure grace from God to help me maintain a Christ-like attitude. To be in the spot light--of more than friends, family, neighbors, and business or personal acquaintances--seems like something where people need special grace to handle it properly as a Christian. In saying this, I do not believe that many popular people manage the attention on them with a graceful and godly attitude. But that may be another post regarding Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”.

This post is dedicated to those who are popular in the eyes of God or would like to be. I wish to specify my definition as I’m looking at the word popular. In relation to God I mean: well-liked: or pleasing to a person (specifically God)

Now why would God like or be pleased with anyone? In truth, I must start out by saying that God the Father does not really like and is not really pleased with any human except the God-Man Jesus Christ, His unique Son. He is the only One of mankind who has never caused dislike or displeasure in the heart of God. In other words, He never sinned or fell short of the glory of God as all other humans have from Adam on. If the Father God is pleased with no one but Jesus then where do we go from there? What hope do we have in gaining any favor with God, let alone becoming popular in His eyes? The answer is that we have absolutely no hope at all by any means of our own. But while we were yet sinners, God in His great mercy and love of mankind sent His only perfectly and completely pleasing Son to pay the price of our sin debt with His own life.

Rom 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

And because He was then raised from the dead, we have new life in Him (Rom 8:11). The penalty of our sin was PAID IN FULL as the Father was pleased to accept His Son‘s offering on our behalf (Is 53:10-11). This is where if you have seen your utter sinfulness and then trusted in the Son of God to save you from the penalty and power of that sin in your life, you are in and of Christ Jesus by virtue of adoption. And being in this position you are now pleasing to and accepted by God for being in and of His Holy Beloved unique Son.

Ep 1:3-6
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”

There is nothing we can do more in or of ourselves that will please the Father. And it is still true that only that which is produced by the Holy Spirit’s grace through us will ever please God the Father. God makes us more or less popular in the eyes of men. Some abuse their greater popularity in this and then some give the glory to whom it is due as Barnabas and Paul did in the book of acts when men thought to worship them for their God given words and deeds:

Acts 14:14-15
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,”

If God intends for only one soul to read this post and be encouraged in Him then I’m good with that for that is what God has purposed. If many more read this and are blessed then that is good too, for this is God’s plan of use. I desire to be a willing vessel, sanctified and made useful by and in Christ for and to His glory according to His eternal purpose.

Jer 9:23-24
Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

No one of us should boast of our popularity to men. For what do we have that we were not given from God?

1 Cor 4:7
“For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

And as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4) or Herod (Acts 12) the LORD can remove anything of this sort which He has in reality lent for His purposes and not ours. And we should not feel jealous of the human popularity others seem to have, for this is an attitude which Christ is not pleased with as it is contrary to His divine nature which He gives us by promise through faith.

Phil 2:5-8
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

2 Pet 1:3-4
“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Nor should anyone feel like they are less than others because God chooses to use others in a way more noticeable to other human eyes. For this does not make anyone less noticeable to Gods eyes.

1 Cor 12:22-24
“No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,”

A widow quietly interceding and praying for other’s salvation and the grace to help them may just be one of the most popular people on the whole earth in the eyes of the Most High God and will receive her reward for it, though no man knows her name.

Whose attention would you wish to be sure to have? Men who, like the flower or the grass, wither and fade away in a short period of time, like a vapor which vanishes away quickly (Is 40:7-8, 1 Pet 1:24). Or, would you rather be the apple of God’s eye (Ps 17:8) and given attention from the Alpha and Omega, the Ruler of all Creation, the Maker of everyone of those people we desire attention from, the Most Powerful and only omniscient Being who dwells in all of space and time, He who never grows weary or faints, He never slumbers or sleeps, He holds the power of life and death for every creature He alone has made, His wisdom has spanned the heavens farther than man could ever comprehend, He controls the forces of all nature and can still any storm or snuff out any star. Yet in all of this, He gently knocks at the door of your heart and says: “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. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

Listen closely for His still small voice, so different from the voices of men clamoring for attention from other men. Open the door…

True Biblical Discernment (Pt 2)

2006-11-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

Before my study on discernment, some more trees to see:

In an earlier post I had a picture of this weeping willow dancing in the wind. Another thing I like about the weeper (my nick name for such a tree) is that they are one of the first of the deciduous trees to produce foliage in the spring and one of the last to lose their leaves in the fall.

The following weepers originated as branches from the tree above.

The biggest one is over 7 feet tall after one and a half years of growth from a few inches of a branch.

The second is already 6 feet after one year. They survived after their water froze in the garage over the winter. They are very easy trees to reproduce.

Back to something of more importance:

Psalm 119:18-19
“Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your law. I am but a foreigner here on earth; I need the guidance of your commands. Don’t hide them from me!” -NLT

I am continuing this study here knowing I can do nothing except what God grants to me. No human, no other being anywhere in all existence in the heavens or below has any authority to produce in any one of us an understanding of God’s Word. Only that which is given to us from the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ via the person of the Holy Spirit will save us from the darkness of this present age and the ruler of this worlds systems including those that talk like they are soooo spiritual and pure. Some religious or cultic leaders would have you believe that you can not understand God or His Words except through their so-called “gifted” help. These blind leaders of the blind are not on the Throne of God even though they, as Satan does, may wish to be. And as the Scriptures make clear, Satan himself can transform himself into the appearance of an “angel of light” or a “minister of righteousness”.

Consider the relevant definition of the word "appearance":
look, exterior, outer shell, facade, outward show

Only God in His own wisdom and mercy reveals Himself and the real truth and balance of His own Words (that of the heart and mind of Christ) to those whom He wills. One thing is for sure, we need no further words of apostolic or prophetic revelation from any man or spirit than those already established for us from Christ’s founding Apostles and Prophets.

Ep. 2:20
“having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,”

Ep. 3:5
“which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:”

Heb. 1:1-2a
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,” (emphasis added to bring out the past tense)

All Scripture has been completed since the infancy of the Church. And we are well past that stage. No one may add to Scripture or take away from it without the consequences of falling into the hands of an angry God who said “vengeance is mine, I will repay”. Those who use His words for their own little kingdom at their own feet will be repaid by God‘s just wrath in due time if they do not repent of this beguiling perversion. Therefore considering the goodness and severity of the Lord, His Mercy and Truth are not to be taken lightly as it is with those that have seen a way to manipulate others by perverting and peddling the Word of God for their own gain. Whether the personal gain is self-exaltation or aggrandizement, money or material, power or control, or otherwise selfish ends, it is a fearful thing to rebel as Korah, deny as Cain, or be greedy as Balaam and offend God in this way. For Paul said himself:

“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.” (Gal. 1:8).

Accursed from the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon means:

“a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction, a curse, a man accursed, devoted to the direst of woes”

Jude 10-11 declares:
“But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.”

If this sounds very frightening it definitely should. Man’s intelligence (what they know naturally) coupled with human pride and unity (guised as spiritual maturity) was the cause of God’s judgment on the Tower of Babel. Cain, who had an unacceptable offering, was jealous of Abel’s acceptable offering to God and killed his brother for this. There is only one acceptable offering which is foundational in the Kingdom of God and that is Jesus Christ's death on the Cross. In this fact we see also only one acceptable “Truth of the Gospel” as Paul phrased it in speaking of those who would have tricked others into legalistic bondage:

Gal. 2:5
“to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”

But Peter was rebuked by Paul in this matter. In effect Paul said to Peter that he must accept and express salvation as 100% completed by Christ and 0 % of our own works. For Peter could not say that Jesus was a “minister of sin” by not doing what He promised in completing this work for us. And it is not possible to have even the slightest trace of legalism in our doctrine or we are saying, in effect, that Christ wasn’t good enough and we have to do something ourselves. Even if it is only said to be 0000000001% or less of the work necessary to earn and complete our salvation, it says Christ lied when He said He died for all of our sin and also said “it is finished”.

Now for the matter of who God reveals Himself and the Truth of the Gospel we go to Scripture. First of all Jesus said this as He was reminded of OT Scripture:

Matthew 21:16
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?” (from Ps. 8:2)

Matthew 11:25-27
“At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

And the Apostle Paul’s Holy Spirit inspired words on this matter:

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

And James agreed:

James 2:5
“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (emphasis added to show God’s choices)

2 Cor. 2:9-10
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

Many are cunning or wise as to how Scripture can manipulate others to their own following. As Jesus said:

Mt 24:4-5
“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.”

Consider this for a moment if you will. The “many” that come in Jesus name are the many various false teachers and apostles or other forms of liars or deceivers. All of which have separate and different claims of being “of Christ” or a “Christ Himself”. Therefore each of the followers of each of those leaders may vary in amount. There are smaller cults and there are larger cults. But unfortunately the “many” will follow their cunningly perverted but “apparently righteous” leaders. If the followers have it set in their system of belief that this particular leader is “the chosen one of God for today”, it follows that their leader can do no evil; therefore, whatever he directs them to think and do is good --even if it seems unethical or immoral or contrary to other words in the Bible-- because “GOD” would never tell them to do evil so it is better to accept this than what their conscience is saying about it. Searing of the conscience is the end result and the more often this occurs the more normal this “spiritual” way of life seems to be OK.

I can’t seem to see the end of this study yet so I will be praying and looking forward to sharing more on this in the near future, Lord willing.

Until then sleep right and don’t let the spiritual perverters bite.

Scripture quotes from -nkjv unless noted

WHY all the links regarding Mike Peters?

2006-11-04T23:12:00.001-05:00

The links on my side bar here are for public awareness of yet another of many abusive and controlling leaders in the cult systems of today. This particular lesser known cult is one with which I have had an actual personal experience in my life and I wish to testify here and warn others of their tactics. Also, I do not wish to harm those involved with this group, but rather I do hope that at least some of them may be freed through some of the info offered here if the Holy Spirit would use this.

True Biblical Discernment (Part 1)

2006-11-02T00:07:00.000-05:00

These pictures here have nothing to do with discernment that I am aware of. I just wish to ask others for advice about what I should do as I am working with my hands in my workshop for our business and there are distractions like this? He won't let up unless I quit working and pet him.

What do I do?

On a more serious note, I am doing a prayerful study on this topic of "True Biblical Discernment". It is my prayer that I will go through and come out of this study with a greater understanding than going into it.

As God’s Word says in:

2 Peter 1:1-11
Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Who am I to think that I could speak of “True Biblical Discernment”? I understand that question for I am asking this of myself. I have no Bible degrees given to me by men. I am not ordained by any church denomination or organization. I do not have any certificate on my wall that indicates to others that I have arrived at something of which others have not. So why am I doing this? If I have no accreditations from men then why do I do anything of this nature on my blog for others to read?

1) It is my desire that my Lord and Savior is glorified and known better through those things I share here. Perhaps God will use this to cause others who haven’t met Christ Jesus yet to come to a saving knowledge of Him. Perhaps God will reveal to some hearts Truth that can set them free from some form of spiritual bondage they were not yet aware of in their life. For Christ is glorified in this way as well. (2 Tim 2:24-26)

2) For my own personal growth in the “grace and knowledge of God”. For if this doesn’t increase through my life in “the True Vine” (Jn 15) how could I edify or (as needed) correct others?

3) By doing this publicly, I am holding myself accountable to others (including you) for the things that I profess to understand and believe. This gives others in the Body of Christ, locally and globally, the opportunity to judge and correct or affirm my understanding of God’s Word and how it is to be lived out.

4) It is my desire and prayer that what I share here may help someone else to experience an effective increase in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For the “like precious faith” that the apostle Peter wrote of is directly connected with what the apostle Paul wrote of when he said:

Ephesians 4:15-16
but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The effective working of the Holy Spirit of Christ, as experienced through His Headship, is not at all limited to that which is within some specified physical radius of our bodies. Christ is on the Throne in a physical body form and yet His chosen people are seated spiritually with Him in Heavenly places. Until Christ returns and all flesh sees His glorious supernatural resurrected body, we know God and His Truth only in Spirit, as He reveals Himself to His own through the eyes of their understanding.

Ephesians 1:17-23
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 2:6
“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

So what is discernment? The dictionary says: “keenly selective judgment”. Some other related words are “discrimination, shrewdness, sensitivity”.

Ponder some of the applicable definitions of these words:

Discrimination = awareness of subtle differentiation: the ability to notice subtle differences

Shrewd = clever and probably accurate: based on good judgment and probably correct

Sensitivity = able to measure small differences: capable of detecting minute changes in levels, conditions, or amounts

Consider Philippians 1:9-11
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

The pertinent word for discernment or judgment in the Greek is:
aisthesis
1) perception, not only by the senses but by the intellect
2) cognition, discernment
2a) of moral discernment in ethical matters

I have seen people involved in cults or pseudo “Christian ministry” reveal how deeply entrenched they are by showing a clear lack of discernment in ethical standards which is the result of their great lack of spiritual discernment. The fact of their ignorance is too devastating to their pride to acknowledge. Through their misguided belief, fed by severe arrogance received in their indoctrination that they have special insight, they mentally excuse their practice of lies and perverted exaggerations through rationalizing it as "OK" because they are the "elite" in God’s eyes and God permits them to do this for the sake of what they blindly and zealously deem as "truth". It is a sad thing to witness this in people who seem so sincere.

God does reveal Himself in a special way to His own but NEVER at the expense of lying to cover up man-made deceptions simply because they are “claimed” to be “of God”. Their void of holding truth in spiritual matters is seen clearly through their void of being able to stay within the bounds of ethical and/or moral matters as they are manifested to others (Ec 10:3). And when they know you see through them they get worse and compound rather than repent of the errors to maintain their spiritual pride and status. The truly discerning will see the subtle differences in their doctrines and practices and avoid their snares.

Of course the book of Proverbs has much to say about discernment. Too much to go into here but some key verses may be:

Proverbs 1:5-7
A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:3-5
Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.

My prayers are being faithfully answered as I am blessed with understanding through this study. Thank you Lord Jesus!

I hope you have been blessed somehow as well. Until this is continued on another post keep asking and believing God for wisdom and discernment.

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

And if you can shed more light on this, please feel free to do so in any comment.
Thanks!

In part 2 I hope to express how some of the lowly of this world, or the despised, can know God and His wisdom with discernment better than many of the well respected and elite of this religious or scholarly world.

The Willow and the Oak - Psalm 1

2006-10-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

My favorite tree is the Willow Tree. Historically it has inspired poetry and children's stories for its elegant and melancholy nature in appearance. It has a unique beauty with its long hanging branches and narrow elongated leaves which dance and whisper in the wind like no others. It has medicinal uses recognized by Hippocrates, and grows easily when you cut a branch and stick it in the ground or in water to develop roots for a separate tree. I hear that it is possible to put it in water with a branch from another tree, not known to root like it does, and it can cause roots for this tree as well. Another quality of the Weeping Willow is that it does very well in or near very wet areas and can help stabilize loose wet soil to prevent erosion. Here is a picture of my personal Weeping Willow dancing in the wind as it is rooted by our springfed pond:

I also like the Oak tree as we have recently planted one near the pond as well. It is known for its strength, towering height, and life span. Oak is favored by wood workers for its beauty and hard wood which results in the making of desirable and attractive furniture. A hidden difference between the Willow and the Oak tree is in the roots.

Oak trees will grow deep down into the soil as permitted by the soil:

Willow trees will grow roots outward more than down as this Redwood tree:

It's been reported that the Willow roots can grow out as far as 3 or 4 times it's height to find a water source.

As Christians, we should have both deep and wide roots in the Love of Christ. As we drink deep from the Wellspring of His Salvation our roots should be well established in the Truth of God's Word. Meditating day and night in His Word and submitting our hearts to a prayerful and willing obedience of the Truth we are seeing as He provides the promised grace.

2 Peter 1:2-3
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

Psalm 119:18
Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.

Psalm 46:4-5
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

Psalm 36:8-9
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

The fruit of this will be manifested to others as we absorb the Life coming from the Power of Him Who raised Christ from the dead and He produces the fruit through us. Without Him we are dry and lifeless.

Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Our leaves will not wither because He will never leave us or forsake us. Without Him we have nothing and are nothing! He gets all the glory for any good done through our lives because He is the source of all true good.

Isaiah 26:12
Lord, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us.

It is this Power which gave us Life when we were dead in our sins and blind to His Light.

Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

2 Corinthians 4:6
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is this Power which transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

It is this Power which keeps us from falling as we walk in the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Psalm 56:13
For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?

Psalm 116:8
For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.

Jude 24-25
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.
Amen.

Whatever he does prospers. And this prosperity is eternal and does not fade away as all riches of this earth will.

This free invitation to Salvation goes out to all as it was poetically described by God's prophet:

Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price."

But you must see your dire need of the Savior, Jesus Christ, to save you from the sin that has separated you from eternal life.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

After you come to this:

Drink Deep until your Lord returns!

Scripture quotes - nkjv

What is a like-minded faith in the Gospel?

2006-10-23T19:31:00.000-04:00

When I say "like-minded faith" I am not referring to Calvinism, Arminianism, or even Spurgeonism. In all of my study and memory of Scripture, I have not found any of those names in there. The names are in the Dictionary, of which I have to look at often when I read some blog posts and comments as some have a more learned vocabulary and are therefore limited in their reach of the general public. (If that sounds like a slam on the intellectually elite, please pray that I am convicted about it as I am overwhelmed sometimes with referring to the Dictionary more than the Bible at times.) But it is true that Calvin is not one of the Apostles who laid the foundation for the Church. Spurgeon had no Holy Ghost inspiration to give us the Scriptures which gives us "the faith once for all handed down to the saints". As for Arminian, I can’t speak so well of him.

By "like-minded" I mean that I sense from some on the blogosphere that we are "of the same mind". And it is my conviction that this is "the mind of Christ" promised to believers through the Apostle Paul. I believe God has faithfully preserved all that He has ever wanted to say to mankind through the 66 books of the Holy Bible. In those books "it is written" that "the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him"(1 John 3). The Holy Spirit does not toss us around, but wills that we as believers in "the Truth of the Gospel" are "GROUNDED and STEADFAST, and are NOT MOVED AWAY from the hope of the gospel which you heard" (Col 1).

If you are unsettled in your faith, how can you lead others to a saving faith in Christ? When I see clarification with balance as one ministers the Truth of the Gospel, I see Jesus there. If they are in ignorance in their own flesh, not rightly dividing God's Word, then I do not see Jesus in them at that time. Christ does not change, we do. He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever". The great Apostle Peter, after being discipled by Christ for 3 years, filled with the Holy Spirit's Power and was instrumental in bringing thousands to faith in Christ, after this he found failure in his faith and played the hypocrite for a season.

We do not (or should not) follow good men who are changeable but rather Christ Who NEVER changes. And we simply follow, honor and respect men when they follow Christ without diverting. For Paul said "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ"(1 Cor 11:1). It seems the qualifier here is that we imitate him only when he imitates Christ. For he also warned us through the letter to the Galatians saying: "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".

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Scripture from -nkjv

Have you read the instructions?

2006-10-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

Ever purchased something and decided to skip the instruction book? Sometimes it may work out but other times it may get you into a real mess of trouble. Missing even just one detail can throw you way off and make it very difficult to get things going as they were intended. And sometimes paying attention to only some of the instruction book and ignoring how it is all put together (or balanced) with the rest of the instructions is worse! So when it come to life and death matters (or eternal life and eternal death matters) the Instruction Book that God gave to us, known as the Holy Scriptures, is far too important for us humans. To skip or skimp on God's Words is very unwise indeed. It does us no good to economize on knowing God’s Word or "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:26) because we are too busy or think we know enough. We should seriously desire all of God's Words to live by if we are born again of His Living Word.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, one of His responses to the Devil was:

"It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ".

Paul said:

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17) -nkjv

and...

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..." (Col 3:16a) -nkjv

So we clearly see here that God did give us "instruction in righteousness" for this life and to prepare us for the life to come. And His desire is that we let Christ’s Word dwell in us richly with all wisdom.

Are you paying close attention to every Word of God?

The Originator?

2006-10-07T23:39:00.000-04:00

Who owns our knowledge and understanding of Truth from God? Who really owns our gifts, our talents, our abilities, our physical traits, or material goods? Would God have Christians copyright their God given knowledge and understanding or the work of their gifts, abilities, and material goods? The key Scripture I am studying is:1 Cor 4:7

"For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" nkjv

I found this to good and personally too convicting too avoid sharing. The following is credited to "The Believers Bible Commentary" regarding 1 Cor 4:5-10...

4:5 In view of this, we should be extremely careful in our appraisal of Christian service. We tend to exalt the spectacular and sensational, and depreciate that which is menial or inconspicuous. The safe policy is to judge nothing before the time, but to wait until the Lord comes. He will be able to judge, not only what is seen by the eye, but also the motives of the hearts—not only what was done, but why it was done. He will reveal the counsels of the hearts, and, needless to say, anything that was done for self-display or self-glory will fail to receive a reward.
That each one’s praise will come from God is not to be taken as a flat promise that every believer’s service will show up in a favorable way in that day. The meaning is that everyone who deserves praise will receive praise from God and not from men.
In the next eight verses, the apostle states quite clearly that pride is the cause of the divisions that have come into the church at Corinth.
4:6 He first explains that in speaking about the Christian ministry and the tendency to follow human leaders (3:5–4:5), he used himself and Apollos as the examples. The Corinthians were not forming parties around Paul and Apollos alone, but also around other men who were then in their church. However, out of a sense of Christian courtesy and delicacy, Paul transferred the entire matter to himself and Apollos so that by their example the saints would learn not to have exaggerated opinions of their leaders or to gratify their pride by the formation of parties. He wanted the saints to evaluate everything and everyone by the Scriptures.
4:7 If one Christian teacher is more gifted than another, it is because God made him so. Everything he has, he received from the Lord. In fact it is true of all of us that everything we have has been given to us by God. That being the case, why should we be proud or puffed up? Our talents and gifts are not the result of our own cleverness.
4:8 The Corinthians had become self-sufficient; they were already full. They prided themselves on the abundance of spiritual gifts in their midst; they were already rich. They were living in luxury, comfort, and ease. There was no sense of need. They acted as if they were already reigning, but they were doing so without the apostles. Paul states that he could wish that the time to reign had already come so that he might reign with them! But in the meantime, "lifetime is training time for reigning time," as someone has said. Christians will reign with the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes back and sets up His kingdom on earth. In the meantime, their privilege is to share the reproach of a rejected Savior. H. P. Barker warns:
It is positive disloyalty to seek our crown before the King gets his. Yet this is what some of the Christians at Corinth were doing. The apostles themselves were bearing the reproach of Christ. But the Corinthian Christians were "rich" and "honorable." They were seeking a good time where their Lord and Master had such a hard time.
At coronations, peers and peeresses never put on their coronets until the sovereign has been crowned. The Corinthians were reversing this; they were already reigning while the Lord was still in rejection!
4:9 In contrast to the self-satisfaction of the Corinthians, Paul describes the lot of the apostles. He pictures them as thrown into the arena with wild beasts while men and angels look on. As Godet has said: "It was not time for the Corinthians to be self-complacent and boasting, while the church was on the throne and the apostles were under the sword."
4:10 While the apostles were treated as fools for Christ’s sake, the saints enjoyed prestige in the community as wise Christians. The apostles were weak, but the Corinthians suffered no infirmity. In contrast to the dishonor of the apostles was the eminence of the saints. -end quote-

This, to me, is both convicting and relieving. Convicting because it is clear to me that I have not known suffering for the Lord Jesus as have so many in our history and many in this very hour throughout the world today. God has used what an abusive pastor said to me one time in his office before others. After I questioned him according to the Scriptures he said to me in a derogatory voice: "Who are you?!... You’re NOTHING!" As I remember this, this may sound odd, but it is refreshingly comforting to my soul. Why? Because it really doesn’t matter to me what he thinks, you think, or frankly even what I think about myself. Jesus is my Judge and yours and not one of us humans will make any difference about this Truth. This statement from the quote above is what makes all the difference to me:

"He (Apostle Paul) wanted the saints to evaluate everything and everyone by the Scriptures."

Thoughts have been going through my head that I wish to share and open up to those that this text reaches. And some of it is as follows... I fully trust in the Sovereignty of God! He does reign over all the affairs of mankind. I am nothing, He is everything. I must decrease, He must increase. I do not want to strive to get glory for myself. I wish to be motivated by the Holy Spirit in all that I share here on this blog or by any other means directly or indirectly as God sees fit. I, by the merciful grace of God’s conviction, was able to find that I have fail in this matter, as at times I’m caught by my conscience of the wrong motives in the "why?" of what I am doing. This is good. For to know conviction this way confirms to me that I am passing the test commanded in Scripture to "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." (2 cor 13:5) And "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:10) nkjv

I have sinned with wrong motives and ideas contrary to the "good and acceptable and perfect will of God". God is the only witness to this and only He knows the reality or severity of it. It is comforting to know His promise that I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom 12:2) through faithful conviction of the Holy Spirit. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-6). nkjv

In light of the Creator and Sovereign Almighty God and Jesus Christ His only Son born from Eternity, I own nothing , you own nothing, and anything good we have or have done is always a result of the doings of God, most importantly our Eternal Life in Him.

Is 26:12
"Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works in us." nkjv

And getting to the copyright question after seeing God’s Word regarding Who is the Originator of all or any good thing, do we go by this worlds view or God’s? I’ll first look at the definition for copyright:

copyright >noun: the exclusive legal right, given to the originator or their assignee for a fixed number of years, to publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Isn’t the question here Who is the Originator? The answer for all Christian believers is in the Scripture reference above. If God is the Originator of any and all that we have then we are the temporary stewards or the assignees accountable to the Originator in the End. A definition for assignee near in line with the Scriptures might be:

assignee >noun:
one appointed to act for another; a deputy or agent

Just something to think about before being to possessive or proud of any copyright we are responsible for. Give because it was all given unto you and yet accept within honest reason the temporary rewards for your labor. If you let the world give you glory and material gain as your motives are greed and pride then your rewards stop there according to God’s Word. If you let God use you and your talents solely for His purposes and glory then He may use those talents to supply your needs while living in this body and give you the greater reward for sincerely giving Him all the glory due the Originator. This is the conviction I get from this matter. How about you?

Mirror in the Soul...

2006-10-03T22:41:00.000-04:00

The passage I am reviewing is James 1:21-25

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." nkjv

There is one thing I have heard from many pastors or teachers coming from various theological viewpoints over the years that I have been saved. The basic idea of the following statement has stayed with me as I grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it goes something like this:

When you are preaching, teaching, or sharing God’s Word, remember that it must first go through you with honest conviction, yielding yourself to the corrections and being willing to see your own wrongs as you are speaking of particular wrongs.

Naturally we tend to receive with no trouble the positive, encouraging, edifying, enlightening, or comforting statements or promises in the Scriptures. Or those things that we think confirm or verify our own rightness in matters of our thinking or behavior. We are usually wide open to this great acceptance. But I think we all need to put down our "Breastplate of unrighteousness" which we have up many times to shield our soul from the holy convictions which we must yield to and be willing to confess and change through Christ’s redeeming power.

May we consider these verses and their context:

Romans 2:1
"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." nkjv

and

1 Cor. 11:28
"But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup." nkjv

and

2 Cor. 13:5
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." nkjv

Do we take these words to heart with serious self examination? Or are we so familiar with them through years of conditioning and seeing only our proud accomplishments that we grieve our Lord and Savior and quench His Holy Spirit as He is moving on us to pay attention to these convictions first before showing others all we know?

The only true rightness any one of has is that which is imparted through faith in the righteousness of Christ and His work of redemption and renewal. And the knowledge by itself puffs up but through love edifies. Sometimes I see this happening:

Over and over, again and again, person after person, ministry after ministry in what is claimed as Christendom there are those who speak out against others yet they are living in sin and the denial of it. And many times they can be apparently so proficient in revealing God’s Word as it applies to others, meanwhile they are in some similar sorts of errors. It is like God is shining His light of conviction on their soul and instead of letting Christ complete His work of change through repentance, they take the mirror of their soul, and find others to reflect it on. Often this turns into condemnation of others as their soul strives to ignore and suppress the reality of their own sin. In other words their mirror is angled so that they don’t see themselves though God’s correcting words but others that they think deserve this as condemnation. As they grieve and quench God's Spirit this way, I believe this may somehow sear their consciences so they won’t have to face their sham or shame and repent of their own treasured and concealed sin.

I don’t know about you, but I long for the conviction of God to change me more and more into Christ’s likeness. Sin is like a hard crust on my soul keeping me from knowing the freedom that comes through living in the Love of Christ and letting Him be Lord of my spirit, soul, and body. Only through faith and confession to God and God alone can the effect of Christ’s powerful death and resurrection break this hardened crust of the deceitfulness of sin, so that I may have the good fruit of God’s Holy Spirit that says "Against such there is no law"(Gal 5).

I know of a man right now who is on the web saying he is a Christian and speaking out against false teachers and false teachings yet he himself is lying to people by portraying the many different identities and personalties that are never revealed as being the same person. Somehow rationalizing his deceptive ways while claiming a ministry of exposing liars. Do you see how he has angled the mirror in his soul?

Then there is a major organization known as CRI with a Hank Hanegraaff who tags himself "The Bible answer man". Read this and you will see how ironic his so-called ministry is and how he holds his mirror. As my wife and I were reading this we found amazing similarities, with a much smaller reach, regarding the matter we went through with a pastor we found had fooled us for some time and hurt many people in our circumstance and in other churches before as well. You may see this matter here .

Just as history has shown I believe our future history will reveal those who have been very naive about characters like those mentioned above. For instance, I know of apparently respectable and reknowned men who have honored the pastor that we have reported on factnet. When I think of how we were fooled by this man for so long I don’t feel as bad about my naivety when I find that even some people whom I respect to this day have been fooled and may still be fooled by this man. Deception is an amazing thing to witness when God has made the truth of a man's character known to you personally but even the well trained, experienced haven’t realized it yet. The right circumstances and questioning will reveal what is inside a man real fast sometimes. I am of course praying for the truth to be seen by these men in due season.

We do know God’s Word says:

Prov. 20:27
"The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly."

and

1 Cor 4:5
"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God." nkjv

and

2 Cor 4:2
"But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God." nkjv

and

1 Tim 5:24-25
"Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden." nkjv

With God as our only perfect and true Judge, are we a doer of God’s Word or a hearer only, deceiving ourselves?

May we learn to shine the mirror of God’s Word onto our own soul’s planks very thoroughly with the desire of removal before we look at the specs in our brother's or sister's eyes... AMEN

God willing, my next post will be regarding: Who(?) owns our knowledge and understanding of Truth from God? And would God have Christian's copyright in order to gain material or prestige from the knowledge and understanding He gave to us? The Scripture is:

1 Cor 4:7
"For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" nkjv

DISCLAIMER

The Love of Christ (pt 5) Wide+Long+High+Deep

2006-09-27T20:22:00.000-04:00

Ephesians 3:18-19
"...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." nkjv

We already know, Paul's words here are actually God's Words. And Paul's prayers recorded in the Scriptures were in line with God's will and therefore always accurate and answered. John backed this up by saying "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."1 John 5:14-15 nkjv. Knowing this, we can see that Paul was praying for every single Christian saint, truly elected and born of God. This means we have been granted the power by God to comprehend how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ as a result of the Apostle Paul's prayers for us. Yet as Paul also writes here, no matter how wide and long and high and deep we know the Love of Christ, we will never come to the end of it for His Love is as eternal as He Himself is for God is Love.

Jeremiah 31:3
"The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'"

We often speak of the fact that Christians are born of God. It may bless us even more to ponder from God's Word the fact that we were first conceived of God long before we were born of Him. The Scriptures make it clear to us that God had conceived, through His Love for us, our planned birth in His Spirit from the foundation of the world. God foreknew the sinful and rebellious course of mankind and He already formed the idea within the fellowship of His eternal Son and Holy Spirit that the Son, Christ Jesus, would come as a pure man, give His life for our sin, and be raised to Life again to save us from eternal separation from Him, which is Hell. Christ the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world and you were on His mind at that eternal moment. We are all now living out what God has conceived from eternity. As Paul spoke to those worshiping "THE UNKNOWN GOD" he said "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. "Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings," (Acts 17:24-26) nkjv

Ephesians 1:3-14
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." nkjv

How wide, how long, how high and how deep is the Love of Christ? Can you see all the space and planets in the heavens above? Can you fathom eternity, picturing our planet earth's existence encapsulated in time as a tiny spec in eternity? The Alpha, the Omega yet He is the Great "I AM". Loving you from the plans of Creation yet existing in this very moment for you. As close as your heart gently beating in the flesh of your body and growing in strength as you sense the Loving presence of His Grace in your soul. And He will never leave you or forsake you. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Love never fails you. He has cast your sins as far as the east is from the west, never to speak of them again. As much as Satan hates you, Christ’s Love conquers it all so never fear his attacks. They are meant to produce in you His likeness.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor 4:16-18) nkjv

You are Christ's Love and He is yours. His lovingkindness drew you to Him and the same will keep you to the end. His Love is better than this life so praise Him with all that is within you. Bless His name in the sanctuary of your heart, His eternal abode. Let only His Life with all His Grace, Mercy, Truth, and Love convict your heart to keep you humble, pure and repentant before Him and Him alone. And let His Spirit reign in your mortal body so others may see this Light of Jesus in your eyes so that God may grant they realize their need for this worlds only Savior, Whom you have living within.
"And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God." (2 Cor 4:13-15)nkjv

Come to know, encourage, exhort, edify and administer the forgiving Grace to all those who faithfully call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart in Spirit and Truth where ever you meet them. For they are of the same Lord, Spirit, Faith, and Baptism into the Body of Christ as you are. This is all just the beginning of "Knowing the Love of Christ" which passes our finite comprehension.

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"
"Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?"
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.
Amen." (Rom 11:33-36) nkjv

DISCLAIMER

The Kingdom of the Cults

2006-09-25T02:10:00.000-04:00

I wish to pause in my look at Paul’s prayer for the saint’s ability (God granted) to comprehend the Love of Christ so that I may share something I have been researching lately...

"The Kingdom of the Cult’s" by the late, very respected Christian apologist Walter Martin. Visit the website: http://www.waltermartin.org/

Unless you are aware of this book, I believe it will do you well to read through all I have placed on this post, for the thoughts presented here are vital to understanding cults, how they work, and how Christians can deal with them.

I’ve had the 1997 version of "The Kingdom of the Cult’s" for many years. Even before I was involved with the small cult known as "THE Church in Indianapolis" for a few weeks before I came to my senses in Christ’s grace and truth. Unfortunately, I did not read much of the book prior to my entrapment there of which Christ has long since set me free. Had I paid some serious attention to the likes of this book, I may never have been there in the first place. After recently reviewing the first 3 chapters of this book, I went directly to Amazon.com and purchased the 2003 revision which was edited by Ravi Zacharias and the daughter of Walter Martin, Jill Martin Rische. This book has insight that no Christian should be without if you wish to contend for the true definition of genuine Christian faith as handed to us by the original penmen of the Holy Scriptures.

You too may see why I say this from just a few brief excerpts of "The Kingdom of the Cult’s". A large part of the text on this post is from his book. Please consider its importance and relevancy.

In Walter Martin’s book (1997 pg. 14) we find:
"It has been wisely observed that men are at liberty to reject Jesus Christ and the Bible as the Word of God; that they are at liberty to oppose Him; that they are at liberty to challenge it. But they are not at liberty to alter the essential message of the Scriptures, which is the good news that God does care for the lost souls of His children, and so loved us as to send His only Son that we might live through Him."

As Jesus, Paul, Peter and other Holy men of God have made it clear in Scripture, we should not be slack in our being aware of and watching out for those who would come in the guise of "a messenger of God" and twist the words of God from the original meanings to fit their twisted "new revelation" version of the original truth. As Walter Martin says, though we can permit liberty (as we pray for salvation) for those who reject, challenge, or oppose Jesus as Lord and Savior (for God will judge the outsiders), we should not have any tolerance for such outright lies/practices regarding the Christian faith coming from pretenders who twist and pervert the original Truth given from the first Apostles and Prophets and early church leaders of our Christian faith.

Jude 3
"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

It’s DONE! We don’t need any more additional so-called truth. For this makes a lie when we add to or take away from His Holy Words. The Apostle Peter, who was with Christ in the flesh, said to the first believers "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises," (2 Pet 1:3-4)
This is a fact forever and the promise includes "EVERY WORD of GOD" needed for salvation and preparation for heaven has already been given, period.

Prov. 30:6
"Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar."

Job 13:7-11
"Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him?
Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?
Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?
He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality.
Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you?"

A few other telling quotes from "The Kingdom of the Cults" (1997):
"The Biblical perspective then, where false teachers and false teachings are concerned, is that we are to have compassion and love for those who are enmeshed in the teachings of the false prophets, but we are to vigorously oppose the teachings, with our primary objective the winning of the soul, and not so much the argument. It must never be forgotten that cultists are souls for whom Christ died."

"Within the theological structure of the cults there is considerable truth, all of which, it might be added, is drawn from Biblical sources, but so diluted with human error as to be more deadly than complete falsehood."

And from the chapter called "Scaling the Language Barrier", Mr. Martin brings out the importance of knowing how any particular cult ascribes new definitions to words to fit their own format of conditioning and controlling their followers or potential followers and keeping them from seeing the true meanings which could set them free:

"On countless occasions the author has been asked, "Why is it, that when I am talking with a cultist, he seems to be in full agreement with what I am saying; but, when we have finished talking, I am aware of a definite lack of communication, almost as though we were not talking the same language?"

"...proper usage of definitions as a practical tool will rob the cultist of at least two of his advantages: surprise and confusion."

"There is a common denominator then, and it is inextricably connected with language and the precise definition of terminology. It is what we might call the key to understanding cultism" emphasis mine

"The average non-Christian cult owes its very existence to the fact that it has utilized the terminology of Christianity , has borrowed liberally from the Bible, almost always out of context, and sprinkled its format with evangelical cliches and terms wherever possible or advantageous...... On encountering a cultist then, always remember that you are dealing with a person who is familiar with Christian terminology, and who has carefully redefined it to fit the system of thought he or she now embraces." emphasis mine

"The solution to this perplexing problem is far from simple, but once the Christian realizes that for every Biblical or doctrinal term he mentions, a redefinition light flashes on in the mind of the cultist, and a lightning-fast redefinition is accomplished, thus allowing the cultist apparently to agree with the doctrine under discussion, while firmly disagreeing in reality with the historical and Biblical concept. Then the Christian is on his way to dealing effectively with cult terminology. This amazing operation of terminological redefinition works very much like a word-association test in psychology.
It is simple for a cultist to spiritualize and redefine the clear meaning of Biblical text and teachings so as to be in harmony with the historic Christian faith. However such harmony is at best a surface agreement, based upon double meaning of words which cannot stand the test of Biblical context, grammar, or sound exegesis." emphasis mine

Lord willing, I will be sharing more as I go through this book in the next few weeks. For now I wish to say a few pertinent things to some of you.

Just considering the few quotes I have above, we see the importance of knowing the language of a cult. Walter Martin usually referred to the larger and established cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christian Science. But you can see in those three examples common characteristics found in most any American cult, be they large or small. I plan to go into more details about this in a later post.

As a personal note to some of you who are aware of the relatively new (20 years) smaller (a few hundred people including affiliates in other cities) cult in Indianapolis known as "THE Church in Indianapolis" I say the following.

I can not agree completely in the statement I have heard: "Those who were in a cult should never speak out against the cult they were a part of for this will appear to other as having an ax to grind or being a disgruntled ex-member". While I see the concern, it is the risk (as well as other risks like the slander they may endure for leaving the cult) they must take for the truth to be known to others that they may be warned. Of course it is vital that they should have their minds renewed in the freeing grace and truth from God’s Word and that they themselves are not yet affected by the false teaching they were once entangled in as a yoke of bondage. They should be very careful not to mutate into another false teaching by avoiding being a Berean and living by Every Word of God through prayer. Their mind and soul should be cleared completely of this virus known as a false teaching as come to fully understand and stand upon the "Truth of the Gospel" in its genuine and balanced form so as to avoid the potential of it mutating into another form of a false teaching coming from within themslves. And, they should be sure they have cleared their hearts of ill will towards their former cult leaders. After this is sure, these very people are the key to making the grace-freed, Holy Spirit empowered Church of Jesus Christ aware of the new language that they have learned while being a part of this particular "new teaching" they have known.

I myself can know from God’s Word what the genuine is as far as Truth goes and I can therefore discern from this some of the error of a cult. And yet, being a part of this cult, for the little time that I was, limits my understanding of the language of "THE Church of Indianapolis". I have learned much of what I know from others who have been in there and escaped the deception and shared with me while I was yet living close to them in the city. And of course from "Families Against Cults".

However, there are many who have exited and prayerfully will exit this cult, who have many years experience of learning the new language of Mike Peters and his men, who can, after some time of renewal and recovery, help others beware of their language and what it REALLY means so that we aren’t taken by surprise or confused, as Walter Martin has said could happen if we are unprepared. It may be for this purpose that they have endured this cult and it’s abuses to them and their families for the time that they have. No one can do as they can do in exposing this false teaching/practices. Please be in much prayer for this responsibility you may have here. You may be instrumental in saving other souls from this affliction of a false and perverted teaching and practice in the future, as God continues to tear down the building standing on a false foundation.

I look forward to sharing more on this revealing book "The Kingdom of the Cults" exposing present day cults, how they operate, and what we can do about them as Christians of the only and original "Truth of the Gospel".

Get the book! You won’t regret it. But be sure you don’t find yourself regretting not reading it like I did in my earlier years of life.

God Bless!

DISCLAIMER

The Love of Christ (Pt 4) "Rooted and Grounded"

2006-09-21T00:27:00.000-04:00

The Scripture that I have been watching here with prayer is in Ephesians 3:14-21

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." -nkjv-

I have come to what I see as one of the most beautiful metaphors in the Bible for what it refers to, and that is of course "the Love of Christ".

"being rooted and grounded in love"

What does every tree need more than anything else? Water and sunshine. The woman at the well with Jesus came for physical water and left with what she needed infinitely more than that. She came to know the "Living Water" Who gave her life everlasting. Her soul no longer thirsted for anything else, for she found the "fountain of life" which Christ promised she could come drink all she wanted forever. Who needs a fountain of youth when we have the fountain of Christ’s Love that never runs dry.

But there is one other vital thing a tree needs also to grow and be strong, fruitful, and healthy. Water, Sunshine and Nutrients from the soil. The Son of Righteousness arises with His healing brightness of Love which makes the Water of Life flow throughout your soul and spirit with nutrients from God’s good soil pulled up from within the roots found in His Love as He saturates your ground with this Water of Life. As we are rooted and grounded in the Love of Christ, we need, as Jesus spoke against Satan, "EVERY WORD that proceeded from the mouth of God". Where are you placing your roots to grow deep for nourishment? Just as one can become diseased or unhealthy physically from not receiving all the nutrients our bodies were designed to live by, so also our spirit and soul will become vulnerable to Satans deceptions through the false doctrines if we don't acknowledge and accept "EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God".

1 Peter 1 :22-23 tells us:
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,.."

Some people TRY HARD to obey what they believe they see in the New Testament Scriptures to "love one another fervently with a pure heart". They live "by the letter" in their mind or as told from the "natually" intelligent mind of someone they trust and rely on for teaching them how to do it "to a T", all the while believing God's blessing is in this. But if the Truth were known and their eyes were really open to God’s Grace, they would accept that they CAN NOT do it, even with the zeal they think they possess for the Father's house! Their zeal is misdirected as it was with Saul before he became Paul. Legalistic groups claiming they live out God’s Love but are centered around a teaching that Paul warns us of:

"They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them." (Gal 4:17)

They are so zealous for the NT way of life that they will cruelly "exclude you" (or their family members, spouses, friends) if you don’t give in to them. But Paul warned us of this as well when he said as he wrote to the Galatians:

"And this occurred (a legalistic enforcement) because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour (certainly should never be 5 week or more for those who know what I mean), that the truth of the gospel (saved, continually cleaned up, and KEPT clean and increasingly fruitful by grace alone) might continue with you. Praise God!

What did Jesus say His Father’s command was?

"And I know that His command is everlasting life."

As God commanded your election of Salvation, He will carry it with you into Everlasting Life! THIS IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST! He planted you in His good soil, located on Holy ground, purchased by His vicarious sacrificial death and resurrection, at Salvation. And, He waters and nourishes you until the Day of your death or His glorious return, where your Lord Himself will take you to the house He has built for you on that same Holy ground lot that has your name written on it, as revealed through the deed located in the Book of Life. Let EVERY WORD of God dwell in you richly. Let your roots grow deep through prayer and the Living Word! For unless you join that living "Word of God (that first saved you) which lives and abides forever" with "EVERY (living) WORD which proceeds from the mouth of God", you will not fully experience while dwelling in this mortal tent His AWESOME AND FOREVER-FREE SALVATION as He has intended. Love Him in prayer and praise and worship this way because He first Loved you.

What on earth does avoiding legalism (seeing only some of EVERY WORD) as described here have to do with the Love of Christ?

Everything!

For it is as Peter said above, "obeying the truth" is only done "through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren". YOU CAN"T DO IT AND NEITHER CAN I! Christ accomplishes this love "through the Spirit" which was primarily and foundationally done "through prayer" in the example He gave to us . Not of works unless you choose to boast as other legalistic people who already have their reward. I know of cults who think "your alone time can't be trusted because your heart is sinful and may lead you astray, you must have other brothers there to help you see your sin". Even natuaral logic, let alone the Word of God, would tell you that if you can't trust your own "alone time" with God how on earth could you trust another sinner like yourself. Absolute FOOLISHNESS! THE GALATIANS ERROR! We were "born again, not of corruptible seed (our own works are as filthy rags) but incorruptible, through the WORD OF GOD which lives and abides forever... For those to whom this shoe fits: " HE DID IT! NOT YOU OR I OR YOUR FELLOW BROTHER, WHO IS ALSO PRONE TO POTENTIAL SIN AS WELL IN SPITE OF THEIR ANTI-SCRIPTURAL CLAIMS OTHERWISE!... THEY "SAY" THAT THEY SIT IN THE SEAT OF MOSES THROUGH THEIR CLAIM OF APOSTLESHIP, DID YOU LOOK THOROUGHLY THROUGH ALL OF GOD'S WORDS FOR YOURSELF TO SEE IF THESE THINGS ARE SO? IF NOT YOU ARE GAMBLING YOUR SOUL ON ANOTHER SINNER LIKE YOU! PLEASE THINK THIS THROUGH!

CHRIST JESUS IS THE ONLY PERFECTLY PURE HIGH PRIEST YOU "CAN" TRUST TO SAVE YOU FROM SIN! He gets all the glory for saving me because "He first loved me". And, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him for He is meek and lowly in heart and you will find His "rest" in your soul and a "peace of mind" that passes all understanding.

Next time I hope to see how far these roots can grow in the Soil of Christ’s Love for His own.

I agree with Paul and pray that we "may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;."

DISCLAIMER

The Love of Christ (Pt 3) "I am sorry"

2006-09-20T01:01:00.000-04:00

In my first post on "The Love of Christ" (Pt 1) I said things like: "It is my desire to do an in-depth expository work on comprehending the Love of God." YUK! If I were in a cult that was quick to judge motives, I would likely be condemned for life for saying it that way! Some of you unfortunately know what I mean. As far as "in-depth" goes... it won’t happen. For I could hardly begin to touch upon the magnitude of Christ’s Love. God is already convicting me about how I am saying things. Not really "what" I say but "how". I am sorry for sounding short on passion, if I do, as I do this study. I will most likely do it again and be convicted for it, for I am only so mature and yet growing up in Him who is the Head of the Church, Christ Jesus Himself. Please forgive me. I pray you may glean some good from my study here.

I think Paul said it well enough, " For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ep 3:14-19 nkjv)

Or as the NLT puts it:

"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.."

Consider this promise: "to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;"

I say "WOW!" This is so incredible to think about! The same Spirit and His Power that raised Christ from the dead is in believing Christians to empower and endow them with grace directly from the highest of the Heavens. This "resurrection power" is available to our inner man because of Christ's death and New Life for our soul, where He has chosen to dwell there through the faith we have in Him. "Christ in me, the hope of glory". "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me". "Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world". My "inner man is being renewed day by day". We "are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." He dwells "in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite (not condemned) and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones." I have eaten His flesh and drank His blood so I abide in Him and He in me. Because His Spirit dwells in each and every one who accepts the Truth of the Gospel of grace in Christ Jesus as Paul "faithfully" describes, we are one together in Him even as He is One with the Father. This is the faith of Christ dwelling in us.

Lord willing, my next post, I will look at "being rooted and grounded in love". I pray God will help me see this better. I do covet your prayers.

God Bless You!

DISCLAIMER

The Love of Christ (Pt 2) "riches of His glory"

2006-09-14T00:55:00.000-04:00

I want to say up front on this post that I certainly don’t believe many people visit this blog here. To those who do I wish to say something as I have before. YOU are quite welcome and encouraged to make conversation here. If you have any thoughts you would like to share regarding the matters in any of these blog posts, please let me know by commenting. You may comment about the topic any way that you wish. As long as I don’t have conviction that it is obscene or inappropriate I will post it for you here. (I only remember one comment that I have rejected and that was someone claiming to be Christ.) I am open to comments regarding any thing I share especially if it is productive or beneficial for the readers. As far as it goes with me, I would certainly request that you let me know if you feel like I am saying something the wrong way or if you believe I am missing something important before you let anyone else know. How will I know unless you do? This is your place to comment here. Please feel free to do so.

Also, I wish to say something about the Christian fellowship that I have at this time. My wife and sister in Christ is the closest Christian friend that I have. Daily, she helps me see and consider spiritual things (and other things) in ways that I may not see right away for myself. And I trust she thinks the same of me as well. We are each a part of the Body of Christ. We are waiting on God and praying that He will show us which way to go in regard to sharing fellowship and communion in Christ with other local believers. We live in a rural area and we know and share with some of our neighbors but we can’t say we find rich and mutual spiritual fellowship in Christ with them as yet. Meanwhile we do have some good Christian friends at least within 1 hour of us. We have an older couple (Ralph and Phyllis) of whom we respect and enjoy fellowship. We have a couple near our age (Rick and Renee) whom also we have times of sharing together. And there are a few other local Christian friends that we don’t see often, though I wish we could. Otherwise we have enjoyed communications with a few people we know who are scattered throughout America.

One of those friends that I would like to give special mention to is Tim Szazynski. Passing through this way to see some of his relatives, he stopped here yesterday afternoon and stayed till morning. We enjoyed that Tim seemed to relax and make himself at home with us and we were glad for this. Both of our sons really enjoyed his visit as well, said he is "cool", and referred to him like a "fun uncle" type of guy. He impressed my wife as someone with excellent taste when he remarked that her cat, Toby, is a gorgeous animal. And also when he asked for seconds on her potroast. We had a great time of fellowship with him staying up through the night (and wish we could have had more time) and much of our conversation was filled with glorifying and acknowledging the sovereignty and grace of our God. I see Tim as someone who has put his trust and confidence in the Lord and believes that God will work all things to the good of God’s eternal plan and purpose. God through time may reveal why things have worked the way they have in his family situation. He has endured for 18 years an Indy cult led by Mike Peters which has great and continuously piling evidence (from many different sincere Christian people) of serious spiritual perversions such as tearing families apart, twisting truths, 1/10 truths (not even half), outright lies, and deceptions to work their very controlling spirit. This group can be understood better by listening to this mp3 recording of an old 1956 radio broadcast called Mr. Costello, Hero. In this fictional drama there are factual simalarities to this cult group like how (if people leave or question authority) they have recorded people to slander them later by things they spoke that the cult leader twists (sometimes very severely) or something is said and recorded when they were under duress from the leaders emotional pressure tactics and mental manipulations and then played back or threatened to be played. This all being done as they "use" the precious name of Jesus for their cover. Considering the cult control that Tim has escaped from (and his wife is still willingly and/or blindly subjected to) let us give this a little time and at least acknowledge God’s Word that says: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God" (1Cor 4:5).

For now, I will briefly step back into our study on "the Love of Christ" as we move on with the prayer of Paul...

Ep 3:14-21
"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory"

It is God’s will as it was Paul’s fervent prayer to grant or give His children all things.

Romans 8:31-39
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
"For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Tell me if this is not the riches of His glory. He gave His very best, Jesus and all that we’ll ever need from now throughout eternity. In that He has granted us complete and undeserved yet unreserved justification by faith. ZERO WORKS necessary. 100% PAID BY CHRIST! Our own self-glorifying works are but as filthy rags or dung in the Eyes of a Holy God. Our works, prepared and empowered by the eternal God, are ONLY a result or evident fruit of this complete payment done from the mercy of God. This is ALL to HIS GLORY ALONE! Who could condemn those that the Almighty God has cleared? It is not possible. The condemnation falls on their own heads as they try for this is an affront against God Himself and His precious Son's work on the Cross. Christ is now seated at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for those of us who truly have faith from and in His Son that is based solely on GRACE ALONE and TO HIS GLORY ALONE. To you who lead a cult group I say, May God convict you of the severe sin and grossly offensive sin of denying the GRACE AND GLORY OF OUR GOD! If you do not know this conviction before your death, I pity your soul for its eternal reward that "you" have "worked" for!

We have yet to experience so much more of "the riches of His Grace".

To be continued...

DISCLAIMER

The Love of Christ: (Pt One) "For this reason"

2006-09-11T02:30:00.000-04:00

I am praying that I will do this study with all of the grace God will offer. I pray that I will be as sensitive as possible to what God would have me know and convey to others through this vital study regarding the Love of God. It is my desire to do an in-depth expository work on comprehending the Love of God. As it is with any truth from God’s Word, this is only possible with God’s Spirit opening my eyes and directing me. I believe ahead of time that I must have patience as I live with the anticipation of knowing the Love of God in more depth than I ever have before. I am very excited about this study and yet know I must yield myself to His Hand of Change, as I sense ahead of time as well, that He will be working some changes that will be unpleasant to my old ways of thinking. But this is good with me as it is my God given hearts desire to be more like Him. "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb 12:10). "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2Cor 3:18).

The Love of God (part one)

Ep 3:14-21
"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

God willing, I will expound upon this passage in the following text and probably a few posts. But, when we get to "the Love of Christ" I am anticipating a more intensely burning heart kindled by the Holy Spirit showing to me just what Paul, through the Lord’s inspired words, has prayed that I as a believer would see. I expect this flame to have a purifying affect in my soul where my mind is also renewed as this promised spiritual growth occurs.

"For this reason..."
What was the reason for Paul being so serious before the Throne of Mercy to intercede so that other believers might also be empowered through Christ’s magnificent, merciful, and mysterious Love? Of course we see the reason as we look at what is said prior to this fervent prayer happening in Paul. Paul sees with eyes of understanding what Christ has given to all believers. Not only the mercy of sins forgiven and pardon from eternal Hell. But with this, the Omnipotent Heavenly Father has granted that any and all believers born of God are seated with His Wonderful Son. The Son of God in whom dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead in His bodily form. It is vital that we know this as a defense against the worldly temptations of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. If we know where we came from (born of God from the highest of Heaven), and that our nature is like His, there is great moral and spiritual power granted to us as children of the Highest. 2Peter 1:3 declares : "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue..." This has so much more to it that I will be growing in this knowledge for as long as my soul dwells in this mortal decaying body. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day" (2Cor 4:16). Now that we have a general understanding of why Paul prays as he does we will go into his specific prayer.

" I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named"
Paul bowed his knees before the Father. He sees that "God so Loved the world that He gave His One True Son" to redeem and purify for Himself from a sick and sinful world an entire family for the Father’s own eternal glory and pleasure. And we are to be "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." There is salvation in no other, "for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved". As much as I will honor my earthly parents of whom my body was born or my childhood nurtured, I need to acknowledge that I am a part of the family of God’s unique, sinless, "one of a kind" Son, "Jesus Christ the Righteous". My sin was punished on His Cross and His Righteousness was placed in me in the Eyes of the Father. I will "do good to all men", including my unsaved relatives. I will share "the Love of Christ" with them in any way possible. As God leads, I should have "humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." For how will they know Him if I hide the light from them or if I become sinfully proud, arrogant and selfish about eternal salvation. My thoughts about that say if we act like that about this merciful salvation we should question if we are even saved in the first place. For if God was able to graft me in, He could graft anyone in. And not any other soul out there was or could be any better or worse than I was before God’s birthing me from Heaven as was planned before the foundation of the world. He alone is God! Not any one of us. He alone saves AND keeps us. There is no place for any of us to boast or be proud in this matter as this stinks in the nostrils of the Holy God who has shown us mercy (consider Romans 11:11-25). I am "in" the world just not "of" it. On the other hand I will "do good....especially to the household of faith". They have the same Holy Spirit that dwells in me. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and will be of the same Lord and Spirit forever.

"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory"

Lord willing, I will continue with this on my next post...

DISCLAIMER

Redemption from sin "OR" regurgitation of sin?

2006-09-09T03:24:00.000-04:00

What is God’s Word and will on this matter?

Col 1:13-14
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Oh, how we should always thank and praise our God for His great mercy that He has shown to us through His Son! This promise applies to all who have received Christ as their Redeemer. There are of course so many references throughout the Bible that speak of this key truth in Christ (OT and NT). In fact, this is what God has desired and willed from the foundation of the world, that Jesus Christ would redeem and offer forgiveness to sinful mankind so as to give all the glory to God alone.

Ep 4:30-32
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

What does this word "forgive" mean? If we look it up in Strong’s we find the Greek word
"aphesis" {af’-es-is}
1) release from bondage or imprisonment
2) forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty

And the word "redeem" "exagorazo" { ex-ag-or-ad’-zo}
1) to redeem
1a) by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off
1b) metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death

And finally the word "grace" ""charis" {khar’-ece}
Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.

As Christians washed by His Blood and born of His Spirit we often forget the truth of these words and their eternal application. Just meditate on the meaning of the words above for a while.

I am speaking to those who already know our need for holiness and purity in God. To those of you who let conviction keep you from doing wrong, and quickly and sincerely repent when you have failed and have let temptation defeat you by doing wrong. Due to your sensitivity in keeping your conscience pure before God and quickly repenting you must always become aware of another who would use this sensitivity of yours for his own benefit. His name is Satan, "the accuser of the brethren" as the Bible says. Let me tell you another similar trait of Satan. He will not only regurgitate (via reminders from those he can use) the sin that you have long repented of and forsaken but will also twist and pervert the truth of it as he does everything else. You see, he knows that many sincere Christians who truly desire to practice living a pure life will miss it some way at some stage in their walk with Christ. They will let the influence of the world affect their mind with corruptions though lust or pride. Or, they will be "swayed" by the influence of legalistic "pushers" who can weaken their faith in God’s grace (to keep them) to the point where they find that they have temporarily given into the flesh and missed the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

I will say this to you who do love God and desire to have His holiness which is supplied when we abide in His Vine. Satan will pursue an attack on you if you do not have the defense of the Truth of God’s Word at your side. If Satan sees that you practice carrying the Sword of the Spirit by your side, his attacks will not endure and they will have no ill affect on you but rather will work to strengthen your inner man with MIGHT and more faith in God. Praise God for this! Each time something or someone is used of Satan to attack you with the cleansed sins from your past or false accusation "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."

It is my prayer that God will bless the souls of the redeemed who endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Who find their lives assaulted by liars and deceivers. Blessed are you when they say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ’s sake. You can be sure that it is impossible for your assailants to have peace or a clear conscience in themselves before God. No matter how much acting ability they have God will not grant them peace. They are already suffering in their minds for their choices. You, who bear the brunt of their assaults, rejoice and be glad in Jesus for so many before you have suffered this way after the light exposed their accusers. Even as "the Accuser" will continue to do all of this, unless they come to repentance, his participants will increase in their sufferings put on themselves by their decisions to practice spiritual perversions with the intent to rule over others. Christ from His Throne in the Highest will only strengthen those who are honest in God’s sight and those who place all their faith in Him alone without guile.

And what is the definition of guile? It means "sly or cunning intelligence". We have seen this through specific individuals. Don’t let them get to you if you are a redeemed child of God! All they have is a secular lawyer's wisdom mentality guised in a pseudo spirituality to attempt to indict you of your past and forgiven sins with serious perversions thrown in by their own corrupt creativity. What you must see is that the Judge of all Creation is standing in your place as they throw out their fruitless assaults. Christ has given us authority over all the power of the enemy. And we are "seated with Him" in Heavenly places. Cast down those things that exalt themselves against this Truth of God’s propitiation through Christ. If God’s justice is satisfied then He is at peace with you. Why worry about others who are perverts of spiritual justice in the court room of this life. Let them suffer in the halls of their own consciences unless or until they, too, repent. Their suffering will increase as their sins of falsely accusing increase. They are now pricked in their conscience as they read this exposure of Truth. Let us pray for their freedom from this bondage and self delusion. But you are to know liberty in the Lord as you submit to the righteousness of God in Christ and yeild to His transforming power from Heaven to conform you to His image.

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever."
Amen. Jude 24-25

I trust God’s Spirit will use these words to encourage you in Him as they have very much encouraged me. Be Blessed!

In Christ,
Denny

DISCLAIMER

Contending for the Faith

2006-08-30T15:49:00.000-04:00

Jude 1:3
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

This verse has struck me more than usual recently. Or I might say that I believe God has recently struck me with this verse. Some details of this verse just keep ringing louder as I look at it.

"Dear friends" or in Greek "agapetos" from the word "agapao" which of course means a serious form of love. It was for the love of these that he urged them to "contend". The author, Jude, considered these friends very close to his heart.

"although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share"
It is wonderful to know that we share salvation in Christ. Salvation, this word means so much to me in my soul. I have been saved from the power of the sin that had chains on this soul. Saved from the darkness that kept me from intimately knowing God the Father and kept me from all hope. I was on the road to hell just as the rest of mankind without grace. I recall the days before my salvation and my soul fills up with great gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving to the One who mercifully died in my place so that I could know the undeserved joy and eternal wonder of Heaven. Heaven is Jesus! Why did He have such mercy on me? I was so filthy inside and He decided to cleanse me. He began this process of sanctification or being set apart for Him and this work of His will continue until His appointed day for me. I am far from being perfected yet (unless my day is soon) but if you could see a before picture of my soul (as seen from Heaven) and then the present after picture you wouldn't see the same person at all. I still have trouble with sin and am learning by grace to overcome. But I am a new creature in Christ behold old things have past away and all things have become new! If you do not know this cleansing, you must see your need to turn from darkness to His Light. You are a sick and sinful creature as I have been for we have all sinned and fallen short of God's demand for holiness. We can not "act", "think" or "talk" our way to Heaven in the "eyes" of men. It will not work this way for only being in Christ through His Life Sacrifice on the Cross and the same Power that raised Him from the dead can credit to you the holiness that God commands and demands of us in order to live with Him for eternity. If you stay close to Him, abide in His Vine, and draw from His Grace alone to help you overcome and stay clean then you will truly be a part of the edifying of His Body in Love.

Putting your confidence in mere men looking into your eyes to see your sin is not the best way to have conviction of the truth of your failures. How would you be sure that their veiw is not skewed by their own sin or deception more than you may know? Just because they claim to have it together doesn't make it so. Go to the "Perfect One" Christ Himself through His Words for your mirror and look intently with sincere prayer. For if you put your trust in fallable men you will "surely" be misled and put yourself in spiritual danger. There is no other way but Jesus Christ for there is "no other name" given among men whereby we must be saved. PLEASE, DON'T TRUST ANY MAN WHO SAYS OTHERWISE! IT IS THE IMMACULATE INCARNATION OF CHRIST ALONE WHOM WE TRUST! AND HE IS IN HEAVEN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. HE IS NOT ON THIS EARTH EXCEPT VIA HIS HOLY SPIRIT AND "NONE", "NO, NOT ONE" CAN CLAIM THEY ARE PERFECTED IN HIM SO MUCH SO AS TO DOMINATE OTHERS! THEY ARE CERTAINLY DECEIVED TO SPEAK OTHERWISE IN THEIR "CLAIMS"! DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY ANY MAN!

"I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints"

I believe this is vital to the True Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wolves, vipers, impostors, false prophets/teachers, hypocrites, liars/deceivers, spiritual hucksters, charlatans, and the like are rampant like bad weeds desiring to take over the garden of what we call Christendom. Although these weeds are not actually a part of Christendom they certainly "talk" and "act" as though they are. This is what Satan has intended all along. To the natural senses these weeds look very much like the good plants sown by the Heavenly Father and will often "claim" some special advantage or "revelation" from God. This is why looking into the eyes of men fails. We MUST LOOK UNTO JESUS (ALONE) THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR "FAITH". This is the faith we contend for. The Body is intended primarily by God to remind us to abide in the Vine and keep our eyes on Him and in "all" of His Words. This is our true fellowship in Christ, to know Him. NOT some other beings dwelling on earth acting like they're the ones to receive the attention and thereby promoting idolatry of the Body. But the Truth is God has permitted the weeds to test our obedience and willingness to do what He has said in this verse. "CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH!" You will know them by their "fruit".

I wish to expound upon one of the words above. The word "charlatan". It means: A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble (marked by a ready flow of speech) claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud. According to one explanation, charlatan goes back through French to Italian ciarlatano, "mountebank, fraud," from the word ciarlare, "to chatter."

Ro 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.

For someone to say that "we are not to be thinking so much about or be on the alert for the spiritual charlatans", "Jesus and the disciples didn't spend their time looking for heresies and exposing them" may very well indicate that they are a charlatan themselves. For the Holy Spirit chose to use strong words in the Scriptures regarding this matter. It is all to clear in the Scriptures if you have been in them with prayer. Don't believe me, look for yourself Bereans. Here are just a few...

Jesus said it in no uncertain terms:
Mt 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Mt 10:17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues."
(Could this fit with those who say they are a Christian and yet threaten to sue other believers and hand them to the local counsels before going to wise Church members for resolve?)

Mt 16:6 "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
(Just add one very small pinch of man-made legalism and you have the whole infected...)

And in the words of the Apostle Paul:
Php 3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.
(This could apply to those who would inflict "any form" of legalism on others in the name of Christ)

2Ti 4:15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
(If they oppose the message of the working Power of the Grace of God alone to keep us, they fit here)

Our security is in Christ Alone. If you fall for some idealistic, legalistic imitation then you have fallen from Grace.

Acts 20:27-32
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. "Now I commit you to God and to the WORD of HIS GRACE, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

And the Apostle Peter:
2Pe 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

We are members of His Body if we have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit through the work of Christ. Does it not seem very silly and ignorant for some to think that God has restarted His Church after thousands of years from the Churches birth? This FAITH "was once for all entrusted to the saints". It is ludicrous, absurd to think Christ has failed, knowing Christ has been faithfully building His Church, preparing His Bride for many centuries now. Someone coming in trying to convince others that Christ was not powerful enough to hold to His promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church is utterly and plainly spiritually stupid. Not to mention an offense against His Body. This Body contains centuries worth of redeemed saints from all cultures and places of earth. What ant could come along and scream out to God that He has failed and now they must redo everything from the start again? It is sickening to hear this one and that one say "I am the chosen one for this hour". But Jesus used severe language again regarding this matter for He did say:

Mt 24:4-5 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

I leave all of you with this question:
DO YOU BELIEVE JESUS WORDS HERE ARE TRUE AND NEED TO BE HEEDED TODAY? ARE YOU DOING WHAT HE SAID: "WATCH OUT"?

DISCLAIMER

Humility vs Pride

2006-08-28T00:54:00.000-04:00

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

I get the sense ahead of time that I will be seriously convicted by this study. I know that I have fallen far short of the quality of true humility found only in Christ. I believe that false humility (true arrogance) is far to prevalent and deceptive and many naive Christians who follow do not know which one they see when they look at those who claim to be "a minister", "in ministry", or even "a servant of the Lord" in this age.

If we are to contrast humility and pride, I believe we need to see the good quality of humility in the best form possible and of course this is in Christ Jesus Himself. It is said that bankers or bank tellers are taught first to study long and recognize the genuine dollar so much so that they will know a counterfeit when they see it. The more they study the genuine the less they will be fooled even when the fake is so very close in appearance.

As we all know, the "real" value of a counterfeit dollar bill is worthless. It has no real authority from the managing government to back it in its "apparent" value for monetary or material exchange. Only those who have been fooled by it may temporarily grant the fake some authority in their minds only so that it may take something valuable from them in exchange. And consequentially they are left with a loss.

How we describe true humility is how we describe Jesus at His Heart. He said of himself "I am gentle and lowly in heart". Getting back to the need for us to study the genuine, we see this quality of humility is something "in heart" and not just "in appearance" . Who "alone" knows the heart of a man thoroughly and without being fooled by a residing sinful nature?

Jer. 17:9-10
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

And it was said of Jesus when He was dwelling in His human form on the earth that He "knew their thoughts". The specific thoughts of the Pharisees as in Luke 6:8 and Mt 12:25 were known by Christ. And John 2:24-25 says:
But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

1 Cor 2:11 says "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?.." And Paul said of himself in 1 Cor 4:4, "For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord."

In a sense we know our own heart but not without some trouble due to the sinful nature that "all" of us Christians have until death or ascension through our final physical transformation.
As the Scriptures declare people can sear or reject their conscience (1 Tim 1:19, 4:2) , harden their heart (1 Sam 6:5), have a defiled mind and conscience (Titus 1:15) and the list of our inherent imperfections go on. Though the bondage of sins power is broken when we are saved through Christ’s death, we will continually need to be renewed in our minds as we are transformed by the Power that raised Christ from the dead. If we dare say we are without sin we may unknowingly be committing the sin that the Pharisees were deceived by as stated in John 9:40-41
Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

1 Jn 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In other words as Prov. 20:9 says:
Who can say, "I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin"?

The only one that was (and is) in human form without any trace of sin is the incarnate Deity Christ Jesus who is the only Lord and Savior of man and the God of all Existence . He alone has a perfectly clean and pure Heart and Mind. He alone possesses true and undefiled humility. How is this that the One who is the Most Highly Exalted over all and the Creator of all and everything possesses perfect humility? No arrogance or foolish pride ever dwelt or could dwell in the Being of God. He has all Power and Authority and does not need to fight or deceive to keep it. The Scriptures declare that
With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His (Job 12:16).

After seeing this we should realize that one reason why Christ has perfect humility is that His Place can never be and will never be taken by another.
Is 14:12-15
"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Jesus witnessed this casting down of Lucifer from Heaven as He said in Luke 10:17, And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

The Most High was not at all threatened by Lucifer but He was offended by this creature's pride.
If Lucifer was considered the most beautiful and a very powerfully created archangel of all the highest Heaven and then lost this position through sin, he now strongly desires to inflict others with this pride that destroyed him.

In contrast to the humility of Christ we could see that God’s created beings (including you and me) have been influenced and deceived by Satan through our fallen nature to some degree by pride. One can subdue most of their sinful urges for things of the flesh by getting so used to being watched by others and may (by hypocritical practice) appear to others to be very holy as it was with the Pharisees. But in the heart, which Christ witnesses from Heaven, there is dwelling great and deceptive pride that "only" God sees and knows. A person who appears to be holy to others, who may actually interact with others seeing and hearing them, who may be highly respected in their eyes, often can be so full of self and pride while they put on the airs of being something else for God. This is the worst form of hypocrisy with pride. I’ll end for now as by giving a warning to all of us. May we all be very prayerful and careful that we are not one of these hypocritical people or that you are not fooled by one of them.

Christ alone deserves all of the glory for true humility for He alone can supply it as He alone is the Vine. Even this is not of our works lest anyone should boast.

Please take this with the concern for our souls as was intended.

In Christ Alone,
Denny

DISCLAIMER

2 Tim 2:7 "Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this"

2006-08-26T02:41:00.000-04:00

This promise from Paul to Timothy applies to all believers who know Jesus Christ. Think through these words of Scripture as well and you too may be encouraged in the Lord:

Ps 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

Ps 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Jer 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.

Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Ps 77:11-12
I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.

Ps 104:34
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.

Ps 119:11
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You!

Ps 119:15
I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.

Ps 119:148
My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.

Joshua 1:8
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

1 Tim 4:15
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

Phil 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Col 3:2
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

James 1:25
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

I have found it very interesting to see that the meaning of the word "meditate" in the OT is: to moan, utter, muse, mutter, devise, speak.

Consider these English words:

moan: a low mournful sound, usually expressive of suffering

Gods Word is our comfort in times of suffering

utter: make (a sound) or say (something)

When God’s Word is boiling over in your heart it tends to reach the lips even when you don’t intend to do this.

muse: be absorbed in thought.

We should be consumed by the Words of Life.

mutter: a barely audible utterance.

But certainly something spoken loudly in your heart.

devise: plan

Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
And oh how wonderful it is if you have submitted your heart to His Words for direction.

speak: say something

And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? (Rom 10:14)

And in the NT the word meditate means: to care for, attend to carefully, practise

practise: perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly in order to improve or maintain proficiency in it.

Do this with fervent prayer for understanding and obeying God’s Word and you will be encouraged, corrected, directed, and certainly Blessed!

DISCLAIMER

Covering your ears?

2006-08-24T01:52:00.000-04:00

Are you refusing to hear the Truth? Do you cover your ears when the Truth is spoken and encourage others to do this also?

Considers Stephen’s final words after reminding some hard hearted fellow Jews with a summary of their heritage:

Acts 7:51-58
"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, "who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

1Tim 4:3-5
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Some have been trained to be hardened from receiving or even simply hearing the Truth. It offends them. You probably have heard the saying "the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay". When God’s Truth comes to your ears does the wax in your ears begin to melt? Or, does the clay from your earthly nature (that you call spiritual) harden in your ears? May God give you ears to hear the Truth and the heart to receive and understand it.

A hard heart will prevent you from hearing the Truth. A proud heart is the same. Many people who believe that they have the Truth may actually have a Lie that appears as Truth. In many cases, I believe that God’s genuine Truth will so offend them that they will continue in the process of becoming hardened the more they hear it. How can we be sure we are not there? How can we be sure we have not been accepting a Lie?

Have you witnessed people who will spiritually scream and yell and spiritually stop their ears when the Truth is spoken to them? Especially those who claim they already have the Truth as certain Jewish leaders did in the time of Stephen. They will scream out loud false accusations or untruths just to keep the painful Truth from entering their hearts and causing them to think that they must give up this Lie they have accepted so strongly for so long. That they must change and yield to the Being of Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Thoughts of giving up and considering that something else is really the Truth, rather than what they have been taught by leaders who have misled them for so long, is a difficult matter because it means killing their pride. They were set in their ways by the teachings they were swayed by that sounded so good to their itching ears. They must ask themselves, "Is my pride more important than my conscience or the souls of those I influence in this way of error?"

I believe that much of this can come from individuals giving up on the Church as it appears so messed up and "feeling" so good about this breeze of a doctrine that blew over them some time ago. Be careful about feelings! This is actually what some are being led by if they are seriously honest with themselves. Hardened from hearing the real Truth (and therefore from being freed) they accept what someone has placed before them without honestly and diligently taking the time to see if they are actually going in the path that God has designed through Jesus Christ Grace and Truth. They have let someone besides the Holy Spirit show them "the way". The following is something we can know for sure. As we speak the Truth, God is working in the hearts of those who hear us. Some will be moved by God to conviction through the work of His Holy Spirit. Some will be "cut to the heart and gnash with their teeth" with great resistance. You will know them by their fruit in this. I truly believe as I write this that God will potentially be speaking to someone (is it you?) reading this at present. You know what God is saying to you. You know what He has been saying to you for a while. I don’t have to give details. He did!

Be careful that these word don’t apply to you in the negative way. For Jesus did say this:
"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." (Luke 8:17-18)

You can continue to let the Devil steal from you what that means by accepting the Lie you have been taught. Or, you can find out for yourself what the Truth is by looking unto Jesus in the Spirit and Truth as He is speaking to your heart in the Light right now. Satan has stolen so much from your soul. When will you consider this and see the Power of Christ to set you FREE! I pray that this is happening in the presence of your conscience right now. Will you let yourself accept the teaching from deceivers or will you be open to the real Truth of Grace in Christ Jesus? Test and see that the Lord is good. Are you refusing to hear the Truth? Do you cover your ears when the Truth is spoken and encourage others to do this also? You must choose.

In Love for you in Christ,

Denny

An exceedingly great and precious promise: "For if you do these things you will never stumble"...

2006-08-17T02:51:00.000-04:00

2 Peter 1:1-11
"Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

This is a wonderful passage from God's Word and I am encouraged by it every time I hear it. God has provided the way through grace for believers to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. He has provided everything we need for life and godliness. First comes the eternal life; then the same divine power provides the means to live godly.

I found this from the Believer's Bible Commentary to be an interesting way to meditate on this passage with famous people in the History of God's Word:

"Add to your faith the virtue or courage of David; and to the courage of David the knowledge of Solomon; and to the knowledge of Solomon the patience of Job; and to the patience of Job the godliness of Daniel; and to the godliness of Daniel the brotherly kindness of Jonathan; and to the brotherly kindness of Jonathan the love of John."

In this passage, "add" means to include or furnish, not to stack one on the other. We must yield to God's Grace so that He will furnish all of these gifts of His Grace as He has promised to provide all of them to us. His Power saved our souls. His Power keeps our souls. We have this Power through "knowing" Him and by it Grace and Peace are multiplied not just added to our lives.

Some who lead others out there would rather you were shortsighted, even to blindness, so that you may forget that you were cleansed from your "old sins". Practicing bringing up other sins that were washed by The Blood of Christ is an offense to the Grace of God in Christ Jesus. Move on! Let those "old sins" that were long confessed and forgotten fester and magnify in the minds of your accusers, NOT in the Blood bought souls of the children of God. You are freed! The influence of the "accuser of the brethren" has no power over you. Take Joy in your Freedom and let Christ now use you for His Glory.

I want to encourage all of us not just to read and study God's Word for our minds only but rather ask for God's Grace and Peace to be multiplied as your eyes are opened to the intimate "knowing" of Him who has called you by His own Glory and Virtue. Don't just visit the secret place of the most high, dwell there. For this is what we were called to; to come and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. For our lives to overflow with Him and be effective for Him we must draw near with a full assurance of faith as we are cleansed by His Blood and freed by His Grace and Mercy. Then we meditate day and night upon the Precious Words of God that He has supplied to us in the Holy Scriptures. "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." (1 Tim 4:15-16)

Amen!

DISCLAIMER