The Street Sign

New Blog

2009-12-03T18:39:00.002-06:00

While I intend to maintain this blog as well, atleast for now, most of my time will be spent on my new blog, http://www.tommy-gault.tumblr.com/ feel free to check it out read, comment, question etc.

Random Thoughts

2009-11-22T23:40:00.002-06:00

It is late and I can't sleep so thought I would sit down and blog for a little bit. It seems so easy to get caught up in everything that is going on around you, and forget to notice the things that are really important. There is a question one of my teachers in elementary school would ask anytime someone was upset about a grade or something like that. She would ask, "One hundred years from now, who is going to remember _____?" Its an interesting thought. One hundred years from now no one will care what kind of vehicle you drove, no one will care what neighborhood you lived in. One hundred years from now you will either be glad of your relationship to Christ, or sorely disappointed in your lack there of. It is easy to make a statement like that, but it is very hard to show it in your daily life. I assume that many of you reading this will agree with the above statement. But I can also see in my own life where my actions display just the opposite. That is something that I must work to change. It is one thing to give Christ your Sundays, and an hour on Wednesday, but we must continually grow in our worship. Romans 12:1 tells us that our reasonable act of worship is to live our lives a living sacrifice to God. I have been studying the bible on my own more this year than I ever did in the past, and the more I study; the more I realize I have to grow. Every day of our lives needs to be a reflection of Christ, whether it is being patient with a trying customer at work, or how you behave alone in your car when someone cuts you off. Every situation is an opportunity to worship God by choosing to praise him, or to show his kindness to your enemies.

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached.

2009-10-28T07:14:00.003-05:00

I have had the privilege of hearing many great sermons, from many preachers, but no sermon compares to the one that Jesus preached. Oh and by the way I'm not talking about the Sermon on the Mount, although it is probably second. The greatest sermon wasn't spoken, although there were some words, but it was a whole life lived to the glory of God. For his first point Jesus was born of a virgin, and lived without sin. For his second point he showed God's mighty power, great love and mercy to the world. For his third point he stood before Pilate, and accepted a fierce beating. For his fourth point he walked to Golgotha, and hung on a cross. For his fifth point he rose from the grave on the third day, and after a little more time with those who had followed him, he ascended into heaven, where he now sits at the right hand of God. Now most modern preachers, use a five point sermon: Intro, point 1, point 2, point 3, conclusion. Jesus however has more points, and the sermon is not finished. For his sixth point he sent the holy spirit as a comforter to those who belong to him. And his conclusion, which has yet to be delivered, but has been promised, will be when he returns, this time it will not be a humble birth in secret, but with the sound of trumpets, and all will know, and every knee in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth, will bow, and he will gather to him those that belong to him.

Five Steps to Spiritual Success: a Study of Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs

2009-10-19T02:37:00.002-05:00

As I laid in bed trying to sleep, I began to pray, and felt compelled to get up and study my bible. So I began to read in Proverbs chapter 1, and several things stuck out to me, and I was really blessed in the reading. It inspired an excitement and closeness to God in me, that I have longed for. It is like those mountaintop experiences from a christian retreat, and I just can't help but try to share some of the insights that spoke to me. I hope it is encouraging for you.
The first thing that stuck out was talking about how you become wise. It lists some charactaristics of people who are wise. In Proverbs 1:5 these two charactaristics: continually learning; and attains wise counsel. If we are going to become wise we must love learning, and be very careful to take advice from people who are wise, we must be discerning of the counsel we accept. All wisdom is not valuable for a christian. We must seek Godly wisdom, so we need to love learning the scriptures, and seek counsel from Godly men and women. I love the way the christian walk is never a singular walk, a key to success as a christian is always other christians. Proverbs 1:7 says, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." If we are going to be wise we must have an accurate view of God, we must recognize that he is mighty, and worthy of awe and reverence. Proverbs 1:10 advises not to consent to temptations, the following verses give the example of people coming and talking about using violent means to make dishonest gain. It also states about these people that they unknowing seek to kill themselves. In the same way that it is important for us to seek wise counsel, we must also avoid evil counsel.
Another nugget that I found is in Chapter 2:4-5 "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." These verses describe wisdom as something that is very valuable and worthy to be sought, because it will bring you to the fear of the Lord. Chapter 2 will continue to say that the Lord gives wisdom, and that he stores sound wisdom for the upright, and is a shield for those who walk uprightly.
So what does it look like when wisdom enters your heart. The following discriptions are given
>will have discretion which means cautious and correct judgement.
>will have understanding
>will love knowledge
>will not go with evil company
>will not speak perverse things
>will not leave the path of righteousness
>will not be sexually immoral
>will not go down the paths of the dead
>will walk in goodness
Now to finally get to the five commands for success Chapter 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
Chapter 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge the Lord.
Chapter 3:7 Do not consider yourself wise, instead fear God and flee from evil
Chapter 3:9 Honor the Lord with all your possessions
Chapter 3:11 Do not despise the chastening of the Lord.
I could talk about each of these, but will instead just challenge you to take them one at a time and apply them to your life. I truly believe that growing in these will enrich your life and reignite your fire for the Lord.

Getting to the Meat of the Issue

2009-09-29T08:02:00.002-05:00

I was reading in Hebrews this morning and came across some verses in chapter 6, that many people including myself have read and heard many times, but as I read them today they challenged me in a brand new way. That is maybe one of the coolest things about the Bible, is you can read the same passage ten thousand times and still gain new insights from it. In Hebrews chapter 6:1-3, The writer of Hebrews continues a thought from the end of Chapter 5. He has just told them that they ought to be mature and teaching, ready for solid food, but instead they still need milk. He urges them and us to move past the elementary principles and lists: > WATER BAPTISM
> LAYING ON OF HANDS >RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD >JUDGEMENT OF THE DEAD. If you look at the issues that separate the different denominations, most of them come from beliefs on these issues. This raises the question to me, What are the weightier matters? What is it that we are to be progressing toward? I believe that the answer is our relationship with Christ. In the same way that Jesus criticized the pharisees for obeying the letter of the law but having their hearts far from him, we can make it all about believing the right things about our favorite pet issue, and totally miss the point of why we do those things in the first place. I am in no way suggesting that it is not important what you believe about those issues. I encourage everyone to study the bible and see God's answer to them and live accordingly, To work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And move on grow closer to God each day, and do not let the fact that someone else interprets the scriptures on these issues differently then you, stop you from showing the love of our God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which we can only show if we are living each day in a relationship with him.

What can I say?

2009-09-14T00:19:00.002-05:00

I think that all of us have been in situations where we were talking with someone who was going through some tough times in their life, maybe it was a failed relationship, the loss of a loved, or a whole host of other things that can get someone down. For me when I find myself in these situations, I always struggle with what I should say. I feel a need to say something that will encourage them, or provide a solution, but how do you comfort someone when there is no clear solution, or how do you know what to say if it is something you have never dealt with. I think 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 provides encouragement to me. It reveals to me the simple fact that in those times, and any other times really, it's not about me, or my experiences, or even my solutions. It is about the one whom I must turn to when I struggle. It is about God, and Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "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 tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort by which we ourselves are comforted by God." You see all that we can really do is point them to Christ, and pray with them, helping them bear their burden to throne of God. It is encouraging to me that this is the answer for all troubles, there are not any troubles to big for this to be the solution.

Does God Hate Satan?

2009-09-09T21:50:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine posed this question to me last week, and I thought it would make for interesting discussion. So there it is please post your thoughts. I will of course post my thoughts as well. So in one word, NO. While it is clear through the scriptures that there are differences between humans and angels. No where does it mention Jesus' death on the cross covering the sins of angels. So in case you are wanting to ask would Satan be able to return to heaven if he repented? I think the answer to that is no, I do not believe that the angels who having seen and been in the presense of God and fell, are able to repent, and be reconciled. However, back to the original question, I believe that there is sufficient evidence to state that God hates the sin, but not the sinner. So while Satan is in opposition to God I would still argue that God, loves Satan, but because he is a just God, there cannot be sin in heaven, so Satan can not reside in heaven, because there is no evidence of a means for reconcillation, for angels in the bible I conclude, that while Satan is permanently banned from heaven, that God does not hate him.

I will add scripture references later. Just wanted to get the thoughts on screen for now.

Please post your thoughts and opinions on this.

Honest Day's Pay for an Honest Day's Labor.

2009-07-28T23:55:00.002-05:00

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the parable in Matthew Chapter 20. The owner of a vineyard goes into the marketplace to hire workers, early in the morning and offers to pay them 1 denarii for the days work. Then three hours later he goes back to the market place and hires more workers, and tells them he will pay them what is fair. At the eleventh hour he goes again and hires more workers, telling them he will pay what is fair. So this last group only worked 1 hour, then go to receive their pay, and gets 1 denarii. Then the second group goes, and gets 1 denarii. The first group watch and assume that they will get more, because they worked all day, but receives 1 denarii. This parable shows an interest side of grace. Our age at the time of salvation is irrelevant, the time and culture that we live in when we are saved is irrelevant the reward is the same for all. Whether you become a Christian 50 years before you die, or 1 week your reward is the same, whether you are persecuted for your belief, because of your culture, or if it is accepted in your culture, the reward is the same. This is an awesome principle, because the reward is great, but you don't have to compete with those around you to attain it first, because it is the same for all who surrender their lives to Christ Jesus.

Genealogy

2009-07-28T23:48:00.002-05:00

I was reading in Matthew chapter 1 earlier this week and going through the genealogy of Christ, which normally I would skip or skim quickly through all he begats. But something that stood out to me is one of the first people mentioned is Rahab. If you remember Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho, her and her family the only ones spared in the city, because she hid the Israelite spies. This points out one of the very coolest aspects of grace in my opinion, which is that no matter what your past mistakes are, at any point that you come to Christ, he not only cleans you up and saves you but he gives you a purpose. Even a pagan prostitute was used by God, and for her faith, she was allowed to be listed as an ancestor of the messiah.

A Lesson from Nature

2009-07-28T23:38:00.004-05:00

One of the many things that constantly amazes me is when I look at something in nature and see how it reflects how our spiritual life should look like, or in some way mirrors our spiritual life.
Have you ever wondered why bugs, are attracted to lights. It is often this attraction that kills them, whether from the heat, or simply being congregated around the light making them easy prey for toads. I was thinking about this and realized it is a perfect metaphor for humans and our savior Jesus Christ. We also must go to the light, and die. We can not follow Christ if we will not take up our crosses daily.

Romans 12:4-5

2009-07-17T11:46:00.002-05:00

For we have many members in our bodies, but not all members have the same function, 5 So we being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

I combined four and five, because I did not want to separate a sentence.
I like the comparison of the Church to a body, because of it's many applications, from the dependance of one Christian on the others, to the importance of unity. Here the meaning is greater if you view the verse in light of the previous verse. This explains why it is necessary that no one be conceited.
I also think that "individually members of one another," is a challenge for us to share life together, we need to do more than have the model church conversation: church goer 1: Hi, How are you?
church goer 2: Great and you?
1: Wonderful, see you next week.
2: Sure see you next week.
There's nothing wrong with the above conversation, except it does not go deep enough. How can you be a member of one another and not know each other?

Romans 12:3

2009-07-17T10:02:00.002-05:00

For I say, by the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
For this verse I will just leave these questions, and hope to be able to see your answers.

What does it mean to not think more highly of yourself than you ought?

Can you take the idea of humility too far, and leave yourself unable to use the measure of faith dealt to you?

I look forward to reading your answers to these questions.

Romans 12:2

2009-07-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

To continue the study of Romans let's take a look at verse 2 : And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
"Be transformed," notice how it does not say transform yourself. The way this verse is written indicates surrendering to the transformation more than doing the transformation. The same is true earlier in that verse where it says not to BE conformed to this world. The verse presents the idea that you will be subservient to either the world, or to God. You must make a choice which power you yield to and allow to control your life. You might argue that you could deny control to either, but unforunately to choose neither is impossible, to deceive yourself into believing that you are fully and soley in control of your life is in fact conforming to this world, using the wisdom of this world.
Secondly I notice the phrase, "that you may prove, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Our lives are to be proof of God's will. We are to be an exhibit of the greatness of God, in all aspects of our lives.

Romans 12:1

2009-07-17T09:34:00.002-05:00

I will for the next several posts, be going through Romans chapter 12 verse by verse, posting thoughts on each verse or asking for discussion of each verse. I feel that this study will be beneficial to me in my walk with God and hope and pray that it will benefit you as well.I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)
One of the first things that sticks out to me in this verse is the phrase, "by the mercies of God." Paul gives the credit for his request to God. He shows gratitude that God has put him in the position to request anything from them. I think that we as a body need the same attitude in our ministries, in our relationships, in our spiritual walk. the kind of attitude that honors God, in gratitude, and recognition, that without his mercy there is not any good in us.
The second thing that stands out to me is that he uses your bodies plural, then living sacrifice singular. I believe that this shows the kind of unity that God desires from his Church, and the need for the church that we all have. All of his people give their bodies to form one single living sacrifice. There can not be a lone ranger Christian. We are all a part of one body, one church, one living sacrifice. We are connected to all Christians past, present, and future, as one sacrifice holy, acceptable to God.

Had it not been the Lord?

2009-05-31T22:20:00.002-05:00

What would it be like if it had not been the Lord on our side? Who would we turn to? Where would you find the strength to continue through life's challenges? I think most of us can look inside our lives and see what we have turned to instead of Christ to fill emotional needs. Maybe it is overindulgence in food, alcohol, drugs, religion. Whoops lost everyone didn't I? Well believe it or not I believe that we can get so caught up in our religion that we do just as the pharisees, and have all the right actions, and all the right words, which equals religion, but miss out on the relationship. Sometimes I think that people use religious legalism to fulfill a need for acceptance in their life. They puff themselves up by pointing out the flaws in others, and in doing so feel accepted, and fulfilled. The goal is for your religious acts to be motivated by relationship with Christ. You can say the prettiest prayer in church, and if the relationship with Christ is not there it is of no worth. You can lead singing in perfect pitch, but if the relationship with Christ is not there, you would be just as well off silent. Sorry for the tangent, but back to my original point. So often when I am frustrated or upset, or bored, or in some way unsatisfied, I find that I turn to worldly things for comfort instead of the one who paid my debt upon the cross.

House Church Growth

2009-05-24T12:58:00.002-05:00

One of the challenges to the operation of home churches, is the need to remain small, due to the smaller meeting area, and as necessary to facilitate the partipatory, interactive meeting style. This makes it necessary for the groups to be willing to split off as God leads in order for growth not to be stifled. In our meetings we have now undergone two splits and are now three groups of believers, praise God for this growth. It is different to refer to splits in the group as a good thing, from most of our backgrounds the idea of a church split was a terrifying prospect. However for us it is good because we understand the church to be much more than the building we meet in. I did however wonder if any of you would be interested in participating in a blog dedicated to sharing news from one house church to the other. With internet technology as it is it would be very simple to create a blog with authors from each house church group to share how God is moving in each group. Please respond with any feedback.

Turning off Auto pilot

2009-05-24T12:33:00.002-05:00

It seems to me, that it is very easy for us as humans, to get into a routine, and be comfortable. We don't really like for anything to upset our schedule. We stay focused on getting all the things done that need done, and making our finances work out until next payday. In the midst of all this, and the million other things that keep us running ninety miles an hour to who knows where, we forget to live. All we do is what it takes to get through the day, we never stop to enjoy the day, or be grateful for the chance to live it. We don't take the time to focus on what our goals are, and what it takes to achieve them. I think that it is very important to schedule some time in our lives to just sit and think. Turn the t.v. off, sit in a comfortable place, and be silent for a while, then maybe pray a little bit. Ask God to show you what direction he would have you to go. Then go and live your life, truly live it, don't just survive it but engage, learn from every experience, enjoy the journey.

Another side of Grace

2009-05-07T22:38:00.003-05:00

After two days of working long hours, and as not one thing I attempted to do today worked out right, I came to a point at about eleven, where I just wanted to give up, pack up my stuff and go to the house. Unfortunately my day was not even halfway through and the afternoon presented even more set backs and frustrations, and as I worked on a job that should have been much easier, and much less time consuming, still very much wanting to give up, I found myself begging God for just a little more grace. Now before you throw the "Was Jesus not enough?" stone at me, let me clarify. Jesus is definitely enough, and way more than I deserve, but what I was seeking was for me to show more grace to the circumstances around me. It is easy to accept grace coming to us, but much harder to look at the set backs and frustrations in life, and let it be okay that life some times throws wrenches, in even the best laid plans. My plans by the way are not the best laid, however, I really like for them to work. While still exhausted I found that very soon after realizing that it is unfair for me who is far from perfect, to expect perfection from my surroundings, I was no longer angry and frustrated about the way things were going. Not pleased with, but accepted them.

Enemy at the Gates

2009-05-04T05:35:00.003-05:00

In a land far away, and a time long ago. A watchman sits in the watchtower of the town wall. As he stares at the horizon he sees a large shadow approaching. It draws closer and grows larger, and from the shadow the shape of men and horses emerge. Men dressed for battle with shields and swords, thousands as far as the eye can see. He sounds the trumpet, and shouts aloud "enemy at the gates." The town is aroused the women and children flee to the center of the town, as the men put on their armor. Amidst the confusion one man is found turning his dwelling inside out seeking his armor, having been so long since he used it, he can not find it. He hears the sound of arrows clattering against the walls and the stone walkways outside. The sound of battle grows, with a loud crash the ram hits the gates, and again BANG BANG CRASH, and in run enemy soldiers they have entered the city, the battle begins. with naught, but a sword he rushes to the battle, and is quickly cut down. The battle ends and the town endured, and as they collect the dead for burial, they find one soldier without any armor, and instead of being remembered as a hero who fell for his city, he remains the soldier who was unprepared for the battle. A disgrace. My friends as a Man who grew up in church. I heard Ephesians 6:10-18 many times yet still I walked to the spiritual battlefield without any armor, and not even a sword. I fear that this is true for many christians today. It is common to go to our church meetings and sit bored, and wish it was over, then return to living our life not so very different from the world around us. This is not the life God has called us to. God said, "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all these hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on Salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Christians arise the enemy is at the gates. The devil is not a fairy tale told to scare children, he is real and he is a mighty opponent, a lion seeking whom he may devour. There is a battle to fight, and we have a God who provides all we need to stand, but we must stand, we must be alert to the reality of the battle. You can choose not to fight, but you choose to lose if you do. Satan does not need a reason to attack, he is opposed to all who would turn to God, we can not afford to avoid the battle, or to walk unaware and unarmed. Every boy who grew up in the church loved the song "The Lord's Army" but somewhere along the way as we grow up we decide that the battle and adventure is a fairy tale, and seek that which is comfortable. It is time now to see the reality of the bible and truly be in the Lord's army. There is no sideline to sit and watch from, you are either for God or against God. I will close with Joshua 24:14-16 So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

Acceptance

2009-05-03T22:32:00.002-05:00

The principle of acceptance is central to the way we live and who we are as individuals. The things a person is able and willing to accept in and about themselves define the way they live and act. But it is deeper even than that the way we perceive other's acceptance or rejection of us, also deeply impacts the way we view and interact with the world around us. I have noticed that often the very things we do to try to gain acceptance of those around us are the very things that drive people away. We as humans in general want to be accepted, and want people to like us, unfortunately what it costs to be accepted by the world, is God's acceptance. As stated in James 4:4 "Don't you realize that friendship with the world, makes you an enemy of God?" Too often it is the case that we trade the priceless gift of God, for something that will perish and pass away. Search the world from ocean to ocean, from mountain to mountain, and tell me this. What will you find that is worth trading the gift of a relationship with the one true God? Who will you find that can meet the needs of your soul the way God can? Who will you find that can challenge God's strength, his wisdom, his love or his mercy? By what other name, can you find salvation? If you search for a thousand years you will not find anything or anyone to fit even one of the above criterion much less all.

Help me with my Unbelief.

2009-04-22T20:42:00.003-05:00

I took a little time to read through some of the psalms, and for the first time in my life took the time to see them for more than just awesome praise of God, and songs. I saw in them an example of how we ought to pray, and live. When you read the psalms that were written by David, you can't help but feel the intimacy between him and God. He possessed a passion for God that shines through the words like a bright light. In several of the psalms I noticed that after praising God for who God is, he would present a request, and then at the end thank God for answering that request. He didn't wait to see if God would answer his prayer. He had the faith to know that God would, so before he would have had the chance to see the answer he already began to praise God for his work in that area. This is a real life example of praying the way James tells us to.
What would it mean for your life if you had that attitude? How would it change the way you see God, and the world around you? We live in a time where everywhere you turn people are stressed out and worried. Even among believers we see this attitude of being beaten up with fear and worry. But we don't have to live in the constant anxiety of our culture. We have a God who is bigger than anything we might face, and he wants us to trust him. Just like the Father who took his son, who had a demon, to Jesus and said, "help me with my unbelief." We need to pray that same prayer. Each and every one of us has atleast some portion of our lives that we have not yet surrendered to God. We each continue to bear burdens that Christ has already handled. You may ask, "But the event hasn't happened yet, how can Christ have already handled it?" I firmly believe that our God is not bound by time or any other concept of man, and He already knows the last page of each of our biographies, and has already made the arrangements for Romans 8:28 to be true in each and every situation we face. So hold tight to the faith that is within you, even when things are hard take joy in the fact that you have read the last page of the book of life, and seen that good does in fact triumph over evil.

Though He Slay Me

2009-02-17T05:49:00.002-06:00

For the past couple days, I have been experiencing a great deal of pain, from what I believe to be a kidney stone, and as the pain escalates to barely tolerable I find myself crying out to God for relief from the pain, and so far just as I reach my breaking point I have received relief for awhile. This morning as the pain surged again, and in the midst of frustration at it's return I realized that I need to praise God even while I am hurting. When times are tough I need to sing praise in my heart to the God who created everything. As I was praising God in the midst of the pain, I was reminded of Job, who experiencing much more and loss, said "though he slay me I still will trust him." What would your life look like if when times are tough you took that attitude? The previous is intended for personal reflection, but feel free to encourage me and anyone who reads this blog with your answer.

2009-01-13T18:05:00.003-06:00

1 Peter 1:16 Holiness: What Does It Mean to Be Holy

2009-01-12T15:39:00.003-06:00

As promised I am now posting my thoughts on the above verse. I would like to start by looking at the definition of holy in this context. According to Strongs the it is from the Greek word hagios meaning sacred; pure; blameless; consecrated. So to be holy means you are set apart. How are we set apart? I believe that we can find the answer in the verses leading up to verse 16 in 1 Peter 1:13-15. These verses tell us to be sober minded; to hope in Christ Jesus and his grace; to be obediant to God like children; to no longer conform to the lusts of the flesh. I would also like to refer to Ephesians chapter 1:4 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. I believe that part of what sets us apart when we are living holy as challenged to be in these verses is love. I think that if you made a recipe for holiness it would contain, hope in Christ Jesus, Obedience to God, Love for God and others, self-control. I believe that it is possible to live a holy life, only because of the grace of God. I also believe it requires a constant commitment to take up your cross daily, putting to death your fleshly desires, and walking according to every word that flows from the mouth of God.

1 Peter 1:16

2009-01-10T23:55:00.002-06:00

Because it is written, "Be holy for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 NKJV. What does it mean to be holy? What does it look like? Is it possible to achieve this? I would like to have everyone who reads this post their answers to the above questions. I will post some thoughts as well, but do not want the comments to all be "I agree" or "I disagree because_____." So I will post my thoughts in a few days.

Possible Ministry Opportunity

2009-01-10T20:44:00.002-06:00

Tonight I was asked if I had ever considered going into the Faulkner County Detention Center to preach to inmates. I will be thinking and praying about this opportunity, and hope that you will pray for God's guidance for me in this decision. Thanks in advance. Feel free to post any advice or insight.

New Title and layout.

2009-01-10T20:37:00.002-06:00

I have decided to change the name of my blog, to better reflect my reason for doing the blog. My blog is not about me, but Christ, and I simply write posts that will hopefully encourage and build up others in their walk with Christ, and teach others to look to Christ. Also please comment with any suggestions as far as background, or font color changes that you feel will make the blog visually appealing or let me know that you like the layout as is. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated.

Biblical Forgiveness!

2009-01-02T15:12:00.002-06:00

This has been an interesting week for me, and I having failed yet again in an area I have been struggling with for quite sometime, went to God in prayer seeking forgiveness, and as I was praying the thought hit me, that I had failed in this area many times, and many times sought forgiveness, how can I expect God to forgive me yet again? This brought me to a place where I was considering giving up spiritually. That night I had a dream that I was reading a scripture, the scripture was Matthew 3: 50, which if you look in your bible you will find that this scripture does not exist. I woke up with a sense of peace and excitement, and ran to get my bible and read the scripture, thinking the dream was surely of God. Much to my surprise I opened my bible to Matthew chapter 3 and found that there were only 16 verses. I spent a couple days pondering what the dream could mean, because I felt sure it was from God. I was talking to a friend about the dream, and he asked me if I had asked God to reveal to me the meaning of the dream. So we prayed together about the dream and asked God if it was from him, and if he would reveal the meaning to us. My friend looked at me and said that the dream was of God, and that I had a misunderstanding of scriptural forgiveness. So for the next hour or two I spent praying that God would reveal to me what the misunderstanding was. God revealed to me that when you receive forgiveness of sin, He forgets. I asked, "Lord is that you?" He said yes. He continued to reveal to me that if I want to stop failing in that area I have to recognize the fact that he has wiped the slate clean, and stop walking in guilt, but instead glorify him for his mercy, and rejoice in his freedom.

Hungering for Christ lesson II

2008-12-20T20:26:00.001-06:00

If I want to hunger for Christ, I must empty myself of all selfishness, all pride, all self pity, and any thing else that comes between myself and Christ.

God scattered the believers.

2008-12-20T20:00:00.005-06:00

On the way home from house church tonight I was thinking about, the way we all love each other and enjoy the time of fellowship. I was also thinking about the fact that logistics of a participatory meeting require the group to remain fairly small ideally <20. It would be ideal for each family to be prepared to lead a church in their home. In order to attain that we have to be spending time now preparing our own family, hearts, and homes for this. God used the persecution of the early believers in Jerusalem to scatter them, causing the message of Christ to reach distant parts of the world.

Praising God

2008-12-09T23:14:00.002-06:00

Have you ever had a day, where nothing seems to go right, everything you touch seems to break, nothing you attempt to do turns out right. On days like these it is difficult to praise God and be thankful to him, but we are called to rejoice in the Lord always. I had the pleasure of eating supper with a fellow believer, that I knew was having a hard day, but was impressed as he prayed for our meal, and thanked God for not just the meal, but for the day. It hit me like a box of rocks that I needed to take the same attitude, when I have bad days. I need to be thankful that God has granted me life, and forgiveness even when things are bad, and not wish for that day to be over, so I can get on to the next one, but to truly be grateful to be alive to experience it.

Are you under Christ or under Old Testament Law

2008-12-05T21:02:00.002-06:00

It is interesting how many christians choose to follow parts of the old covenant, even after Christ fulfilled it and replaced it with a new perfect covenant. Galatians says if the law could save you, Christ would be of no value. It also states that if you retreat to part of the law, you must keep the whole law. So why do we seek to go back to the law that brings condemnation, rather than continuing in the grace of Jesus. We once again have a choice to make, Do I want to follow the new covenant of grace and mercy bought and paid for by Jesus with his own blood, or would I rather follow the old covenant of legalism and condemnation. The Old Testament was meant as shadow of what was to come, and has now been fulfilled, and we now live under the New Testament, and cannot return to the Old Testament in whole or as is more common in part for personal gain, and still hope for grace. It is most common to use the Old Testament when it comes time to preach on giving, to continue to bind people to the tithe, which is not found in the new covenant. Beware when you choose to go back under the law in one thing you must keep it all, so if you demand the tithe you need to also demand the sacrifices of goats, lambs and doves. You should also only accept the tithe in grocery form, rather than money, because that is how the Jewish people tithed before the coming of Jesus.

Will a Man Rob God?

2008-12-04T22:51:00.002-06:00

If you have attended a church for very long, I am sure you read the title and thought, "please not a post about giving." The good news is it is not a post about giving your money, the bad news is it is about so much more than your pocketbook. In Galations chapter 5, Paul makes the comparison between followers of Christ, and followers of the the world, being the same difference as Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac received great blessing, and through him many many generations have been blessed. Ishmael received no blessing, and persecuted Isaac, and his descendants continue to persecute Christians (the descendants of Isaac, by birth or adoption.) The exciting thing about this is we have the choice to be the descendants of Isaac or Ishmael, one is blessed, one is cursed. Our Lord and Savior Jesus, bought that choice for us on the cross. In Galatians chapter 5 Paul writes, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free." Christ bought our freedom from both the Mosaic Law, and bondage to sin. I submit that when we choose to follow the world we cheapen the gift that God gave to us freely, and in so doing rob him of the glory he deserves from us.

Denominations

2008-11-13T22:21:00.003-06:00

I mentioned earlier that I had the pleasure of reading Heavenly Man. I was talking to a couple Christian brothers about the book, and while we were talking about the book, I came to a realization that I shared with them. In the book it talks about trying to unite all the house church networks in China, and the problems they were having. They called a meeting of all the leaders. One of the leaders attending received a word from God telling him to wash the feet of the others there before, any talks or prayers started. The brother did not, the talks began, and the meeting began to fall apart in disagreement and aggression. The brother immediately sent for a towel and water and began to wash the feet of the men at the meeting. Seeing this other leaders began to help wash the feet of those in attendance. As they served each other the animosity was melted, and over the next several months they were able to unite. I was thinking about this, and thought, what would happen if the members of all the denominations of Christianity in the U.S stopped trying to one up each other, but instead looked for ways to admonish and encourage one another, perhaps this would lead to the love and unity in the body that God expects from his followers.

Writing God's Word on our Hearts

2008-11-12T15:28:00.002-06:00

I have had the priviledge of reading a book called Heavenly Man, it is a biography of a Chinese preacher and the hardships he has endured for the cause of Christ. At 15 years old, he fasted and cried out to God begging for a bible, when he finally received the bible he began to memorize it a chapter a day, in less than a month he had memorized the entire book of Matthew.
Reading the book, caused me to ask myself how my life would be different if I had memorized an entire book of the bible, particularly a gospel. Just think how much easier he would be to share Jesus, if you even just had the sermon on the mount memorized. With all of that being said, I don't think it is necessarily beneficial to memorize scripture out of obligation, or out of a desire to please men, but I would love to feel that kind of hunger for God's word. I would point out that memorization of scripture can be a good thing, but if you make it an obligation to memorize one passage or book, and poor all your energy into that one passage, you may ignore promptings from God to look at other areas of scripture. In conclusion I think it is important to spend time meditating on the scriptures, and memorizing them, but to have balance, so that we are still free to vary from one passage to another.

Politics again

2008-11-05T00:24:00.004-06:00

Well Obama will be our 44th President. So even though disappointed in the result; I would encourage every Christian in America to pray for Barack, that God will use his presidency according to his will. The scriptures tell us to respect those in authority (see Romans 13). It also says that God places them in the position, so even though I am in a worldly sense fearful for our country, I know that in the end God is in control and we as Christians win eternally after this temporal life is over.
Quick question. Is it okay to move to another country if you don't like the president in your own? I won't go that far but have heard alot of people say that they are moving to Canada. I am not panicing about the outcome and have serious doubts whether things will really change all that much. Also see 1 Tim. 2

Sorry, but this is more political, than any thing else.

2008-11-04T16:38:00.002-06:00

People say they want change, but we are wasting our time looking for a president to bring it about. If we really want change for the better then all of the people who profess belief in the God of the bible, need to stand up and stop being the silent majority, it is time to be the vocal majority. I see so many people voting for people, because they promise change, but history shows that presidents almost always fail to make good on their promises. It is time to stand up for the change we want and see it happen from the grassroots stand, the government is supposed to be based on representing the people.

Remembering an illustration.

2008-10-26T20:18:00.002-05:00

Several years ago a friend of my Dad's showed me a joke/illustration that had a great message. The story starts with two men walking up to the pearly gates, and Peter asks them for their tickets to enter. They walk away and one decides to make a ticket out of a piece of paper in his pocket. He begins to fold the piece of paper, and the other sees what he is doing and asks for a piece of paper that he might make a ticket as well. So the guy tears him off a piece of the paper. Realizing that he has damaged the paper he was going to make the ticket out of he unfolds it, and what's left looks like a cross, and Peter tells him that he may enter. The second guy takes his piece and begins to write down all the good deeds he had done. When he finished he went back to Peter, but Peter told him, those are some fine things, but you can't earn it with works, only by Jesus, and sent him away. The joke is kind of silly, and works much better in person and includes the visual of folding and tearing the piece of paper. The point is that Jesus is the way to heaven. I did the folding and tearing and realized that when you tear the piece for the second Guy it is four squares given to him, and if those four were folded and torn you would then have 5 crosses, and 16 more potential crosses, and I realized that this would continue infinitely with increasingly small crosses. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that Jesus is our ticket, if we were to share him with four people, who in turn shared him with four people they knew, who in turn shared him with four people, the gospel would spread extremely quickly, and the greatest part is that the real ticket does not shrink or decrease. Jesus is limitless. You are probably thinking that I am nuts for making a big deal out of some random joke told years ago. But to me I find it encouraging that if you looked at it in that way one person stepping out and sharing the word of God, can change a multitude of lives, but the reverse is also true one person who takes the good news of Jesus and does not share it is robbing hundreds, or thousands of people from that good news.

Who do you chase?

2008-10-26T11:21:00.003-05:00

Have you ever watched a dog chase his own tail? It can be a hilarious site to behold, but if you think about it, we as humans often do the same thing. No, I don't have a tail, but when I chase the things I desire instead of chasing God's glory, and righteousness, it is the same thing, just as ridiculous, and self defeating. The scriptures tell us that if we seek to save our lives, we will lose our life, but he that gives up his life will save it. As I reflect on my life, I see that I have wasted a lot of time running full speed after things that in the end do not matter, or worse yet things that drew me farther away from God. If it were not for God's mercy and grace neither myself or anyone else would have any hope, but we serve a God, who sent his son for us, while we were still sinners. An example of God's mercy is taught by Jesus through the parable of The Prodigal Son. I am not going to recount the entire parable, (you can read the full account in Luke 15:11-32) I would like to point out that the father in the parable is God, and we all have been the prodigal son, and possibly felt like the bitter son at times. Jesus said "his father saw him and had compassion, and ran to him." God is waiting and watching for us to turn and chase after him, and will when we turn to him run to us, and be right there with us through out the journey.

Fasting: is it for today?

2008-10-17T01:40:00.000-05:00

The idea of fasting is one that has become fairly uncommon in many of the denominational churches I have attended. No one would step out and say it was no longer necessary, but no one talked about it at all. I have come to the conclusion that it is expected that we fast from time to time. I will give scripture below. I think that fasting may be particular important in our culture here in the US, because we in general have had things so well. It is good to feel the deeper hunger of going a couple days or more without food. To show us the kind of longing and yearning we are supposed to have toward Christ. I think that the act of fasting when done properly can bring you to a place spiritually where you can see things in a different light. If done properly it will likely draw you closer to God. One important aspect is the motivation for your fast, your fast is to be between you and God, it cannot be to please men. Matthew 6:16-18 Moreover when you fast do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly I say to you they have their reward. But you, when you fast annoint your head, and wash your face. So that you do not appear to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said to them, "can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
I Corinthians 7:5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self control.
The first verse you will notice says when you fast, it does not say if, it is assumed that you will fast.
The second verse says they will fast, this is future tense, and since there is no clause limiting it to the first century, I conclude that it carries forward to the present.
The third verse, is actually flat out telling husbands and wives to fast. In context Paul is writing about the relationship between husband and wife, and specifically tells them to fast; hmm, perhaps fasting is an important part of modern christianity.

wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey

2008-10-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

It is time for Christians to wake up. As a whole we have become complacent. We have stopped being the church, we simply go to church. I personally believe that the words we use to describe things deeply impact the way we view and behave toward things now and in the future. By using the term "going to church" we imply that we are not the church. This is contrary to the bible where it describes us as living stones, and our bodies as God's temple. We are to be Christ's body everyday of our lives, this is what it means to be the church. We should be reaching out to those around us. We should be proclaiming God's good news to all the people we come in contact with. We should be on fire for God, shouting with joy from the rooftops his good news, so that people who are lost might hear and believe. Christians, here in the U.S, where we do not risk being killed for speaking of Jesus, do not proclaim Christ, while the first century Christians proclaimed him even though they risked death, imprisonment, and torture. It is time to preach on the street corners in America, it is time to reach out to our communities. It is not happening nearly enough, and I believe that this goes back to the idea of "going to church" rather than being the church. By using the term "going to church" it makes it easy to compartmentalize our Christianity to Sunday and Wednesday, and delegate our individual responsibilities to the ministry staff. We need to drop to our knees in prayer daily, and then leave our houses and boldly proclaim Christ. We need to wake up and actively seek the lost, and be excited about our Jesus who died for us.

Hungering for Christ.

2008-10-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

In the United States even the poorest of people would be considered rich in many other countries. Most of us do not really understand hunger. We mostly have plenty to eat, all the time. So what does it mean to hunger and thirst for God and righteousness?
I think that it is important for us to find it in and of ourselves to be desparate for God's presence. We need to be yearning deep within the very core of our being to see his will carried out. This is difficult, it does not come natural or easy, but it is important all the same. To achieve this we must present ourselves broken and empty before God, and allow him to fill us. You cannot achieve this while still seeking to please yourself or other men. Our God is a jealous God a consuming fire. He deserves the preeminence in our life and will accept nothing less. To deny him this position in our lives is to rob him of that which he bought at great price, at the price of his son bleeding upon the cross. If we allow ourselves to be emptied of our flesh. Christ will fill us and show us what it means to hunger and thirst for him.