A friend of mine preached a great message last Tuesday on the topic of being a peculiar people. He presents the message better than I ever could! He calls it "Play-Dough Christianity". Why didn't I ever think of that...
CLICK HERE to listen! (The sound quality isn't the best. It sounds like Steam Boat Willie, but I'm sure you can bear it.)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Necessity of Discipleship
Jude 2-3
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
There is definitely a great truth to be found in this passage of Scripture. Jude is writing a letter to churches full of people in which He led to the Lord. He had given all diligence to win them to Christ, but now he has a new mission for these newly saved converts. He has the responsibility of disciplining them in the Word. God wants him to take these little babies, and nurture them to grow in their knowledge of the things of God, so that they can be as fruitful as possible for His good work. This, no doubt, is a tremendous responsibility, and it is one that we have today.
Looking back on the short time that I've had a relationship with Christ, I can think of a bounty of people who came to my acquaintance that were babes in the faith. Where are they now? Sure, a few of them are still in regular fellowship, but what happened to the rest? I realize that a person can be deceived into thinking that they are truly saved, and yet haven't been a true convert. But, I'd hope that at least some of them hadn't just said "the prayer". Sadly, they came and went.
What would they be like today if there was a strong Christian, who had a knowledge of the Word of God, that took the time to disciple them. I come from a church that has one of the greatest discipleship programs in the country, and we still can't account for some people. We have home Bible studies, one-on-one discipleship programs, a superb Bible institute, and even a school for pastors to teach them how to have a more discipleship-minded church! My church has been blessed so greatly in this area, and yet there are still individuals who are there one day, and gone the next.
You see, having all of those wonderful things are great, and need to be done, but true discipleship starts at on a one-to-one basis. You, as a mature Christian, taking a newly born baby under your wing, and showing them the things of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able."
In this passage, Paul is speaking to carnal Christians, those you haven't grown up. He tells them that they are living as babes in Christ, drinking spiritual milk, when they could be mature, adult Christians able to sustain themselves with meat. There is a great truth in this passage for disciplers: You always start a new convert with milk. They are unable to digest the spiritual "meat" that is thrown at them many times. Begin with the basics, the inerrancy of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and Christ's premillennial second coming. Those are basic principals that every Christian needs to stand on. You also need to stress daily Bible reading, prayer, good Christian fellowship, evangelism, water baptism, tithing, faith, and spiritual warfare. (Ray Comfort has written a great discipleship book that I use with new converts called "Save Yourself Some Pain" you can buy some HERE or get the online version for free by clicking HERE.)
Once they have grown in "milk" they are able to move onto the "meat". You can now start to explain deeper things. You'll watch as they come to you with questions from their Bible reading. Slowly, they'll learn to sustain themselves. The individual is now a fully devoted, mature follower of Jesus Christ!
It is an amazing process to watch in action. Be like Jude, and reach out to those who are new in the faith. God will use you as an amazing tool in their lives.
(Just a thought: We are going to be studying exactly what Jude taught these new converts. As you read the posts over the next few weeks, be thinking of how you can communicate these truths to the baby that you are holding in your hands.)
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
There is definitely a great truth to be found in this passage of Scripture. Jude is writing a letter to churches full of people in which He led to the Lord. He had given all diligence to win them to Christ, but now he has a new mission for these newly saved converts. He has the responsibility of disciplining them in the Word. God wants him to take these little babies, and nurture them to grow in their knowledge of the things of God, so that they can be as fruitful as possible for His good work. This, no doubt, is a tremendous responsibility, and it is one that we have today.
Looking back on the short time that I've had a relationship with Christ, I can think of a bounty of people who came to my acquaintance that were babes in the faith. Where are they now? Sure, a few of them are still in regular fellowship, but what happened to the rest? I realize that a person can be deceived into thinking that they are truly saved, and yet haven't been a true convert. But, I'd hope that at least some of them hadn't just said "the prayer". Sadly, they came and went.
What would they be like today if there was a strong Christian, who had a knowledge of the Word of God, that took the time to disciple them. I come from a church that has one of the greatest discipleship programs in the country, and we still can't account for some people. We have home Bible studies, one-on-one discipleship programs, a superb Bible institute, and even a school for pastors to teach them how to have a more discipleship-minded church! My church has been blessed so greatly in this area, and yet there are still individuals who are there one day, and gone the next.
You see, having all of those wonderful things are great, and need to be done, but true discipleship starts at on a one-to-one basis. You, as a mature Christian, taking a newly born baby under your wing, and showing them the things of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able."
In this passage, Paul is speaking to carnal Christians, those you haven't grown up. He tells them that they are living as babes in Christ, drinking spiritual milk, when they could be mature, adult Christians able to sustain themselves with meat. There is a great truth in this passage for disciplers: You always start a new convert with milk. They are unable to digest the spiritual "meat" that is thrown at them many times. Begin with the basics, the inerrancy of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and Christ's premillennial second coming. Those are basic principals that every Christian needs to stand on. You also need to stress daily Bible reading, prayer, good Christian fellowship, evangelism, water baptism, tithing, faith, and spiritual warfare. (Ray Comfort has written a great discipleship book that I use with new converts called "Save Yourself Some Pain" you can buy some HERE or get the online version for free by clicking HERE.)
Once they have grown in "milk" they are able to move onto the "meat". You can now start to explain deeper things. You'll watch as they come to you with questions from their Bible reading. Slowly, they'll learn to sustain themselves. The individual is now a fully devoted, mature follower of Jesus Christ!
It is an amazing process to watch in action. Be like Jude, and reach out to those who are new in the faith. God will use you as an amazing tool in their lives.
(Just a thought: We are going to be studying exactly what Jude taught these new converts. As you read the posts over the next few weeks, be thinking of how you can communicate these truths to the baby that you are holding in your hands.)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
A Servant of Jesus Christ
Jude 1
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, [and] called:"
Jude introduces himself with a title that every Christian should possess. It is a title that requires much humility, and should be desired by every child of God. He calls himself a servant. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus! He could have said, "Jude the brother of JESUS! You know the one who is the Son of God? Yup, that's me!" But out of humility he called himself a lowly servant, and instead identified himself as the brother of James.
If you've ever done a study of the Epistles you will notice that servant is a very common title among the holy men of God that were used to pen the Bible. Paul used the title to describe himself in the books of Romans, Philippians, and Titus. James used it when referring to himself, as well as Peter in his second epistle. They were servants to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, servanthood is one of the vital steps to becoming on fire for God. When you realize who He is, the Creator of the universe, the one who has power over death, the only possible response is humility. God deserves your worship.
Joseph showed an extreme amount of humility. He worked as a servant to Potiphar when he was in Egypt. He wasn’t even supposed to be there! The man went from being in a well-to-do family, to now having to work as an overseer in the house of an Egyptian, for absolutely no pay! That’s crazy! He truly was an example of a Colossians 3:23 man, who did all things heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. As a result of his obedience to God, he became a leader of the Egyptians, and ended up saving the lives of his family. Humility pays off. If not here on earth, there will be a crown of glory when you pass them pearly gates!
Philippians 2:5-11
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Jesus was the most humble man ever to walk on the face of this earth. He allowed for people to mock and ridicule Him to His face, without ever saying a word. When He could have sent fire from heaven and completely demolished them, He remained humble, and allowed them to continue the beatings. A mind-boggling thought is this: That God, being in His glory, abiding in Heaven, King of the universe, loved us so much that He came down to earth with the purpose of dying on a cross to save sinners like you and I. If that doesn't make you want to serve Him, I don't know what will. (Another great passage explaining how Jesus was a servant to the Father is Isaiah 42. Read it when you get a moment!)
The last few verses of the Philippians 2 passage show the result of Jesus' humility. Because he made Himself low, God has given Him a name that is higher than any other. (There is a great post by Dan Phillips on the subject of the name of Jesus at the Pyromaniacs Blog. CLICK HERE to read.) God looks very highly on servants. Men and women who (as Noah Webster said in his old 1828) "voluntarily serve another". We are called not only to serve our fellow man, but to serve the One who has freely given us everlasting life.
As a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ you do all things completely according to His perfect will. Whatever He asks of you, you do without question. When people say that is "too hard" to read the Bible, or "too hard" to evangelize, or "too hard" to go to church on Sunday, they are not practicing true servanthood. We should never be found living in the filth that we once lived in. We, prior to our conversion, were controlled by Satan. Romans 6:22 says, "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Praise God that when we accepted Christ's free gift, we were adopted into His family and now have those chains of bondage broken off. My favorite hymn is "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. I love the fourth verse, "Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; (This is the good part!) My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee." Our spirit was being pulled to Hell by our sin. We were prisoners to our own lustful flesh. But, GLORY, Jesus came down into our cell, His glory shining upon us, and broke those chains for all of eternity. Never again will sin rule our lives. We are to live as new, clean vessels for the Saviour.
Our chains have fallen off, and our hearts are free. We need to be humble servants to our King.
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, [and] called:"
Jude introduces himself with a title that every Christian should possess. It is a title that requires much humility, and should be desired by every child of God. He calls himself a servant. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus! He could have said, "Jude the brother of JESUS! You know the one who is the Son of God? Yup, that's me!" But out of humility he called himself a lowly servant, and instead identified himself as the brother of James.
If you've ever done a study of the Epistles you will notice that servant is a very common title among the holy men of God that were used to pen the Bible. Paul used the title to describe himself in the books of Romans, Philippians, and Titus. James used it when referring to himself, as well as Peter in his second epistle. They were servants to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, servanthood is one of the vital steps to becoming on fire for God. When you realize who He is, the Creator of the universe, the one who has power over death, the only possible response is humility. God deserves your worship.
Joseph showed an extreme amount of humility. He worked as a servant to Potiphar when he was in Egypt. He wasn’t even supposed to be there! The man went from being in a well-to-do family, to now having to work as an overseer in the house of an Egyptian, for absolutely no pay! That’s crazy! He truly was an example of a Colossians 3:23 man, who did all things heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. As a result of his obedience to God, he became a leader of the Egyptians, and ended up saving the lives of his family. Humility pays off. If not here on earth, there will be a crown of glory when you pass them pearly gates!
Philippians 2:5-11
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Jesus was the most humble man ever to walk on the face of this earth. He allowed for people to mock and ridicule Him to His face, without ever saying a word. When He could have sent fire from heaven and completely demolished them, He remained humble, and allowed them to continue the beatings. A mind-boggling thought is this: That God, being in His glory, abiding in Heaven, King of the universe, loved us so much that He came down to earth with the purpose of dying on a cross to save sinners like you and I. If that doesn't make you want to serve Him, I don't know what will. (Another great passage explaining how Jesus was a servant to the Father is Isaiah 42. Read it when you get a moment!)
The last few verses of the Philippians 2 passage show the result of Jesus' humility. Because he made Himself low, God has given Him a name that is higher than any other. (There is a great post by Dan Phillips on the subject of the name of Jesus at the Pyromaniacs Blog. CLICK HERE to read.) God looks very highly on servants. Men and women who (as Noah Webster said in his old 1828) "voluntarily serve another". We are called not only to serve our fellow man, but to serve the One who has freely given us everlasting life.
As a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ you do all things completely according to His perfect will. Whatever He asks of you, you do without question. When people say that is "too hard" to read the Bible, or "too hard" to evangelize, or "too hard" to go to church on Sunday, they are not practicing true servanthood. We should never be found living in the filth that we once lived in. We, prior to our conversion, were controlled by Satan. Romans 6:22 says, "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Praise God that when we accepted Christ's free gift, we were adopted into His family and now have those chains of bondage broken off. My favorite hymn is "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. I love the fourth verse, "Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; (This is the good part!) My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee." Our spirit was being pulled to Hell by our sin. We were prisoners to our own lustful flesh. But, GLORY, Jesus came down into our cell, His glory shining upon us, and broke those chains for all of eternity. Never again will sin rule our lives. We are to live as new, clean vessels for the Saviour.
Our chains have fallen off, and our hearts are free. We need to be humble servants to our King.
Monday, March 19, 2007
An Introduction to the Book of Jude
After only a week of blogging, I've decided to start a series on the sixty-fifth book of the Bible, Jude. I did a short study of the book shortly after I accepted Christ, and was tremendously blessed by it. The doctrine that is taught in this single-chaptered book is essential for the Christian. Jude, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes of the Christian battle, something that I think most believers fail to realize that they are even a part of. The "Average Joe" Christian thinks (directly because of a lack of Biblical knowledge) that the battle against God and Satan is something that we have no part in, and that we have absolutely no control over what goes on. Satan has deceived us into thinking that the fighting is done only by God and the angels.
There is a story in the Old Testament that is a true "eye-opener". (That's supposed to be a cheesy joke. You'll see why.) It is found in II Kings 6:8-17. The Israelites are fighting against the Syrians, and during the battle the king of Syria sends a huge army that encamps the Israelites. Well, the servant of Elisha, God's prophet to Israel, wakes up and as you could imagine, is scared silly. He finds his master, and asks him what he expects to do. Elisha responds by saying "Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with them." To the servant, that response made no sense. Most of the Israelites were probably sleeping! He had risen early, so the men of the camp probably had another hour or so of rest yet. Even if he did crawl around a shake everybody, he knew that they had nowhere near the amount of equipment as the Syrians. To the eye of this mortal man, the battle looked as though it would be impossible to triumph.
But the man of God didn't see it the way that his servant did. God had given him a different nature of sight. When Elisha looked out at the opposing force, He saw something that no one else could see. God showed him the masses of his Father's soldiers, and boy was there a lot of em'! It says that "the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." He prays that his servant can see the countless number of forces on the Lord's side.
The Bible teaches that each and every Christian has the obligation to fight against Satan. We are to wake up every morning realizing that we are going to step onto the enemy's territory. Sadly, many of us pitifully take no armor. We rather have an extra hour of sleep, then have our quiet time in the morning. We go into battle naked, without any form of protection whatsoever. Then, surely enough, we are ripped apart by Satan. He tempts us to sin, and we not having the vital Ephesians 6 armor, are brutally defeated.
This is no doubt a major problem. If the United States military started going into battle with no clothing, our country would go into an uproar. If every morning when our soldiers woke-up, they felt that they were too busy to put their gear on, we would look like a bunch of outright fools. The same way you are foolish if you get up in the morning and don't have your quiet time alone speaking with God. We need to speak with our "Commander" to get the battle plan for the day.
Through the Bible, God gives us instruction on how to live our lives. He teaches us how to deal with any possible circumstance that may come our way. God is omniscient. He knows the deceitful tactics of Satan, and has given us command on how to win each and every one of them. Having victory is as simple as obeying what God says. He will never have bad judgment on what to do in a situation. He lived as a man here on earth, and had the most victorious life of anyone in all of history. He did not, and could not sin, but He still had to deal with the temptations of the Devil. Along with being one-hundred percent God, He was one-hundred percent man. He is the best One to speak to concerning spiritual warfare. If you want to learn how to do something, you talk to the person who does it best.
This is the general theme of the book of Jude. To fight a good fight, and be prepared for battle. Through this series I would like to show you the way that Jesus handled warfare, and how we can take these principles and apply them to our daily lives.
As a closing thought, I think that the location of this book is very interesting. It is second to last. I think that this may just have something to it. God placed it just before Revelation. It is a concise final warning to us. God chose to tell us that we need to be taking our place in this spiritual battle, as His "last words" before the Revelation period.
My prayer is that God would be able to communicate His truth through me as we begin this study of one of my favorite books of God's Word. There is not a Christian on the face of this earth who would be unable to benefit from this study. We all are part of the greatest battle in all of eternity.
There is a story in the Old Testament that is a true "eye-opener". (That's supposed to be a cheesy joke. You'll see why.) It is found in II Kings 6:8-17. The Israelites are fighting against the Syrians, and during the battle the king of Syria sends a huge army that encamps the Israelites. Well, the servant of Elisha, God's prophet to Israel, wakes up and as you could imagine, is scared silly. He finds his master, and asks him what he expects to do. Elisha responds by saying "Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with them." To the servant, that response made no sense. Most of the Israelites were probably sleeping! He had risen early, so the men of the camp probably had another hour or so of rest yet. Even if he did crawl around a shake everybody, he knew that they had nowhere near the amount of equipment as the Syrians. To the eye of this mortal man, the battle looked as though it would be impossible to triumph.
But the man of God didn't see it the way that his servant did. God had given him a different nature of sight. When Elisha looked out at the opposing force, He saw something that no one else could see. God showed him the masses of his Father's soldiers, and boy was there a lot of em'! It says that "the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." He prays that his servant can see the countless number of forces on the Lord's side.
The Bible teaches that each and every Christian has the obligation to fight against Satan. We are to wake up every morning realizing that we are going to step onto the enemy's territory. Sadly, many of us pitifully take no armor. We rather have an extra hour of sleep, then have our quiet time in the morning. We go into battle naked, without any form of protection whatsoever. Then, surely enough, we are ripped apart by Satan. He tempts us to sin, and we not having the vital Ephesians 6 armor, are brutally defeated.
This is no doubt a major problem. If the United States military started going into battle with no clothing, our country would go into an uproar. If every morning when our soldiers woke-up, they felt that they were too busy to put their gear on, we would look like a bunch of outright fools. The same way you are foolish if you get up in the morning and don't have your quiet time alone speaking with God. We need to speak with our "Commander" to get the battle plan for the day.
Through the Bible, God gives us instruction on how to live our lives. He teaches us how to deal with any possible circumstance that may come our way. God is omniscient. He knows the deceitful tactics of Satan, and has given us command on how to win each and every one of them. Having victory is as simple as obeying what God says. He will never have bad judgment on what to do in a situation. He lived as a man here on earth, and had the most victorious life of anyone in all of history. He did not, and could not sin, but He still had to deal with the temptations of the Devil. Along with being one-hundred percent God, He was one-hundred percent man. He is the best One to speak to concerning spiritual warfare. If you want to learn how to do something, you talk to the person who does it best.
This is the general theme of the book of Jude. To fight a good fight, and be prepared for battle. Through this series I would like to show you the way that Jesus handled warfare, and how we can take these principles and apply them to our daily lives.
As a closing thought, I think that the location of this book is very interesting. It is second to last. I think that this may just have something to it. God placed it just before Revelation. It is a concise final warning to us. God chose to tell us that we need to be taking our place in this spiritual battle, as His "last words" before the Revelation period.
My prayer is that God would be able to communicate His truth through me as we begin this study of one of my favorite books of God's Word. There is not a Christian on the face of this earth who would be unable to benefit from this study. We all are part of the greatest battle in all of eternity.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
We've Moved to a New Domain!
Yippee! We've done away with our old blogspot site, and now have a brand new domain name! The Peculiarite Blog is now located at "www.Peculiarite.com"! If you do happen to go to the old "peculiarite.blogspot.com", then it will simply redirect you to the new one. Along with this new name, I've gotten a new email address as well: pete@peculiarite.com! Other than the site and email address changes, everything else will remain the same.
Go tell the world...
Go tell the world...
A Poem by St. Patrick
There are some selected people in which I often quote. Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper, Comfort, and an occasional Ruckman. However, I doubt you will ever find me quoting a Roman Catholic. I disagree on ninety-five percent (or more) of their doctrine, and am baffled why any true born-again Christian would be a part of their truckloads of false doctrine. (Unless, of course, they are decieved by Satan. But we'll set that aside for just a moment.) However, being that it is in fact St. Patrick's day I thought I would do a little research on the fellow, and see what Mr. Succat had to say. I found this poem written by the patron saint (Ugh. Why don't they get that we are all saints as believers!) Have fun:"I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation."
A few of my peculiar comments for ya':
-First of all we need to realize that every morning when we arise, it should be through Jesus Christ and Him alone. Through Him only do we have strength. Amen to that, Patty!
-Next, God is in three parts, Father, Son, and Spirit. They are all one God, but have separate duties.
-The third paragraph is extremely Roman Catholic, and unbiblical. We come through JESUS. J-E-S-U-S! Not angels, not cherubims, and most deffinately not through men. We can do NOTHING through the power of a mere man! Disgusting...
-The fourth paragraph is equally disgusting. A whole lot of gobbely-goop.
-Paragraph five is well said. As Christians, we have power through God. We can come to Him because He is now our Father. We have entered into the "Royal" family!
-Paragraph six speaks about spiritual warfare. Satan and his army is everywere. But praise God, we have a much greater heavenly army than anything you could ever imagine. We have the Creator of the universe fighting on our side!
-Read paragraph eight again: "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me." This is the true Peculiarite paragraph! Christ needs to be in every part of us. Every action that we conduct should be a model of what He would do.
Other than paragraphs three and four, I thought it was a nice poem. Live your life through the strength of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and Him alone.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Responding to God
Lets take a moment and think. When was the last time that you heard a message preached? For me it was Wednesday night. Think of what the theme, or (dare I say) topic was in which this gentleman preached. Think of the spiritual applications that God gave you through his message. Now for the convicting part, what have you done to apply these godly principles to your life?
If you are like me, the answer is absolutely nothing. Maybe you even went to the alter to confess something before God, or to promise that you'll get an area of your life straightened out, but you've seemed to forget all about it in a few short hours. And if you are like me, this Sunday I'll hear another wonderful message from God. He will show me something through His Word, but I bet you can guess what will happen. On Monday the commitments I made will be long forgotten. What happens? We promise to get our lives straighted out, but a commitment is as far as we go most of the time. Saying that you are going to do something doesn't get it done.
Have you ever done a word search on the phrase "the Word of the Lord came"? (CLICK HERE to see one done for you.) If you look down the list you see many, many men of God in the list. Men like Abraham, Nathan, Solomon, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, and Zachariah not to mention many more. God spoke to these people and they had a choice to make. They (like us) could either do exactly what God had commanded them to do, or they could be disobedient and rebel against Him.
God has given us His written Word in our language and He wants us to open it up and read it! He can, and will speak with us if we will simply open the Bible and read what it says. In Luke 12:48 Jesus says, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required". We have been given the Bible in our language. Others are not as fortunate. Because we have been given the Book, we are required to read it more than someone who does not have the Bible openly accessible to them. Not only do most of us have a copy, but we hear it being preached several times a week! The Word of God is being given to us from all over the place.
Tell me another time in history when the Bible was as accessible as it is now. Eighty percent of American homes have a copy! God has truly blessed us! But why isn't there an amazing change in our country? You'd think that our spiritual thermometer would have risen over the past one-hundred years, but it has done the opposite. Slowly we are getting colder and colder. The reason is not a mystery, it is a rather simple explanation, really.
We are not responding to God.
In 2 Timothy 3:16 God gives the four purposes for Scripture. The second purpose is for reproof. Every time you read or hear God's Word you should be reproved. After that you should make a commitment to change. Heed to His reproof and make yourself different.
The men and women throughout history who did extraordinary things for God, didn't get there because all they did was make a bunch of commitments that they never accomplished. When they heard the voice of God, they reacted to it, and changed themselves. None of us are close to where we ought to be spiritually. Each of us has sections of our Christianity that we need to work on, and sin that needs to be thrown out. The next time you open up the Bible, or hear a convicting sermon, change yourself. See what happens.
If you are like me, the answer is absolutely nothing. Maybe you even went to the alter to confess something before God, or to promise that you'll get an area of your life straightened out, but you've seemed to forget all about it in a few short hours. And if you are like me, this Sunday I'll hear another wonderful message from God. He will show me something through His Word, but I bet you can guess what will happen. On Monday the commitments I made will be long forgotten. What happens? We promise to get our lives straighted out, but a commitment is as far as we go most of the time. Saying that you are going to do something doesn't get it done.
Have you ever done a word search on the phrase "the Word of the Lord came"? (CLICK HERE to see one done for you.) If you look down the list you see many, many men of God in the list. Men like Abraham, Nathan, Solomon, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, and Zachariah not to mention many more. God spoke to these people and they had a choice to make. They (like us) could either do exactly what God had commanded them to do, or they could be disobedient and rebel against Him.
God has given us His written Word in our language and He wants us to open it up and read it! He can, and will speak with us if we will simply open the Bible and read what it says. In Luke 12:48 Jesus says, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required". We have been given the Bible in our language. Others are not as fortunate. Because we have been given the Book, we are required to read it more than someone who does not have the Bible openly accessible to them. Not only do most of us have a copy, but we hear it being preached several times a week! The Word of God is being given to us from all over the place.
Tell me another time in history when the Bible was as accessible as it is now. Eighty percent of American homes have a copy! God has truly blessed us! But why isn't there an amazing change in our country? You'd think that our spiritual thermometer would have risen over the past one-hundred years, but it has done the opposite. Slowly we are getting colder and colder. The reason is not a mystery, it is a rather simple explanation, really.
We are not responding to God.
In 2 Timothy 3:16 God gives the four purposes for Scripture. The second purpose is for reproof. Every time you read or hear God's Word you should be reproved. After that you should make a commitment to change. Heed to His reproof and make yourself different.
The men and women throughout history who did extraordinary things for God, didn't get there because all they did was make a bunch of commitments that they never accomplished. When they heard the voice of God, they reacted to it, and changed themselves. None of us are close to where we ought to be spiritually. Each of us has sections of our Christianity that we need to work on, and sin that needs to be thrown out. The next time you open up the Bible, or hear a convicting sermon, change yourself. See what happens.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
An Encouraging Note
I had to go to the Rochester Public School District building on Tuesday and Wednesday to take state math tests. When we ended on Tuesday, I took the elevator down to the bottom floor with a few girls that I had taken the test with. I gave them each a billion dollar bill, and a "Little Red Book" Gospel tract. (LRB has, by far, the finest, most thorough Gospel tracts I have ever read. CLICK HERE to check them out!) When I handed it to them they started laughing uncontrollably. Now, people have done some strange things when I've given them a tract, some people just stare at you with a blank face, others run, some even pour Dr. Pepper on your head (that's a story for another time), and a few people (I think they were people) just grunted. But these girls were unique, I have never had anyone, ever start laughing.
A bit surprised, I told them to read the booklet when they got a chance, but still, they continued laughing. Guess what happened when we stepped out of the elevator? Bingo! They kept on laughing. I'm telling you the complete truth: these girls laughed all the way to their car! It was strange. The moment they saw the tract (all it said was "Who Was St. Patrick?", nothing funny) they started laughing. Weird.
Well, the next day, Wednesday, I go back, take my test and stand by the elevator. Guess who comes and stands next to me? Another Bingo! The same two girls! And ya' know what they start doing? Laughing. This time is isn't as bad as before, they've settled down to a giggle. One of the girls steps over to me and gives me a folded piece of notebook paper, and tells me that it is from some of her "friends". This is what it says (It's in three parts, each saying primarily the same thing. Also, they are in an unedited form, I'm typing it exactly the way that they wrote it):
"Hi Peter I heard your really religious thats good but not everybody is a Christian. And those girls your give papers to isn't a Christian.
P.S = write back"
"Hey you Peta we don't won't 2 be Christian okay why don't you be muslim. And don't try to convert my friends into Christianity okay because were not interested. Buh-bye. wlb on a different sheet of paper. wlb = write back"
"Hi Peter! I heard lots about you and you know what, stop giving out money! Fake money. But you can just give me one because I have to remember this. LOL. R U smart? R U home schooled? Where do you shop from? Oh by the way I am not into your religion! So stop trying to convert us!
P.S. Write back"
The two girls insisted that it wasn't from them, but that it truly was from a friend. If you say so. When I got out to the car I read the letter to my Mom and she started to laugh. (No! I think I'm laughed out!) After I finished, she said something absolutely great. It hit the nail right on the head. What she said was something to the effect of "You know, in evangelism it is so easy to be discouraged when you don't get the response that you wanted. But I really don't think that it is our job to soften their hard hearts; it is Gods. When someone is rude like that to me, the way I want to respond is, 'Just go to Hell if you're so stubborn!' but I've come to realize that I was that stubborn at one time. But, God did a work on me, and God can do that same thing to them." Everyone needs a Mom like mine! That quote was next to Spurgeon!
Anyway, just as an encouragement to all of you out there who don't seem to be getting any fruit out of your ministry, keep on going. Don't give up, because you don't know when God will send that soul who is searching for the law, a realization of their sin, the judgement of God, the reality of Hell, and the good news of God's salvation through Jesus Christ.
A bit surprised, I told them to read the booklet when they got a chance, but still, they continued laughing. Guess what happened when we stepped out of the elevator? Bingo! They kept on laughing. I'm telling you the complete truth: these girls laughed all the way to their car! It was strange. The moment they saw the tract (all it said was "Who Was St. Patrick?", nothing funny) they started laughing. Weird.
Well, the next day, Wednesday, I go back, take my test and stand by the elevator. Guess who comes and stands next to me? Another Bingo! The same two girls! And ya' know what they start doing? Laughing. This time is isn't as bad as before, they've settled down to a giggle. One of the girls steps over to me and gives me a folded piece of notebook paper, and tells me that it is from some of her "friends". This is what it says (It's in three parts, each saying primarily the same thing. Also, they are in an unedited form, I'm typing it exactly the way that they wrote it):
"Hi Peter I heard your really religious thats good but not everybody is a Christian. And those girls your give papers to isn't a Christian.
P.S = write back"
"Hey you Peta we don't won't 2 be Christian okay why don't you be muslim. And don't try to convert my friends into Christianity okay because were not interested. Buh-bye. wlb on a different sheet of paper. wlb = write back"
"Hi Peter! I heard lots about you and you know what, stop giving out money! Fake money. But you can just give me one because I have to remember this. LOL. R U smart? R U home schooled? Where do you shop from? Oh by the way I am not into your religion! So stop trying to convert us!
P.S. Write back"
The two girls insisted that it wasn't from them, but that it truly was from a friend. If you say so. When I got out to the car I read the letter to my Mom and she started to laugh. (No! I think I'm laughed out!) After I finished, she said something absolutely great. It hit the nail right on the head. What she said was something to the effect of "You know, in evangelism it is so easy to be discouraged when you don't get the response that you wanted. But I really don't think that it is our job to soften their hard hearts; it is Gods. When someone is rude like that to me, the way I want to respond is, 'Just go to Hell if you're so stubborn!' but I've come to realize that I was that stubborn at one time. But, God did a work on me, and God can do that same thing to them." Everyone needs a Mom like mine! That quote was next to Spurgeon!
Anyway, just as an encouragement to all of you out there who don't seem to be getting any fruit out of your ministry, keep on going. Don't give up, because you don't know when God will send that soul who is searching for the law, a realization of their sin, the judgement of God, the reality of Hell, and the good news of God's salvation through Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
To Oath or Not to Oath: That is the Question
Lets start by reading a story from God's Word about a man named Jephthah. (I'm not quite sure what his mother was thinking.) He was a judge of Israel during the time of, you got it, the Judges. He makes a somewhat foolish oath to God, and you'll see what happens.
CLICK HERE to read the story (Judges 11:30-40). In a nutshell, this guy named Jephthah is fighting against the children of Ammon. He isn't doing so well, so he decides he'll ask God for help. (Good so far.) To make God hear his prayer better, he decides he'll try to bribe God. He says that if God allows him to win this battle, that he will sacrifice whoever comes out of his house first. So, God hears him, and lets him win. He goes back to his house as happy as can be, but when he gets there, his daughter comes running out of the door dancing and playing her little timbrels. Uh-oh. He rips his clothes off and weeps before God. He wants to take his oath back but doesn't think he can. He knows what he needs to do. He tells his daughter this, and as you can image, she is not too impressed. She tells him to give her two months so that she can have some time to take-in her last bit of life. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick. Two months pass, she comes back to her father, and he accomplishes the task in which he had vowed to do.
That is a sad story. Because this guy didn't think his oath out, his daughter ends up being killed for something that she had nothing to do with. All she did was come out to congratulate her father on a battle well fought. The craziest thing about this is that if he would have just known the law a bit better, he would have known this little tad of information that could have saved his daughter's life. It is found in Leviticus 5:4-6. It says that if you make a foolish oath without realizing what is truly in store for you, than all you have to do is repent of it and give a sin offering, and it will be forgotten. He didn't know the laws of God, and because of his lack of knowledge, it cost him is daughter.
Jesus spoke about oaths in Matthew 5:33-37. He said, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
Jesus gives what would be looked at as great advice to the world. However, is Jesus not God? So when he says things like "Swear not at all" it is the same as when He gave us the commandments. When Jesus, God made manifest in the flesh, says in His perfect, holy, inerrant Word the four words, "Swear not at all" He means exactly what He says.
You know what drives me absolutely nutty? When I hear someone say "God as my witness... Yadda, yadda, yadda." It simply makes me go bonkers. Ugh... Just thinking about it is going to make me go into a fit. Breath... Okay, I think I'll be alright. Back to the point. YOU DON'T MAKE AN OATH IN THE NAME OF GOD. Let me ask you a question. Where does God the Father live? A very basic question. He lives in Heaven. Okay? Jesus said "swear not by heaven." How do you go about justifying that? Don't think to hard, because you absolutely, positively cannot. Christ continues, "swear not by earth". We shouldn't make a vow to the earth. Next, don't make an oath to Jerusalem. Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone make an oath to Jerusalem. I doubt you have either, but what that means is to swear to your government. Jerusalem was the city in which the people Jesus was talking to lived. Therefore, He was warning not to swear to the government. However, if you do hear anyone shout out, "In the name of Jerusalem... Yadda, Yadda, Yadda" please let me know. Lastly, Jesus commands that we not make an oath to your head. Yourself. We shouldn't be promising things to ourselves that we cannot keep. Like He said, you can't change your physical characteristics. Why lie to yourself?
Reading this passage in context (the way you always should), what type of oath is Jesus speaking about? I believe He is referring to what I call a "Jephthah" oath. When Jephtah made his deadly oath to God, he probably didn't do the greatest job at really thinking it through. He just wanted the victory of the battle, he didn't really want to sacrifice his daughter. He never thought of what he was really saying. I think that's what Jesus is trying to tell us. Think before you speak. He goes on to say that oaths are unnecessary. As peculiar Christians, every word that comes out of our mouth should, unlike the world, be true. "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay." When you say I will be there... guess what? You need be there. I have gotten into the habit of saying "Lord willing... Yadda, Yadda, Yadda." God could decide to take me home before I am able to fulfill the commitment. So saying "Lord willing" will prevent me from lying. God obviously didn't want me to do whatever it was that I was planning on doing. If he takes me, I'll be fine with that.
The basic line is this: TELL THE TRUTH. All the time. Every day. As long as your yea is yea, and your nay is nay, I think you'll be on the right track. Let your communication, the words which come out of your mouth, always be truthful.
CLICK HERE to read the story (Judges 11:30-40). In a nutshell, this guy named Jephthah is fighting against the children of Ammon. He isn't doing so well, so he decides he'll ask God for help. (Good so far.) To make God hear his prayer better, he decides he'll try to bribe God. He says that if God allows him to win this battle, that he will sacrifice whoever comes out of his house first. So, God hears him, and lets him win. He goes back to his house as happy as can be, but when he gets there, his daughter comes running out of the door dancing and playing her little timbrels. Uh-oh. He rips his clothes off and weeps before God. He wants to take his oath back but doesn't think he can. He knows what he needs to do. He tells his daughter this, and as you can image, she is not too impressed. She tells him to give her two months so that she can have some time to take-in her last bit of life. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick. Two months pass, she comes back to her father, and he accomplishes the task in which he had vowed to do.
That is a sad story. Because this guy didn't think his oath out, his daughter ends up being killed for something that she had nothing to do with. All she did was come out to congratulate her father on a battle well fought. The craziest thing about this is that if he would have just known the law a bit better, he would have known this little tad of information that could have saved his daughter's life. It is found in Leviticus 5:4-6. It says that if you make a foolish oath without realizing what is truly in store for you, than all you have to do is repent of it and give a sin offering, and it will be forgotten. He didn't know the laws of God, and because of his lack of knowledge, it cost him is daughter.
Jesus spoke about oaths in Matthew 5:33-37. He said, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
Jesus gives what would be looked at as great advice to the world. However, is Jesus not God? So when he says things like "Swear not at all" it is the same as when He gave us the commandments. When Jesus, God made manifest in the flesh, says in His perfect, holy, inerrant Word the four words, "Swear not at all" He means exactly what He says.
You know what drives me absolutely nutty? When I hear someone say "God as my witness... Yadda, yadda, yadda." It simply makes me go bonkers. Ugh... Just thinking about it is going to make me go into a fit. Breath... Okay, I think I'll be alright. Back to the point. YOU DON'T MAKE AN OATH IN THE NAME OF GOD. Let me ask you a question. Where does God the Father live? A very basic question. He lives in Heaven. Okay? Jesus said "swear not by heaven." How do you go about justifying that? Don't think to hard, because you absolutely, positively cannot. Christ continues, "swear not by earth". We shouldn't make a vow to the earth. Next, don't make an oath to Jerusalem. Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone make an oath to Jerusalem. I doubt you have either, but what that means is to swear to your government. Jerusalem was the city in which the people Jesus was talking to lived. Therefore, He was warning not to swear to the government. However, if you do hear anyone shout out, "In the name of Jerusalem... Yadda, Yadda, Yadda" please let me know. Lastly, Jesus commands that we not make an oath to your head. Yourself. We shouldn't be promising things to ourselves that we cannot keep. Like He said, you can't change your physical characteristics. Why lie to yourself?
Reading this passage in context (the way you always should), what type of oath is Jesus speaking about? I believe He is referring to what I call a "Jephthah" oath. When Jephtah made his deadly oath to God, he probably didn't do the greatest job at really thinking it through. He just wanted the victory of the battle, he didn't really want to sacrifice his daughter. He never thought of what he was really saying. I think that's what Jesus is trying to tell us. Think before you speak. He goes on to say that oaths are unnecessary. As peculiar Christians, every word that comes out of our mouth should, unlike the world, be true. "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay." When you say I will be there... guess what? You need be there. I have gotten into the habit of saying "Lord willing... Yadda, Yadda, Yadda." God could decide to take me home before I am able to fulfill the commitment. So saying "Lord willing" will prevent me from lying. God obviously didn't want me to do whatever it was that I was planning on doing. If he takes me, I'll be fine with that.
The basic line is this: TELL THE TRUTH. All the time. Every day. As long as your yea is yea, and your nay is nay, I think you'll be on the right track. Let your communication, the words which come out of your mouth, always be truthful.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Love of God
One of my favorite hymns (I have quite a few of them) is "The Love of God". We often sing hymns without thinking of what the song is saying. When we sing we should not be trying talk to anyone other than God Himself. So I think it is a wise thing to get to know the song in which you are singing. Realize what you are telling your Saviour. Read the following with that mindset:
The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win. His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song.
Now that is good stuff! The God that we serve has many, many wonderful characteristics. Love is one that your modern "Emerging-Church" Christian focuses a bit too much on, and then on the other hand, your "Fundamentalist, Bible-Believing, Baptist" focuses too little on.
1 John 4:5-11
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
God is not 10 percent, or 50 percent, or even 99 percent love. He is a full 100 percent! That's what is so great about God, He has the ability to be a complete 100 percent of all of His qualities. It is truly mind-boggling. Our tiny human minds cannot comprehend a being that can be 100 percent one thing and 100 percent another. It doesn't make sense to us. But just like most everything else, we must simply have faith that what God says is true. If He says that He is 100 percent love, and yet 100 percent a God of wrath than I'm just going to have to believe Him. If I can trust Him for my salvation, I hope I can trust Him in everything else.
So being that God is what He says He is, a God of complete love, we ought to try to match that love. Now this is a task that at face value seems impossible to complete, and I would agree that it is. But, get this, it is simply miraculous: We as Christians have GOD living inside of us. Wow. Isn't that neat. To think, that when I got saved, God in Spirit form came to dwell inside of me. Wow. And that means that I, through the Holy Spirit of God, can be 100 percent love. Wow.
You see, the reason in which you are different than the world is that you have God living inside of you. You are a temple for your King. And if He truly is in there, then you should have His attributes. When a person is possessed by an unfamiliar spirit, they become a completely different person. They do crazy things that they would have never thought of doing before. The unclean spirit works through them to accomplish his task. The very same way, when God abides in you and I, we should do things that are against our human nature. Loving others doesn't come natural to us. To love, as Jesus said in Luke 6, is to "love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again." An unsaved person doesn't do that. As Christians we need to love the way God loves. A lost person will see that as peculiar, and He might just be open to knowing why you are loving the way that you are.
So what does Godly love look like? Well think of this. You, I, and the whole world, for that matter, was lost in sin. To God we were a bunch of disgusting slugs. He had created us and given us commandments in which to follow, but we chose to disobey them and rebel against Him. But, Romans 5:8 says: God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The love of God was shown when He sent His Son to die for the sins of a dirty world. That is genuine love. Giving yourself up to someone else with no thought of receiving anything in return.
Use the brain that God has given to you, and think of ways that you can be more loving, and therefore, more Godly. It really isn't hard. I don't think I need to give you examples. You can do it yourself.
I promise you this: If you strive to be more loving to your wife, your children, your siblings, your boss, your everyone. Not only will God bless you for that with crowns of glory in Heaven, but your relationships with others will flourish as well. Maybe there is a lost soul that you are praying for. You've tried to witness to him or her before, but they just aren't seeming to respond to the Gospel they way you would like. How 'bout you try love. Just try it. If it doesn't work, I'll give you your money back, you'll never have to listen to me again. Try love. Show them the love of Christ in you, and maybe they can better understand the love of God. Who knows? Give it a try. Love like God loved us.
The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win. His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song.
Now that is good stuff! The God that we serve has many, many wonderful characteristics. Love is one that your modern "Emerging-Church" Christian focuses a bit too much on, and then on the other hand, your "Fundamentalist, Bible-Believing, Baptist" focuses too little on.
1 John 4:5-11
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
God is not 10 percent, or 50 percent, or even 99 percent love. He is a full 100 percent! That's what is so great about God, He has the ability to be a complete 100 percent of all of His qualities. It is truly mind-boggling. Our tiny human minds cannot comprehend a being that can be 100 percent one thing and 100 percent another. It doesn't make sense to us. But just like most everything else, we must simply have faith that what God says is true. If He says that He is 100 percent love, and yet 100 percent a God of wrath than I'm just going to have to believe Him. If I can trust Him for my salvation, I hope I can trust Him in everything else.
So being that God is what He says He is, a God of complete love, we ought to try to match that love. Now this is a task that at face value seems impossible to complete, and I would agree that it is. But, get this, it is simply miraculous: We as Christians have GOD living inside of us. Wow. Isn't that neat. To think, that when I got saved, God in Spirit form came to dwell inside of me. Wow. And that means that I, through the Holy Spirit of God, can be 100 percent love. Wow.
You see, the reason in which you are different than the world is that you have God living inside of you. You are a temple for your King. And if He truly is in there, then you should have His attributes. When a person is possessed by an unfamiliar spirit, they become a completely different person. They do crazy things that they would have never thought of doing before. The unclean spirit works through them to accomplish his task. The very same way, when God abides in you and I, we should do things that are against our human nature. Loving others doesn't come natural to us. To love, as Jesus said in Luke 6, is to "love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again." An unsaved person doesn't do that. As Christians we need to love the way God loves. A lost person will see that as peculiar, and He might just be open to knowing why you are loving the way that you are.
So what does Godly love look like? Well think of this. You, I, and the whole world, for that matter, was lost in sin. To God we were a bunch of disgusting slugs. He had created us and given us commandments in which to follow, but we chose to disobey them and rebel against Him. But, Romans 5:8 says: God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The love of God was shown when He sent His Son to die for the sins of a dirty world. That is genuine love. Giving yourself up to someone else with no thought of receiving anything in return.
Use the brain that God has given to you, and think of ways that you can be more loving, and therefore, more Godly. It really isn't hard. I don't think I need to give you examples. You can do it yourself.
I promise you this: If you strive to be more loving to your wife, your children, your siblings, your boss, your everyone. Not only will God bless you for that with crowns of glory in Heaven, but your relationships with others will flourish as well. Maybe there is a lost soul that you are praying for. You've tried to witness to him or her before, but they just aren't seeming to respond to the Gospel they way you would like. How 'bout you try love. Just try it. If it doesn't work, I'll give you your money back, you'll never have to listen to me again. Try love. Show them the love of Christ in you, and maybe they can better understand the love of God. Who knows? Give it a try. Love like God loved us.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Where Will the Master Find You?
Shortly after accepting Christ, God brought to my knowledge a basic Biblical principal and truth that has challenged me ever so much in my Christianity. It has virtually changed how I live every second of my life. I pray that God will work on your heart as you read the following. It is the very idea that keeps me in "spiritual fitness"...
God promises that one day He will return to snatch-up the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). This will be a great day for us, but an equally terrible day for the lost. As Christians we often look towards the rapture with much anticipation and excitement, as we should, but there is also a great fear that comes with the package for many of us. Lets face it, most of us aren't living our lives according to the perfect will of God. We are not fully submissive to Him in all areas of our life. There are aspects of ourselves that we hide from God, and don't allow Him to touch. We have unpurged sin that is slowly, but surely, building up inside of us. And even those areas in which we have let God work in, the places in which we serve God, are not where they ought to be. We replace ministry preparation with "relaxing" time. We watch a football game rather than going to Saturday morning street preaching. We fail to have our quiet time in the morning because we much rather get that one extra hour of sleep. We are too busy to give God more than a few hours of our time each week. Sunday morning seems to be enough Bread for most Christians. I guess we don't really know what our walks could be like if we were in the will of God. We've just never lived there before.
Mark 13:32-37
But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
More than being awfully sad, the state of the majority of our walks is frightening. Within the next ten seconds Jesus could come and take you home. He assures us that no man knows the day or the hour in which He will come. (Sorry guys, despite "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Come in 1988", we really don't know the year either.) The point is, in two minutes we could be gone, and we would stand before God and have to give an account. This is a different judgment than that by which the unsaved will be judged under, we are saved by the Blood I assure you, but we will still have to give an account of how we used (or didn't use) that which God has given us. Our lives will be thrown into the fire and we will have to see what comes out. For some there will be gold, silver, and precious stones on the other side. They lived their lives under the hand of their Creator. But for others, the fire will bring nothing but ashes. Your life will have been of absolutely no use to God. You were a complete waste.
You and I will then have to stand before the One who laid down His life for us. The One who died so that we could avoid Hell. The One who has given us everlasting life. And for those who have lived a life fully devoted to Him He will say, "My child, enter our inheritance." Yet on the other side of the story, there will be those whose life brought only ashes. They'll still be able to enter the Promised Land, but won't it be shameful to stand before Him. He did everything for you, and you did nothing for Him. That is a scary thought.
My challenge to you is to start living your life with the complete sense that Jesus could come back at any moment (not to mention you could die). He has given each of us authority to do His work. Live every moment of your life like it will be your last. I much rather be found by Jesus passing out Gospel tracts than on a website I shouldn't have been on, or listening to the music I shouldn't be listening to, or in a place in which a Christian ought never to be. I want Jesus to come back finding me living a peculiar, sanctified life for Him.
Watch.
God promises that one day He will return to snatch-up the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). This will be a great day for us, but an equally terrible day for the lost. As Christians we often look towards the rapture with much anticipation and excitement, as we should, but there is also a great fear that comes with the package for many of us. Lets face it, most of us aren't living our lives according to the perfect will of God. We are not fully submissive to Him in all areas of our life. There are aspects of ourselves that we hide from God, and don't allow Him to touch. We have unpurged sin that is slowly, but surely, building up inside of us. And even those areas in which we have let God work in, the places in which we serve God, are not where they ought to be. We replace ministry preparation with "relaxing" time. We watch a football game rather than going to Saturday morning street preaching. We fail to have our quiet time in the morning because we much rather get that one extra hour of sleep. We are too busy to give God more than a few hours of our time each week. Sunday morning seems to be enough Bread for most Christians. I guess we don't really know what our walks could be like if we were in the will of God. We've just never lived there before.
Mark 13:32-37
But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
More than being awfully sad, the state of the majority of our walks is frightening. Within the next ten seconds Jesus could come and take you home. He assures us that no man knows the day or the hour in which He will come. (Sorry guys, despite "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Come in 1988", we really don't know the year either.) The point is, in two minutes we could be gone, and we would stand before God and have to give an account. This is a different judgment than that by which the unsaved will be judged under, we are saved by the Blood I assure you, but we will still have to give an account of how we used (or didn't use) that which God has given us. Our lives will be thrown into the fire and we will have to see what comes out. For some there will be gold, silver, and precious stones on the other side. They lived their lives under the hand of their Creator. But for others, the fire will bring nothing but ashes. Your life will have been of absolutely no use to God. You were a complete waste.
You and I will then have to stand before the One who laid down His life for us. The One who died so that we could avoid Hell. The One who has given us everlasting life. And for those who have lived a life fully devoted to Him He will say, "My child, enter our inheritance." Yet on the other side of the story, there will be those whose life brought only ashes. They'll still be able to enter the Promised Land, but won't it be shameful to stand before Him. He did everything for you, and you did nothing for Him. That is a scary thought.
My challenge to you is to start living your life with the complete sense that Jesus could come back at any moment (not to mention you could die). He has given each of us authority to do His work. Live every moment of your life like it will be your last. I much rather be found by Jesus passing out Gospel tracts than on a website I shouldn't have been on, or listening to the music I shouldn't be listening to, or in a place in which a Christian ought never to be. I want Jesus to come back finding me living a peculiar, sanctified life for Him.
Watch.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
What is a Peculiarite Anyway?
Hello. My name is Peter Farrell, aka "Peculiar Pete". I am thirteen years old and have been saved since August 15, 2005. (CLICK HERE to go to my profile.) I'm starting this blog to do several things. First of all, to glorify my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and second, to motivate you to grow in your walk with God.
As Christians, we need to be Peculiarites. In Titus 2:14 God commands that we be "a peculiar people, zealous of good works". Noah Webster described the word peculiar in his 1828 dictionary as "belonging to a nation, system or other thing, and not to others". As children of God we no longer belong to this world, but are adopted into the family of God. We are to love the things that God loves, and hate the things that God hates. We need to be fully set aside for His work.
In what we commonly call Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" found in Matthew chapter five, our Saviour tells us that we need to be "salt in the earth", "the light of the world", "a city that is set on a hill", and "a candlestick". Each of these things shows a peculiararity (yes, I did make up that word) to what is common. When the world is dark in sin, we need to be the light that reflects the glory of our God! The unsaved should notice a difference in us that is so unmistakable, so unavoidable, that they just have to see it. We ought to be so conformed to Him that there is no way that they can escape our light. The glorious radiance of Jesus Christ should shine from us so brightly, that it nearly blinds them! That is the way that Jesus commands us to live, and it's the way that the men of God throughout the history of the Church have lived. Call me crazy, but I never read of Paul listening to a rock band that decided that they would label themselves as being "Christian" because they liked the sound of it. Holy men of God like the Apostles were separate from the world. They were sanctified and on-fire for the work of the Lord.
Sadly however, I don't see this separation in the walk of the average Christian in our day and age. Christians love the world! They love the music of the world, they love the clothes of the world, they love the speech of the world, they love the places of the world, but they're sure that they are born-again. I just don't get it!
I was involved in an event for teenagers last week and was disgusted at what I saw. Hundreds of teens who professed the name of Jesus dressed just like the world, talking just like the world, listening to nausiating "Christian" rock music, and hugging their boyfriends and girlfriends! I left that night with a heart broken for the non-peculiar Christians that are so prominent in the Laodicean Church Age in which we live.
Why don't people get it? You can't get salt water and fresh out of the same faucet. It doesn't work! The very same way you can't get God and world out of the life of a Christian. It doesn't work either...
With that said, I would like to introduce you to the Peculiarite blog. Not only will the posts be to encourage those living the faith, but also to encourage those who are not, to get moving. To get on-fire for God, and to become "a peculiar people, zealous of good works".
I can only imagine what the Church would be able to accomplish for the Gospel if everyone who professed to have a relationship with Jesus, became all that they could for God. Different than the world.
Just to set the record strait, my email address is pete@peculiarite.com, the address of the blog is www.Peculiarite.com, and the address of our feed is feeds.feedburner.com/peculiarite.
As Christians, we need to be Peculiarites. In Titus 2:14 God commands that we be "a peculiar people, zealous of good works". Noah Webster described the word peculiar in his 1828 dictionary as "belonging to a nation, system or other thing, and not to others". As children of God we no longer belong to this world, but are adopted into the family of God. We are to love the things that God loves, and hate the things that God hates. We need to be fully set aside for His work.
In what we commonly call Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" found in Matthew chapter five, our Saviour tells us that we need to be "salt in the earth", "the light of the world", "a city that is set on a hill", and "a candlestick". Each of these things shows a peculiararity (yes, I did make up that word) to what is common. When the world is dark in sin, we need to be the light that reflects the glory of our God! The unsaved should notice a difference in us that is so unmistakable, so unavoidable, that they just have to see it. We ought to be so conformed to Him that there is no way that they can escape our light. The glorious radiance of Jesus Christ should shine from us so brightly, that it nearly blinds them! That is the way that Jesus commands us to live, and it's the way that the men of God throughout the history of the Church have lived. Call me crazy, but I never read of Paul listening to a rock band that decided that they would label themselves as being "Christian" because they liked the sound of it. Holy men of God like the Apostles were separate from the world. They were sanctified and on-fire for the work of the Lord.
Sadly however, I don't see this separation in the walk of the average Christian in our day and age. Christians love the world! They love the music of the world, they love the clothes of the world, they love the speech of the world, they love the places of the world, but they're sure that they are born-again. I just don't get it!
I was involved in an event for teenagers last week and was disgusted at what I saw. Hundreds of teens who professed the name of Jesus dressed just like the world, talking just like the world, listening to nausiating "Christian" rock music, and hugging their boyfriends and girlfriends! I left that night with a heart broken for the non-peculiar Christians that are so prominent in the Laodicean Church Age in which we live.
Why don't people get it? You can't get salt water and fresh out of the same faucet. It doesn't work! The very same way you can't get God and world out of the life of a Christian. It doesn't work either...
With that said, I would like to introduce you to the Peculiarite blog. Not only will the posts be to encourage those living the faith, but also to encourage those who are not, to get moving. To get on-fire for God, and to become "a peculiar people, zealous of good works".
I can only imagine what the Church would be able to accomplish for the Gospel if everyone who professed to have a relationship with Jesus, became all that they could for God. Different than the world.
Just to set the record strait, my email address is pete@peculiarite.com, the address of the blog is www.Peculiarite.com, and the address of our feed is feeds.feedburner.com/peculiarite.
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