2013 is a New Slate

       Soon it will be 2013. A new year. A clean slate. 2012 will disappear and soon be only a remembrance.
        In 2012 we saw the re-election of an American President. The choice this time was between more of the same liberal agenda and policies of hands out to the people who feel entitled to be taken care of just because they occupy land on the earth-- programs they didn't earn (The Bible says that if a person will not work, neither let him eat.-- in other words, earn what you get through activity.)  and a man who felt you need to earn what you get.    
    After all, Romney had a job and knew how to earn what he got. Obama hasn't had to sweat for anything. He even had the entitlement feature of being black. And Americans seem to be afraid of blacks and tend to bend over backwards to give unearned favor to a person of color.
      But 2013 is before us. We can decide how we are going to leave our imprint on the year.
      Christianity Today has a report that we are becoming as a nation less centered on the teachings of the Bible and more humanistic. True, we are not a theocracy and never have been.
      You will hear someone say we were not founded as a Christian nation. If they mean we were not founded as a theocracy, a nation that was set up to have God as the ruler , in that I will have to agree. But George Washington did believe in God. Sure, he was a deist. He still had a sense of a supreme being ruling over the nation. A high percentage of our founders did believe in a supreme being and based their writings on that. And this was passed down to us in our Constitution which in the twentieth and twenty first century is being torn down and made to say something it was never set up to say.
      Let me step off my soap box. I just feel deeply about this.

      So in 2013 we can make new resolutions that we can strive to keep. Hopeful one will be to keep America  free. Also to be strong as a nation. We must also resolve to do to others what we would have them do to us. But at the same time we shouldn't allow them to take advantage of our stance that all people are worthy because all have been created in the womb by God. They are somebody. Even those who don't see things the way we do.  

World, the Flesh, and the Devil

  We read in the Bible that there are three areas that Satan uses to influence us to sin.

  I was reading a book on Demon Possession and the Christian. Can a Believer be demonized? If by demoinized we define it as possessed or owned.. no, a Christian can not be owned by the devil. A christian has been bought with the price of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our ownership is not something we can give.

   But if by demonized we mean influenced and maybe even harbor a spirit, yes, that is possible. A spirit has no corporal demensions so taking up space is no problem.

    Anyway, the three areas satan and his demons can use to influence us to sin are

• The World- that is the philosophy of the world system around them
• The Flesh- that is the evil sin nature that is still within us.
• The devil- Need I introduce who I am referring to?

    Those three

Still Here?

  Are you still here? Well, if you are reading this the answer is yes.
   All that hype about the Mayan calender ending on 21 December 2012 at the exact hour of 5 am and therefore the end of the world and life as we know it.
   Following that logic every December 31st at midnight the world ends. Why? Because there is no more dates on the calender.
    No. The world is not going to end because a calender runs out of days.
   Those of us who are still here, and that means you, know better.
    Some say this signifies an era of better mind expansion and spiritual insight.
   We have always had that. Spiritual insight comes from connection with God our creator. That is true insight. Insight also comes from drugs but that is the false type of insight. Also the wrong type of meditation, yoga, wrong information not grounded in truth, can give you insight but insight that can't be trusted.. 
  No, true insight is only given by God and the only way you can get true insight from God is to be related to Him through a process known as the New Birth. And that is only available if you come to the Father through Jesus Christ.
   He said he was The Way ,The Truth, and The Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.
   True wisdom and insight came a long time ago. It didn't have to wait until the Mayan calender ran out.
 

Forerunner To Jesus Happy

   So we have Mary after the announcement that she was to carry the baby who would be Jesus, The Savior of mankind, running nine miles (Well, maybe not running. She went by donkey or she walked) to her cousin ,Elizabeth whom she has heard is pregnant. Elizabeth is an old lady. But it is Elizabeth God had chosen to carry and give birth to John, the baptizer, the forerunner of the coming Messiah.
  A greater site. Mary, fourteen years of age, goes to Elizabeth maybe in her seventies. Neither one of them complains about their state. Elizabeth is old. She is about to have a baby to nurse and diaper and bring up to adulthood. Here was Mary, a young woman, unmarried and a virgin. Plus she had no idea if her espoused one, Joseph, was going to marry her. He was as far as we know, unaware at this point of Mary's pregnancy. He would find out when Mary returned that she was with child. An angel of the Lord, Gabriel to  be exact, would have to calm him down and Joesph would by faith beliefve the dream to be correct.
   When Mary enters the room, the fetus, who is John, jumps in Elizabeth's womb signifiying this is the mother of the Messaih coming. John was prophesized to be the one who announced the coming of the savior. He was the Elijah which was to come.
     Beautiful throught.

Best Question

Buying

    
   Are you aware that there is a question you can ask yourself that could save you from making the wrong  decision? At all times? That question is a simple one.
    "What is the wisest thing for me to do?"
      Not what is the easiest or most expedient. Just a simple, What is the wisest thing for me to do?
    I wish I had known this earlier in life.
    Of course everyone says that. There are things you can look back on that you wish you had not done. Like my present finances.
    I should be saving up for retirement. Instead I felt I could start a business to bring in money for retirement. But the costs of setting up have exceeded the on-hand resources so I am left with debt far beyond what I have cash to cover.
   Sure, someone will say, but it is an investment in your future. Fine. If that explanation works for you, you run with it. It is not working for me.
    Now I have to hope my business takes off and stays steady.
     I am selling vitamins online. Yes, you can buy vitamins online. You can go  here  and you can shop and buy.
     It all depends on my being able to keep up payments on the program that includes the web site.

Researching

     Would I have invested if I had asked myself that question, "What is the wisest thing for me to do in light of my past history concerning business ventures?"
       Knowing what I know now the answer is probably not. But I must press forward. Whatever the outcome,-- the business takes off or fails,-- I will still have to pay off my debts.
  

Mary And Her Place In History

  Mary, the young girl, about fourteen, whom we read about in the gospels, was an ordinary person. There was nothing to make her stand out among all the young girls of her day.
   She was promised to a man called Joseph. That meant she was set apart by her parents to marry this business man named Joseph.
   And one day as she was praying an angel appeared to her. And greeted her and told her she was going to be the woman who was to carry a special child.
   She was highly favored of God.. Not a special person. Not really out of the ordinary. Well, maybe there was something we don't know about how God chooses. All we know is that God wanted her to carry the fetus that would be Born into the world as Jesus.
     Joseph was a favored person also. Can you imagine. A Jewish gentleman who was promised to a virgin suddenly discovering his betroved was pregnant., It wasn't his. And he thought he knew she wasn't one to play around. She was a virgin.
   A virgin is a person who has not had a child. He himself was a virgin. They didn't play around. If they had, in a small town such as Nazareth was, word would get around and they would be stoned.
   And it is recorded that he was about to give her the divorce papers when an angel of God, Gabriel to be exact, appeared to him in  a dream at night and let him in on the plan. The baby wasn't his . The baby was placed in Mary by the Holy Spirit.
     And after this dream there was no longer any thought by Joseph to seek a divorce.
    They both knew the Bible well. They were God fearers. Mary's song to God recorded in Matthew was full of references to the Psalms and the Prophets. She knew her scriptures. She had memorized the passages and had hidden them in her heart and that was what came out when she spoke.
     She was not and is not a sinless person. She needed a savior as much as any other sinner. "My heart rejoices in  God my savior.."
     What a great thought to carry with you this Christmas season. Mary is not someone to be put on a pedestal and worshipped.

Morning Thoughts

   Am back to doing my morning devotions. I told you about them. I even instructed you how to do one.
    At least I think  I did. It was many months ago and I am sure you can look it up. May take some hunting but I am sure you will find it.
    I am presently in the book of Joshua. I read three chapters a day and a psalm of the day. Then I jot down my observations of the day's reading. I also include a scripture passage from that day's reading. That is just something I do. Add the scripture verse. I like to have something to memortize each day.
  David has said, In Psalm 119:11b, " Your word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against God."
   This week I have been impressed in my reading that God has mapped out areas for each tribe to conquer and possess. But they had to put some effort into it. There was no entitlement mentality allowed. They were to actively take their blessing and possess it.

   So it is with my blessing. I have been given a blessing but I must go and claim it and take possession of the blessing actively. I am not entitled to it. It is all a gift of God not as a result of works that I might not boast.

Be Thankful

Tomorrow in the United States is Thanksgiving Day. We have a lot to be thankful for. God is still blessing our nation. He has so far restraned mass evil from overtaking us. Sure, we have attacks from terrorists now, but that just tells me Jesus is coming back soon. The world is not going to get better. When people turn away from God and even go so far as to say He doesn't matter anymore, God leaves that people and nation alone and lets them distroy themselves and their nation.
   Don't let anyone tell you otherwise..America was founded by peple who acknowledged God and His soviegty over people and nations. They acknowledged that if we forget God we are doomed.
    But individual people, they can be thankful they are still alive. God can stop you breathing at any moment. You are reading this so He hasn't done that to you.
   

 So Have a nice Thanksgiving. Remember who gave it to you and acknowledge your Creator.

The Election 2012

Laughing at the fools

     We just had an election here in the United States. It was between government control and self reliance.
   America finds itself in bad shape. The American people, not all, seems to want four more years of handouts not hands up. They seem to have liked the Obama plan of giving the people what? Where is his fulfilled promise of lowering the unemployment gap by providing jobs? Where is the influx of hope? Hope, what hope?
   Change? Yes, the past four years have brought change. Now the United States apologizes for trying to improve another nation's standards.. offering them a chance to be free from oppression. Now the United States apologizes to people who are trying to destroy our system of government.
   The  57 million of us who were not duped and did not vote back in Obama should grieve for what we have lost by re-electing Obama and get back into the fight to keep our freedoms.
   There is a point at which a people get what they deserve. Our creator God allows us that freedom to be stupid and non-thinking and make decisions that in the long run are not for our good.

     Don't fall into that lie that Obama is A Christan. He is a partial Muslim with a sprinkling of Christian appearance. But no Christian okays gays the way Obama has. He is not what you think he is but he seems to know that if he gives handouts not a hand-up he can be elected.
   This is one mans' opinion and does not in any way represent a majority viewpoint.

Keep On Through Hard times

    I am noticing that my readship is falling off. Maybe the subject of discipleship is not an interesting one. Maybe the readers will come back if I went into a doctrinal study again.  It is hard to tell since I am here on this end and the reader is out there in cyberland looking for a good post.
  Readership falls and rises. Jesus Himself didn't have too many following Him but only those who were committed to know doctrine. He taught. They listened. Some walked away. Some stayed.

   Maybe what I have been posting is hard for some to read so they don't click on the post title.  Believe it or not  there are some posts that have not had any look at them. Alright. They will be there for others to look at later.
     A mark of a Christian is that they keep on for the hope of the resurrection of their bodies. this promise of a future resurrection is based on the downpayment made by Jesus at Calvery. He died and was buried and rose again on the third day. Because He did that I can be sure He will come get me. He will send an angel to escort me on my way so I have no chance of getting lost. To be absebnt from my body will mean I will be present with the Lord.

A look at Matthew 7:7

   Part of Christian Duty is to set up a Bible Study time and a period of Scripture memorization.. I am memorizing the sermon Jesus gave on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5 -7. 
   Today I would like to record a thought on Matthew 7:7. You know how it goes. "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.

   I discovered that the words 'Ask, Seek , Knock' are written in the Greek as present imperative. Imperatives are commands. Jesus wants us to ask, seek knock. Present in the sense that they are continuous. Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking.    
   I also discovered that for the first century person when Jesus said knock it was understood as another way to say pray.
   Theerfore it is a promise. And God Himslef said it. I firmly believe that Jesus is God in fleshly form. Therefore anything He says is the same as God saying it.

Basic Discipleship Truth

  We need to be aware if we are going to disciple someone that we ourselves have something to share. It is going to be a one on one relationship you will be setting up.

   You don't have to be perfect. In fact, it is best if you don't have everything together quite yet. The person you are discipling needs to see you struggle. How else is that person going to understand the Christian life and see Christian Growth?
    Of course you must realize that this is all possible because of the resurrection. If Christ is not raised, then what we do in discipleship is useless and just spinning our wheels, so to speak.
    Pastor Joe, the pastor of ACTS, A Church That Studies, has talked about the ascension. He states Christ ascended to heaven and opened the gates of heaven so that we can partake in the heavenly blessings that come down. That sounds about right.
     But we do need to be a Christian ourselves. We can't transmit something we don't have. We need to have a relationship with God because of the death of Jesus. And that death must have been as a payment for your sins.
     Jesus said if He be lifted up He will draw all men to himself. Yes. But after they are drawn someone needs to come along side and walk that person through what he needs to know. The Bible study. The prayer. The daily behavior. The attendence with fellow believers. 'Forsake not the assembling of yourself together as is the habit of some.'
      Just some basics.

   

God will Meet Your Needs

There is a Bible verse that God will meet all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. But when it comes to a business start-up I am not too sure that applies.
  Again the Bible says casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. That may apply somewhat when you are starting up a business. The daily care of cash flow and traffic enough to pay the bills you are accumulating are cares.
   It helps if you are a prayer. You can talk it out with the Lord. Not that He will all of a sudden pour money out. Even if the Bible does say give and it will be given to you, pressed down and overflowing, that may not be talking about finances. More like it is talking about needs being met.

   Tithing , bring all into the store house and I will pour out is talking more about blessings than it is finances.
   Even if I were to want to force financal provision into those verses and make God a bank, I just can't seem to.
    In the long run you will just have to trust that all will work out. Also that God knows and has allowed you to be where you are. And that together you and He will be alright.

More On Discipleship

Another way to look at discipleship is to think in the area of being pleasing to God. We all want the creator of the universe to be pleased with us.
   We become very much like then person or thing we spend a great amount of time with. If we work and don't spend time with our family, we become workaholics. We may lose our family.

   That is not good.
    So we need to be spending time if we truely want to be discipled and be like Jesus, we need to spend that time with Jesus.
   Jesus spent a good three eyars and more with his disciples. They heard what he said. They ate what he ate. They slept where he slept. And one day they became disciples and did what he did.

Wrong Ideas About Discipleship

More about discipleship. Maybe it would be better to say what discipleship is not.
   I know a church that has a pastor who thinks that discipleship just happens . He is telling his people that they are all to be making disciples and he feels the whole things is taken care of by small groups and Bible Study Fellowships, and witnessing.
   That may be part of it but it is not discipleship.
   First off a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ. A person can not follow someone they have not studied and know. Discipleship is a process, not a moment in time.
    Discipleship is two people sharing life together, the good times along with the bad times. Two sharing failures as well as successes. It is putting life in boot leather.
      It is being free to cry and cheer in each others presence.
      It is not leading a person to the Lord and then leaving him to figure out the rest. To find out how the Bible relates to life.
       I believe that when you set up a disciple there should be at least eight years between the two of you and no more than eleven. Too close and it is too soon for the discipler to have enough to share. Too long and there is the problem of relating to the needs expressed.

    Discpleship is sharing life and wisdom with another person. You can't do that if you make a convert and run. You must stay and work with the person until they can turn and duplicate.
    Complete the process.

Training Places

  The church needs gifted individuals. Yes. but also trained individuals.

   A good foundational University to attend for Bible training and literacy is Biola University. You will get 30 units of Bible no matter what your declared major. You get it even if you are not a Bible major.
    Another good school is Moody Bible Institute.
   And if you wish to beccome a leader in the church you can consider Talbot School of Theology which meets on the same campus as Biola University.
   I also would recommend Dallas and Western. Masters Seminary is also a good training ground.
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Discipleship Is Needed

Pastor Joe has a vision for the ACTS family. We need to get a program going of discipleship. So the question is, what is discipleship? Yes, it includes Bible study and prayer.
  As I see it discipleship is a one on one relationship between two people. Our example for discipleship would be Jesus. He had twelve and of those twelve he had three. And those who were his disciples ate with, walked with, talked with and observed Jesus.
     It has been sugegsted you have an eight to ten year age difference between the two of you. Man should disciple men and women should disciple women.

     This sounds like a good way to grow the church. Small groups are not discipleship. Needs groups are not discipleship.
      Go slowly. but move forward.
   Pastor Joe states we will need a gifted person to take on the training and leadership to duplicate in the life of others. I think he means we need a trainer who is a Christian who is gifted by God, the Holy Spirit, with the exact gift of discipleship
   True, all Christian should be discipling yet we aren't.
    God has given to the church gifted individuals to train and build up other believers. I think this is what Pastor Joe is talking about.

Sermon Rocked The House

     Last Saturday in Victory Christian Fellowship, a new church being planted in the city of Santa Monica, a guest speaker, a Pastor Cheery Smith, a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Seminary, both located in the city of La Mirada, CA, spoke on the need for community. He pointed out from the book of Acts that the early church had all things in common and they gathered together to hear the apostles doctrine (preaching) and they shared  what they had with one another.
     We need community because no one of us has all the abilities within themselves. We are dependent on others. For example, you may have a need to know how to share the word of God with others. Your fellow Christian has just shared the word and he comes and shares with the group his success. You can learn from him and be built up. "So that is how it can be done. I am encouraged."

       He was very good and I think he had the attention of the young folks. Victory Christian Fellowship is for the young people by the young people and needs to grow. Pastor Daryl is trying hard but he can't do it alone. He needs once in a while a guest speaker to come in and give him a rest. This is what was happening.

Sheep Know His Voice

  Today being a Sunday I went to services. Todays' sermon concerned the passage in John about the sheep and the shepherd. The shepherd leads the flock. He doesn't push them along. The sheep know and trust the shepherd. that is why they follow. And they only know their shepherd not someone elses.

 And just how do the sheep know who is their shepherd? Glad you asked. It is because the shepherd has been with them since they were lambs. They grew up with him and have learned to trust him.
So it is with us who are called Christians. Jesus is our shepherd. He leads us and we, in trust, follow Him.
  Do you knw Him? Is He your shepherd?

Safe People

        Are you a safe person?  In relationships with others are we safe? Or  is there some resistance to growth?
     We show resistance when we refuse to allow others to get in to our life and interact with us? Pastor Joe calls it his Sybil. Sybil was a woman who had multiple personalities.
    We all have a form or resistance within ourselves. It is something we developed in childhood to protect ourselves. Now it has become a game to deny everything. Every time  we deny we reinforce the resistance.to change and allow the unreal you to show up.
      Now talking about the Christian person within the fellowship who is immoral, I mean, a sexual immoral person who won't change ever though you approach him or her and confront him or her, they just won't change, the best thing you can do, according to what God has said, is to separate yourself from him or her. Sure, it will feel like abandonment, but if they show resistance and it becomes a habit, then the only thing you can do is leave.
   Stop the cycle and become a safe person. Be real. Admit you don't understand all about yourself. Ask for feedback. Ask questions such as what do I do that pushes you away from me? And what do I do that draws you toward me?
   These are two good questions to ask your loved one if married, or to that person you are dating.

Certification of Victory Christian Fellowship

      He is back here now. He has spent four days up in Sacramento looking for the okay to be a new church plant. Never mind that for a year now he has been holding services under the name of Victory Christian Fellowship. Never mind the fact that he is a church plant sent out from ACTS Church. Without  the group approval of  organization he would be unable to get sponsorship money. Never mind that for the past year he has had to do it without any money coming in.
      If  you were to meet Daryl face to faced he would come across as a humble person who has no needs. I am sure of if wasn't for his wife he would be a mystic who denied his needs.
       Not that I am trying to put him down. I admire him. But if he were to look me in the face and say that he lives on faith, I must say, fine, faith is good but it won't pay for lighting, for hymnn books, for upkeep, for.. you name it.
      I realize this posting is way different from the others.
      I guess what I want to say is it isn't easy being called by God to be a church leader. It is a hard road and few there be who can walk it.

Four Kinds Of Soil

      I am sitting here realizing that I am instructing people by way of this blog on the subject of  Bible Study. I must realize, if I am to believe what Jesus said, that not everyone who is reading this is able to receive the teaching.
      That is the reason Jesus spoke in parables according to what He said as recorded in Matthew 13:13.
      Jesus taught in a strange way. You would think that if a person wanted to pass along truth he would talk plainly.
      Yet this parable in Matthew 13:3-9 , the sower, Jesus points out why. Remember now, He is speaking in parable to cause the people to think.
       The sower, explained in Matthew 13: 28-23, is anyone who handles the word of God. The seed is the word. The first soil is beside the road and the birds come and eat it up. Jesus states the birds are the evil one, whom I take to be Satan.
       The second soil is a rocky place. The seed does go down , this soil has the word of God, which has some effect. But not enough to settle in and grow. It dies having nothing to  grasp on to. This soil must still be someone who has not set up a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
          So we move on to the third soil. Many reading this blog in fact all reading this blog are a form of soil. That is why I am sharing. I am trying to scatter seed. So the third soil sees to be people who have heard the word and in this case read this blog and decided that if they had enough money they could deal with any worries. They don't need what they call a crutch. They have heard that God can meet their needs. But they have the wealth. they feel they don't need this God. They can do it themselves.
     Needless to say this is not good soil.
     Now on to the fourth type of person who reads these blogs. The ones who are reading and saying, that sounds like the truth. I want to produce for God. I know worries and trouble and hardship will come. They come to all people who are living on this earth. But I also know a God who can meet my needs no matter how bad and intense the circumstances.
  So this person starts to produce fruit. The soil is good. this soil has a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
    And that is one way to do a Bible Study.

Christ our example

 Today, in fact this morning at Acts :A Church That Studies- we discussed Christ our example as seen in the incarnation. Scripture used was John 1:14. Christ came in flesh. He being God became flesh like us so he could be our example. You should be able to find a podcast there and other information about the church. Even if you can't be there you can weekly tune in for the podcasts.

Impressions

  Let me take a side road here and talk about impressions one can have of the person carrying the messsage of God's love for mankind.
    Some people can be humble and and aware that they are allowed to be God's spokeman. They will tend to stick to the Bible text and not try to play to the people's itching ear.
   There are others that feel God's word needs for them to,  how shall I say it, stoop over to loading the message they carry with personal references that you, the listener tend to walk away feeling good but not having God speak tro a need you have. Leaving these people you feel like you have heard something of substance but really all you got was a empty message that has been covered with icing. Sweet and as long as you are not looking for an injunction on what to do with what ytou have heard, you walk away satisfied. and feeling fed.

      I probably am not making sense.  If not please comment and set me strraight.

God Speaks and Man Responds

  We need to be doing our own Bible study. Those of us who have a relatiuonship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ (I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me, Is what Jessu said.) need to stay in contact with Him. Since God is spirit and those who are going to worship Him must approach Him in that realm, just how do you expect to do it?
   God has spoken. He is not silent. He communicates. He, I believe, communicates in he Bible. In fact, ever since Adam and Eve He has been communicating. He has selected special people to overshadow and by the Holy Spirit communicate and have them record what He wants said.
    No, this is not dictation. If it was, then, the individual style of each book of the Bible would be uniform. They are not. Each book has the style of the person God overshadowed. David is David. Salomon is Solomon. Moses is Moses. And so on.

    So we take our Bible and we pray to God that we will have understanding.
   We have a notebook and pen with us. We want to record what we discover there.

1.   What is the passage about?
2.   To whom is the passage addressed?
3.   Is there an example for me to follow?
4.   Is there a sin for me to avoid?
5.   How do I apply what I am reading?

    That is what I mean. You don't have to be a scholar. No one but you is going to see this.

Bible Study

   Let us get back to basics. I have told you time and again that the source of truth and trustworthiness is the Bible.

   Since that is so we need to study it more. I admit I approach the Bible with a big bias. God has spoken and He has caused what He has spoken to be written down. All accounts of historical places, names, and events are assumed to be accurate and true.

    So when we hear it being preached from the pulpit we are hearing God's word being spoken. True, it is being heard by us in the voice of a man but the words he is reading are God's word.

    It is then our job to read it for ourselves and not just by ourselves. We need small groups. We need to discuss what God has said. We must realize that  the words are as important as the thoughts. We can have confidence in its message.

   I do not recommend a paraphrase.  A paraphrase acts as a commentary not a direct word. I recommend the New American Standard or the New King James. Be careful using the New International version. It is good, but in places it leans toward nonliteral in word choice. I will discuss translations later so I will not, in this posting, venture there.

   What translation do you use? Maybe that is soemthing I can post about if there is interest.

  

A Father is a Champ

     Today is Father's day. Happy Father's day to all the dads and dads to be. You are heroes. We all salute you. You don't have an easy job. Your children look up to you to see just what a man is like. Your sons say that is what I want to be when I grow up. Better yet, that is who I want to be when I grow up. Your daughters look at you and say, that is the type of man I want to marry. Your wives look at you and say, that is the man I married and God blessed me with the perfect man, suited for me.
     And when you are not as perfect as you want to be or think you should be, that is when you should be transparent enough to say that you are not perfect but that is okay. God is not done working on me.

     And father, don't forget your source when it comes down to it. You are only as good as the source of your authority.

In The Beginnng

     When we look out at things around us we may wonder, how did it all come about? How did I come about?

    For a Christian that is easy to answer. The Bible tells us, "In the beginning God created."
    Yes. What is creation?, you ask. The best way to define it is to say Creation is  the beginning of the universe and human life.
   When was this beginning? We don't really know. But the Bible says there was a beginning. Not of God. But of time as we know it.So we ask, what did God create?
     God did not create an extension of Himself. He is complete. But the Bible does tell us He created Angels. That is found in psalm 148:2,5. The book of Job refers to the angels in Job 38:4-7.
     Humanity, male and female, was created to exist on a higher level above all other thiongs created. Humanity, in the beginning, was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26)  and was given domination over the rest of the creation on Earth (Genesis 1:28) That image is still there but in a fallen broken state. Jesus came to restore that state.
     That will be another subject.
      This image is not physical. But since God is spirit we can figure it is a spirit image.
     How did God create? He created from nothing ex nihilo. He spoke and it came into existence.
     Why did God create? That is a good question. He wasn't lonely. He didn't need other creatures to complete Himself. He must have done it because He is Love and it is to His glory to create objects to love.

Actions Speak your Salvation

   This morning Pastor Joe preached from 1John 5:1-15. He said that your belief  is  not seen if you  do nothjing but sit around and act as if what you believe is a  privayte affair between you and God. Your actions are. And John points out that your behavior towards others and toward Jesus, who did come in the flesh, shows your salvation.
     But basicly, Jesus did come in a body. The body is the package that carries the real man. Jesus had a real body. Only a real body can be hungry. Only a real body can bleed. Only a real body can eat food. Only a real body can ascend into heaven. And only a real body can come back again.

     If Jesus were not in a body He wouldn't be anyone to follow. We must be Christ like, John calls us sons of God, if we are Christians. As sons we represent all others are going to see of God. All we do we should do knowing that fact.
      Not too many of us are called to stand on street corners and preach. No,  But we all are called to act daily in the awareness that we may be the only link between God and man when it comes to the decision he will have to make.
     When we get to heaven God is going to ask, "What did you do with  my Son, Jesus?"  "Why should I let you into my heaven?"
  

Bible Study = Growth

Looking for Wisdom

      One of my favorite subjects to talk about. Bible study. How can you know what God has said unless you are reading what He wrote? I am firm here. "Study to show yourself approved  to God a workman who does not need to be ashamed..." 
    How can your faith grow if you don't know what to base it on? "Faith comes by hearing (And reading and study) and hearing by the word of God."
    When you do that Bible study have a pen or pencil handy. Also have a note book ready to jot down what you are discovering. Treat your Bible study time as a treasure hunt. There are little nuggets of wisdom. Some are on the surface and others have to be dug for.
   Ask yourself- what is the subject of this passage? Who is speaking? To whom is the passsge being transmitted? What does this passge tell  me about God?  What does it say about me?What am I to do with what the passage is saying?
    All may not be in that one passge. But as you study.. and that means re-reading it over and over, maybe coming back to it another time

        Also be in a Bible teaching church and fellowship with others. Ask them questions. Find a Bible Study group. Join. Add your two cents. Grow.

There are blessings in forgiveness

  To continue on the subject of forgiveness. You can forgive a person and still not forget what he has done. It will take time for that person to work back in your trust. That is normal. But the main blessing in forgiveness is that it frees you up. You no longer have to carry that heavy burden. You can wave that flag and go on with your life.
   Let the offending party go. God will handle him.
   If you want a good series on forgiveness and the blessing in forgiveness you can no doubt listen to the pod casts of that time period when Pastor Joe allowed his sermon series to be recorded and mad einto a pod caast. For the podcasts you just go over to http://acts1.libsyn.com/webpage. It is there.
   Also a good series around mothers day about Ruth and Naomi. A whole different way of looking at it.

   A great lesson on mentorship and direction.

Obama and the Recovery

    Are we in a recovery? Has Obama done what he promised? I think he promised to get us jobs and  bring us out of what he said was the worst economy since the great depression. And how would he know? He wasn't alive during the 1930's. And he really hasn't brought us a recovery from the 2008 recession. Not really.
    The Obama recovery plan has  produced an average GDP growth of 2.4 percent since the reported recession ended.
    Let us look at the third quarter of 2011. The U.S. economy grew at 2.5 percent.That gives us  nearly a trillion dollars lost to the GDP. It has cost us 10.5 million jobs (So much for putting America back to work to help a  failing economy.) More than 14 million people are unemployed. There are seven people who need a job for each job opening.
    So Obama wants to redistribute the wealth. He will redistribute it not to the middle class nor to the lower class but into the pockets of the financal elite.

     And he has told you what he wants to do.
     He has said "The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we are going to have a government that tells the Amerrican people, "you are on your own. ...If you get sick, you are on your own. If you can't afford college, you're on your own. If you don't like that some corporation is pollutting your air or the air that your child breathes, than you're on your own" that's not the America I believe in. It's not the America you believe in."
    Sounds me me like entitlement. Since when do we have a right to attend College? Since when do we have the right to be waited on as a child, handed everything because we are not capable of earning our own.? When did we come to think that job creation came about by redistributing income?
    That is what the Obama people are trying to tell you.
    Marxist and communistic economies never transfer weath to the poor and middle classes. They tend to transfer it to government officials and their cronies. That is what seems to be happening at the moment under the Obama economy plan. If the economy of the U.S. can be weaken to the point of us being just another player in the new world order controled by the political/ financial elite than it seems Obabma will have been successful at reaching his goal. He will have his grievance against the "imperilist" America completed. He will have increased the financal debt, he will have the unchecked spending, the weaking of the dollar, the class warfare. We have seen it in the Occupy groups that are popping up.
    $4 trillion dollars was added to our national debt by Obama during the first three years of his administration.. Does that sound to you like he is helping our economy by creating jobs and bringing down the debt? He has promised to create three million American jobs. Where are they? And don't say he needs another four years to complete his plan.
    So to answer the question I started thius blog with, has Obama done what he promised? My answer is yes. But his promise to who??

Obama and 2012

 I am not sure that this blog is the correct place to post this, but since I fellowship with a group of black Christians I feel that this is the place where I can put this.
  Obama is up for reelection this year. In lock step, it seems, the blacks have voted for Obama for no other reason  other than he is black.

   True, he is black. He is also not the one we should re-elect as President. His actions over the past years have not been good for America and its' freedom. He has  now made it his right as President to indefinitely detain any US citizen on the grounds that he or she could be a "terrorist". Yes, on the evening of December 31, 2011 he signed a bill that gave him the power as President of the United States to do so.( Michael Savage, Trickle Down Tyranny,) He has deprived U.S. citizens of the freedom for which our men in uniform are fighting.
   And his actions in the past should show us what he feels about America. Have you heard about the utter contempt for America he and his wife, Michelle showed toward the 9/11 observance at the World Trade Center?  I am not sure what year. But it was while the American Flag was being folded in the traditional manner that Michelle leaned over and said to her husband, the President of the United States, "All this over a flag?" to which Obama grinned and nodded his head in agreement.(Ibid)
   I won't say he leans toward the Marxist mind set. But I would expect more respect for the nation served.
   Is Romney any better? I don't know. But can he be worse? I don't know that either.
    Judge a man by his actions, is all I am saying.

Obama is wrong

arrogant

          The other day our dear President Obama, I don't know if he meant it this way, came out for the gay life style and gave the blessing on it. He said that .  I don't know for sure which translation if any he was quoting from, stated that the golden rule which to him came down to treat others as the saame way you want to be treated. He has it somewhat right. But that doesn't have anything to do with a sexual choice a person has made and for sure it has nothing to do with the marriage contract beteween a man and a woman.. a male and a female
        I wonder now, just what would he be thinking if one of his daughters decided that they didn't want to be the female God created them to be and instead decided thay were going to be a , what??.
        Would he say, "That's okay, honey. Just be yourself whatever that may be?"
       I wonder how he(Obama) defines terms and on what authority he depends.
       I myself define terms not by what the world says but by what God in the Bible says. I may not understand completely what is being meant, but since God is the creator I would think He knows more than I do what He meant. And I am not talking now about Obama.

Naomi the Mentor

  We all need a mentor. We all need someone who can take us under their wing, so to speak, and show us how it is done.
   In the Bible we have a woman like that. Her story is found in the book of Ruth. Only four chapters. This womans' name is Naomi.
   She was a Jew. She was also a mother. She had two sons. Their mames were Mahlon and Chilion. Not much is said about them. They no doubt wouldn't be mentioned if it wasn't for the fact of them being the husbands of two Moabite women.  The womens' name were Orpah and Ruth.

   It starts out a sad story. There was a famine in the land where Naomi and her husband, Elimelech along with her two osns lived. They were hungray so Elimelech decides to take his family into Moab where there was food. While there Elimelich dies. The two sons marry the Moabite women. They die. Naomi is left with these two Moabite women. Ten years have poassed. Ruth and Orphah have observed during these years how Naoiomi lived after the death of her husband. And how she cared for them even thoughh they were not of the Jewsih faith. The Moanbites were the offfspring of Lot, so they were related by blood but were not in the promised line that God had set up. They were not Jews.
  As ther story goesd on there is the reprot of better times back in the land of the Jews. Naomi had no reaon to stay in Moab. She wants to get back to her home land. But since she had no sons anymore nor a husband to take care of her she was without hope.Her only chance was back ion the land. Maybe she could find .. what?? The only way she could live on is to have a husband or sons to care for her. She had none of these. She was too old to get married and have sons.
   Sbe only had these two women and they were young enough to find husbands if they returned to the land of Maob. They were aliens.
   Naomi tells them to go back home and find a husband. They were young enough and no dount pretty enough to find a husband among the people of Moab.
    Orpah went back. But Ruth had seen something in Naomi that made her choose to follow Naomi.
     So Ruth went home with Naomi.
    The rest of the story is that God blessed Ruth by directing her to the field of a kinsman Redeemer. Naomi was too old to work but Ruth took on the responsibility of the care of her mother-in-law. Rutn no doubt saw something in the example of Naomi that made her want to do this.