This weekend we just had a speaker come and talk on the topic of media and the brain.
It was very eye opening for many of us.
The areas of music, social networking, video games, and theatrical entertainment are all places where the devil can reach God's children to insert ungodly principles into our lives, and believe me, Im living example of how much spiritual degradation can be brought through media. And BTW if you didn't know, media is a medium, and can be used for good and evil. But guess who rules this world and its media, ill give you a hint, its not God.
We also talked about addictions.
And if you think media and similar can't be an addiction think again. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association put Video Games and Internet Gaming down as a legitimate addiction and disorder.
You know what that means? If that can be a addiction, its more than possible for people to become addicted or make a negative habit out of things in the same realm. For instance-
Social media, even blogger. (Disclaimer- this is not a lets burn it all type exclamation)
I purpose to be open and honest with everyone and myself, and to be honest, something as simple as Blogger, which I aim to share spiritual and righteous material with, can still be something that gets between me and God.
Its about temperance, and self-control, which both principle to help us maintain our relationship with Christ. Time and trust are building blocks for relationships but often time I find myself honestly devoting more time to the internet, and the desire to share my thoughts on here.
When, as a Christ lover I should be devoting myself to sharing my thoughts with Him and receiving and reading his thoughts in his word.
I honestly would be frightened to find out how much time really I sacrifice to my desire to be engaged in social networking and how much time I spend think about myself or others I enjoy thinking about instead of God.
ANYTHING can come between you and God. But God wants to help us, and If we think, even slightly feel as if something, even simple or innocent is disturbing our relationship with Christ we should cut it off.
Imagine with me you are eating a snack, or something, or just having a meal and you read a article about the food you have been eating. It says that if this food is consumed over a long period of time it can "possibly" create a disease that will eventually kill the consumer.
I would probably stop eating it. It doesn't matter, I would not take the minutest chance of it. I I hope you would do the same, at the very least stop eating it to see if you feel different.
But its so sad that many of us will guard out physical health with zeal but not our spiritual health.
Satan's favorite trick is to give you something that only has a little bit of spiritual poison but it tastes really really good, or maybe its something that feels really good, or maybe even you are using this thing like me, and justifying its use because it can help people come closer to God.
Read this-
"But I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected." 1 Cor 9:27
Paul is speaking to me and many others in this verse. He is saying you could be PREACHING, doing Gods work, evangelizing, and still if we are not guarded, if we are not disciplined, we will be lost, castaway, and rejected.
I myself have had the Holy Spirit speaking softly to my heart on this issue, and I plan to fast from blogger and social stuff and music for 7 days. And yah, I will miss important things, I will not be sharing my experiences or thoughts.
But really, lets be logical, if Christ is the one we adore and love, we should be happy to give up something to make more time to talk to him and read His words.
So, do you love Him, or at least want to love Him more?
Join me, and fast, give up, or sacrifice something to him for just a week, and don't just fill it with meaningless things, but put in that effort to make it additional time for prayer and getting to know who our Friend, Lover, Creator, Lord, Master, and God really is and what he wants to say to you.
Chances are He has something to say to you right now.
Give it a shot, you may lose some, even losing good things like connections to friends and family, but God will notice your effort.
But don't take my word for it.
28Then Peter began to say to him, See, we have left all, and have followed you. 29And Jesus answered and said, Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30But he shall receive an hundred times now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. Mark 10:28-31
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Supliment or Substitute
I wrote this essay for my class, and had to limit the words a bit, so its packed with meaning.
I thought I should post it since it's a topic I actually care about.
----------------------
Social Media
“The wise do not buy into other people’s perceptions of who they are and what they are capable of. Instead, they bypass a person’s public persona and see who they are in their highest expression. When you see actions taken with integrity, instead of words only, you will then know a soul’s worth.” - Shannon L. Alder
Social media is the phenomena of the century, providing many people with various questions about how do we, as social beings, truly find meaning. No one doubts that this new avenue for communication has various effects on the most recent generation. Many that consistently use this medium wouldn't hesitate to tell you how things like Facebook, and Instagram have helped bolster there social sphere and improve their relationships. On the other hand, many of these same people would admit to the detrimental effects of daily social media usage. From distracting them from priorities and causing occasional frustration due to a uncomfortable post, one does not need to dig deep past the surface conveniences to find the numerous faults in social media. Those faults, some not so easily defined, are influencing the realms of relationships we are so purposely trying to foster.
Social media is among, if not foremost in recent innovations for increasing the amount of communication is able to accomplish. This being said, we must now inspect communication and how communication quality may be affected in this electronic environment. The communication quality during the typical use of social media is more often than not, lacking in connection. Imagine two friends meet on a normal day, but one friend brings their adorable kitten into the fold and both parties exchange exclamations of how cute the little animal is. This real life interaction provides the friends the ability to share the experience with varying responses, all while perceptively gauging the enjoyment of the friend. And inversely, a friend can observe the deeper relays of dissatisfaction or sadness in the other friend. Compare this to an attempt to share the experience on a social medium, like Twitter or even YouTube. Though you may be able to increase the magnitude of responses, the sense of genuine understanding is far lost in the confounds of the consuming electronic experience.
Furthermore, an aspect that also should be taken into consideration when using is not just quality of your relationship experience but of your own self depiction. A social media user must be weary of how beholding an abnormally high amount of filtered life experiences will effect how one perceives their personal life success. While one can lackadaisically browse the uploads and posts of hundreds of people's amusing experiences, the brain will ultimately reason itself into a state of discontent catalyzing a need to provide a experience that would rival some of the posts just lay eyes on. This continual, and sometimes competitive posting of abnormal life portrayals is a prime motivator for the perpetual use of social media. The craving to exhilarate themselves in social networking's arena of attention is by use of entertaining posts, all necessitating a increase in interesting content to fuel a wheel of praise. Though some are outside this arena, most are inside, fighting, and those that aren't fighting, are inevitably part of the crowd cheering on this unceasing display for a reinforced self image.
These effects from social media aren't discriminatory. People are effected no matter who they are. Men and woman alike have been the recipients of dissatisfaction. Researchers from two different German universities have noticed a pervading attitude among certain social media users. The researchers bring out that both sexes feel pressure to make their online image in the “best light.” Men specifically are found to exclaim there self-promotion in there personal biographies, linking to a flaunting of words to attain success in display. Women, the authors of the study say, are much more apt to emphasize “physical attractiveness and sociability.” The stated characteristics of this parading of self-image are obviously not confined to one gender or the other. One needs but only a few moments on a social media site to see a male profile with a flurry of new “selfies” or to find narcissistic profile descriptions on a females account.
This being said, discounting all social media to be inherently evil or destructive would be a brash overstatement. The effects of social media on the most delicate areas of a individuals life are in quite varying degrees but none-the-less apparent. An article on the subject gives a accurate summerization “Online relationships are less valuable than offline ones. Indeed, their net benefit depends on whether they supplement or substitute for offline social relationships.” This paper is not a decree to ban social media, but to raise awareness on the effects. Though not exhaustive in its influences, hopefully this essay gave room for thought on what else social media may be the cause of in one who partakes in this contemporary communication.
I thought I should post it since it's a topic I actually care about.
----------------------
Social Media
“The wise do not buy into other people’s perceptions of who they are and what they are capable of. Instead, they bypass a person’s public persona and see who they are in their highest expression. When you see actions taken with integrity, instead of words only, you will then know a soul’s worth.” - Shannon L. Alder
Social media is the phenomena of the century, providing many people with various questions about how do we, as social beings, truly find meaning. No one doubts that this new avenue for communication has various effects on the most recent generation. Many that consistently use this medium wouldn't hesitate to tell you how things like Facebook, and Instagram have helped bolster there social sphere and improve their relationships. On the other hand, many of these same people would admit to the detrimental effects of daily social media usage. From distracting them from priorities and causing occasional frustration due to a uncomfortable post, one does not need to dig deep past the surface conveniences to find the numerous faults in social media. Those faults, some not so easily defined, are influencing the realms of relationships we are so purposely trying to foster.
Social media is among, if not foremost in recent innovations for increasing the amount of communication is able to accomplish. This being said, we must now inspect communication and how communication quality may be affected in this electronic environment. The communication quality during the typical use of social media is more often than not, lacking in connection. Imagine two friends meet on a normal day, but one friend brings their adorable kitten into the fold and both parties exchange exclamations of how cute the little animal is. This real life interaction provides the friends the ability to share the experience with varying responses, all while perceptively gauging the enjoyment of the friend. And inversely, a friend can observe the deeper relays of dissatisfaction or sadness in the other friend. Compare this to an attempt to share the experience on a social medium, like Twitter or even YouTube. Though you may be able to increase the magnitude of responses, the sense of genuine understanding is far lost in the confounds of the consuming electronic experience.
Furthermore, an aspect that also should be taken into consideration when using is not just quality of your relationship experience but of your own self depiction. A social media user must be weary of how beholding an abnormally high amount of filtered life experiences will effect how one perceives their personal life success. While one can lackadaisically browse the uploads and posts of hundreds of people's amusing experiences, the brain will ultimately reason itself into a state of discontent catalyzing a need to provide a experience that would rival some of the posts just lay eyes on. This continual, and sometimes competitive posting of abnormal life portrayals is a prime motivator for the perpetual use of social media. The craving to exhilarate themselves in social networking's arena of attention is by use of entertaining posts, all necessitating a increase in interesting content to fuel a wheel of praise. Though some are outside this arena, most are inside, fighting, and those that aren't fighting, are inevitably part of the crowd cheering on this unceasing display for a reinforced self image.
These effects from social media aren't discriminatory. People are effected no matter who they are. Men and woman alike have been the recipients of dissatisfaction. Researchers from two different German universities have noticed a pervading attitude among certain social media users. The researchers bring out that both sexes feel pressure to make their online image in the “best light.” Men specifically are found to exclaim there self-promotion in there personal biographies, linking to a flaunting of words to attain success in display. Women, the authors of the study say, are much more apt to emphasize “physical attractiveness and sociability.” The stated characteristics of this parading of self-image are obviously not confined to one gender or the other. One needs but only a few moments on a social media site to see a male profile with a flurry of new “selfies” or to find narcissistic profile descriptions on a females account.
This being said, discounting all social media to be inherently evil or destructive would be a brash overstatement. The effects of social media on the most delicate areas of a individuals life are in quite varying degrees but none-the-less apparent. An article on the subject gives a accurate summerization “Online relationships are less valuable than offline ones. Indeed, their net benefit depends on whether they supplement or substitute for offline social relationships.” This paper is not a decree to ban social media, but to raise awareness on the effects. Though not exhaustive in its influences, hopefully this essay gave room for thought on what else social media may be the cause of in one who partakes in this contemporary communication.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Motivation
I apologize to anyone who was wanting more content here recently, Ive been busy with school, personal finances, family stuff, and more personal things.
But a midst all this, for school I made a Bible study that happened to be completely wrong so I redid it. But this was the original one, its very simple, I am bad at following the teachers structure but I hope it makes sense. Lets begin.
But a midst all this, for school I made a Bible study that happened to be completely wrong so I redid it. But this was the original one, its very simple, I am bad at following the teachers structure but I hope it makes sense. Lets begin.
What is love?
(John 3:16) For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
(Galatians 2:20) I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
(Ephesians 5:25)
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it
Love is a motivating
principle revolved around giving. God gives his perfect example of
love by giving the most he can in a selfless way.
Its about Sacrifice,
or what is given.
What is Lust?
(I John 2:16) For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
(James 1:15) Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.
Lust, a desire for
something to find pleasure in the flesh, eyes or life. It, when
conceived, is sin.
What is Sin?
(I John 3:4)
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law.
(Deuteronomy 6:1)
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments,
which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them
in the land whither ye go to possess it:
(Exodus 20:6) And
shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.
(Luke 10:27-28) And
he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou
hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Since Love is
integrated with obedience to the commandments, and the commandments
are all selfless sacrifices of something we would rather do, that it
would be self-serving to oppose.
Thus sin is
transgression of the law is selfishness, since you are going against
or rebelling against selfless requirements.
What is lust and
love more practically then?
Love is the desire
to give unselfishly for no rewards, even to the detriment of ones
self.
Lust is the desire
to take selfishly to gain, even to the harm or death of others.
What is Salvation?
(Titus 2:11-12) For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
(John 1:29) The next
day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
A bi-product of
salvation is eternal life, eternal life is not salvation itself.
People want to be
saved from death without being saved from sin.
Ultimately we can
desire salvation in a sinful way.
We can try
overcoming sin, in a way that is sinful. Desiring or coveting heaven,
the rewards of salvation.
Can we pursue
righteousness in an unrighteous way?
The answer is yes.
We can covet and lust after the perks of a relationship with Christ.
So the question we
ask ourselves now is, do we follow Christ because of what we want? Or
do we follow Christ because of what he wants?
What does Christ
want?
(Hebrews 2:17)
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people
Christ says he wants
to get closer to us or "reconsile, thus he makes all effort to remove sin from
separating us.
So do we want to be
closer to be closer to Christ or closer to the perks of Christ's
gifts?
------This is where my assignment ended, but I had another thought that I put down separately on my phone.
I was thinking about love at first sight... It's such a common term people use, but just as brought out earlier in this post I think it, being a worldly popular term has something to teach us about the Devil's counterfeit Love.
Is Love at first sight fake? a ploy? Can it be related to our experience with Jesus?
Is it a deception? I believe so, and I hope you will see my line of thought here clearly.
This deception leads people to assume they are "in love" with Jesus but usually there are certain impure motives for this attraction. They want what Jesus has not who Jesus is, the "love" the stuff that comes with the relationship, not the relationship itself.
Just like Lucifer's accusation against Job, "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land." Job 1:10, we all are "accused" of loving the blessing rather than the Blesser.
So how do we react when God lets Satan take blessing from us, lose of money, health, or otherwise.
In our words, actions, or heart so we stay loving God? Its your reaction in those moments that reveals to the universe who we really love.
If eternal life, heaven, and earthly blessings were never mentioned as rewards, would we still pursue being Christlike, if the reward is why we are in it, we aren't actually in it.
If I lust after the gifts that accompany salvation instead of loving the one who saves, I will retain earthly things and losee eternally.
But motivation sourced from divinly given love will spur me to forsake the temporal, worldy things, and gain whatever it is God's will to bestow.
------ None of us are worthy, lets not pretend, lets use our time not for ourselves, but for what God wants.
May his will be done in on earth as it is in heaven, Amen.
So how do we react when God lets Satan take blessing from us, lose of money, health, or otherwise.
In our words, actions, or heart so we stay loving God? Its your reaction in those moments that reveals to the universe who we really love.
If eternal life, heaven, and earthly blessings were never mentioned as rewards, would we still pursue being Christlike, if the reward is why we are in it, we aren't actually in it.
If I lust after the gifts that accompany salvation instead of loving the one who saves, I will retain earthly things and losee eternally.
But motivation sourced from divinly given love will spur me to forsake the temporal, worldy things, and gain whatever it is God's will to bestow.
------ None of us are worthy, lets not pretend, lets use our time not for ourselves, but for what God wants.
May his will be done in on earth as it is in heaven, Amen.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Relationality
Well its late night here, and I haven't really posted anything on this for a while, so I apologize.
I really don't feel right sharing spiritual things when I'm struggling in my spiritual life, but hey, these posts are more for myself than for who reads them, I need to realize that and stop taking so much pride in this blog.
Anyway, I thought I would take the time to do a little thought throwing.
There is a string of thoughts and logic that has always been fascinating and has been helping me see God more clearly.
Pardon me, but I'm just going to get right into it.
God is Love
Part of God's fundamentalism is his relationality.
The binding force of the universe is love, which God is the definition of.
The main aspect of Love is self-sacrifice, or giving.
John 3:16 He GAVE himself because LOVE.
Gal 2:20 LOVED me, so he GAVE
Eph 5:25 GAVE himself for LOVE, like a Husband to Wife
Its not just any giving, so many people give out of what they have or they feel they can give up fairly, they don't give until they are convinced the money or whatever isn't theirs to begin with.
But real giving, the Love giving, is where you possess something that is in all fairness yours, but you give it up anyways.
Side note: This is an aspect I struggle with, even recently I had to give up something very important to me, I thought I possessed it justly and fairly and that I saw no reason for it to be wrong, so why give it up?
What I had, I may perfectly well have in the future but I wanted to possess it by my own timing and I awakened it before it desired. So I gave it up because though it was a good thing, I needed to give it, because I want to Love God, and that means sacrifice even of things I may think I deserve.
In the end, God will choose to give me what I need the most and Ill trust him for the future. I gave for him, and I know I can't out-give God. So I will trust and Obey.
Our creator, our Father is fundamentally love. Love is something that is acted upon to another. It is something you can't have by yourself. You must have an object of affection, and object to sacrifice for.
That's why God in his nature is plural not singular, because before he created any being he would have not had an object to be love to. Unless its as Pastor Asscherick said it a sort of "Divine Family."
Even without creation God is still Love, because the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Love each other.
Same thing with man, he need to likewise have a horizontal Love, not just vertical. So God gave Eve or a woman to be with us men. So now, as a man, the object of my affection and the being I am going to supremely sacrifice for on this earth is whomever I marry. The goal is to give, not to take in the marital relations. God is the perfect example of this.
He gave himself for us, the church, his sinful erring children.
Jesus knew, when he created us that it would cause him death. Isn't that almost idiotic?
Not to be irreverent but by all human standards that is like suicide or something. He would kill himself eternally to save his failing creation. Why?
Its his nature, he desires our happiness, our fulfillment, or eternity and existence above his own. Why would God, the almighty do such a thing...?
That's the beauty, its part in the unfathomable mystery of what LOVE really is... Who God really is...
Sacrifice, in life and in death, perfectly purposed to rescue me and you.
I really don't feel right sharing spiritual things when I'm struggling in my spiritual life, but hey, these posts are more for myself than for who reads them, I need to realize that and stop taking so much pride in this blog.
Anyway, I thought I would take the time to do a little thought throwing.
There is a string of thoughts and logic that has always been fascinating and has been helping me see God more clearly.
Pardon me, but I'm just going to get right into it.
God is Love
Part of God's fundamentalism is his relationality.
The binding force of the universe is love, which God is the definition of.
The main aspect of Love is self-sacrifice, or giving.
John 3:16 He GAVE himself because LOVE.
Gal 2:20 LOVED me, so he GAVE
Eph 5:25 GAVE himself for LOVE, like a Husband to Wife
Its not just any giving, so many people give out of what they have or they feel they can give up fairly, they don't give until they are convinced the money or whatever isn't theirs to begin with.
But real giving, the Love giving, is where you possess something that is in all fairness yours, but you give it up anyways.
Side note: This is an aspect I struggle with, even recently I had to give up something very important to me, I thought I possessed it justly and fairly and that I saw no reason for it to be wrong, so why give it up?
What I had, I may perfectly well have in the future but I wanted to possess it by my own timing and I awakened it before it desired. So I gave it up because though it was a good thing, I needed to give it, because I want to Love God, and that means sacrifice even of things I may think I deserve.
In the end, God will choose to give me what I need the most and Ill trust him for the future. I gave for him, and I know I can't out-give God. So I will trust and Obey.
Our creator, our Father is fundamentally love. Love is something that is acted upon to another. It is something you can't have by yourself. You must have an object of affection, and object to sacrifice for.
That's why God in his nature is plural not singular, because before he created any being he would have not had an object to be love to. Unless its as Pastor Asscherick said it a sort of "Divine Family."
Even without creation God is still Love, because the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Love each other.
Same thing with man, he need to likewise have a horizontal Love, not just vertical. So God gave Eve or a woman to be with us men. So now, as a man, the object of my affection and the being I am going to supremely sacrifice for on this earth is whomever I marry. The goal is to give, not to take in the marital relations. God is the perfect example of this.
He gave himself for us, the church, his sinful erring children.
Jesus knew, when he created us that it would cause him death. Isn't that almost idiotic?
Not to be irreverent but by all human standards that is like suicide or something. He would kill himself eternally to save his failing creation. Why?
Its his nature, he desires our happiness, our fulfillment, or eternity and existence above his own. Why would God, the almighty do such a thing...?
That's the beauty, its part in the unfathomable mystery of what LOVE really is... Who God really is...
Sacrifice, in life and in death, perfectly purposed to rescue me and you.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Indecision
So I had mentioned I was going to talk about my experience with Temptation, and things I've learned. But before I can really share that there are some more foundational topics I wanted to mention.
A lot of of people, like as myself have been caught in a little lie. Just a little one.
A lot of of people, like as myself have been caught in a little lie. Just a little one.
This lie is a favorite teaching of the world. It has to do with the middle ground.
You, dear reader may or may not be aware that there is a battle for your soul. Sometimes you may be aware of it, somedays it may not even cross your mind.
This battle, this fight, this controversy is between two sides. These sides have characteristics.
Unfortunately though, you can't avoid entering this war. Upon existence, every rational, conscious entity chooses a side. And the middle ground is where most people want to be, this middle ground is where you don't have to worry about the war. People so desperately want to believe this area exists. That they can not choose a side.
Let me do some clearing up of what these two "sides" are in the fight you and I are in.
Most widely known as
Good and Evil,
Light and Darkness.
Good and Evil,
Light and Darkness.
Sin and Righteousness
Giving and Taking
Love and Hate
There are just two sides. So so many people are trying to find this area of compromise, an area where they can comfortably Sin. And unfortunately, "Seek and you shall find" is applicable here.
People will against God to do what they would like, and the will is something God has given as a gift and will never overpower you. He pleads but never compels you to choose. The topic of the power of the will is important and I am going to talk about it later.
But back to the main idea. Jesus very much new this middle ground existed and understood its role in the battle. This deception is probably one of Satan's favorite ploys. Getting you to become lackadaisical or careless in your effort to be like Jesus.
In one of the verses in Revelation, about a simple thing like water temperature, he clearly reveals the inner workings of this trap.
Now, will you remain between good and evil, holding onto known sin and things that bring you away from rightousness and purity or will you "choose you this day whom ye will serve"
1 John 3:6-9
"Indecision will soon become decision in the wrong direction" T4 344
If not now, when?
Satan seeks whom he will devour, if you wait in indecision he WILL catch you, like paralyzed prey.
Or will you choose Jesus, who will give you hinds legs to run from the lion to safety.
Choose to be like Jesus today more than ever before.
May God bless you,
Amen
There are just two sides. So so many people are trying to find this area of compromise, an area where they can comfortably Sin. And unfortunately, "Seek and you shall find" is applicable here.
People will against God to do what they would like, and the will is something God has given as a gift and will never overpower you. He pleads but never compels you to choose. The topic of the power of the will is important and I am going to talk about it later.
But back to the main idea. Jesus very much new this middle ground existed and understood its role in the battle. This deception is probably one of Satan's favorite ploys. Getting you to become lackadaisical or careless in your effort to be like Jesus.
In one of the verses in Revelation, about a simple thing like water temperature, he clearly reveals the inner workings of this trap.
Rev 3:14-16
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
This is definitely the position of the majority, and sadly I have seen how my life was lukewarm.
Many people believe in and desire salvation and heaven but make no efforts in bringing God's sanctifying power into their life.
Truly the fallen angels desire to return to the celestial glories of heaven, and believe it more real than we, but the lukewarm, "in need of nothing" Christians, are in a similar position to Satan and his angels, believing and desire heaven but will inevitably lack a fitness for it.
"What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right when they are all wrong! the message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception." 3T 252, 253
Matt 7:21-23
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Many, like myself, have been caught in a lie. That they have nothing to do but be believe, mentally realize that we can go to heaven. And thats it, the Christian experience stops there and we wait till we die. But what a deception, how evil our hearts become when we do not do the will of the Father. Even as a professed Christian in words, we profess Satan by our un-christlike actions. Jesus hates sin, and sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4) We must be obedient to the commands of Jesus, aligning ourselves everyday anew to the side of light.
Now, will you remain between good and evil, holding onto known sin and things that bring you away from rightousness and purity or will you "choose you this day whom ye will serve"
1 John 3:6-9
"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
If not now, when?
Satan seeks whom he will devour, if you wait in indecision he WILL catch you, like paralyzed prey.
Or will you choose Jesus, who will give you hinds legs to run from the lion to safety.
Choose to be like Jesus today more than ever before.
May God bless you,
Amen
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The unknown
There is just to much in life we don't know.
Where will my help come from?
No matter who you are, or where your from, this question rings a points in your life.
Money can't save you from death. Life doesn't immediately mean comfort. Comfort doesn't ensure happiness.
Many see the obvious difficulties of health, and money, or finding comfort. But the pursuit of happiness is often illusory.
Happiness never seems to last, to most people, its more like a poison.
The object of happiness has, to so many, turned sour after sweet. Quickly fading from fresh air into a thick miasma of disappointment.
Why? Why are so many caught, blissfully self-deceived that this next boyfriend, girlfriend, season of sports, exciting video game or movie, career or otherwise, the list goes on, all through materialism and emotions, hoping in the probability that this next experience will finally deliver them what they have been searching for?
Some things are inherently negative, some are supposedly beneficial, but it all lets us down, always leaving unfulfilled ... The problem I dare say, isn't the object of our affections, it is us......
If you have the right mindset, you will not seek the obvious destruction, when you are a honest Christian seeking to not just avoid evil, but to do right (or be righteous), evil will become more and more obvious as your innocence makes you more sensitive to it.
The sanctified or divinely created pleasures will bring a happiness and satisfaction, but even these will only be for a time.
Why? Because we will take this pleasure, this right action and eventually compromise it's integrity.
How? Evil will suggest ideas to take small steps outside the boundaries spoken by God, then motivation, reasons to justify these small compromises will take there stand against scripture.
These thought or suggestions are fashioned to slip under the radar, to pierce our conscious defense of disobedience to God. These are like "fiery darts". Then slowly but surely we WILL PERVERT or change the once clear instruction from God into a self guided and perfectly justifiable sin.
Thus we need follow through in our personal duty to uphold the sanctity of the experience we are experiencing.
Unless we strive to sacrifice, to leave indulgence in personal desires behind, these God-given pleasures will also turn to ash.
My favorite author said, in reference to the Satan's strategy.
" He will endeavor to excite the emotions, to arouse the passions, to fasten the affections on that which is not for your good; but it is for you to hold every emotion and passion under control, in calm subjection to reason and conscience." OHC 87.3
You see, impulse is Satan's favorite trap, to get us to take action first before applying principle.
Reminds me of another quote related to impulse in relation to one of the most pondered aspects of humanity, Love.
"True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. On the contrary, it is calm and deep in its nature." LYL 30.1
So many today have access to knowledge of God but do not take it into account during temptation.
Now to finish off the first quote, after we control ourselves by reason and conscience.
"Then Satan loses his power to control the mind. The work to which Christ calls us is to the work of progressive conquest over spiritual evil in our characters. Natural tendencies are to be overcome.... Appetite and passion must be conquered, and the will must be placed wholly on the side of Christ." OHC 87.3
The next lesson on that page is about my personal struggle with temptation.
Its about the single most important principle to overcoming sin that I have ever encountered.
That will be for my next post.
" Now may the God of peace... make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen"
Heb 13:20-21
Where will my help come from?
No matter who you are, or where your from, this question rings a points in your life.
Money can't save you from death. Life doesn't immediately mean comfort. Comfort doesn't ensure happiness.
Many see the obvious difficulties of health, and money, or finding comfort. But the pursuit of happiness is often illusory.
Happiness never seems to last, to most people, its more like a poison.
The object of happiness has, to so many, turned sour after sweet. Quickly fading from fresh air into a thick miasma of disappointment.
Why? Why are so many caught, blissfully self-deceived that this next boyfriend, girlfriend, season of sports, exciting video game or movie, career or otherwise, the list goes on, all through materialism and emotions, hoping in the probability that this next experience will finally deliver them what they have been searching for?
Some things are inherently negative, some are supposedly beneficial, but it all lets us down, always leaving unfulfilled ... The problem I dare say, isn't the object of our affections, it is us......
If you have the right mindset, you will not seek the obvious destruction, when you are a honest Christian seeking to not just avoid evil, but to do right (or be righteous), evil will become more and more obvious as your innocence makes you more sensitive to it.
The sanctified or divinely created pleasures will bring a happiness and satisfaction, but even these will only be for a time.
Why? Because we will take this pleasure, this right action and eventually compromise it's integrity.
How? Evil will suggest ideas to take small steps outside the boundaries spoken by God, then motivation, reasons to justify these small compromises will take there stand against scripture.
These thought or suggestions are fashioned to slip under the radar, to pierce our conscious defense of disobedience to God. These are like "fiery darts". Then slowly but surely we WILL PERVERT or change the once clear instruction from God into a self guided and perfectly justifiable sin.
Thus we need follow through in our personal duty to uphold the sanctity of the experience we are experiencing.
Unless we strive to sacrifice, to leave indulgence in personal desires behind, these God-given pleasures will also turn to ash.
My favorite author said, in reference to the Satan's strategy.
" He will endeavor to excite the emotions, to arouse the passions, to fasten the affections on that which is not for your good; but it is for you to hold every emotion and passion under control, in calm subjection to reason and conscience." OHC 87.3
You see, impulse is Satan's favorite trap, to get us to take action first before applying principle.
Reminds me of another quote related to impulse in relation to one of the most pondered aspects of humanity, Love.
"True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. On the contrary, it is calm and deep in its nature." LYL 30.1
So many today have access to knowledge of God but do not take it into account during temptation.
Now to finish off the first quote, after we control ourselves by reason and conscience.
"Then Satan loses his power to control the mind. The work to which Christ calls us is to the work of progressive conquest over spiritual evil in our characters. Natural tendencies are to be overcome.... Appetite and passion must be conquered, and the will must be placed wholly on the side of Christ." OHC 87.3
The next lesson on that page is about my personal struggle with temptation.
Its about the single most important principle to overcoming sin that I have ever encountered.
That will be for my next post.
" Now may the God of peace... make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen"
Heb 13:20-21
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Jesus loves me this I know
The phrase, "Jesus loves me this I know", has never meant more to me than today. There is a point in life that I have reached when I asked for Gods help. I cried out to God, over and over, expecting nothing.
God was listening though, to the unutterable cry of my soul. My life very drastically changed in moments. But...
Even when the valley of the shadow of death is of your own doing he is there.
I always thought that the verse
Psalms 23:4;5
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Would mean I am being attacked, or I have been surrounded, God will surely come to my rescue.
But friends, I have a report, it is much more precious a promise than that. Much lovelier a treat.
Even when we, fully knowing where the enemy is, or seeing death ahead, willfully and purposely walk forward, no matter how far into enemy territory we tread, or how deeply we walk into the valley of death (sin). We are followed, we are watch, every step to darkness is recorded by God, he notes our slightest shift away from his presence.
Knowing this fact, one might say he recorded and notes for Judgement, he follows us, to take evidence of our need of destruction.
Friends, brothers and sisters, he follows, he records, he traces us for a better purpose, a nobler goal, a higher reason.
Our redemption!
His thoughts are higher than ours, so much higher!
Isaiah 55:8;9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
He chastens us, when you are submitted to him, he refines you in the fire of affliction.
This fire, at least in my case, is a fire kindled by my own hand. But praise God, he can even use a sinner like me, who starts his own fire, and walks deeply into the valley of death, not in ignorance but it full knowledge.
How gracious God is to us, to me. He surely does not desire sacrifice, but mercy, obedience.
The wise surely have said, fear can force a man to change, but love, or loving mercy of our God, this love can make a man want to change.
Obedience is only true obedience out out of love, not fear.
Today I have known fear, my life lost, my future in ruin.
But the promise, the hope of Jesus Christ, who gladly bears my sin....
For what end? Our creator, sinless, mighty, and worthy of all honor takes my destruction, my sin, my weakness, my defilement... For what end?
To receive me.
What wondrous love is this...
Glory to God, for this day he has shown his endless love, and mercy to me...
And in return?
John 5:14
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
He just wants me to "sin no more". To obey his Law, to exemplify order in my life according to his statues...
That is my duty, as a forgiven sinner.
May I ever remember this mercy, and I do take hold of this promise "lest a worse thing come upon thee".
God has shown me he will give me up to my destructive habits, to redeem me. And he Loves me just enough to refine me again, and again, and again.
If you read this, pray I "sin no more."
All this is only possible because of the sacrifice of God, in Jesus Christ, by his precious redeeming blood, which makes the Sinful heard by the Sinless.
In that name, I do say.
Amen
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