Are you a Bildad?

There are many truths in the Bible, but one thing that we need to be careful of is pulling things out of context. There is nothing new under the sun and the book of Job is a perfect example of this. There are many professing ‘christians’ that understand their relationship with God as an unbalanced relationship. They believe that if they do good things and treat others the right way that they will end up in good health and live a happy life. Sadly this is not biblical and is the outcome of teachers who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Though these wolves do not have sharp teeth they are leading many astray to a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Does this sound familiar to any of you?

“Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He support the evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”
- Job 8:20-22

This is coming from one of Job’s friends named Bildad. I am sure many of us have heard this before in our life, or something like it. It sounds like it is well intended but what is Bildad really implying. Like many religions today we find that Bildad believes it is up to him to decide how the Lord interacts with him. If Paul or any of the Disciples had the same thought as Bildad they would had probably thought they were doing something wrong.

We find a great response in Job 9:2, “In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God?" Job gets to the heart of what Bildad is saying and shuts it down. Job is saying, “You are not God, and you are not equal to Him.” We find that the false gospel that preaches work based salvation or blessings is really a teaching that is preaching you are a god and have power to manipulate the God. Job’s faith reveals to us that no matter, good or bad, God is in control. We may not fully understand why these things occur but our faith should not waiver.

Job continues his rebuttal to Bildad,

“It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’ If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?"
- Job 9:22-24

To end with these last few verses in mind let us strive to remind ourselves that God is in control. Those who may appear to be righteous because life is good does not mean that they are saved and that they may end up with those who appear wicked. God is the ultimate judge! We must remember that God is in control and that if we rely on our works to save us we are far from being saved. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I do believe that works come from a saving faith in Christ, but without Christ they are meaningless and lead to death.

Finally, I want to encourage all of you to read the book of Job. If you can, read it in one sitting to grasp the full picture of what is going on. Look carefully at the differences in Job’s speech and his friends. Lastly grow deeper in your thoughts of God as you read the last few chapters.

THINK! Do you have a Bildad in your life? Are you a Bildad? Do you believe in the God of the Bible or a god that relies on you? Do you believe God is in control of everything?

Why mud pies?

Many people enjoy the writings of C.S. Lewis. Over the last month I have seen an increase in interest in his work. The bookstores have more of his books on hand and I have found myself being more intrigued by his writings. Maybe I am just more interested now, than ever before, and so it is more obvious. Either way, many will agree that Lewis’s writings are timeless and still speak to those who have faith and not, Christian and non.

Before this great interest in C.S. Lewis I had heard/read a quote by him that always resonated with me. The quote speaks of those, who if they had only known of what was out there for them, would be greatly surprised by what they are settling for. 

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

As a Christian this quote greatly resonates with me. If you are not a Christian and are reading this, please hear my heart. I cannot imagine a life without the knowledge of God. I know this may sound superstitious but it is true. I do not believe myself to be a superstitious person, and if I had the time to sit down with you I would try and express the facts the Christ was a man, which history has shown, and that he could be one of two things. One a man who claimed to be God, which we would call a lunatic or two, he was God in the form of a man. But this is for another time.

As I read 2 Peter 2, I was reminded of this story by C.S. Lewis. The chapter ends with this in verse 22:

"It has happened to them according to the true proverb, 'A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.'"

Peter is discussing the person who hears the gospel message and then returns to his sinful ways. Peter Mentions prior in verse 21, "For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them."

When I think of Lewis’s quote, it is easy to think that no one would ever want to return to the mud pies in the slum, but this is exactly what Peter is saying. Peter is saying that people will, and uses proverbs refering to animals. Man thinks that he is free; he believes the lie that he is free when he is allowed to have sex whenever and with whomever, drink as much as he wants, and do whatever he wants. Many people will argue that ‘religion’ restricts them from living a free life, but the very thing that they profess to allow them to be free makes them a slave.  God grants freedom from sin, from addiction, from a life of emptiness.

The Bible tells us that we are either a slave to sin or God. The thing that many don’t realize is that being a slave to sin leads to a life of a tormented soul, always wanting something more. Being a slave to God, understanding the context that it used, means that freedom is granted through a gracious heavenly father that restricts us like a good earthly father would because he understand the lifelong consequences that comes with sin.

There is so much more to say, and there will always be more to continue to talk about. I hope that this note has encouraged you to look at your life in a new way. Are you settling for mud pies?

THINK! What would you say you are a slave to? If you do not believe in Christ, why? If you do believe in Christ, why? If you are a Christian, can others tell?

"Works" is a word in the Bible

"… work out your salvation with fear and trembling"
- Philippians 2:12c

I have been confronted with the question, “does this verse allude to the fact that we need to work out our salvation?” The answer is NO. I know when I was a young Christian it was easy for me to make rules for myself so that I can be more ‘holy’ but this isn’t what the Lord’s plan is nor is what this verse is saying.

I often encourage people to read a book of the Bible in its entirety, allowing the person to see the big picture of the letter as it was intended. Context is important. This being said, we know Paul is writing to believers that are saved because of Philippians 1:6 -

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

So, how does God perfect this good work in them and in other believers today? We find the answer in the verse right after working out our salvation in verse 2:12, in fact it is actually a part of the same sentence.  It reads like this (Phil. 2:12c-13):

"… work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

There is action (will and work for His good pleasure) in the one who believes in God, because God will enter in them. If the God of the universe, the power that raised Christ from the dead, lives in us we will begin to work. Many people in the church cringe when they hear the word 'work.' What we need to remind them and ourselves is that the Bible uses this word.

Paul is saying that there is a Sanctification process in all those who have God living in them. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)” Paul shares that our salvation and new life begin here and now but there will be a day when we are before our Lord. We need to be fearful, as a child is fearful in love towards its earthly father, to live a life that is transformed by Him. This is Sanctification; this is what it means to be more Christ like.

THINK! Do you make rules to make yourself more 'holy'? Is selfish motive the reason why you want to perform for God or is it God in you stirring your desires to serve? When was the last time you shared the Gospel?

Armor of Christ: Spiritual Battle

Putting on the Armor of Christ sounds like something that is tangible, something that can be done with human strength. I write this second note (click here for the first note) about the Armor of Christ because of a conviction. The conviction desiring to clarify that the putting on of the Armor is not something we can grasp on our own but is something supernatural and of the heavenly realms.

When Paul writes about the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet, the hope of salvation, he is speaking writing in the context of end times. Also, the verse that he is pulling from in Isaiah 59, we find that this is discussing end times as well, where Christ comes and judges in perfect righteousness (Isa 59:17-18). So these things in which Paul is describing are things not of this world, but of heavenly and the spiritual realm.

Paul throughout his letter often reminds his sheep not to put their hope in this Life but the life to come and to not be deceived by false teachers. In fact 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Paul writes,

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come (coming of our Lord Jesus Christ v.1) unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

Be cautious of what people say of the things to come and always test what people say to what the Word tells us (1 Thes. 5:21). The Word tells us to put on the Armor, the Breastplate of faith and love, and the Helmet, the hope of salvation. This we know we need to do. So how do we do this?

The Holy Spirit is the gift in which we receive due to Christ death and resurrection. A few things that we know about the Holy Spirit is that He is God and the third part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the mediator (1 Tim 2:5) in which translates our groans and thoughts with God, and is the Seal upon our hearts (1 Cor. 1:21-22) and the Key into Heaven.

The Holy Spirit is what allows us to be able and capable to put on the Armor of Christ, because He is God! What Paul writes is not to be concerned or worried about the End of Days but encourages us to be sanctified in Christ. So often we allow knowledge to flood our minds, and we contemplate the things we cannot comprehend, when instead the Lord desires us to pursue Him. I am confident the Holy Spirit will direct you in this (if you ask); that He will anoint you with faith and love, and give you joy in the hope of salvation.

Remember “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)” Trusting in this promise you can be confident that the Holy Spirit is sanctifying you and gives you the ability to put on the Armor of Christ, in so that you can be bold in your proclamation in which you share with other about Christ, and that you do not need to fear man or any evil. This sanctification leads to your glorification in heaven but, do not be fooled, this is  not an easy task.

I end this note with Isaiah 59:19, which reminds us on how powerful our God is, “So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the Lord drives.”

THINK! Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? If so – When was the last time you relied on it? If not – What belief do you hold that creates this thought? Do you verbally proclaim Christ as Lord?

Armor of Christ

1 Thessalonians is a book that I always come back refreshed to read. It is full of encouragement for fellow brothers and sisters to strive, to fight the good fight, to remember where they stand with the Lord. This write up is not about the entire book, though that would be fun to do one day, it is about what it means to put on the armor of God.  We so often think of the armor of God from the letter to Ephesus.

I remember as a child hearing that Paul wrote those verses in the letter of Ephesians 6 partly due to the fact the Paul was constantly around Roman guards. Thinking about it now, I think that this makes sense, but I don’t really think this is what Paul was getting at. I think Paul had a greater image in mind. He had an image of a being that surpassed any Roman soldier; he had the image of God in mind. 

Paul was what we could consider a genius when it came to the Old Testament. He was trained by the best and was destined to lead. He knew the Old Testament and he knew what the prophets had to say about the one to come, The Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 says this, “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” This may sound very similar to what Ephesians 6 says, but I believe that this is actually being pulled from the prophet Isaiah.  When Isaiah is prophesying about the Christ that is to come we read about this majestic image in which describes this mighty warrior/redeemer.

"... Now the Lord saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice... Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle." - Isaiah 59:15-17

It was surprising to me when I first read the passage in 1 Thessalonians to not have it noted or directing me over to the book of Isaiah. Paul is not directly quoting this passage but only alluding to the idea of living at a higher standard. I do not know if the people who read and heard this letter made this connection of this reference.

The takeaway from this is that Paul is calling the church in Thessalonica (and all Christians) to live a life like Christ. To be affirmed in the fact that we have that power in us and protecting us because we have Christ. Paul may had been reminded of these passages of armor as he was in prison, but I believe he knew full well that he was challenging the people to live at a higher standard. To put on armor that is greater than the armor Roman soldier wore, and to win the battle through rejoicing, prayer, giving thanks, not quenching the Spirit, not despising prophetic gifts, holding fast to what is good, and abstaining from evil (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22). 

So I end this note how Paul ends his first letter to Thessalonica, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (1 Thessalonians 5:28)” This is the grace in which allows us to be anointed with the majestic breastplate of faith and love and to put on a helmet, the hope of salvation.

THINK! What does it mean to put on the Breastplate and Helmet? Does it change how you view the armor knowing that it is a heavenly thing? How does this impact your daily walk?

Follow up Note: Armor of Christ: Spiritual Battle

Praise is the Gospel

So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture
Will give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will tell of Your praise.

- Psalm 79:13

How do people know we are followers of Christ? I think we can also ask the question how often do we praise/recognize what God has given us. We often think that when we are sharing the Gospel with others we have to condemn people, which lead us to not share the Gospel at all because we are afraid to do that. This is not the case, at least not at first. The word ‘gospel’ means good news. So to share the Gospel is to share the good news of what the Lord has done for you. Much like Psalm 79 is sharing here, we need to be giving praise and people will know who God is. Praise God in all that you do! But don’t keep these praises to yourself, share it with others. Let others know that you are a follower of Christ by giving praises always and recognizing that everything is from God. Doing this will also help your walk as you walk through life. Practicing that act of continual prayer and praise can only make your relationship stronger with the Lord. Satan would love for us to only reflect on how hard life is and why you are not as successful as you would like to be, but in reality we can rejoice in knowing that God guides our path and perseverance and preservation of the Saints. Let us be bold and share our praises with others, because our God is good!

In the Presence 2

Read Part 1

Living in the presence of God is much more than just relying on the emotion in which you feel when you sing worship songs. We need to be careful in how we worship God and make sure that we are not relying on our worship pastor to draw us closer to Him. It is not the job of the worship pastor to sanctify you, it is the job of the Holy Spirit. If you rely on worship every Sunday morning to make you feel close to God, this may be idolizing something that is of man and not of God. The first part of this series discussed the praise of God by resting in his presence while abiding in Him. The second part will look at how this happens with the psalmist. Let us look at Psalm 38:1-3;

1 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath,

And chasten me not in Your burning anger.

2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,

And Your hand has pressed down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;

There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

The same psalmist who wrote Psalm 5:11-12 also wrote this. I find this very intriguing to think about. The psalmist who rest in the presence of God also has a reverent fear of the Lord. This I would say is the reaction to the action. The action of resting in God’s presence leads to a healthy fear of the Lord. It also brings recognition to ones sins that they need to be cleansed of.

Verse three is very intriguing to me. The recognition of one's sins is so great that the psalmist has the feeling of no health in one's bones. When was the last time we felt this way after we sinned? If I am honest it has been a very long time for me.

We must not seek pain to reach salvation but I think it is important to ask ourselves if we are truly concerned with our sin and how it impacts our relationship with God. It is not worship music that draws us closer to go, it is the lack of sin. Sin is the opposite of God and is the sole thing that draws us farther from God.

There is a difference between conviction and sin. Conviction may come before sin which protects us by warning us of sin before we actually commit it. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer should be requesting conviction to protect us, prayer asking for it to desire the things that He desires and to gain wisdom from Him. May the moments when we feel spiritual pain draw us closer to Him be rejoicing in the conviction that we have and to know that we are a child of God and that He loves us and desires us to live a that is pleasing to Him so that our life is not of a waste.

May we forever Praise our God! Amen.

In the Presence 1

We often look at the psalms as a book of celebration, and I would agree that many psalms are written in praise. What I think get lost while reading the psalms, at least I know this happens to me, is that we don’t reflect on how the psalmist had arrived to their praise. It is kind of the idea that every action has a reaction. There are moments in which we recognize that God loves us more than others, this usually happens when we reflect upon something in the past and we give praise. Let us look at Psalm 5:11-12;

11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad,

Let them ever sing for joy;

And may You shelter them,

That those who love Your name may exult in You.

12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,

You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Let us take a closer look at what this verse is saying. As I explain this I am not trying to be too simplistic, but I think this is something we often miss while reading the psalms and rarely apply to our daily life.

In verse 11 the action that first takes place is taking refuge in God. What does taking refuge in God look like? I would present two points. One, that it is total surrender to God’s will. When we take refuge to our earthly parents this means that we surrender what we desire and abide in what their house rules are. When we have the freedom to move out of our parents’ house then we have a different freedom that occurs. In the same way when we take refuge in God’s will we are abiding in what his will is for us. Two, those who exalt Him are the ones that love Him. The condition that is taking place here is that to love the place in which we have refuge is to live out the action that is asked of us. The outcome of these two things is that there is righteousness granted to man and the Lord is our shield.

This is what we call sanctification. The Lord purifies us, makes us righteous through these times in which we abide in Him. We so often rely on the emotion of the psalms to praise our God, but the concern is that we do not know where this emotion comes from.  Read PART TWO to see how the psalmist comes to these praises.

Muttering Prayer

You know those prayers, the prayers where you mutter the same thing as the previous day, week, month, year before. We all have them, they tend to be the prayer that we say when we are tired and just want to go to bed, or the prayer that we say because we know we should pray but we are unsure what to pray. My prayer often goes something like this:

“Lord thank you for today, thank you for the things you have given me, Lord may I please you today and make wise decisions.”

I apologize if this makes you think less of me, but you will get over it. I realize that my prayer life at times shouldn’t be the way it is, and I try to practice both prayers throughout the day as well as a time of meditation. This is a completely different topic that I may right about another day.

So back to the main point I am trying to make. As I was praying one day I noticed the line, Lord may I please you today, was somewhat of a let me take care of the day prayer. It was saying, “Lord give me the strength when and if I need it – I’ll take it from here.” This is not a prayer that I want to be praying and yet I have been repeating it so often. Luckily by God’s grace He is patient with me and has revealed how childish and selfish this prayer is. I know the Lord understands my heart and what I am truly saying – though He probably isn’t the biggest fan of my quick prayers.

You may be thinking I am over analyzing this, but let us remember the Lord is very particular about words, I mean one of His names is THE WORD. He also has a book full of words which is called the Bible, and we need not to take those things lightly – so why should we take our words of prayer lightly?

My prayer was an unconscious way of me relying on myself. Instead I should be saying, “Lord I give you today, I give you my worries, I give you my fears, I give you my passions, use me today.”

“Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'”

       - Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

These words in which the Lord spoke are a promise in which we can rely on. We no longer need to live our life in which the world tells us, but we need to live a life that is given to the Lord. This passage reveals to us that living for the Lord, though sacrificial, is a life that is fully lived because there is nothing holding us back! Hallelujah!

I encourage all who read this to look at their prayer life. I don’t think I am going to stop with my short prayers, but I am going to change the wordings to be more specific to what the Lord has promised me. This being said I hope you do the same. I have always found it encouraging reading how Christ prayed before His crucifixion. If you have time, read and meditate on the Gospel of John chapter 17.

Thank God it's Friday

The slogan, TGIF, was a popular one for me when I was growing up. The broadcasting company ABC had the nightly television group of shows which played wholesome family television shows. As a kid I didn’t think much about it, it was a time when you could say God without getting in trouble and you could use the slogan Thank God It's Friday without getting in trouble.

This Friday is a time of reflection. We call it good Friday which for some it is just another Friday or it is the Friday before a Sunday in which they receive many gifts. This Friday is a Friday in which some of us will reflect on the most important thing that happened in the entire world. This Friday is truly a Friday in which we need to be thanking God.

Good Friday is a day where Christians around the world come together recognizing the death of a man, and though He was a man he was and is 100% God. The mystery of this seems to have been lost in the fairytales of our childhood, where a large magical bunny runs around poorly hiding eggs. I suppose the magic is that a bunny is laying eggs and hiding them, but I would much rather reflect on something much more mysterious.

To reflect upon our Lord is a great mystery and yet reveals many profound things. This Friday, let us recognize and  thank Jesus Christ for what he did on that Cross, let us reflect on how He bore the burdens of our sins, reflect on how He has washed us clean, reflect on how He calls us child. This Friday is certainly a good Friday because our God is good and for no other reason.

So I say Thank God Its Friday to you. I say it with proud humility knowing that this coming Friday is the Friday in which we celebrate our propitiation, our salvation, our redemption – and we celebrate this because our God is Good!

May we reflect on these words the next three days:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

- John 3:16-21

The Sun

There are moments in my life when I feel most alive. A few that comes to mind for me. One is when I was young and living in Texas and I would go cliff jumping, it seemed so scary at first jumping into the water from such a high height but once I did it there was no turning back; as my body impacted the water the rush of life seemed to flow through me.

Another is when I was in Croatia, the camp that we would help out with was in a small town called Fuzine and the lake that was in the town was freezing. When I was there for the summer I would go run and exercise and then after I would jump into the icy water. The rush of needles would encompass my body every time.

This last one is not nearly as exciting or adrenaline producing but it happens more than any of the others. It is the moment the sun warms my skin on a cool day. This moment tends to warm me from the outside in, and it continually reminds me of my gracious heavenly fathers love.

The sun is something that we cannot live without and is something that we can never really think about not being a part of our daily lives. It is interesting though that at certain times it feels as though it brings more life than any other. There hasn’t been a day that the sun hasn’t risen but there have been days where I haven’t fully recognized its brilliance.

There are certain moments in our life that we find to be more entrancing than others. I know when I first moved to Arizona I found myself enjoying the sunsets more often than I did when I was in Texas. It wasn’t that it was a different sun but it was that the air is different in Arizona where it makes it appear different when it is setting.

I write this in more of a reflection to myself, but I do hope that it encourages you all to take time out of the day and reflect of God. We often times go throughout a day never giving thanks for some of the most essential things, like the sun. I know at times I rely on the feeling of jumping of a cliff into water to make me feel alive but our Lord is so much more than just that exhilarating feel that we get. He is more than that feeling we get in worship and He is more than a genie in a bottle waiting for our beckoning.

Our God is the God that brought the sun into existence and told the earth to rotate around it. He is the one that made sure that the earth wasn’t too far nor too close to the sun but placed it just right so that there would be life.

Humility is an Action

I have always thought of myself as being a humble person (if that could be a humble thought?). I have a hard time receiving compliments and a difficult time talking about myself. It is more of the fact that I do not know how to receive a compliment nor do I feel comfortable when I talk about accomplishments. Over the past week the Lord has put on my heart that I need to rid myself of pride. I honestly wasn’t sure what this looked like and so, like I often do, I thought about it and allowed it to occupy my mind. The thought of someone not receiving compliments or someone who doesn’t enjoy talking about themselves may seem to be someone who is humble but the Lord has revealed my pride, it isn’t about how I appear but it is about my heart. My hope sharing this is to encourage you in as you walk with the Lord and hopefully the things I struggle with might be something you have in your life and this can reveal something new to you.

Though I may not have appeared to be a prideful person, I realized that my pride was in my heart. I am living a life where I appear to be humble but inside I have pride that leads to sin. The sin that this pride in my heart was leading to was an aspect of self-righteousness where I was trying to obtain holiness on my own. I believe that this core sin was leading to other sins in my life which was hardening my heart further and further from Him. The opposite of pride in humility, using this I looked up the word humility in the back of my Bible to see what passages could help me reflect on relieving myself of this pride. I came across Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. NASB

Humility here is used more as an action than a description. To be selfless and to put others before myself is where I can lose pride. This is an action that needs to take place. Interesting how this description humility, which is a fruit of the Spirit, is described by an action in which needs to take place.

Ok so now I am going to get a little personal. You know I said that, pride was the root of other sins; well here are a few personal examples in my life. I write this publicly, so that those of you who may struggle with these things may not feel alone but know that others are struggling with you. I will change the grammar to where one can read it as though they may be struggling with it, to hopefully make it relate more.

• Relationships – Pride of the heart leads one to refusing Gods plan when it comes to relationships and for one to turn and try to fulfill ones desires any way they can.
• Alone time – Pride of the heart can lead to one wanting to spend “alone time” while denying time spent with one who needs to be mentored and poured into. The quiet time is not actually quiet time but has become more of an excuse to seclude and not love on others who need it.
• Evangelism – Pride of the heart may lead to not talking to others (friends, family, co-workers, homeless) because one cannot hurt their reputation, though it may seem sensible and sensitive to others, ones heart doesn’t desire to care.
• School – Pride of the heart can lead to one furthering thier education, even at a Bible college, to further their reputation, but little is put into the thought of where God truly wants them.

As Paul mentions in Philippians there is more to humility than just living a life that appears to be a humble life. There needs to be action that takes place. What I have come to realize is that this action will not take place until I give myself fully to God. This is a life long journey in which the Lord will gradually and gently reveal my faults so that I may draw closer to Him. I am saddened by my sinful flesh and how I resist the Lord in many ways, but I am more joyfully overwhelmed by God’s love and grace upon me.

Prayer:

Lord thank You for grace, thank You for being gentle with me when You reveal my sin. Lord each time You reveal these things is an opportunity to come closer to you, may those who struggle look at that as an opportunity to run into Your arms, so that they may flee from temptation. Thank you for Your forgiveness of my sins and I ask that you may remove this pride of my heart so that I may draw closer to You. May those who read this, be encouraged and if need be repent of their own pride. Lord we are a Your Church, may we stand together and fight together this battle through prayer and faith.

Get Back Up: Sermon on Acts 9

This is a modified script of a Sermon that I gave at Phoenix Rescue Mission on February 1, 2013.

I know we all come from different walks of life and today I want to talk about someone who had everything they desired and how they ended up with nothing and yet still had everything.

Please read Acts 9:1-19

As a child we all imagine big things, a big house, a nice car, and a lucrative job. Saul was a guy who obtained these things. He was smart and was taught by the one of the greatest teachers at the time. He was held in high regard by many of the Jewish leaders and feared by many people who believed in Jesus. In fact Saul was beginning to make a job out of killing people who believed in this Jesus, who proclaimed to be God. Saul was kind of like a Mobster who was making a living at killing and persecuting these people who followed Christ. I don’t know if this was his initial intention, but Saul began to see how much power he was able to obtain when he killed these believers.

If we look at our life we sometimes sacrifice our morals and do things that will give us popularity or success. Though we may have never killed anyone we have definitely bent the laws to get what was best for us.  Often times when we do things and receive praise we will go against our moral and begin to justify what we are doing and find good in it.

So, one day as Saul was headed to another town, to crucify more people of this way, he was thrown of his horse and blinded. The Bible tells us that this light in which he saw was the light of the Lord and as we read, it was strong enough to bring him to the ground. As Saul was on the ground he sees a figure and hears a voice. The soldiers that were with Saul could also hear the voice but could not see what was going on. Out of wonderment Saul ask who is the Lord, and the figure in the light responds back, it is I –Jesus.

Now Saul becomes blind from the light and he has to be escorted by the soldiers to the house that the Lord tells Saul to go. Imagine how Saul feels. Yes, he did just saw a glimpse of the Lord but now he is also blind there is no guarantee that he will ever receive his sight back. Imagine his remorse of knowing that what he has been doing, what the world told him was good, was complete evil and wrong.

How do we respond to these moments when we feel like we have been thrown off a horse?

I know in my life I have done things that are not looked upon as being good, in fact some of these things are awful. Often times when something bad happens to me I quickly think of why I deserve this to happen to me, that somehow all the bad things that I have done, all the sin is attributing to the pain that I am going through in that moment. Often times my prayer will be, of pride saying that I will never do something in exchange for the Lord to take away my pain. The problem is I am relying on myself and basing my relationship upon works and not grace.

So what does Saul do in this moment, probably the lowest moment of his life?

He Prays! This man who has just seen God and knows that he has been persecuting his people prays to God. In fact Saul prays and doesn't eat or drink for three days. You see Saul realizes that life without God is meaningless. No matter how much approval we may have from the world, if life is without the Lord it leads to nothingness.

The story goes on to tell us that the Lord has a Christian, the very person that Saul was trying to kill, to come and pray over him to be healed of his blindness (spiritually and physically). Saul is no longer blinded by what drove him to persecute Christians, but is driven by what the Lord wants of him. He is no longer blinded by what others say to be OK and good, but solely relies on what the Lord says.

The Lord will use our moments where we feel like we have been kicked off a horse, our lowest points, to humble us to serve Him.

We come to find out that after this no one could even stand against Saul in their debates on whether Jesus was the Christ or not. Saul went on to live a life that was not very luxurious but was filled with passion and a sense of purpose. Saul found his meaning in God and not of the things that society told him was good. He didn't have to have money, because the Lord provided everything.

One other detail that I left out was that Saul was actually given a new name on that road by God. His name became Paul, The Apostle Paul, and he ended up writing the majority of the New Testament. The Lord used someone that was running the complete opposite direction from where God wanted him and he blinded him to have him realize where God wanted him.

For those of you who believe in Christ, you have a new name. You have a name as a child of God and this name represents freedom, friendship and overcomer. With this new name the Lord prepares us to go out and be bold and have a purpose not of this world but of heaven.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. - Galatians 2:20

Your older self is no longer apart of you; in fact the Bible tells us that it is dead! This process isn't all the same but once you have that new name you no longer reflect on your past but only on what is before you – Jesus the Christ!

Apostle Peter: Sanctification

I was reading through 2 Peter today and it struck me that Peter has to deal with an issue that many Christians today have to deal with. Peter opens his letter expressing how it is important to be in pursuit of a holy life that is compelled by Faith with love being a driving force as well as outcome. And he lays this out very simply in 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Peter goes on throughout the rest of the letter expressing the importance of living a life that is bearing fruit and not allowing oneself to fall back into their old ways of sin. It is important to note that Peter never says that because you fall back into to sin you are not saved or that you lost your salvation, but he does say how this can cause separation and a loss of faith in Christ. He points out in verse 9 that they will forget the reason of why they became believers; in a sense they lose their hope and joy.

I found this very intriguing, especially in today's age. For those of you who do not know me, I enjoy talking Doctrine and Theology – I do not like a heated debate but I do enjoy an actual conversation in which there is love and compassion from both parties. When it comes to sanctification there is a wide debate on what that looks like. Many believers agree that sanctification does happen, but the question is – when? Sanctification is mentioned in the Bible so I find it important that we as Christian’s seek out what this means.

There are two major thoughts when it comes to sanctification. 1) Salvation and Sanctification go hand in hand – you cannot have one without the other, or 2) Once one is saved sanctification can develop in time but sanctification does not qualify one for salvation. One thing that I want to mention, just in case, is that Salvation is a free gift from God and is given to those who accept the Message of Christ which is the FACT that He is God, He lived a perfect life, died and was raised on the third day and now lives and rules with God.

What Peter is writing and warning against in his second letter is that there are many obstacles for those who proclaim to be believers in Christ, many distractions, and many false teachers who will pull away from the True message. But what I want to point out is that Peter gives this list in 2 Peter 1:5-7 to help keep believers focused and to learn how to focus on Christ and to live a life filled with sanctification. I DO NOT believe that he is presenting it as to say, “If you are not doing these things, you are not saved.”  What I do believe is that Peter presents this so that we can hold one another accountable as believers, so that we can encourage one another to continue in our faith and dwell in the fact of what we have been saved from which is expressed in verses 10-11.

There is probably no better way to finish this than to finish it how Peter does, and so I close with 2 Peter 3:17-18. My hope is that this propels you of the Faith to read 2 Peter as a whole and to knoll over what it is saying. For those of you who are not sure about Christianity please keep searching, read the Bible and pray – talk to the Lord even if you have no words to say.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.