Need something Mystical?

I wonder at times why so many out there today are always seeking after something “mystical”. The so called latest “Emergent church” trend tries to use Hindu contemplative prayer and icons to “experience God.” Sad really that they are actually much like the New Age folks trying to connect with a “spirit guide” and this practice is putting them in fellowship with demons. Wonder if some folks have ever tried walking daily in obedience in a relationship with Jesus?

To me, it seems pretty awesome that the Lord who created the universe knows me by name. He even knows the number of hairs on my head:

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

Walking with Jesus and taking up our cross daily can be interesting and even at times “mystical” for lack of a better term. As we abide in His word and seek Him through prayer He will lead us daily. But there is nothing “strange” about this like the groups who claim the Holy Spirit would lead them to bark like a dog and things of that nature. It is simply about a humble walk of faith and too see the Lord provide against all odds is really pretty awesome. Have I seen miracles happen? Yes, but should I be seeking the miracles or seeking the Lord? Why would you need to seek something more “mystical” except maybe due to pride? “Hey look how righteous I am doing all these wonders…”

The fact that the Lord hears and answers the prayers of those who know Him through faith in Jesus is beyond comprehension for me. Think about it, sitting in my room praying a simple prayer and the Lord of the Universe hears and answers prayers.

The Lord knows the plans He has for us and He will lead us into these paths if we are humbly seeking to follow after Him daily.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

Why is it not enough for some to realize that the creator of the Universe can be daily and intimately involved in their lives if they are truly seeking Him through prayer, obedience and study of His word? Why is it not enough for some to realize that the Lord knows us by name and loved us enough to become a man and die for our sins?

To go off on a path contrary to what Scripture declares because we desire something more “mystical” to me is insanity at it’s finest. Actually, Satan can appear as an angel of light so seeking after signs and wonders is the best short cut I know to being deceived:

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

A personal relationship with Jesus and following His lead on a daily basis is plenty exciting to me without the chasing after signs and wonders. It is totally awesome to take a step of faith to do something we know we cannot do and see the Lord do a work through us. The Lord often calls us to where we are not the most qualified because He wants us to rely on Him. If we have this kind of reliance on Him, He is faithful. If that at times includes something miraculous then the Lord will do the miraculous but often the Lord works in ways that I think we completely miss it being His handy work.

I sure have no interest in rolling around on the floor in an epileptic fit for certain. The Scriptures say the fruit of the Spirit is self control and sobriety. Cases of demonic possession in Scripture actually talk about the possessed falling down in convulsions. So what does this kind of activity have to do with the Holy Spirit exactly?

Why it is that some are seeking after more than a simple daily relationship with Jesus? Is it not awesome enough for some to realize that if they have placed their faith in Jesus then the Lord knows them better than they know themselves, will guide their path and hears their prayers? If they came to this realization then they would need nothing more “mystical” then a simple walk with Jesus and as well would be able to declare what David declared

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6)

Is Hell a real and eternal place?

I was in a discussion some time back and someone made a statement to me along the lines of; "The fact is hell is not an eternal place of torment." As nice as that would be to believe, especially if you have ever lost a love one who was not saved, the truth is hell is indeed eternal.

The concept of a Purgatory or “temporary hell” actually finds its roots in Judaism or more accurately Jewish tradition. It then managed to worm its way into the church. Orthodox Jewish thought and tradition believes the most someone will be in hell is one year with exception of the utterly wicked who is destroyed. The time can be shortened for a dead loved one via "good works" and prayers, etc. on their behalf. This teaching is not found in the Bible or in the Jewish Tanach. Of course the Jewish Tanach is the first half of our Christian Bible. The concept of a “temporary hell” is based totally on rabbinical tradition and it was later adopted by the Church of Rome.

It is nice to believe this theology but it is a lie straight from the pit of hell. It seems to try and argue that as long as you are a good person then you will be ok in the “after life”. But in addition to making more references to hell than He did Heaven there is a reason Jesus made statements such as:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Jesus warned about hell because it is eternal and without faith in Him you will end up in hell. Don’t believe me? Do away with your religion for a moment and let’s see what Scripture has to say about hell. We can read about the judgment of those who died without Christ will face in Revelation…

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:12-15).

First point is that hell is a literal place but Jesus said hell is eternal:

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48).

If you will notice in the above verses from Mark and Revelation we find that not only is hell a literal place but Jesus says several times that the fires of hell will not be quenched.

Please note you can die only one time and then you will be judged. There are no second chances after you die, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27

The judgment that will keep you out of hell for eternity is based on accepting Jesus as Savior. You can choose to try and earn your way to Heaven based on good works but the Bible tells us "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags in the eyes of the Lord." We die once and then we are judged once. There is no coming back after we die with our choice made. God gives us free will to choose Heaven or Hell and no one will go to hell without climbing over Jesus to get there but God isn’t going to drag anyone to Heaven kicking and screaming against their free will either.

Everyone has a choice to make now based on what is in God's word. Won’t you choose Jesus and eternal life right now today? You are not promised you will get another chance tomorrow or even later today.

A bunch of hypocrites?

But aren’t all “Christians” really just a bunch of hypocrites?

That is the classic question from the skeptic isn’t it?

We all know some who put on their mask to attend church on Sunday for a few hours then live worse than most non-Christians with the rest of their week. I knew a “Christian” woman one time that was cut throat as they come in business. It was on “open secret” that she was sleeping around with her “boyfriend”…problem being that she happen to be married to someone else and her “boyfriend” was married also.

The answer really to the question is not that all “Christians” are hypocrites. The answer is some have never understood what it really means to be a Christian in the first place and they are just lost folks who misrepresent Jesus to the world

These types of “Christians” will one day hear Jesus at the final judgment say to them, “…‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23)

If we really know Jesus and have really made Him the Lord of our lives we might make a mistake here and there but we will not live in a cesspool of sin as a lifestyle. If we know “about Jesus” and know a few stories and so forth we might live like a hypocrite. But not if we know Jesus in a personal relationship, being a Christian has nothing to do with Baptism, church membership or knowing “about Jesus”.

In a real relationship with Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit living in our hearts because we have asked Jesus to be our Lord. In this sort of relationship if I step out of line the Holy Spirit convicts me and I repent. This is what is known as the “fruit of the Spirit” in a believer’s life. Basically, the idea is that if we really have the Holy Spirit in our hearts it will change us from the inside out. A change in heart will always result in a change in the way we think and act.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:19-23)

Please note these behaviors listed in the verses above are not things that we are “required” to do in order to be saved. To put it another way, this is not a list of “do’s” and “don’ts”. These are things that we should do as a natural course if we truly know Jesus and have truly had the Holy Spirit take up residence in our hearts. These are things that will be an indication to us if we have had a true change of heart or merely church membership.

In other words, where do you camp out most of the time? In the flesh or abiding in the Spirit? If your answer is in the flesh, I think you need to really examine your relationship with the Lord to find out if you are merely religious or have you made Jesus the true Lord of your life?

A change of heart is not something we can bring about as a work of the flesh or by our own efforts it is something the Holy Spirit starts to do the moment we accept Jesus. Will we ever be perfect this side of Heaven? No, but we should start to see some improvement as time goes by. All we can do is take up our cross daily spending time in the study of God’s word and asking Jesus in prayer to draw us closer to Him so that He can mold us into what He would have us to be. There is no room for religion here or the self-help programs of man. There is only room for a relationship of abiding in Christ and seeking after Him daily.

So what about the “Christian” that lives like hell on earth so that the skeptic looks at them and says all Christians are hypocrites? Are they saved? If you are a “Christian” who lives this way are you truly saved? I can’t answer that question for you because I cannot know your heart. Only God knows your heart and He will reveal it to you if you simply ask Him in prayer. But I would caution that if you never have any fruit of the Spirit in your daily walk you might really want to seek the Lord as to why you have had no change in your life.

What you do not want is to be religious or a “cultural Christian” and give yourself a false sense of security that will one day lead to you hearing, “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

Are you having a problem in life?

Have you ever heard someone who is not a Christian ask questions or make statements such as, “If being a Christian is so great how come my friend who is a Christian is having such a tough time in their life. Surely if God is who you say then He knows about the problem and if He loves us so much He would fix the problem.”

Or maybe you are a Christian who is having problems and you catch yourself thinking, “I am a faithful Christian, but having a tough time living my life. I am living a disoriented life full of anguish and suffering. It's getting to be too much and I'm ready to throw the towel. Does God know about my problems and is HE still with me?”

Let’s address this type of question both for the believer and the skeptic friend of a believer who sees the problems they are having.

Some of the problems and trials in our lives are allowed by God in order to strengthen our faith and dependence on Him.

“Count it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2-3)

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

"……and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

We need to remember that whatever we are going through as a believer is in God's knowledge. The late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse used to say that, "nothing can pass through the life of a believer, unless it passes through the 'will' of God."

God will never leave you in a situation beyond your bearing if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. He will always provide a way out; "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful and will remain that way. He does not and will not, forget your love for Him, He will never forget the time when you accepted Him as your personal Savior. He remembers the work you have done for Him; "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Hebrews 6:10

Whatever the problem and whatever the temptation, we know that God delivers us and in the end as His children we stand victorious; "And we KNOW that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

God's word tells us, that we KNOW -- not 'hope' -- that all things work together for good for His people.

Temptations, problems and troubles are all part of human life. But if you are a Christian, your battle with such things increases. Our only hope lies in Jesus and resisting Satan.

To give the devil a run for his money we have to resist him with all that we have; "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

God will sure answer your prayers and deliver you from the problems you are having. All this will happen at a time, ordained exclusively for you.

".......weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Now, adhere and meditate on what Paul has to say in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

It is also important to note that all of us have a lost friend or family member and they are watching you. If you are having problems in life you need to remember that how you react to or handle problems can be a powerful witness to those around you.

May God bless you and give you His 'peace'. Amen

Do you want peace for your soul?

There seems to be a lot of people worried about all that is going on in the world today and also a lot of talk about “peace” but sorry to tell you that the world is not going to improve. Rather the prophetic Scriptures indicate that the world will only continue to get worse until Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom on earth.

However, as the world continues to grow even more insane it is possible to have peace right now in the midst of the insanity. Do you want to know how? The only way to have true and lasting peace is through a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord.

Please note, I am not talking about “doing church” or being “religious”. I am not talking about “talking a good game” of lip service then living like the world minus a few hours on Sunday morning. These things are completely useless and will not carry you through the trials of this life.

I am talking about a close daily relationship with Jesus as our Lord. I am talking about a daily relationship that can only be achieved by study of God’s Word in the Bible and prayer on a daily basis after we have made a decision to ask Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to indwell us and asked Jesus to be the Lord of our lives.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

Now does this mean if we accept Jesus that we will never have any problems in our lives like some of the “health and wealth gospel” teachers preach these days? No, that is silly because God uses trials in our lives to teach us to rely on Him. The history of the church shows that the true faithful at times are even called to die for their testimony of Jesus.

Paul gives us a great picture of this concept of the Lord carrying us through a trial in life in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Paul lived a life of few comforts and many hardships in his service to the Lord in spreading the Gospel. However, Paul had found rest for his soul in spite of his circumstance and this allowed Paul to write:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Philippians 4:11-12

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

God does not always deliver us from trials but He will always give us the grace to carry us through them.

Do you want peace which surpasses all understanding regardless of your circumstances? Have you tried making Jesus the true Lord of your life and drawing into a close relationship with Him?

Don't allow your heart to be hard

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”

The verse above speaks of a very dangerous place to find ourselves. It is dangerous for those who are or claim to be Christians but it is even more dangerous for the non-believer. But lets take them one at a time, first the believer then the non-believer.

For the believer this should serve as a warning. There are many out there today chasing after every wind of false doctrine. Some are listening to any spirits that come their way assuming it to be the Holy Spirit but they are not testing these spirits against the Word of God as recorded in the Bible. Some such as the Baptist groups would claim you cannot loose your salvation. However, there is enough information in the Word to give me extreme caution to make sure I remain in a state of seeking after the Lord instead of seeking after the doctrine of demons. My guess is some that are “Christians” who live like hell on earth have not lost their salvation but rather were simply “religious” and never saved to begin with. If you are one who spends two hours a week at church but the rest of your week living like the world, I would caution you to really spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to search your heart. If you are not abiding in Christ more often then not, I would suggest you should be cautious against the danger of becoming a “religious” lost person.

Many today are seeking after "Spirtual" things, seeking after signs and wonders and things of that nature. But you have to realize that the devil is very capable of performing signs and wonders but he and his demons are hardly the Holy Spirit. We need to be very cautious that we are really saved and abiding in Jesus instead of practicing a religion that while it may give us a false sense of security is in reality practing the doctrine of demons.

When asked what would be the signs that His return was approaching, Jesus warned in each account given to us in Scripture that first and foremost we should “take heed that no one deceives you.” Further, in the book of Revelation Jesus addresses the church of Laodicea as His church but then He warns them, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” in Revelation 3:16. Scholars debate whether this passage means one can loose their salvation but I would prefer not to take the chance myself. As a side note, if you are involved in a “seeker sensitive” church that is really into the Rick Warren style of “doing church” I would suggest you read Revelation chapter 3 for the description of the Laodicean church because you may find some of it sounds as if it is hitting a little to close to home.

We do know there will be some in the last days that God will give over to strong delusion or send them strong delusion according to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. I am starting to believe that many of these people will be “religious” or “Christians” in the cultural sense. I think these sorts of warnings should give us all pause to really consider if we really know Jesus or know “about” Jesus. Are we really abiding in His word or are we simply religious and playing church.

But what about the non-believer? Some will tell you that they are still “thinking about” the Gospel message. If this is you I would caution you strongly. While it is true that I have personally seen the seemingly most hardened of people come to Salvation in Christ there are no guarantees.

I firmly believe that each person is called to Salvation by Jesus at one time or another. Some are given many chances and others only a few. It is different for each person.

However, if you are called by the Holy Spirit I cannot caution you enough to not reject the call. It could well be that this will be the last (or only) time you are ever called and if you reject the call you may be damming yourself for good.

Romans 1:24 "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves," (NKJV)

Romans 1:28 "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (NIV)

Exodus 9:12 “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.”

In the verses above we find where the Scripture speaks of the Lord hardening a person’s heart or giving them over to a depraved mind.

This is a very dangerous place to be and you should go to any and all lengths to avoid being in this state. I believe some of these mentioned in the verses above are ones who have rejected the call of Jesus via the Holy Spirit one “too many” times. If you reach this point it is likely you could not repent if you wanted to.

If the Holy Spirit is calling you to Salvation today, please consider responding to the call. You may well get another chance later to receive Salvation but then again maybe not. It is a very dangerous game to play and if you are being called I would suggest your respond right now by clicking this link

If I have an addiction, can I still be saved?

Yes. You can always receive salvation whether you are a good person or a mass murderer. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This, after we are told in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

There is nothing you need to do to receive salvation other than surrender your life to God, pray and ask Jesus to come live in your heart and to be the Lord of your life. If we had to clean up our lives before we could receive salvation then no one would ever get saved. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that in the eyes of God, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."

With God, salvation is a 'come as you are' invitation. Once you accept Jesus as your savior, only then will God begin to work in your life. If you allow the blood of Christ to cover over your sins and make Jesus the Lord of your life then He will do a work to change your heart. In time this change of heart will result in your being changed from the inside out if you honestly begin to seek to follow Jesus daily in developing a personal relationship with Him.

A dear friend's adopted son was a cold-blooded killer before he was saved, but now a prison evangelist.

I have several friends who were drug dealers and users when they prayed to receive salvation. Obviously they are now free of the drug culture in that one is now a pastor and the other is a praise and worship music leader. However, they did not need to clean up their act before asking Jesus to come into their heart. All they needed to do was ask Jesus to come into their heart and be the Lord of their lives. From there on Jesus began to lead them in a way that took care of the rest.

Has the world gone mad?

"He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep." (Psalm 121:3-4)

As we watch the news today, many ask. "Has the world gone mad?"

No, the world has not gone mad. God does not slumber and all of this is simply the working out of His plan for the ages. All of what you see going on today was predicted long ago in the writings of the prophets as recorded in the Bible.

When asked by the disciples, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus gave several signs that would signal the nearing of His return.

And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:4-8)

Jesus compared these signs in the verses above to birth pains in that once they began they would increase in frequency and intensity. Funny thing about birth or labor pains, once they begin they do not stop until the baby is born. We are seeing all of these signs today in ever increasing intensity from false prophets to wars to earth quakes, but if you know Jesus as your savior in a personal relationship do not be troubled, all was predicted and is simply coming to pass. If you don't know Jesus then you do indeed have reason to be troubled. There is a time coming when those who believe in Jesus will be taken to Heaven in the Rapture and after the rapture there will be a time on earth of which Jesus said "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive" in Matthew 24:22.

All that we see going on today is simply God working out His plans.

God's plan for Israel is not complete destruction and ruin but sanctification, salvation, and restoration! A remnant of Israel will turn her eyes to her Maker, and she will come to know the true God of her salvation! See Zechariah 12 and 13 for insight into what is coming on Israel and the ultimate out working of His salvation of His remnant.

As to the church, what should we make of the birth pains we see going on in the world?

Jesus said: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Luke 21:28

Praise the Lord! Our King is coming soon, are you ready to meet Him?