Sin Desensitizing Me and You

Sin Desensitizing Me and You 

“I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh . . . and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” EZEKIEL 11:19–20 

If you’ve raised children, you know about selective hearing. Whisper something about them while they’re watching TV, and they perk up immediately. Ask them about their homework in a normal tone of voice, and they somehow don’t hear . . . God’s Word is God’s Word whether we accept it or reject it. In our most rebellious times, we—like the people Ezekiel was addressing—may not hear, but we can’t say that God does not speak to us. The truth is that we simply do not want to listen. Ezekiel’s audience had the ability to hear God’s warnings, but their sin desensitized them to God’s words. The same thing happens to us. Repeatedly disobeying God leads to a hardening of the heart until we are impervious to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Nevertheless, God offers to replace our “stony heart” with a heart of flesh that is soft and tender toward Him. If you have developed a hard heart, turn to God, repent, and receive a heart of flesh. Then you will find yourself seeking His promises and desiring His way. You will begin to regularly hear His voice and find delight once more in spending time with Him. - Blackaby Being Still With God 

Much is said both in the Gospels and to the letters written to all of us afterwards about the deceitfulness of sin.  We live in a society that with every day comes even more desensitization of sin. 

We see exactly what Jesus wondered if He would see about the faith. 

We see this warning come true:

 

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine,
And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,
Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe,
And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

Isaiah 5:30-23 NASB

We do many things with our words that tear people apart in the name of fun. It's been highlighted more in recent years to be labeled bullying. But for some reason, the world doesn't like to apply that to what happens to Christians. Please note that bit of sarcasm in that last sentence. We know it's becoming far more prevalent in our society to attack Christians just as much as Jews.

At the end if every sports season people who claim to be Christians, in violation of the Scriptures, use worldly "fun" to tear apart people based on "who's side" they are on.

I have actually had a brother in Christ actually say in response to my not being an Ohio State University fan "I'll pray for you in that!"  

Ridicule and hatred have no foundation in anything for anyone in the body of Christ!

There is no "it was just done in fun!" defense before Christ Jesus!

Honestly, in my youth, I was terribly good at how to use words to shred someone at school. 

To bring them to tears in what was referred to as "cut down sessions".  This is to my shame!

We who are in Christ Jesus have to be as the Bible says "in the world but not of the world". Romans 12:2.

Why are sins prevailing so much in the Church today?  Because we have believed the lies of Satan rather than the truth of God.  We are told that if the world hated Jesus it would hate us too.  So what does the so-called Church do?  Find ways to accept sin so that the world wouldn't be offended by their stance.  

Jesus never once sugar coated His words to any He came across. He never once compromised and told them it was ok to live in sin.  

He always forgave and said what? Go and sin no more.

Paul, in Romans, spoke at length about not continuing in sin that's identified by God's Word as sin.  

We constantly see adults teaching children how to hate others based on their beliefs, their taste in sports teams, their choice of movie characters, politics...and this is within Christian families!

God said what about His Word?  That not one of the least parts of it would ever not come to pass.  Which means we need to stick with what God says concerning sin!

If God says that in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 means exactly what it means "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." In this passage he was talking to people in the Church.  People being taught that those sins would be overlooked by those who practiced them, intentionally did them, in their lives. Verse 11 "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

We should never water down, never find, excuses to allow sin in any form in our lives. 

People are why Christ Jesus did what He did to make salvation possible. 

Satan will use everything he is allowed to use to destroy lives.  

Including causing callousness in comments of so-called Churches.

Including causing callousness in believers towards sin in all its forms.

Your thoughts and intentions, like mine, are always laid bare before Jesus Christ at all times. 

You can deceive yourself but you will never deceive Jesus Christ. 

You may laugh now, but I can promise you that you won't when you are confronted by Jesus about what you have done when He asks you about it. 

There is no excuse for any reason to tear down anyone. There IS a responsibility to share Jesus, to share the truth of God. Exposing sin and sinful behaviors is not tearing down. 

It's living a life in agreement with God concerning sin and the penalty for it.

I have profound regret for many of the words that I have spoken or thought that tore someone down.  I have, in many facets of my life put various sins in categories of "bad" and "not so bad".  I have ripped people because of their choice of sports teams.  God says in His Word that there is no acceptable reason to indulge in sin, in any way, shape or form.

Why has the Church appeared weak in this world?  For the same reason Israel became weak in this world over the centuries. The farther it gets from God's Word the weaker it will get. 

Know this truth...the Rapture is coming. Jesus WILL return. Those who are left behind either will either finally come to Christ for salvation, or they will embrace the lies of the Anti-Christ because they are already prepared to accept him today. 

Commitment to the Cause of Christ

Commitment to the Cause of Christ 

In this second post it's a bit different from the last one this morning.  Are you committed to Jesus or are you really living for yourself? Do you become the Good Samaritan or are you the Priest and Levite?  

You read through the letters to the Churches that Paul wrote, the word "commitment" stands out rather glaringly.  You read of the selfless acts of many.  You read of their love for one another that lead them to show Christ in that way. 

Regardless of the size of their respective Church, they gave of themselves, their time, energy and money to whatever the Lord had in need of elsewhere. So much so that it really moved Paul in his writing to them. Always giving thanks to God for them and their hearts before God. 

Galatians 6:2 NASB "Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."

As painfully blunt as I am being directed to write, what's happened to the Churches of today in this respect?  

Would a letter written by Paul or Peter or James result in a commendation for their caring for those in the body of Christ or a stern rebuke as we read in Malachi?

When a believer shares their burden does the body turn away or is it engaging in fulfilling what the Church is to be?

When people ask for help, what happens?

When people ask for prayer, what becomes of it?

Do those in the body of Christ today become the hands and feet of Jesus to the Brethren or do they sit on them because it might be difficult or maybe bring a temporary hardship? It just doesn't fit in with their own plans? 

Would the letters written to the Churches today be like what Paul wrote to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians? Or would they be like some of the letters Jesus told John to write to in Revelation?

Jesus said that those in the body should not be lukewarm. He will spit them out. 

You are either hot or cold in regards to your walk with Jesus, in regards to your faith, in regards to your commitment to God. 

Just how much concern for those claiming to be Christians do each of us have for others in the body of Christ?  As one put it that I remember hearing, anyone can be concerned. But it takes faith to meet people where their need is. 

I have only an observation to share on this. In much of the 20 plus years we have spent living where we have.  Most of those Churches we have attended would likely receive a stern rebuke from Jesus.  A great many who have been greatly blessed by God just won't or wouldn't stoop to helping Brothers and Sisters in Christ because they might have to make a sacrifice. 

I am going to borrow a post from a friend in what you read now...just think about its message:

The Missing Ingredient

By Jim Cymbala

One year, we had an Easter outreach. We had three services, and lines were around the building; it was a long day. Afterward, I’m sitting on the edge of the platform by the pulpit, and people are being ministered to at the altar. I look up, and I see this dude with his cap in his hands, looking bad. He looked 50; he was actually 32. He gives me a sheepish look like ‘Can I get close to you?’

Now at that time, in that building, we had everyone coming in off the streets to mooch money. People were coming in with incredible scams they were running, and they would go to church members and collect ‘subway fare’ from 25 different people.

I thought to myself, “Man, this is a downer, but maybe he wants lunch. I’ll give him some money.”

This guy started walking up to me, and then the smell hit me. Feces, urine, sweat, hot street — stir gently for about an hour. It was the worst smell I ever smelled, and I worked on a dairy farm during the summer as a kid. He told me he was an alcoholic, did drugs too, slept in his truck the night before. He didn’t dare go to a shelter because people got killed in there.

So I pulled out my wallet. He pushed my hand down, and I’ll never forget what he said. “I don’t want your money. I’m going to die out there. I want this Jesus you were talking about.”

I raised my hands and wept like a child, praying, “Jesus, forgive me.” He felt what the Spirit was doing, and he started weeping too and threw his arms around me. We cried together, him for his sins and me for my sins. He went to detox for a few days and then spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at the table with my family. He joined the prayer group; he married a beautiful woman, and a couple years later, he got ordained into the ministry.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing…. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:1-2,7, ESV).

My Rescue is Through Faith

My Rescue is Through Faith 

When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. 

Lord, when I pass through the waters, You will be with me; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow me. When I walk through the fire, I shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch me. For You are the Lord my God, the Holy One of Israel, my Savior. You will bring the blind by a way they did not know; You will lead them in paths they have not known. You will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things You will do for them, and not forsake them. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In You, God (I will praise Your Word), in You I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? You, Lord, are my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? You, Lord, are the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

Lord God, these truths about You are a source of encouragement, reassurance, strength, and boldness. 

MICAH 7:8; ISAIAH 43:2–3; ISAIAH 42:16; PSALM 23:4; PSALM 56:3–4; PSALM 27:1

Dr. David Jeremiah Life-Changing Moments with God 

Rescue Story by Zach Williams 

There I was empty-handed
Crying out from the pit of my despair
There You were in the shadows
Holding out Your hand, You met me there

And now where would I be without You?
Where would I be, Jesus?

You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
You are my rescue story

You are, You are
You are my rescue story
You are, You are

You were writing the pages
Before I had a name
Before I needed grace, oh
Singing songs of redemption
'Cause every time I ran away
You were louder than my shame

And now, where would I be without You?
Where would I be, Jesus?

You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
You are my rescue story

You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, ohh, oh-ohh
You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, ohh, oh-ohh
You never gave up on me
Oh, You never gave up on me
Oh, this is my testimony

Oh, You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
'Cause You are my rescue story

You are, You are (You are my rescue story)
Oh, You never gave up on me, never gave up on me
You are, You are
Yeah, You are my rescue story

In the course of my life there's been more times than I can count on when I had been on the precipice of change if only a step of faith would be taken. I would experience the oppression of Spiritual attacks and in my despair God indeed came in.  But had I taken a leap of faith life would have been different. In this life it's impossible to determine how many of those times were Satan backing off and how many were God pointing me in a direction that I was afraid to step towards. 

God indeed has a plan for mankind. He's came to Earth to save sinners. To die for the sins of mankind. In obedience to His Father. But remember well that He began the Father's business, it's up to us to continue it.

There's also the passages that speaks to the times of the end. Jesus wondered if He would find the faith when He returns. We also read of the times quickly approaching that refer to the times of the Gentiles beings fulfilled.  

That time when the cup of iniquity of the world is full. When God's said enough is enough. We can see shadows of that in the Old Testament books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. We see pretty clearly when that enough is enough moment came for Israel with God. 

They too didn't know the day nor the hour when everything was going to come down. 

In my life right now we are in the midst of a leap of faith. Of stepping out regardless of the relenting of the battles going on in our lives.  Soon we will be in a new hometown, living among new and different people.  Soon we will be able to participate in a Church we have wanted to be a part of for a very long time. 

Rescue Story has often played in my mind in recent weeks.  Jesus indeed is clearly showing me that I am His workmanship. That indeed there's more for me to do for Him, but it requires training.  

We who are in Christ are not here in this moment of time, in the physical location where we are, to live for ourselves. We have a responsibility to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We have a relationship with Jesus that is to be different from the world. 

We have a part to fulfill in the here and now for to point people to Jesus Christ. 

Getting people into a Church building isn't bringing them to Jesus. Getting them into a relationship is more important than warming a seat. The Way is through faith in Christ Jesus. It's not through anything else or through anyone else. 

Nobody needs to be in a building to be saved. The thief on the cross never saw a single Church service. Never sang a song. This shows Jesus meeting people at the point of their need. 

Look at this song by the Ruppes "By the Way of the Cross"

Condemned to die on a cross for crimes he had done
He was guilty- everyone could see.
But his destiny was changed as he looked at Christ and said,
"When Your kingdom comes, remember me."
In Paradise that day, he stood
Just like the Lord had said he would
Surrounded by those who had gone before.
One said, "Friend, how did you come? What are the deeds you have done?"
With tears in his eyes, I can hear him reply,
"There are no merits to my name- no works that I can claim. He Who brought me here told me to say...

(Chorus)
I have come by the way of the cross.
I have come by the way of the cross.
It is nothing I have done.
It's the suffering of God's Son.
I have come by the way of the cross."

I have nothing to claim but my guilt and my shame.
Hopelessly lost, I could not find my way.
Till His glorious light of love shone down on me.
His mercy washed all my sins away!
And what He did for me that day
Was a price I could not pay.
And by His grace, I too can say- forever say...
(Chorus)

Bridge
I see millions gathered 'round the throne
From every kindred and tongue-
Those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
And as they cast their crowns down at His feet
This will be my story- this will be my song,...
(Chorus "We")

There is no other way.. but the cross!
By the cross! By the cross!

I have no righteousness that I can claim apart from what Jesus has given me from Himself. 

We all have been rescued at some point when we came to Christ for salvation. 

We all like sheep have gone astray. But the Shepherd sought us out to save us. 

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man or woman comes to the Father but through Him.  

There's true stories that can be told of some greats in the faith that attended a church for years that weren't saved by being there. They were saved by the pursuit of the Spirit in their lives.  Were saved because a moment came when they saw the light of truth and couldn't deny it no longer. 

My Rescue Story is all about Jesus saving a wretch like me.  It's about how He never once gave up on me when I was ready to give up on life. It's about His love and compassion in regards to my lowly estate.  It's all about Jesus and His love for me.  

But what does it MEAN

But what does it MEAN 

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, And on His Law he meditates day and night. Psalms 1:1-2 NASB 

Jesus spoke of taking up your own cross and following Him. But what does that mean? Does the Bible say anything more? Yes, all throughout the Scriptures. 

The lives of the Disciples were such examples of those who let ho of worldly desires and ambitions in favor of a life with Christ.  A life of taking up their own cross to follow Jesus. 

This passage written thousands of years earlier points to such a life.  

We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:3b about it being God's Will,  our sanctification. 

We read of Jesus specifically praying for sanctification in those reading of the Gospels later and those with Him in that moment. 

What is sanctification? What traits hallmark such living?

Where do your thoughts go during your day?

Sin is going to subtly alter the course of your life, through temptation, in order to bring about still greater deviation from Sanctification. 

The goal being to take your heart and mind off of a life lived for Jesus. 

While work is a necessity, what we do in our idle time is what does the most damage to our integrity and our walk with God. 

As others have pointed out, you can change the course of a mighty river by moving a few stones at its beginning. 

Sin and temptation want you to let go of your own cross for just a moment. 

They want you to let down your guard for just a second.  

I was on my way back to our soon to be old house. Just driving along like other trips before. During that trip, I heard all kinds of soft suggestions to pull off for just a moment, wait out the higher than normal winds at McDonald's. Sounds harmless enough.  Yeah right. Be as harmless to someone watching what they eat like a diabetic in a chocolate factory.  Easy to see where temptation can go.

Temptation can be generational, Parents, Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, even Mentors. 

We can and will talk ourselves into activities and thoughts to draw us away from the righteous life that God desires in us.

Will you or would you even recognize it if you saw it?  

By now in my life, I ought to have a very healthy ability to recognize poison ivy. I am highly allergic to it. Spreads easily on my skin and creams and pills don't do anything to slow it down.  I have to get a shot to fight it from the inside. 

To work on sin, on temptation, to seek out what Jesus prayed for you for, requires fighting it from the inside.  It requires you to have the same attitude as those pillars in Christ Jesus. It requires you to be intentional in your life. It requires you to be in the Word of God, requires you to internalize it. Temptation works on your heart and mind. The Word of God works on your heart and mind and soul.  The battlefield is in you. It's not in the physical world. 

It is obviously of utmost importance to Jesus to pray for it concerning all.

Sanctification is:

1. the action of making or declaring something holy.

   "the sanctification of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ"

   • the action or process of being freed from sin or purified.

     "the process of sanctification takes deliberate action on our part"
   • the action of causing something to be or seem morally right or acceptable.

     "the sanctification of violence

   
   

What steps are you taking to live a life approved of by God?

How do you spend your time?  Do you actively pursue a life that is pleasing to Jesus or do you live with your own personal interests in mind?  

We read n see what it means to be a Christian, a Christ follower.  But are you really? 

Are you at all trying to please the One who laid down His life to save you?

When your life is revealed for what it really was, not for what you thought it was, what will really be seen?  

I have all too often laid down my cross rather than taken it up and held onto it. 

We are tempted the most in areas of pleasure or pleasing others. Yet the One we ought to consider pleasing we disregard. We read in Ezekiel about how the Lord Jesus showed Ezekiel what people THOUGHT that God didn't see or couldn't know. 

Just because this or that feels good doesn't mean it's beneficial to our Spiritual growth. 

A box of Twinkies, a 12 pack of Pepsi and a large bag of Doreto's used to sound great to me for a movie. Let alone a very large bowl of popcorn.  A diet of that is what lead to my being overweight. Felt great, tasted great. Certainly didn't do anything to help my physical condition. 

You may think you don't know what a sanctified life looks like. 

You may not even think about your life in terms of what God thinks about it. 

You should. Because if you believed the Scriptures when it showed you how to be saved, then you ought to believe the other parts that show you how to live a Godly life. 

Do you realize that Jesus can easily separate your thoughts from your intentions?

He can and does all the time. 

He sees our wasted time, our wasted money spent that we justify in our minds. 

We live in a world that abuses God's grace and mercy.  Paul wrote of practiced sin in Romans. 

When you examine your life what things do you do that are what God says are intentional sins?  I have them, we all have them. 

Thank God that I am a work in progress with Jesus.  Writing this blog has brought to mind things that I have never considered or thought of before.  I am always being given God's thoughts on life, but it's up to me as to whether or not I obey.  Same goes for you. 

You must acknowledge God's truth regarding sin in your life. God's easily demonstrated that He's the type to call a spade a spade. He sugar coats nothing because eternity is in the balance. Lives are at stake. Finding those who will join Him in Heaven are that much more important than our personal achievements and satisfaction. He left perfection to be born as a baby. To live a sinless life in a sin filled world. To die for the sins of the countless multitudes of people that make up humanity in all history.  Sin's destruction.

We need to yes enjoy life,  but life as shown in serving God. A life spent growing in respect to salvation. A life that looks at the example of Jesus for the model. 

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. 

Jesus was wondering if He would find the faith when He returns. 

Do you exemplify a life as having the faith? 

True Lives...or True lives that are Lies?

True Lives...or True lives that are Lies?

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” Luke 10:40 

Martha loved Jesus dearly and would have done anything for Him. Her struggle came in being still! Martha spent so much time serving Jesus that she had no time to enjoy His company or to get to know Him better. The harder Martha worked, the more frustrated she became with her sister Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha scurried around the house to make sure everything was in perfect order for Jesus. Martha's service, though it started out with gladness, deteriorated into resentment and envy. It is good to want to serve Christ as an expression of love for what He has done for you. Yet when your activity consumes your time and energies so that you have no time for Him, you have become too busy! You may think, as Martha did, that if you don’t do the work, it won’t get done. That may be true, but Jesus taught that your highest priority must be your relationship with Him. If anything detracts you from that relationship, that activity is not from God. God will not ask you to do something that hinders your relationship with Christ. At times, serving God and carrying out His mission is the best way to know and experience God. At other times, it is more important to sit quietly at His feet and listen to what He is saying. We are not called to continually sit at the feet of Jesus; otherwise our service for Him would cease. Neither are we called to serve Him incessantly, without taking time to find restoration in His presence. Have you been serving God so diligently that you have not had time to spend with Him? - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

We read this and know this...now look at the side of life in people that the Lord Jesus Christ sees...

Ezekiel 8:5-18 NASB "Then He said to me, “Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance. And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations!”

Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.  And He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of crawling things and animals and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. And standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand; and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was rising. Then He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his carved images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has abandoned the land.’” And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing!”

Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these!”

Then He brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord while their faces were toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me to anger repeatedly? Yet behold, they are putting the twig to their nose! Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

Read now this my Dear Reader:

Galatians 6:7-8 NASB "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit."

2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad."

In what you say, do, behave like, act like, speak like, are you at all living for Jesus if you are claiming that you are saved by Him?

God connects the dots and its on me to write what I am shown. Much as the people God's chosen that we read about in the Bible. I am not laying claim to being a prophet of any kind, but I will lay claim to being obedient to what I am told to write. 

You can fool just about anyone in your life with a vision of what your life looks like, that you present to mankind to see.  You cannot fool Jesus. The same Jesus we read of in the books of Genesis through the end of the Old Testament is the same Jesus we read in the New Testament.  He hasn't changed nor ever will. Mankind will give an account of their lives. It is so written in 2 Corinthians 5:10, so it will be. 

The facts of life weren't just a television show, the facts of life contain a right relationship with Jesus Christ. In walking with Him, learning from Him. Being obedient to Him in spite of what the world entices us to go and do. 

You must choose and you must be real before yourself and God. 

You must not lie to yourself either. 

We do that all the time.  We convince ourselves that this isn't a sin, that's not a sin. Read what Jesus revealed to Ezekiel again. We can deceive ourselves in what we say and do but Jesus sees and knows the truth. 

2 Thessalonians 4:3 says that our sanctification is God's Will. Found another place where Jesus Himself reveals that He prays that for you and I. John 17:17 NASB "Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.".

Is your life about being sanctified in truth in Christ Jesus or is it about entertaining yourself, about living for yourself, about what you can get out of life apart from God, with disregard toward what you are called to be doing in Christ?

That vision in Ezekiel isn't exclusive to those people we read about. 

Jesus looks into your life and mine. He sees both the true life and the true life of lies.

He sees what you do behind closed doors. Sees what you think and why you thought it. 

Sees if you are indeed thinking of songs, hymns and spiritual songs. Sees if you are walking in the light of Christ or if you are self-deceived.  Sees if selfishness taints your blessing others when Christ has so richly blessed you. Sees your judgmental thoughts. Sees your obsession with anything and everything in your life that isn't going to grow your life in Christ Jesus. 

In America sports ranks the highest in temptation to take God's worship and misplace it into the things of this world. Movies, music and all other forms of entertainment are right behind it. Living lies of working for self satisfaction are in that mix too. All avenues to sins. 

To deny ourselves, take up our own cross and follow Jesus...think about it. How can you do that and pull a U-Haul too if the baggage from this world?  A cross took everything the bearer could muster in order to carry it. Took all their focus and energy. Distractions caused them to be dropped. 

Lying to ourselves about what we can do or can't do is in there as well.  Excuses of not being strong enough, not having the ability etc we all use them.

From this day forward you can get back on the straight and narrow path that Jesus taught us to be on. We cannot afford to be on the highways and byways of life. 

Is shame and regret going to be the theme of your deeds done in the body?

I know that my life will bring that for me. My prayer is that in each day that I do what God brings me to do to the best of my ability.  I have unplugged from sports, from movies. Can't even tell you what the last new movie was that I have seen in a theater. I only buy music that points my thoughts to Jesus and my life with Christ. 

You must choose to look at whether or not lies about what motivates you defines you or if the truth of God defines you. 

Anything in this world can entice our hearts away from a right relationship with Jesus. 

A prevailing theme in the Old Testament was the hearts of the children of Israel being far from God.  Judgment begins with the household of God the Bible says. 

Quit living a life of denial about the truth of your life and start casting away those things you think and do that God's telling you are in the way of a right relationship with Jesus. 

Will You Know Enough to Realize Your Calling

Will You Know Enough to Realize Your Calling 

Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? ESTHER 4:14 

Just before Charles Colson was to preach to three hundred inmates at San Quentin Prison, a lockdown confined the prisoners to their cells. To the few allowed to attend, he decided to go ahead and give the complete message he had prepared. Later, when he expressed disappointment that the three hundred were unable to attend, he was told, “We videotaped your message and will be showing it numerous times to all twenty-two hundred prisoners.” What if Colson had, as he first considered, just given a short devotional to the several Christians who were allowed to attend instead of the full evangelistic message he had prepared? More than two thousand needy souls would not have heard the gospel. Being faithful in unlikely circumstances is what Esther is remembered for. As the newly appointed queen of Persia, she gained the ear of the king to plead for the safety of the Jews, who were about to be massacred. The king responded, and the Jewish people were saved. An occasion may arise when you are the only person available to speak for God. Will you be faithful in such a moment as that? You are the most important person in the world to God when you are the one He has called to do something for Him. - Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening 

We, at least I know there've been times when for sure it's been me, are often are so busy trying to get comfortable and to seek personal pleasure and satisfaction in this life that we neglect why we are in this world in this time such as this.

Was reading another devotional about William Tyndale who had been burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English.  I know of the guy who spoke the Bible into two audio formats and a few days after the second translation was completed, God took him home as well.

This blog, wouldn't have been possible in another time in human history. 

You in your Christian life are to be where you are because of God the Father's plan for mankind.  It's no happenstance or coincidence or fate or any other such thing as to why you were born and others have not.

Jesus was about the Father's business...He was in as constant prayerful communication with His Father as was possible in order to do what He was there to do.

The Disciples were born at the right time to do what they did to lay the first bricks on the foundation of Christ Jesus for the Church. 

You are alive today not to live for you. If that were the case Jesus wouldn't have said for you to take up your own cross and follow Him.

You are here for a reason and it isn't you. It's to be a light in a dark world. 

It's to show people the way to the cross of Christ Jesus. 

It's, in some cases, to be a mouthpiece such as Billy Graham or Dr. David Jeremiah or any truly called of God man of God Pastor.  

Your calling may be to speak or even just to shine in such a way that people are drawn by curiosity to want to know more. 

You may be called to write, such is what I found out about myself.  I misunderstood this for years until almost 3 years ago.  I was trying to write a book, science fiction, and never could get past 1 chapter.  In this blog, God dictates and shapes my thoughts and words and has been taking the blog places that no book written of me could go.

We mistake earthly blessings for prosperity and in those times gradually shift to living for self rather than asking God what He wants done with that blessing.  

Satan's had centuries and many hundreds of generations of people to learn how to twist, mangle and manipulate people both the saved and unsaved into avoiding God's plan for their lives. 

There's a key found in the Bible that all believers ought to take with utmost seriousness and importance. 

We will have our lives reviewed by Jesus Christ for the deeds we have done in our bodies. 

Will yours be a life of selfish waste apart from the plan of God for you?

Will you stand before Christ when this account is given or will you collapse in shame?

Will you be told Well done good and faithful servant or ?

I have much in my life that I am ashamed of.  My life isn't a poster example of a Christian. 

I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  I have no idea what will be revealed when I am examined. 

But I do know that in the here and now I have a life to live to the best of my ability for the one who saved me.  It means throwing out wasted time on the ways of this world that take my attention away from my part in God's plan. It means being obedient to the best of my ability. 

What about you?

If indeed you are a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus for salvation, what do the deeds done in your body look like?  Do they promote a life in Christ or do they promote the things of this world?  Is there a light that shines for the world to see Jesus or do you keep it under a basket because you're afraid of what God might have for you to do?  

You weren't accidentally born in the here and now.  You who are in Christ are a part of God's plan for mankind. It's time you understood that and pursued that above your wants and desires. 

Contaminated and We call Ourselves Clean

Contaminated and We call Ourselves Clean 

Do you do like the Israelites of old, or like little children of today, look upon your life and refuse to accept or acknowledge that there's contamination?

This came to me yesterday and I woke up around 11 last night with it on my mind as well.  

Much has been professed in many circles about accepting what God has definitively stated is sin.  People are more fearful of offending people than their creator!  

The letters to the Churches spell out a lot concerning the views of people and sin.  

The letters to the Thessalonians people were getting told that the return of Jesus had already happened.  Satan's lies about sin began with Adam and Eve. They continue to today’s world. 

The Church is warned of false teachers, telling people what they want to hear, obviously not what they would need to hear. 

Was reading a post on Facebook that nailed it well.  

"Many Christians believe that the highest calling God has placed on us is to be nice. 

These Christians are wrong. God has not called us to be nice. Rather, He called us to be good.

Here's the difference: nice people never confront evil.  Good people do.

Nice people are weak. Good people are strong. 

Jesus wasn't nice. He was kind, He was compassionate, He was caring, but He was unbending and unflinching when it came to standing for the truth. And it cost Him His life. "

We have had several generations who cry out about how this or that offended them. 

Another word for it is foolishness. 1 Corinthians 1:18 NASB "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

I know in my world I walk among many who regard the message of the Gospel as foolishness. Some would get downright upset at the meer mention of it or of the reality of Hell as a consequence to rejection of God’s plan for mankind. 

It's where it hits home. 

Coddling people to the gates of Hell will save nobody.  

Jesus said in the most direct of terms, they hated Me they will hate you too for standing in His truth.  

We who have come to Christ are supposed to have the Word of God within us. 

Psalms 119:11 NASB "I have treasured Your word in my heart,

So that I may not sin against You."

Some translations say hidden vs treasure.  Is it true of you? Or is your heart and mind filled with the wasted knowledge of the things of this world?  

It was a very strong conviction to me in regards to what I did know of this world and the science fiction world verses what I knew about God's Word. 

I knew statistics, knew thousands of facts, knew stories, knew this, knew that.  

But didn't know anything about my Bible outside of a few verses. Hadn't read it all the way through. Been saved at that point for a few decades and never took to reading it seriously. 

I can't tell you how much it's changed me in reading it. When I listened to it, it was transformational.  I have the NASB on MP3.  You have no idea how much it comes alive when you just listen through it.

Jesus never once compromised. 

So why is much of the so-called Churches today doing just that?

We are told what in the Bible?

Matthew 5:16-18 NASB "Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!" 

Nothing in this section on the Word of God from the Son of God says that lying to people to get them into Church will help them in regards to their sin and their position before Christ. 

Do you shine the light of Christ or as the children's song goes, are you keeping it under a basket?

Are you afraid to shine because of persecution? Are you afraid you might offend someone by the revealing of God’s truth regarding sin?  Jesus plainly said they hated Me, they will hate you for standing in His truth.  Period.

Putting it all on the table. Look at what you are the most passionate about. 

Look at what you get the most excited about. 

Look at what you talk about the most.  

Look at what you wear. 

Is it your relationship with Christ or is it something in this world?  

Yes this means you not lying to yourself.  Look at what's on your bookshelf. 

Look at your wardrobe.  Look at your jacket, the stickers on your car.

Look at the hours you spend doing things.  

Did you waste 4 plus hours at a game or watching movies, all excited about them, yet you didn't give God 10 minutes in prayer or in reading His book that was written to you?

Garbage in Garbage out.  

You cannot be in love with the world and with Jesus.  

Jesus taught separation from the world's ideas and ideology and showed how to have a relationship with God instead, not with, other things.  There was no U-Haul's following the Disciples around when they followed Jesus.  In many cases we read both in describing how they were found when called and from their own mouth, they left everything to follow Jesus. 

Yes we have forgiveness of sins.  But what does that mean?

Romans 6:1 NASB "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?"

Conviction hurts. Look at the reaction to Jesus when He spoke the unbending truth, the people were hurt. He never once apologized for its effect. 

All I can do for me is to examine me.  Scripture calls for you to examine you.

If you haven't lately, I strongly recommend that you do. 

Matthew 6:21 NASB "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Is sports the treasure of your heart?

Are movie characters? 

Is useless knowledge? 

Is anything or anyone else?

You be the judge of you. 

Psalms 119:18 NASB "Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your Law."