We live in an age where many doctrines abound. For some, truth is whatever they want it to be. There are no absolutes, whatever works, whatever does not offend is truth, for the time being.
Others base their doctrine, or lack thereof, on the lives and experiences of others. They loook at those around them and form their opinions as to what constitutes Christianity, what constitutes sin, how God works in the world today,etc.
The truth is only found in the word of God! Walk by faith, and not by sight!
To earnestly contend for the faith, that was once for all entrusted to the saints, to promote the full gospel of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to deliver us from this wicked generation.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Watch out for false teachers.
The Bible warns us of false teachers who will come and deceive many. The individuals in this video have a soft appealing message that attracts many, but does nothing but lead them on to a Christless eternity. The sad thing is their books can be found along side of other Christian books in bookstores and mail order services. Instead of standing for the truth, and having nothing to do with false teachers, the "christian book industry" seems to carry whatever sells.
These teachers do away with much of what the Bible teaches on salvation, holiness. hell, judgement, and paint a very distorted image of God. Many teach that we are individual gods. Worship practices from other religions are all incorporated into their teachings, creating a kind of new age religion that teaches all roads lead to heaven. Universalism is a common thread, as well as tolerance and acceptance of all manners of lifestyles no matter how sinful they are.
Watch and be warned of what is out there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTH1lvdJJNw&list=UUrcrDXK620kopfSffPxrdTA&index=11&feature=plpp_video
These teachers do away with much of what the Bible teaches on salvation, holiness. hell, judgement, and paint a very distorted image of God. Many teach that we are individual gods. Worship practices from other religions are all incorporated into their teachings, creating a kind of new age religion that teaches all roads lead to heaven. Universalism is a common thread, as well as tolerance and acceptance of all manners of lifestyles no matter how sinful they are.
Watch and be warned of what is out there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTH1lvdJJNw&list=UUrcrDXK620kopfSffPxrdTA&index=11&feature=plpp_video
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Neglecting your salvation.
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Hebrews 6:7,8 (NIV).
Every spring we till a small piece of ground, and plant a garden. We get out there and pull weeds, hoe, water, fertilize, looking forward to the vegetables that we will enjoy in the fall. It was different this year. We were expecting another baby and it was hard for my wife to get out there like she wanted to. We also got serious about burning wood, and I spent most of my spare time cutting and splitting, trying to get a good jump on the winter.
I still tried to find time to pull a few weeds, hoe a row of potatoes, get the soaker hose out there etc. as the summer went on however, we noticed that the weeds were begining to take over. It does not take long, a few days of neglect and you have a big problem in your garden. By the time it came to dig potatoes, I had to really look to find where my rows were!
We felt bad, but consoled ourselves with the fact that we had some good reasons for not getting the job done right this year.
It is the same with our salvation. the writer of Hebrews warns us about neglecting our salvation (2:1-3). This letter is not written to lost people, warning them not to put off getting saved, it is written to born again Christians who were on the verge of falling away from their faith! Jesus tells us, in the parable of the sower, what the thorns and thistles represent (Matt 13:7,22). The worries of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, like weeds, will choke out and destroy our spiritual life. It may not be a deliberate falling away, something that we do in an instant, but a gradual drifting away, as life's cares and pursuits spring up in the freshly tilled soil of our hearts. A little neglect in the garden leads to failure at harvest time. A little neglect of our spiritual life leads to a failure that will last for an eternity. Life will always throw cares and worries our way, and the world has plenty of things to tempt us with. We need to stand firm in our faith, casting our cares upon Christ. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. This is how we pull up these spiritual weeds, by faith. No one intends to backslide, no one plans to fall away, it gradually happens before we realize what is going on. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Heb 2:1 NIV). How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? vs 3. Do not neglect your salvation!
Hebrews 6:7,8 (NIV).
Every spring we till a small piece of ground, and plant a garden. We get out there and pull weeds, hoe, water, fertilize, looking forward to the vegetables that we will enjoy in the fall. It was different this year. We were expecting another baby and it was hard for my wife to get out there like she wanted to. We also got serious about burning wood, and I spent most of my spare time cutting and splitting, trying to get a good jump on the winter.
I still tried to find time to pull a few weeds, hoe a row of potatoes, get the soaker hose out there etc. as the summer went on however, we noticed that the weeds were begining to take over. It does not take long, a few days of neglect and you have a big problem in your garden. By the time it came to dig potatoes, I had to really look to find where my rows were!
We felt bad, but consoled ourselves with the fact that we had some good reasons for not getting the job done right this year.
It is the same with our salvation. the writer of Hebrews warns us about neglecting our salvation (2:1-3). This letter is not written to lost people, warning them not to put off getting saved, it is written to born again Christians who were on the verge of falling away from their faith! Jesus tells us, in the parable of the sower, what the thorns and thistles represent (Matt 13:7,22). The worries of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, like weeds, will choke out and destroy our spiritual life. It may not be a deliberate falling away, something that we do in an instant, but a gradual drifting away, as life's cares and pursuits spring up in the freshly tilled soil of our hearts. A little neglect in the garden leads to failure at harvest time. A little neglect of our spiritual life leads to a failure that will last for an eternity. Life will always throw cares and worries our way, and the world has plenty of things to tempt us with. We need to stand firm in our faith, casting our cares upon Christ. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. This is how we pull up these spiritual weeds, by faith. No one intends to backslide, no one plans to fall away, it gradually happens before we realize what is going on. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Heb 2:1 NIV). How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? vs 3. Do not neglect your salvation!
Stopping on the brink.
God is present. You can feel it. He is speaking. Conviction begins to fall. Individuals come to the altar, others kneel in the pews.The church is not where God desires it to be, and Christ is now beginning to knock at the door. Perhaps this is it, the revival we have prayed for. We are at the brink again. Will we push through all the way this time? Then the time for announcements comes. It is time for the offering and special music. Everyone gets up,intimacy with God is forgotten for the time being. Church must go on. We stop right at the brink......
Saturday, February 4, 2012
God's warnings.
We as parents warn our children. We warn them not to talk to strangers. We warn them to look carefuly before they cross the street. We warn them not to wander off in a busy store. We warn them that there are consequences to their actions. We do this because we love them and are looking out for their well being.
In the same way God warns us. The Bible is filled with warnings. Warnings to the saved as well as the lost. The book of Hebrews contains several warnings written to Christians, exhorting them to stand firm in their faith, exhorting them to press on to maturity, exhorting them to encourage one another. We neglect these warnings at our own peril!
Down through the ages people have tried to explain these passages away, tried to soften them, and tried to make them fit into their theological systems. This is what our children often do with the warnings we give them. They want to do their own thing, so they disregard the warning. God did not place these passages of scripture in our Bible to scare us, or to confuse our theology. He loves us! He desires the best for us! He wants us to be safe so He warns us!
We see countless portions of scripture that encourage us of the saving and keeping power of Christ. One of the ways we are kept, is by being warned. Do not fall into the trap of manipulating scripture to accomodate a theological system,or to feel "safe". Heed the warning, God is protecting you by it!
In the same way God warns us. The Bible is filled with warnings. Warnings to the saved as well as the lost. The book of Hebrews contains several warnings written to Christians, exhorting them to stand firm in their faith, exhorting them to press on to maturity, exhorting them to encourage one another. We neglect these warnings at our own peril!
Down through the ages people have tried to explain these passages away, tried to soften them, and tried to make them fit into their theological systems. This is what our children often do with the warnings we give them. They want to do their own thing, so they disregard the warning. God did not place these passages of scripture in our Bible to scare us, or to confuse our theology. He loves us! He desires the best for us! He wants us to be safe so He warns us!
We see countless portions of scripture that encourage us of the saving and keeping power of Christ. One of the ways we are kept, is by being warned. Do not fall into the trap of manipulating scripture to accomodate a theological system,or to feel "safe". Heed the warning, God is protecting you by it!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
God's way.
It is not individuals who pray for God's blessings on their efforts who succeed. It is those who seek God, live close enough to Him to hear him, and enter into His work. These are the ones who find success.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Standing in the holy place.
Clean hands and a pure heart are essential for one to prevail with God. God is holy, and requires us to be holy as well, if we are to dwell in His presence. Any sin held on to, will only serve to shut us out of fellowship with God.
Clean hands are the result of a pure heart. A right heart will produce right actions, a wrong heart will produce wrong actions. Many come to God in prayer, with wrong hearts and wrong actions. There is a barrier between them and God that will only be removed when sin is repented of.
A group of men met three nights a week to pray for revival. They would pray well into the early morning hours. One night one of them was impressed to read Psalm 24:3-5, "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." This convicted the men and led them to a heart searching and a fresh consecration of themselves to the Lord. This was the beginning of the Hebrides revival that lasted about three years. It was a powerful revival with deep conviction of sin followed by a very real and lasting repentance.
The key thing was the fact that these praying men knew that if they expected God to hear them, they must approach Him in holiness and purity. The same goes for us as well.
Clean hands are the result of a pure heart. A right heart will produce right actions, a wrong heart will produce wrong actions. Many come to God in prayer, with wrong hearts and wrong actions. There is a barrier between them and God that will only be removed when sin is repented of.
A group of men met three nights a week to pray for revival. They would pray well into the early morning hours. One night one of them was impressed to read Psalm 24:3-5, "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." This convicted the men and led them to a heart searching and a fresh consecration of themselves to the Lord. This was the beginning of the Hebrides revival that lasted about three years. It was a powerful revival with deep conviction of sin followed by a very real and lasting repentance.
The key thing was the fact that these praying men knew that if they expected God to hear them, they must approach Him in holiness and purity. The same goes for us as well.
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