Believe He Saves

To my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ our Lord:

May my words be true to scriptures, guide you in your walk with God, and weigh on your heart, soul, and mind.  Amen.

We are all familiar with the creation story in Genesis 1.  We can see the Creator’s careful design in everything.  Look upon the heavens with your own eyes.  These celestial objects are beautiful.  And most of us have seen the breath-taking deep space images from the Hubble Telescope.  They are some of the most stunning pictures ever taken of the heavens above.  But when Moses records the creation account of the stars, he says “And God made the two great lights…and the stars”.  (Gen 1:16)  And the stars?  That’s it?  God says it as if it were an afterthought. Oh yeah, He created the stars.  Keep in mind God allows for the author of every book in the Bible to reflect and capture the character and personality of themselves without compromising the integrity of the holy Word of God.  So why does Moses record God’s account of creation of the heavenly bodies in this manner?  If we read ahead, we’ll see what the focus of the creation really is.  It is mankind.  Here it is shown that God gives much consideration for His creation of mankind.  In Genesis 1:26-27 it says that we are created in God’s image, after His likeness.  The Hebrew word here for image is tselem which means resemblance.  No other part of creation is associated with God so strongly.  God commands the sun to rise (Job 9:7); He commands the winds, the snow, and the hail.  (Ps 148:5-8)  He commands the waters, the stars, the mountains and valleys; the planets are set in motion because of Him.  (Ps 104, Job 38-39)  All creatures obey Him, but the one that He created like Him; we defy our Creator God.  So why is it that we disobey Him so much?    

We disobey because of sin.  Since the fall of man, all of us sin.  (Rom 3:23)  It was paradise prior to the fall of man.  When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden they were in communion with God.  This communion was an intimate relationship on the spiritual level with God.  Genesis 3:8 speaks of God walking in the garden.  This indicates that God had a relationship to Adam and Eve as well.  Adam and Eve are in union together; they are the first married couple of the Bible and they are one.  On a physical aspect, God literally took a rib from Adam and created Eve.  This is just one way that Adam and Eve are one – how man and wife are one.  But when it is said “the two shall become one”, this is a spiritual binding—one that Jesus speaks of; a communion of which is to come.  (John 14:20-23) The Garden of Eden was perfect.  It is where God dwelt much like where God dwelt in the Tabernacle and the Temple in the Most Holy Place.  Why did they fall?  They fell because of sin, because they are not perfect and were given the ability to choose, and they gave into temptation.  Humans have a predisposition to sin.  Because Adam and Eve were now sinful creatures, they could no longer view or even be in the presence of God. Since God could not have sin in His presence He sent Adam and Eve out of the garden.

Since the fall, man has not been able to see God.  You cannot come face to face with Him.  The relationship of God and Moses was a very close relationship.  It is through the grace of God that we come to know Him and grow in Him.  (Eph 1:7, 17, 2 Pet 1:2-3)  Throughout time the relationship between God and Moses matures.  So much so that Moses, that God gave Moses the ability to see Him.

And God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’” Then God said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”  And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

This passage is yet another glimpse into God’s awesomeness. In Exodus 33:20-23, we are told that Moses’ face glowed after he came down from Mount Sinai and being privileged to be in the presence of God.  (Ex 34:29)  God’s relationship with Moses is an exceptional one but overall it is still a relationship that is limited to what God had designed it to be due to sin. His presence was so awesome that Moses had to wear a veil.  Because he saw just a glimpse of God’s glory he had to cover his face.  God’s presence is so unfathomable that it makes it even more amazing that he gave us the gift of Jesus.  This is the way to Him, the way out of sin.  And so we know that some day we will be able to look upon God because of His gift of Jesus.

When we sin, we are a slave to sin. (John 8:34)  The Greek word for sin used here is doulos.  The definition for the word being used here literally means slave or servant.  Sin is the master and we are the slave.  Fortunately for us believers, Jesus saved us from this slavery to sin while we were still sinners.  (Rom 5:8)  In Romans 5:1 Paul tells us about the doctrine of justification.  He says that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is crucial here; we are declared righteous before God because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. (Luke 7:29, Rom 4:5, Rom 8:33-34)  The penalty of sin, which is death, has been declared paid in full.  (Rom. 8:1, 4:6-8)  Jesus’ own righteousness is imputed or is put onto us.  When Jesus died on the cross our sins were imputed unto Him.  His death is the payment for our sins.  As Jesus was dying on the cross, He cried out and said “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”.  (Matt 27:45-46)  Jesus cried out because God the Father turned away from Him.  The Greek word for forsaken is egkataleipō which means to abandon or to leave behind.  God could not be in Jesus’ presence because of the sin of the world has been imputed upon Jesus.  God abandons Jesus on the cross.  This separation is a separation that Jesus has never felt before – absolute isolation from God the Father.  It is much like the separation of Adam and Eve experienced upon leaving the Garden of Eden. 

Since Jesus took our punishment that was intended for us we will not experience the total separation from God if we believe.  So if we believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior (John 3:16) then Jesus will impute His righteousness upon us and we will be declared justified before God.  (1 Cor 1:30, Phil 3:9)  The word “believe” is the same word used to describe Abraham’s faith in scriptures.  (Rom 4:3)  We need to trust God’s word is true, that His son died on the cross for our payment of sins, and that God’s promise has never nor will ever be broken.  You are saved by God’s grace and grace alone and not by works, ultimately meaning that we are saved from the wrath of God once we believe—when we believe in God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ.

-God Bless

The Way

Many of us Christians say it without a second thought that Jesus is the only way.  But how do we know and how do we keep that stance when there are “Christians” (whom I will include them into the group of false teachers from this point on) that claims that there are many ways to God and to heaven?  We must understand who God is and who He isn’t, how we get to God the Father and how we don’t, and why we must believe in Jesus Christ.  To know God, who He is, we must first understand that we cannot know Him fully; (Isa 40:28) God allows us to know Him in a limited way by way of revealing himself to us by way of His word and through His creation.  (1 Cor 2:10-16, Rom 1:19-20) 

So let’s start with what God isn’t.  God is not a deist god.  Deists believe that God created everything, but doesn’t meddle with human affairs or sustains/maintains natural laws.  (Job 12:10, Psm 65:9-13, Psm 104: 10-14, Col 1:17, Heb 1:3)  They think that God created everything, but allows humans live their lives as they please.  God is not in everything this would be pantheism.  Pantheists believe that the universe, nature and God, are the same.  The Bible is very clear that God is one God and that He is three persons; He is a triune God.  (Isa 48:16, Eph 2:18, 1 John 5:7, 2 Cor 13:14) God doesn’t switch from God the Father to God the Son or God the Holy Spirit.  That would be modalism.  God does not appear as a mode of the Son or the mode of the Father.  This is the denial of the triune God.  All three persons of the trinity have existed from eternity past through eternity future.  Jesus is not a created being.  (John 1:1-5)  God has been in control and will be in control forever.  God does not struggle with Satan and his evil ways.  This is dualism.  God is not in a constant struggle like a suspense movie where the bad guy is just one step away from his evil plot succeeding.  Satan wants you to believe that God struggles with evil.  Once again the Bible is very clear that God is in control and that He has Satan under His full control.  Job 1 is one example where God allows Satan to test Job, but God is in full control of Satan. 

In a previous post I mentioned about having a constant, a baseline that doesn’t change.  This is important because if your baseline changes, what then can you do to ascertain your life and its structure?  The God of the Bible, the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, King David, the Apostles, is your God; He is immutable—unchanging.  He is the same from eternity past through eternity future.   

So what is God then?  God is spirit. (John 4:24, Rom 1:20)  God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and He loves us. (John 15:9-14) God sent his son to die for us (John 3:16, Rom 5:8).  God is eternal (Psm 90:2, 1 Tim 1:17) and He is Holy (1 Sam 2:2, John 17:11, 1 Pet 1:16) which means absolutely separated from evil.  He is immortal (1 Tim 1:17, 1 Tim 6:16) which is not created, but ever-living and infinite.  (1 King 8:27, Psm 145:3, Jer 23:24)  He is omnipresent (Matt 18:20, Rom 8:9) and omnipotent (Jer 32:17, Luke 1:37).

Prior to Jesus dying on the cross, the Hebrews came to God through the high priest.  Aaron is the second high priest.  In Exodus 24 God gives the covenant to Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy elders of Israel.  From Exodus 25 through Exodus 31, Moses is instructed on how to communicate to God and how to build the Tabernacle, its furnishings, alter, Ark of the Covenant, priest’s garments, and the Sabbath.  God informs Moses what the high priest is to wear when entering the Most Holy Place. 

Everything was very precise and must have been spectacular to have seen.  Only the high priest was allowed in the Most Holy place and only once per year.  If anyone disobeyed God’s commandments, His wrath would be upon them either leprosy or even death.  Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, offered unauthorized fire before God and God struck them down. (Lev 10)  God was only approachable on His terms.  The ephod that the high priest wore had a breast plate with 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel.  On the shoulder pieces of the ephod were two stones with six names one each stone for the twelve tribes.  (Ex 28)  It is said that when Aaron went into the Most Holy Place, he was bearing all of the troubles and sins of the 12 tribes on his shoulders and on his heart.  So why don’t we do this anymore, because Jesus is our high priest.  The Hebrews were waiting for the Messiah.  Until the Messiah came, they would have to offer up sacrifices to God to make that down payment to God for their sins until the final sacrifice was made—The Lamb of God.  Jesus came to Father as the final sacrifice as our high priest.  Just as Aaron, or any high priest in the OT for that matter, entered into the Most Holy Place, so did Jesus. 

The Most Holy Place is represented as Heaven, the dwelling place of God.  God is the interior decorator for the tabernacle.  He instructed Moses to create a glorious area for God to dwell.  In heaven there are cherubim likewise God instructed Moses to have a skilled person to sew cherubim on the tapestries in the Most Holy Place.  The further you go into the tabernacle the closer you get to God and the more beautiful it gets just like when you’re leaving the Most Holy Place through the Tabernacle to the courtyard the beauty dissipates.  The metals that are used in the Most Holy place are of gold and as you move further away the less precious the metals are—silver and bronze.  That is how life is.  The further you get away from God the less beautiful and wonderful everything is.  The only one who was allowed to fellowship with God was the high priest.  Again, none were allowed in the tabernacle let alone in the Most Holy Place.  When Jesus died on the cross, He took away that veil that stood between God the Father and everything else.  He is the veil.  We can go directly to God the Father through Jesus.  That is awesome!!   Jesus tells us that we can only get to the Father through Him, that He is the narrow gate. (Matt 7:13)  He is the way; the only way.  (John 14:6)  This is most important, for false teachers say that you can get to the God the Father by means other than Jesus.  Jesus says:  “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”  (John 5:22-24)  If you do not honor the Son you cannot honor the Father.  Jesus is coequal to the Father and coeternal.  Jesus is the only way for salvation.  (Acts 4:12)  There are many religions that believe that there is more than one way to get to God the Father.  The Bible is very clear on this.  Much like there is only one way to get into the tabernacle there is only one way to get to God the Father and that is through the veil Jesus Christ.  (Heb 10:19-22)  We must remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) and he will stop at nothing to deceive us in thinking that there are other ways to God the Father or other paths to salvation.   If you believe that the Bible is the written word of God and that all word are true and inerrant, then you must read and follow them and let not your heart go astray.  He alone is the way. 

- In His Holy Name

He Has Risen

This Easter I hope to invite you into refreshing your relationship with God.  To know that it was God the Father who sent his son Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins.  We deserve to perish because we disobey our heavenly father, but have been given a clean slate if we only trust that Jesus is our Lord and savior.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  God is infinitely holy (Isa 6:3, Rev 4:8) and He is righteous (Neh 9:32-33, 2 Thes 1:6).  Since all of us have sinned and fallen short we must be punished for our sin (Ezek 18:4, Rom 4:15, Rom 6:23).  God could not be a just and righteous God if He did not hold us accountable for the wrong acts that we have done.  We cannot ourselves ever make up for the sins that we have committed against our holy Creator.  (Gal 2:16, 21, Rom 8:23)  This is why God sent his son to die on the cross.  This sacrifice was the highest form of love – agape.  We were promised that we will have a savior at the time of Adam and Eve just after the fall of man.  (Gen 3:15)  What an awesome God we have—one who loves us so much to die for us.  Keep from thinking that God loves us unconditionally.  This is a false pretense that can lead to destruction.  God loves us more than we can ever understand, but it is a conditional love.  Contrary to the many sermons and books and messages that are out there, God’s love is conditional—on the condition that you believe that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.  (John 3:36, Rom2:5,8, Eph 5:6)  There are some who believe that God will save all.  This is dangerous because the Bible does not teach this.  It is unbiblical to state that God will save us all no matter what.  We are a fallen race.  All humans are guilty of sin.

We must remember that the punishment for sin is death.  In the Old Testament, people were under the Mosaic Law.  This law entailed a lot of sacrifices of animals for sins.  You cannot pay for sins by means of sacrificing animals.  They knew as well as we know that these sacrifices were not to pay for their sin in full.  This was in essence a “down payment” until the Messiah came.  We need to know that these animals do not have a spirit.  They have the life blood, but when an animal dies it dies.  When people die, our fleshly body dies but our spirit does not.  We need to know that an animal’s blood could never and would never make atonement for our sins; only Jesus can atone for our sins.  (Rom 8:3) This is why Jesus is regarded as the Lamb of God.  (John 1:35-36)  Why is this?  This title is given because Jesus is sinless; He could not and did not sin.  (2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 2:22)  It is against God’s character to sin.  Jesus was tempted in every way.  (Matt 4:1, Heb 2:18, Heb 4:15)  But He never sinned.  When He died on the cross, all need for sacrifices ceased.  Jesus is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin.  In Exodus 12:11-13, the spreading of the lamb’s blood over the door posts was used for a protection of the Hebrews.  This is an early depiction of how the lamb’s blood would save us from a spiritual death.  So when we think of sacrifices of the animals that were described in the Old Testament, we must know that this death is not of one of bleeding to death like the sacrifices described in the Old Testament, but for the soul to die.  The apostle John tells us that Jesus says “It is finished” while He was on the cross and then he gave up his spirit.  (John 19:30)  And Luke records Jesus’ spirit being released by saying “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)  He gave up His spirit to propitiate, or to have God the Father appease the wrath and reconcile our sins.  (Rom 3:25, Heb 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10)

So not only has Jesus ended sacrifices, paid for our sins in full, but he has allowed us to have a relationship with God the Father.  There were very strict commandments and instructions to be followed.  It was Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who offered unauthorized fire before the Lord God and fire came out and consumed them.  (Lev 10:1-2)  They did not take God’s commandments seriously.  Remember that there were only very few people that were allowed access to the Holy Place in the Tabernacle Tent and let alone the Most Holy Place.  The Holy Place was where only few were permitted to go.  And it was in the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and where God would descend and dwell.  Only the High Priest was allowed to go into the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle Tent and he was only allowed in there once a year—the Day of Atonement.  Jesus is the High Priest (Heb 5-6) and it was He who made atonement for our sins.  He fulfilled scriptures by tearing that veil.  This is crucial!  The veil that existed during the Old Testament days is no longer there for Christians.  God tore the veil from top to bottom.  (Luke 23:45)  Christianity is the only religion where God reaches down to man.  All other religions man tries to get to God; all other religions man tries to earn the way to heaven.  You cannot earn your way to heaven.  It is by grace and grace alone can you get to the heavenly God and it is He and only He that gives you that grace.  Because God ripped that veil, He allowed us to get to Him.

We are blessed to see the Old Testament and New Testament together.  We see what the Hebrews had to go through for their sin.  We actually have it easy.  I think that sometimes we forget about God because we don’t literally see His works.  But we must remember that God is still present in our daily lives.  We must continue to have a relationship with Him.  We need to remember that it was Jesus, His Son, who made that possible by dying a horrific death so we could live an eternal life with Him in heaven.  Please spread God’s word.  You are commanded to do so.  And let the truth be known.

-God Bless

His Word is Truth

How do we know that the Bible is true?  If we are to look at the Bible as a whole, how can we defend what is there?  The Bible consists of 66 books written in three different languages (Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek and some Aramaic in the New Testament), written on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), spanning about 1500 years, and consisting of about 40 authors.  However even with that much diversity in years, culture, backgrounds, generations, and languages, I truly believe that the Bible is inerrant—meaning without any error.  I believe that it is also inspired by God.  But how do we know that?  And how do we know that all of the books are true?  One of the bigger arguments is that of the apostles.  Who is qualified to be an apostle?

Before I begin I would like for you to identify what is your authority baseline.  If you say that you are the authority in your life, what happens when you go astray?  And if you say that history or perhaps government is your authority, for the most part it is sound, or science is sound and that is your authority for things in life.  What I am getting at is that when your authority in life is something that man is the headship then you will undoubtedly go astray at some point in your life.  However if you keep the Bible as your authority, since God is the author of the Bible, you will not go astray if you allow Him to be the authority of your life. 

First of all, scripture tells us that the scriptures are true.  One of my most favorite scripture is “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”.  (2 Tim 3:16)   So we know that it was God who breathed out the scriptures; He gave life to the scriptures.  He inspired man to write down His words into what we know as the Bible today, but it was Him through the Holy Spirit who gave man the words that He wanted to be written down.  When we say that it is inspired by God, we must not look at it like we say artists or musicians are inspired to create art or music.  It is God the Father who directed mortal man to write scripture by means of the Holy Spirit.  We also know that is against God’s character to lie.  He CANNOT lie.  (Titus 1:2, Heb 6:18)  So now that we know that it was God who breathed out the scriptures and that God cannot lie because it is against His character then we’re done.  See you next week.  Just kidding!  I would like to give you a bit more ammunition for.  I want you not only to spread the gospel, but to spread it with confidence amongst secularly educated people.  Not only are you commanded to spread the gospel (Matt 28:18-20, Mark 16:15) but you need to defend it and explain it properly according to His word. (2 Cor 4:2)  It’s important to not only understand the word, but to defend it by using apologetics – which simply means defending the faith.

So what about all of these authors, specifically speaking about the New Testament?  (The New Testament receives the most scrutiny, so I’ll focus on that for now.  The Old Testament will be saved for a later discussion.)  Most of the books in the New Testament were written by apostles.  However, the apostles weren’t the only ones who wrote books in the New Testament.  We know that Matthew was the tax collector and John was one of Zebedee sons (James being the other), who are two of the original twelve apostles.   So that’s two of the four gospels.  But what about Mark and Luke?  And Paul?  Mark studied and traveled with Peter while Luke was with Paul.  Mark and Luke weren’t apostles, but their authority of scriptures goes under Peter and Paul and ultimately God.  As for Paul, he wrote 13 letters also known as Epistles.  Is he an apostle too?  He claims he is but how do we know that he really is?  We need to know what makes an apostle an apostle.  The first qualification of being an apostle is seeing Jesus our Lord after his resurrection with their own eyes – “eyewitness of the resurrection”.  And the second is being commissioned by Jesus as His apostle.  In Acts 1:22, Peter is set out to replace Judas Iscariot and says “one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection” and we also see earlier in Acts, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).  This is a clear identifier of how the apostles were chosen.   Hence we know that Jesus called the twelve:  Peter, Andrew his brother, James and John the son of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.  (Matt 10:1-4, Mark 3:13, Luke 6:12-16)  Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus and then hangs himself.  (Matt 27:3-8, Acts 1:18-19)  Second Peter picks Matthias to replace Judas.  (Acts 1:12-26)  And third, the other apostles are James (half brother of Jesus), Barnabas and Paul.  Acts 14:14 clearly states that Paul and Barnabas were both apostles while in Gal 1:19 Paul describes James has an apostle, Acts 15:13-21 where James and Peter fill major leader roles in the Jerusalem Council.

In almost every letter Paul claims it in the opening line of his letter.  “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:1), “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (2 Cor 1:1, Eph 1:1), “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Tim 1:1) and in Gal 1:1 “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead”.  To me it’s clear; Paul claims to be an apostle. 

So you may be still saying “why Paul again?”  First Saul (before he was Paul) was on the road to Damascus and Jesus called out and asked “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:5–6, Acts 26:15–18).  Jesus was not only asking why Saul was persecuting Him, but His Church.  Saul was having many early Christians killed.  Jesus picked Saul because he was a good man.  Even though he was having the early Christians killed, Saul was holding them to what he knew as true.  He didn’t know Jesus like Peter or John, for example.  He wasn’t one of the first apostles.  Paul most likely knew the Old Testament from memory and since he did not meet the Lord Jesus, he was holding them to what he knew was true.  Saul became Paul because of this “calling out” of his actions.  Paul was instructed by the Holy Spirit for three years (the number three is a number of completeness—the trinity, third day he rose, etc); this was a purification process for Saul in Damascus which interestingly enough was a place where they purified steel to make it strong.  Paul was obviously questioned about his apostleship.  He asks “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?  If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. (1 Cor 9:1-2)  And Paul confirms all of the apostles and identifies James, Jesus’ brother, by saying “Then he appeared to James then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle” (1 Cor. 15:7–9).  Paul is saying that he is “unfit” because of his actions of the Christians he had killed.  However, keep in mind we do not choose God, but He chooses us (Eph 1:4) and since Paul was chosen then we need to accept him as an apostle.  And for when (I say when because you will) you encounter those who state that Paul could have just claimed that he was an apostle.  We need to look to Peter.  Peter is a main focus of all of the apostles in the gospels.  He is the one who God the Father chose to let him know that Jesus is the Christ (Matt 16:16-17, Mark 8:29) and Jesus says to Peter “on this rock I will build my church” (Matt 16:18).  Jesus was not saying upon this rock that He stood upon; he is referring to Peter.  Peter, as an apostle, confirms Paul’s words as Scripture.  (2 Pet 3:15-17)  The word Scripture used in this passage is the Greek word graphē (Strong’s G1124).  This is the same word in 2 Tim 3:16 (all scriptures are God breathed), Matt 22:29, Mark 12:24, and the other scriptures totaling 51 scriptures.  This word graphē is where we get the word autograph which means self written.

It’s important that we as Christians use the Bible which is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17) against the enemy.  There are many who oppress and persecute us.  We need to know the scriptures; they are the truth and they carry the authority of the Living God, YAHWEH.  Keep the scriptures as the authority of your life.  It is He who breathed them out for us to learn, take to heart, and to spread His holy word to the world.

God Bless

Golden Calf and Wooden Monkeys

Sorry I haven’t posted in two weeks.  I have been quite busy.  I will normally post a major posting once a week if time allows me to do so.

Golden Calves and Wooden Monkeys

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  (Ex 20:2-6)

We all are very familiar with the 10 Commandments.  Moses was given them on Mount Sinai.  But this whole thing about idols, that was so Old Testament right?  Isn’t Ex 20 speaking about carved images like the Golden Calf?  The passage doesn’t stop only at carved images, but continues to state “or any likeness”.  This likeness can be anything that replaces or takes away from giving God the honor and glory and the worship He deserves.  So what makes an idol an idol?  Some items mostly commonly thought of with idolatry perhaps are possessions like a car, boat, money, gambling, motorcycles, RVs, computers, gadgets, games, TV, and so forth.  All of these items may be fine in a normal state, but once they become a priority of our lives then it becomes problematic.  They become problematic because they take away the time that we should be spending with God and what God has given us.  The definition of idolatry is: 1. Worshiping idols, 2. Blind or excessive devotion to something.

Let’s take money for example.  Money is a necessity in life; it’s how we obtain food, clothing, and shelter.  We as God’s people need to be aware of how money can control our livelihood.  “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”  (1 Tim 6:10)  Now it doesn’t say that money is evil, it says “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils”.  Striving for a pay raise or a better job doesn’t necessarily mean that pursuit will result in loving money.  When you begin to habitually desire, or have an “excessive devotion to something”, for the pay raise, better job, or anything else, even outside of money, it can become your idol.  Again, anything that replaces or takes away from giving God the honor and glory and the worship He deserves.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a sound understanding what idolatry is.

There are many others that could be classified into idolatry such as food, exercise, working, sports, even your family.  Food is one that can quickly and easily fall into idolatry.  God made food not only to sustain us, but to enjoy eating it.  God gave manna to the Israelites and it was sweet like honey.  (Ex 16)  He made strawberries sweet, lemons sour, Granny Smith’s tart, and many, many more varieties of foods for us to enjoy.  With these foods that God so graciously has blessed us with He also wants us to eat these foods in moderation.  We need to be mindful of how much and of what types of foods to put in our body.  Our body is a temple, a temple in which the Holy Spirit lives in us.  (1 Cor 6:19)  I am not focusing on the Levitical Law in which I am telling you not to eat pork, certain sea food, etc.  I am merely stating that if you habitually indulge in foods beyond the moderation point that it becomes idolatry.

Peter calls idolatry detestable in 1 Peter 4:3 and we need to keep in mind that all scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16) and it was God who gave Peter the words to write down in his second letter so we can conclude that God detests idolatry.  That word detestable means:  hate, loathes, to abhor, the absolute opposite of love.  And since God is love (1 John 4:8) the opposite of love is the devil.  Idolatry is of the devil.  Plain and simple.

What I recommend is first pray to God and ask Him to bring to light any unresolved sin and to let you know of any idols that are in your life.  Most, if not all, of us have some form of idolatry in our lives.  If you feel as though you have an idol in your life pray to God and ask Him to help you let it go.  Pray that you’ll thirst for His word and His wisdom and that you want to serve Him and glorify Him and praise Him and worship Him and Him alone.  Second I recommend that you remove that idol or that behavior from your life.  If its food, or exercising, or working, or other things in your life that are necessary, minimize them.  It’s not easy.  Every morning, throughout the day, and in the evening pray continuously about this problem to God.  Paul reminds us to pray continuously. (Eph 6:18, 1 Thes 5:17)  Keep in mind that it’s also easy to fall to the other extreme.  It’s all about balance and moderation.  So what are your idols?

Habakkuk 2:18-20

18 “What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes speechless idols!
19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and there is no breath at all in it.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Love Your Neighbor

This, of course, is not an all inclusive focus on love; I am just barely scratching the surface.

One of the most powerful, complex, and yet sometimes underappreciated and not properly understood  word in our English language is the word love.  I believe it to be a root word to many more descriptive words.  From love we get compassion, infatuation, cherish, passion, care, like, enjoy, sympathy, adore, treasure, and many, many other words on how to capture how we love someone or something.  We also get the words respect, honor, admiration, and allegiance just to name a few.  If I were to just use the word love to say," I love those flowers".  You would most likely associate that statement alone to mean something like, adore, or enjoy.  I wouldn't honor them or have an allegiance to them.  Now perhaps you knew the underlying meaning behind my statement.  Do I love them because of I enjoy their smell or perhaps does it go deeper than that?  Do I love them because my mother liked those flowers and we would plant them together each spring?  Do I love them because of that memory is fond?  Or do I love them because of the beautiful color and complexity that our Creator poured into them?  Understanding the word love is not that easy for us to comprehend when we just say that we love something or someone.  The Bible uses love in several complex ways and depending on your Bible translation you may lose more than the original language of Greek (NT) or Hebrew (OT) had intended the usage of the word to be communicated.  In the ESV the word love occurs 552 times in 506 verses.  (BlueLetter)

Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. (Matt 5:17)  And in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."  God the Father gave His son to die for us on the cross.  This was the ultimate form of love.  The word love used here has a deeper meaning.  It is the Greek word agapaō (verb) the more commonly known word is the Greek word agape (noun).  This is the sacrificial love; it's a selfless, spiritual love that our God, who created us, has done for us.  God sacrificed his son so we could live eternally with Him.  Jesus was the final sacrifice that ended all sacrifices; this is why He is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29).  "God so loved the world" or in other terms he loved the world dearly that He would have His son die for us "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". (Rom 5:8) 

Jesus gave us a great commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt 22:36) and "you shall love your neighbor as yourself".  (Matt 22:39)  So what did Jesus mean by loving your neighbor?  He meant that you are to love your spouse, your mother, father, siblings, children, coworkers, your neighbor, your boss, people who you don't like and even your enemies.  You are commanded to love your enemy and pray for them.  (Matt 5:44) 

Let's focus on one area--your spouse.  If you are married this is for you.  If you're not married but maybe one day will be married, this one is for you.  If you're not married and will never be married or have married and have divorced, then this one is for you.  And all others, if there is a category, this one is for you too.  For the remaining of this particular section substitute spouse for anyone you would like to and it will apply. 

Your spouse, no matter how much you may disagree, deserves love.  Let me give you a few examples.  Countless times we see friends, coworkers, family members, and others talking about their spouse in a non-loving and even derogatory way.  Even worse we partake in their slandering and gossiping.  Phrases like, "she goes shopping way too much while she should be doing something else", "he never finishes anything", "I can't trust them at all", "they're worthless", "they spend way too much money", "I just wish that they would do this" just to name a few.  This is dishonoring your spouse.  Paul says in Ephesians not to let "corrupting talk come out of your mouths" (Eph 4:29) nor " filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place" (Eph 5:4).  Paul's also talking about jokes in ill taste.  Keep in mind your spouse is part of you (Gen 2:21-24) and when you speak crudely against your spouse you not only defile them, but you defile yourself.  (Matt 15:11)  If you're not married and using a friend or coworker for this example, they are not part of you but you are still defiling yourself when you speak against them and not loving them as you are commanded to do so by your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If you do speak poorly against your spouse, whether or not you feel justified in doing so, you need to stop and think about what you are doing.  Instead pray this prayer:  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (Ps 19:14) We also need to encourage one another with love.  (Heb 10:24-25)  We need to be mindful of what we think, say, or do.  We are sinning when we treat our spouse this way.  Many times we do it without thinking.  We need to turn to God and pray that we make Godly decisions and speak Godly words.  We are told to pray without ceasing or continually.  (1 Thes 5:16-18, Rom 12:12, Acts 6:4, Eph 6:18)  If you choose to lash back at them, again whether you feel it's justified or not, you're sinning.  Think of it this way:  You're punishing them.  Where in the Bible does it say that you're responsible for punishment?  Our punishment comes from God the Father.  He will judge those who sinned against Him and pour out His wrath for sinning against Him.  But the most beautiful thing is that Jesus took the punishment for us.  (Isa 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24)  He died so we would not be punished for our transgressions.

So the next time you feel compelled to retaliate against your neighbor think of what Jesus has done for you and what He has asked you to do--love your neighbor.

All Bible references are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) Crossway http://www.crossway.org/  Copyright © 2001 – 2011 Crossway. All rights reserved.

An Intro to my blog and my faith

To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord, our Savior: 

I have wanted to start a site for quite some time where I can spread the Gospel, teach His truth, discuss the many depths of the Bible in a respectful forum where any walk of the Christian faith can join in effort to concisely clarify and dismiss the false teachings of the world. 

First and foremost I would like to inform you of the foundation in which my faith is established upon.  I believe in an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient,  immutable triune God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (three persons) and who is One God (John 10:30, Mark 12:29,32 1 Cor 8:4, Gal 3:20).  He is the Sustainer and Ruler of the entire universe (Job 12:10, Isa 45:18, Heb 1:3) who through Jesus created all that exists out of nothing (Isa 48:13, John 1:3, Col 1:16).  Only by believing that Jesus is the Christ, Lord and Savior, through Him and Him alone will He wipe away sins and present me justified to God the Father at the Judgment.  (John 3:15-16; 36; 8:12; 10:9; 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Tim 2:5)

I believe that the whole Bible is inerrant and is the inspired book of the living God  (2 Tim 3:16-17), that there is power behind the Word (1 Thes 1:5), and that the Word is much more than text (Luke 8:11-15, John 1:1-5, 14) and it is the holy words of our heavenly Father that was breathed out for us to know him and fight off the schemes of the devil (Eph 6:10-20).

As a husband I am to be the head of the household as well as head of my wife (Eph. 5:23).  So as a husband to my wife, it is my responsibility to put her in her place - the place of honor (I Peter 3:7), love her just as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25-27), and provide for her and my family (I Tim 5:8).

This is a small aspect of my foundation.  More will come later.

-In Christ's Name