Archive for the ‘Charismatic’ Category
His Story
Posted: May 24, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: Father, God, healing, Holiness, Holy Spirit, hope, love, rebellion, redemption, sacrifice, Salvation, Sanctification, Savior, sin, Son
The Gospel in Six (6) Minutes
Posted: May 14, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: atonement, Father, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Justification, redemption, Salvation, Sanctification, Son, Word
Who Is Truth?
Posted: April 20, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: accept, belief, child of God, death, disease, faith, Father, forgiveness, God, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus Christ, love, punishment, reality, receive, redemption, regeneration, repent, repentance, Salvation, save, saved, search, seeking, sickness, sin, Son, Truth, unbelief, wrath
The Truth About Jesus
There is a 2,000 year old truth about Jesus that may still need to be discovered in your life. The Bible informs us that we tragically exchange the truth of God for all kinds of substitutes (Romans 1:25). And yet, marvelously, the truth can win us over. It’s the truth about why Jesus came and why he died.
Jesus’ Bold Claim and How He Proved It
Jesus made a bold claim during his days on earth. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV).
Did you get that? Jesus says that you can only know God the father through belief in him. That’s a pretty radical statement! But he backed it up by going to the cross, dying in our place, and rising again on the third day. The Bible says that we should have been punished for breaking God’s law, but he took the punishment in our place. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to earth to reveal a marvelous message that our offenses can be forgiven and we may become reconciled to God, and have eternal life.
How You Can Know the Truth
Are you wandering, not sure about truth, lost in your search for identity? Do you know yourself to be guilty of unfaithfulness to God? Do you know you need to be saved from moral compromise? Well then, there’s very good news for you. Jesus appeals to you to come to him, to ask him to forgive you and make you a child of God.
For you see, anyone who receives him has the right to become a child of God (John 1:12). This is the message Jesus taught that Peter and Mary believed. Jesus calls you to know the truth so you can be set free (John 8:32).
How You Can Receive the Truth
If you’d like to know the God of truth, lift up the empty hands of faith and trust Him for your salvation. Come to Him on your knees and pray this prayer:
O Lord, I am lost without You. My life is empty without Your truth and your love. I commit my life to You. I turn away from my sinful behaviors and I turn toward You. Forgive me for all my offenses and give me the power to do good. Reconcile me with Yourself. Look at me only through the work of Jesus, and enable me to live for Him. Thank You that You care for someone like me. Thank You that You welcome me into heaven, because Your love knows no bounds. Help me to grow in grace and guide me in all my ways. In Christ’s name, Amen.
How You Can Continue in the Truth
Now that you have committed your life to the Lord, it is important that you identify yourself to a leader from a Bible-believing church in your area. You have begun an amazing journey. The church is there to ensure that you grow and enjoy the Lord in fellowship, and not alone. The church will help you understand more about all of these things, and will guide you into the life of worship and the celebration of the sacraments.
I can help you. Call 888.492.0285 or Send an email and I will pray with you and/or for you!
God bless you all!
THE ENEMY IS IN OUR CAMP! **READ THIS**
Posted: April 15, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: demon, demonic, demons, devil, enemy, error, false teachers, false teaching, falsehood, heresy, Satan
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” ~ Ephesians 5:11
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep. For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they are not afraid to revile the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a reviling judgment upon them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with them, suffering wrong for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a dumb ass spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved. For, uttering loud boasts of folly, they entice with licentious passions of the flesh men who have barely escaped from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire.” ~ 2 Peter 2:1-22
“Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.” ~ 2 Peter 3:14-16
“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” ~ 2 Peter 3:17-18
The enemy has invaded our camp. The enemy has invaded, entered, slipped in unnoticed, stealthfully crept into the Church! I am issuing a WARNING to the Body of Christ, the Church. I am issuing a WARNING to those faithful true believers of God through Jesus Christ, who believe the faith “once and for all delivered unto the saints.” BEWARE for the enemy has entered into our camp!
The enemy has disguised himself as an angel of light. The enemy has disguised himself as someone who is well versed in the Bible, but twists the Word of God. The enemy has disguised himself who teaches another Gospel other than the one received from Jesus Christ and deposited to His disciples for He ascended into heaven. The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that we do not need to repent of our sins, or that sin is NOT the problem! The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that we must believe in Jesus Christ PLUS we have to do the works of the Law. The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that because of the grace of God that we don’t have to worry about our behavior as Christians…we can sin freely without condemnation! The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that the moral Law of God has been abolished and that the only Law is the so-called Law of Christ (which is a perversion of what Jesus taught). The enemy has disguised himself as someone who claims to be a prophet from God who teaches against the Church of God, who teaches that sin doesn’t matter in God’s eyes, and that there is no wrath in God, whose prophecies have not come to fruition, who claims to have encounters with so-called angels, who claims to have received revelation from God on another planet, who preach and teach a twisted, and convoluted understanding of God’s Word in the Bible. The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that everyone has been saved, that everyone has been elected of God unto salvation, that there is no need to repent of our sin, and that the whole cosmos has been reconciled unto God (understand the past tense?). The enemy has disguised himself as someone who teaches that we don’t need the Word of God, but that the “Holy Spirit” will teach us; that we don’t need gifted and anointed preachers or teachers of God’s Word; that we don’t need to study God’s Word, or need to understand Who God is through His Word (theology). The enemy has disguised himself teaching that our bodies don’t matter (with regard to sin) the only thing that matters is our soul and spirit (Gnosticism). And I am sure the enemy has entered into our camp with other falsehoods that I cannot call to mind at this moment.
The enemy has entered our camp with “nothing new under the sun.” There is no new heresy or false teaching or false prophecies. He has entered into the camp with the same old heresies and false doctrine that the early Church fought vehemently against. And so we must do now. And so I sound the ALARM! BEWARE! BE WARNED this day as St. Peter says:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. ~ 2 Peter 1:2-9
And then St. Peter exhorts us:
Therefore, brethren, be the more ZEALOUS TO CONFIRM YOUR CALL AND ELECTION, for if you do this you will never fall; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Peter 1:10-11
Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen. ~ Jude 1:24-25
May the Lord Jesus Christ, God our Father, and the most Holy Spirit have mercy upon us!
S-A-L-V-A-T-I-O-N
Posted: April 13, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: belief, death, eternal death, eternal life, faith, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus Christ, life, love, regeneration, repentance, Salvation, sin, Son of God, unbelief
Salvation is the grace gift of God to man, received by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16). No one ever earns or deserves anything from God. But in His infinite love and grace, God freely provides everything for us to have an eternal relationship with Him.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that [salvation] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
God’s plan of “grace and truth is realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), the uniquely born Son of God. Jesus Christ became true humanity to be our substitute and pay the penalty for our sins. When our Lord Jesus Christ was on the cross, He was judged for the sins of the world. Every sin that has ever been committed in the history of the human race was imputed to Him on the cross and judged.
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. (1 Peter 2:24a)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf [as our substitute], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Because of the work of Jesus Christ, salvation is available to everyone.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Jesus says, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
And Peter said again, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out…” Acts 3:19
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31a)
Believing in Christ means you receive as true the fact that He died as your personal substitute. In the moment you believe, God gives you eternal life and guarantees your salvation. Instantly, you are brought into an eternal relationship with God forever.
Your heart attitude toward Jesus Christ determines your eternal future. You can either believe in Christ for eternal life or reject Him for eternal condemnation.
Repent, believe, and be baptized. Turn from sin to God. Turn 180 degrees around to God. Trust in, rely upon, believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Savior, Who died on the Cross for your sins, Who is risen from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory. Follow the example of Jesus Christ, as an answer of a clear conscience toward God by the declaration of your faith, be baptized.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey [believe] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)
God bless you all!
The Four Gospels: Well established by the end of Second Century
Posted: April 9, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: Bible, Father, God, Holy Scripture. Gospels, Holy Spirit, Irenaeus, Jesus Christ, John, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Son
When it comes to basic facts about the NT canon that Christians should memorize, one of the most critical is the statement by Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, around A.D. 180: “It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer than the number they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principle winds… [and] the cherubim, too, were four-faced.”[1]
Here Irenaeus not only affirms the canonicity the four gospels, but is keen to point out that only these four gospels are recognized by the church. Indeed, Irenaeus is so certain that the canon of the gospels is closed that he can argue that it is entrenched in the very structure of creation—four zones of the world, four principle winds, etc.
In an effort to minimize the implications of Irenaeus’ statement, some scholars have suggested that only Irenaeus held this view. He is thus portrayed as lonely, isolated, innovator who is trying to break into new and uncharted territory. This whole idea of a fourfold gospel, we are told, was invented by Irenaeus.
But, does this Irenaeus-as-innovator approach fit the facts? Not really. There are several considerations that raise doubts about it:
1. Irenaeus’ own writings. When Irenaeus talks about the fourfold gospel in his writings, he gives no indication that he is presenting a new idea, or that he is asking the reader to consider a new concept. On the contrary, he speaks in a manner that assumes the reader knows and follows these same gospels. He speaks of them naturally and unapologetically. In short, Irenaeus does not write like a person advocating the scriptural status of these books for the first time.
2. Irenaeus’ contemporaries. The idea that Irenaeus was alone runs into a serious challenge, namely that there were other writers at the end of the second century that affirmed these same four gospels as exclusive. The Muratorian fragment, Clement of Alexandria, and Theophilus of Antioch are examples. Apparently, Irenaeus was not the only one under the impression that the church had four gospels.
In addition, one should consider Tatian’s Diatesseron—a harmony of the four gospels written c.170. The Diatesseron not only tells us that these four gospels were known and used, but it tells us that they were seen as authoritative enough to warrant harmonization. After all, why would one bother harmonizing books that were not authoritative? If they weren’t authoritative, then it wouldn’t matter if they contradicted each other.
3. Irenaeus’ Predecessors. Although the evidence prior to Irenaeus is less clear, we can still see a commitment to the fourfold gospel. For instance, Justin Martyr, writing c.150, refers to plural “gospels”[2] and at one point provides an indication of how many he has in mind when he describes these gospels as “drawn up by His apostles and those who followed them.”[3] Since such language indicates (at least) two gospels written by apostles, and (at least) two written by apostolic companions, it is most naturally understood as reference to our four canonical gospels.[4]
This is confirmed by the fact that Justin cites from all three Synoptic Gospels,[5] and even seems to cite the gospel of John directly, “For Christ also said, ‘Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’” (cf. John 3:3).[6] The fact that Justin was the mentor for Tatian (who produced a harmony of the four gospels) provides yet another reason to think that he had a fourfold gospel.
In the end, there are ample reasons to reject the idea that Irenaeus was the inventor of the fourfold gospel canon. Not only did his contemporaries have this same view, but this view was even shared by those before him. Thus, we must consider the possibility that Irenaeus was actually telling the truth when he says that the fourfold gospel was something that was “handed down”[7] to him.
——————————————————————————–
[1] Haer. 3.11.8.
[2] 1 Apol. 66.3.
[3] Dial. 103.
[4] G. Stanton, “The Fourfold Gospel,” NTS 43 (1997): 317–346.
[5] E.g., Dial 100.1; 103.8; 106.3-4. Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, 38, declares that the citations in Justin “derive from written gospels, usually from Matthew and Luke, in one instance from Mark.”
[6] 1 Apol. 61.4.
[7] Haer 3.1.1.
by Michael Kruger
The Quality of These Times
Posted: April 8, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: baptize, baptized, burn, cast, daughter, disciples, divide, Father, Fire, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Luke, mother, purge, Son, Word, word of God
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” He also said to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper.” Luke 12:49-59
These passages from the Gospel of Luke are very important for these days and times in which we live.
In the Gospel of Luke 12:49 Jesus says that He came to cast fire to the earth!
The word “cast” in the original Greek “balein” means “to violently or intensely throw or cast.
What does this verse mean?
Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not My Word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces?”
I believe that the fire that Jesus casts to the earth is the fire of the Holy Spirit in the proclamation of the Gospel.
God’s Word is like fire!
Let me qualify this: The baptism Jesus mentions to His disciples in our Gospel lesson is one which begins with His blood.
Jesus bloody baptism occurs in His death, burial, then in His resurrection and ascension. All this must occur before Jesus casts the fire.
In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would baptize Christians with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
This baptism of Jesus must take place before He sends the Holy Spirit – before Jesus baptizes Christians with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
When Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, the Fire, the Holy Spirit comes into Christians to enable them to proclaim the Gospel of His Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit is the higher element of our spiritual life we need; we need His holy Fire!
We need the preaching of the Gospel!
What happened when the Holy Spirit came? The Holy Spirit descended with tongues as of fire!
What happened after the Holy Spirit came on the disciples and those with them?
The Gospel message was preached and 3000 people were saved through Peter’s message!
The preaching of the Gospel will bring down God’s Fire to burn the dross off His people!
The preaching of the Gospel is going to divide people – even families!
Here are some results of Gospel preaching:
Some will oppose the Gospel – opposition
Some will persecute those who proclaim the Gospel – persecution
There is a disturbance in the world today, a shaking as it were of the things in this world and there is a shaking going on in the Church!
Why? Some are preaching the Gospel faithfully!
There is no peace in this world and in the Church!
There is no peace in the world and in the Church because the Gospel is not being proclaimed!
Do you see the paradox? The Gospel IS being preached and it is not!
The only peace we have is the peace God sheds upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says where the Gospel is preached there will be division and no peace!
Jesus was to suffer a baptism and be in anguish until it was completed.
Jesus was immersed into the ultimate sacrifice; His body broken for our redemption; He suffered for our forgiveness; He suffered for the remission of our sin and to cleanse us of all our unrighteousness!
Preaching the Gospel will give occasion for discord among all humanity, even in our own families!
HEAR ME NOW!
Standing for the TRUE Gospel will also give occasion for discord to those who do not believe it within the Church!
Unbelief will be provoked by the TRUTH of the Gospel!
Now, more than even before, people will start becoming uncomfortable in their pews or chairs upon hearing the Gospel.
God is calling for our faith and obedience to the Gospel.
Now let me share something prophetic with you:
“The Holy Spirit is expressing His heart now for the Church. God desires true repentance in the hearts of the leaders of the Church; the gatekeepers, the ordained members of the clergy and board members (those who have authority within Christianity). God is primarily concerned with the sincerity and humility of the “fathers” because what they do affects their wives and children…both in the natural realm and in the spiritual realm. We must not be deceived into judging the homosexual sins of “others,” this is in the open, while hiding from our own secret sexual immorality and idolatry!
We must examine our hearts, thoughts, words, and deeds first! Taking the log out of our own eye and allowing the Holy Spirit to break our hearts over our own sin before daring to examine, correct and judge others, lest we find ourselves in the desolate graves of Pharisees and heartless hypocrites!”
People, we need to be stirred up about the Gospel!
We need to obtain the boldness of the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel with others!
The Messiah has come and He has brought His Kingdom with Him!
He has sent His power to enable us to share the Gospel of His Kingdom.
What is your interest in the Kingdom of God?
The Jews could not even see the fact plainly that God’s Kingdom had come to them in Jesus, the Son of God, the prophesied Messiah, right before their eyes!
They could not interpret or discern the signs of their own times – right in front of them…what’s happening?
Let’s look at verse 56, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
What does Jesus mean here? Is this verse, time – “kairos” in the original Greek means “what time brings; the state of the times; the things and events of time.”
In Greek, there are two words for time “Chronos” and “Kairos.”
Chronos marks the quantity of time while kairos marks the quality of time.
The word we are looking at “kairos” means “a season, a time, a period possessed of certain characteristics.”
This is what Jesus was trying to make these people understand.
Today, there is a “quality” to the times or season we are in right now!
This is the “quality” of our own times:
There are those who pretend or are so deluded as to think they are wise – and cannot see what’s going on in this world, or in their own churches!
They can determine how the weather will change by looking at the sky; or if the south wind will blow in a dry heat – but they cannot even determine the condition of their own hearts or the heart of the church?
Oh, pray that the Holy Spirit speaks to your hearts, and leads you to true repentance and faith toward God!
Oh, pray that you will stand for the TRUE Gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit and shun the deluded and deceptive other “gospel” which condones unbelief and sinful behavior!
God is ready with His fire…to rain down on us…to purge and purify our hearts by His Holy Fire, as the Refiner to purge the dross off our lives, to destroy the sin that remains in our hearts!
God send Your Fire down upon us!
Come Holy Spirit; rain down your Holy Fire!
Matthew 16:2-3 says, “He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”
Jesus says an evil and adulterous generation seeks signs! What is our present generation like?
Jesus says no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.
What was the sign of Jonah? It was Jonah preaching repentance!
Look at the signs of the times/or season when Jesus preached the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Now, we have been given the task in the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom!
Remember what Jesus said about casting fire to the earth?
Malachi 3:2-3 says, “…For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.”
Now look at Matthew 3:11-12, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear his threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
You know you cannot tell the difference between wheat and tares?
The tare, or the bearded darnel, is a species of rye grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison, i.e., it has the power to put you to sleep. It bears the closest resemblance to wheat only until the ear appears, and only then, the difference is discovered – in Jesus day it grew plentifully in Syria and in Palestine.
You cannot tell the difference until the ear appears…
What is Jesus telling us?
You cannot tell the difference until the fruit appears – the grain – when the truth about our lives appears – either the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh, our sinful unregenerate self, meaning a life without Christ.
St. Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh.
The “works” of the flesh means our effort or occupation in being sinful!
The works of the flesh are the result of sinful behavior that is our way of life.
Is your life producing the fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh?
Can we tell if you are the wheat or the tare?
Hear me, Christian! People HAVE to be able to tell the difference between you, the believer (the wheat), and the unbeliever, those of the world (the tares)!
If not, we are truly hypocrites!
Either you are for Jesus Christ or you are against Him.
Jesus has violently and intensely thrown fire to the earth! The Holy Spirit has come, His Kingdom is here, and we have been tasked and enabled to proclaim the Gospel to every Nation, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Fire either purifies or destroys. The signs of the times here and now are those which bring us to the cross road of decision.
Do you choose unbelief, death, and eternal separation from God?
Do you choose Christ, His Kingdom, and eternal life?
What is your decision today?
“He Calls Us Out of Egypt”
Posted: March 21, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: death, Egypt, Exodus, Jesus, new covenant, old covenant, redemption, Salvation, sicknes, sin
“For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God —all things exist for Him and through Him —should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation. Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me. Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death —that is, the Devil and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.” Hebrews 2:10-18 (HCSB)
What Does It Mean To Be In Egypt?
For Israel it was for a good reason; it was for their survival to stay in Egypt for food, grazing for their animals and safety. Joseph, as the Pharaoh’s governor, took care of his family, even after his brothers had betrayed him.
For Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, it was for safety, because King Herod was out to kill the King of Kings! Jesus was born roughly around 5BC, Herod died around 4BC, and Herod’s son, Archelaus, took over the throne.
A not so good reason to be in Egypt is that Egypt can be described as captivity. Egypt can be described as slavery, as it was for Israel after Joseph died. A new Pharaoh, Raamses II, came into power, who never knew about Joseph and his relationship with the previous Pharaoh. He feared Israel and decided to deal treacherously with Israel by holding them captive and making them his slaves because they were prosperous, fruitful and had grown to a large population.
Egypt can be described as captivity or slavery to unbelief, disobedience, sin and idolatry.
How do we know we are in Egypt? We know we’re in Egypt because:
We are slaves to sin – SIN rules over us
We are enemies of God – REBELLION dominates our life
We do not believe in God through Jesus Christ – UNBELIEF casts its shadow upon us
We acknowledge created things as gods instead of the One and Only True God – IDOLATRY says there is no god but that which I create
We continue in Egypt as slaves to sin because there is no repentance of our sins and faith in God through Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we think we have left the captivity and slavery of Egypt, and have yet to get the Egypt out of us!
Listen to what God told the prophet Hosea when He saw that even though Israel was “out of Egypt,” Egypt remained in them still. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.” Hosea 11:1-2 (ESV)
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15 (ESV)
How then am I released from this captivity and freed from slavery?
Jesus was the means to the atonement for our sin. Because of Jesus shed blood and death on the Cross at Calvary, we are freed from slavery to sin and released from the bondage of sin and its penalty, which is death. Through Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to God. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice acceptable unto God to take upon Himself the punishment for sin on our behalf.
God calls us out of Egypt through the finished work of Jesus Christ
Romans 3:21-26 declares “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
This brings me to the next question:
Why Was Jesus Born?
The Incarnation
The Incarnation, God becoming a human being, is the assumption of human nature into the Person of the Son of God, Who is the Word of God, and depicts God humiliating Himself to procure our salvation.
The humiliation connected with the Incarnation consists in the mode, or manner, of the Incarnation. The Son of God did not become man by uniting with Himself a fully developed human nature, by an immediate creative act, as, for example, Adam was a mature and perfect man in the beginning. The Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, rather point out very emphatically the peculiar mode, or manner, of the Word’s Incarnation, by which the Son of God became a partaker of the flesh and blood of the children of men. He was “made of a woman” (Gal. 4:4) and so, as the “fruit of the womb of Mary” (Luke 1:42), He took upon Himself human lowliness and weakness. Jesus’ conception and birth belong to His humiliation, inasmuch as they constitute a lowly mode of becoming man. Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 11:29, “I am meek and lowly in heart.”
This lowly mode is characteristic of the official work that the Son of God was to perform as the Redeemer of humanity. Let me explain what this lowly mode means. The word “lowly” in the Greek means humiliated, base, cast down, humble, of low degree or estate. God humiliated Himself to become a human being; He became one of His own creations.
Early in His life, our Lord had to begin His redemptive work as our Savior. The goal to be attained was the substitutional presentation to God of a human life that was perfect from the very beginning. Even though Jesus took upon Himself human lowliness and weakness, He did not commit a single sin. For this reason, the Mediator between God and man had to share our common human development. This causal relation of Christ’s lowly Incarnation to the redemption of humanity is clearly attested to by Scripture, which tells us that God sent forth His Son into the world by having Him born of a woman and made under the Law to redeem sinful humanity, which was under the Law (Gal. 4:4-5).
Therefore, in His human nature He must be the pattern of all humility, of all creaturely dependence, of having nothing, and it is only as a man that Jesus thus claims to be lowly; His human life was a constant living on the fullness of the Father’s love; He evermore, as man, took the place which beseemed the creature in the presence of its Creator. (W. R. Vincent)
To become a merciful and faithful High Priest
Hebrews 2:17-18 says, “Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
To destroy the power of sin, death, and the devil
1 John 3:8 tells us “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 explains, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
The Gospel of John 1:29 says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
To Make Propitiation for the sins of humanity
For your understanding, I wish to give the biblical definition for the words “propitiation” and “atonement.” The word “propitiation” in the Greek is “hilaskomai” which means to atone for sin, to be merciful, make reconciliation for, therefore propitiation conveys the sense of an atoning sacrifice that puts away sin and satisfies God’s wrath.
The word “atonement” is not used anywhere in the New Testament of the Holy Scriptures. Atonement is used only in the Old Testament. The word in the Hebrew is “kapar” which means to cover, cancel, cleanse, forgive, pardon, and purge concerning sin.
There awaits certain judgment for those who continue in rebellion and sin
For Jude 1:4-7 says “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”
God calls us out of Egypt unto salvation!
Romans 10:9-13 promises, “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness…”
Today, Jesus is calling you out of Egypt. Luke 19:9 says, “Today salvation has come to this house…for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Answer His call, now. Do not wait another moment. Do not put God off. Repent of your sin, place your faith, and trust in Jesus Christ the Lord!
Not Everything Called Christianity, Is Christianity
Posted: March 14, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: Christian, Christianity, dogma, error, evangelical, false teaching, falsehood, Father, God, heresy, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, spiritual, Truth
“The habit of calling ‘Evangelical’ everything which was from time to time characteristic of that church or which any strong party in that church wished to make characteristic of it—has ended in robbing the term of all meaning.
Along a somewhat different pathway we have arrived at the same state of affairs in America. Does anybody in the world know what ‘Evangelical’ means, in our current religious speech?
The other day, a professedly evangelical pastor, serving a church which is certainly committed by its formularies to an evangelical confession, having occasion to report in one of our newspapers on a religious meeting composed practically entirely of Unitarians and Jews, remarked with enthusiasm upon the deeply evangelical character of its spirit and utterances.
But we need not stop with ‘Evangelical.’ Take an even greater word. Does the word ‘Christianity’ any longer bear a definite meaning? Men are debating on all sides of us what Christianity really is…
We hear of Christianity without dogma, Christianity without miracle, Christianity without Christ. Since, however, Christianity is a historical religion, an undogmatic Christianity would be an absurdity; since it is through and through a supernatural religion, a non-miraculous Christianity would be a contradiction; since it is Christianity, a Christ-less Christianity would be—well, let us say’ lamely (but with a lameness which has perhaps its own emphasis), a misnomer.
People set upon calling unchristian things Christian are simply washing all meaning out of the name. If everything that is called Christianity in these days is Christianity, then there is no such thing as Christianity. A name applied indiscriminately to everything, designates nothing.”
~ Benjamin Breckinridge (B. B.) Warfield (1851-1921)
taken from: The Princeton Theological Review, Volume 14, pg. 199.
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
Posted: March 13, 2013 in Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Evangelical, Liturgical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Renaissance, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, universalTags: bind, direct, God, guard, guide, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, lead, Lord, one, Savior, shield, St. Patrick, Trinity, Truth, Word
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever.
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet ‘well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
In The Hands of the Refiner 