Category Archives: To Do

Something Easy

October 17, 2013family, Religion, To Do

In life there is often a fine line between success and failure, and many times this fine line is something simple and easy: something as simple and easy as a hug. I am
not sure exactly how it started, but within a few years of our marriage, my wife and I would hug each other and pray for each other before I left for work. When my wife hugged me she prayed that the Lord would bless and protect me at my job, and I would pray the same for her. This hug was simple, easy, and fun, but had profound results. When things got rough at work, I had confidence knowing that God and my wife were with me; and when I had tough decisions to make, I knew I had divine anointing. This had a similar affect on my wife with all the challenges associated with taking care of children and a household.

Another benefit of the hug is that it is an expression of the union that occurs in marriage. A hug signifies and promotes this union: that we are one and not two; everything that benefits me benefits her and everything that benefits her benefits me. The enemy is continuously trying to destroy marriages, but a simple hug can defeat his assaults.

How to be a Winner

January 16, 2012Love, Prophecy, Religion, To Do, Uncategorized

We are living in the end days and these are tough times for Christians. We watch the world stray farther and farther from God. We struggle with our own personal problems; we are fighting Satan and his host; we are fighting problems in the church; and, on top of all of this, we are struggling with faith. Today, we will show you how to be a winner; this is a truth hidden in the Bible and it is a precious pearl. This truth also unveils God’s character and something God cannot do.

First of all, we must understand that our relationship with God is going to change; we will be much closer to Him soon; we are going to marry His Son, Jesus, The Word of God. We know Him, The Word; He is in us and we are in Him spiritually; but, soon we will be in His physical presence and have a marriage relationship with Him. This means that we must be prepared as a bride; we must be perfect, not just ok, not just good, not just better than most, but perfect. God, the Father, is using life on earth to purify and build our faith. Please read:

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.(ESV)

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (ESV)

1 Peter 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

1 Peter 1:7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

We encourage you to accept these Scriptures; believe them and make them your theme for these last days. Remember, you are the bride that must be adorn for the wedding and you must be perfect. You cannot be perfect on your own merits or deeds, so let the above Scriptures do their work.

One of the most profound Scriptures in the Bible is Genesis 32:24-31. Jacob was left alone at Jabbok after terminating a unsustainable relationship with his uncle Laban. He, Jacob, was also facing a confrontation with his estranged brother Esau and 400 of his men. The Scriptures say that he, Jacob, was “greatly afraid and distressed.” Remember that Jacob had been given a promise from God and it appeared that not only would this promise not happen, but Jacob and his entire family could be destroyed. This was probably the darkest time in Jacob’s life, and in the midst of it all, he had to wrestle with God. Jacob and God wrestled until daybreak and God said “Let Me go.” But Jacob said, I will not let you go until you bless me.” The result was that Jacob won and God did bless Jacob; He gave Jacob a new name, “Israel” which means one who struggles with man and with God and prevails. We know it was God Himself that wrestled with Jacob for two reasons: One, He, God, called himself Elohim, and two, Jacob referred to Him as Elohim. This is significant because Elohim is the Hebrew word used to describe the full Godhead, the full trinity. One more point: as Israel, formerly Jacob, was leaving the presence of God, he was limping. If you have a relationship with God, you need to willing to limp a little.

Jacob and God were wrestling over the promise; God conceded and blessed Jacob with the promise. This is the way it is with us; the promises are in the Bible, but we need to hold on to God and fight the fight of faith to receive them.

In summary, we will have trials, some of which come from God, and we need to follow the example of Jacob: don’t let go of God until He blesses us. This is an interesting hidden secret in the Bible; God exposes a vulnerability; there is something He cannot do: If we hold on to Him, He cannot shake us loose. Wow!! This is what He wants; He wants us to hold on to Him; He wants us to prevail and receive His promises; He wants us to be worthy, and adorned, so we will be a suitable bride for His Son.

Dear Friends and children, Allow God to prepare you for your position in the Kingdom; stand firm on the Word; hold on to God and don’t let Him go; He will try to shake you loose; be prepared for this, it is part of the purification.

The Full Gospel

December 4, 2011Evangelism, family, Love, Religion, To Do, Uncategorized

The word “gospel” means good news. Generally, if you ask a Christian what is the gospel, they will say that the gospel is that Christ died for our sins. This is true, it is good news that we have been redeemed; but, this good news is also associated with bad news; it is bad news that man rebelled against God; it is bad news that at one point in time God was sorry He made man; it is also bad news that Jesus had to suffer, be humiliated, and be killed for crimes He did not commit. There is much bad news associated with the crucifixion of Jesus. So, to understand the full gospel, that is the full good news, we must go back to Genesis to see what God’s original plan was before sin messed everything up.

Here is the full gospel also called the eternal gospel:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis chapter 1 presents God’s creation and purpose. He did not intend for there to be sin; He did not intend that Satan would betray Him, and to fall, taking man with him. It was God’s intention that we live with Him forever in a sin-free world. He did not intend that our bodies would have mutations and disease. It was not His intention that we die and be separated from our bodies, and from Him. He did not intend to lose His Son to the cross.

The Bible says that we should come to God as little children. I have found that little children have a very good sense of the “full gospel.” This is evident with the pictures they draw. Most children, given a piece of paper, will draw a house, a family, the sun, the sky, some trees, and maybe a dog or cat. This picture represents the full, eternal gospel: it represents the creation, it has the concept of family; it has the sense of belonging (the child is often holding someone’s hand); it has the sense of beauty (the sky and the tree); it has the sense of security (again the parents and the house); it has the element of protection (this includes the Savior and His protection from ourselves and sin, and the sense that we will be brought back if we stray).

When you preach Jesus crucified, you are preaching the love of God and also the failure of man. This is good and important, but if you preach it too much, you discourage people by concentrating on the bad news. Remember, gospel means “good news.” The death and resurrection of Jesus is the basis for Christianity, but it is not the full gospel. Let’s look a little further into what the Bible says is the full gospel, the eternal Gospel. Someday soon the eternal Gospel will be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This preaching will not be done by us alone, but also by an angel of God. Please read:

Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

We are to give Him glory that judgment is come; this judgment will restore everything back to the Genesis “very good” condition. And, then it says to worship Him who made all things. The world and Satan are doing everything in their power to convince us that judgment is not coming; and, that God did not create “heaven, and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters.”

Pastors, preach Jesus crucified, preach the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but remember these are just a portion of the full gospel. The full and eternal gospel is that God created all things so that we may exist, belong, be loved, have a home, have a family, have security, and be with Him forever.

It’s Personal

January 24, 2011Evangelism, Religion, To Do

If you are involved with soul winning, you probably have developed your own personal method of leading people to Christ. This is a typical method:

1. Read several scriptures to show that he/she needs God

2. Discuss grace and back it up with some scriptures

3. Praying with the person, guiding him/her in accepting Christ as savior

4. Assure him/her that they are now saved and in the Kingdom of God

5. Develop a plan for his/her personal growth

So, what could possibly be wrong with this method? The problem lies in item number 4. If you use number 4, or something similar, you are:

A. Setting yourself up as savior and judge

B. Providing a false sense of eternal security

C. Promoting a bad habit: putting trust in man

The problem is that we can’t possibly know what is in another person’s heart. We don’t know if someone has truly committed his/her life to Christ. What we need to do is send them to God to work out their salvation. Read the accounts of what Jesus said to the thief on the cross, the Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, Peter, and Mary Magdalene. He treated everyone differently, and personally; He is the only one who has the authority to welcome people into the Kingdom of God.

Also, consider the rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16 KJV) Jesus did not say, you must be born again. Jesus didn’t talk about grace and redemption, nor did He talk about faith and propitiation. He asked if the young man kept all the commandments, and the young man said that he did. Then Jesus continued, ” If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21 KJV) This response of Jesus is packed with information, but let me simply say that Jesus knew the young man’s weaknesses and Jesus put the young man in a position where he had to decide whether or not to make a full commitment. The young man chose not to follow Jesus because he was unwilling to part with his riches.

If the young rich man would have come to us and we would have applied the 5-point method outlined at the beginning of this blog, we most probably would not have told him to sell all his possessions and follow Christ. We wouldn’t have had the authority to say such a thing. But, by not knowing his heart, we could have very easily welcomed him into the Kingdom, keeping his riches intact, and given him a false sense of security.

So, should we stop witnessing? Absolutely not! Should we stop teaching people how to be born again? God forbid! We have the great commission, a responsibility to go into all the world and baptize and teach. But, we do not have the responsibility nor authority to make promises, make deals, or decide when someone is ready to enter the Kingdom of God.

Believers need to know the voice of the Lord and develop good communication early in their walk of faith. This is the way God wants it: a personal relationship with Him, and that His children are not dependent on heritage, credentials, church, friends, intellect, talent, nor even religion.

Pastors, if you give an altar call and people respond, make sure they understand this: they need to go to God and work out the details – you can’t do it for them. If you comfort them and say, now you are saved, you may be giving them a dangerous, false sense of security. Be willing to answers their questions the best you can, but encourage them to have one-on-one conversations with God and let God give them the sense of security and let God welcome them to the Kingdom. God said to Isaiah:

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.(KJV)

This is the same advice that Paul gave the Philippians and Timothy:

Philippians 2:12 . . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (ESV)

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

One of the most important aspect of leading people to Christ is to get them going in the right direction: communicating and reasoning with God on a personal basis. Encourage them to start a personal relationship with God: meeting with Him regularly, reading His word, and seeking His presence in their life.

Self Evaluation

January 8, 2011family, Religion, To Do

How are you doing, spiritually? Do you know? Would you like to know and have confidence in your relationship with God? The Bible presents several methods of self evaluation you may like to use. This Blog presents one of these points of self evaluation: How do you know that you have God’s “Holy Spirit” dwelling in you?

When Jesus died on the cross, He accomplished much; one of these accomplishments was to provide us with easy access to God through His Spirit, known as the “Spirit of Truth,” or the “Holy Spirit.” Jesus said that we must be born again, which means to be born of the Spirit, which means having God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us. So, how can we be sure?

Some people will tell you that if you speak in tongues, you have the Holy Spirit; speaking in tongues is wonderful, but this is something that can be easily copied or manufactured. Some say that if you can perform miracles, you have God’s Spirit; but, again, we can be easily fooled by miracles; for instance, by magicians. Some will say that if you are righteous, you have the Holy Spirit; but, self-righteousness can be very deceiving even for the person displaying it. Notice that all these displays have the potential of giving us a false sense of acceptance by man. These points, I believe, can be proven in the following scriptures:

Matthew 7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Matthew 7:23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'(ESV)

Fortunately, the Bible gives us a valid method of self evaluation, so we can know whether we have the Holy Spirit in us or not.

Before presenting this method, we need to do a little background work. We are very complex beings: we humans are composed of a soul, spirit, mind, brain, flesh, conscience, measure of faith, awareness, members, and more. As a result of these complexities, we produce something very important: thought. These “thoughts” are private. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 2:11a For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?

Your thoughts are hidden from others. You can tell someone your thoughts, if you like, and they may or may not understand, but your spirit fully comprehends your thoughts.

This is true for God as well: only His Spirit fully comprehends His thoughts.

1 Corinthians 2:11b So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

God presents His thoughts to us in the Bible, but they are difficult, if not impossible, to understand since they are much higher than our thoughts and must be spiritually discerned. Therefore, the only way we can comprehend the thoughts of God, is to have His Spirit in us.

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand …

That is it. If you put the above scripture together, you see that if we have His Spirit, we have access to His mind and thoughts. We realize His word is truth and not folly. We share His thoughts and we share His values. We become transformed by the renewing of our minds. When someone curses God, we are hurt. When someone doesn’t believe we are burdened.

It is important to point out that even though we have the Spirit of God in us, we still have evil thoughts; do things we don’t want to do; and, in general, disappoint ourselves. These things do not detract from knowing the mind of God, actually, the fact that we recognize these things, also proves the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, because He guides us in Truth and, always, toward God.

Note: This method of self evaluation is between you and God. Only you know, and if you have concerns, talk to God about it and get it settled – just you and God.

Je Crois

We believe the scriptures and defend them