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Archive for July, 2011

Almost All False Religions Promise You Can Be Like God

19 Jul

Many times when this subject is talked on it comes across as attacking or self righteousness.  Nothing
can be further from the truth in my post that I’m doing.  It is one hundred percent out of love that I
have for many people.  It’s also a couple of pages long, but please read it all the way through.

Genesis 3:1-5 – 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must nottouch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

What happened?

They ate of the tree they were not supposed to and they now were not permitted to eat from the Tree of Life.  They bought the lie of the serpent, which is you can become like God.  There are religions based completely off the fact that Satan or the serpent was telling the truth.

Was he telling the truth?

Genesis 3:13- 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Well Eve now acknowledges she was deceived by the serpent, so I don’t think she believes he was now telling the truth.  God is now punishing them so I don’t believe he thinks the serpent is right.

Genesis 3:16-20 –16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of
it all the days of your life.  18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the
field.  19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it
you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Once again is God interested in you becoming God or like Him?

Genesis 3:21-24 – 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must
not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24
After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Isaiah 45:5 –5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

Isaiah 45:18 – 18 For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says:  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:22 – 22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9 – 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

God’s love came in the form that He couldn’t allow a sinful fallen man to live forever.  Without the Tree of Life one doesn’t live forever.

It doesn’t appear that He is interested in us being God or like Him.  However, He loves us more than we could ever know.

The plan for redemption was already planned just versus before God kicking Adam and Eve out of the Garden.

Genesis 3:14-15- 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.  15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God’s letting Satan know that He (Jesus) would crush his (Satan) head, and Satan would strike the heal of Jesus.  Satan may have thought he had the Son of God beaten when He was crucified on the cross, but that turned into victory for everyone who is now willing to accept Him as Lord and His death to take the
place of theirs.  His work…nothing of our own .

We might not be able to become God, in fact God opposes that pretty strongly.  However, to be an heir
of the Lord and share in the Kingdom with Jesus, that has been stated.

Titus 3:4-8 –  4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a
trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.  These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Galatians 4:6-7 – 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

God’s Word makes it clear that He alone is God and there is NO other. The Dead Sea Scrolls have proven the text hasn’t changed in the last 2,000 years, so we can count on it to be accurate.  An opportunity to rule and reign with Christ as an heir, is an incredible opportunity and biblically accurate.

 

Do Not Just Merely Listen

18 Jul

James 1:22-25- 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Most people do hear it and then pick and choose, take the rest with a grain of salt, and on we go.
I did for years.  The problem is we struggle enough when we try to do what it says.  Putting full-fledged effort into trying to obey the Word leads to many shortfalls.  How much so more when we aren’t really trying?

It is important that we do what the Word says.  As verse 25 states, doing it leads to being blessed.

 

Quote – A.W. Tozer

17 Jul

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically
tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.  Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life.
A W Tozer

 

Philippians 2:1-5 – 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

The closer we draw near to the Lord as Christians, the closer we as Christians will draw closer to each other.  What are those things that followed verse 5?

Philippians 2:6-7 – 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Who does the world look up to?  The one who has servants or the one who is a servant?  He truly is not from this world is He?  Yet when you look at the one who selflessly gives to others and denies themselves, you know in your heart that it is the correct way we all should be.

 

It Is On The Inside That Counts

15 Jul

The old cliche it’s not what you are on the outside but what you are on the inside that counts?  That never holds one hundred percent true with any human.  It should, it’s a very true statement. 

I say that because we have other attractions we see in people that isn’t just based on what they do out of love and good. 

However, God does see the heart.  It is what counts to Him.

Proverbs 21:2- 2 All a man’s ways seem right to him,
   but the LORD weighs the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 – 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

It counted to Paul over time also, when it came to the earthly distinguished gentlemen that were trying to preach the word.

Galatians 2:6 – 6 As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.

Everyone is on an equal ground with God.  What are you going to do with your heart?  To whom or what will you give it to?

 
 

Gotta Have Love

14 Jul

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 –  1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

We cannot forget the reason of why we are to do what we do.  It needs to be for the Love of the Lord that we do it.  God created, has stuck with and has a plan of redemption for man because He loves us.

The closer we get to the Lord and the further away we get away from our selfish wants in life the better God’s love can penetrate through us and onto others.

 

Psalm 5:4-6

13 Jul

Psalm 5:4-6 – 4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.

We can’t forget that we serve a just God.  He is so much Love that people forget that He
is also righteous.

This is way we can’t take sin lightly.  We can’t just do it and think it’s no big deal.  We’re going to sin without trying enough already as fallen beings.

Hell is a terrible place and is going to be where the evil, wicked, arrogant, lying, bloodthirsty, and deceitful people who choose not to repent are going.

This world is full of people who have rejected God and have those qualities.  As children of God we
have to separate ourselves.  We can’t take sin lightly, our Lord hates it.

 

The Spirit Of Truth

12 Jul

John 16:13-14 – 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14
He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

How do you know if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you?  If it matches up to the Word of God.

What happens if this is not the case?  Chaos!

You can have one guy saying peanut butter is the revelation I was given.  Another says oh no you have
to eat pistachio nuts at 2:00 PM every day or you won’t get certain gifts.

Without the Word of God anyone, anyone can claim they are hearing from the Lord.  Oh there are a
lot of voices talking to people out there.  It’s not fake, they are hearing voices.

In the last days people will run after things that tickle their ears but the doctrine…..isn’t sound.

1 Timothy 4:1 –  1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and
follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Romans 16:17 – 17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

2+2=4 or 2+2=5

Ones right and ones not.  It’s not about perspective and they both aren’t correct.  One is the true equation that adds up to truth.  You have every right to believe the second one is correct and die with that belief, but your determination and sincerity doesn’t change the truth.

Don’t seek for what makes you satisfied or matches up well with you, seek truth.  Because as sinful
human beings we don’t naturally seek what’s right or truth.  We just seek what we want and if that isn’t
what God wants, eternity isn’t ultimately going to be what you want.

The Good News is the Good News.  Once you find the truth, it will set you free.  At that time you will find out that it is who you were supposed to be all along.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and never contradicts the Word of God.  Who is the Word of God?  Jesus!

 

A Seed Needs To Die To Produce More Seed

11 Jul

John 12:24-25 – 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

If missionaries only cared about their lives and what they were going to do for themselves, people wouldn’t be finding out about Jesus.  Had the prophets, disciples, and Paul not answer the call, people wouldn’t have had the truth in the form of God’s Word today and the truth revealed.  These people and millions more have died to their own lives and as a result we have all had a chance to find the Lord and the truth.

Are some called and others not?

No.

We are all called.  We are all going to be held accountable on what we have or haven’t done.

Do we all have the same talents or are we suppose to use the same gifts?  Not at all.  You were uniquely and wonderfully made.  You have talents.  God wants you to use that talent for the kingdom.  The devil wants you not to use your talent on the Kingdom or for God, but for you to use it on yourself.

Die to yourself and produce a crop.  Ask and seek the Holy Spirit in what you are supposed to do today for the Kingdom of God.  Today is a new day.  If you earnestly and honestly seek the Lord, fruit will come forth.  Even when Paul went the opposite direction the Holy Spirit was sending him at times, the Lord still used his walk at those times because he was in the Word and seeking Truth.

 

Quote – Martin Luther

10 Jul

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming
and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

Martin Luther

You would think that this quote was made within the last 40 years.  Yet even Martin Luther was seeing it in his day around 500 years ago.

God didn’t create man to be self sufficient.

John 15:5-6 – 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like
a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Seek the Lord everyday and remain in Him.

 

Our God Is Mighty

08 Jul

Psalm 147:4-5 –4 He determines the number
of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

Don’t forget how HUGE our God is and how small we are.  To have the Creator of the whole universe unconditionally love us and all we have to do is love Him, serve Him, accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord.

How Awesome!