Charging Up From A Fall

Anyone who has walked with the Lord for any length of time will tell you that the mountain top experiences do not nullify your ability to fall and require God’s forgiveness of sin. Paul rebuked Peter for being racist, if you translate what happens today. Peter a Jew by birth demanded Gentiles to behave like the Jews, as if, ones birthright gives someone access to heaven and not that everyone requires Jesus. Peter forsook the Lord Jesus three times and the sins of David are numerous. What we find is their unrelenting fervor to return back to God again and again. They make it a habit to stay in God’s face.

If you are going to walk with Jesus and have power with God, it will require an ignoring of the devils desire to get you to quit and a fervor that makes up ones mind to seek the Lord again with everything that you have. When you fail to pray on a daily basis, you limit the power of God in your life. When you fail to worship God daily, you limit the power of God in your life. The Lord created us to worship him. He has around the clock in heaven creatures that only have one job. That job is to cry Holy, Holy, Holy, which was and is to come the Lord God Almighty. Our job is to make the earth look like heaven. The best way to get God’s attention is through worship. Worship before prayer. Create an atmosphere that is similar to heaven in your home. Worship God.

When you worship God he fills the temple (you). When you worship God you overflow with new wine. When you worship God, you become more like him. He transforms the worshiper, while you worship. Train yourself to worship God.

For those familiar with Dragon Ball Z will appreciate the analogy of Goku and a normal Christian growing in God.

What we have here is the different stages of Goku. The first he is normal and then becomes a super saiyan, next super siayan 2 and then super saiyan 3.

His final stage is super saiyan god.

For each phase his training is intense, but also the enemies he faces pushes him into the next level. Every level he attains, invites greater threats to his life and his family. So he trains even harder. Never discouraged by the challenge, but intent on overcoming it. His power dwells within himself. Now if you are a believer in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit within you is your power. Your power is within yourself. Not in a humanistic fashion, but God dwells on the inside of you.

Jesus replied to the Pharisees, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’ ? Peter’s shadow healed people. The same God then is doing the same thing today, but it requires the believer in Jesus to train himself in the art of making love to God through worship. The harder you train, the more power you will attain.

Do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God?

I came across an opinion piece on CNN written by Jeffrey Weiss who decided to tackle the question: Do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God? For whatever reason he decided to use over 1500 words to do this, but I will answer it in less than 270.

What is the most inclusive response from scholars?

“So do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God?”

“In two major volumes on the subject recently published by scholars from various faiths and traditions, including Volf’s, the most inclusive response from these scholars is basically: Yes, and it’s our God.”

What was his conclusion?

“So do all three faiths actually worship the same deity, whether they call him God or Allah or Adonai?”

“God only knows.”

What is my conclusion?

I will include all religions and not just the three mentioned above. The God served by Christians died for their entrance into heaven. Christians get into heaven through the door, Jesus, by grace because of what Jesus did.

No other religion has an advocate that died for their salvation that they may now rest, like Christians, from their own works.

Here you see clearly two different foundations: A religion who’s God literally dies to save his people and all others who cannot claim this.

P.S. The man beside Jesus on the cross, asked the Lord to remember him and he went to paradise that same day. He did not commit lengthy works; he just died and was immediately saved by grace. What an awesome God Christian’s worship.

CNN Link: Do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God?

IT’S DANGEROUS TO FORGET

There may be humor in the guy who forgets his anniversary and his cute wife hits him over the head with a paper towel or thumps him on the forehead.  There may be a chuckle when someone forgets to check themselves before leaving the bathroom and toilet paper is hanging from their pants as they walk down the work hallway. We are prone to forget things and sometimes often, but there are some things that are too dangerous to forget.

THE LORD

Those who choose not to retain the knowledge of God will lose their soul. “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it–not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it–they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25).

Blessings flow to those who remember the Lord and when this life is over they will enjoy eternal life.

 “Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

“For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now restrains will do so, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).  You may have read my post titled “THE BIBLE on the History Channel”, if not, you should read the post and the comments. I believe the information is rewarding and compliments Deuteronomy 4:9, above, particularly the part on teaching your children.

May you not forget the word of God as it is written and may you seek to retain his knowledge for the world is working hard to deceive. Rightly dividing the word of truth will be required, because the world is using the Bible to deceive. This concept is not foreign, but old. Satan tried the same with Jesus in the wilderness.

 Just because someone holds the Bible and teaches from the Bible does not mean this person is saved and knows the Lord. Remember the Pharisees?

It’s dangerous to forget that belief in Jesus will incur persecution.  Think it not strange. They persecuted Jesus and they will persecute you.

Thoughts about Creation

           

           Recently I was given the task of looking up the Hebrew meaning of the word ברא which transliterates to bara, which means to create, form or fashion. The word ברא in the Bible takes on many different charateristics of the word create. One thing interesting to me is that God, in most occurences of the word is creating something. He creates the heaven and the earth. He creates mankind and his capacity to procreate. He creates the circumstances and the situations, we find ourselves in. He creates calamity and misery. He creates joy and happiness. Our God creates everything.

            As I read verse after verse occuring 52 times in the Hebrew Bible I realized that out of those times, I recall few occurences where man is the author of creation. God literally has created everything and little is left for us to claim some sort of dominance or control. It is this reason the Bible commands for man to fear God. God has also created death, hell, and the lakes of fire. His power is simply magnificent. The development of all the things we see and touched formed, fashioned, created, by a God who knows no limit. We should be foolish not to put our trust in him. We should be foolish not to rely on him. We should be foolish not to put all our eggs within his basket, because he has all the creative power to make it last and grow. If God’s creative power is not enough to warrant his worship, I simply do not know what is.

POWER FOR THE CHURCH

If you’re looking for souls to fill the pews do not think it is found in assimilation for it is found in power. God used Paul to reach the masses and establish many churches through power.  Paul said my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4).

So the next question is how do I get the power of God so that I do not have to assimilate the church to the world, that some may be tricked to come inside and when they come inside many leave for lack of power and those who stay become users of the church remaining babes in Christ. We lead them to the cross of Jesus Christ through the disciplines we have learned from scripture. Jesus Christ displayed disciplines that were critical for his power while he walked on the earth. His ministry begins with his relationship with the Father and then baptism and then fasting in the desert. I believe this is a model new believers should use. You have lived in the world a long time and the thoughts from that worldview are strong and the spiritual beings that would have you stay in bondage will continue to attract you. Paul begins his ministry the same way the only difference is that Paul fasts for three days and Jesus fasts for 40 days. I believe today as the New Testament church the three day fast is best.

Remember, we are talking about having power within the church that produces dancers for Christ alone and while we dance for him it will attract others to come watch us praise him. Who is worthy of this kind of praise?

The second discipline would be prayer to God for spiritual gifts, which consists of discerning of spirits, wisdom, healing, speaking in tongues and gifts of prophecy. Understand these things are not the means to an end but are disciplines for the display of power that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 2:4, for all of our ministry needs the covering of love and not simply the works for Christ shed his blood in love for those who would later be saved.

The third discipline would be to read your Bible every day in a translation that you find most helpful. The Lord gives understanding to those who ask for his guidance.

Lastly, although not the last thing that should be done, but here is a good starting point worship God in song, singing melodies in your heart to him, for he loves to be worshipped and adored and comes quickly to those who do. The choice of music should be based upon the thoughts that your mind conjure, for if so-called Christian music you are listening to causes you to think of thoughts that are not Christ center discard and find music that does. We want power in the church not wise persuasive words where the world may begin worshipping the messenger, we want power and this is how God through his word establishes it.

These disciplines are critical and the reason why this is not being followed is not because it is something difficult to interpret in scripture it is because it is not easy, but if the whole Christian Church were to grab a hold of the disciplines, like an athlete who trains for a trophy, we would not see the decay that is taking place.

Lord Jesus, help us turn our hearts, minds, and bodies back to you that you may heal our land.