Blog – Page 4

National Day of Prayer – What to Pray For

Posted: May 4, 2017

May 4th, 2017, is the United States National Day of Prayer. I am addressing Christians, specifically, today. This is a day we are suggested to pray for our government leaders and the direction of our country, and I believe that we should.

There’s a lot to pray about, President Trump, his cabinet, different groups of people, corruption, etc.

Before we start laying out all of our wants and desires and concerns, and start cursing or damning the people in power, let’s first sit down and calm ourselves before God.

Jesus taught us how to pray, and we should go there first before listening to the leaders of our country as how to pray. How to pray prayers that work.

What should we pray for specifically?

After spending some time in worship, pray that God’s will be done on earth.

What does God’s will look like?

Psalm 122:6-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.’ For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

also

Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This last passage is also known as the great commission.

There are many other things to pray from the scriptures, but I believe that for our leaders in position of power, including their own relationship with God to be strengthened, but that we are to pray for peace in Jerusalem and for the ease of speaking freely the gospel and the ability to equip them in order to in turn share the gospel.

While many are focusing on just practicing their religion or ability to do what they please without fear from contention from the government, we should be even more so concerned with the true commission from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to be able to speak freely about what we believe.

This does not mean that we should be rioting, protesting, or causing trouble in the streets over this cause. (1 Peter 2:13-17) Or using our religious freedom to condemn (John 3:17), or spread hatred, rage, discord, jealousy, hostility, and other aberrations (Galatians 5:19-20).

We need to pray to be able to continue to share the gospel peaceably.

Unfortunately, evangelist takes on many extreme forms, and that’s not what we’re discussing today. We’re asking for prayer for the ability to engage people in a conversation about God that leads to the discussion of Jesus.

We should also pray for forgiveness for what the people in our country have done.

The shedding of innocent blood.

The persecution of the innocent.

Not taking care of the widows, the orphans and the hungry.

Not defending the defenseless.

And many other sins.

We need to pray for forgiveness, we need to seek the face of God, we need to resolve to not do terrible things anymore, and to live as God intended us to live with each other. (1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5:16-26, John 13:35)

What Real Worship Is

by RAC

Posted: May 2, 2017

Worship.

Such a contested subject in church.

Did you know there’s hundreds of opinions, supported by different scriptures, for all different kinds of styles of worship?

If you walk into a church you might see a rock band, flashing fancy lights, moving images across a screen with words to sing, another will have a giant organ with an old grey haired lady playing drawn out chords while a choir sings hymns from ages ago in perfect harmony, yet another will have a song leader, no instruments singing songs that are close in lyric to the scriptures, still another church will have people dancing, waving flags and trumpets blaring exuberantly.

You may see all of this, some of it and maybe even others where there are even more crazy or subdued things happening and everything in between which results in criticisms from those in attendance.

Too loud,

too soft,

too old,

too young,

too much,

too little,

too fast,

too slow,

too garish

too plain,

etc.

What the church defines as worship, has taken on such a variety of meanings, and I think we, as a church, have forgotten what it says in the bible.

John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth

Let’s remember that man is three parts: flesh, soul and spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

When we are born again, we are born again of spirit. (John 3:5-8)

It is possible to worship God with our flesh, our soul and our spirit.

Our flesh would be the outward expression, raising of hands, bowing down, singing, playing an instrument, waving a flag, etc.

Our soul, being our mind, will, intellect,and emotions, would be expressing our worship in the style in which our soul prefers.

Our spirit, (1 Corinthians 2:9-11) is that which is of the Spirit, which contains faith, hope and love. (1 John 4:8, 1 Peter 1:3-6, Romans 3:22, Galatians 5:22-25, 1 Corinthians 13)

We know that anything done in the flesh apart from God is not of God. (Romans 7:18, John 3:6) And it is possible to give the outward appearance of worship (Matthew 15:8, Isaiah 29:13) just by participating and not engaging our inward parts, being soul and spirit.

How do we know if we are worshiping with our spirit or our soul or both?

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It begins with the Word.

It always begins with the Word. (John 1:1-11)

The Word is truth, (John 17:17) and ultimately where we must start and how we define worship.

We know that 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work which is impossible without faith.

(Hebrews 11:1-6)

Truth being the Word, and Spirit being that which is done in faith, hope, and love. Anything that we do that is ‘worship’ but is not done in faith or out of faith, is not true worship.

What is praise and worship?

If we look at the meaning of the words praise and worship in the Hebrew and Greek, we get a clear idea of their meaning.

Praise means to boast, shine, and to be foolish over.

Worship, has the meaning of bowing down before or to be obedient.

We’re to boast about what God has done, we’re to shine, and be absolutely foolish over God! Which means, you can let your soul get involved, your mind, your will and even your emotions, as long as it’s done in truth. As long as what you are doing aligns with the Word. If it’s honoring to Jesus, great! If it’s honoring your flesh, no. In reading the scriptures, there are many outward expressions that encompass what praise can look like.

We’re also to bow before Christ, acknowledging that Jesus is Lord, and to be obedient to His word and what it says. Are you believing in faith that the Word is true? Are you expressing love or charity as expressed in 1 Corinthians 13? Do you have that hope as you sing and make melody in your heart to God?

Maybe your expression involves an acoustic guitar to help keep you on key, maybe it’s a small band of musicians who enjoy to worship the Lord as they play their instruments, maybe you love singing, maybe you can’t carry a tune but can rap like no other about what Christ has done for you,

Ultimately, praise and worship is beyond singing songs with a group of people in a room a few times a week. If we take the Word seriously, worship is so much more than the style, the loudness, the youth, and the instruments used.

What does your praise and worship look like?

Do you shine for Him on Sundays from 9am to Noon, or do you shine the rest of the week?

Do you boast of what God has done for you for a few minutes while you talk to your friends in the pew, or do you share and boast to people outside of the box you attend?

Do you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord on Easter, or do you acknowledge Him and His sovereignty in every day, every situation?

Are you obedient to the Word of God when it’s convenient, or at all times?

Are you foolish for God?

What does your praise and worship look like?

Jesus Doesn’t Need an Ad Campaign

by RAC

Posted: April 27, 2017

Jesus is ________.

This is the most detrimental ad campaign for Christianity ever.

People that don’t know or understand Christianity will insert whatever sort of word they want into the blank space.

Jesus is a tree, Jesus is running, Jesus is dieting, Jesus is hanging out, Jesus is football, Jesus is rock, Jesus is music, Jesus is bigotry… Do you see how this gets out of hand really quickly and why atheists don’t take us seriously?

It’s not what Jesus means to me or you, but rather WHO Jesus is.

The bible is very clear on who Jesus is.

Isaiah 9:6 — For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 7:14 — Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel

Matthew 1:23– “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”– which means, “God with us”

Philippians 2:9-11 — Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

Revelation 22:13, 16– I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End

Hebrews 1:3 — The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:4 — The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 1:15 — He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Matthew 1:21 — “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

John 1:29 — The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 3:17 — For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Hebrews 7:27 — …He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

I John 1:7 — But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

I John 3:5 — But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

Matthew 1:18 — This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 14:28–…If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Matthew 3:17 — And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matt 26:63-64 — But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

Romans 1:4 — …and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daniel 2:47–The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

1 Timothy 6:13-15–I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Revelation 17:14 — They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings– and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Revelation 19:16–On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

John 10:30 — Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

John 10:38 — But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

John 14:8-10 — Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 14:20 — On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

2 Corinthians 5:19 — …God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (NKJ).

Colossians 1:19 — For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

Matthew 28:20–And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

John 14:16-18 — And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Romans 8:9-11–You, however, are controlled, not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you

Matthew 19:28–Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things,when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne…

Revelation 3:21–To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 4:2-3–…there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.

Revelation 7:17–For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.

Revelation 19:4–The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne.

Revelation 22:3-4–The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the shepherd. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Father. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The scripture defines Jesus very clearly, so there is no need to put a blank space after “is”.

If this ad campaing were to be correct, it would read “Jesus is.”

The correct term to use is “is” a form of the verb “be” or “to be”. Grammatically, Jesus is, is correct, and does not need the blank space after it. Jesus exists.

No space to fill in, nothing to add, because there is nothing we add to him, he adds to us.

He is NOT a car, a house, a loan, debt, hate, fear, or anything else that fits into a blank space. Jesus is not a blank slate that can be written over for our own wants and desires. He is not an idea like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, he is real and tangible. Jesus Christ is our savior. He is our redeemer. He is the prince of peace. He is the author of our existence and we need to refer to him in such a manner, not how we ‘feel’ about Jesus.

Jesus is not an advertisement, he doesn’t need campaign managers, Jesus needs followers of the Word of God and people who are willing to listen and hear and understand the Word of God. (John 1:1-11)

Is There a Good Christian Church Near Me?

by RAC

Posted: April 11, 2017

The internal conversation that every part time Christian has with themselves when Christmas and Easter rolls around each year, is this,

“I should probably go to church, ugh, but the last time there were people just asking for money and telling me I’m a horrible person and do I really want to go? If I don’t, my (aunt, grandma, mother, daughter, distant family relative) will be hounding me to attend their church in some far away town. My kids like the egg hunt, they get free candy and stuff, yay, sugar high, what’s the closest and cheapest option?”

Or some variation of the above thoughts.

You may be offended that I referred to you as a part time Christian in that first sentence.

Good.

Many people who consider and call themselves Christian, even if they attend church on a regular basis are ‘part time Christians.’

What is a ‘part time Christian’?

Someone who as soon as they walk out of the door of church, lives as if the gospel of Christ has had no affect on them.

Someone who seeks a way for eternal life on Sunday, but lives with a crown on their own head pursuing their own way and their own agenda, what’s best for their own life.

Someone who feels terrible for their own sins, attends church to cleanse their conscience then repeats the same actions over and over again, without ever seeing true change in their life.

Someone who follows a set of rules and ideals.

Someone who does not truly know God.

Do you know God?

Are you following a set of rules and ideals to obtain sanctuary in a place after death?

Do you feel terrible for the things you’ve done and are trying to atone for them by good works and doing good things?

Do you truly believe the fullness of what Christ has done for you on the cross?

Do you know God?

As you search for a church this season to attend, ask yourself these questions.

Before we come to know God, we are separate from our Creator and do not know our Creator. We furiously try to do good, try to atone for the invisible divide between us and God, but we are left frustrated, without peace, anxious, and desperate surrounded by despair and depression.

We cannot escape the darkness on our own, we cannot communicate with light until we fully believe and grasp that there is hope for us, but there is only one way and that hope is through Jesus.

Our sin, the sin we were born into, that we inherited from our fathers and mothers, and they from their fathers and mothers, and them before that, is inevitable death of our flesh. We are born spiritually dead. To awaken the spirit, to revive the dead, life must be given for life to return. This is the ultimate gift that Christ has given to us.

For us to be born again, for our spirit to be reunited with our Creator, faith is essential. If you believe the scriptures to be true, and that you can have communion with God, that is all you need. Communicating with God does not begin and end with an easter service or Sunday services and Wednesday nights and the Friday night revival meetings. Your communication begins here and now in your spirit.

Ask God to direct you to which church you should attend.

Ask God within your spirit to direct you to His word and to speak to you through His word, and He will.

Communicate with other people who have that communication with the Creator, life becomes richer, full of peace, the darkness dissipates, the depression gives way to joy.

This is available to all who believe.

All you need is to ask.

True Gratitude

by RAC

Updated: April 5, 2017

This last Friday I had the honor of being a substitute worship leader for Angie West at Celebration Recovery at New Life. I’ve subbed and assisted her several times in the past and I truly enjoy it every time I’ve been invited to participate in any capacity on their team.

In preparing for the theme for the week, Gratitude, it really left an impression on me as what it means to be truly grateful.

In the set, we did songs all revolving around the theme, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, and 10,000 reasons. The final song of the set we did an old old spiritual, Give Me Jesus. As I contemplated over the set, I tried to replace the last song, but truly felt it needed to be there and at the end.

As I was playing through the song, the last verse grabbed me with the lyrics

‘When I come to die,
when I come to die,
when I come to die,
give me Jesus’

As I played through the chords, this scripture kept repeating in my head:

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (KJV)

Are we just waiting for the end of our lives, or are we talking about the denying/death of self?

Remembering that there is no pleasing God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), gratitude from the mouth without action is lip service, flippant and motivated by something other than faith.

If we are truly giving thanks from a space of true gratitude and faith, then we find Luke 9:23 to be a natural outcome of our gratitude. Not of obligation, or an incredible burden we bear, but out of love and faith.

True gratitude produces a response of joy and freedom when which is given is given freely and out of agape or charitable love. Meaning, that which was given, was given freely, of great price and nothing is expected in return, except to just believe the gift was given freely.

That our savior died for us, took upon himself that which was meant for us, death, and gave us life eternal, how do you respond? How do you express your gratitude?

Do you express it by pursuing what you want?

Do you say thanks over your meals and then live as you wish the rest of the time?

Do you express your thanks by walking through the door of church, sitting in a big comfy chair and then walking out, not giving a thought for the people you sit next to in church the rest of the week?

Do you spend a portion of your day satisfying the desires of your heart, or do you seek the face of God to find what His desires are?

I understand, seeking the face of God can be scary.

There’s all kinds of media images of a Zeus like figure with lightening bolts, looking wild, hairy, and angry. God running around throwing wrath to and fro, with disregard to people.

If you are familiar with the scriptures, and I mean the entire Bible within context, you see a God who desires to be among people, who wants relationship with them, who will put up with all kinds of shenanigans and sins as long as people are truly sorry and turn from them eventually. His desire is that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance and know Himself, to have life and have it abundantly!

He is patient with Jews and non Jews alike, fully accepting those who truly believe in his promises and his word.

Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Truly express gratitude towards God by first, discovering the heart of your Savior, and through that, denying self, death to self will make itself clear.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Save