Christian Television?

It seems to me that every time I go over to the Christian television stations too much of what I hear is anything but Christian. Most of what I hear is more about the Jesus business and not much about Jesus or the Gospel. There is too much emphasis on attaining "stuff" and not enough about sin, repentance, and God's plan of salvation through his son Jesus Christ. Please, change the channel.

If you are watching a Christian program and all they talk about is money, run for the hills. If you hear, plant a seed for this, give an offering for that, or if they give incentives like a prayer cloth or some other trinket, turn it off and never watch that garbage again. Use your discernment and don't get caught up in drama or hyper-emotionalism.
There are many scriptures that address this problem but keep the following in mind when watching some of the nonsense that passes itself off as Christianity

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you”

Matt 6: 19-21, 24
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. NIV

1 Tim 6 : 3-11
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. NIV

And here is the kicker:

2 Peter 2:3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. NLT

Please, be alert, be aware, and stay away from strange "ologies" and "isms"

I hope that this has helped somebody today.
Until the next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.

When Times Are Hard What do We Do?

With all that is going on in the world and in our country in particular with the down economy, the harsh political climate, and the erosion of the culture, many believers are asking “What is going on”. All I know is this, GOD is in charge, He is allowing things to happen as he sees fit and it is in the long run always for HIS glory, not ours. Whether we see it or not, understand it or not, you can be rest assured that it is for HIS glory, part of his grand design.

One of the most difficult scriptures to understand is Isaiah 45: 7

I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the LORD, am the one who does these things. (NLT)

So, how do we as believers cope with all that is going on around us knowing that God is allowing these things to happen?

1) We submit to his will and place our burdens and lack of understanding at his feet. Psalm 46:10 says “cease striving and know that I am GOD “ (NASB) some translations have it as “Be still” but the message is the same.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 11: 28 – 30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)

Paul wrote in 1 Th 5: 16 -17 to “Be Joyful always, Pray continually” (NIV) .

Surrender is not a one time thing. It must take place daily, moment by moment, situation by situation.

2) We must remember that we are his children:
1 John 3:1

1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (NIV)

Roman 8: 15-16 says

“15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (NIV)

3) We need to develop an eternal perspective. We are only here a short time. All of the turmoil we face on a day to day basis pales in comparison to what awaits.

Romans: 8:18 is applicable here : “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (NASB)

Go read last weeks post again and remember, "Victory is ours"

I hope this has helped somebody. Until the next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.

Victory is Ours!

I could probably spend the rest of my life studying, learning, and then sharing what I have learned from the Book of Romans. This was inspired by a daily devotional I receive via email. I’m taking a slightly different direction then the devotional because I felt led to do so. I hope this speaks to you as it spoke to me.

We all have good days and bad days. We also have days that are just so so, one second we are up, the next we are down. One day we are flying high, the next day we are crushed. As believers we need to keep in mind that throughout the roller coaster of life we are still victorious regardless of our circumstances.

Romans 8:35 -37 reminds us this very fact:

"35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” NLT

I really like the NLT rendering of this:”overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loves us.” WOW! Does it get any better than this?
As we continue to grow in faith we can fully expect to be buffeted by all kinds of trials. James reminds of the attitude we should take when this happens:
James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds”. NIV
Psalm 118: 6 reminds us: "The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" NIV

Keep all this in mind when you hear and read about the earthquakes around the world, the bad economy and how it impacts each of us personally, and when politicians knowingly lie to us on a daily basis in the mad quest for power claiming they are doing things for our good. These are all temporary problems and issues and have no impact or effect on our victory which is eternal.

I hope that this has helped somebody to day. Until next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, in Jesus name I pray.

Gods Will and Our Faith

In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 8 we see two examples of healing that touch on two very important aspects of supernatural healing, God’s will and our faith and in full context we see an example of each.

Matt: 8:2-3
2 A man with leprosycame and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy NIV

Here we see an example of God’s will in healing. Why does God heal some and not others? Why does he heal some instantaneously and others more slowly over time using doctors, people, or circumstances as conduits of his healing power? One thing is for sure, if it isn’t for HIS glory and the forwarding of his kingdom it won’t happen.

Matthew 8: 5-13
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." 8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour. NIV

Here is an example of Jesus healing somebody because of their understanding of his power and their trust and faith in that power. Does this mean that if our level of Faith is high enough God will do as we ask? Only if it is his will and part of his plan for our lives.

Don’t let anybody tell you that you haven’t been healed because your faith isn’t strong enough or point an accusatory finger at you saying you have some un-confessed sin or that you may not even be saved and that is the reason why you haven’t been healed. There are many misused scriptures concerning healing, too many to enumerate here.
Know this; God does heal today just as he always did. Who he chooses to heal, when and how he chooses to heal is HIS will, and is not a reflection of the level of our faith or salvation. ( I John 5:14, Romans 9:14, Ex 33:19)

I hope this has helped somebody today.
Until the next time, may the Lord bless us and keep us, In Jesus name I pray.