Whose Gold are you buying?

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
[Revelation 3:18]

Imagine the following scenario:

You’re going to buy a ring for a close friend, rather it be a boy/girlfriend, your mother on Mother’s day; regardless of who it is, they’re very important to you. Very close to your heart. At the market there are two salesmen. The first one offers you a BEAUTIFUL looking ring, but after closer inspection, you suspect it’s the kind of ring that could have the gold rub off, and turn your finger green. But the price is GREAT! The second man offers you a completely GORGEOUS ring, 100% gold, but the price is seemingly outrageous. Which one do you buy?

Well, let me clue you in. The First salesman is Satan. His offer is a cheap one, it seems great at first, but it eventually leaves you wanting more. The Second salesman is Jesus Christ. His price may seem steep, but His is the greatest offer of all. What he gives is pure, inside and out, from start to finish; and it fulfills you always. Who’s Gold are you buying?

We are born into the flesh, we as Humans have a sinful nature. Satan’s offer will always look better. It will be easier, cheaper. You can do whatever you want, when you want. God’s offer seems steep. It requires a life of pure, Christ-like living. It requires us to meet a set of standards. And sometimes, we won’t like it. But we want to become more like Christ, we want his Gold.

Jesus Christ Himself counsels us to buy His Gold, tried by the fire. There is a key phrase here: “Tried by the fire.” When a ring is made, it has to be purified in the fire. Let me tell you, sometimes the fire gets hot. And sometimes it might sting, or burn a little. But these burns rid us of our impurities.  II Timothy 3:12 says, ” Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The Word of God never promised us an easy ride.  I Peter 1:7 tells us that our faith will be tried by fire.  ” That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ” We will be tried by the fire, and the fire will get Hot.  But it’s the fire that burns out our impurities, and makes us more like Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Who’s Gold are you buying?

Weapons of Warfare.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
[II Corinthians 10:3-4]

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
[Ephesians 6:10-20]

We are the children of God. We are commanded by the bible to live for him. He gave us his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Along with that sacrifice came the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. We are to boldly go forth and proclaim the Almighty Saving power of God. But do most Christians act this way? No. We cower in fear of Satan, trying to blame everything on him. Mighty Warriors? Try Cowering Wimps. We need to get it into our heads that Jesus is an almighty God; and that he lives within us. Jesus tells us in John 14:12, that we will do even greater things than he did! “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

We have authority in Jesus Christ. We are to claim souls for him. But there is opposition. Satan has no intentions of making this easy for us. The Word says “..we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” II Corinthians 10:3-4 explains although we live in the flesh, we do not war in the flesh. We war in the spirit. But how do we war in the spirit? Ephesians 6:11 tells us, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” So what do we use as the Weapons of Warfare? The Armor of God.

Ignorance and Stupidity.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. [James 4:17]

Ignorance: the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.  Doing something in ignorance is doing something without knowing what you are doing.  Commonly I hear people try to switch out ignorant, and innocent.  They’re not same, they have nothing to do with each other.  You can commit a sin in ignorance, but you are not innocent.  You are still guilty of the sin.

Stupid: lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull.  If you are stupid; you’re foolish.  Sin is never a smart thing.  Sin is stupid.  In Numbers 12:11, Aaron asks God not to hold the sin against them that they “foolishly” committed.  “And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.”

Now, you may be wondering what I’m getting at.  What I want to present to you is the difference between being ignorant, and stupid.  These two words are often used interchangeably; but they do not mean the same thing.  Sinning in ignorance is doing something you don’t know is wrong.  Sinning in stupidity is knowing what you’re doing is wrong, and doing it any ways.  A picture of this is found in the story of Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve both sinned.  But Eve was deceived by the serpent; she became ignorant.  Adam knew full well what he was doing when he ate the fruit; he was stupid.  I Timothy 4:12 says, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Adam was not deceived. He sinned in stupidity.

Now the question is, who do we want to be like?  Adam, or Eve?  No, that’s a trick question.  Ignorance and Stupidity are both wide open gates to sin.  So how do we avoid both of these problems?  The answer is found in II Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

If we make the effort to sit down and spend some time with God, put aside our other task; if we truly make him our priority, and just study the word of God; we won’t be Ignorant or Stupid.

So you wanna go back to Egypt?

Recently, I’ve been exposed to Keith Green. I watched this live video; and it inspired this blog. So first off I wanna give credit to him. He was a great musician, and sure knew his stuff. I also highly suggest this song; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foUH4No_SVU.

I wanna go back to Egypt!

This is what the Israelites told God in the desert. They were slaves for hundreds of years in Egypt. Finally, God brought up a leader; Moses. God performed Miracles, signs and wonders. God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He brought them out of their bondage. They were totally free. Eventually, they end up walking around the desert for 40 years. And after a series of events, they make the ultimate insult to God. “We had it better back in Egypt!”

We, as humans do this often. For example, someone who is out of touch with God may pray for a better prayer life. They begin to pray and intercede daily; in doing so they become closer to God. But Satan’s obviously not happy with this. The individual begins to face trials, and problems, bigger than before. They say, “God, this is too hard! I can’t handle this!” They say, “I wanna go back to Egypt! Life was easier there!” We take what God has blessed us with, and throw it back in his face.

Satan will never be happy with us pressing into God, or doing his will. Too often we, as new believers, come to the very false conclusion that life will get better once we have Christ’s salvation. Or life will get better once we’ve been set free. WRONG. I Timothy 4:10 reads: “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” If you’re addicted to drugs, you’re right in Satan’s plan. Or if you’re religious, you don’t scare Satan. It’s only once that you’ve been set free that you pose any threat to Satan. He’s scared of you then. He will do anything and everything he can to stop you. And when you say, “Life was easier when I was on drugs.” “Being religious was easier.” “Life got harder when I got closer to you God, I liked it better before.” You are insulting God in the ultimate way. Rather, look at it as being promoted. In a work place, things don’t get easier when you are promoted. You are handed the bigger tasks, bigger problems; but also the bigger payday. Life gets harder, but the reward is worth it. Be thankful for what you are given, and praise God always.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
[Matthew 9:37]

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
[Psalms 107:1]

Redemption Is Waiting.

When world’s are crashing; when our love is falling through
Redemption is waiting, he’s waiting there for you
When things seem broken; when dirty seems life’s air;
Redemption is waiting, he’s waiting right there

Nothing is too strong for love, for no one knows it’s limits
It cannot be broken, twisted, or devastated
For true love’s strength was proven that day
When nails were driven through one man’s hands

When Love became mortal, redemption was made true
Becuase Redemption is waiting right there
For me, and for you

Halloween.

Halloween.

Even the thought of this “Holiday” is sickening to me.  I really do hate it.  And the fact that some love and celebrate it, it saddens me.  Now I know you’re thinking, “What do you have against my kid dressing up like a Transformer and getting some candy?”  But so much more goes on than that.  In Pagan religions, this is the most central day for them.  The worst sacrifices go down today.  Animals will die today.  Innocent children will die today.  Bad things will happen.  There’s a deeper meaning for real Pagans, and Witches.  Those who worship Earth-based Goddess traditions that predate even Christianity.  They say, “The veil is thin that divides the worlds, the seen from the unseen, the day to day from the mysteries.”  Halloween is apparently the time when it is easiest to contact the spirit world.  Many rituals are performed.  Things killed.  Sexual Abuse.  It all happens today.

Each year on October 31st, Druids, or satanists, celebrated the Celtic New Year in honor of their pagan God, Samhain.  The “Festival of Samhain”, accurately the “Festival of Death” was officalliy known, and is still recognized as very important by Satanists, Occultists, and devil worshippers world wide as the “eve of the new year” for witchcraft.  Anton Lavey, author of the Satanic Bible said there are 3 Very important days for Satanists: 1) Their Birthday.  2) April 30th.  3) Halloween.  He says it is on this night that Satanists, Occultists, and Witches are at their highest Potency levels on that night.  Any witch or occultist who had trouble casting a spell or curse can usually ahieve success, because Satan and his powers are best at work on October 31st.  Halloween.

Now I’m sure saying, “Okay.  But what does all this have to do with my kids dressing up and asking for some candy?”  Well towards the very beginning of Halloween the Druidic priests would go door to door, demanding a offering in the name of their God, Samhain.  If the household did not provide something, they would place a curse over the house, and history claims that one of the family members would die within a year.  Thus you have, “Trick-or-Treat.”

Also, Jack o’ Laterns.  As the Druidic priests would go soliciting their offerings for Samhain, they would bring a turnip with them, carved with an evil face in it, to represent the demonic spirit they depended upon for their power and knowledge.  This spirit is called a “familiar spirit.”  (Acts 16:16-18)  They called this spirit “Jock.”  When this custom made its transition over to America, turnips weren’t very accesible at the time.  But they found a vegetable that would make a great substitute.. the pumpkin!  In America, instead of Jock, they called the spirit Jack.  And hence, the name “Jack-O-Latern.”

Now maybe this doesn’t bother a lot of people, but it sincerely churns my stomach.  The choice is yours to decide, rather to celebrate Halloween or not.  But before you do; recognize what Halloween is.

Halloween is not all fun and games.

The words we speak and the ones that we cherish.

It seems too many times a careless word can break someone’s heart. Something you do, that you think nothing of, can tear someone to pieces. They we live our lives, the way we speak our words and think our thoughts, it should all be done in the likeness of Christ. He is the one true role model, the perfect example of a friend. His words spoke truth, but were kind. They were strong, but not harsh. The tonque is a weapon, more powerful than any gun or sword out there. Our words are like bullets, darts if you will, and too many times our hurtful words make a bulls-eye to the center of our hearts. People will be people. Heart ache will be heartache, and hurt shall be hurt. But to be responsible for that heartache, that deep hurt, the feeling is unexplainable. Guilt is a deep wound to the soul, caused by our own selves.

Be careful little eyes what you see.
Be careful little ears what you hear.
Be careful little mouths what you speak.

Thank God for wake up calls.

Sometimes I look at my life, and seem to see the glass half empty. But if life’s the glass, then what’s the liquid that fills it? What are we putting into our lives? In my personal expericence I’ve come to realized I don’t always put what’s best. God has so much for me, and everyone else. He’s got the lock and key; all he asks us to do is turn it! But we want to see the lock as old and rusty, and we can choose to ignore it. But sometimes it takes a big event in our life, a little perspective, really, to see what all we really have. We are truly blessed, we have friends, family, people who really care; and so many other things. In this past week I experienced a power outage, for just couple of days and became extremely frustrated. But then I was reminded of how millions of people never have electricity, many don’t even have food, or clean water, at that! But God has blessed me with these things, he’s blessed me with wonderful friend’s, and family, knowledge, a personal relationship with him, and so much more! He’s moving in the lives of my friends, I can see it! And nothing comes to my blame. The blame for everything in my life falls on Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

Thank God for wake up calls.

What goes in is what comes out.

So this is a pretty basic concept.  Just like what goes up must come down; what goes in must come out.  And it will.  At one time or another.  You see everything that our minds sees, hears, thinks, etc. all is stored in our brain.  And we remember it.  See, just like if you’re around people who swear, or curse alot.  When you’re constantly hearing that, it’s much easier to speak those words.

Same with music.  The music we listen to influences the way we live our lives and think about things.  Our goal as human beings should be to bring glory to God, and so should everything we live, listen to, and do.  If music doesn’t bring glory to God, generally, it shouldn’t be listened to.  Now I am not condemning all secular music, because I listen to it.  But when music is openly praising, or talking about sin, it’s not something to be listened to.  When we listen to music that swears, talks about sex, drugs, what do you think happens?  Look at our world.  Today it’s easier than it ever has been for kids to get away with just those things, sex, and drugs.  These acts of sin are no longer looked down upon, but often praised!  And when music has this same attitude, it’s all a cycle.  People that do these things write music, people listen to the music, they do the things, they write music.. And so it continues. 

Am I saying if you listen to a song about drugs you’re gonna go get high?  No.  Simply stating ideas, making a point.  What goes in is what comes out.  When you’re surrounded by sex, lust, cursing, drugs, alcohol, it makes it all the harder to resist these things.  And could most definitely be contributed to the mess our world is in today.

So in closing, I’d like to say I’m not condemning music, or TV, or the radio, or anything.  Everything that can be used to bring glory to God, I’m all for.  But these same exact things can be used as tools of the enemy (Satan) to pull us down, and farther away from God.  Everything we see, breathe, hear, touch, taste, it’s all in heads, somewhere.  So watch what you’re doing.  Pay attention to what you’re doing.  W.W.J.D.  What would Jesus do?  Would Jesus watch this?  Listen to this?  Do this?  Just some things to think about.

 

You shouldn’t push your beliefs on other people!

People who tell you this don’t really believe it. Because this in it self is a belief, and by telling someone that, you are “pushing” your “belief” on them.

It’s basically the same thing with “Open mindedness.” For example: An “Open minded” person might tell someone who’s condemning homosexuals to be more open minded. But these “Open Minded” people close there mind to ever thinking Homosexuality could be wrong. There fore they’re not truly open minded.

Then there’s people who tell you that everyone has there own idea of “right and wrong.” Well obviously people will have different views of right and wrong. So this causes conflict. A lack of un-arguable rules creates problems. The real rule book is the Bible. But over the years people have started to reject it. It’s in plenty of houses, but in most it only collects dust.

So anyways, my main point was just about “open mindedness.” So I suppose I’m done. Just something to think about.