What Does God Want From Me? Obedience

You ever have one of those bible studies where the Lord has been working in each of you throughout the week and then when you get together you all have had the same thoughts? Not only that but then each of you talk about what the Lord has been pressing on your heart and then gives you even more ideas on what you had been thinking about? This happened recently to our regular weekly fellowship with some friends after dinner.

I have been thinking about obedience all week long, especially since I had lost my job in November. Between posts like Airport Dreams and Visions, and recently, Make Me!, my prayer for myself has been, "I just want to do [for work] what the Lord wants me to do." What does that look like? Well, I know that I don't want my job to come between men and the Lord, my wife, or my purpose in life. I don't want to work weekends so that I can be free to do ministry with my church, and I can have a day of rest. I don't want to work nights because let's face it, bad things happen at night. Not to mention that the body was designed to sleep at night. And I don't want to travel long distances or stay overnights because I have a wife that I worry about and also a Precept Inductive Bible Study that I teach at 7pm. My previous job was getting in the way of some things and I just know the Lord has something better for me. I have to be open to what He wants me to do. Even if it means changing careers at 43 years old. 

Another person in our group, who came from a legalistic background, also has been thinking about the difference between obedience and sacrifice. He asked the questions, "What does obedience look like and what is the difference between obedience and sacrifice?"  "Does God help those who help themselves?" One section of verses that I was reminded of throughout the week was the destruction of Jericho in Joshua 6. 

First, it was the Lord's work and we are to just be a part of it. God said to Joshua, "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor." (Joshua 6:2). We must realize that it is God's work and fight. He has done all the hard work and we are to just reap the blessings. 

Second, God gave them specific instruction on what to do (Joshua 6:3-5). 

1. Men of valor march around the city once a day for six days with seven priests bearing ram's horns before the ark.  
2.  The seventh day march around the city seven times. The priests shall blow the trumpets, the people will shout, and the wall will fall, and you will take the city. 

Third, they obeyed the Lord and did what they were told (Joshua 6:6-20). And the result of their obedience? Blessing and a fulfillment of the promise God gave them. This could have only come from obeying the Lord. 

Now, let's think about this in laymen's terms. God told them to march around a city a bunch of times, blow some horns, and yell at a wall, and then the wall will fall, and then after you walked around a city all day, you are supposed to have enough strength to fight and wipe out all people inside with the exception of Rahab and her family? Makes alot of sense, right? But here's the thing...you mean to tell me that the blowing of ram's horns or their shouts had anything to do with the wall falling? Did God need Israel to shout at a wall to make it fall? No. I can think of about 20 ways off the top of my head to make a wall fall, and shouting at it is not one of them. What did the Lord want from them? Their obedience. What does God want from us? Our obedience. 2 Samuel 15:22-23 states, "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And the stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD..." The difference between obedience and sacrifice is that obedience is what we do that God commands us to do. Sacrifice is what we do for God that we want to do. Obedience, God chooses what we do. Sacrifice, we choose what we do. 

Sometimes the Lord will tell you to do something. Sometimes it will sound absolutely ridiculous, like walking around a city and shouting at a wall. God doesn't need us to accomplish anything He wants to do. He doesn't need me to witness to people to save them. He doesn't need me to give to my church to keep the lights on and the doors open. He doesn't need me to fast and pray for people to overcome major adversity in their lives. But when we do what He says, blessings will come. And if you don't, there will be consequences, like in the next story of the battle of Ai (Joshua 7). There are no shortcuts with God. We are to do what He wants, His way; Quickly, thoroughly, and cheerfully. 

So where does that leave me today? No matter what the Lord wants for me I need to be open, obedient, and willing to do whatever. Even if it means doing something I think is really stupid, insignificant, or crazy. It may mean switching careers, moving, doing ministry full time, or whatever. But with anything I ask prayer for guidance and clarity. In my next blog post I will talk about another thing God wants from me...my love. For Him and others. Thanks for reading. 

Make Me!

Yesterday morning I started to pray and I asked God to help me be the man He wants me to be. I asked Him to guide me, and to help me be a good example of a Christian man not only when others are around, but especially when I am alone in my thoughts and on the computer. Then it hit me, "When did God ever say in His word that He would help me in character and integrity?" So I started to ponder this and turns out in my unprompted bible study that when it comes to the character of man, people asked for help, but most of the time the prayer was, "Lord make me..."

Psalms

Many places in the Psalms when David is crying out to God he asked the Lord to make him the man He wants him to be. 

"Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths." (Psalm 25:4)

"Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am." (Psalm 39:4)

"[Lord] Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish." (Psalm 39:8).

"Behold You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." (Psalm 51:6)

"Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders." (Psalm 119:27)

"Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." (Psalm 119:35).

Job

Even Job, who suffered greatly at the hand of Satan in which God allowed honestly asked the Lord..."How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin." (Job 13:23). 

Habakkuk

In Habakkuk's hymn of faith, the last verse in his book states, "The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills" (Habakkuk 3:19). 

New Testament

Even in the New Testament, "make me" in one form or another is used many times. 

Jesus said to His disciples, "Follow Me and I will make you fisher's of men." (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17). All the disciples had to do was follow Jesus, and Jesus would make them fishers of men. 

The leper's statement to Jesus was, "If You will, You can make me clean." (Matthew 8:2; Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12). How can a leper heal himself apart from Christ? He cannot. It takes an act of God to cleanse the rotting flesh. So does He cleanse the hearts of sinful men like me. 

 In Luke 15, in the parable of the prodigal son, the father portrays God the Father. Here, when the son returns home he asks the father, "I am not worthy to be called your son, but make me like one of your servants."  (Luke 15:19). 

Now What?

Here is the point to this. When we ask the Lord to help us do a thing, or help us in character, we are saying to Him, "Lord, please fill in the gaps that I cannot fill or that I have missed." In essence, we say to Him, I can do most of it, but need your help to do what I cannot. My aunt said to me the other day, "The Lord helps those who help themselves." But I was quick to point out that verse is nowhere in the bible. When it comes to the character of man, miracles, and especially salvation, there is nothing a person can do to help themselves.Why? Because God is sovereign, good, and powerful and man is dead to sin, flawed, and helpless. God, who also has given all authority to His Son, has the authority, the power, and the will to make us vessels of honor or dishonor. So the next time you pray for good character, integrity, and sanctification...I suggest praying to God to make you the man or woman He wants you to be.

Airport Dreams and Visions

So this morning I had another one of those "aha" dreams that I believe the Lord was teaching me something I personally needed to learn...and quick. Not scripture or prophecy, but something I needed to know for my benefit. It was so vivid like the dreams I had before I messed up my hands because I didn't heed what the dream was trying to tell me.

So I got to the airport and opened up the back of my car. In the back was two duffle bags for clothes, a large computer box, my toolbox for work, and my guitar. I started carrying these things to the airport while kicking the box across the ground or going a few feet with some things and leaving others behind to retrieve them in a minute.As soon as I get in the doors of the airport I hear the song, Day One by Matthew West over the speakers and goes on throughout the dream in different forms (regular, elevator music with no words, one even was in a country beat). It was a complete struggle to get to security with all my stuff. 

I finally get to security. At this point other passengers are laughing and looking at me like I'm an idiot, wagging their heads, pointing, and not helping me. The security officer asks for my ticket and drivers license which it takes me a while to find and asks me where my destination is. I don't really know where I am going, and I find the ticket which the woman TSA agent stamps and tells me the gate. All the while, the other passengers in line are getting angry and verbally letting me know, but not helping me in any way. As I'm putting my stuff on the conveyor security starts searching my bags. In the large box I had a computer nice and neat, my guitar was there in its case. As for my clothes bags one had electronic boards and parts while the other one was completely empty but was heavy for some reason.

I finally get through security. As I can see the gate from a distance the doors are closing. I try to leave my bags when a police officer yells at me that I can't leave my bags unattended. My toolbox handle breaks and tools fall out. I try to hurry but when I get to the gate I can see the plane taxiing away. At that moment I am leaning on the glass watching the plane backing away when a Skycap is standing next to me with a large cart while looking out at the plane says, "If you would have just asked for my help you could have at least made your plane."

 Now, what was revealed to me in all of this?

1. The computer box showed that my job was neat and things in its place but was weighing me down, was bulky, and the largest burden in my life. 
2. The guitar, my Gibson Les Paul. There was no reason why the guitar should have been there at all. It is large, and not the easiest thing to carry. The case resembles a coffin in some ways. But the meaning here was that I had things in my life that didn't need to be there. 
3. The electronic boards from work in my clothes bag. This clearly resembled my work getting in the way of my personal life. 
4. Not wearing a shirt, (and I think I was barefoot too) means that I was struggling to make ends meet and my finances are not in order. 
5. The empty clothes bag represents my personal life being empty, but was a heavy burden to carry. 
6. People laughing at me, pointing fingers, getting angry and not helping. This is how the world sees me. They see the chaos in my life and can't help but be critical.
7. My plane ticket. Represented that I have a destination, but I personally don't know where that is. As we go through life we really don't know where we are going. But, someone issued the ticket [God] and He knows where I need to be. Like Abram in Genesis. All he knew through life is that God told him to go different places and do different things but never knowing why. 
8. The song Day One by Matthew West playing in the background. I don't really know how that fits yet, being that I really can't remember the whole song. But one of the lines is, "This is day one of the rest of your life." Maybe its that I need to recommit my priorities now before it's too late. 
9. The Skycap and cart. These, the major point of the lesson, represented the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am saved, and do have the Holy Spirit (which the Skycap is available to help) but never ask for Him. If I would have asked the Skycap for help, I would have made the destination with ease. My life still needs work (no shirt or shoes, my work in my personal life) but my burdens would have been light (Matthew 11:28-30). 

So, as you can see, this dream was pretty vivid, and in my experience with my other dream when I did not heed the warnings it ended in disaster, not once...but twice. What do I do with this? Where do I begin. I know one thing, I start with the Holy Spirit and ask of Him for help and guidance. The other things are secondary. I welcome any comments you may have. 

Horse Story

This amazing piece was sent in by one of my readers. 

"I had this experience yesterday and your rat blog inspired me to write it down. 

While I have worked with or around various animals, the horse has always seemed uniquely special.  Yesterday, as I was getting ready to ride, I paused as I stood next to one whose back I couldn’t even see over.  I stopped, lay my hand on his smooth side, and breathed in the stillness.  Peace washed over me as a spring rain clears away fall’s dead leaves.  I gently pushed on him and he respectfully stepped away from me.  He towers over me, could kill me if he wanted to, and yet was a mountain that moved quietly away from me.  His eye turned to mine with the long lashes slowly blinking and with just a look, asked what else I wanted.  Remembering time, I resumed grooming him, saddled, and rode away from the barn. 

We’ve been together six months now.  When we first started, there were lots of disagreements about which direction to go, how fast to go, when to go home, and his back must have been sore as I was returning to riding and had lost all my muscle tone from years previous.  But today we were a new creature together.  I sat atop and yet flowed with his every movement and motion.  We had no arguments and enjoyed the journey together.  Somewhere around the curve of the river, I realized through layers of cloth and leather that I was feeling his every muscle contract and expand and could tell exactly what his footfalls were.  No sight, simply feeling, and yet more than feeling because I could tell what the next move would be and we made it together.  I was thunderstruck with the spirituality of the moment: to be two and yet work as one to the joy of each.

In that heartbeat, I knew that’s how it can be with God.  He in us and we in Him.  The horse and I place trust in each other, get out on the trail, and through time and trials, connect with each other.  An experience is born that neither of us could have without the other.  I place my trust in God and in turn He entrusts Himself in me.  He is glorified and I receive a fullness I never could have otherwise.  The longer the horse and I work together, the more responsive to each other we become.  He obeys my direction on the faintest of cues and I no longer jar against his movement.  How the horse and I combined reflect what the Father wants to do with me!  To get on His narrow path no matter how hot or exhausting the day, to yield to His directions, to no longer chaff against the propelling forward is to arrive at destinations I never would have otherwise and see the wonders of His nature I never would have otherwise.

When horse and man unite it is an experience that can only be understood by those who have likewise done so.  When God and man unite it is also only an experience that can be understood only by those who have done so.  But the sacred scrolls are full of the histories of those who gone before us and they are waving us forward, even warning us to get up and go.  May I read the warnings are change course and may I hear the encouragements and charge forward."

The Gospel According To Buzzfeed.

So this is the gospel according to Buzzfeed. Watch the video and read the transcript below for added effect.

I'm a Christian but...

1. I'm not homophobic
2. I'm not perfect
3. I'm not closed-minded
4. I'm not unaccepting. 
5. I'm not uneducated
6. I'm not judgmental
7. I'm not conservative
8. I'm not ignorant
9. I don't place myself on a pedestal. 
10. I don't have all the answers. 

But what are you?

1. But I am accepting. 
2. But I am queer. 
3. But I am gay. 
4. But I am a feminist. 
5. I am a feminist. 
6. I am definitely a feminist. 
7. But I do believe in science. In fact I think that science makes god really cool. 
8. But I'm not afraid to talk about sex. 
9. But I'll love me some Beyonce [whatever that means]. 
10. But I love wine. 
11. I do believe in monogamy before sex, but will give sex advice. 
12. But I do go to church on Sundays. 
13. I was a young life camp Councillor. 
14. I do listen to Christian music. Christian rock, rap, T-Mac, all the cool kids.  
15. I have friends from all walks of life from different religions. And I love them all. 

What Do You Want People To Know About Christianity?

1. We're all kind of not crazy. 
2. We shouldn't be judged on just the people you see in the media or the people you meet in your everyday life. 
3. Every Christian is different and we deserve the chance to explain ourselves. 
4. Alot of people think that Christianity ruins people, but to me I think it is people that is ruining Christianity. You never really see the good that happens, you only see the hypocrites and the people who put themselves on a higher pedestal. 
5. That at it's core, it is really about love and acceptance, and being a good neighbor. 
6. Just because we prescribe to a faith that has some terrible people in it, doesn't make all of us terrible. 

I wrote the transcript out because I wanted you, the reader, to see with your own eyes what is important to these "Christians". If we were to do a Precept Inductive Bible Study and pick out the key words of this transcript, what do you think we would find? Would I be wrong to say that it is the words "I, I'm, We, Us"? See, the problem with American Christianity is that it is all about me. Its about me, myself, and I. Its about my feelings, my beliefs, my lifestyle, my wine, and my music. That's not what Jesus taught. Its about God and others. He said in Mark 12:28-31 that we are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Not only that, but how do these people define themselves? Not just as Christians, but as open-minded Christians, gay Christians, queer Christians, educated, and not ignorant Christians. And they really want to be called Feminist Christians for some reason. Do you notice these words that come before Christian? These are what they really align themselves with. This is their true identity. And not Conservative? What does that mean? Does it mean that they voted for a political party that agrees with the murder of innocent babies through Planned Parenthood? Does this mean that you are a card-carrying member of the ACLU or Equal Rights Organizations? This video teaches me nothing about Christianity. It is just a video promoting the homosexual / feminist agenda.  

And when asked what Christianity is all about?  Well, its about love, acceptance, and not being judgy or crazy like those who do nutty things like share the gospel or talk about Jesus and go to bible studies [emphasis mine]. But as stated by the Gospel According to Buzzfeed it's not about Jesus or the Holy Spirit. What about holiness, righteousness, forgiveness, and repentance which is turning from sin. What about dying to self, putting off the old man and putting on the new? You talk about loving others, but how about loving your neighbor as yourself (now that's a kooky crazy idea huh)? What about acts like fasting and prayer; bible study and doing good for others so that God gets the glory. 

But the crazy thing this video points out is that they are not those Christians who are terrible people who are hypocritical and put themselves on a higher pedestal...right? Guess what? Its the epitome of being hypocritical when you are a practicing, unrepentant homosexual and pretending to be a Christian when the bible (the book you are supposed to rest your faith in and believe totally) condemns such actions like sodomy and sexual acts with the same sex (Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  Here's a thought Gay "Christian"...how about removing the hypocritical beam out of your own eye (Matthew 7:3-5) before you start calling me names. So a note to you hypocritical homosexual "Christians"...quit calling yourselves Christians and making the rest of us look bad. 

If I were to do a video, I would answer the questions like this...

I'm A Christian and...

1. Love the Lord and love others. 
2. Love bible study, prayer, and experiencing God's faithfulness every day. 
3. Love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength the best I can and when I fail I am not condemned because He saved me not by my works, but by His grace and mercy. 
4. I don't have to give, go to church, talk to at least one person a day about Jesus; but I get to give, go to church, and share Jesus with others. I enjoy it. 
5. I have a peace and a joy in my heart and the faith that I will be with my Father in Heaven. Not by what I have done, but what Jesus has done on the cross for me personally to erase my sins. 
6. I'm not controlled by my flesh, this world, or the devil, but by the Holy Spirit living inside of me. 
7. I make mistakes like everyone else and I'm not condemned by them but move on and try again. I stumble in my sin, but not dive into it. 
8. I'm a husband, son, brother, and friend. I babysit and can even change diapers. I'm also an electronics technician, educated, and teach Precept Inductive Bible Study. 
9. I enjoy watching sports, love to read, and exercise almost daily. And yes, I like ice cream. Especially Rita's Italian Ice. My ideal place to hang out is a quiet coffee shop with my Kindle. 
10. And I enjoy an occasional beer or glass of wine but don't need it to fulfill my life. 

What Are You?

1. Born again. 
2. Forgiven. 
3. Redeemed. 
4. Child of God. 
5. Sanctified and set apart. 
6. A work in progress.

What Do You Want People to Know About Christianity. 

1. It's life changing and exciting. If you are bored you are doing it wrong. 
2. Since I love Jesus and He lives in my heart, I love to talk about Him and introduce Him to people who do not know the Lord. It's the same as if you are pregnant and cannot but help to talk about the life that is inside of you and how excited you are. 
3. We are not better, just better off. 

Of course there is so much more to say but I don't want to make this post too long. Here are some helpful articles that explain what it means to be a Christian. 

What does it mean to be a REAL Christian?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is a Christian?

Nancy's Chosen Rats

This is Nancy. She is one of three kids that I occasionally babysit. Recently she wanted to show me her new pet rats who she named Tippy and Topper. Awww...ain't they cute? She bought a large cage with her own money and made it very comfortable for them.They have lots of toys and she takes great care of them. She loves them and as you can see they love her too.

But looking at these rats you can't tell that they are not just any ordinary rats. They are feeder rats. Feeder rats are rats that are specifically bred to be fed alive to snakes and other large reptiles for food. That is their relatively short life, with one purpose in being born...to be killed to feed other animals. Sounds like a terrible existence doesn't it? But Nancy, out of 100 breeder rats, saved these two, to live with her for the rest of their natural little rat lives in joy, peace, and free from harm. There was nothing special about these two, just that she chose them. That's so nice of Nancy. She's a sweet girl, isn't she?

Now we look at this story and think, "Wow, Nancy saved those two from certain death.  Man, she is really nice to take them with her, and how blessed those rats must be to live with her." And that is true, they are blessed. So then why didn't we get all bent out of shape about the other 98 that she didn't save, who are going to die by snakes and vipers? What about their lives? Why didn't Nancy save the rest of them? Why didn't any of you show utter disgust towards Nancy for letting the other rats die? She must be mean and cruel, right? I can't believe she would do that!

But you know...that's what most of you say about God when it comes to the doctrine of election and predestination, and how God predestines and chooses some, but not all people to be saved. How come its ok for little Nancy to do it, but when it comes to God, who Christians say is sovereign over all and created all things, they just loose their minds?  I hate to break it to you folks, but God IS sovereign over ALL THINGS, which INCLUDES US!

Years ago when I became a Christian I thought it was all my choice, I really did. It wasn't till I studied Romans inductively through Precept Ministries International that I began to have second thoughts. Verses like Romans 8:28-30 in that those who are called, predestined, are those who are justified and glorified. Those who are justified and glorified are believers. Also verses like Romans 9:10-13 where God calls Jacob and not Esau according to God's purpose and no one else. Notice too that He called Jacob not according to his works or anything that he had done, because He called him when he wasn't even born. He had done neither good nor evil. God just called Jacob according to HIS OWN WILL. It is not because I was so great or good that God saved me, or that I wanted to be saved so bad that I beg and plead and He couldn't take it anymore and He saved me. (Romans 9:16). It is not about us. God is not unrighteous. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and will have compassion on whom He will have compassion (Romans 9:14-16).

I claim not to have all the answers, and actually I can't say that I fully understand it. But what it boils down to is that first and foremost, we are His creation, and he can do whatever He wills with our lives. Our free will does not trump God's. If that were the case, God was in the wrong for trumping Jonah's free will, along with Soddom and Gamorah, everyone who (with the exception of the eight members of Noah's family) was killed by the flood, and the list goes on.

As I read Romans 9, I was blown away at the fact that God did not have to save me, but chose to. Not on the basis of anything I had done, or any redeeming qualities I had, but on His mercy and compassion towards me. Like Nancy's rats, it just makes me love Him even more, and gives Him glory. I never complain about why He doesn't save everyone, but I'm just in awe that he saved me.

Is "The Sinner's Prayer"...a Prayer?

Ever since I got saved I have had the desire to share my faith and learn the bible inductively.  Within the past few years I have gotten into a teaching role and sharing with believers what I learned through the years in witnessing and studying God's word inductively.  With that being said I am always running into unbiblical views that run through the church.  If you know me or have gone out with me witnessing, there is one thing that absolutely makes my skin crawl, and that is when newbies use "The Sinner's Prayer" method in making converts to Christianity. 

Now I am not talking about a genuine, honest prayer that a repentant sinner prays in his own words to ask a Holy Just God to save them from their sins and ask for mercy. "The Sinner's Prayer" I am talking about is an unbiblical teaching that was created during the 1950's by Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and author of Share Jesus Without Fear.  This concept in which a person could repeat a prayer by a person leading them and that the person repeating would be saved.  This is also called in some circles, "Decisional Regeneration."  No one, and I mean no one is saved because they prayed a prayer.  It is not reciting the words or a phrase that saves anyone.  We are saved by grace through faith and it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Let's put it this way, if a person has to repeat a prayer to get saved, it shows several things.

The Person Does Not Understand The Gospel

If the person has no clue what to pray or why they are even praying in the first place, chances are they do not understand what the gospel is.  One time I asked a person what they thought the gospel was, and they told me it was a type of Christian music.  That may be true, but it's like the difference between an elephant trunk and a car trunk. Both are trunks, but different types. Instead of using the "Sinner's Prayer", explain the gospel to the person you are witnessing to and make sure they understand it. When we pray we need to pray with understanding (1 Corinthians 14:15). Qualify them and ask them questions to see if they know what they are doing.

They May Not Understand What Repentance Is or the Need For It

One time I was witnessing with a newbie and he asked the person he was sharing with, "Are you a sinner?  Do you need forgiveness?" and the person said he was a good person and didn't need to be forgiven for anything.  So my witnessing partner said, "Ok, well if you repeat this prayer after me you can be forgiven and be right with God." and the person agreed.  Hold the phone Henrietta!  This person just said he did not need forgiveness and does not understand the seriousness of his sin and how it affects his standing with a Holy and just God. 

It Gives The Person Praying a False Sense of Security When He May Not Really Have It.

If the well-intentioned evangelist after praying the prayer with the person and says to him, "Well congratulations, you are now a child of God.  Welcome to the family brother/sister Christian." and the person goes away thinking he is ok, when he may not be. That person then thinks they have "fire insurance" or a "get-out-of-hell-free card" and that is all Jesus is to them. They go on sinning and their lives do not change because they think they are ok.

The problem with this is that it's not our job to assure the sinner of forgiveness, but the Holy Spirit. According to Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit is given by God as the promise or IOU note that they are saved and will receive the promises of heaven. To be honest...sometimes I have a hard time telling who is saved and who is not. I have experienced many times that people who have gone witnessing with me over the years, hard core fearless laborers, just walk away from the faith and say they love something else more than Jesus. That is frightening to me. It doesn't mean that they lost their salvation...but rather they didn't have it to begin with (1 John 2:19).

Do Not Be Deceived!

The reality is that not everyone who calls himself a Christian really is (Matthew 7:21). That's a sobering thought. But one that we need to consider. People claim to be many things in this world. They claim to be a good person (Psalm 14; 53); claim to love God (1 John 4:20); they claim to know God (1 John 4), and so on.  Most of the time it's not that we are playing the hypocrite or pretending to be a Christian when we are not. It's that we are deceived in thinking we genuinely are when we are really not. The bible warns us "not to be deceived" many times (1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 1:6, Galatians 6:7; James 1:16), but to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (Lamentations 3:40; 1 Corinthians 11:28; and 2 Corinthians 13:5). 

So let us continually examine our hearts and always be in prayer diligently searching the scriptures to see what God expects of us, and how we can draw closer to Him each and every day.  In an upcoming blog post I will share some scriptures and help you understand what it means to be in the faith to see if you truly are a child of God. 

It's Not Just a Wedding Cake

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I, as a Chrisitan would bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple because it's "just a cake".  I told him I wouldn't, but it's not the reason you may think. 

Yes, a wedding cake is just a cake.  It's made of flour, eggs, sugar, and decorated in a way that can be sculpted in ways that are simply amazing.  Then it is cut by the bride and groom and eaten by the guests.  Pictures are taken of it, and a ceremony of the bride and groom feeding each other is done.  That's about it.  You know, thinking of it, I don't even remember what my cake even looked like.  To be honest I can't remember most of the night either.  So what's the big deal then? 

Well, for me its a much deeper issue than just cake and causes more trouble than we realize for Christianity and not from homosexuals, but from the Lord Himself.  It's a matter of conscience, not ours, but of our weaker brother.  Here we go to 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.  What was happening here is that people were buying good cheap meat at the pagan temple that was sacrificed to idols.  These were choice cuts at a really reasonable price.  Some Chrisitans were buying it because it was good cheap meat, and some were not because they believed it became evil and would defile their conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7).

According to 1 Corinthians 8:4 says concerning eating things offered to idols, that an idol is nothing in this world, and that in verse 8 it says, "food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we better, nor if we don't eat are we the worse." Since idols are not really anything, than the food sacrificed to them is not anything either.  It doesn't draw us closer or further away from the one true living God.  Food in and of itself cannot help you keep your salvation, nor take it away because its meat sacrificed to an idol that's not anything either.  But if we go on if the weaker brother's conscience says, "do not eat meat sacrificed to idols" and he sees a stronger brother eat meat (which doesn't bother his conscience), it would encourage the weaker brother to violate his conscience which would be sin.

So let's bring this to what I am talking about.  Let's say I am a Christian baker and a homosexual couple comes in and asks me to bake a wedding cake.  Since gay "marriage" is not really marriage in the eyes of God and is nothing (like an idol), then a cake made for a gay wedding (like meat sacrificed) is in an of itself not evil either.  I won't lose my salvation if I make it. and according to 1 Corinthians 8:9 I would have liberty to do so.  Follow me?

But, lets say that a new believing Christian really believes gay "marriage" is wrong and his conscience says we should not even consent to go to a homosexual wedding because it's evil and that no Christian should ever consent to be associated with something like that. But let's say he hears that you, a long-time Christian believer is baking a cake for them, and then says, "Well, Frank is baking a cake for them and maybe gay 'marriage' is not bad. You, as the baker, caused the weaker Christian to abandon his conscience and sin.  1 Corinthians 8:9-13 says then that not only do I sin against my weaker brother, but I sin against Christ as well. 

But what is the harm really of making a weaker brother stumble?  Jesus said in Mark 9:42:

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."

Let me clear that up.  It would be better for you to die a grusome, agonizing death than to stumble a little Christian, even the most insignificant one.  Drowning to a Jew was the worst form of death imaginable. So in a sense, it would be better for you to lose your baking business than to stumble a weaker Chrisitan.  That's my point. 

Back to reality.  Let's face it, this country is full of weak Christians.  When it comes to bible knowledge, discernment, and keeping things in context with historical/gramatical hermenutics, there are very few.  The bible knowledge of the majority of American "Christians" is pretty shallow, and is made up of sermonettes, morning devotionals, and TBN.  So it would be benneficial rather to not bake the cake in the first place and offend the non-believer, than to bake the cake and offend the weaker believer. 

I hope that cleared up any confuison you might have had.  It's not that I don't want to see people unhappy or ruin their day. I just don't want to offend more important people to me, which is my brother, and my Lord.

Everyone In St. Louis Is DEAD!!!

Today I read an article from CNS News on Planned Parenthood's 2014 fiscal year report that they performed 327,653 abortions this past year.  This works out to:

• An average of 37 abortions per hour. 
• 1 abortion every 90 seconds. 
• 487 more abortions performed this year than last year. 

No offense to CNS News, for these statistics are gruesome indeed.  But I don't think that they really capture how dreadful these numbers are.  I don't think the human brain can really grasp the magnitude that 327,653 human beings lost their lives last year.  Lets face it, when it comes to numbers we cannot grasp the concept as in the trillions of dollars of U.S. government debt.  Lets put it into a more grievous perspective. 

• More children died by abortion at the hands of Planned Parenthood this year than the entire population of St. Louis, Missouri. Imagine the entire population of St. Louis, MO city dead.  Whether it be by biological warfare, terrorism, nuclear bomb, or zombie apocalypse it doesn't matter.  100% of the population is DEAD. Every single man, woman, and child gone forever. 
• If we buried each child aborted this year by Planned Parenthood in a 3 ft by 2 ft grave side by side (which is very conservative estimate) the graveyard would measure 1,965,918 square feet.  This is equal to over 34 football fields side by side!!!
• If we erected a mausoleum for all the babies murdered by Planned Parenthood this year alone...it would be the size of the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium which is 2.3 million square feet.  Think about that the next time you go to a pro NFL football game.  

But you know what's sad about these statistics?  This is ONLY the abortions performed by Planned Parenthood in the United States this year.  This would mean that the abortions performed by hospitals, doctors, other abortion agencies, and in other countries goes well beyond this number.  

So what if a terrorist cell killed every person in St. Louis, MO next year.  Would it matter?  Would we notice?  Would we care?  Would our government pay the terrorist to help plot and kill its own civilians with money from taxes? Well, it's happening right under our noses. It's happening right now.  Are you sick yet?  Like Mark Cahill says, "Do you care?  Do you care enough to do something about it?  If you don't care enough to do something about it...you...do...not...care."  

Think about it.