We are thankful for our friends and family who endure our weaknesses daily as we learn to imitate Christ.
We are thankful for our spiritual family who must do the same as we sojourn in the bond of peace towards the new city of unending joy.
We are thankful for the government’s role in our community keeping us safe and secure and we are even thankful for its inefficiencies, for it gives us an opportunity to remember our own personal responsibilities. Our hope is not in princes.
We are thankful for the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that have come to labor along side of us during a trying season of life.
We are thankful for the yearly cyclone reminders of who controls all things.
We are thankful for all who have donated goods and services to us and for those who have given to us monetarily.
We are thankful for community organizations that are not ashamed to serve openly under the banner of the living God.
We are thankful for the church.
We are thankful for food and shelter no matter how meager it may be for against the world’s standards the United States is still extremely rich.
We are thankful for having clothes to wear and clean water. We are thankful for liberty and the means to operate freely despite her receding glow.
We are thankful for your prayers. We are thankful for the Trinity’s unstoppable work in our lives. Thank you Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. May we press on till the final coming.
Experientialism is a mighty juggernaut plowing through contemporary religion. Its attractive helmet hits headlong into foundational truth where God’s revelation trumps perceived notions of His actions through and around the church. These two candidates stand in great opposition to one another for those seeking a guidepost in determining their way, for not all things experienced are all things true. We are warned about false teachers and false teachings (2Peter 2:1) and we are told to test the spirits (1John 4:1) and exercise discernment for false prophets and wolves live and breathe among us. Unfortunately, few actually heed this caution.
Felt-needs and personal preferences are main highways where experience travels at high speeds regardless of what the Word of God might have to say. One can hear the cries of exasperation, “Surely what I feel can’t be wrong! What do you mean it doesn’t matter what I saw?!” Sensory theology trumps real doctrine as “what I feel” has become “what I know”, never mind that it goes against Scripture. We would do well to remember the warnings found in the book of Colossians – “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” And “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen…” (Col.2:8,18) Many professed believers love to talk on and on about their spiritual experiences through dreams and visions but these claims must always pass the scrutiny of Scripture, not merely experience.
Those who have much invested in their experiential theology are usually not open to being challenged. To question their experience is, in their minds, to question their spirituality. If one were to dismantle an experience that they’ve put so much hope and joy into, it is tantamount to calling them an unbeliever. At least that’s mostly how they react.
However, Scripture alone should be our ultimate authority in determining truth and truth should help us organize our practice and become a filter through which we view what has happened. To do otherwise is to lean into the mystic camp and build bonfires around Gnostic ceremonies.
May we flee what is of self and cling to what is truly of Him.
From the preaching of the text in Revelation 19, verses 17 – 21:
The graciousness of God’s love, even in merely not casting us away into darkness immediately, only becomes amazing in front of a canvas of understood evil. His purposed affections towards mankind are made ever beautiful only when displayed before a backdrop of hopelessness… before a canvas of coming wrath and right judgment.
The Babylonian mural galleries, where snapshots and paintings dishonor the imago dei, capture and promote our vanity, rebellion and utter helplessness. This exhibit provides a vivid outline of worldliness for the light of grace to reveal. Without the contrasting balance of shade and tone and scaled character, God’s love becomes mere duty and the gospel’s radiant purity and shalom becomes simply another option on a religious Ferris wheel; carrying off visitors in pretty circles and lights.
However, the cross of Christ envelopes the darkness and destroys death and hopelessness for it is the Father’s decreed desire to save His people for His own glory and pleasure.
It is the truth of this display of judgment, the truth of this carnage, the truth of this destruction, the truth of righteous repayment; the truth of awaiting birds of prey… it is the truth of a real hell and just punishment that should reinforce for us the need to speak the Words of Life to all men from every nation, tribe and tongue…to speak them loudly and to speak them well, to speak them often, to tell the world of its fate, to call all men to repentance and pray that the Spirit opens their blind eyes.
I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, brought up on a system of morals and law. Jesus, it was said, died for the sins of the world and if I were to believe that truth and be a ‘good’ person by being faithful to the Church and to God’s law, I should see heaven or at least make it to Purgatory. Yet, somewhere in my mid-teens I saw a problem with a benevolent and loving God who seemed powerless to help those around me who needed Him the most. During that adolescent time my sister was diagnosed with an incurable neuromuscular disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia – a degenerative disorder that eventually leads to premature death. So as I wrestled with the implications of her permanent disability and my theology, I began to ask what seemed to me to be the obvious, “If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why this?”
Answers came from various areas and channels of philosophical persuasion, but no one gave me a Scriptural answer. I received the padded answers that are more connected with making God out to be not-so-bad rather than the revealed answers of the Bible. I’m sure you have heard them before – “God has a plan.”, “There are some mysteries we just don’t understand.”, “She can be healed if she just has enough faith.” and “This is the devil’s work not God’s.” All of these responses are commonly given to struggling sojourners and unbelieving denizens in a hopeful attempt to appease their grief and heartache, yet they are misguided replies.
The truth is that this world is under the curse of sin and death and with that comes diseases, disasters and heinous crime.(Gen. 2:17; Rom. 1:17ff) The better question to ask is whether or not God is obligated to do something about it. Is He obligated to cure all diseases? Is He obligated to prevent every murder and rape and theft? Is God obligated to stop every war? Certainly, He is all-powerful so why doesn’t He? If we answer that He is obligated, then God has failed and if we answer that He doesn’t intervene because of our lack of faith or works, then we are more powerful than God for we can thwart His will.
However, the biblical answer is that God is not obligated to show mercy towards sinners; that is why we call it mercy. (Exodus 33:19;Rom. 9:15) Obligated mercy is duty, not grace and since everyone is guilty before God for every person falls short of the required obedience to the Law (Rom. 3:23; James 2;10), He owes us nothing. (Dan. 4:35) In His benevolent grace and chosen mercy, He does aid humanity for He restrains judgment upon mankind in His supreme patience so that all who will hear can hear the Word of Reconciliation in the preaching of the gospel. As a result, this world is not as wicked as it could be through divine intervention. It is the purpose and joy of the church to bring the good news of His mercy found in Christ to a condemned race for ”He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
There is much controversy in the church today about the gifts of the Spirit. Interestingly, those who advocate that the mode and operation of spiritual gifts has not changed since Pentecost primarily focus on the gift of tongues as their anointing litmus test. Yet, the apostle Paul says that tongues were low on the gifting totem pole (1 cor. 12:28-31; 14:5) and specifically that this supernatural ability was given temporarily to the church as a judgment sign to unbelievers (1 cor. 14;20-22) that the Lord had condemned and cut off Israel, just as He had promised in the days of Ephraim and Isaiah.
Another belief that is carried into this century regarding spiritual gifts is the idea that there exists special prophetic ministries touring the planet offering to heal people of various diseases and to deliver them from whatever demon is either assaulting or possessing them. Now, let me be clear on this point. I do believe that God can and still does heal us of our sicknesses and diseases today. What I contend, however, is that He doesn’t do it in the same manner as some advocate. God, if He so wills, can and has cured folks of their diseases and ailments. What I deny is that there are those living today who possess anything that resembles the power of the Spirit that we see in the New Testament to heal sickness. That was a special gifting given to the primitive church as a sign of the inauguration of the Kingdom of Christ on earth.
Benny Hinn is an extremely well-known proponent of what I call “hyper-charismatapagania” – the imitation of the work of the Spirit in paganistic forms. Here is a quote from a recent interview that was posted at FoxNews.com.
“I’m not one that can discern every little problem with people. So if someone comes up and says that I have cancer and the cancer is gone …often I’ve said, “Go back to your doctor and make sure that you are truly cured” (on healings in his ministry, transcribed from the video interview)
“They question me on why I don’t verify (these miracles),” Hinn says. “I answer, ‘God never called me to verify. I’m not a doctor.’” None of his comments even come close to echoing biblical fidelity. Hinn never preaches the gospel nor does he speak as a man of God. Instead, he preaches materialism wrapped in a slice of culture-Christ.
Below, you will find an interesting video that shows what is put forth as the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the power of God among His people – bodies shaking, uncontrollable laughter, people falling backwards to the floor and continuous ramblings in jib-jab speech patterns.
There are no examples in Scripture that match such spectacles as true manifestations of God in the Body of Christ. Instead, these happenings have much more in common with ungodly spirits and trances. Examine it for yourself.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Here, in the gospel of Matthew, is a call and invitation to rest by faith in the completed work of Christ. Jesus is not asking for everyone to come, He is commanding everyone to come. He says to all men indiscriminately, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” He did not merely make an offer, He gave mankind a command. (Acts 17:30)
If you have been laboring to please God for a long time and are weary, find refuge in Christ. (Psalm 31:1) If you are trying to live according to the Law of God and find yourself exhausted in every imaginable way, rest in the completed work of Christ for He has already earned the favor of God. (John 7:37)
Christ led the perfect life, never disobeying the Law. Christ is the perfection we need and by faith His perfection is our perfection. He is our righteousness before God; rest in Him and what He has done. (Hebrews 4:15-16) Christ lived as we should so that we may be saved from the punishment we deserve. No one will ever satisfy what is lacking in their performance. He alone is our all in all.
Are you tired of trying to please God in your effort? Are you burdened by hard things? Are you overloaded with guilt for failing to live up to what you know God requires of you? Come to Christ and He will give you rest. No one else has the words of Life. (John 6:68)
Believe in Him who died and suffered for sinners just like you. Focus your eyes upon the One who shed his blood so that we might live forever. Turn your head towards Calvary where the Savior died a cruel death at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles so that His people would be reconciled to God. (Hebrews 9:13-15)
Turn from your own efforts, they only earn you more trouble and debt. (James 2:10) Forsake your attempts at pleasing God for Christ has fully pleased the Father. See the Cross that redeemed us from the curse of the Law. Embrace forgiveness by faith. See the love greater than all our pride. Come to Christ and live.
Everyone is into comparisons. We constantly compare ourselves to this person or that person. We evaluate our progress and see who is further along than we are presently in this virtue or that situation. However, we are never called to compare ourselves to each other. Our comparison as believers is vertical.
Horizontal comparisons are easy and mostly useless for we are not in a spiritual race with each other; we run our race alone. At the throne of the consummated end, we are not going to bring our pastors with us before the LORD, nor will we have our mothers, fathers, bankers, brothers, sisters, gurus or any one else for that matter with us. That final evaluation will happen alone. Utterly alone.
This sermon discusses part of this phenomena whereby we look towards other people as example or duty-fillers or excuses only to find out that they don’t really exist.
God determines all things because He alone is God. This determining not only involves His complete sovereignty over all the events of history, but it also includes His attitude towards worship. The first commandment comes to mind as God gave the Israelites a very clear and simple rule – I am God and you shall not have any other gods besides Me.
This directive was immediately followed by the imperative prohibition to not make any carved or sculpted images or statues of anything either heavenly or on earth for the purpose of worship. Seems rather unambiguous and straightforward, doesn’t it ? Well, Roman Catholicism and other professing Christians take license to dissect the second command and break it into variances. Apparently praying to dead people who have been enshrined in plaster models is not considered worship since ‘dulia’ is an inferior form of veneration and not truly ‘latria’ which is to only be offered to God.
The Scriptures, however, make no such distinctions.
So we are left to either follow the inventions of man in his religious quest or we can follow what God has laid before us in His Word. Below, you’ll find an video which parallels this passage from the Old Testament that speaks of idol worship. Read and watch and may the LORD convict the hearts of the those who need to turn from false worship.
Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4 But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 1 Samuel 5:1-5
As Americans, we have abundant food resources that reflect the bounty of the Lord’s provision. Daily, we consume a wide variety of foods from whole wheat crackers and hickory grilled fish to bottled spring water and freshly squeezed juice. Our shelves and stores and warehouses and restaurants all testify to sufficient supply.
Beyond mere provision, flavors, too, are a gift from God. After the Fall in Eden, He was under no obligation whatsoever to make our foods taste good; and yet, they do.
While we eat and drink to rejuvenate ourselves through divinely designed functions created to sustain us, the lure of a satisfied palate can become the doorway to overindulgence. That doorway can become a road to idolatry as the temptation of flavor and ‘food comfort’ supersedes self-control. Instead of fresh grilled fish we dream about fast food tacos. Rather than spring water we consume gallons of soft drinks and corn syrup enriched liquids that stress our systems. Not only do our choices tend to lean towards unhealthy foods, but our ability to step away from the table wavers as well. Food is our fuel and temptation.
After the completion of Christ’s atoning work at Calvary, all Old Testament dietary laws and restrictions were lifted. (Colossians 2:16ff) The cornucopia has been laid before us through the sacrifice of Christ and we should be joyful with each bite we take. “..Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
As the holiday season quickly approaches, let us be reminded about the joy of food and her lure. While we can experience great culinary heights in the consumption of wonderful foods we must remember moderation. Food brings us together as a people and a Body, but self-control is living in the Spirit. Overindulgence is sin.
The celebratory goodness in feast and festival is of God, but the glutton should put a knife to his neck. (Proverbs 23:2)
This hidden video clip is fabulous on two levels. First, it is simply adorable. The facial expressions and mannerisms of these precious children are priceless. Secondly, they are perfect examples of the same ways in which we are all, not only tempted, but react to our daily temptations.
Some of us sniff around. Some of us take small nibbles. Some of us run the cycle of endless bargaining in our brains and some of us just eat.
We are thankful for our friends and family who endure our weaknesses daily as we learn to imitate Christ.
Posted by ostrakinos 
Posted by ostrakinos 
From the preaching of the text in Revelation 19, verses 17 – 21:
Posted by ostrakinos 
I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, brought up on a system of morals and law. Jesus, it was said, died for the sins of the world and if I were to believe that truth and be a ‘good’ person by being faithful to the Church and to God’s law, I should see heaven or at least make it to Purgatory. Yet, somewhere in my mid-teens I saw a problem with a benevolent and loving God who seemed powerless to help those around me who needed Him the most. During that adolescent time my sister was diagnosed with an incurable neuromuscular disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia – a degenerative disorder that eventually leads to premature death. So as I wrestled with the implications of her permanent disability and my theology, I began to ask what seemed to me to be the obvious, “If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why this?”
However, the biblical answer is that God is not obligated to show mercy towards sinners; that is why we call it mercy. (Exodus 33:19;Rom. 9:15) Obligated mercy is duty, not grace and since everyone is guilty before God for every person falls short of the required obedience to the Law (Rom. 3:23; James 2;10), He owes us nothing. (Dan. 4:35) In His benevolent grace and chosen mercy, He does aid humanity for He restrains judgment upon mankind in His supreme patience so that all who will hear can hear the Word of Reconciliation in the preaching of the gospel. As a result, this world is not as wicked as it could be through divine intervention. It is the purpose and joy of the church to bring the good news of His mercy found in Christ to a condemned race for ”He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
There is much controversy in the church today about the gifts of the Spirit. Interestingly, those who advocate that the mode and operation of spiritual gifts has not changed since Pentecost primarily focus on the gift of tongues as their anointing litmus test. Yet, the apostle Paul says that tongues were low on the gifting totem pole (1 cor. 12:28-31; 14:5) and specifically that this supernatural ability was given temporarily to the church as a judgment sign to unbelievers (1 cor. 14;20-22) that the Lord had condemned and cut off Israel, just as He had promised in the days of Ephraim and Isaiah.
“They question me on why I don’t verify (these miracles),” Hinn says. “I answer, ‘God never called me to verify. I’m not a doctor.’” None of his comments even come close to echoing biblical fidelity. Hinn never preaches the gospel nor does he speak as a man of God. Instead, he preaches materialism wrapped in a slice of culture-Christ.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Everyone is into comparisons. We constantly compare ourselves to this person or that person. We evaluate our progress and see who is further along than we are presently in this virtue or that situation. However, we are never called to compare ourselves to each other. Our comparison as believers is vertical.
God determines all things because He alone is God. This determining not only involves His complete sovereignty over all the events of history, but it also includes His attitude towards worship. The first commandment comes to mind as God gave the Israelites a very clear and simple rule – 
As Americans, we have abundant food resources that reflect the bounty of the Lord’s provision. Daily, we consume a wide variety of foods from whole wheat crackers and hickory grilled fish to bottled spring water and freshly squeezed juice. Our shelves and stores and warehouses and restaurants all testify to sufficient supply.
This hidden video clip is fabulous on two levels. First, it is simply adorable. The facial expressions and mannerisms of these precious children are priceless. Secondly, they are perfect examples of the same ways in which we are all, not only tempted, but react to our daily temptations.