Parting Shot

So what shall I leave you with?  Well, I have little to no sense of grey, so I guess bluntness shall be it.

What do you believe in?  everyone believes in something, whether they realize it or not, so what is yours?

Perhaps you live your life believing in evolution.  No offense, but you're nuts.  Science does not even support it anymore.  DNA and deeper defy it massively.  Look into it.  If this is what you base your life on and around, then you surely should do a bit of research beyond the Discovery channel.  By the way, compassion has no place in the 'survival of the fittest' evolutionary theory, for compassion is counter productive to it.  Something to ponder.

Perhaps you believe all the 'gods' are the same.  Nice thought but no.  Characteristics of each are different.  Like Allah for the muslim is different in character, nature and make up than the God of the Bible.  They may have taken from the texts of the old testament but the god they follow is not the same God.  Again, more to ponder.

What about Hinduism?  You have an assortment of millions of gods to choose from.  Not to mention the religion is based heavily upon the caste system they follow.  Now that is one seriously nasty belief system.  The highest classes are encouraged and expected to crush the lowest.  Do your own research, it is icky.

Buddism?  Buddism has no point.  The base belief in a nutshell is that you're born, you live, you suffer, you die.  Now there's a hopeful future.  No wonder they have to meditate so much - go nuts thinking like that every day.

Oh what about any of  the myraid of 'new' pagan beliefs?  First, they are not new.  Not even vaguely new.  Then there is that whole floating morality thing.  No set point or standard, just whatever for whomever works. Fine if the person is a decent one but what if they are not.  Need a center to work from.  After all, a compass is not good if it does not point anywhere.

Jesus said He was the way.  Not a way, the way.  Why is that so hard to grasp?  Why do you fight against that so hard? 

After all, there is no long list of rules to follow - love God, love others.  pretty easy list but both are required not just the second.  And that is the God of the Bible, not whomever you want to toss in there.  You really should think on these things - is your life after all on the line here.

Perhaps you are one of those who think a God of love would not toss aside someone who did not love Him and others. 

Think about that for a moment.  If everyone got to go home regardless of life lived or whom followed, heaven would be no different than this hellish world we live in now.

My own misery is not because of God, rather, it is due to people and this world is full of them.  If anything, it is God who has allowed me to live this long.

So this I leave with you my precious ones.  No matter who you are, where you have been or what you have done, Jesus can and will  forgive and accept you, but you do have to ask.  You do have to ask Him, but nothing more than ask and follow as He leads.

May God bless and keep each of you who reads this, and even those who do not.

Troy Nov.18, 2013

Target Lock Aquired

(We are taking a brief break from our previous entries dealing with issues/misunderstandings and focusing on the current believer for a moment)

Congratulations!  You, and two of your friends, have won an all expenses paid, 18 month full membership to the swankiest resort/club/gym in the world:  "Chez 'You Cannot Afford This' ".  Your membership includes all the "fixings" including a personal - so personal, you are their only client - trainer/instructor who will target your specific problem areas with specialized, one of a kind training and lifestyle routines.

Pretty cool, eh?  Oh yeah.

So you begin your membership with a review/interview conducted by your specialized trainer, who runs you through your paces a bit, looks you over, takes more measurements than you may be comfortable with and asks questions that seem to never end.  By the time it is all over, they have a very personalized routine created especially for you.  It targets that weak mid-section of yours as well as your overwhelming weakness when it comes to chocolate covered bacon.  It also includes other areas that are not near so troublesome and yes, it even includes work on those areas of lifestyle and training that are not that bad at all and some even quite good.

Remember, though, that this prize is not merely for you, but also for two of your friends.  And they also have personal trainers who run them through the same, lengthy process.  As luck would have it, one of them has completely different problem areas as yours, the other is actually pretty close to your own areas.  Obviously, the one with different needs will have a completely different routine set for them.  What of the one who is strikingly similar to you?  You check over their routine and see that it is completely different from your own.  Obviously, either their trainer made a mistake or yours did, but someone somewhere has made a massive error.  Concerned for both of you, you confront your trainer.

After you finish your ranting and stop to catch your breath (ranting can be so tiring after all), your instructor smiles calmy at you and begins to make things a bit clearer for you.  They explain, that while you both have weak mid-sections and an addiction to chocolate covered pork products, you are actually quite different.  First off, they are of the opposite sex as you.  They also have different responsibilities in their life and different schedules in some very key areas.  They also have different bodies to your own, including an old injury to their abdominal muscles which limits them to very specific set of excersises, otherwise they would be badly injured.  No, their routine is not flawed or wrong anymore than yours is.  It was designed for them, just as yours was designed for you.

Well, that makes sense, does it not and I am fairly certain we can all see the logic in that reasoning and method.

So why, pray tell, do we seem to think that just because something God is doing within that works for us, has to work for everyone?  Why do we think that, just because we know that someone has very similar issues in their life to our own, that God should be dealing with them in the same way as He does with us?  Why do we feel the need to judge those other people because they are not reacting the same way as we did?  After all, we are all different people, are we not.  We all have different backgrounds, unbringings, memories, thoughts, feeelings, relationships and reactions to those relationships, hurts, joys and scars.  And even though something may show itself the same way as it does for you, the root cause may be completely different.  The only thing we actually all share is the desperate need to be reconnected to our Creator.

Who could possibly be a better trainer/instructor/teacher than God?  He knows everything about us, even things we actually do not know about ourselves.  He even knows we are going before we do, or what we are going to ask for before we utter the words.  So does it not make sense that He would deal with each one of us in very specific ways?  That even if two people have the exact same issue (trust, for example), He would lead them through it completely differently and at different speeds, using different methods, people and situations.  An earthly trainer would do that and they pale by comparission to our God.

Now then, that is not to say that there is no value in sharing information or testimonies between people, whether that be one on one, in a group setting, from the pulpit or via the written word or any other means you can think of.  Frequently, God chooses to use other people to reach other people (He is a great dad, always letting us kids help Him at work), but even then, how those people are reached, in what area and the intensity, as well as their responses, may differ drastically from each other.

Our Father deals with each one of as unique individuals, because, we are.  We would do well to remember that for a couple of reasons.  One, when we look at other people, not to judge their reactions to teaching, leading or anything else.  Their reaction is a personal thing between them and God, just as ours is.  Neither is right or wrong, only different.  Another reason is a wonderful one indeed.  The God of the universe, Master and Lord of all creation, the Alpha and Omega, considers us each worth His personal time and attention.  That is pretty cool.

I do want to note, however, that we are talking about God dealing with each of us within - our characters and hearts - and not a misunderstanding of theology or truth.  No other God other than Him means no other God other than Him, for example.

I do not know what God is currently doing in your life or how He is dealing with you.  I do know though, that He knows what He is doing, even if you do not.  Take heart in that knowledge.  You are, after all, in good (the Best) hands.

Too Bad, So Sad...

In the last post, I started getting into things which may be misunderstood or plain out unknown by some people.  Today, we shall continue in this realm.

Among the reasons why a person may choose (yes, it is a choice) not to turn to God, a couple of these involve the word “too”.  Specifically, things they have done are “too bad” and/or it is “too late”.  If you, or someone you know, fit into one or both of these categories, hopefully we may help to provide a bit of peace for them.

Let’s start with the first, and probably the most common, misconception:  “I have done things which are too bad and cannot be forgiven.”

"... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" ~ Romans 3:23

Note the word “all” in this passage of scripture.  All have sinned.  All fall short.  It does not say some or even most, but all.

But, you may say, my sin is really bad.  You do not know the things I have done.  True, I do not know everything you have done any more than you know all that I have done.  I do know a few things though.  For instance, I know that "... the wages of sin is death..." ~ Romans 6:23.  I know it does not say some sin or sins, but rather, the implication is that all sin is deadly.  You see, it is not God who says one sin is really bad while another is just this light little thing barely worth noting (murder versus a lie, for instance).  That is something that we, as people, do and can sometimes be culturally influenced.  God is not influenced by our culture.

Why don’t we continue with Romans chapter 3 for a moment:  "and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" ~ Romans 3:24.  Again, as we noted above, we see the word “all” in this verse as well.  We also must take note of the words “freely” and “grace”.  The last one is of particular interest.  You see, none of us, no matter what we have or have not done, deserve salvation.  Grace means we do not get what we deserve.  Grace means that no matter what you have done, in Christ, there is life for you as well.

What if you are getting along in years though?  Isn’t it too late for you?  Not even close.  In Matthew chapter 20, verses 1 through 15, we read the story of an owner hiring people to work at his vineyard.  In the parable, the ones who are hired first are hired for a set daily wage.  Workers hired later on, are also hired for the same daily wage.  At the end of the day, everyone gets the same pay.  Now while some of you may argue that that arrangement does not seem fair, it is fair that each got what was promised them.  The point of it is this, even if you are 97 years old and have lived a life worthy of a Hollywood movie, you can – and will, if you ask for it – receive the same salvation as someone who accepted Christ when they were 15.  The difference, however, is in the life lived - being free and connected to God for many years, or only a few months.  So waiting until the end is not the best idea if you have the chance when you are younger, especially since none of us knows if we will make it to our next birthday, let alone one 20 years in the future.

Earlier, I mentioned that I do not know what you have done any more than you know about me.

If you had to list someone who was unforgiveable, it is not too hard for anyone to guess that someone who was, let’s say, into Satanism or witchcraft would be pretty high on that list, right.  Most would even say that those people were beyond the reaches of God’s grace and forgiveness and that God would much rather kill them, than accept and save them.  Those people would be dead wrong.  How do I know?  I know because if they were right, then I would be dead.

"... God does not show favoritism" ~ Romans 2:11

If I am alive and free and saved by the grace of God through faith in what Jesus has done for me, then trust me on this:  you can be too.  You are not too bad or too old or too anything.  Not now, nor have you ever been.  Life is but a prayer away.

You say potato, I say...

Over time, I have come to realize that there are some things which I had thought were common knowledge which may, in fact, not be quite so clear to many outside of the realm of the Christian Church, if not downright misunderstood.  That said, I am going to attempt to hopefully clear some of these up for anyone who would ever wish to know.

Our first item up is with regards to the difference between religion and denomination.  I have heard, at least a few times over the last several months, people commenting that various denominations were different than being Christian.  I mean denominations within the Church, for anyone confused at this point.  For example, stating that Catholic, Baptist and Christian were all different religions.

Now then, while different denominations and/or traditions may do some things differently, if they are a Christian church, they follow and serve the exact same Christ as each other does.  Music provides a wonderful way to understand this a bit more clearly.

Let us use rock music for our example.  Rock music is a specific kind of music, but it has many different variations within it.  Heavy metal, rock-a-billy and pop are all rock music but each one is very different in the way in which they express themselves and they appeal to different people in differing ways.  They are, however, still all rock and roll music.  Similarly, there are many different divisions or forms of the Christian church, each one appealing to different people.  Catholic, Baptist, United, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and so on appeal to different people in different ways and thus people have a choice in what they find more comfortable and fitting to their own personality.

However, is opera music considered to be rock and roll?  No, as there are certain things which are present in one form over another.  The same is true with churches.  Just because a church exists and calls themselves a church, does not mean it is a Christian church.  So how does one know which is which?  By looking to the bare basics and not in how they do things as a group.  Yes, I will give you a few guide lines to look for.

A belief in one God, made up of three persons:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  That God created the world and all of creation.  That humanity needs salvation and that it is possible for each person to receive that through faith in Jesus, the Son of God.  That Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, lived and preached until He was crucified by Pilate, and was dead and buried for three days.  On the third day He rose from the grave and later, ascended into heaven where He is still quite alive and well to this very day.  It was this willing sacrifice of Himself that allows each person to obtain salvation.  Lastly, that Jesus will return again not as a peace keeper, but as Judge over both the living and the dead.

That is a pretty basic rundown but if a church believes that, it is probably pretty safe to say they are a Christian church.  However, if they do not or they believe only in part, then regardless of the name on the door, they are not a Christian church (for example:  if they believe in one God but believe that Jesus was just a prophet or a really nice guy, then no, they are not a Christian church).

Different churches do things in different ways.  Do they, perhaps, do things in ways which are not ideal by times?  Most likely, they are made up of people after all and we can make some pretty big messes sometimes.

Well, that would be the first topic in a brief nutshell.  I will endeavour to explain other items in future writings and I pray that hopefully I have helped to clear some items up for someone.

Time to hand out the cigars?

There (used to be, anyways) is an old tradition of handing out cigars - usually by the new father of a child - to people after the birth of a baby.

In the last 30 days (days – not weeks or years), there have been 323 earthquakes, of a magnitude of 4.5 or greater, on this planet of ours.  Quakes have become so, dare I say, commonplace in the last few years that they barely warrant mention on the evening news or in the daily papers.  The weather has gone completely insane as well.  Droughts and floods are everywhere, even in places which have rarely, if ever, experienced such events.  And recently, the number and intensity of tornadoes here in North America have become fairly common news items with countless people affected by their power.

Let us step away from the natural world for a brief moment and focus on humanity itself.  Speaking as one who is from North America (Canada, specifically), the culture has shifted somewhat noticeably.  For no small portion of the populace, there is no longer a right or wrong, at least in the way in which it is taught scripturally.  The idea that there is any form of absolute truth has been replaced with this “gray mentality” – no black or white, as it were.  The only thing, actually, that is seen as wrong in this culture of gray tolerance is the belief in an absolute truth which, needless to say, puts a pretty solid target on the head of the Church who believe that God is the source of all truth and is, therefore, absolute.

Between cultural shifts and natural events on a global scale, there has been no small number of Christians who have started to quote from Matthew 24:8 “All these are the beginning of birth pains”.  Birth pains.

Allow me to put this in context for you by including some of the preceding verses:  "For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains." ~ Matthew 24:5-8 (NIV).  Jesus is speaking about the events which precede His return and the end of this age, in case you were not aware.

Here is a tidbit of information that you may not have been aware of, or perhaps, have just not stopped to consider.  In the words of CS Lewis, “you have never met a mere mortal”.  Think about that for a moment.  That part of each one of us who believes, that will eventually enjoy and afterlife with our Lord exists for ALL PEOPLE.  Everyone will eventually shed the physical form and live eternally ever after.  Where that eternity is spent on the other hand, is a different story.

You may be thinking, “hold on now, didn’t Jesus promise US eternal life”?  Yes, yes He did but He also told us what that meant in John 17:3:  “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”  Every human being on the planet, every single person, is an eternal being wrapped up in a perishable shell.  The life which we who believe have been given is a complete one.  That portion which is missing from us is filled in as we are connected to the One whom created us in the first place.  No longer must we try to find something – anything – to fill that hollow spot within.  It is filled with what, or should I say for Whom, it was designed and destined for.

Got all that?  Good.  So why, you may wonder, am I mentioning that.  Glad you asked.

If, indeed, what we see in the world around us both culturally and within the natural realm, are what Jesus referred to as “birth pains”, then we have a serious issue on our hands.  We, that are “the Church”, have a whole lot to do and not very long to do it.  The onus is upon us.  We know Truth.  We were called Him to do that which He required and desired us to do.  All we have and are, we have been given and we know it.  Do you recall the parable of the talents from Matthew 25?  How each was given a different amount to use?  Do you recall the ending?  The one who hid away that which he was given rather than risk anything at all had what he was given stripped from him in the end.  If we are seeing birth pains, then our Master will soon return.  I do not know about you, but I would so much rather not be like the final servant in the story.

So are we seeing the signs of the impending end?  I cannot say yes or no with any certainty.  Only God Himself knows that final hour.  No man, nor even angel, knows that time (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32), only the Father knows.  All I know is from Matthew 24:32-33, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

I will end with two points of note.  The first, for those who seem to delight in calling for the end to come, a verse from the prophet Amos:  “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!  Why do you long for the day of the Lord?  That day will be darkness, not light.” ~ Amos 5:18

The second is for those who may say “yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that all before”.  2 Peter 3:4–10:  "They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ... But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief."

Make no mistake, whether sooner or later, He is coming and all that you see and know will cease to exist.

*Add-on*
1.  None of the above is me saying I know something about the whens of the end.  If you hear someone, regardless of who it is, saying the end will come whenever (like, 3:15PM, July 17th), they do not know either.  As I said above, only the Father Himself knows.

2.  If you are a believer and follower of Jesus', and if you think that you too may see signs unfolding, this is not the time to turn inward and start thinking of yourself and all your own stuff, wants and needs.  It is time to "get your butt in gear", as it were.  Forget about yourself.  Whatever God has laid upon your heart, do it.  After all, don't we all want to hear the words "well done, my good and faithful servant" ~ Matthew 25:23

Ain't I special?

So here is a question for you:  do you think that you matter?  That is, do you feel as though you are of significance in the world?  Regardless of your honest answer to that question, it is something that we do truly desire to be and have.  We all want to matter.  After all, it is that feeling and desire which fuels some (if not all) of our dreams and fantasies and since we do not tend to fantasize about things which are not appealing, it is a safe bet to say it probably is quite appealing.  Since it is something appealing and desirable, it is something which we pursue.

A problem arises in where a person may choose to find that  significance or self worth.  For instance, if it is from your job that you find your worth what happens when an ecomonic downturn results in your being unemployed?  What happens to your feelings of personal significance if that brief period of unemployment becomes a longer than expected period?  What if you find your significance in, say, being a parent?  Happens when your children are no longer with you?  Perhaps you find your significance in some special skill or ability.  If something happens and that ability is gone (or someone else is better than you at it), where does that leave your self worth at?  Maybe your significance comes from someone else, like a spouse for example.  If they were to leave (in one way or another), where does that leave you?

Looks kind of bleak doesn't it?  Take a moment to get past the bleakness of the view and see what each of these have in common with the other.  Need a hint?  They are all things which are perishable and changable.  Work comes and goes, as do children, spouses, skills, stuff we own, social standing, etc.  If our significance is tied up with something (people are somethings too) that can change (leaving is change) then we may well be set up for disaster.

So our question now becomes, where do we find significance if not from anything or anyone in the world? 

Some may say that we must find it within ourselves.  Problem is, we change as well.  Not too mention what happens when we stumble upon one of those lovely tidbits within ourselves that are less than pleasant to admit to.  Plus, too much self focused significance can lead to one becoming quite arrogant (good chance we have all known someone who was overly full of themselves - is not appealing and many times, they can be pretty insecure themselves since they alone bear the weight of their own worth).  Consider Jesus' rebuke of the pharisees in Matthew 23:5-7:  “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others." (phylacteries were/are boxes containing scripture strapped to the forehead).  The people whom He is rebuking are finding their significance in their own self-righteousness thus why they feel the need to show it off.

What if I were to tell you that you ARE of great significance and worth and that that statement is based upon the imperishable and not the finite and perishable?

How can I say that if I do not even know who is reading this?  Allow me a moment, please.

God is all knowing, all powerful, and eternal.  He has no beginning or end.  He does not shift or change.  His character is what it has always been and will always be what it is.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever (see Hebrews 13:8).  Long and short of it is this:  God does not change; God does not perish.  Hmmmm.  That said, is there significance to be found for us in God?  Do
we matter to Him?

This is a profoundly important question, not only to the believer but to the non-beliver as well, since we have established that we do, in fact, desire to be significant to someone in some way.  Let us think on a couple of points then, shall we?

God is all powerful and eternal, existing for all time, outside of time and space in a place where even our imaginations cannot stretch far enough to fully grasp.  Even though this is true, He (God) by His own choice (for who can force God?) exists also within the very time and space which He created which includes all things viewed, heard, etc.  Choosing to be involved and interact with
humanity.

A relatively well known verse from John 3:16 starts with "For God so loved the world..".  This is not refering to the rock we walk upon but the people who inhabit said rock.

Romans 5:8 - "...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

One could easily go on and on here, but I believe these few points do get the idea across quite well.  We are significant and of great worth to the only One who does not change or go away or die or any of the other possible failings of the perishable reality which surrounds us.  In Him, we CAN find significance and worth.  We must, however, keep in mind that He does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11).  While we are each "His favorite child", none of us is greater than another - we are however, infinitely significant to Him.

After all, He considers us - regardless of what we do, have done or even if we give Him a second thought - worth dying for.


*Some things which God has been speaking to me directly and through other sources, including a conversation with Patty, have combined to create this post*

Is It Sinking In Yet?

Over the years, I have written out more than a couple of truths which are important for us, as followers of Christ, to take in and make a reality within our lives.  Actually, the fact that they are truths is what makes them important.  It also makes them worth reminding of from time to time as we do tend to suffer from some short term memory loss now and again.

Let's try something together for a moment.  Read, out loud, the following (no, you do not have to read the scripture reference) and say your name where prompted:

I <Your Name> am the salt of the earth (Matt.5:13)

I <Your Name> am a child of God (John 1:12)
I <Your Name> am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I <Your Name> am a new creation (2 Cor.5:17)
I <Your Name> am righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24)
I <Your Name> am a child of light, not of darkness (1 Thess.5:5)

So how did that feel?  Any of those give you an issue to read and say out loud?  Now here is the funny thing:  they are all true.  Every single one of them.  If you are a believer, then yes, every word you just spoke out loud is true.  To quote an author by the name of Neil Anderson, "Being Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone".  Think about that for a moment.  Who we were prior to salvation is not who we are after salvation.  We are born again.  A brand new creation.

This is important.  How we view ourselves and our God is what makes all the difference here.  After all, if you view yourself as worthless, then you will act like someone who is worthless.  But are you actually worthless?  Well, let's see now.  The God of all creation, the Alpha and Omega, stepped down from heaven, took on the form of a human being, complete with all of our feelings - that includes physical ones.  I am not female so I do not know the pain of child birth, but I have heard it said about how much pain can be involved.  Somehow I suspect that brutal flogging, beating and then crucifixion may hurt more than that again.  But He did this so that a way could be made for YOUR debt to be paid in full.  So that you may be made new and have life to the fullest, both here and after death.  I get a funny feeling He does not consider you worthless.  Sounds more like priceless to me.

Our view of Christ is also a pretty big one as well.  I do not mean view as in Him as divine or the fact that He is alive (actually alive) right now.  I mean more in the sense of where He actually is in relation to us, even as we sit and read this page.  Here is a couple of verses from scripture but they should help to get the point across.

"'I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth...you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans'" ~ John 14:17-18

"... I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:20

The Holy Spirit is as much God as both Father and Son are.  Matter of fact, it is He (the Spirit) whom Jesus went back to heaven to send down to us.  His Spirit is with us always.  Ponder that last word for a moment, if you will.  Always.  Not only when we are feeling down.  Not only when we are feeling happy.  Not only when we are praying.  Not only when we are in church.  Always.  Do we really get that?  Do we act like we actually believe that?  That whatever we are doing, whenever we are doing it, He is right there with us.  Whether that be something good like praying or helping out someone, or something less than good like checking out pornography on the internet or calling someone down.

The implications of actually, truly believing that tidbit of truth are massive.  Not just for how we behave when we are with others or when (think) we are alone.

Think about this.  We know that Jesus fed 5000 with about as much food as would feed 5, and fed them to the point of them being actually full.  If we truly believed He was with us right now, would we have even a hint of anxiousness about bills, or food in the cupboard or any other physical need?  Probably not.

In the book of Mark, we read how the boat Jesus was in was caught up in a massive storm.  Massive enough that men who made their living on those waters were fearful for their lives.  Did He panic?  No.  Instead, with but a word He caused the storm to suddenly (important to note that) stop.  Now since He can stop even the storm, and He is with us right now, should there be anything in this life or world which should cause us fear?  Would you be fearful or worried if you looked to your right and saw Him standing right beside you?  Again, probably not.  But He is right there, with you, right now at this very moment.  Do you understand this?  Do realize the truth in this?  Do you live it?

I pray, with all my heart, that we may know these truths and believe them even more so than we believe that the sun is going to come up in the morning.  That we may believe them and act upon them.  That our lives are not based upon our own perception of who we are, but upon who God Himself says we are.   That we do not listen to one more single lie, whether it come from the enemy or from our own minds or any voice in the world around us.

"It is for freedom, that Christ has set us free" ~ Gal.5:1

Welcome to Security

So more than once I have spelled out the truth of the Gospel in these pages.  That we cannot earn our way into God's good graces through anything we either try to do or try not to do.  That salvation comes in the form of a free gift from God Himself through faith in Jesus Christ.  Grace is what saves us.  Grace being something given that is not earned for we cannot earn salvation nor do we deserve it.  When all that we are and do is measured against a perfect and holy God, we fall so terribly short.  But what of after we have accepted that gift?  Does grace still apply?  Do we live by faith or must we perform to a certain standard in order to maintain our newly found position in Christ Jesus?

It is unfortunate that there are no few who believe the answer to that last question is "yes".

Scripture tells us that "the righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).  Since we know that we are saved by faith, how then can we come to believe that we must take over the reins after we are saved?  After all, it is not our righteousness in the first place but that of Christ which covers us after we have come to Him.  His blood, His sacrifice not our own.

Some may quote verses from the book of James to prove that we must perform in order to hold our salvation.  Verses such as “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him” (James 2:14).  However, as we read further along we come to realize that James is addressing those people who claim to be saved yet seemingly have no problem ignoring the needs of those around them.  A far cry from Christ’s second commandment to us in Matthew 22:39 to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Another place that some may go to is found in 2 Peter 3:17 which reads "... be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."  If you have not read the book of 2 Peter, I shall fill in some details for you.  No small portion of the book is speaking about false teachers who speak and teach things that are apart from the gospel of grace.  People such as these are spoken of by the apostle Paul in the book of Colossians:  “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).  He speaks more on this topic a few verses later:  “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Colossians 2:23).

The secure position that we are warned we may fall from is NOT from the grace of God and/or our salvation.  It is, instead, from our knowledge of the truth.  That we may become caught up into some rule or work based philosophy that not only does us no good but even can take us captive and place us into bondage yet again.

I have a question for those who feel as though they can lose their salvation if they either do not do enough good or do too much bad:  How much is enough and/or how much is too much?  I mean really, to what standard must you maintain in order to hold onto your own salvation?  After all, we are told (quite clearly) to not compare ourselves to anyone else since we are all different and each person's relationship with God is different due to that fact.  Doing so frequently ends up with us judging everyone and anyone, including ourselves.  So if not another, and we know we cannot use ourselves as a base point to measure by, then it must be God's standard.

God's standard.  Really??

We (should know we) are not even close to being in His league.  Saved or not we are far from being God and to use Him as a base by which to measure ourselves means we will always, and I do mean always, fall massively short of the mark.

Do you believe that if you sneak a glimpse of that well built jogger running past your house one too many times that God is going to change His mind about having saved you?  "Uh, oh.  That was last time you got to check them out.  You are too much of a pervert for heaven so I have changed my mind".  Or perhaps you have not done enough good works to hang onto salvation?  You know, you could not earn or deserve salvation before, you cannot do so now.

 I heard a gentleman (John Lynch) speak on a television program a little while back and he put it this way:  We have two choices, two paths we can choose from.  We may either choose to live our lives attempting to please God or we may live our lives trusting God.  Since we are human, the first path does not tend to work out the best for us since we always fall short.  But trusting Him, on the other hand...