Changing times, changing standards

Can you name one of the TV preachers, whom, if they had been in the first century, would not have been thrown out of the church?

Give thanks in everything, not for everything

Give thanks to God at all times, not just when you are getting what you want. Thank Him for everything you have received from Him, for the gift of eternal life in His Son, and thank Him in every circumstance, “in everything give thanks”. This doesn’t mean we should thank God for evil, but in the midst of evil we can thank Him that His faithfulness, grace and love never fails.

Time

Time waits for no man, it is said, it marches relentlessly on, slipping into the future, barring all from going back and trying to live their life over. The Bible says “redeem the time, for the days are evil”. This means that any time not lived for Jesus and by Him is a waste of time, like chasing the wind, but time spent for Him is redeemed from the cosmic dustbin of irrelevancy and rescued from meaningless, worthless futility.

The error of identifying with a man’s teaching

On a conceptual level, if it is OK to identify oneself as a Calvinist or an Arminian, then it would also be OK to identify oneself as a Marvinist, a Jackinist, a Fredinist, or a Tom, Dick or Harry-ite, just so long as the latter is smarter than the former. What if Fred comes along and he is smarter or more correct than Calvin? If you are a Calvinist then you must convert to Fredinism and become a Fredinist, that is, if you are true to the concept of identification you have made with Calvin. The issue is not to which degree these men’s teachings are Biblical, or which “ism” is the best one, the issue is over identifying yourself exclusively with the teaching of a man, and finding your identity in that, for that is an unBiblical and an anti-Biblical concept, and these are always detrimental and rob God of glory.

The application…

Any kind of Christian teaching which doesn’t have a practical outcome and application can tend toward pseudo-spirituality, and this is when people think they are spiritual, but it doesn’t translate into character and enduring relationships.

Sensitive to the Holy Spirit

Perhaps nearly every Christian should desire to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit than they presently are.

No man can heal

God can heal, and demons can heal, but no man can heal, so why do people tend to give glory to men when healing happens? They must not understand who is doing the work.

Where you begin to love

Having the true love of God for people begins with praying for them.

The Switch

There’s a switch in our minds and we need to use it and switch off anything from playing in our minds which is against Jesus nature. He gives us the authority to do this.

My switch sure gets a lot of use. I would be stuffed if it wore out.

When God indwells

The indwelling Holy Spirit is fully God, and He has come down from heaven, and His standard of holiness is exactly God’s standard, for He is God, He is the Holy Spirit. When He indwells you then you have Heaven’s standard of holiness residing in you, engraving the Words of God deep into your heart, giving you the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the power to know Him and follow Him.

Perhaps the greatest scandal in Christianity is the notion that the standard of holiness which the indwelling Holy Spirit has is somehow less than the standard of holiness in heaven, before the throne of God. When our standard of holiness differs from the indwelling Holy Spirit’s standard, then He is grieved, and His grief registers in our spirit and conscience.

It’s staggering to think that God lives in our bodies.

In the religious world, when people think that God is at some certain location they come in their thousands from all corners of the world, revealing they don’t believe the gospel, not having God in them.

Jesus said the world will hate you

If the world could crucify the only perfect Man who ever lived, then let us not think we are exempt.

The command is the power

Whatever Jesus commands He empowers. When He tells you to do anything He gives you the power to do it.

Concealing wrath to reveal love?

If you have to conceal the wrath of God in order to reveal the love of God then it’s not the true love of God.

It’s not an easy subject, so the tendency is to over-simplify, and the most convenient way to do this is simply to ignore the wrath of God. In John 3 the amazing love of God thru Christ Jesus is explained, and then it says that the wrath of God remains upon the unbeliever, the unrepentant. This means that the wrath of God is on the whole world, and yet at the same time God has demonstrated and proved His love for the world by the Cross of Calvary. God still loves the world, and yet His wrath remains on the unbelieving world. God has removed the sin of the world, the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world, and yet unbelieving man still carries the full weight of his guilt upon his shoulders and will be judged for his sins.

When Scripture says that God is not counting the sins of the world against them (2 Cor. 5:19) this is in reference to Him sacrificing His Son, that He extended mercy to the whole world, and thus not counting their sins – it is in the act of extending grace to those who don’t deserve it, but it doesn’t mean you can tell unbelievers that God is not counting their sins, that would be a lie, for while they remain unrepentant He is most certainly counting their sins.

“I won’t turn to a God who is counting my sins!” …Oh, i would! I would turn to Him in repentance and have those sins forgiven.

And this touches on the real issue here: If people are coming to a God who does not count sin, who is not angry with the unrepentant, then surely they are coming to a God who does not exist, a false God, an idol.

Spiritual Community

“A crowd of people in a building isn’t necessarily a community. Real community exists where masks aren’t needed and friends bear our burdens.”

~ Burk Parsons

This is true, but they could be doing this bcos they are all middle class, like, birds of a feather flock together. It could still be on a cultural level. The oneness which Jesus brings is utterly supernatural and miraculous, only by the Holy Spirit, when such diverse people find they are one in Christ and truly brothers and sisters with the same Father.

Conspiracy theories are a conspiracy

Many who believe in conspiracy theories are, themselves, the victims of a conspiracy.

Please pray

The benefit of hindsight

Some of the things which upset us are, in hindsight, not worth getting upset about.

The extreme contrast

In the midst of a bad world you can experience the goodness of God. In the midst of a dirty, fallen, sinful world you can have the righteousness and holiness of Christ. In the midst of great darkness you can see the radiance of the infinite glory of Jesus Christ. In the midst of a loveless world you can know and experience the infinite love of Christ, and in the midst of a world of lies you can know the truth which is in Jesus, and know that He is the truth.

God can establish your life

The God who raises up nations, kingdoms and empires, and also removes them, can surely establish your life here on the earth.

Significance of life

In Christ, every moment of your life is significant, if you live by faith and walk in the Spirit.