God commands; "Hear His voice."

Does God command that we hear His voice? YES! Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a mountain, His clothes become brilliant, God overshadow's them and then says those words. John 10:4b "the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." 5: " 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." We NEED to hears His voice, because all of us like sheep have gone astray!(Isaiah 53:6) The other reason we have to hear Him is so we can believe, so we can do the things the Father says we can, like cast demons out! Sin gets in the way of us hearing, and prayer and fasting can help us deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow after Him daily. Mark 9:17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Why could we not cast it out...He replied...nothing but prayer and fasting. One translation even says MUCH prayer and fasting. In order to follow after Him, we have to hear His voice, and in order to hear His voice we have to do His will, take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him...DAILY! Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Lord help us to hear You, help us to trust in You with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding; In all our ways acknowledge You, so You can direct our paths. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief, in Jesus name! Amen! Proverbs 3:5-6

100 years of knowing about Christ, but not knowing Christ.

I got to see a 100 year old woman pray to receive Christ yesterday! I talked to her first this last summer, when she turned 100. She went to church every Sunday growing up. She was baptized as a infant. She went though confirmation. As I talked to her about Christ, she kept saying, "I've never thought about it like that," and "I've never gone that deep." She knew about Christ, but didn't know Him. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ So she didn't quite understand how to receive Christ, because she thought she already had! Her religious tradition had not yet become a relationship, a "first love." Then I visited with her a second time, and she warmed up a bit, I got to pray with her, but not to receive Christ, she still didn't understand. Then this third time, yesterday, we talked more, as friends this time, and I was finally able to ask her, "Do you want to pray to receive Christ now?" She said, "Yes." So we prayed a very simple prayer, and she asked Jesus to be her Lord, she confessed her sin, received Christ in, and now at 100, she's born again! Both times we prayed she was touched, and would cry. It is so sweet to be able to minister to someone who wants ministry. So many of us harden our hearts and we don't want to be touched. Well, as in this woman's case, it's never too late! Hebrews 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME." As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." God bless your day!

Water does not save, only Jesus does. Infant baptism & sprinkling.

I pray that this would dispense grace to the hearers. (Ephesians 4&5) Isn't it as simple as: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Why do we have to complicate this simple truth; Jesus alone can save? Why am I even bringing up such a divisive issue? This belief is keeping people from receiving Christ because they believe that a religious tradition, (The way it's instituted) like water baptism, has saved them. There is no verse that says sprinkling infants with water will save them. There's no scripture that says to baptize infants. There's no scripture that says to baptize by sprinkling. The greek word the Bible uses when talking about baptism actually means to immerse (Go under the water) : baptízō – properly, "submerge" hence, baptize, to immerse (literally, "dip under"). (baptízō) implies submersion ("immersion") Hebrews 10:22 "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Here we see our hearts are sprinkled, but our body's washed. Remember baptism is not a means of grace, it is a sybol of what Christ did for us, and the way He cleanses us from ALL sins, hence being dunked instead of sprinkled! The first mention of infant baptism is by a man named Tertullian around A.D. 220, almost 200 years after Christ. (https://bible.org/question/what-are-historical-origins-infant-baptism) Jesus did not institute it, He Himself did not practice it, and yet we all believe He was perfect, was He not perfect in this as well? Did Jesus mess up by not being baptized as an infant? If Jesus was perfect, and we are to imitate Him as beloved children, (Ephesians 5) and He was not baptized until He was an adult, then why would we institute something that wasn't done on a regular basis in any churches until 400 years after Christ, by pious parents? (Not my words!) (The apastolic age, 453 AD https://bible.org/question/what-are-historical-origins-infant-baptism) If you teach that sprinkling water on a baby saves them, you are relying on a man's doctrine and not the scripture for your foundation of that belief. Also, the scripture again is very clear that we are to be imitators of Christ as beloved children, (Eph 5:1) and not a man, even if he were a leader in the Church. We are to imitate Jesus in all we do, doing what He says, doing what He did. If He was going to institute something as important as infant baptism, wouldn't He Himself have done it? Angels appeared to Mary & Joseph, couldn't an angel have appeared and instructed them to baptize Him as an infant? But Jesus was not baptized as an infant. We all know that the church went into the dark ages, and many different doctrines came along during that period, so we can't trust a certain period of time after Christ to introduce different doctrines outside that what Christ Himself introduced. Also, if there is just one Bible verse that says something to the contrary, are we really going to stick with the traditions of man over scripture? Philip was brought by God to an Ethiopian eunuch who was traveling along a road. Phillip "preached Jesus to him." (Acts 8) After seeing some water by the road the Eunuch asked Phillip “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Phillip's response here is key to our discussion, " If you believe with all your heart, you may.” Why did Phillip do that, why would he put a condition on baptism? And why does every scriptural example of everyone that is baptized use this exact same premise, someone believed, and then was baptized? Our marker needs to be Christ: Ephesians 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." & "17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." We are supposed to be taught by Him, Ephesians 5:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus. So why do we put the traditions of man over the scriptures? Why would we ever do that? "Do not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16) Don't change the Gospel, it works. There will never be a better way than the way Jesus showed us. In fact He even says if you try any other way you are a "theif and a liar." (John 10:1) Jesus also says that "He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) Don't change His way, don't do it another way, any other way that "seems right to a man" will lead to death. (Proverbs 14:12) Water doesn't save, Jesus does. I had a conversation with a woman in a church who was 100 years old! She was baptized as an infant, raised and confirmed in the same church, and still attended when she could, at 100! I asked her about her relationship with Jesus, how she felt about Him. She said to me over and over, "I have never gone that deep." She insinuated, "I believe because that's what they (The church leadership) told me." "Do I need to pray?" she asked. She did not seem to know Jesus, and her religious tradition was blocking her understanding of actually what it means to know Christ, and be known by Him. Do you know Jesus? Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20) Has Jesus come in to your life, is His presence evident? Has your heart been redeemed? Do you know Him? Do you have to be baptized to be saved? Is there one scripture that would refute that? YES! When Jesus was crucified, for our sins, this happened: Luke 23:39 "Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” This one man believed, and Jesus said, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." Jesus alone saves. His blood alone cleanses. His grace is sufficient. Nothing your parents do can save you either. Tradition should not take the place of relationship. If your tradition teaches you that baptism brings you into a relationship with Christ so you don't need to accept Jesus as Lord, you are missing not a tradition, but you are miss Jesus. I don't want to major on sprinkling verses and immersion, but let me say this: Think of the visual image of one going under the water and coming back up again. One dying, and being raised up again. How does sprinkling even compare? (Mark 1, Matthew 3) Mark 1:10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. And, Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." It does not say, "John sprinkled Him, then He walked over to the shore, and then...it says "imediately He came up out of the water." Let's not change the Word of God for a man made tradition, it's just not worth it, and it robs the believer of being baptized, and having the same experience Jesus did. Don't we want to see the heavens opened, don't we want people to experience baptism? Let's not rob them of that. Let's do it the way Jesus did. Let's let Him be our example in everything, not a man. Here are just a few scriptures on salvation: Romans 10: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:not of works, lest any man should boast. Pray this: "Lord Jesus, I confess You are Lord. I believed God raised You from the dead. I receive the free gift of life, I receive You Jesus. I confess You are the way, the truth and the life. I will not be ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to salvation. I believe that old things are passed away, and all things have been made new. I beleive grace has saved me. In Jesus name, Amen." Keep reading your bible, keep praying, keep believing, keep loving. Love covers a multitude of sins! (1 Peter 4:8) Numbers 6:24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ In Jesus name, amen!

God's supply should be our only provision

2 Corinthians 8:13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” We know that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." (James 1:17a) And we believe God will supply "all our needs according to His riches in glory." (Philippians 4:19) So if it is God's supply, it's perfect, as we'll always have enough to share with others, which ties into another promise, Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38) If you or I don't share, and we take too much, we may actually be taking anothers supply, that we were supposed to give them. I have been convicted when I've eaten too much only to find out someone else didn't get any. We must only receive what God intends as our provision, and always be ready to share, liberally. If we do, we will see many more that are now going without, be richly supplied as we are now. Then we will know, and feel the blessing of, "remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)

When abnormal becomes normal.

I saw a planes vapor trail across the moon this morning, it looked really cool, and I had never seen it like that before. But if it became an everyday occurrence, eventually it would loose it's "cool factor." I used to live in Colorado, and my friends and I always fought the tendency for the Rockies to lose their magnificence, and for most, they did. I feel we are doing that with the Lord, He's losing His magnificence, His brilliance, His rightful place in the Church, and our lives as the most awesome thing ever. One of the things that leads to this is compromise, or sin. When compromise enters the Church we become the devil's play toy. When Christ isn't on the throne of our hearts, our lives, our church boards and committees, then who is? Us? Are we the new Lord of the manor? Have we become some kind of king? It seems like it. If we are usurping the Lord and His place, we may even be acting like we're gods, except without all that power...and love, and all good God like things....all the things we've surrendered so we could become king. "Forgive us Lord, place us Lord, with You, the true King of Kings and Lord of Lord's, in Jesus name, Lord, we surrender to You, in Jesus name, please, have Your rightful place in us again.""For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." —2 Corinthians 4:5

Legalism versus being holy

Pilate said to Jesus, "What is truth?" (John 18:38) Funny, Jesus said before that that, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6) So if we can't receive truth, except by Jesus, and He is the Solid Rock, and all else is sinking sand, (Matthew 7) and He alone has these words of life; (John 6:68) then what are we doing by trying to receive truth through any other means? I was in a Bible study once, and no one there believed that the Bible was an authority of truth, everything was questionable. One thing I learned from that group is that there seemed to be no truth there, everyone believed differently than each other! This article is about the difference between being Holy and being legalistic. As a Christian we are supposed to know what sin is. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can. If we are not even sure what sin is, how can we be holy, or how can we even repent, turn away from sin, if we don't even know what sin is. If we are to be "Holy as He is holy" (1 Peter 1:16) then we must allow the Holy Spirit to teach us what being holy is. If we are raised in a strict home, that can be a holy place, or a place filled with legalism. Most people think that if a person is raised with a lot of standards, a lot of rules, like don't eat this, don't watch this, don't listen to these songs, don't dress in certain ways, most believe that would be a legalistic, or a strick house. Jesus was raised with such rules, as was Samson, Apostle Paul and John the Baptist. There is a big difference between holy and legalistic. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) This is one way we can know if something is true, does it set us free. If you grow up in a holy house where there are high standards, if you leave that house and fulfill all your desires, do whatever you want, you may feel a measure of what you would call freedom. But has it really set you free, or has it bound you up? Has it broken relationships because you no longer have the same standards? Has it brought death to relationships, including your relationship to God? We are to be pure and holy as Jesus was pure and holy. (1 John 3) Of course the Bible is a main source of what is right and holy, but having a relationship with Jesus, and allowing the Holy Spirit to "teach us in all things" (John 14:26) is key in knowing what he wants for your life. Sin does two things: It separates us from God, and it hurts us, and possibly others around us. That's why God doesn't want us to sin, and that's why it's important to know what sin is. We have the Bible, and we have His Holy Spirit, which is the real convictor of sin. Without the Holy Spirit we actually can't know we're in sin. And without the Holy Spirit teaching us, the best we have is legalism. The worst way to try and have something holy is a mixture of both legalism and conviction of the Holy Spirit, and I think that's where a lot of us fail. To have a holy house, a holy church, something that is truly pure, it takes the constant presence and filling of the Holy spirit. It cannot be obtained by us, it can only be obtained, and maintained, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So if I am convicted that something is unholy, and teach my children this is unholy, and it isn't, that's majorly confusing and can be damaging to their relationship with God. If it is actually unholy, but our kids leave the house and don't think it's unholy, and then they fall into it, it will bind them up, and it can even cause them to rebel against God, and you, because they don't believe as the Holy Spirit convicted them to believe. If I get mad or impatient with my children, or people in general, then I know, even if it's a conviction of the Holy Spirit, that it is not the Holy Spirit that is implementing this thing I am trying to do by the flesh. We have to remember that it is God's "Kindness that leads us to repentance." (Romans 2:4) We must do all things in Love, and a good description of these things is in 1 Corinthians 13, starting with "love is patient and kind...takes into account no wrong." That's one of the hardest things for people to look past is if their parents, pastors or leaders get it wrong, and yet they are still expected to get it right! That's why there is a strictor judgement upon us who lead, because if we lead in sin, we will only produce death, not life, even if what we're saying is true. This is how we can tell if we are on the right track or not: Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Why our police are being attacked

When a nation turns it's back on God, and it's laws no longer reflect the laws of God, God can no longer bless that nation. Then those who govern that nation become a laughing stock, and will be mocked and ridiculed. Luke 16:15b "For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." God can't honor a nation whose laws don't protect the unborn. A nation whose laws reflected the laws of God, but no longer do; adultery was illegal, abortion was, homosexuality was, but now in many states none of these is illegal, and in some, these once illegal acts are now being celebrated. Also Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." We have left the wisdom of God, for our own wisdom. Listen to the Word of God: James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. This whole world is becoming sensual, and we are losing all peace, because we have rejected God and His wisdom, and we have sought our own. God can't bless where He has been rejected, because He isn't there to bless. There are many promises of God, this is one of the best for us as a nation: 2 Chronicles 7:14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Notice it says to not only pray, but to "turn from our wicked ways?" We have to do it God's way, we can't choose our own ways and expect God to bless it.