Tag: Spiritual

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Look Past The Cute Unicorn

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” ~ Matthew 13:24-30

Parents are currently taking their young children to see a new movie without even checking to see what it’s about first. Now, you may be wondering: what’s the big deal if they don’t research every single movie before taking their kids to see it? The film they’re taking their young children to see is a horror film. It’s a dark what-if spin on Barney. How is this happening?

Parents see a cute unicorn in a show with some smiling kids that gives the same feels as Barney did, and so they take them to see it. No checking first. No reading what the film’s about. Nothing. Just looking at a cover image of the film and thinking it looks cute. Christians are a lot like this. Having the appearance of goodness doesn’t make something good. Having the appearance of innocence doesn’t make it innocent. It’s not about the outside alone, but about the inside.

We are spiritual beings living in both a physical and spiritual world. We can’t just live our lives by, it looks safe, so it must be safe. No. We have to research. We have to pay attention. We are in a spiritual war right now. It doesn’t matter how good the beat sounds or how catchy the song is; what do the words say? What are the people singing that song saying? We, as Christians, have to be like the LORD, especially when it comes to discernment. We don’t just look at outward appearance, but we look at the heart.

We don’t just take someone’s word for it, we look at their fruit. We pay attention to what is being sold to us, and we don’t always have to buy everything they try to sell to us. Our enemy disguises himself as an angel of light; why would his followers not do the same? We have to stay awake. We have to stay vigilant. We have to pay attention and be watchful, for evil is sown while good men sleep.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Past The Cute Unicorn.

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Identify Then Guard

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! ~ Psalms 139:23-24

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same LORD; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

David was the prophesied king who was a man after God’s own heart. A man who was to lead Israel in the ways of righteousness, but he fell over and over again. He looked out at Israel and sinned by numbering them. He didn’t go to war with his men, as their king and leader, and ended up not only impregnating one of his men’s wives, but having that same man carry his own death note. David had a gift of leadership. A gift of worship. A gift of knowing how to come in and how to go out, but the enemy tried to corrupt that. He tried to take that away from him.

See, each of us is given a gift from God. A gift that will propel you into your God-given call. Because of that, your gift can often be the inspiration for Satan’s attacks. Here’s what I mean. I know someone who has a gift of encouragement, but every now and then, words just fall out of their mouth that tear others down. I know another who can see the spiritual battle we’re in with their own eyes but struggled so badly with fear that they didn’t sleep at night well into adulthood. See, if the enemy can keep you from using your gift, then He can keep you from fulfilling your God-given call.

So, what do we do? Identify, then guard. First, identify your gift, then guard it with all your heart. See, your enemy knows you better than you even know yourself. He will try to corrupt, distort, and stop all of the good the LORD has in store for you to do by attacking who you are. Your gifts help make up who you are. Who you are in Christ and who you are to the world. Your testimony is precious; it’s a weapon to fight darkness. Don’t ever allow the enemy to take it away from you.

11 And they have conquered [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Revelation 12:11

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Identify Then Guard.

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Learn The Full Truth

11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:11

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ~ 1 Peter 5:8

Every good legend or even every good lie has some kind of truth to it, but just because there is a little truth in something doesn’t make it truth or reliable. See, when Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, he didn’t fully lie to her. He told her truth mixed with deception. He said, ‘You won’t die but become like God knowing Good and Evil.’ That wasn’t a lie with no truth in it.

Satan was telling the truth; Eve wasn’t going to die in the natural sense, but in the spiritual sense. She didn’t understand that she was being deceived. That she only knew part of the truth. This is how the enemy still works today. He’ll give you some truth. Partial truth. Half truth, but not the full truth. Not all that it entails. Jesus loves you. God loves you. True statements. But there’s more to it. It’s not just a full-stop. It’s not just a do-whatever-you-want free pass. We must remain in His love. But Satan doesn’t push that part of the truth.

When He tempted Jesus in the wilderness, used Judas, used Peter, etc. all the same MO. The same pattern of behavior. Paul told the Corinthians that we are not unaware of Satan’s schemes. Peter says we have to be watchful because Satan is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We have to know the Word in order to combat half the Word being spoken to us. If we don’t pay attention to the past and implement it into our present, it’ll become our future.

One of my favorite verses that I think really sums this up well is God’s judgment in Hosea.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

Hosea 4:6

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn The Full Truth.

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We Need Your Fire LORD Pt. 1: Altars Without Fire

Bill Bright, of Campus Crusade, did a survey and found that 95% of American Christians claim to be either a babe in Christ or a carnal Christian, meaning they have no real roots. They are just children in their faith. They have no real, deep relationship with the LORD. What does this mean for the Church today? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he reminds us of the necessity of continual fire on the altar in his message, We Need Your Fire LORD Pt. 1: Altars Without Fire.

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Be The Body

13 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:13-16

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:27

In the 1890s, Mahatma Gandhi moved to South Africa to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. It was there that he heard about Christ and wanted to learn more. So, he sought out a local church but was denied entry because of the color of his skin. This encounter apparently led to his attributed famous words, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Now, let’s say this is true. That these are the true words and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi. Imagine if they had actually acted as Christ to him. The entire country of India could have been converted to Christianity. Gandhi could have been a great evangelist of the faith, but the prejudice of one man blocking his entry into the church turned him away from the faith and straight into the arms of a false religion.

We have no idea who the people put into our lives may become or what they may one day do. This story should encourage and set a fire in each of us to be Christ to the world at all times. We are His body. His hands and feet. His light in the darkness. It’s time we start acting like it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be The Body.

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Do More Than The Matam

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ~ James 2:14-24

There are a lot of videos currently circulating of Muslims publicly performing Matam. It’s a ritual done mainly by Shia Muslims during Muharram. This one ritual is part of a larger mourning process that should put every Christian to shame. See, these Shia Muslims get together and chant as they beat their chests because they believe that mourning should be felt physically in the body. This is meant to express solidarity and grief that words can’t carry or express. It’s intended to be a physical vow of loyalty to what Husayn stood for.

See, all of this is to show loyalty to the grandson of their prophet Muhammad, Husayn Ibn Ali. He was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, standing against tyranny. They beat their chests in loyalty to him and in commemoration of his death. The intensity can range from light beating to intense pounding, causing bruising. The devotion they have to their religion and the faith they have to physically beat themselves should shame any Christian.

See, as Christians, we don’t even sacrifice our time to go to church on Sunday mornings. Or our TV time to pray. We don’t make time to enter the presence of our God, the Creator of the entire Universe, yet we claim to have the one true religion. Either we don’t have the one true religion, or we don’t truly believe that we do. We don’t have a god who will throw us away simply because he doesn’t want us. No, we serve a God who seals us Himself until He Himself comes to get us to be with Him forever. He assures us of His love for us. A God who is faithful even when we are not. We cling so hard to grace and love that we abuse it. We don’t want to contribute anything to the relationship. So, what are we to do? Live our lives as if our religion is the only true one and that our God is the only true God, because it is, and He is as well.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do More Than The Matam.

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Be Authentic

34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~ Matthew 10:34-39

I recently heard someone say that a well-known celebrity had explained how she continuously puts her son’s faith to the test. The comment section said how much they supported her and were proud of her for doing that because it’s not really his faith, but his father’s faith. If he believes in his father’s religion, then it’s his father’s faith, not his. Now, if he then renounces his faith and turns to his mother’s faithlessness, is that now his beliefs or his mother’s beliefs? My other question would be, if the beliefs were reversed, and it was a Christian mother putting her son’s faithlessness to the test, would they still be supportive and proud of her? Probably not. That’d most likely be seen as a mother trying to bully her son into following her religion.

The world loves to put our faith to the test. They love to try to quiet us and break down our faith. You’re not really a Christian because your parents or a parent is a believer. They will try to take away any realness or authenticity you have in your walk with God and in your faith. The only thing you can do is walk the walk, not just talk the talk. In other words, we have to live our lives as a light to others and let God shine through us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Authentic.

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Wake Up This Sleeping Giant

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

I watch a lot of debates between Christians, Muslims, Atheists, etc., and a well-known Christian apologist’s wife explains how Muslim’s will try to trap Christians into a very weird argument by twisting very simple words. One example is that they will ask ‘is Jesus fully God?’ most Christians will answer yes. Muslims will then respond with ‘which part or what percentage of God is Jesus? And what part or percentage of God is the Father? How fully God is He?’

Now, they know that doesn’t make sense, but it will trip up and catch most Christians off guard because it’s such a strange argument. So, what do we do? The Christian apologist instead answers that Jesus is truly God, rather than fully God, to avoid the foolish twisting of words. We have to prepare ourselves by studying our Scriptures and the tactics of our enemies. We have to know our Scriptures better than they do. Why? Because the enemy is notorious for twisting, misquoting, reinterpreting verses, words, and arguments in order to tear down our faith. Why? Because our faith is under attack.

We’re no longer preparing for and/or engaging in spiritual warfare. The enemy is at war with us, but only a few of us are at war with him. We’ve become a sleeping giant. The world is at war with us, but we aren’t taking it seriously. It’s about time the Church wakes up and joins this spiritual war currently consuming us. Currently leading our children away. If we would only wake up, we could change the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Wake Up This Sleeping Giant.

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Remember The Foretaste

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” ~ Revelation 21:1-7

One of my favorite hymns is Blessed Assurance. I think the author really hits the nail on the head when she says:

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine

Jesus is ours, and we are His. This relationship we have with our Savior is just a foretaste of eternity with Him. The love, joy, peace, etc. we have and enjoy here in this life are nothing compared to eternity with Christ. It’s just a taste of what’s to come. A taste of the promise.

To me, that’s encouraging. Those moments in worship when you feel His presence and the Holy Spirit fills you are just a little taste of what it will be like in eternity when we are on the New Earth and the LORD Jesus Himself will physically live with us. And in that day He will wipe away every tear, and all will be made new.

Encourage yourself with these things. Encourage others with these things. All of the pain and suffering in this world cannot compare to those moments, let alone all of eternity.

9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love Him”—

1 Corinthians 2:9

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember The Foretaste.

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Stop Trying To Muzzle

4 You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. ~ Deuteronomy 25:4

I recently heard a man say, “If Paul was a fisherman, Peter was a tentmaker, and Jesus was a carpenter. Please, tell us why your preacher doesn’t have a real job.” Now, he did correct the mistake that Paul and Peter should be flipped, so that’s beside the point. It’s the fact that it’s just not true. See, he said it very much like it was a mic-drop moment. Like he had just wrecked Christian pastors. Here’s the problem with that: they didn’t do those things alongside preaching and teaching the Gospel. That’s why Paul said that this Law was written not for the ox, but for us. For those who preach and teach the Gospel.

9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

1 Corinthians 9:9-11

Peter, James, John, and Andrew were all fishermen prior to taking up their roles as teachers, preachers, and apostles. They put that aside. That’s why Jesus said the well-known phrase, I will make you fishers of men. They were no longer fishermen by trade. Even after the death and resurrection of Christ, Peter said that he didn’t have time to handle disputes and such because it was more important for him to be devoted to prayer. So, they set others up in places of authority to deal with those things.

Peter wasn’t out fishing for money. Peter was spending his time praying and getting souls saved. Paul was a tentmaker in only one area because he didn’t accept offerings from them. But he did receive them from places like Thessalonica and Philippi. It was because he didn’t want the risk of their misunderstanding of Scripture to keep them from hearing the Gospel, which he explains to the Corinthian Church in that same chapter. In fact, Paul makes it sound as though they were fine with Cephas and the other apostles receiving money but not Paul and Barnabas, but that’s beside the point as well.

Paul says throughout this chapter that if you are preaching the Gospel, then you should make your living from the Gospel, just as every other person makes their living from their job. So, this man’s point in the video I saw wasn’t actually an argument at all. Just as Peter couldn’t devote himself to prayer and teaching in the way he needed to in order to properly share the Gospel with others, so are pastors unable to have a full-blown other job or real job, as he called it in the video, as well as lead a congregation and feed the sheep. This idea that pastors need to have ‘real’ jobs isn’t a biblical one, because according to Scripture there’s no other job that is more important than getting souls saved and building the Kingdom of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop Trying To Muzzle The Ox.

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