Is God's Word relevant today?

Is the power of the resurrection relevant today? Is the Bible relevant today? Is the Christianity that the pagans saw in the first century relevant today?
NO; absolutely not.
The only message you could preach from the Bible today from the Word of God and be somewhat relevant is ‘God is love’, and ‘Love your neighbor’.
God is love is understood by society that God accepts and tolerates us.
‘Love your neighbor’ is understood to mean toleration of the acts of your fellow human being. This is why abortion is legal, gay marriage is legal, children rights in the home are on the court docket to undermine the authority of the parent, pedophilia organizations are working to lower the age of consent, drunkenness is now an ‘ism’, God’s law is restricting to our very self being, and the biggest proof of the irrelevance of the Bible today is that it does not promote me, it does not make ME feel good for who I am.
The definition of relevance is ‘appropriate or to the purpose’. With this meaning of the word relevance, God’s word is not, should not, and never has been relevant for us. The real question should be, ‘are WE relevant to the Word of God?’
The normal procedure for most people is to remove and get rid of items that are not relevant to one’s life, or lifestyle. Example being the microwave replaced the toaster oven, the mp3 player replaced the walkman, the VHS replaced the BETA, email has mostly replaced paper mail, cell phone has replace the home phone, each decade or less we improve something to replace something. This has created a dangerous habit of thought that we see today: we must reprint or replace the Bible.
‘I will put no wicked thing before my eyes’ has been replaced with movie ratings from the world that make it relevant for us to go see things according to society’s standard. The ‘abstain from all appearance of evil’ has been replaced with the cushy word of ‘balance’, and a misinterpretation of the word of God.
The fact is WE are not relevant to God. But he has given his Spirit for us to walk in, not as a tool to get close to him, not as the method to live according to his Word, but the only way to be relevant to himself. Walk in the Spirit and ye won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. Flesh is not relevant to God, but the Spirit is. God has to make us relevant to his purpose; he must make us appropriate for his use. Man has this thing turned around which has caused the diminishing of the Word of God in our society today.
Pilate asked Jesus, ‘what is truth?’, and today we ask, ‘what is relevant?’ William James, the father of psychology, said ‘truth is relevant to situation, circumstance, and time’. This philosophy has found its way into the church today, as a plague. WE need to be relevant to God.
America in her arrogance may think God owes her revival because of the missionaries she has sent worldwide; The declaration of ‘who we trust’ on our currency; the godly monuments displayed across this great country; the fundamental truths of God’s Word buried deep in the fabric of this land. BUT, Revival doesn’t come to America because it’s America, just as produce doesn’t come to a grocery store because it’s a grocery store. But because a need was seen, a deficiency was found, and a call was put in to the supplier. God is our supplier, and though we have served him well with our land: AT ONE TIME. We need to see the need, the deficiency, and make the call!
The call to our supplier: God.
The urgent call to fill the empty pews of our churches.
The urgent call to fill our empty hearts.
The urgent call for a cleanup in aisle one, two, and three., with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The urgent call to bring people to the altar and get filled up.
God has not changed, WE have. WE have changed, NOT God.
Let's begin now.

The Appointment

Send this to your lost friends.

The Potter

The God of second chances.

Jeremiah 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Christ is coming!

What if Christ was to come this Friday at 4:45? God dropped fliers from heaven! The whole world knows! Would we jump for joy? Not go to work?Not do the dishes? Not make our beds? Forget the lawn and yard chores? Quit school? Would we be rejoicing? Would we be singing hosanna, and holy, holy, holy, Hail Christ Almighty? Would we be calling all our friends/family and begging them to listen to the plan that Jesus laid out for eternal life? Would we pray to God for power in our 'last of the last days' of witnessing? Would we fast and witness? Would we stay up without sleep praying at night and witnessing by day KNOWING that the Lord of the harvest returneth this Friday at 4:45? What would you be doing at 4:44? crying, because you KNOW those left behind will never sit on a curb of the streets of gold with you? Will your heart be so swollen with hurt because you know your loved ones will NEVER be standing with you watching the river sparkle from the glory that Jesus provides as he is the LIGHT? At 4:44 on that Friday afternoon, one minute before Jesus BUSTS through the clouds to receive unto himself those that believe and trust the blood he shed for the remission of sin, where will you be? Who will you be leaving behind? Who will you never see again, until the Great White Thrown judgement where they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, forever? Well, we don't have a flier, but we do have where Jesus says 'get busy' in so many words, and he did give us signs to look for and these signs are definitely being fulfilled, so, it may not be prudent to quit school, or your job, BUT how about joining your church with its soul winning outreach program? How about calling a friend and inviting them to church? how about praying for courage now? memorize some soul winning passages now? How about fasting and praying now? NOW, is the time we have to work. NOW is the time we have to pray. NOW is the only time there will ever be for salvation. NOW is the accepted time, behold TODAY is the day of salvation. God help us.
I am not afraid to admit to others that I do not want to see Christ come right now. I believe this is why God offers a crown of righteousness to those who love his appearing as He understands how heart breaking it will be to depart this world with loved ones lost forever to an eternal hell without hope. Let's get busy while there is still time.
God bless.

Church Invite

I hope this encourages you to invite someone to hear the gospel this Sunday.

Sweet sound

Day Two of VBS

God has blessed day two of our Vacation Bible School with an attendance of 79! This is the 5th and 6th grade class reciting their Bible verse.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 20:11 that 'Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether they be right.'

It most certainly is a sweet sound, isn't it?

Greater is HE in me!

WE go through struggles that keep us apart from God. This is nonstop. A full time job for Satan. And he loves it! Some from seeds planted many years ago, or recently. Some struggles we bring on ourselves because we don't feed our spiritual body. BUT, all struggles can be overcome through aligning ourselves up with God's Word. Be careful what you look at today. What you listen to. Where you go. What you say. And remember, someone is feeding! Is it the carnal side of you, or the spiritual?

God bless.

Is TRUTH perished from your life?

Without proper support any structure will fail when a load is placed upon it greater than it can handle. This support is TRUTH.

In the late 1800's William James, 'the father of modern psychology' wrote of the notion that 'Truth was relative to time, place, and purpose." This philosophy makes provision for what once was truth to be changed according to circumstances, and situations.

Alcoholism is being considered a disease instead of a conscience choice. Pedophilia is being studied to see if a disturbance in the brain causes this desire, if so, then that will become a disease instead of a sin. Abortion has been a news worthy item for years as a choice.

What a world we would live in if we had an excuse for everything we did. All the sins were relative to time, place, and purpose. It is ok to steal food because I was wanting to feed my family. The good outways the bad syndrome. Very dangerous attitude. Do we truly rely on God anymore for our DAILY BREAD? Go to my blog about FAITH and check it out.

Read Deuteronomy 4:7-9 (the entire chapter is worthy of reading) God says in part ".....what nation that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law....". He goes on and tells the people to teach them to their sons and their sons' sons. Truth does not change. And TRUTH must be protected by memory, and passing it along.

Years later in Jeremiah 7:28 we see that the nation does not obey the voice of God; nor receiveth correction; is cut off from their mouth (stopped passing it down); AND 'truth is perished'. Scary. Read chapter 8:7-12 (sound like AMerica?) Check out the next few chapters to see how God handled this.

Oh, Larry, this is the Old Testament and this is the history of Israel. Yep, you are correct. BUT, is there not a lesson to be learned for today? Is obeying God now different from obeying God then? I think not. He is longsuffering, but his judgements are still true.

Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the truth." And in Hebrews 13:8 we read, "Jesus Christ, the SAME yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Verse 9 tells us that 'it is a good thing that the heart be ESTABLISHED'.

Is your heart established today?

Things may look good today, and promising for tomorrow, but if you don't have established truth in your life it could all disappear. These two snow people I made a few years ago are gone. After I created them they were happy for a season. But they were subject and bound by the laws of 'thawing and melting'.
Today I am going to search my heart and be sure I am on the path that will help me NOT to melt when trouble comes. I want the truth in my heart.
"I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me."
Psalm 119:19

"Thy Word is very pure; therefore thy servant loveth it." Ps. 119:140

"FOREVER, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven." Ps. 119:89

Have a great day! and please feel free to post a comment.

Jesus is the risen example!

Wow, talk about knowing your destiny in life, this sums it up. In John 18:37 Jesus before Pilate confirms his lot in life is to be crucified. Read the chapter for yourself, and the next few to get the full take on the unselfish sacrifice and resurrection that has been one of the most controversial stories in history for over 2,000 years. It is Easter Sunday coming up, and since Christ IS my living saviour, I want to take a look at how His life not only was a sacrifice for my sins but a practical example of staying the course to accomplishment. I have to admit I do not know my destiny in life, but I do believe we forge our own destiny with each decision we make daily. Here are a few lessons we can take with us from someone who was once in our shoes, or sandals. Jesus Christ was subject to all things as we are; his flesh got hungry, tired, tempted, his nails grew, his hair grew, he even sneezed (not sure if they said ‘God bless you’ back then), he slept, he got angry, he had goals, vision, purpose, and a support group.
Lesson 1. Our adversary is the flesh: I don’t feel like pushing myself each day toward my goals. Not because I don’t want to but mostly because I need to submit to being tired, anxious, double guessing what I am doing, and wanting to just do other things. *Readjusting goals for a day is ok. I need to tell myself this all the time. Yes, I am one of those people who would rather go home early from a party with friends just to get up early and greet the sun, read a book, and just get more done before noon than the average person. That in itself is not bad, BUT, this can also put unwarranted strains on relationships. Our friends want to see us too. One day off course will not normally change the outcome of ones life. BUT, constant submission to our flesh will not benefit us.
Lesson 2. Tell your friends what your dreams are. Not every single person you know is your friend, so be selective and sure for the most part that these people will support you, and encourage you. They may not and will not always understand certain goals for the dream but they are great for always asking, ‘how’s that dream coming along?’ Some people have ‘dream-catchers’ hanging from a window, or the rearview mirror of a vehicle, and that is a cool way to always have a reminder for yourself. But, staying on course sometimes comes from the subtle expression of a friend. And yes, sometimes not, but the benefits are greater when friends and family know what you are trying to accomplish. Like Jesus' disciples.
Lesson 3. Don’t fall to temptation and quit. After 40 days of being wore down in the wilderness, Jesus was offered all the things that would seemingly be a quick fix to his current situation. BUT, with each temptation his rebuttal began with the same words: ‘It is written’. Here the lesson is that we need to write down our goals, dreams, even our reasons for accomplishing whatever it is that we are trying to accomplish. Say our goals out loud (audio affirmation) so it is written in our minds. When we are tempted to quit, we need to go back to what is written and reaffirm what we are trying to accomplish and why. Don’t just have a weekly goal sheet that gets accomplished and then tossed, have a master copy of the big picture. Like a business plan. Don’t be afraid to write these things down.
‘Is it written’ somewhere for you?
Christ’s victory path certainly was an unselfish one.
Here’s what his life has taught me. Not everyone will support your vision. Not everyone will admit they know you when you act upon your belief. BUT, everyone will watch. Christopher Columbus, Wright brothers, Noah and his arc, Pollack the artist, Howard Hughes, the founding fathers of our country, and (put your name here). YOU are bigger than you may be allowing yourself to be. Find strength in Jesus. If you are a believer, He wants you to have a more abundant life!
Praise God for resurrection Sunday!

PORN? Sure, why not!

Well, I never understood the saying 'going to hell in a hand basket', or why it was even suggested. BUT, maybe it was because of stuff like this. http://wjz.com/local/movie.sex.education.2.974390.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/college/bal-te.md.porn03apr03,0,5333968.story
I am sure you have heard by now that a $10 million porn movie was supposed to be shown to college students followed by a presentation from planned parenthood. Hmmm, it doesn't surprise me that this would eventually make an attempt to our schools. The new 'sex education'. Yeah, free love, sex without love. That's what we need to teach. You may ask, 'haven't you ever seen porn or had sex without love? YES, too many times. I wish I had some of my life back. What next? Classes on how to properly inhale a bong for the ultimate buzz?
Look, if there is no absolute moral standard in our world then this is absolutely fine. But to me and probably millions of other Bible believers this kind of activity is garbage. I have most recently vowed to not have sex again until I get married. I have asked God to forgive me and help me with this.
At 46, healthy, 'good looking' :), active, and presently without a girlfriend, you may ask 'why?' Two reasons. One, because I believe it is unpleasing to my God to seek pleasure outside his blessing. Two, why should I expect anything less of myself than I do from my son whom at 14 will surely be undergoing the same temptations, urges, and consideration that I am sure I will be up against soon. I want to be able to be an encouraging voice by way of example.
I challenge YOU, if you are an unmarried, Bible believing, example wannabe, then make this pledge for a better relationship with Jesus.