Tag: lies

Christian Life

The Luxury of Lies?

Kristiann

Power is within, apart from any god. In fact you are your own god. You are good enough on your own. Money and success are all that matter. You earn the respect of others by trampling the weak. To win at all costs is admirable. Only the strong survive. It’s all about me. Morality is relative as it suits your needs and promotes your interests. These are just a few of the lies we are faced with in this world on a daily basis.

The scripture tells us that in our weakness God’s strength is made perfect and that apart from Him we can do nothing. It teaches that our very breath comes from Him and Him alone. It says that we are the branches and that we must stay connected to the Vine, Jesus.

The scripture also teaches that every good and perfect gift comes from above. It also talks about the consistency of God, stating clearly that with God there is no shadow of turning and that He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Self-reliance is a foolish endeavor; and moral relativism leaves people lost in the sea without any compass or as a ship without a rudder. Folks if we don’t have a map and a compass, how do we know where we’re headed?

If we live without intentionality, I submit to you that we will proverbially bang into the walls of life and end up with nothing but bruises to show for it and no treasure laid up in Heaven where moth and decay cannot harm.

For those of us that embrace the scriptures as absolute truth, we do know where those who are rudderless, without map or compass are headed. They are headed for eternal damnation, a separation from their Loving Creator. That should wake us up! See, they don’t know where they are going and may think that life is one big party or something that can be relived innumerable times in various forms because false teachings have taken root and fooled them.

Another level of sobering thought for us, is how much the world and the satanic have infiltrated the churches. Certainly there are people who are wolves in sheep’s clothing coming in to devour the flock. But there are also things called Angel boards and decks of cards that are no more than cleaned up versions of Ouija boards and tarot cards.

It’s time to pray for our children, our neighbors, our coworkers and take a stand. I liked what Bobby Conner said and I’ll paraphrase. When talking about how we need to say what we believe and not apologize for it, he basically questioned: are we going to scare them (by speaking the Truth) into Hell 1 or Hell 2? His point was that if we are not boldly declaring the truth of salvation, people will be lost. There’s not a minor Hell and a major Hell. There’s just hell! There’s just lost people who are on their way to never experiencing Love!

We have to be The Counter Culture, part of a kingdom upside down that simply does things completely opposite of how this world functions. You can win the praise of man or the approval of God, but not both for very long.

When I was thinking about the fact that we are living in the last days and the nitty-gritty of it all and that we have to decide if we are going to follow the current of the world or take a stand, I began to think about the realities of needing to determine ahead of time my level of commitment.

I don’t think I will ever forget hearing J.J. Bittenbinder speak over 30 years ago now on television. He had been a detective and was saying that you have to determine ahead of time what you are willing to do to fight off an attacker. He made it clear that if you go to a secondary scene, it is very likely you will be murdered and he suggested the example of determining if you are willing to reach in behind your attacker’s eyeballs and pull them out of socket.

This got me thinking about Samson who had compromised and lost all of his strength and who at the end of his days had his eyes poked out, was bound and mocked by his enemies. It took his physical eyes being gouged and him being blinded for his spiritual eyes to be opened. He asked for one more dispensation of God’s grace in the form of physical strength so that he could take out the enemy.

We are in a war, the most epic that has ever been. Whose side are you on?

Christian Life

Is Your Faith GMO?

Kristiann

Today, we hear so much about genetically modified food; but let’s talk about our faith and if that has become the equivalent of genetically modified in the spiritual realm.

It seems that there are so many who are teaching and preaching things that are not the full counsel of the Word of God. We’re told that God doesn’t raise the dead or perform other miracles, that that was all in the days in which Christ lived on the earth in the flesh and that such has passed away. We are told that the Holy Spirit and His role are very minor. I’ve had some people tell me that speaking in tongues is demons uttering and that you can’t really be sure that what you’re saying is of God.

We have people behaving on the lunatic fringe speaking and acting from positions of hatred all the while touting the name of Jesus.

I tell you it is time that we embrace the full counsel of the Holy Scriptures. Not only did Christ say that we would do greater works than He did when He was here in the flesh; but he also said that in these last days He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. He said that the old men will dream dreams, the young man would see visions and our sons and daughters will prophesy.

God is not limited by our mental models! We are the apple of His eye, if we belong to Him. Yet, we can do nothing apart from Him! He said that if we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him and that if we ask for bread He would not give us a stone. He said ask for wisdom and He will freely give it.

We are fighting wrongly. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty for the pulling down of spiritual strongholds. We need to pray that the blinders come off of those that are deceived, both in the church and external. Time is short! I don’t know how it can be any more plain as we compare the Scriptures to the news – the true news and the weather reports. I say to some Christians that the end is near and they look at me quizzically and almost as though they’re going to burst forth in laughter but are trying desperately not to so as to not offend me. I don’t want to offend anyone for the sake of offending, but I cannot be silent as people are dying and going into the pit of Hell from which there is no return, save the miracle of Christ resurrecting them through us. I see people who say they are my brothers and sisters deceived by the evil one. I see this world in a blind malaise. No good is that…no good!

Worship is the key to Victory. Check it out in the Bible. Who was sent into the battle first? And worship is not all the fluffy cotton candy songs talking about how wonderful we feel. Worship is extolling God and acknowledging who He is, His character. I don’t see or hear a lot of that in today’s church. And when we just about get down to the Holy Spirit moving, so often it is on to the next quick part of our program so we get ourselves out the door in a timely manner. Folks, we have all of eternity we will be living out, rather in heaven or hell. We better put on the full armor of God and fight on our knees and in our worship; because we don’t have all of eternity to wrap this thing up and get people to realize and accept who Jesus is. Wake up, Oh Sleeper!