Believing God Today

Giving Hope and Comfort in His Grace

Category Archives: Living in the spirit: taming the flesh


by 8 Comments

Do you know you have been listening to the voice of Satan?

©2013 πίστις

Do you hear the voice of One calling? Or is the only voice that can save you drowned out by the voice of the world?

Who speaks louder, Christ or the world? For many the world is louder…and the world is the voice that matters most.

If this world truly had a voice it would be the voice of Satan. God told us that the path is narrow and few find it. The road to destruction however is wide and easily traveled. The broad road of destruction is the world’s road, and most are on it.

The Bible says deny yourself, the world says grab it all…take everything you can get.
The Bible says homosexuality is wrong and is forbidden. The world says its no big deal, to each there own, it’s just another lifestyle.
The Bible says we cannot have any other god before Adonai, the world says all gods are good, except that God of the Christians.
The bible says Jesus Christ is the only way to God, the world says sure He is one way, there are others.

Ever heard it said the majority rules? That is society in general especially today. If you can get enough people to accept a new idea, it will become the norm. How has the world done this?

Take the Bible and what it tells us, the commandments of God and how we are to live etc. These things use to mean something, now the way of God means nothing to many. The world has indoctrinated the masses into this belief. How has this been done? The biggest way that the influence of the world has changed how people see God is by getting people to view themselves differently.

In God’s eyes we are here to serve Him and glorify Him…that is our main objective in life. Now the world comes along with it’s many anti-God theologians and says, “that’s not true, YOU deserve better than that”. The most important thing in life…is YOU. Forget all that humble serving crap, serve yourself, you are worth it baby!

Think about all the add slogans over the years, they are more and more geared to people serving themselves and getting what they want as fast as they can get it!

Treat yourself; you deserve it
You’re worth it baby!
There is only one you!
Give yourself the best; you earned it!
You work hard for your money; use how you like!

How about sporting events in the schools? Everybody gets a trophy and a ribbon. There are no losers anymore, well I’m sorry but someone does win, and someone does lose. The world just constantly bombards us with the message that the most important thing is self, nice guys finish last. The happiest guy or gal, well that is the one that has all the toys, or has all the latest fashions and accessories. You know the one that has that fabulous house, money and vacations etc?

Did you know that many people who “have it all” are absolutely miserable inside? Did you know that some of the loneliest people in the world are the ones with enormous wealth? Do you realize that many super popular people really feel inadequate inside? How about the ones who are busy keeping up with the Joneses? Many people actually feel empty inside, if you asked them and they were honest…they would tell you they do not feel like they have a purpose in life.

Look at the world around you, the state of today’s world has a direct correlation to the new god of this world that reigns supreme…and it is NOT Satan. Oh no, Satan himself has ordained this new god, his name is…self. You see, Satan gets a lot more mileage out of selfishness then he does anything else.

Time is short; there really is not a lot of it left. Listen to the voice of One calling today and submit yourself to Him today. If you can read this and think so what, well it may be too late for you already, God will not strive with man forever. In fact, you do not know when your last day is, and given current events, you do not know how much time you have here on earth.

 

Related articles


by 5 Comments

The most powerful force on earth: Words

Some people would name a particular weapon (nuclear bombs?) as the most powerful weapon on earth, and to a point that is correct for obvious reasons. Some might even name death as the most powerful force. Death is a powerful force to be sure, but far from the most powerful.

When death claims a person, well there will be no more suffering here on earth anyway. Bombs and guns and other things kill, they cause pain and suffering. Usually one will heal from these things unless the obvious happens and a person is killed. Yes the pain may be substantial, and may even be long lasting.

Be that as it may…all things pale in comparison to the force of words. Think back in your own life for a moment, what are some of your most powerful memories connected to? I am willing to bet words were involved, both good and bad.

If a person was lets say physically abused, well as terrible as that is…the pain goes away and the bruises heal. I do not want to minimize physical abuse, this is very serious and can be deadly.

Still, all things considered, what sticks with you the most are words. Words have tremendous power to hurt, and the hurt can and does often far outlast physical pain. Some of the most painful memories I have revolve around words.

Children especially will remember the negative hurtful words much more than the positive ones that are spoken to them. As a rule we tend to remember the hurtful words more than the positive ones, this is just our human nature. 8-10 positive affirmations are needed to overcome one negative.

The words we speak can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life, especially the negative ones. Many people will tell you about words spoken to them by a parent that stuck with them for life. Because a person chooses to forgive does not mean the pain just disappears.

When speaking to others, emailing, posting on Facebook, and tweeting on Twitter…choose the words you use with care. Even things said innocently may cause pain, be careful what you say. In our discussions with others, especially our Christian brothers and sisters…we need to be mindful of what words we say, or write.

Is this worth saying? Is this worth writing? Might these words hurt even though I don’t mean to? Is this argument worth the pain it might cause? Do I really need to be right? At what cost to my brother or sister?

Understand folks…I am not pointing fingers here. Matter of fact, to be honest I recently offended and hurt a very good friend of mine. I will not name names of course, but I am truly sorry to have done this, it was not intentional. It was this occurrence that prompted the writing of this post.

Just please…be careful in your choice of words. Think on this a moment if you will…wars are started how? Words. Marriages end why? Words. Friendships are destroyed how? Words. Peoples’ reputations are destroyed how? Words.

Pictures are worth a thousand words they say, I say that is not true. Words can completely and totally destroy a person, can even cause a person to commit suicide.

Words can also build a person up and change who they are for the good. Look at how you have changed due to the words of Jesus Christ.

Related articles


by 3 Comments

The Incredible Wisdom of 3 Bible Verses: understanding God’s Word

Matthew 4:23-25 (ESV)

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

I was reading in Matthew the other day and the above passage really struck me. There is so much to learn in these few verses, it is incredible how much wisdom is packed away in just 3 verses of the Bible.

The first thing we see is that Jesus in the beginning of His ministry was in fact preaching the Gospel. Notice Jesus is teaching “in their synagogues”, He was not teaching in homes, in other words Jesus was teaching out in the open…in public for all to hear. Some; like the Pharisees and others who taught the Gnostic gospels were in the habit of teaching in private thereby having more control and influence without other voices to gain-say them. The cue for us here is that we should boldly proclaim the Gospel in the light of day, not whisper it in a dark corner like a beaten and whipped cur.

The text also tells us that Jesus proclaimed “the gospel of the kingdom”. Interesting phrase there don’t you think? In the Greek, kingdom is translated from the Greek word βασιλεία; transliteration basileia, meaning: kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, especially of God, both in the world, and in the hearts of men; hence: kingdom, in the concrete sense.

You can finish reading my latest post on ChristianBlessings

Related articles

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by Leave a comment

Joseph, Jesus, and the Key to Your Choices: Genesis 49:22-26

Make Good Choices Jesus Joseph Genesis 49To see the previous post from Genesis, go to Can God Use a Sinner Like You, or Like Me?

Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel

Genesis 49:22-24

Joseph

Joseph endured a difficult life. Described as “archers” in this passage, Joseph faced arrows of persecution from his own siblings–they plotted to murder him, then they settled for selling him into slavery. So he was separated from his family, while he served as a slave in Egypt. Then he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife, after which, he was tossed into a dungeon–for years.

In this great new article by Kurt from bennett’s blog, Kurt dives right in on why some of us make wrong choices and what we can do to fix that. We do nor have to continue making poor choices, we can do better!

To finish reading this article, please head over to
http://kurtbennettbooks.com/2013/01/12/joseph-jesus-and-the-source-of-power-for-choices-genesis-4922-26/


by 15 Comments

The Struggle in Today’s Church

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How would you like your eggs today, over-easy, scrambled, fried, sunny-side up, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, poached, or shirred?? How about your steak; rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, or well done?? Choice of potatoes? This sounds like questions for a meal in a restaurant right?

Can you relate the above questions to today’s Church? Depending on the meal you choose when eating in a restaurant, you the patron sometimes have many choices within the meal you chose.

Today’s Church seems to be all about choices as well. The Church seems to be gravitating towards self-indulgence. Yes the corporate church can do this as churches are made up of people, and people decide what they want out of church.

Some churches today will tell you all about how God wants to bless you; He wants to give you all things. These same churches neglect to tell you God wants to give you all things according to His will…not yours. This means that you will not get everything you desire, that is completely un-biblical!

Other churches today are taking sides over the gay marriage debate. There is no debate. Gay marriage is wrong in the eyes of God, so it is wrong and has absolutely no place in the church. The bible states that homosexuality is wrong, period…why is there any debate???

Still more churches are splitting and choosing sides over whether or not a person that is a homosexual should be a pastor of a church. God has said that homosexuality is wrong, why then would anyone choose to have a self-professed homosexual lead their church? Let me ask you another question or two before you get too fired up about what I just said.

What if the pastor is having an affair? What if the pastor is stealing from the church? How about if the pastor is abusing children? Would these offenses not trigger serious action from the church?

Then there are the churches in which the pastors preach what the people want to hear, and that is all. The sermon is more or less a pep talk to make you feel better about yourself. This is tickle my ears preaching, which is no preaching at all. This is akin to telling someone all they have to do is believe Jesus existed and they will be saved…that is it, nothing more.

Really???? Because you believe Jesus Christ existed means absolutely nothing! The Demons and Satan himself all believe Jesus existed and still does…where do you think they are going?

The church of today is a social club, a place to gather and hear some encouragement. Share a few stories, ask a couple questions, and drink a cup of coffee all the while congratulating yourself on having been in church again and so fulfilling your duty. Your duty to whom; yourself, society, or God? It surely was not to God.

How about the churches that just plain ignore sin in their midst? Like what? Like the husband who is known to be cheating on his wife, or the person who is stealing a “little” from the church? Serious sin, things that should not be ignored.

There are of course great churches out there; I am in no way saying all churches today are no good. Unfortunately however, this is the way today’s Church as a whole is heading. The bible foretold this would happen, that people would not endure sound teaching. So of course when it is talked about, that will not be endured either.

Some may read this article and disagree with it that is fine. Think on this a moment if you will, church is not supposed to be about you or me. Church is not supposed to be a welfare system for people to live on. Church is not about getting that dose of encouragement so you can make it through the week. Church is about God…period! Church is all about God, it is for God, and it is of God.

If we exist to glorify God, and we do, why then do we go to church expecting self-fulfillment? Are we not in church to glorify the Creator of the universe?

If church is conducted the way it is meant to be, we will be fulfilled. Our greatest joy will come from doing what God created us to do, glorify Him. When we seek to elevate ourselves above God by serving our own designs and purpose in and through the Church, we will not be fulfilled! Nothing will ever bring joy and fulfillment to us when we serve ourselves first, and the Lord after.

It is fine to have encouraging messages in church we need those. However, if the sermon does not ever convict you, if the words of the pastor do not ever make you feel uncomfortable…then you are not hearing the Gospel. The pastor’s words should completely resonate with the Bible; the pastor’s words should not ever go against the Word of God. Yet sadly this happens again and again in today’s Church.

It does not matter what you or I think of what God says in His Word. It does not matter what your pastor thinks either. The only thing that matters is that God’s Word is preached, the way that God wrote it, not the way that we want to interpret it, not the way that we choose to speak it. I’m not talking about your view of the rapture and when it will happen. I’m talking about Jesus Christ is God…no debate. Jesus is the only way to the Father…there is no other way…none. Sin is a death sentence for all, your only way out…Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift; you cannot earn it…period. Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be eternal just as the Father is…no question about it. If it is written in God’s Word, it is true…it is not open to negotiation. The Bible was written by men, the words came from God. To suggest that the bible is just a collection of stories written by a few men is completely ludicrous not to mention ignorant. Hundreds and hundreds of years (over a thousand years actually) of writings and prophecies where the books agree with one another, and the prophecies have come true (about half of them so far, the others are yet to come), written by over thirty-five different people…this is the work of God not man.

When you or I walk through the door of our church, the first thing on our mind should be praising and glorifying God. It should not ever be what can I get out of church today. God took our death upon Himself, paid the price for our wrongdoing. He deserves our praise and worship.

Glory to God in the highest

Glory to God forever

Praise His Holy Name

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by 2 Comments

Struggling with Addictions

Opium poppies
(Photo credit Wikipedia)

Have you ever had an addiction? Maybe you find yourself struggling with one even now. For those who have never been addicted to something, they cannot possibly begin to understand what it is like.

An addiction is horrible; it is like dragging a lead weight around that you cannot be rid of. Even if you want to be rid of your addiction, you find that you are drawn right back to it again. Often though, people are addicted to things, and will not admit it or do not seem to care.

I was addicted to many things. At one time I used drugs for a while in my life. Not a good thing drugs. I was even more addicted to alcohol and cigarettes.

The list of addictions I could write would fill pages up! People are addicted to social media, television, music, drugs, porn, movies, blogging, and many more. If you have to have it, or have to do it all the time, it is an addiction!

When I drank it was every day. No exceptions, every single day no matter what. It did not matter if there was an appointment that day, company was coming; nothing mattered enough that it would prevent me from drinking. This is the nature of addictions; an addiction is not something you can just stop whenever you want to. I knew I drank too much; I was not interested in stopping this behavior most of the time.

Addictions are a way of self-medicating because people have problems. Lets face it life is not easy for anyone. If I as a person do not posses a solid foundation on which to stand, I will turn to what helps me…often with disastrous results. The other problem is that if the addiction produces a “high”, some type of pleasurable feeling, then the person becomes addicted to the very feeling and continuously desires more. It is a very vicious cycle that is incredibly difficult to get away from.

I had become a follower of the Lord, but had not given up alcohol yet. Despite what some would say, you can be a Believer and still be doing things you really should not be. People do not become Believers and then just like that all things are nice and tidy in their lives…it does not work like that. One has only to look at King David to see the truth of what I am saying, and yet many a person would disagree with me here.

I am one of the exceedingly lucky ones; God Himself took away the desire to drink from me…I could not stop. For reasons unknown to me (I say this because I know people still struggling) the Lord took this awful burden from me. It happened in a very simple way. I was drinking as usual; I was also reading in the Word. It occurred to me that reading and studying the Word of God while guzzling down beer was not right. That was it; I was done right there and then, just like that.

There is hope for addictions, there is healing. Support groups are great; friends are good as well. First and foremost though I would say a relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. Then one needs a real desire to give up the addiction, this is not a game. Addictions are very serious business. Prayer is a key element as well; ask God to help you, keep praying do not stop. If you fall, don’t beat yourself up about it, get back up and keep trying. Success can and does come because of perseverance.

Satan wants you to remain locked in bondage to your addiction; it serves him well. Do not let him fool you; break free with God’s help! You can do this! Be encouraged that addictions can be beaten. In Christ you can do all things.

Online resources and encouragement:

Setting Captives Free
Addiction Tribe
Think In Today
Darrell Creswell
Good Life

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by 10 Comments

Do you serve Christ: or expect Him to serve you?

I was listening to a podcast on Solomons Porch Radio recently. This was a very good interview with Peter Guirguis, (Not Ashamed of the Gospel) on what he does in his ministry that is focused on Internet evangelism.

One of the hosts of the show (Mike and Mark) made a comment about serving Christ. The paraphrase of what he said is this; I would serve Christ forever more if He did nothing else for me. That got me to thinking…

Why do we serve Christ, more specifically, why do you the person reading this serve Him??

Do you serve with an expectation of reward, maybe in this lifetime, or assuredly in the next? Or maybe you serve Jesus with no expectations or very few?

What is your motive to serve the Lord? I’m here to tell you, it DOES matter. Lets say that you have a ministry. And lets also say that you do what you do with some expectations that the Lord is going to do some things for you here on this earth because of your service to Him. Or how about this, you are looking for recognition and a name because of what you do for the Lord.

Ever wonder why your ministry just does not seem to prosper? Or that your ministry seems slow to grow, doors do not seem to open? Does the above preceding paragraph describe your ministry, even one that is not yours but you are involved in? When you serve the Lord with these expectations, are you really serving Christ, or are you serving yourself?

The ministries I see growing are those that are not serving themselves, but are in fact serving the needs of others. Let me be clear; I am not talking about the occasional self-serving thought here, we all have those. I am talking about those who have a self-serving agenda wrapped up as service to Christ’s people. I am also unfortunately speaking of the ones who really do want to help God’s people, but yet still have a strong desire for that recognition, self-glorification. This is not in line with God’s will for us.

I will be honest with you; I have struggled with this myself. First we have to admit it, and then we have to do something about it. Take it to the Lord, admit what you have done, and ask Him to help you. Pride comes before the fall, and humility comes before honor.

Serving God should be all about God, not me (me here refers to me personally, but you as the reader as well). Serving God should be done because He cared enough to serve us…long before we even knew He existed.

Keep in mind here that Christ was and is God. I know that you have heard it all before, but again…God stepped out of heaven and became a lowly man. That was a rather large step down was it not? During His time on earth, Jesus gave up His rights to use His Godly power. Jesus did not ever give up His deity…but He did give up His Godly privileges if you will.

During Jesus time here, He served…God served men! Can you imagine sitting in your favorite chair in your living room, and Jesus Christ on His hands and knees before you washing your feet???? Well imagine it! Jesus actually did this for His disciples! Jesus says; give me all your bad things, all your sins, I will take them all…and give you back life in return. In the end, Jesus gave up His life for us.

So, you see my friends that God has done all things for us already even if He does nothing more for us! The Lord God died on a cross for us to have life. We place our faith in Him and serve Him, and we come away with the grand prize.

We are here to serve and glorify the Lord. He made us, and He saved us…we are His bought at a price. Who are we to make demands upon Him?

Prosperity teaching and this feeling of entitlement by some, dare I say many…is just plain wrong. We as Christ’s people are not here to prosper ourselves. We are here to serve Him, and a big way of doing that is in blessing His body. This is and should be a central truth to any ministry. After all, why does any ministry exist? Is it not to serve the body of Christ and in so doing glorify God??? Where do you see self in there?

Do you want to see examples of how to conduct a ministry? Just look around you, look for the ones that do not lift themselves up, look for the ones that are always willing to help. Look for the ones with a humble spirit, a kind word for other ministries. In other words, these ministries will be focused on other people’s problems and helping them find solutions through and in Christ…not on “look how great I am”.

Is your focus on Christ?

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by 14 Comments

Putting out the Fire in my Mouth

B

James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Have you ever in any way had a problem controlling your tongue? Be honest now…

I have and still do at times. In the past I had a very bad mouth, I mean really bad as in like a sailor. This is unfortunately more common then you may think.

What does the bible say about the tongue? James 3:6 says the tongue is a world of evil, pretty strong language don’t you think? Is that really justified???

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. The power of life and death…wow. Proverbs 12:13 mentions that an evil man is trapped by his sinful talk. Proverbs 12:22 says that the Lord delights in men who are truthful.

Psalm 64:3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows. Words according to the bible have tremendous power, as does the tongue that speaks them. Could it be that we need to seriously reign in our tongues?

Which do you see as better, a physically abusive relationship, or an emotionally abusive relationship? I will answer this later…

Consider James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Consider also James 3:8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

No man can tame the tongue; that is pretty serious…and also true. How many times I have gotten myself into trouble by what comes out of my mouth! Sometimes we stumble in what we say without even meaning to. Unfortunately, the damage is already done. We can’t unsay what has been spoken, but we can be more diligent in what comes out of our mouths to begin with.

What does the Apostle Paul have to say about this? Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

We can use the tongue for good, we are not required to use it to hurt others, nor are we supposed to. The tongue has amazing power; it is in fact one of the most powerful things on this earth. Why do you think this is, or do you hold another opinion?

Consider these things if you will.

Out of the mouth comes…

  1.  Praise for our Lord in many forms. Beautiful voices lifted up in song, prayer etc.
  2. Worship of the Lord
  3. Witnessing for the Lord
  4. Praise of family and friends
  5. Loving words; affirmation, encouragement, affection, etc

Out of the same mouth comes…

  1. Cursing
  2. Angry words that hurt others
  3. Words that demoralize and degrade others
  4. Lies
  5. Hypocrisy
  6. Boasts and self aggrandizing statements

We all fall when it comes to our tongue; no one succeeds at all times in controlling what they say. To claim otherwise is to not be truthful. We can however learn to be more careful about what we say.

What is the eternal significance of what I am saying?
Is it really important that I say these words?
Will these words of mine cause harm?

It is so easy in the heat of the moment to “say” things we do not really mean. The problem with this is that if we keep saying these things…”I’m sorry” does not hold water anymore. Do you ever have a discussion that turns into an argument and then wonder how that happened? Our choice of words makes things happen, good and bad.

Mom’s advice still holds true…”if you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all”. Is this as hard for others as it is for me at times???

If we learn to think before we speak, pause to consider our words…we will be much better off. Make it a habit to consider what you say before you say it.

Positive words build up negative words tear down. Previously, the question was asked,
“which do you see as better, a physically abusive relationship, or an emotionally abusive relationship?” The obvious answer here is neither one, however if I have to choose between the two, the better one would be a physically abusive relationship. Physical wounds will heal and be gone. The wounds inflicted emotionally will last a long time, and can cause significant damage.
It is important to note here that I am not referring to the escalating abuser who works (his/her) way up to more and more violent acts of abuse. These people are extremely unstable and very dangerous. I stated these things as a comparison only, because it is so important to recognize the tremendous power of our words with others.

This is a whole other post, but I do want to mention that the words, thoughts that go through our mind, things that are not spoken…these have a large impact on us as well.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected